In February 2006, Lydia Angyiou and her two sons were walking through their village in northern Canada. The sound of children shouting made her turn around. To her horror, Lydia saw a 700-pound polar bear behind her eyeing her seven-year-old son. Getting between the bear and her child, Lydia yelled at the children to run away. She then began hitting and kicking the animal as hard as she could. A neighbor who heard all the noise came and shot the bear. But everyone agreed it was Lydia who had saved her children’s lives. A local policeman described it this way: “… I guess when your back is up against the wall, … we come up with super-human strength.”
Where does this “super-human strength”, courage and quick thinking come from? Experts say it comes from stress! In stressful situations, the body releases chemicals that prepare it to take action. These chemicals give people the speed and strength they need to fight danger or run away from it.
When we think of stress, we usually think of its negative effects. Studies, though, show that moderate levels of stress are actually helpful. In fact, the way we perform is usually affected by the amount of stress we feel.
Stress causes the brain to release adrenaline(肾上腺素) which in turn increases our energy and excitement. The chemical gives us clearer minds and helps us to do more. This is why some people say they work better under a deadline.
Adrenaline that is not released for long periods of time can cause us to increase and strengthen our abilities instead of weakening them. We sometimes turn out our very best work when we push ourselves to the limit. Stress can also make us more confident. Handling small amounts of stress now prepares us for handling serious situations in the future. Who knows? Today’s stress may even prepare for the next polar bear that comes along!In the first paragraph, the case of Lydia Angyiou is mentioned to______.
| A．introduce the topic to be followed |
| B．remind us of the unexpected danger of life |
| C．praise Lydia Angyiou for her bravery |
| D．show the importance of super-human strength |
What does the policeman probably mean by saying “your back is up against the wall”?
| A．You are helped. | B．You are inspired. |
| C． You are confident. | D．You are cornered. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Brave Mother | B．The Cause of Stress |
| C．The Benefit of Stress | D．Super-human Strength |
How to improve our life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They'll say, "This is my destiny(命运).I cannot change it."
Of course not! You don't have to suffer needlessly. Your life depends on you, not on any other external(外部的)factor.
I know a woman who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is? She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, and then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routine cycle follows.
Huh! Is this what she calls "doing her best"? She believes she has tried her best and just accepts it in her heart that this is the life that has been intended for her and that her luck can only change if God wills it. She hasn't realized that we have to do our share of making the effort to live the life of our dreams.
Remember that you harvest what you sow. You have to get off the sofa, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone(unless it contributes to your success),and get your mind and body to work! Don't expect your luck to change, unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary setback; instead, learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It's not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively.
If someone's life is in trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don't just stand(or sit)there, do something to improve your life.According to the woman mentioned in Para. 3, her life_________________.
| A．doesn't need improving | B．couldn't be improved |
| C．will be better some day | D．will be worse in the future |
What does the author think of the woman's life?
| A．Positive | B．Passive | C．Colorful | D．Disturbing |
Which of the following statements is the author's opinion?
| A．Your temporary problem is not discouraging. |
| B．Your luck can be changed by your own efforts. |
| C．You can only achieve success when God wills it. |
| D．You should treat yourself in the way you treat friends. |
In Para. 5, the author emphasized the importance of _______________.
| A．positive thinking | B．positive action |
| C．hope for the best | D．intention to succeed |
The text is mainly written to advise you to _________________.
| A．understand yourself | B．improve your life |
| C．believe in yourself | D．change your normal way |
Bad moods can actually be good for you, with an Australian study finding that being sad makes people less gullible（轻信的）, improves their ability to judge others and also boosts memory.
The study, authored by psychology professor Joseph Forgas at the University of New South Wales, showed that people in a negative mood were more critical of, and paid more attention to, their surroundings than happier people, who were more likely to believe anything they were told.
"Although positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger（引发）more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world," Forgas wrote.
"Our research suggests that sadness … promotes information processing strategies best suited to dealing with more demanding situations."
For the study, Forgas and his team conducted several experiments that started with inducing happy or sad moods in their subjects through watching films and recalling positive or negative events.
In one of the experiments, happy and sad participants were asked to judge the truth of urban myths and rumors and found that people in a negative mood were less likely to believe these statements.
People in a bad mood were also less likely to make snap decisions based on racial or religious prejudices, and they were less likely to make mistakes when asked to recall an event that they witnessed.
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style."
"Positive mood is not universally desirable: people in a negative mood are less prone to judgmental errors, are more resistant to eyewitness distortions（扭曲）and are better at producing high-quality, effective persuasive messages," Forgas wrote.
The study was published in the November/December edition of the Australian Science journal. The study suggests that when someone is in a bad mood, he ________.
| A．cares more about his surroundings | B．shows less concern about others |
| C．is willing to believe what he hears | D．is particular about everything |
Which of the following is connected with positive mood?
| A．Being careful. | B．New ideas. |
| C．Being stubborn. | D．Concentration. |
How did the researchers put the subjects in good or bad moods?
| A．By watching sports programs. |
| B．By thinking back on their past experience. |
| C．By listening to happy or sad stories. |
| D．By dealing with demanding situations. |
Which of the following statements is TURE according to the text?
| A．Positive mood contributes to better judgment. |
| B．Cheerful people were less likely to believe rumors. |
| C．People in a bad mood tend to make quick decisions. |
| D．Sad people remembered what they saw precisely. |
The author intends to convince us that __________.
| A．we should think positively and negatively |
| B．the Australian study is of practical value |
| C．Joseph Forgas made a great discovery |
| D．bad moods can actually be good for us |
There were smiling children all the way. Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Malaysia. I was moved.
I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.
It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight. Immediately I came alive; I decided to wave back.
From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.
The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (拥抱). I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car.
I looked forward to the return journey. The author expected the train trip to be________.
| A．adventurous | B．pleasant | C．exciting | D．dull |
What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?
| A．The friendly country people. | B．The mountains along the way. |
| C．The crowds of people in the streets. | D．The simple lunch served on the train. |
Which of the following words can best take the place of the word "relish" in the second paragraph?
| A．choose | B．enjoy | C．prepare for | D．carry on |
Where was the writer going?
| A．Johore Baru | B．The Causeway. | C．Butterworth | D．Singapore |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．Comfort in traveling by train. | B．Pleasure of living in the country. |
| C．Reading gives people delight. | D．Smiles brighten people up. |
In a six-week study, experts found people who played online games designed to improve their cognitive(认知的) skills didn't get any smarter.
More than 8,600 people aged 18 to 60 were asked to play online brain games designed by the researchers to improve their memory, reasoning and other skills for at least 10 minutes a day, three times a week. They were compared to more than 2,700 people who didn't play any brain games, but spent a similar amount of time surfing the Internet and answering general knowledge questions. All participants were given a sort of I.Q test before and after the experiment.
Researchers said the people who did the brain training didn't do any better on the test after six weeks than people who had simply been on the Internet. On some sections of the test, the people who surfed the Net scored higher than those playing the games.
"If you're (playing these games) because they're fun, that's absolutely fine," said Adrian Owen, the study's lead author. "But if you're expecting (these games) to improve your I.Q., our data suggests this isn't the case," he said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
One maker of brain games said the company's games have been proven to boost brain power.
"Their conclusion would be like saying, 'I cannot run a mile in under 4 minutes and therefore it is impossible to do so," Aldrich said in a statement.
"There is precious little evidence to suggest the skills used in these games transfer to the real world," said Art Kramer, who was not linked to the study and has no ties to any companies that make brain training games.
Instead of playing brain games, Kramer said people would be better off getting some exercise. He said physical activity can spark(激发) new connections between nerves and produce new brain cells. "Fitness changes the building blocks of the brain's structure," he said.. It can be inferred that the online brain games mentioned in the text are_____________.
| A．costly | B．unreliable | C．illegal | D．effective |
. Which of the following statements is true about the experiment in the second paragraph?
| A．The experiment lasted for a week. |
| B．Age didn’t affect the result of the research. |
| C．Every person played online brain games three times a day. |
| D．People who didn’t play online brain games did better in I.Q test |
. What can we learn from the text?
| A．Playing games which are fun can improve your I.Q. |
| B．There is a lot of evidence to suggest skills can transfer to the real world. |
| C．Do physical activity can boost your brain power. |
| D．Playing online games can spark new brain cells |
The underlined sentence suggests that ___________.
| A．The research was not linked to the study |
| B．Those playing the games can score higher in the test |
| C．playing the games can spark new connections between nerves |
| D．This isn’t the case that these games can improve your I.Q. |
In our life, we face situations where we are either asked to choose between trust and disbelief. Many of us would say we have to choose trust over disbelief. Actually we are given intellectual(智力的) power to choose what we want, and what we choose certainly need not be the one that sounds pleasing. That is, we can choose both trust and disbelief, but we have to know when to choose between these two.
We should all realize that we are living in a world which is unfortunately mixed with people of various types. We have been given the power of judging who we are working with and who we are partnering with. We cannot give an excuse for believing a scheming(诡计多端的)person, just because he looked or sounded nice, unless we consider ourselves mentally unskillful.
This world was there before us and it does not owe us a single thing. We are asked to take care of ourselves and our belongings. Trust, too, has to be saved for the deserving(值得的) people. When we give trust universally to all, we end up troubled by the undeserving common cheat. People say trust is life. True! But only wisely exercised trust is life.
When we start a conversation with someone, the first things that we usually notice would be their dress, behavior, style and their language. What sometimes we all forget to look at is the person’s intention. Now how to look at a person’s intention is a lesson everybody has to learn for themselves in their own way -- there is no single standard for it. But it is certainly possible to discover the purpose if we seek a little bit more.
Certainly a false offer of friendship or guidance cannot stand undiscovered for long; we are therefore called to exercise disbelief over trust at least momentarily till we find out that we certainly are in agreement with a mutual(相互的)good-willed person.
The world teaches you lots of lessons and if we are willing, we can learn all that we want.In the first paragraph, the author ________.
| A．concentrates on the reason why we make different choices |
| B．focuses on how to choose between trust and disbelief |
| C．suggests that trust should be wisely exercised |
| D．implies that people are forced to make the choice |
. We can infer from the passage that _________.
| A．people who we are working with are in fact those who we are partnering with |
| B．the first thing we notice tends to mislead our judgment |
| C．the mentally healthy people will not judge a person by his looks |
| D．the standards of looking at a person’s intention are not various |
. The underlined sentence means __________
| A．trust and disbelief go hand in hand with each other. |
| B．disbelief is necessary if you aren’t wise |
| C．trust is established if two people know each other |
| D．doubt may serve as the precondition for trust |
Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage?
| A．Trust or Disbelief? | B．Trust Is Life. |
| C．Trust over Disbelief? | D．Disbelief over Trust? |