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 |
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A．Part—time shop assistant．
B．Teaching assistant in Hania’s Playschool．
C．Weekend work in Rubberlast Group Ltd．
D．Teaching assistant in the University of Bristo1．
71．If you have good computer skills and recently graduated from university（English
degree），which jobs can you apply for？
A．Jobs 1，2 and 7． B．Jobs 3，4 and 6．
C．Jobs 4，6 and 7． D．Jobs 2，3 and 5．
72．Which is the only position that has a formal educational requirement？
A．Full—time secretary at United Business Ltd．
B．Home delivery representative for Yorkshire Post．
C．Teaching assistant at Hania’s Playschoo1．
D．University positions at the University of Bristo1．
In formal paragraphs you will sometimes see a sentence at the end of the paragraph which summarizes the information that has been presented．This is the concluding sentence．The concluding sentence is similar to the topic sentence．They are both general sentences．The concluding sentence can be written in two ways：
1．State the topic sentence in different words．
2．Summarize the main points in the paragraph．
You can understand concluding sentences with this example．Consider a hamburger that you can buy at a fast—food restaurant．A hamburger has a top bun，meat，cheese，lettuce（生菜），and other elements in the middle of the hamburger，and a bottom bun．Note how the top bun and the bottom bun are very similar．The top bun，in a way，is like a topic sentence，and the bottom bun is like the concluding sentence．Both buns “hold” the meat，onions，and so on．Similarly，the topic sentence and concluding sentence “hold” the supporting sentences in the paragraph．Let’s see how a concluding sentence might look in our sample paragraph about Wheaton：
My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features．First，it is noted for the Wheaton River，which is very wide and beautiful．Also，on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill，which is unusual because it is very steep．The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree．This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old．These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place．
Notice how the concluding sentence，“these three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place”，summarizes the information in the paragraph．Notice also how the concluding sentence is similar to，but not exactly the same as，the topic sentence．
Usually，we begin a concluding sentence with “in conclusion’’ or “in summary”．Remember，not all paragraphs contain concluding sentences，especially if the paragraph is very short．However，if your paragraph is very long，it is a good idea to use a concluding sentence．
65．What does the author mainly intend to tell us in this passage？
A．How to write a concluding sentence．
B．What the top bun and the bottom bun are like．
C．Why his hometown is a famous place．
D．To use a concluding sentence in our writing．
66．Why does the author write about a hamburger？
A．Because he can buy a hamburger at a fast—food restaurant．
B．Because a hamburger has a top bun and a bottom bun．
C．Because the top bun and the bottom bun are very similar．
D．Because he wants to explain his main idea in another way．
67．The underlined word “noted” probably means“ ”
A．written down B．famous C．noticed D．recorded
68．Which of the following statements is TRUE about the passage？
A．A sentence at the end of a paragraph is the concluding sentence．
B．All paragraphs contain concluding sentence．
C．It is a good idea to use a concluding sentence in a long paragraph．
D．The concluding sentence is the same as the to pic sentence．
69．The underlined phrase “These three landmarks” here refers to．
A．the Wheaton River，Wheaton Hill and my hometown
B．natural features，the Wheaton River and the Wheaton Hill
C．the Wheaton River，Wheaton Hill and the Big Old Tree
D．my hometown，Wheaton Hill and the Big Old Tree
Jean Francis Grander was perhaps the most daring man who ever lived and perhaps the craziest．His greatest desire was to entertain and amaze people．He measured his success by the number of people who fainted dead away after witnessing his death-defying（极其惊险的）feats．
Grander，a blond Frenchman，toured North America in 1850，billing himself as “Blondin”．Blondin’s gift was excellent balance．This talent．coupled with a great desire to surprise and shock his audiences，made Blondin an incomparable performer．
His most famous feat was walking across Niagara Falls on a tightrope．Blondin’s “stage” consisted of a rope tied 1，100 feet across the falls．The rope hung some 160 feet above the rocks and boiling water below the falls．
Simply walking across the falls was not exciting enough for Blondin；he later had to ride across on a bicycle．Then，in another performance，he calmly walked across blindfolded（被蒙住的眼睛）．At still another time，he carried his terrified manager on his back and walked over the falls before thousands of breathless audience．
But Blondin was undoubtedly his own worst critic．He was never satisfied with hfs act and always tried to attract his audience with his balancing feat．One of his most daring walks was made in the darkness of night．Blondin became so famous on his tour through North America that his last performance was attended by an admiring Prince of Wales．
60．Why does the author think that Grander may be the craziest man in the world？
A．Because he enjoyed entertaining people by terrifying them．
B．Because many people died after seeing his feats．
C．Because his greatest desire was to entertain people．
D．Because he was an incomparable performer．
61．What does the underlined word “feat” in this passage mean？
A．excellent performance B．tour
C．famous event D．victory
6 2．What can we infer from the first sentence in the last paragraph？
A．Blondin was very content with his own performance．
B．Blondin was not very very good at criticism．
C．Blondin never thought that his performance was satisfy．
D．Blondin didn’t like criticism．
63．The author’S attitude towards“Blondin”is．
A．critical B．admiring C．negative D．depressed
64．Which of the following can NOT be drawn from the passage?
A．Blondin’s success had something to do with his character．
B．In order to be Successful，one should be a critic of himself．
C．Blondin conquered his audience simply by his talent．
D．People can get pleasure from a terrifying experience．
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
During my elementary school years，I used to compare my mom with my best friend Tiffany’s mom．
Tiffany’s mom always gave her lots of money to buy the most fashionable clothes and favorite food．Her morn allowed her to do anything she liked．I really admired Tiffany．My mom didn’t give me much pocket money and she always told me that I should behave my self．1 was annoyed with her．
Whenever I didn’t get what 1 wanted，1 would complain to my mom，Tiffany’s mom would give her that!1 wish she were my mom．”Every time，my mom would calmly say “Poor Tiffany”．
I couldn’t understand her．“She shouldn’t be feeling sorry for Tiffany!”I thought．“She should be feeling sorry for me．”
One day，I couldn’t help saying to Morn，”Poor Tiffany？Lucky Tiffany! She gets everything she wants! Why do you feel sorry for her？”I burst into tears．
My mom sat down next to me and said softly , “Yes，I do feel sorry for her．I have been teaching you a lesson that she will never be taught．”
I looked up at her．“What are you talking about？”
Mom said with care，“One day she will really want something．Maybe she’11 find out that she can’t have it．Her mother won’t always be around to give her money，and what’s more，money can’t buy everything．”
She continued，“I have taught you valuable lessons by not giving you everything you want．You’11 know how to look for bargains and save money，but she won’t．You’11 under stand that you need to work hard to get the things that you want but she won’t．When Tiffany is a grown woman，she’11 wake up one day and she will be wishing that she had a mom like the one you’ve got．Life lessons are more important than modern clothes and delicious food．’’
It took some time，but I eventually understood my mom’s words．Now I am a happy and successful woman．
56．During the author’s elementary school years，she．
A．wished that her mom were as good as Tiffany’s
B．went to school with Tiffany every day
C．usually compared her lesson with Tiffany’s
D．sometimes gave lots of money to Tiffany
57．Why did the author’s mom always say “Poor Tiffany”？
A．She felt sorry for Tiffany because Tiffany was poor．
B．She wanted to tell a lie to comfort the author．
C．She thought that Tiffany was spoiled by her mother．
D．She told the author this and wanted her to help Tiffany．
58．What do we learn about the author’s mother？
A．She was strict and taught the author to be independent．
B．She cared for other people’s children more than her own．
C．She thought that life lessons were as important as money．
D．She was so poor that she couldn’t give the author much money．
59．What can we infer from the passage？
A．The author was quite annoyed with her mother in the past．
B．The author’s mother felt sorry for Tiffany．
C．Tiffany’s mother took the author’s mother’s advice．
D．The author is thankful to her mother now．
The person behind you constantly kicks the back of your seat．Your talkative seatmate doesn’t understand your need for sleep．And the aircraft’s bathroom is a total mess．These situations can make even a short flight unbearable．Hopefully you don’t cause these unpleasant experiences for others．Instead，you can set an example by following these common airplane courtesies．
Always recline your seat slowly．There’s nothing worse than suddenly being slammed in the knees by the seat in front of you．In addition，don’t keep your seat reclined for the entire flight．Always keep it upright position before going to the restroom（or anytime you leave your seat）．
Avoid going to the bathroom during mealtime．Wait until the meal is done and all the food trays have been collected．It’s hard for passengers to stand up to let you pass when they still have their food trays．And when using the bathroom，always clean up after your-self-the next user will be grateful!
Keep your body--and your possessions-to yourself as much as possible so as not to crowd your in-flight seatmate（s）．Share the armrest，especially on a long flight．Also，be careful not to kick or push on the seat in front of you，and don’t allow your children to do so either．
While some people enjoy chatting with other passengers during a flight，not everyone does．Some people may want to nap，read or work．If the conversation seems one—sided，take the hint．
If you are traveling with someone and want to chat，keep your voices low．If using electronic gadgets，keep the volume down．People can still hear through your headphones if the volume is too high．
When exiting the plane，if others are having trouble with their carry-on luggage，help them if you can．If you can’t help，wait patiently，and don’t push past people to get off the airplane．
On your next flight，remember that it all boils down to the golden rule．Treat others the way you want to be treated !
72．Which of the following manners we should follow while flying?
A．Always keep your seat upright during meal time．
B．Keep your belongings to yourself as much as possible．
C．Use your headphones and keep the volume down．
D．All the above．
73．Where do we most probably read this passage?
A．a text book B．a newspaper
C．a magazine D．a science book
74．Which of the following word has the closest meaning with the word courtesies?
A．golden rules B．manners C．experiences D．passengers
75．What is the best title of this passage?
A．Manners in the sky．
B．Bad manners in the sky．
C．Behave yourself in the sky．
D．Treat others the way you want to be treated．