The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like "I never do anything right" into positive ones like "I can succeed." But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?
Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.
The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing (引证) older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your friend who is slow to learn that he has the potential of an Einstein, you're just underlining his faults. In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written.
In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students' self-esteem. The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, "I am lovable."
Those with low self-esteem didn't feel better after the forced self-affirmation (自我肯定). In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren't urged to think positive thoughts.
The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治疗) that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse. Meditation (静思) techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic viewpoint. Call it the power of negative thinking. The first paragraph is written ___________.
| A．to raise an argument about positive thinking |
| B．to introduce the power of positive thinking |
| C．to encourage people to have positive thoughts |
| D．to introduce the $11 billion self-help industry |
According to the study of the Canadian researchers, ___________.
| A．positive thinking is not as powerful as negative thinking |
| B．encouraging positive thinking may actually discourage people |
| C．happy people can think positively while unhappy people can’t |
| D．getting people to think positively can strengthen their confidence |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．You are pointing out the mistakes he has made. |
| B．You are reminding him that he is not intelligent. |
| C．You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough. |
| D．You are showing he has great potential in spite of faults. |
We can learn from the last paragraph that ___________.
| A．negative feelings must be got rid of |
| B．there’s no point in thinking positively |
| C．it doesn’t make sense to think negatively |
| D．negative thinking is not always negative |
Online Money Earning
You can earn money online without any investment or without anytime limit. There is no need to stop any other work. Here I tell you the complete method for online earning.
The Method
You can earn money through “Bux.to” by clicking on ads on “Bux. to” site. First you need to open an account at “Bux. to”. “Bux. to” is a new international and FREE English based service that allows advertisers to reach thousands of potential customers by displaying their ads on our “Surf Ads” page. An exact calculated percentage of all advertising income is paid to our members. “Bux. to” makes money through advertising.
How you make money
You view websites in 30 seconds through the “Surf Ads” page. Once the 30 seconds is up, you’ll either get a green tick sign or a red “x”. The green tick sign means you’ve earned $0.01 and the “x” means you have not earned money for the visit. You’ll get red x’s when you have more than one website from the “Surf Ads” page open. When this happens, you get no credit.
Earnings example
You click 10 ads per day = $0.10
20 referrals (转送) click 10 ads per day = $2.00
Your daily earnings = $2.10
Your weekly earnings = $14.70
How to get paid
At present, it only makes payments through “AlertPay”. AlertPay is the payment processing solution that we use to pay members. Your AlertPay address is the e-mail address you use to register with AlertPay. You can get a free AlertPay account at http:// alertpay. com.What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To tell an interesting story. |
| B．To introduce a surprising way to earn money. |
| C．To solve a puzzling problem. |
| D．To present an exciting research. |
You can earn money by ________.
| A．chatting online |
| B．advertising some products |
| C．clicking on advertisement |
| D．choosing green ticks or x’s |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．You’ll earn $0.10 if you click 1 ad. |
| B．You’ll get many green ticks if you have many websites open. |
| C．Your AlertPay account is not for free. |
| D．You can get your payments through AlertPay. |
【原创】Recently a series of reports appeared online in the United States and the United Kingdom lamenting(叹息) the “Lazy French”. A new labor law in France had apparently banned organizations from e-mailing their employees after 6 p.m. In fact, it turned out to be more a case of “lazy journalists” than “lazy French”: as The Economist explained, the “law” was not a law at all, but a labor agreement aimed at improving health among a group of professionals.
Brits and Americans have long suspected that the French are goofing off(吊儿郎当) while they – the good corporate soldiers—continue to toil away. They are proud about it, too. In the age of the smartphone, there’s no such things as “downtime”(停工期), and we claim that we are happier—and more productive – for it.
Are we, though? After reviewing thousands of books, articles and papers on the topic and interviewing dozens of experts in different fields, I don’t think so. When we are checking business news in bed or responding to co-workers. But, actually, we’re mostly just getting the small, easy things done. Being busy is not equal to being effective.
And let’s not forget about the surrounding play, which often distracts us from accomplishing our most important tasks. Facebook and Twitter report that their sites are most active during office hours. After all ,the employee who’s required to respond to her boss on Sunday morning will think nothing of responding to friends on Wednesday afternoon. Constant connection means that we’re “always at work”, yes, but also that we’re “never at work”—fully.
Some parts of the workforce do rely on constant connection. But others should be given proper breaks. The great technology historian, Melvin Kranzberg, said, “Technology is neither good nor bad, and nor is it neutral(中立的).” That statement should become a real principle of the information age. We must actively decide on our levels of technology engagement at different times to maximize productivity, success and happiness.The author mentions “lazy French” at the beginning of the passage in order to __________.
| A．criticize them for how they work |
| B．introduce the subject of working styles |
| C．show the way they work |
| D．explain how they differ from Americans and Brits |
Why did the author review many materials and interview many experts?
| A．It was his work to do that. |
| B．He needed to prepare plenty of materials for his work. |
| C．He wanted to prove that his working style was correct. |
| D．He wanted to find out which way of working was better. |
What can we conclude from the passage?
| A．We should make better use of technology. |
| B．Being busy makes us happier and more productive. |
| C．Small tasks can be done at home, but important ones must be done in the office. |
| D．In terms of working style, we should learn from the French. |
【原创】Writing a children’s story requires a vivid imagination, good writing, creativity and the ability to put yourself into the mind of a child. For many writers, writing children’s books successfully will require some effort to step back into the shoes of the very young and to see the world from a very fresh and curious perspective. For those who are always young-at-heart, writing children’s stories can be a very satisfying job. And if you are a child author reading this article, these characteristics will be second nature to you but you will still benefit from these steps on how to write a children’s story.
Brainstorm story ideas. The story is perhaps the most important aspect of a good book. Consult some of your favorite books(children’s or not) for an example. Choose a story that fits your interests and talents, such as action, fantasy, or mystery. Smaller children enjoy stories with a play on words or a repeated phrase.
Develop your characters. In order to have a good story, you need some interesting characters. Who is the main character in the story? Is there more than one? Are the characters humans, animals or fantasy creatures, or do they include elements of all three? Before you begin, it is best to make an outline of the characters and how they fit into the story.
Add some pictures. Everyone loves pictures. They can add to the interest level of the story and make it easier to follow. You may like to include a few funny cartoons or pictures in your story. Make sure that you use bright, happy colors or dark, sad colors, depending on the mood of a story.
A children’s story doesn’t need to be realistic! That is the difference between children’s and adult books. Of course you can write about a talking goose. Sure you can write about a human with a dog’s head and three legs. While children can enjoy this, adults cannot very often just let the story flow over them.What is the text mainly about?
| A．How to write a children’s story |
| B．How to shape characters of a children’s story |
| C．The characteristics of a children’s story |
| D．The requirements for a writer of children’s stories |
Which of the following is NOT true about the first paragraph?
| A．Imagination is required in writing a children’s story |
| B．This article is beneficial to child authors |
| C．Writers always young-at-heart can write a satisfying children’s story |
| D．A book describing the world from a fresh perspective can be welcomed by children |
When you think about the main idea of your book, _______________.
| A．you should read some children’s books |
| B．you should choose a story that you are interested in |
| C．you should read a book with repeated phrases |
| D．you should draw some pictures |
In the author’s opinion, ___________________.
| A．pictures can make story easier to understand |
| B．the color of the pictures used depends on the author himself |
| C．there is no difference between children’s and adult books |
| D．there should be more than one main character in a good story |
According to the author, ____________ is probably the most important step in writing a book.
| A．developing characters |
| B．adding pictures |
| C．thinking about story ideas |
| D．making an outline |
【原创】The first theories and experiments with cloning began in the late 1880s as scientist sought to prove their theories about how the genetic material inside cells worked. Discoveries about the nature of DNA in the 1940s made it possible for cloning experiments to progress. In 1944 it was discovered that genetic information for each cell was kept in the cell’s DNA. When Oswald Avery found this genetic information, it gave scientists new ways to try to clone animals by using that genetic blueprint（生物细胞的模型）.
The first cloned animals were northern leopard frogs that were cloned by Thomas J. King and Robert Briggs in 1952. King and Briggs believed, based on their clones, that young cells were more practical for the cloning process. Cells that were taken from adults resulted in abnormally developed tadpoles(蝌蚪). The next successful cloning experiments also resulted in cloned frogs. John Gurdon cloned South African frogs in 1962. His use of adult cells disproved the previous theory that only young cells could be used in the cloning process with success.
While animal cloning had been the focus of cloning experiments, the 1960s also saw other types of cloning. In 1964, F. C. Steward took an adult root cell from a carrot plant and successfully cloned the plant. Throughout the rest of the 1960s, scientists continued to clone frogs and to discover more about DNA. The first gene was discovered in 1969.
In 1977, the first cloned mice embryos were created. The first mammal was cloned in 1984. The cloned sheep was quickly followed in 1985 with cloned cattle embryos. A cow clone was created in 1986 and several calves in 1993. That same year, human embryos were cloned for the first time. In 1995 and 1996, sheep were cloned, including the famous Dolly.The first paragraph serves as a(n) __________________________.
| A．explanation | B．conclusion |
| C．comment | D．background |
When as the first plant successfully cloned?
| A．In 1952 | B．In 1960 |
| C．In 1964 | D．In1969 |
How is the passage organized?
| A．In order of frequency |
| B．In order of time |
| C．In order of importance |
| D．In order of preference |
【原创】“Will I be able to work until I’m 70?” Those were my first words when I learned in 2014, at the age of 50, that I had Parkinson’s disease. I had not planned for that question to pop out of my mouth, but it did. Perhaps I was worried about my money. The size of my retirement account makes early retirement seem impossible. But mainly I think I asked that question because work, for better or worse, has become central to my identity. The idea that my career as a historian would end soon felt truly disturbing.
As professors, we often complain about our jobs: we teach too much, we are paid too little, and the library needs more books. But I can’t imagine a better career. We teach young people, and we find the time to read and write about topics we love. We receive a degree of respect. Even my doctor calls me “Professor”.
And, most importantly, we have relative job security. When I received my diagnosis, my question about keeping my job was not ridiculous. In a market-based social system, the threat of job loss is terrifying. Imagine the pressure faced by a Parkinson’s sufferer with no job security. It could be disastrous for someone who needs manual dexterity at work, such as a construction worker.
In contrast, I am lucky: I have tenure(终身职位), which gives me a feeling of security that even popular entertainers may lack. Tenure does not guarantee me a job as long as I can perform y duties.
Will I be able to work until I’m 70? I think so. I know that my family and I will face new challenges, but I don’t expect a decline in my job performance. My students may find my appearance a bit odd, but if they do, then that will be a “teachable moment”.What did the author worry about first when he learned he was ill?
| A．He didn’t have enough money for an operation. |
| B．The disease would ruin his career. |
| C．He wouldn’t live until the age of 70. |
| D．He would be forced to retire early. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Professors always complain about their jobs. |
| B．Professors have no time to do anything else but teach. |
| C．The author doesn’t know what he would do if he were not a professor. |
| D．The author thinks he is respected by others because of his work. |
The underlined phrase in the third paragraph, “manual dexterity” probably means _____________.
| A．the ability to use one’s hands |
| B．the ability to see clearly |
| C．the ability to use one’s mind |
| D．the ability to solve problems |
The best title for this passage is _________________________.
| A．Losing My Career to Illness |
| B．The Threat of Job Loss |
| C．Keep Away from Disease |
| D．The Pressure of Parkinson’s |