A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone else or ourselves --- the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.

We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.

This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”

Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clear will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh（刻薄的）and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.

Words possess power because of their lasting effect. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.

Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem（自尊）and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.

60．The main idea of the first paragraph is that______.

A. words have a lasting effect on us　 B. inspiring words give us confidence

C. negative words may let us down　 D. not sticks and stones but words will hurt us

61．There is no sense for us to feel embarrassed when we talk to ourselves because _____.

　　　 A. almost everybody has the habit of talking to themselves

　　　 B. talking to ourselves always gives us courage

　　　 C. we can benefit from talking to ourselves

　　　 D. it does no harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone

62．The underlined part in the third paragraph means that we should also timely ______.

　　 A. remind ourselves　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. praise ourselves

　　　 C. make ourselves relaxed　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. give ourselves amusement

63．The author would probably hold the view that ______.

　　　 A. encouraging words are sure to lead to kind offers

　　　 B. negative words may stimulate us to make more progress

　　　 C. people tend to remember friendly words

　　　 D. it is better to think twice before talking to others

Active listening is an essential skill in learning．It is when you listen carefully to make sure you understand and learn the information that is being conveyed．     61   Here are some things which can help you to listen actively．

◆Listen for the main point and major subpoints．   62   Listen carefully and make sure you understand what the purpose of this lecture is． As you take down notes,

keep the main point in mind and make sure you understand how these notes are related．

◆Listen for an organizational structure． Listen carefully to figure out how the ideas are organized and they will make more sense．

◆Pay attention to organizational cues．     63    Pay close attention to the introduction, as it will probably indicate how you should organize your notes． If the lecture begins with, “Today I’m going to talk about three ethnic conflicts in the Middle East,” then you have a good idea of what’s going to follow． Listen for “signpost” words to indicate a transition for one point to the next, such as “next” and “finally” and numerical signposts like “first” or “third”．

◆Listen with your eyes．   64    Watch the teacher and be aware of how he or she uses hand gestures, eye contact and other body language to convey points．

◆Remove distractions．

Put away the campus newspaper, your cell phone and anything else that might be more interesting than the lecturer．

Learning to concentrate and listen actively is an endurance skill．   65   

E． Listen carefully for words and phrases that reflect the organizational structure of the lecture．

F． Your teachers’ notes are probably organized into some kind of outline．

G． Don’t just write everything down．

Active listening is an essential skill in learning． It is when you listen carefully to make sure you understand and learn the information that is being conveyed．     71    Here are some things which can help you to listen actively．

◆Listen for the main point and major subpoints．   72    Listen carefully and make sure you understand what the purpose of this lecture is． As you take down notes, keep the main point in mind and make sure you understand how these notes are related．

◆Listen for an organizational structure． Listen carefully to figure out how the ideas are organized and they will make more sense．

◆Pay attention to organizational cues．     73     Pay close attention to the introduction, as it will probably indicate how you should organize your notes． If the lecture begins with, “Today I’m going to talk about three ethnic conflicts in the Middle East,” then you have a good idea of what’s going to follow． Listen for “signpost” words to indicate a transition for one point to the next, such as “next” and “finally” and numerical signposts like “first” or “third”．

◆Listen with your eyes．    74     Watch the teacher and be aware of how he or she uses hand gestures, eye contact and other body language to convey points．

◆Remove distractions． Put away the campus newspaper, your cell phone and anything else that might be more interesting than the lecturer．

Learning to concentrate and listen actively is an endurance skill．   75   

       A． Speakers communicate information through nonverbal communication．

       B． Unfortunately, many students don’t know how to listen actively when they attend classes．

       C． If your teacher indicates that something is important, mark it．

       D． Make yourself do it, and it will get easier over time．

       E． Listen carefully for words and phrases that reflect the organizational structure of the lecture．

       F． Your teachers’ notes are probably organized into some kind of outline．

       G． Don’t just write everything down．

Active listening is an essential skill in learning．It is when you listen carefully to make sure you understand and learn the information that is being conveyed．    【小题1】  Here are some things which can help you to listen actively．
◆Listen for the main point and major subpoints．  【小题2】   Listen carefully and make sure you understand what the purpose of this lecture is． As you take down notes,
keep the main point in mind and make sure you understand how these notes are related．
◆Listen for an organizational structure． Listen carefully to figure out how the ideas are organized and they will make more sense．
◆Pay attention to organizational cues．    【小题3】    Pay close attention to the introduction, as it will probably indicate how you should organize your notes． If the lecture begins with, “Today I’m going to talk about three ethnic conflicts in the Middle East,” then you have a good idea of what’s going to follow． Listen for “signpost” words to indicate a transition for one point to the next, such as “next” and “finally” and numerical signposts like “first” or “third”．
◆Listen with your eyes． 【小题4】    Watch the teacher and be aware of how he or she uses hand gestures, eye contact and other body language to convey points．
◆Remove distractions．
Put away the campus newspaper, your cell phone and anything else that might be more interesting than the lecturer．
Learning to concentrate and listen actively is an endurance skill．  【小题5】   

Ladji Doucoure of France beat Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China in the final meters to claim the title of the men’s 110 meters hurdles at the 10^th world championships in Helsinki on Friday．

Doucoure, who led the world this season with 12．97 seconds, over took the Chinese to win the race in 13．07 seconds．Liu was second in 13．08．Four-time world champion Allen Johnson of the United States took the third in 13．10．

The 22-year-old Doucoure said after the race, “ I can not tell you just how long I have been dreaming of this．This victory is the result of a lot of hard work, and also a lot of support from people who have believed in me．I had a bad start, touched a few hurdles, but after the 4^th hurdle I picked up my race and went straight to the finish line．”

Liu, who won the Olympic gold with a world record-tying time of 12．91 seconds, said, “I’m very satisfied with the second place．The result could have been worse．I felt quite well and did my best．I’ m not tired, I had some clearance problems at the start, so I should practice that some more．Finally, I didn’t lose by much, only by a little bit, but I did think I could win it．”

Liu’s coach, Sun Haiping said on Friday he was content with Liu’s performance．

“ Liu Xiang was quite good during his reaction period, but he was a little bit slow in the middle and he finally caught up during the last two hurdles,” Sun told Xinhua．

Although satisfied with the silver medal and the clocking of 13．08 seconds, Sun said Liu might have added the world title to the Olympic championship if Liu had run the track neighboring his major rivals（对手） of Doucoure Ladji or Allen Johnson．

“ If he had run next to Ladji Doucoure or Allen Johnson, Liu could have kept pace with them and then sprinted（疾跑） at the last stage．In this case, he could grab the gold,” said Sun, who had become a household name for coaching China’s first men’s Olympic champion in the track．

1．This passage probably appears_________．

A．in a story book                                         B．in a text book      

C．in a newspaper                                         D．in a fashion magazine

2．The following statements about Doucoure are true EXCEPT_______．

A．He won the gold medal in the men’s 110m hurdles in Helsinki．

B．He led the world in the men’s 110m hurdles with 12．97 seconds this season．

C．He did a lot of hard practice before the race in Helsinki．

D．He won the world champion title four times．

3．Which of the following can be used to replace the underlined phrase“picked up my race”in paragraph 3?

A．gathered speed                                        B．stood up

C．make up my mind                                     D．became better in health

4．According to Sun Haiping, Liu Xiang might have won the gold if ______．

A．he had done better during his reaction period 

B．he had run the track next to Ladji Doucoure or Allen Johnson

C．he had practiced clearance more before that race  

D．he hadn’t touched a few hurdles in the race