【推荐1】It’s been a hard year but, while we can’t change what’s happening in the world, we can focus in creating a positive atmosphere. No more negative energy.

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Hard times are rubbish, but they make you what you are. Recognize that and know that if you can come through them and you will be more capable and more confident. It’s nearly impossible to manage to avoid upset as we go through life, so what’s important is how we deal with it.

Count your blessings.

Feeling sorry for yourself? It may sound normal. but it’s important to remind yourself of what’s good about your life. Try writing a list of the things you’re thankful for, or spend a few minutes ever evening putting down three nice things that have happened to you that day.     2    . Patted a dog in the park? Take it down. Laughed at a silly meme(表情包) on social media? Put that on the list too. Saw a touching scene in a program? Add it to your list!

Protect yourself from energy vampires.

We all know those who suck the joy out of life and leave you feeling emotionally exhausted. They moan, blame others or just generally bring you down.     3     Talk to them gently about the effect they have on you, or simply make sure you’re always positive in order to reduce the bad effect of their negativity. If it doesn’t work, you need to protect yourself from them.     4    

Create joy in your life.

    5     Make a coffee date with a friend; set aside an hour to play a board game with your family; or take a regular walk where you explore somewhere new in your locality.

A．Focus on positivity.

B．Accept unfavorable situations.

C．Remember to take down the three most significant ones.

D．Try to understand that they have probably got problems.

E．It really doesn’t matter if they are small and insignificant.

F．Limit the time you spend, with them or eventually cut ties with them.

G．Inject positivity into your daily routine by making time for activities that bring you pleasure.

【推荐2】A study of a million UK women, published today in The Lancet, has shown that happiness itself has no direct effect on mortality, and that the widespread but mistaken belief that unhappiness and stress directly cause ill health came from studies that had simply confused cause and effect. Life-threatening poor health can cause unhappiness, and for this reason unhappiness is associated with increased mortality. In addition, smokers tend to be unhappier than non-smokers. However, after taking account of previous ill health, smoking, and other lifestyle and socio-economic factors, the investigators found that unhappiness itself was no longer associated with increased mortality.
The lead author, Dr Bette Liu, now at the University of New South Wales, Australia said: "Illness makes you unhappy, but unhappiness itself doesn't make you ill. We found no direct effect of unhappiness or stress on mortality, even in a ten-year study of a million women."
As in other studies, unhappiness was associated with deprivation, smoking, lack of exercise, and not living with a partner. The strongest associations, however, were that the women who were already in poor health tended to say that they were unhappy, stressed, not in control, and not relaxed.
The main analyses included 700 000 women, average age 59 years, and over the next 10 years these women were followed by electronic record linkage for mortality, during which time 30 000 of the women died.
After allowing for any differences already present in health and lifestyle, the overall death rate among those who were unhappy was the same as the death rate among those who were generally happy. The study is so large that it rules out unhappiness being a direct cause of any material increase in overall mortality in women.
This was true for overall mortality, for cancer mortality, and for heart disease mortality, and it was true for stress as well as for unhappiness.
1. The word “mortality” in the passage means   .

A．richness	B．relaxation
C．death	D．morality

2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A．Unhappiness will definitely make a person ill.

B．Unhappiness doesn’t necessarily make you ill.

C．Unhappiness is not associated with lack of exercise.

D．The death rate among those unhappy people is greater.

3. It’s wrongly believed that ________.

A．unhappiness itself is not associated with increased mortality

B．there is no direct link between unhappiness and mortality

C．ill health directly causes unhappiness and stress

D．ill health directly results from unhappiness and stress

4. The writer’s attitude towards the result of the study is __________.

A．disappointing	B．indifferent
C．subjective	D．objective

【推荐3】When a dirty and untidy orange cat showed up in the prison yard，I was one of the first to go out there and pet it．I hadn’t touched a cat or a dog in over 20 years．I spent at least 20 minutes，knelt down behind the kitchen as the cat rolled around，relaxed．What he was expressing outwardly, I was feeling inwardly．It was an amazing bit of grace to feel him under my hand and note that I was reaching a life or another creature with something as simple as my care．
Over the next few days，there were other prisoners responding to the cat．Every yard period，a group of prisoners gathered there．They stood around talking and taking turns petting the cat．These were guys you wouldn’t usually find talking to each other．Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．Bowls of milk and water appeared along with bread, wisely placed under the edge of the dustbin to keep the birds from getting it．
The cat was obviously homeless and in pretty bad shape．People said that the cat came to the right place．He's getting treated like a king．This was true．but as I watched I was also thinking about what the cat was doing for us．There was a lot of talk about what's wrong with prisons in America．We need more programs．We need more psychologists or treatment of various kinds．Some may even talk about making prisons more kind．But I think what we really need is a chance to practise our own kindness．Not receive it，but give it．After more than two decades here，I know kindness is not a value that's encouraged．It's often seen as a weakness．
Instead，the culture encourages keeping your head down，minding your own business，and never letting yourself be weak．
The cat did my heart good to see the effect he had on me and the men here．By simply saying，”I need some help here”，he did something important for us．He needed us．And we needed to be needed．I believe we all do．
1. Which of the following statements is true?

A．The cat was dirty because it was kept in prison．

B．The officer in the prison enjoyed petting the cat．

C．The prisoners prepared food for both the cat and birds．

D．The author realized the importance of practising kindness．

2. We can infer from the third paragraph that______

A．showing love to others can make prisoners strong

B．the American prison culture will be improved

C．the author is not content with the prison culture

D．caring for others is encouraged in American prisons

3. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Caring Makes US Human．	B．Prison Culture is Important．
C．Animals Need Care．	D．Everyone Needs to be Cared for．

4. In Paragraph 2，the author mentioned that "Several times I saw an officer in the Group, not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners." to______ ．

A．show us the officer and prisoners get along well with each other

B．show us the American prison culture does need improvement

C．show us the officer and prisoners all like cat

D．show us the American prison culture is great