Think about the last time you felt a negative emotion—like stress, anger, or frustration. What was going through your mind as you were going through that negativity? Was your mind cluttered with (充斥) different kinds of thoughts? Or was it paralyzed, unable to think?

The next time you find yourself in the middle of a very stressful time, or you feel angry or frustrated, stop. Yes, that’s right, stop. Whatever you’re doing, stop and sit for one minute. While you’re sitting there, completely immerse yourself in the negative emotion.

Allow that emotion to consume you. Allow yourself one minute to truly feel that emotion. Don’t cheat yourself here. Take the entire minute—but only one minute—to do nothing else but feel that emotion.

When the minute is over, ask yourself, “Am I willing to keep holding on to this negative emotion as I go through the rest of the day?”

Once you’ve allowed yourself to be totally immersed in the emotion and really feel it, you will be surprised to find that the emotion clears rather quickly.

If you feel you need to hold on to the emotion for a little longer, that is OK. Allow yourself another minute to feel the emotion.

When you feel you’ve had enough of the emotion, ask yourself if you’re willing to carry that negativity with you for the rest of the day. If not, take a deep breath. As you exhale, release all that negativity with your breath.

This exercise seems simple—almost too simple. But, it is very effective. By allowing that negative emotion the space to be truly felt, you are dealing with the emotion rather than stuffing it down and trying not to feel it. You are actually taking away the power of the emotion by giving it the space and attention it needs. When you immerse yourself in the emotion, and realize that it is only emotion, it loses its control. You can clear your head and proceed with your task.

1.What should you do when you are into negativity according to the article?

A．Listen to some music.

B．Ignore it and do something else.

C．Just do nothing and truly feel that emotion.

D．Think about it and try to deal with it immediately.

2.The underlined word “immerse” (Paragraph 2) most probably means _____.

A．break down        B．get rid of          C．cut off            D．throw into

3.What’s the best title of this text?

A．Clear Your Mental Space.

B．Deep Breath, Trouble Away.

C．Try to Avoid the Negative Emotion.

D．Keep Holding on to This Negative Emotion as Long as Possible.

4.The author’s opinion towards negative emotion is _____.

A．doubtful          B．optimistic          C．frightened         D．confused

“Soon, you’re going to have to move out!” cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood.

One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for $1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door.

Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work. As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year. Bushes must be pruned(剪枝) in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later. It was the space available in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant. A big mistake.

Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out be even more perfect for tomatoes. The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing have turned the little plant into a tall bush. The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long since disappeared under the thick leaves.

Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold; First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回) my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won. I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June. But they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light.

Here I am faced with a painful small decision: To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses. Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow.

1. What ate the requirements for the healthy growth of rose?

A．A lot of care and the right soil.

B．Frequent pruning and fertilizing.

C．Tomato plants grown alongside.

D．Cages placed around the roots.

2. The writer planted the tomato because ________.

A．it cost only $1.25

B．the soil was just right for it

C．there was room for it in the garden

D．the roses’ branches needed to be covered

3. This year the writer’s roses were _______.

A．removed from the rose bed

B．picked along with the tomatoes

C．mostly damaged by too much sunlight

D．largely hidden under the tomato plant

4. By saying “the prize so dearly won” in paragraph 5, the writer wants to _______.

A．show the difficulty in picking the tomatoes

B．show the hardship of growing the roses

C．express her liking for the roses

D．express her care for the tomatoes

Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own．My mother was one of those people．

My father died when I was one-year-old．While I was growing up, we led a very hard life, but my mom gave me a lot of love．Each night, she seated me on her lap and, spoke the words that would change my life, "Kemmons, you are sure to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it．"

At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said that I would never walk again．Every night my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me whatever those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to．She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her．A year later, I walked on my own to school!

When the Great Depression broke out, my mother lost her job．Then I left school to support the two of us．At that moment I decided never to be poor again．

Over the years, I experienced a lot of business success．But the real turning point happened on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951．I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was very angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child．That was too expensive for an ordinary American family．I told my wife that I was going to open a motel （汽车旅馆） for families that would never charge extra money for children．Many people did not believe me at that time．

Not surprisingly, mom was my strongest supporter．As in any business, I experienced a lot of difficulties．But with my mom's words in my heart, I never doubted I would succeed．Fifteen years later, I had the largest hotel system in the world—Holiday Inn．In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $l billion a year．

You may not have started out life in the best situations．But if you find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you．

1.What Kemmon's mother often told him during his childhood was____．

2.Who played the most important role in making the author walk back to school again?

3.What caused Kemmon to start a motel by himself?

4.Which of the following best describes Kemmon's mother?

5.Which of the following led to Kemmon's success?

       Running like the wind, roaring （咆哮） like thunder, tigers have long been feared and respected as a king of the animal world．But last week a report said that there are no more than 30 wild tigers left in south China．

This was the conclusion of a team of scientists from China's State Forestry Administration and the World Nature Fund．

The South China tiger, also known as the Chinese tiger, is native to southern China．In the 1950's, there were over 4000 tigers found in mountain forests in the country．But due to the destruction of their natural habitat （栖息地） and uncontrolled hunting, it has been pushed on to the list of the world's top ten most endangered species．

Sixty-six of the big cats can be found in the cages of a dozen zoos around China．But they are nothing like their wild cousins．They have lost their natural skills such as hunting and killing．If they were set free they could not look after themselves．

"Breeding has damaged the quality of the species", said Pei Enle, deputy director of the Shanghai Zoo．

To reintroduce the species into the wild, the country started a programme to send five to ten young tigers to South Africa．Four of them have already arrived．Progress has been made as two elder tigers have recovered some of their instincts（本能） and can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base．

" South Africans are very experienced in reintroducing big animals to the wild．The country has very good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in", said Lu Jun, office director of the National Wildlife Research and Development Center．" We tried in Fujian Province, but it was not successful as there was not a complete eco-chain（生物链） and there was a lack of space．"

The tigers should return to China in 2007 when the reservations in Fujian are ready．

1.What is the main reason for the South China tiger becoming one of the world's top ten most endangered species?

2.How is the programme of sending several tigers to South Africa getting on?

3.By saying " but they are nothing like their wild cousins", the writer means that ______．

4.What is the purpose of sending young tigers to South Africa?

5.Which one is not the reason for South Africa being chosen as the training place?

I was in my third year of teaching creative writing at a high school in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Mikey, gave me a note from his mother. It explained his absence from class the day before.

I had seen Mikey himself writing the note at his desk. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my students. If I were to deal with them, I’d be busy 24 hours a day. The forged excuse notes made a large pile, with writing that ranged from imaginative to crazy. The writers of those notes didn’t realize that honest excuse notes were usually dull: “Peter was late because the alarm clock didn’t go off.”

Isn’t it remarkable, I thought, how the students complained and said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject? But when they produced excuse notes, they were brilliant.

So one day I typed out a dozen excuse notes and gave them to my classes. I said, “They’re supposed to be written by parents, but actually they are not. True, Mikey?” The students looked at me nervously.

“Now, this will be the first class to study the art of the excuse note --- the first class, ever, to practice writing them. You’re so lucky to have a teacher like me who has taken your best writing and turned it into a subject worthy of study. ”

Everyone smiled as I went on, “You used your imaginations. So try more now. Today I’d like you to write ‘An Excuse Note from Adam to God’ or ‘An Excuse Note from Eve to God’.” Heads went down. Pens raced across paper. For the first time ever I saw students so careful in their writing that they had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends.

The next day everyone had excuse notes. Heated discussions followed. The headmaster entered the classroom and walked up and down, looking at papers, and then said, “I’d like you to see me in my office.”

When I stepped into his office, he came to shake my hand and said, “I just want to tell you that that lesson, that task, whatever the hell you were doing, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you. ”

1.What did the author do with the students found dishonest?

A．He reported them to the headmaster.        B．He lectured them hard on honesty.

C．He had them take notes before lunch.        D．He helped improve their writing skills.

2.The author found that compared with the true excuse notes, the produced ones by the students were usually ________.

A．less impressive     B．less convincing     C．worse written      D．more imaginative

3.The author had the students practice writing excuse notes so that the students could learn_________.

A．the importance of being honest            B．how to be creative in writing

C．the pleasure of creative writing             D．how to write excuse notes skillfully

4. The underlined word “forged” in the second paragraph means “________”.

A．false             B．copied            C．former           D．honest

5.What did the headmaster think of the author’s way of teaching?

A．Misleading.        B．Difficult           C．Effective.          D．Reasonable.