In the mornings, as I walked from the train station to the office, I planned my day by making a to-do list in my head: the scientific articles I would read, the data sets I would analyze, and-most urgent of all-the insights into human nature that it was my job to discover.
Each evening, I went back to the station, again going through my mental checklist but this time sizing up my performance against the expectations I’d set for myself that morning. Time and again, when comparing my to-do list with my got-done list, I felt disappointed because I had fallen short.
But one day, something very strange happened. During my trip home, without any conscious intent, my thoughts began to shift. Instead of feeling bad about my weaknesses, I said aloud very softly: I’m a nice person. I’m a nice person. I’m a nice person.
By the time I boarded my train, I was done with my little chant-until the next day when I walked home. And again, after counting my failures, I found myself saying quietly: I’m a nice person.
It turns out that there’s a technical term for this practice: values affirmation. And what it boils down to is recognizing, and strengthening, the personal values you hold most dear.
When you affirm a core personal value, you shore up your sense of self-worth. You broaden your outlook: Instead of focusing on your shortfalls, you switch to a wide-angle view that includes your resources and opportunities. And the people who do this are happier, healthier, and more hopeful.
Over time, I made progress in my research and learned a lot about what makes most successful people special, including this: Nobody has passion and determination unless what they do lines up with their values.
Try values affirmation for yourself and teach the practice to your students. Take a moment and think of a value you hold dear, whether it’s kindness, creativity, or gratitude. Whatever it is, name it. And then say to yourself: Come what may, I know who I am. Your values are your foundation and your compass, too. Trust them, and they will lead you home.
1. How did the author feel when she compared her to-do list with her got-done list?2. What is values affirmation?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
People who recognize their shortfalls are happier, healthier, and more
4. Apart from speaking out positive words, what else could you do to feel better about yourself? (In about 40 words)
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【推荐1】In times of distress, a friend would always suggest going for a walk. “Are you overwhelmed by your work? Take a talk around the neighborhood.” Comments like this are often said with nothing but the best of intentions, but they used to make me angry as much as being told to drink more water. I did not understand how these things were going to help.
Three years ago, I hit a low point. Once I saw a pair of empty eyes looking at me through the mirror, I knew I was at my breaking point. So, I took the advice I fought so hard to ignore. I went for a walk—with the hope that it would somehow change my life.
I embraced the fresh air everyone seemed to be talking about. But it did nothing. I was just as sad as I was before. I went on a walk every single day for more than a month. Some days I could hardly make it outside, but I managed to push through. I took a picture every time I went. I think I wanted to document (记录) myself trying to make an effort.
One day, the unthinkable happened. I found myself smiling. I realized I had patiently waited all morning to go on this walk. What I once hated had become the best part of my day. I found myself longing to be outside. I never had a destination in mind. I just danced along the trails, stopped to look at the beautiful blue skies and listened to music.
I’m glad I took pictures because there was a noticeable difference in my face. I slowly started to look less tired and defeated. I don’t know why I refused to go on that walk for so long. I guess I didn’t want to believe that something small and seemingly meaningless could actually make an impact on my physical and mental well-being.
If you’re having a bad day, a bad month, a bad year or even a bad life, you should try going for a walk. Sometimes, all we need to do is try.
1. How did the author use to feel when people suggested she go for a walk?| A．Pleased. | B．Annoyed. | C．Interested. | D．Surprised. |
| A．Her friend encouraged her. |
| B．She wanted to challenge herself. |
| C．Her hopelessness drove her to try. |
| D．She was eager to get close to nature. |
| A．She felt cheered up after the first week. |
| B．She always set off with a destination in mind. |
| C．She stopped for a while due to lack of progress. |
| D．She was inspired by the pictures she took of herself. |
| A．Care about our mental well-being. | B．Go for a walk when feeling down. |
| C．Stay positive when bad things happen. | D．Take other people’s suggestions seriously. |
【推荐2】Amy, a senior design manager at Lego, now runs a team of 10 designers at Lego’s headquarters in Denmark. The company has been one of the world’s most popular toy-makers and last year saw its fastest sales growth in five years. The “dream job” in Denmark led to the opportunity to be a judge on a TV show in the US.
As a child growing up in a village near Glasgow, she never dreamed of being a fashion designer or a toy designer.
She was not a Lego fan as a child. “I played with Lego with my brother when we were kids,” she said. “When we were really little, we had the big box of bricks (积木). But as I got a little bit older, I fell out of Lego. I felt there wasn’t anything interesting for me.”
“It wasn’t until I joined the company that I really got back into it. But we take that into account and think how we can create Lego experiences for kids, adults, and everyone over the world, so that everyone can find something that is related to them. Every time I got a project, I would always change it to something fun, playful and creative. I always loved being creative and also really loved maths.”
And her advice to new Lego designers was to get building. “Creativity is the key and being hands-on with the bricks,” she said. “Whenever you can get ideas out, just do it. Whenever you can get your hands on the bricks, build, build, build.”
“And if you are picking your education, I think certainly pick something that is based on design. The more creative, the better and we are open to everyone.”
1. What do we know about Amy? ______| A．She is a judge in a court. |
| B．She is a senior sales manager. |
| C．She has done a great job at Lego. |
| D．She used to be a fashion designer. |
| A．Gave up. | B．Got into. | C．Turned out. | D．Went for. |
| A．The more creative, the better. |
| B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．The key to success is preparation. |
| D．Both action and creativity are important. |
| A．Average. | B．Experienced. | C．Negative. | D．Reasonable. |
From my wheelchair experience, I see the best in people, bur sometimes I feel sad because those who appear independent miss the kindness I see daily. They don’t get to see this soft side of others often and we try every way possible to avoid showing our weakness, which includes a lot of pretending. But only when we stop pretending we’re brave or strong do we allow people to show the kindness that’s in them.
Last month, when I was driving home on a busy highway, I began to feel unwell and drove more slowly than usual. People behind me began to get impatient and angry, with some speeding up alongside me, horning (按喇叭) or even shouting at me. At the moment I decided to do something I had never done in twenty years of driving. I put on the car flashlights and drove on at a really low speed.
No more angry shouts and no more horns!
When I put on my flashlights, I was saying to other drivers, “I have a problem here. I am weak and doing the best I can.” And everyone understood. Several times, I saw drivers who wanted to pass. They couldn’t get around me because of the stream of passing traffic. But instead of getting impatient and angry, they waited, knowing the driver in front of them was in some way weak.
Sometimes situations call for us to act strong and brave even when we don’t feel that way. But more often, it would be better if we don’t pretend we feel strong when we feel weak or pretend that we are brave when we are scared.
1. The author has discovered that people will feel happy when ______.
| A．they offer their help |
| B．they receive others’ help |
| C．they feel others’ kindness |
| D．they show their weakness |
| A．he has a soft heart |
| B．he relies much on others |
| C．some people pretend to be kind |
| D．some people fail to see the kindness in others |
| A．handle problems by ourselves |
| B．accept help from others |
| C．admit our weakness |
| D．show our bravery |
| A．A Wheel Chair Experience. |
| B．Weakness and Kindness. |
| C．Weakness and Strength |
| D．A Driving Experience |
【推荐1】“What would you do if you weren’t in science?” I was once asked during an interview many years ago. I hadn’t really thought about it before. A constructor? I was interested in construction and had spent some summer holidays in college as a frame carpenter. A musician? It was appealing. I’m not too bad on guitar but I thought that I might be bored with it one day. “A mailman”, I shouted out, “so I could walk around all day and think about things.” Little did I know then that, after a 30-year career in science, I would in fact end up as a letter carrier.
I first became inspired by the idea that my work could make a practical impact on the world after I changed from academia (学术生涯) to biotech. I had initially been attracted to scientific research by the fun of solving problems and discovering something new. Before I started in biotech and my work became more practical, I had thought that my research could lead to potential treatments for some human diseases.
However, none of my projects resulted in anything real to help people. My first biotech job ended when the company was restructured. I got a job at another biotech company, but it went bankrupt (破产) one year later. Eventually, after some part-time consulting work, I decided I needed something more permanent (永久的，固定的), but I failed to find another full-time position in a science-related field. I started to wonder how I could still make a meaningful contribution.
I decided to get a job as a letter carrier in a post office. I have 30 years’ experience of conducting scientific research, yet here I am just delivering mail. But I try to keep an open mind. Although I miss research, I do enjoy getting to walk around and think about things. Lately I’ve been thinking about COVID-19 and my career. I certainly hope I’m making a difference to the society by delivering medicines and checks. Now, I think I’ll make a more positive impact on people’s lives than before.
1. What did the author consider when choosing his job?| A．His eagerness to make a fortune. | B．The balance between work and life. |
| C．His hope of being respected by others. | D．The practical significance of the work. |
| A．They led to his suffering from a financial crisis. |
| B．They made him reflect on the real meaning of life. |
| C．They helped him clearly understand his drawbacks. |
| D．They damaged his confidence in finding good jobs. |
| A．Failure plays a major role in our daily life. |
| B．A change in attitude leads to career success. |
| C．Everyone can make contributions to science. |
| D．A small job can make a difference to the world. |
【推荐2】Phil White has just returned from an 18,000-mile, around-the-world bicycle trip. White had two reasons for making this epic journey. First of all, he wanted to use the trip to raise money for charity, which he did. He raised £70,000 for the British charity, Oxfam. White’s second reason for making the trip was to break the world record and become the fastest person to cycle around the world. He is still waiting to find out if he has broken the record or not.
White set off from Trafalgar Square, in London, on 19th June 2004 and was back 299 days later. He spent more than 1,300 hours in the saddle (车座) and destroyed four sets of tyres and three bike chains. He had the adventure of his life crossing Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. Amazingly, he did all of this with absolutely no support team. No jeep carrying food, water and medicine. No doctor. Nothing! Just a bike and a very, very long road.
The journey was lonely and desperate at times. He also had to fight his way across deserts, through jungles and over mountains. He cycled through heavy rains and temperatures of up to 45 degrees, all to help people in need. There were other dangers along the road. In Iran, he was chased by armed robbers and was lucky to escape with his life and the little money he had. The worst thing that happened to him was having to cycle into a headwind on a road that crosses the south of Australia. For 1,000 kilometres he battled against the wind that was constantly pushing him. This part of the trip was slow, hard work and depressing, but he made it in the end. Now
Mr. White is back and intends to write a book about his adventures.
1. When Phil White returned from his trip, he _________.| A．broke the world record | B．collected money for Oxfam |
| C．destroyed several bikes | D．travelled about 1,300 hours |
| A．Very long and difficult. | B．Very slow but exciting. |
| C．Very smooth but tiring. | D．Very lonely and depressing. |
| A．fought heroically against robbers in Iran | B．experienced the extremes of heat and cold |
| C．managed to ride against the wind in Australia | D．had a team of people who travelled with him |
| A．Imaginative. | B．Honest. | C．Modest. | D．Determined. |
【推荐3】Many people think of travel as an experience. Sometimes, however, you cannot choose the places you travel to. This happened to me.
My husband found himself posted in Brunei for work. Three months pregnant meant that I had a choice: Either stay with him in Brunei for three months before returning to India or remain in India, alone. I chose the former. Not because of my love for the country but because I wanted to be close to him.
Brunei had never held any appeal to me. Whatever research that I pulled off the Internet showed me nothing other than one beautiful mosque (清真寺). The flights in and out of the country were expensive so traveling frequently out was not an option either. I was drowned by a sense of being trapped in a remote place. I think one of the things that struck me most was the large range of greenery that surrounded us. We were not staying in the big city but as far away on the outskirts as you could imagine.
It took a week, but I soon found myself interacting with people around me. Foreign residents and locals all went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. The more comfortable I felt, the more we explored. We went hiking, we joined the board game community, and we enjoyed the local cuisine.
Three months later when it was time to leave, I found myself reluctant to say goodbye to the warmth of the country I had called home for a short while. I think that my time in Brunei taught me a valuable lesson: Don’t judge a place by what others say or a lack of information. Sure, you may not always like what you see, but there will always be something that you will like. You just need to look hard enough to find it!
1. Why did the author go to Brunei?| A．To give birth to a baby. | B．To escape the busy life in India. |
| C．To keep her husband company. | D．To prove she loved the country. |
| A．Brunei is a beautiful country. | B．Attractions in Brunei were appealing. |
| C．The author’s husband loved traveling. | D．The author showed little interest in Brunei. |
| A．Pleased. | B．Unwilling. | C．Impatient. | D．Courageous. |
| A．Travel with an open mind. | B．Do love our own country. |
| C．Experience what is impossible. | D．Choose the right place to travel to. |
