1 . Is forgiveness against our human nature? To answer our question, we need to ask a further question: What is the essence of our humanity? For the sake of simplicity, people consider two distinctly different views of humanity.

The first view involves dominance and power. In an early paper on the psychology of forgiveness, Droll (1984) made the interesting claim that humans’ essential nature is more aggressive than forgiving allows. Those who forgive are against their basic nature, much to their harm. In his opinion, forgivers are compromising their well-being as they offer mercy to others, who might then take advantage of them.

The second view involves the theme of cooperation, mutual respect, and even love as the basis of who we are as humans. Researchers find that to fully grow as human beings, we need both to receive love from and offer love to others. Without love, our connections with a wide range of individuals in our lives can fall apart. Even common sense strongly suggests that the will to power over others does not make for harmonious interactions. For example, how well has slavery worked as a mode of social harmony?

From this second viewpoint of who we are as humans, forgiveness plays a key role in the biological and psychological integrity of both individuals and communities because one of the outcomes of forgiveness, shown through scientific studies, is the decreasing of hate and the restoration of harmony. Forgiveness can break the cycle of anger. At least to the extent the people from whom you are estranged (不和的) accept your love and forgiveness and are prepared to make the required adjustments. Forgiveness can heal relationships and reconnect people.

As an important note, when we take a classical philosophical perspective, we see the distinction between potentiality and actuality. We are not necessarily born with the capacity to forgive, but instead with the potential to learn about it and to grow in our ability to forgive. The actuality of forgiving, in real situations, develops with practice.

1. What is Droll’s idea about forgiveness?

A．People should offer mercy to others.

B．Aggressive people should learn to forgive.

C．Forgiveness depends on the nature of humanity.

D．People who forgive can have their own welfare affected.

2. What does the example in Paragraph 3 illustrate?

A．To fight is to grow.	B．To give is to receive.
C．To forgive is to abuse.	D．To dominate is to harm.

3. What is the writer’s attitude toward forgiveness?

A．Favorable.

B．Reserved.

C．Objective.

D．Skeptical.

4. What message does the last paragraph convey?

A．Forgiveness is in our nature.	B．Forgiveness grows with time.
C．It takes practice to forgive.	D．Actuality is based on potentiality.

4 . “Assume you are wrong.” The advice came from Brian Nosek, a psychology professor, who was offering a strategy for pursuing better science.

To understand the context for Nosek’s advice, we need to take a step back to the nature of science itself. You see despite what many of us learned in elementary school, there is no single scientific method. Just as scientific theories become complex and change, so do scientific methods.

But methodological reform hasn’t come without some worries and friction. Unpleasant things have been said by and about methodological reformers. Few people like having the value of their life’s work called into question. On the other side, few people are good at voicing criticisms in kind and constructive ways. So, part of the challenge is figuring out how to bake critical self-reflection into the culture of science itself, so it unfolds as a welcome and integrated part of the process, and not an embarrassing sideshow (附带事件).

What Nosek recommended was a strategy for changing the way we offer and respond to critique. Assuming you are right might be a motivating force, sustaining the enormous effort that conducting scientific work requires. But it also makes it easy to interpret criticisms as personal attacks. Beginning, instead, from the assumption you are wrong, a criticism is easier to interpret as a constructive suggestion for how to be less wrong — a goal that your critic probably shares.

One worry about this approach is that it could be demoralizing for scientists. Striving to be less wrong might be a less effective motivation than the promise of being right. Another concern is that a strategy that works well within science could backfire (适得其反) when it comes to communicating science with the public. Without an appreciation for how science works, it’s easy to take uncertainty or disagreements as marks against science, when in fact they reflect some of the very features of science that make it our best approach to reaching reliable conclusions about the world. Science is reliable because it responds to evidence: as the quantity and quality of our evidence improves, our theories can and should change, too.

Despite these worries, I like Nosek’s suggestion because it builds in cognitive (认知的) modesty along with a sense that we can do better. It also builds in a sense of community — we’re all in the same boat when it comes to falling short of getting things right.

Unfortunately, this still leaves us with an untested hypothesis (假说): that assuming one is wrong can change community norms for the better, and ultimately support better science and even, perhaps, better decisions in life. I don’t know if that’s true. In fact, I should probably assume that it’s wrong. But with the benefit of the scientific community and our best methodological tools, I hope we can get it less wrong, together.

1. What can we learn from Paragraph 3?

A．People hold wrong assumptions about the culture of science.

B．The scientific community should practice critical self-reflection.

C．Scientists are unwilling to express kind criticisms.

D．Reformers tend to devalue researchers’ work.

2. What may the strategy of “assuming you are wrong” contribute to?

A．The enormous efforts of scientists at work.

B．The public’s passion for scientific findings.

C．The improvement in the quality of evidence.

D．The reliability of potential research results.

3. What does the underlined word “demoralizing” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．misleading

B．ineffective

C．discouraging

D．unfair

4. What’s the tone the author uses in talking about the untested hypothesis?

A．reflective and persuasive	B．uncertain but sincere
C．authoritative and direct	D．disapproving but soft

6 . We have to make certain our limited money is well spent. But what should we spend our money on? A 20-year study conducted by Dr. Gilovich, a professor at Cormell University, reached a powerful and straightforward conclusion: don’t spend your money on things.

The trouble with things is that the happiness they provide peters out. We get used to new possessions, and what once seemed exciting quickly becomes the common. We keep raising the bar and always look for an even better one. Possessions, by their nature, cause comparisons. We buy a new car and are thrilled with it until a friend buys a better one -and there’s always someone with a better one. Most of us usually assume that the happiness we get from buying something will last as long as the thing itself. It seems intuitive (直觉的) that investing in something we can see, hear, and touch on a permanent basis delivers the best value. But it’s not the case at all.

Gilovich has found that experiences deliver more-lasting happiness than things. Experiences become a part of our identity. Everyone’s experience is unique. We are not our possessions, but we are the accumulation of everything we’ve seen, the things we’ve done, and the places we’ve been to. “Our experiences are a bigger part of ourselves than our material goods,” said Gilovich. “You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, but they remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.”

Besides, we don’t compare experiences in the same way that we compare things. It’s hard to quantify the relative value of any two experiences, which makes them that much more enjoyable. And expectation of an experience causes excitement and enjoyment, while expectation of obtaining a possession causes impatience. Experiences are enjoyable from the very first moments of planning, all the way through to the memories you keep forever. The temporary happiness achieved by buying things can be regarded as “puddles (水坑) of pleasure.” In other words, that kind of happiness evaporates (蒸发) quickly and leaves us wanting more. Things may last longer than experiences, but the memories that remain are what matter most.

1. The underlined phrase “peters out” can be replaced by ______.

A．takes away

B．dies away

C．is not real

D．costs too much

2. What does Gilovich think of experiences?

A．Experiences can exist in our memory forever.

B．Our experiences take up all parts of ourselves.

C．Our experiences are what set us apart from others.

D．Experiences deliver less-lasting happiness than things.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Spiritual wealth is the most valuable for us.

B．Experiences can be compared with each other.

C．Expecting an experience increases our feeling of anxiety.

D．People are more likely to be impatient when buying things.

4. Which is the main idea of the passage?

A．How can we make happiness last long?

B．How can we gain happiness with money?

C．Why do experiences achieve permanent happiness than things?

D．Why should we spend money on experiences instead of things?

8 . Being a good parent requires providing a child with the gifts of love, attention, energy, and resources unstintingly over a long period of time. It involves developing a small body, but it also involves growing a child’s soul.

Parents are an enormously powerful force in the lives of children. Whether Johnny can read, whether Johnny knows right from wrong, whether Johnny is a happy, well-adjusted kid, or sad and self-destructive, has a whole lot to do with the kind of parenting Johnny has received. If Johnny’s mom and dad have been able to come through with lasting, loving attention, the chances are that Johnny is on track to become a productive, compassionate (富有同情心的) person. If they have not, Johnny is in trouble.

Thirty years ago Chicago professor James S. Coleman showed that parental involvement mattered far more in determining school success than any quality of the formal education system. Across a wide range of subject areas, in literature, science and reading, Coleman estimated that the parent was twice as powerful as the school in determining achievement at age fourteen. Psychologist Lawrence Steinberg, who recently completed a six-year study of 20,000 teenagers in nine different communities, confirms the importance of parents. Steinberg shows that one out of three parents is “seriously disengaged” from his or her adolescent’s education, and this is the primary reason why so many American students perform below their potential and below students in other rich countries.

A weight of evidence now demonstrates obvious links between absentee parents and a wide range of behavioral and emotional problems in children. A 1997 study of 90,000 teenagers — the Add Health Project undertaken (承担) by the Carolina Population Center and the Teenage Health Program at the University of Minnesota found that youngsters are less likely to get depressed, use drugs or become involved in crime when they spent significant time with their parents. This study found that the mere physical presence of a parent in the home after school, at dinner and at bedtime significantly reduces the incidence of risky behavior among teenagers.

1. What does the underlined word “unstintingly” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Absolutely.

B．Obviously.

C．Carefully.

D．Generously.

2. What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A．Children should be taught to be successful in life.

B．Parents’ character has a deep influence on children.

C．Children are affected by many factors during the growth.

D．Parents should be strict with their children about behaviors.

3. What’s the purpose of Lawrence Steinberg’s research?

A．To know the importance of parents’ company.

B．To find out why there are so many serious crimes.

C．To get ways to prevent teenagers’ bad behaviors.

D．To find links between parents’ education and crimes.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards parents’ company with children?

A．Ambiguous.

B．Doubtful.

C．Favorable.

D．Unclear.

10 . We are told by Psychologists that our self-image defines what we believe we can and cannot do. Each of us over the years has built up belief about ourselves. Unconsciously, our pictures of who we are have been formed by past experiences. Our successes and failures, what others have told us and what we think people believe about us all help form impressions of what we think we are. Because self-image is so important in our growth, it is important to examine our concepts of self in order to reach our full potential.

Changing our self-image is possible. Some psychologists suggest we begin to change our self-image by mentally picturing ourselves performing well at some task. Since we presently react to things based on our present images, it’s suggested that we replace those with better ones. In many experiments, people were asked to sit quietly for a few minutes each day and imagine themselves doing well. For instance, subjects would sit and imagine themselves throwing darts at a bull’s-eye (靶心) on a target. Over a period of weeks, their dart game improved. This has been done with people who wanted to play chess better, throw a ball more accurately, increase their salesmanship or musical talents, and improve many other skills. In most cases, remarkable improvement is made.

The point of changing self-image is not to develop an image of ourselves that is not real. To try to become something we really aren’t is just as wrong as living the unrealistic, inferior image we may have. The aim is to find the real self, to bring our mental images of ourselves in line with our true potential. However, it is generally accepted among psychologists that most of us fail to do justice to ourselves. We’re usually better than we think we are.

Another important part of changing self-image is to not think about past mistakes. Don’t let failures do harm. Our errors or humiliation (耻辱) over mistakes are necessary steps in learning. It is all right to make mistakes. But when they have taught us what we did wrong, we should forget them and not think them over. Sometimes we keep remembering our failures or mistakes and feel guilty or embarrassed about them. We let them take over, and then we develop a fear.

It is important to have realistic expectations of ourselves. Some of our dissatisfaction might come from expecting too much of ourselves. If we demand constant perfection in everything we do, we can be disappointed and our poor self-image will continue. If our goal is to reach perfection, we are doomed (注定失败) from the start.

1. Which situation agrees with the idea of the passage?

A．To outshine his colleagues, Joe sets an idealistic goal.

B．To get along with her classmates, Doris is always modest about herself.

C．To win a speech contest, Tina pictures herself speaking more confidently.

D．To become a star player, Alexander repeatedly plays back his faults in his mind.

2. What is the purpose of Paragraph 3?

A．To clarify the rule of changing self-image.

B．To confirm the influence of changing self-image.

C．To highlight the importance of changing self-image.

D．To propose a new point of view on changing self-image.

3. According to the author, how should we regard our past mistakes?

A．They are tools for overcoming fear.	B．They are part of our growth.
C．They are warnings for future.	D．They are harmful to our development.

4. Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A．We Are What We Do

B．We Are What We Think We Are

C．Be the Best We Can Be

D．What We Are Decides What We Think