1 . Have you ever bought a new car and started noticing the exact color and model of car everywhere? Has that type of car just become popular in your city? Were they there before? Or are you just going crazy?
You’re not going crazy. The reason you are now just noticing them is what psychologists call “priming”. Basically, the cars were always there. You just didn’t recognize them consciously. However, when that certain model of car becomes part of your conscious thinking, you start “automatically” recognizing all of the other cars that are the same, because you are already “primed” to do so.
The priming effect takes many forms. In one study, students were asked to walk around a room for 5 minutes at a rate of 30 steps per minute, which was about one-third their normal pace. After this brief experience, the participants were much quicker to recognize words related to old age, such as forgetful, old, and lonely. Reciprocal priming effects tend to produce a coherent reaction: if you are primed to think of old age, you would tend to act old, and acting old would reinforce the thought of old age. This research shows that the way we think influences the way we act, and the way we act influences the way we think.
A similar conclusion was reached by the American psychologist William James a century ago, but he emphasized the effect on feeling. “Actions seem to follow feeling, but really actions and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not. Thus the path to cheerfulness, should our cheerfulness be lost, is to sit up cheerfully and to act and speak as if cheerfulness were already there.”
So, that’s it. If you want to be happy, just sit up and act happy. Based on these scientific findings, we can adopt certain priming effects to help make ourselves consistently happier.
One thing we have in common is our ability to think, and thus feel. Pleasant thoughts have been proven to produce the chemicals that make us feel happy, particularly thoughts and feelings of gratitude. When we purposefully go through and think about the things we’re grateful for and deliberately feel as much gratitude as we can, we are flooding our mind with the “happy chemicals”. Furthermore, by consciously thinking, feeling and expressing gratitude, we will not only be happier in the moment, we will be “primed” to recognize the things in our life to appreciate. Each time this happens, the “happy chemicals” will be produced. Do this every day and we will become consistently happier. This makes up for the momentary happiness we gain from eating chocolate or buying new clothes. More than that, combining thoughts of gratitude with happy acts like smiling and laughing will have a supplementary positive effect on our state of mind.
1. Which of the following is an example of the priming effect?| A．Walking much faster after attending a lecture about old age. |
| B．Donating money to the poor after seeing pictures of cute cats. |
| C．Learning about various types of cars after purchasing the first car. |
| D．Completing SO_P as SOUP rather than SOAP after seeing the word EAT. |
| A．Related. | B．Two-way. | C．Well-rounded. | D．Opposite. |
| A．Eating or shopping leads to consistent feelings of happiness. |
| B．Our will has greater control over emotions than over actions. |
| C．Happy chemicals make us think about the things we’re grateful for. |
| D．Practicing gratitude frequently prepares us for long-term happiness. |
| A．Prime Yourself to Be Happier |
| B．Share Happiness to Enhance Wellbeing |
| C．Why Gratitude Is Important in Psychology |
| D．How Happy Chemicals Affect People’s Thoughts |
2 . Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Japanese composer who died on March 28, 2023, was a talented musician. For many, his combination of noisy notes and joyous ones made him timeless and avant-garde (前卫的). But for me, Sakamoto was first and foremost a creator of complex emotions.
Before I learned to love Sakamoto, my mother loved him. After her days studying textiles (纺织) at a women’s college in our hometown of Nagoya, Japan, she would come home and play the Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence theme over and over. When she sat at her piano bench, she was trying to mold herself into the most attracting woman that she could be. Still, her childhood desire for a bigger life never died. Years later, when she played it again on that same piano, now transported to our Chicago home, her hands would crash down on Sakamoto’s drumming and upset bridge. It seemed that she buried herself in her younger dream and at the same time got lost in the reality of living away from her home and family. Both the joy of a fulfilled dream and the sorrow of its harsh realities mixed in Sakamoto’s score, pervading (弥漫) our living room.
Following in my mother’s footsteps, I too learned to play Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. I played it in an open music room at college, where I was quite depressed under the gaze of strangers as well as excited about becoming my own adult. I played Sakamoto again in my then-boyfriend’s grandparents’ sitting room, the piece now reflecting my struggle to see how my Japanese and American self could fit into this white family, even though I was in love.
Sakamoto’s genius for telling the contradictions (矛盾) of existence arises again and again. I’m still playing Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, now at the electric piano in my living room, as I puzzle through becoming a new mother, frightened and thrilled at the same time. Maybe someday my daughter will play Sakamoto’s music, and it will help her understand her life too.
1. The author loves Sakamoto for_________.| A．his Japanese identity |
| B．his talent as a composer |
| C．his way to combine notes |
| D．his creation of mixed emotions |
| A．Contented with her current life. |
| B．Joyful and sorry at the same time |
| C．Annoyed with the difficult bridge |
| D．Lonely and upset away from home. |
| A．The life and accomplishments of Ryuichi Sakamoto. |
| B．The challenges of being a Japanese-American woman. |
| C．Contradicting emotions aroused by Sakamoto’s music. |
| D．A mother and daughter’s shared love for playing the piano. |
3 . If you have been exposed to a natural disaster (for example, a tornado or hurricane), it is very important to learn ways of coping with natural disasters and their impact (巨大影响). Natural disasters can be considered dangerous events that have a high potential to place you at risk.
Try to establish a schedule.
Talk about the effect of the natural disaster.
Practice healthy coping strategies. Following a natural disaster, you will experience a number of intense negative emotions.
| A．Seek out and connect with social support. |
| B．Try to limit all the other sources of stress in your life. |
| C．For example, set regular times for meals, or waking up in the morning. |
| D．Natural disasters can bring about high levels of stress, anxiety, and anger. |
| E．Share your feelings with others, or find some ways to express your emotions. |
| F．Therefore, it is very important to identify healthy ways of managing these emotions. |
| G．Your most important task following a natural disaster is getting your life back in order. |
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5 . Are you happy? Do you remember a time when you were happy? Are you seeking happiness today?
Many have sought a variety of sources for their feelings of happiness. Some have put their heart and efforts into their work. Too many have turned to drugs and alcohol. Meanwhile, untold numbers have looked for it in the possession of expensive cars, exotic (异国的) vacation homes and other popular “toys”. Most of their efforts have a root in one common fact: people are looking for a lasting source of happiness.
Unfortunately, I believe that happiness escapes from many people because they misunderstand the journey of finding it. I have heard many people say that, “I’ll be happy when I get my new promotion,” or “I’ll be happy when I lose that extra20 pounds.” It is dangerous because it accepts that happiness is a “response” to having, being or doing something.
In life, we all experience stimulus (激励) and response. Today, some people think that an expensive car is stimulus. Happiness is a response. A great paying job is stimulus. Happiness is a response. A loving relationship is stimulus. Happiness is a response. This belief leaves us thinking and feeling: “I’ll be happy when...”
It has been my finding that actually the opposite is true. I believe that happiness is a stimulus and response is what life brings to those who are truly happy. When we are happy, we tend to have more success in our work. When we are happy, people want to be around us and enjoy loving relationships. When we are happy, we more naturally take better care of our bodies and enjoy good health. Happiness is not a response but a stimulus.
Happiness is a conscious choice we make every day of our lives. For unknown reason to me, many choose to be painful, unsuccessful and angry most of the time. Happiness is not something that happens to us after we get something we want—we usually get things we want AFTER we choose to be happy.
1. From the second paragraph, we know too many people __________.| A．all desire exotic vacation homes |
| B．are not happy when they work hard |
| C．are not happy when they drink or take drugs |
| D．are happy when they possess their own expensive cars |
| A．they get what they want to have |
| B．they get a great paying job |
| C．they get an expensive car |
| D．they think happiness is rooted in their deep hearts |
| A．Most people today are happy. |
| B．Work is a necessary part in our daily life. |
| C．We should try to get more and then we’ll be happy. |
| D．If you want to get what you want, you first choose to be happy. |
| A．based on our needs | B．out of reach |
| C．unconditional | D．limited |
6 . Self-esteem is the ruling view you have of yourself. This includes your beliefs about your inner qualities and how you think others see you.
People with healthy self-esteem don't need to boast about themselves to others. People with low self-esteem may tell you how much everyone loves them, what a great job they do at work, and how amazing they are at pretty everything under the sun even though they really wonder if it's true. People may see them as obnoxious or “full of themselves”.
If you're starting to think you may have low self-esteem, you can work on the way you talk to yourself. When you turn off negative self-talk, you can open the floor to positive reinforcements and access the courage to show different sides of yourself. It isn't going to feel good at first, though. Keep going until it becomes less and less and maybe even a few awkward laughs in the mirror may help.
However, in serious cases of low or even non-existent self-esteem, you may want to call in a professional or a specialist. Good mental health is important, and professionals doing psychotherapy do not pass judgement or give corrections.
| A．Self-esteem is not always rooted in reality, though. |
| B．You have the power to shape a new self-perception. |
| C．This encourages you to speak openly without worry. |
| D．The real test of character is whether they can learn from their mistakes. |
| E．Self-esteem refers to a person's overall sense of his or her value or worth. |
| F．People with a healthy level of self-esteem present themselves with a casual confidence. |
| G．With some practice and persistence, you will win this internal struggle to see your self-worth. |
