Decisions, decisions! Our lives are full of them, from the small ones to the life-changing. The right to choose is central to everyone. Yet sometimes we make bad decisions that leave us unhappy or full of regret. Can science help?
Most of us know little about the mental processes that lie behind our decisions. Luckily, what psychologists（心理学家）are finding may help us all make better choices. Here are some of their amazing discoveries to help you make up your mind.
Consider your emotions. You might think that emotions are the enemy of decision making, but in fact they're a part of it. Whenever you make up your mind, your brain’s emotional center is active. University of Southern California scientist, Antonio Damasio, has studied people with damage to only the emotional parts of their brains, and found that they were unable to make basic choices about what to wear or eat. Damasio thinks this may be because our brains store emotional memories of past choices, which we use to help the present decision making.
However, making choices under the influence of an emotion can greatly affect the result. Take anger, for example. A study by Nitika Garg of the University of Mississippi and other scientists found the angry shoppers were more likely to choose the first thing they were offered rather than considering other choices. It seems anger can lead us to make quick decisions without much thinking.
All emotions affect our thinking and motivation（动机）, so it may be best to avoid making important decisions under their influence. Yet strangely there’s one emotion that seems to help us make good choices. The American researchers found that sad people took time to consider the various choices on offer, and ended up making the best choices. In fact many studies show that people who feel unhappy have the most reasonable view of the world. According to the text, what may help us make better decisions?
| A．To think about happy times. |
| B．To make many decisions at a time. |
| C．To stop feeling regretful about the past. |
| D．To learn about the process of decision-making. |
Damasio’s study suggests that _________.
| A．emotions are the enemy of decision making |
| B．our brain has nothing to do with decision making |
| C．people with physical damage find it hard to make up their minds |
| D．our emotional memories of past choices can affect present decisions |
Why are angry shoppers more likely to choose the first thing they are offered?
| A．They often forget their past choices. |
| B．They make decisions without much thinking. |
| C．They tend to save time when shopping. |
| D．They are too angry to bargain. |
What do we learn from the text?
| A．Emotions are a part of decision making. |
| B．Sad people always make worst choices. |
| C．No emotion seems to help us make good choices. |
| D．Only sad feelings affect our thinking and motivation. |
For Americans, a mosquito bite is an itchy bother. But for many in Africa, a tiny bite can be deadly. One million people die each year of malaria, a disease spread by infected mosquitoes. Most of these people live in Africa, and are under age 5.
Malaria can be prevented and treated. However, many African nations don’t have the funds to fight it. Nothing but Nets (NBN) hopes to change that. The United Nations Foundation created the campaign in 2006. The aim is to prevent malaria by covering sleeping areas with nets. Hanging bed nets treated with insecticide(杀虫剂) is the simplest way to stop mosquitoes from biting at night. The chemicals last four to five years. For $10, anyone can send a net to Africa and help save a life.
So far, NBN has raised $19 million and delivered 700,000 nets to seven countries. Families are taught how to use the nets. Kids also get vaccines (疫苗)and vitamins. "Women line up for miles to get the medicine for their kids," says NBN director Elizabeth McKee Gore. "They understand the importance."
So do kids in this country. "They get so excited thinking of ways to raise money," says NBN spokesperson and basketball star Ruth Riley.
NBN’s biggest fund-raiser is Katherine Commale, 7. She’s been spreading the information about bed nets for the past two years. To show how they work, she and her brother made a video. "We teach that bed nets can save lives," she said.
Katherine has raised $42,000 for NBN. "She just wants those who need a net to have one," says her mom, Lynda. "It’s pretty simple to her." To find out how you can help, visit nothingbutnets.net.We know from the passage that NBN is in fact _________.
| A．a deadly disease | B．an organization |
| C．a piece of equipment | D．a game |
The purpose of the passage is most probably ___________.
| A．to list the sufferings of the African people |
| B．to introduce new ways to avoid mosquito bites |
| C．to call on people to offer their help to Africans |
| D．to tell people how to buy nets in Africa |
By saying “So do kids in this country” in Paragraph 4,the author means that kids in this country also ___________.
| A．know the importance of the bed nets |
| B．know how to protect themselves |
| C．lack nets to protect themselves |
| D．suffer from malaria |
What do we know about Katherine from the passage?
| A．She set up the website nothingbutnets.net. |
| B．She is the youngest money-raiser for NBN. |
| C．She raised money by making and selling videos. |
| D．She started working for NBN at the age of 5. |
A new study by Penn State College of Medicine research team found that honey is a better and safer treatment for children than cough medicines.
Ian Paul, the study’s lead researcher, was motivated to test honey because treating coughs in children has recently become a sticky subject. Coughing is the body’s way of cleaning irritated (受刺激的) airways to help you breathe. But too much coughing can irritate your lungs and throat even more. It can also make it tough to get the sleep your body needs to heal. Hoping to ease the suffering of their children, parents often give them cough medicines.
But there have never been any good studies showing that they work. Cough and cold medicines may also cause serious side effects. Hundreds of kids die in the hospital each year after receiving too much cough medicine by mistake. Last October, the US Food and Drug Administration suggested that parents should 
not give cough medicines to children under 6.
In order to search for a different solution, Paul designed a study that involved 105 kids who were sick with coughs and other cold conditions. At bedtime, the kids took buckwheat(荞麦) honey, honey-flavored (蜜蜂味的) DM (one of the most common ingredients成分in cough medicine), or no treatment. Parents and kids in the no-treatment group knew they weren’t getting anything, but the other two groups weren’t told which treatment they were getting.
The surveys showed that kids who swallowed about 2 teaspoons of buckwheat
honey before bedtime coughed less and slept better than kids in other groups.
“When parents want something for their kids to take,” Paul says, “honey seems
like the best option.”
But what gives honey its healing power? Substances called antioxidants(抗氧化剂) may be part of the answer. All honey contains antioxidants that protect our cells from damage. Studies show that antioxidant levels in the body rise after someone swallows honey.Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
| A．Sweet solution to kids’ coughing |
| B．No cough medicines to children |
| C．Best treatment for your cold |
| D．Cough medicines don’t work |
We can learn from Paragraph 2 that coughing ______.
| A．can cure lung and throat diseases |
| B．is more harmful to children |
| C．sometimes does good to people |
| D．helps improve children’s die |
During Paul’s experiment, the kids who received treatment __________.
| A．seemed much worse than before |
| B．had no idea what they swallowed |
| C．knew they weren’t getting anything |
| D．coughed less and slept better |
According to the passage, Paul’s experiment proved that ____.
| A．honey may have real healing power |
| B．cough medicines may cause side effect |
| C．cough medicines don’t really work |
| D．buckwheat honey contain more antioxidants |
Have you heard of the story of the four-minute miles? Many years ago, people believed that it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proves it wrong in 1954.
What happens if you put an animal in a pond? Any animal, big or small, will swim its way through. What happens when people, who do not know how to swim, fall in deep waters? They drown. If an animal who has not learned swimming could escape by swimming, why not you? Because you believe you will drown while the animal does not.
Have you ever wondered why the letters are organized in a particular order on your keyboard? You might have thought it is to increase the typing speed. But the fact is that this system was developed to reduce the typing speed at a time when typewriter parts would jam (堵塞) if the operator typed too fast.
These three cases show the power of our beliefs. There is no other more powerful directing force in human behavior than belief. Your beliefs have the power to create and to destroy. A belief delivers command to your nervous system.
I used a snake in my workshops of children to learn how unrealistic some of their beliefs are. Students of a school in India, said snakes were slippery, slimy(黏糊糊的) and poisonous. After doing an exercise for changing beliefs, they handled my snake and found it to be dry and clean. They also remembered that only three types of poisonous snakes exist in India.
Did this story end the way you thought? Review your beliefs now and find out which ones you need to change.From the first paragraph, we know that _________.
| A．several people have run a mile in four minutes. |
| B．Roger Banister set a record |
| C．nobody has run a mile in three minutes. |
| D．Roger Banister tied a world record |
By comparing a drowning animal and a person, the writer tried to show _________.
| A．the power of confidence |
| B．the responses of humans and animals to dangers |
| C．the difference between humans and animals |
| D．the power of belief |
Which of the following statements would the writer agree with?
| A．Our beliefs are impossible to change |
| B．How we act mainly depends on our beliefs. |
| C．Our beliefs create or destroy our nervous system |
| D．Our beliefs always go against the truth |
The children visiting the writer’s workshops might_________.
| A．learn how to keep off snakes |
| B．become brave and realistic |
| C．become clever and strong |
| D．learn to review their beliefs |
Norman Cousins was a businessman from the United States who often traveled around the world on business. He enjoyed his work and traveling.
Then, after returning to the United States from a busy and tiring trip to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics( USSR)，Mr. Cousins got sick. Because he had pushed his body to the limit of its strength on the trip, a chemical change began to take place inside him. The material between his bones became weak.
In less than one week after his return, he could not stand. Every move that he made was painful. He was not able to sleep at night.
The doctore told him that they did not know how to cure Mr. Cousins ’ problem and he might never get over the illness. Mr. Cousins, however, refused to give up hope.
Mr. Cousins thought that unhappy thoughts were causing bad chemical changes in his body. He did not want to take medicine to cure himself. Instead，he felt that happy thoughts or laughter might cure his illness. .'
He began to experiment on himself while still in hospital by watching funny shows on television. Mr. Cousins quickly found that 10 minutes of real laughter during the day gave him two hours of pain -free sleep at night.
Deciding that the doctors could not help him, Mr. Cousins left the hospital and checked into a hotel room where he could continue his experiments with laughter. For eight days，Mr. Cousins rested in the hotel room watching funny shows on television，reading funny books，and sleeping whenever he felt tired. Within three weeks，he felt well enough to take a vacation to Puerto . Rico where he began running on the beach for exercise.
After a few months，Mr. Cousins returned to work. He has laughed himself back to health.Why did Norman Cousins get sick?
| A．He did not rest enough. | B．He traveled too much. |
| C．His body chemistry changed. | D．All of the above. |
What part of his body was affected by the illness?
| A．The bones in his feet. |
| B．His mind when he slept. |
| C．The material between his bones. |
| D．His stomach. |
What did Mr. Cousins think caused his illness?
| A．Bad food. | B．Too much laughter. |
| C．Unhappy thoughts. | D．The doctors. |
Where did Mr. Cousins go in order to cure himself?
| A．To a hotel room. | B．To the beach. | C．To the hospital. | D．To the USSR. |
How long did it take before Mr. Cousins went back, to work?
| A．A few weeks. | B．A few months. | C．A few hours. | D．A few years. |
Americans think that travel is good for you. Some even think it can help to solve one of the country ’ s worst problems ~: crime (犯罪）.
Crime worries a lot of people. Every year, the number of crimes is up and up. And many criminals (罪犯）are young. They often come from sad homes, with only one parent or no parents at all.
There are many young criminals in prison，but prison doesn ’ t change them. Six or seven in ten will go back to crime when they come out of prison.
One man ,Bob Burton, thought of a new idea. In the old days, young men had to live a difficult life on the road. They learned to be strong and brave, and to help their friends to be strong and brave, and to help their friends in time of danger. This helped them grow into men. So Bob Burton started “Vision Quest. “ He takes young criminals on a long ,long journey with horses and wagons (马车）， 3,000 miles through seven states. They are on the road for more than a year.
The young people in Vision Quest all have bad problems. Most of them have already spent time in prison. This is their last chance.
It’s hard work on the road. The day starts before the sun comes up. The boys and girls have to feed the horses. Some of them have never loved anyone before but they love their horses. That love can help them to live a new life.
Not all the young people on Vision Quest will leave crime behind them. Three or four in ten will one day be in prison again. Bob Burton is right. Travel can be good for you. Even today, Americans still say, “ Go west, young men. ”In the last paragraph “leave crime behind them" means .
| A．no longer do a crime | B．leave people who do a crime |
| C．don’t do all the crimes | D．leave criminals behind |
Why is Bob Burton right?
| A．Because he can help to solve crime. |
| B．Because three or four is better than six or seven. |
| C．Because the young criminals have a hard life on the road. |
| D．Because he can stop crime in the country. |
Form the passage we may infer that .
| A．getting up before the sun rises can help out of crime |
| B．we can hardly find a person who has no love for anybody or anything |
| C．travelling can help all criminals out of prison |
| D．young people can do anything freely |
On “ Vision Quest" .
| A．young people have bad problems |
| B．young people grow tall very fast |
| C．young people often help their friends in time of danger |
| D．all of the above |
Americans still say, "Go west, young men. ”because .
| A．if they go west they can have a travel |
| B．in the west there is a prison |
| C．there they have to live a hard life to grow into men |
| D．prison doesn’t change them |