【推荐1】请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。

When it comes to self-improvement and getting what you want from life, the message you’ll find in most self-help guides is that it all starts with the way you think and how you visualize (设想) yourself achieving your goals. Now generally this is something we can all agree on, and it only makes sense that the way we think will affect the way we act and finally the outcome of our lives.

While it might sound like magic to say that our beliefs can shape our reality, it actually makes much sense when we think about it. The point is that all of our actions are dictated (命令) by our thoughts and all the outcomes we face are as a result of our actions. By dealing with our beliefs we essentially change what we’re putting out into the world and this of course will change what comes back to us. This phenomenon is called the self-fulfilling prophecy (预言), which shows how simply believing something can make it come true.

For example, let’s say that you really believe you’re successful. Then, you’ll speak much more confidently in business meetings and presentations. Suddenly people will sit up and take notice of you because you look and act like you’re successful, and this will make them believe you’re more competent (有能力的). Then, just like that, you’ll find people start to trust you more and that they want to promote you.

Likewise if someone is sure that they’re going to have a bad day, then that too can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. You’ve probably been on nights out with people like that - people who don’t really want to be there. These people sap (逐渐削弱) all the joy out of everything. They won’t smile so no one talks to them; they won’t dance so they can’t forget their worries and they focus on all the negative things that happen. In such a situation they’ve created that unpleasant evening as a result of their thought processes.

Being aware of self-fulfilling prophecies however is all it takes to start using them effectively, and by changing your beliefs to more positive ones, you can start to make real positive changes in your life. For instance, try to repeat some positive statements over and over until they become habitual. Saying things like “I’m highly talented” regularly will get you to the point where you think that without consciously trying to, and at that point you might start to believe it. On the other hand, you should think about the language you use when you’re talking to others. For example, if you say “don’t fall over” to a child, you are drawing attention to the fact that he might fall over and this then causes him to trip. Instead say “be careful” and you’ll have more positive results.

The self-fulfilling prophecy
Introduction	It is a must to realize the       1     between our thoughts and our actions, which can help to get our goals achieved.
Concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy	●Our actions are       2     on our thoughts, and therefore our thoughts are responsible for the result of our actions. ●If we believe something, then it may turn out to be a(n)       3    .
Examples of the self-fulfilling prophecy	●Viewing yourself as a(n)       4    , you’ll behave more confidently and then people will think you have the necessary       5    . As a result you will more probably be       6     or promoted. ●Thinking you’ll have a bad day, you’ll not smile and will       7     to do anything positive. As a result your       8     on bad things will create an unpleasant evening for you.
Tips on using the self-fulfilling prophecy	●Develop a(n)       9     of using positive statements. ●Use positive       10     while talking to others.

【推荐2】Are you afraid of making mistakes? Learn to accept mistakes as opportunities, and then you⁹!! feel less stressed and fearful and you'll be more confident.     1     So what should you do?

    2     Be open to making mistakes and consider them as opportunities to learn valuable life lessons. If you are open to learning from your mistakes, you will be able to move on rather than wallowing in （沉湎于）regret.

Be aware

    3         Be aware of what you are doing, why you are doing it, how you feel, and how you make others feel. Sometimes, your words are not understood exactly or you say something but it is not what you   meant to say.     4     By being fully aware of how you impact others, you maintain an open state of learning which allows you to constantly practice being a better person.

    5           .

Whenever you make a mistake or you are involved in a misunderstanding, take responsibility. There is always something to be learned or improved even if the other person is wrong, too.

A．Behave yourself

B．In short, you will benefit from the mistake.

C．Accept full responsibility

D．In other words, look for areas of improvement.

E．People have difficulty expressing what they really mean.

F．Accept that you're human and that each of us will make mistakes.

G．Repeat your words so that others can learn from your mistakes.

【推荐3】It’s a cliché (陈词滥调) that everyone’s too busy these days. But one specific complaint is made especially mournfully: There’s never any time to read.

What makes the problem thorny is that the usual time-management techniques don’t seem sufficient. The web’s full of articles offering tips on making time to read: “Give up TV” or “Carry a book with you at all times.” But in my experience, using such methods to free up the odd 30 minutes doesn’t work. Sit down to read and work-related thoughts keep spinning (旋转) — or else you’re so exhausted that a challenging book’s the last thing you need. The modern mind, Tim Parks, a novelist and critic, writes, “is showing more tendency toward communication... It is not simply that one is interrupted; it is that one is actually ready for interruption.” Deep reading requires not just time, but a special kind of time which can’t be obtained merely by becoming more efficient.

In fact, “becoming more efficient” is part of the problem. Thinking of time as a resource to be maximised means you approach it for your specific purpose, judging any given moment should be well spent which advances toward some goal. Deep reading, by contrast, depends on being willing to risk inefficiency, goallessness, even time-wasting. Try to arrange it in as a to-do list item and you’ll manage only goal-focused reading — useful, sometimes, but not the most fulfilling kind. “The future comes at us like empty bottles along an unstoppable and nearly endless conveyor belt (传送带),” writes Gary Eberle in his book Sacred Time, and “we feel a pressure to fill these different-sized bottles (days, hours, minutes) as they pass, for if they get by without being filled, we will have wasted them.” No mindset could be worse for losing yourself in a book.

So what does work? Perhaps surprisingly, scheduling regular times for reading. You’d think this might fuel the efficiency mindset, but in fact, Eberle notes, such habitual behaviour helps us “step outside time’s flow” into “soul time.” You could limit distractions by reading only physical books, or on single-purpose e-readers. “Carry a book with you at all times” can actually work, too – providing you dip in often enough, so that reading becomes the common state from which you can temporarily get away to take care of business, before getting dipped again. On a really good day, it no longer feels as if you’re “making time to read,” but just reading, and making time for everything else.

1. Which can best replace the underlined word “thorny” in Paragraph 2?

A．tough

B．pleasant

C．slight

D．essential

2. Why do the usual time-management techniques fail to work?

A．The modern mind is not shaped.

B．Repetition is required in deep reading.

C．People always forget to carry a book with them.

D．Deep reading is not fully guaranteed.

3. What does the “fill the empty bottles” metaphor in Paragraph 3 imply?

A．To update their to-do lists.	B．To fulfill their passing time.
C．To carry out their big plans.	D．To pursue carefree reading.

4. Which statement may Eberle agree with?

A．People should devote themselves to reading for fear of wasting time.

B．Scheduling regular times for reading is helpful in achieving deep reading.

C．Deep reading can only be achieved after dealing with all the daily businesses.

D．Distractions can be avoided by developing online reading habits.