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 older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your dim friend 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. 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 perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.
【小题1】What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?

A.It is a highly profitable industry.
B.It is based on the concept of positive thinking.
C.It was established by Norman Vincent Peale.
D.It has yielded positive results.
【小题2】What is the finding of the Canadian researchers?
A.Encouraging positive thinking many do more harm than good.
B.There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems.
C.Unhappy people cannot think positively.
D.The power of positive thinking is limited.
【小题3】What does the author mean by "you're just underlining his faults" in the third paragraph?
A.You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough.
B.You are pointing out the errors he has committed.
C.You are emphasizing the fact that he is not intelligent.
D.You are trying to make him feel better about his faults.
【小题4】It can be inferred from the experiment of Wood, Lee and Perunovic that        .
A.it is important for people to continually keep their self - esteem
B.self – affirmation can bring a positive change to one’s mood
C.forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self - esteem
D.people with low self – esteem seldom write down their true feelings

D
Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation(感觉) of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions—those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.
Psychologists have known that one person’s perception(感知) of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.
Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.
To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses(假设), handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form: The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.
“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” says Bargh.
【小题1】According to Paragraph 1, a person’s emotion may be affected by ______.

A.the visitors to his officeB.the psychology lessons he has
C.his physical feeling of coldness D.the things he has bought online
【小题2】The author mentions Harlow’s experiment to show that ______.
A.adults should develop social skillsB.babies need warm physical contact
C.caregivers should be healthy adultsD.monkeys have social relationships
【小题3】In Bargh’s experiment, the students were asked to ______.
A.evaluate someone’s personalityB.write down their hypotheses
C.fill out a personal information form
D.hold coffee and cold drink alternatively
【小题4】We can infer from the passage that ______.
A.abstract thinking does not come from physical experiences
B.feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide
C.physical temperature affects how we see others
D.capable persons are often cold to others
【小题5】What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Drinking for Better Social Relationships.
B.Experiments of Personality Evaluation.
C.Developing Better Drinking Habits.
D.Physical Sensations and Emotions.

阅读下列应用文及相关信息,并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。

Thomson中学学生Mike、Joseph、Anna、Ian和Susan正在计划下学期各自的选修课程。阅读第46~50题中的各人情况说明和A和F六门选修课的介绍,选出符合各人个性特长的最佳选项,并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。选项中有一项是多余选项。

THOMSON HIGH SCHOOL

A

Creative Writing — by Mrs. A. McClellan

Creative writing is a course in which we study and apply the methods used in various forms of fiction writing. Writing is a skill of art in itself. We are guided by Ezra Pound’s opinion:“Make it new.”Creative writing does not only provide us with an opportunity to express ourselves, but also holds our attention to word choice, paragraph development, and other skills useful in writing.

B Journalism — by Dr. E. Brandt

Journalism is a course for seniors, in which we will cover how to gather, write, and report the news. We will discuss how information is, or can be, organized. This course also aims to develop communication skills required of journalists.

C

A classic is a literary work that has stood the test of time. Generations of readers have turned to classics to discover that which is ever-lasting. Through both the works themselves and the people they mirror, we may better be able to see ourselves. In this course, we will read works in both British and American literature(文学). We will write reviews of what we read.

D Technical Writing — by Mr. J. Allen

What is technical writing? It is the course devoted to improving your communication skills in, for , and through technology. Activities for this course will help you develop communication skills that are necessary for writers and speakers working with technology or in business.

E Non-fiction — by Dr. M. Tim

The course is a study of non-fiction through reading many different types of non-fiction. The course will also be about the possible changes in journalistic reporting and the sharing of personal stories of various people on various topics such as travel and adventure. We will examine some of the best writing in the world and deal with the techniques used in this text type.

F World Literature — by Mrs. A. McClellan

World Literature examines the common people found in quality Literature worldwide, from Europe to America, from Asia to Africa, and introduces a variety of cultural background at different points in history. In these worlds, we find not only what is unique to each culture, but what is universal. We are also able to tell what makes for a good story, no matter from where or whom the story springs.

 

46.Mike spent his childhood mostly in his father’ s study, where he read novels by British and American writers. Next term he will become a senior student. He thinks it’ s time that he read more of their works and learned to write about them.

47.Joseph is good at the language arts, and in his spare time he likes to write short stories. It is his wish that his stories would be printed in local newspapers. So he is thinking of taking a course to develop his writing skills, such as wording and paragraph organization.

48.A lively and caring girl, Anna takes an active part in social activities. She is trying to write reports for newspapers about what she sees and hears But few of them are accepted because of poor organization of information. She feels the need to improve her writing and communication skills next term.

49.Ian traveled worldwide with his parents when he was very young. Under their influence, he becomes greatly interested in stories of travel and adventure. He hopes to write his own stories in the future. So next term, he will choose a course to study the best writing of this type.

50.Susan comes from China. As a junior back home, she wrote quite a lot of short stories, some of which were published in newspapers. Her parent’ s suggest she read some classics by Asian and Western writers. She thinks it helpful in her writing. So she is going to take a course of this kind next term.

 

第二节读写任务(共1小题,满分25分)

阅读下面的短文,然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

We spend hours, days and years of our lives in education. But how perfect do you think your school is? Imagine you could decide your ideal school. What would it be like? What would you be doing? We wanted to find out what teenagers around the world thought. Here is what they said.

Sonia from Italy: I’d like a room where we can go and relax and play computer games and chat with friends. Some older pupils in the school have this but I think there should be a place for everyone to go when they want to switch off from the lessons.

Richard form USA: I think it would be great to have a day off every week, as well as the weekend. If that day was a Friday or a Monday, we would have a long weekend every week. I’m sure we could learn just as much in fewer hours.

David from UK: The school dinners are absolutely disgusting. There is a little shop called a “tuck shop” which we can go to in our breaks but it just sells rubbish. I’d like to be able to buy fruit and healthy snacks.

Hannah from Australia: My school environment is great – especially the sports facilities. We’ve got a swimming pool and tennis courts. It’s teachers I’d change. I think they should give us more freedom and choice about how we study and what we study. I also think it’s ridiculous that we have to wear a school uniform.

Sam form Mexico: I’d like clean toilets and showers, a big library, big lockers and a restaurant. Not much to ask for.

【写作内容】

以约30词概括短文要点;

然后以约120字以“我的理想学校”为主题,描述你心目中的理想的学校应具备哪些条件,此部分应包括以下内容:

你现在所在的学校有哪些方面你觉得很满意,哪些方面你觉得差强人意,需要改进;

如果让你设计你理想中的学校,你心目中的学校是怎样的?

【写作要求】

1.可使用实例或其他论述方法支持你的观点,也可以参照阅读材料的内容,但不得直接引用原文中的句子;

2.作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称.

【评分标准】

概括准确,语言规范,内容合适,篇章连贯.

 

Grandparents might be known for spoiling grandchildren, but a new study says they might also be helping the kids improve their social skills and behavior.

Spending time with grandma and grandpa especially appears to help children from single-parent, divorced/separated or stepfamily households, according to the report, published in the February Journal of Family Psychology.

"Grandparents are a positive force for all families but play a significant role in families undergoing difficulties," the study's lead author, Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz, of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said in an American Psychological Association news release. "They can reduce the negative influence of parents separating and be a resource for children who are going through these family changes."

In interviewing 11- to 16-year olds from England and Wales, Attar-Schwartz and her team found that the more conversations the youths had with a grandparent, including asking for advice or even money, the better they got along with their peers and the fewer problems they had, such as hyperactivity and disruptive behavior.

"This was found across all three family structures," she said. "But adolescents in single-parent households and stepfamilies benefited the most. The effect of their grandparents' involvement was stronger compared to children from two biological parent families."

The study did not look at children who lived solely with their grandparents, though.

The findings have great implications for people in the United States, the authors said, because American grandparents are increasingly sharing living space with their grandchildren. A 2004 U.S. Census Bureau survey found that more than 5 million households include a grandparent and a grandchild under 18, up 30 percent since 1990, according to background information in the news release.

1. It is generally believed that a grandmother __________ .

A. can help a child through hard times

B. can help kids develop social skills

C. can spoil a child

D. is a positive force for all families

2.  According to the passage, grandparents will be of least benefit to a child __________ .

A. from two biological parent families

B. from a single—parent household

C. from a divorced household

D. from a stepfamily household

3. A child who asks his grandmother for money will __________ .

A. have difficulty in getting along with his peers

B. still get along well with his peers

C. be easier to be spoiled than his peers

D. not be popular with peers

4.  We can learn from the last paragraph that ___________ .

A. there are more families in America undergoing difficulties

B. American parents are much busier than those from other countries

C. American grandparents are much better at bringing up their grandchildren

D. American kids like to share more living space with their grandparents

5.  The passage implies that __________ .

A. children who live solely with their grandparents may benefit the most

B. grandparents are a source of comfort to children from families undergoing difficulties

C. grandparents play a more positive role than parents in children’s growth

D. all families should leave their children to be brought up by grandparents

 

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