1 . When we feel disappointed with what might have been or we wish we could change a choice we made in the past, we have regrets.

Regrets can be harmful when we don’t want to accept them. Too many negative (消极的) thoughts and continuous consideration can lead to stress and anxiety. This kind of spiritual and emotional pain also affects our bodies. For example, maybe you didn’t stand up for your friend when someone attacked him by saying something derogatory. You didn’t speak up at the time to clear his name. You end up feeling disappointed in yourself and don’t want to be reminded of that. Or you may remember the situation all too well, but don’t know how to overcome your regret. Whatever it is, you may suffer from negative thoughts or even sleepless nights, thus putting pressure onto your body and mind.

But as the old saying goes, a coin has two sides. Regrets have advantages too. When we reflect (反思) on regrettable choices we made in the past, that’s a good thing. We grow from self-examination and can learn from our missteps. Inspired to be better, we improve on our decision-making so we don’t repeat our mistakes.

Another positive side of regret is that it can move you closer to being your best self. A study about people’s most long-lasting regrets was published in the journal Emotion, where scientists looked at the connection between regret and an individual’s self-concept (自我认知). The results showed that people were more likely to regret not living up to being that best person and thus try harder to use their full potential (潜力), when regrets about their best selves were not achieved.

If you’re feeling regretful about something from your past, know you’re not alone in feeling this way. Everyone has something (or many things) that they regret. However, there are ways to move forward by showing yourself understanding. If that’s too difficult, get the help of a health professional. He or she can help you manage feelings of regret so they no longer hold you back.

1. What does the underlined word “derogatory” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Confusing.

B．Usual.

C．Informal.

D．Mean.

2. What is an advantage of long-lasting regrets?

A．Avoidance of stress.	B．Positive self-concept.
C．Greater efforts to better oneself.	D．Longer time to reflect on the past.

3. What does the author suggest people do in the last paragraph?

A．Leave those regrets as they are.

B．Discuss regrets with the like-minded.

C．Stop reflecting on your daily events.

D．Turn to experts for help if necessary.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．How to Fight Regrets	B．Get to Know Our Regrets
C．Why Regrets Are Harmful	D．The Positive Sides of Regrets

2 . We all want to know what happiness means and try to find ways to help make our life better. Happiness — you know it when you see it, but it’s hard to define. You might call it a sense of well-being, optimism or meaningfulness in life, although those could also be treated separately.     1     we know that we want it, and that is just somehow good.

We also know that we don’t always have control over our happiness. Research suggests that genetics may play a big role in our level of happiness, so some of us may start out at a disadvantage. On top of that, environmental factors can bring down mood and dry up our thirst for living.     2    . Many studies have found a connection between psychological and physical well-being.

A 2022 review of more than 200 studies found a connection between positive psychological features, such as happiness, optimism and life satisfaction, and a lowered risk of heart disease.

    3    . If you have a good sense of well-being, it’s easier to maintain good habits: exercising, eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep.

    4    , and they do not provide hard evidence of cause and effect. But some researchers believe that positive mental states do have a direct effect on the body, perhaps by reducing damaging physical processes. For instance, they found that optimism is associated with lower levels of inflammation (炎症).

If what you mean by happiness is specifically “enjoyment of life”, there’s newer evidence to support that, too. A study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that people aged 60 and over who said they enjoyed life less were more likely to develop disability over an 8-year period.     5    . This study does not prove that physical problems are caused by less enjoyment of life, but suggests a relationship.

A．But whatever happiness really is.

B．It might take more work if your mood is low.

C．For now these studies can only show associations.

D．That refers to the person, and the situation he or she is in.

E．Being able to travel around was also related to enjoyment of life.

F．To manage our emotions is important for both our body and mind.

G．It’s not as simple as “you must be happy to prevent heart attacks”, though.

3 . Slowing Down Racing Thoughts

Everyone has moments when their brain suddenly goes messy. When racing thoughts take over your mind, you can’t stay focused, and you feel trapped. How can you keep racing thoughts from controlling you? Here are five tips to try.

Give yourself permission. Racing thoughts are often made worse by the anxiety over having racing thoughts.     1     This gives you a sense of control so you don’t feel helpless. When you put racing thoughts in their proper context, they feel less threatening and easier to manage.

Distract (分心) yourself. As soon as you notice yourself worrying again or thinking about things over and over, make an inside comment on yourself, like “here I go again, with my list of thoughts that never ends”.     2    

Get mindful. Practicing mindfulness can help change your thought patterns.     3     Close your eyes and count to yourself as you take slow, steady breaths. When you reach 10, start over and repeat the process until you calm down.

Get moving.     4     For instance, when racing thoughts strike, do a set of push-ups, do 10 jumping jacks, take a five-minute walk, or do household chores. Also, try to build regular exercise into your life as well as these short bursts of activity. That can help relieve anxiety and stress.

    5     Sometimes it’s best to let racing thoughts run their course; otherwise, they may wander indefinitely. When anxious racing thoughts occur, recognize them, but tell yourself that now is not worry time and you will deal with them later. Then at a fixed time of your choosing, do nothing but explore those thoughts and work through them.

A．Fight for them.

B．Schedule worry time.

C．For instance, try counting your breaths.

D．Exercise is helpful for reducing anxiety.

E．To escape this, allow yourself to experience them.

F．Then do something else, like reading or listening to music.

G．People who struggle with racing thoughts are constantly worried.

4 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Hudson is 8 years old now. He has a favorite little toy, a crocheted little ghost named Casper. The toy was given to him by his grandmother on his 5th birthday, and he has treasured it ever since, Hudson loves Casper so much that he often brings it with him wherever he goes. He even talks to Casper as if it’s his best friend.

One day, while playing with Casper, Hudson turned to his mother Ruthie with a worried look on his face. “Mommy, if I should get Casper lost, I would cry so much and be sad forever,” he confessed, tears welling up in his eyes.

Ruthie couldn’t help but smile at her son’s innocence and affection for his little toy. She gently reassured him, “You haven’t lost Casper yet, sweetheart. You take good care of it, and I’m sure you won’t lose it. But even if you do, remember that I’ll always be here to comfort you.”

Curiosity sparked in Hudson’s eyes as he listened to his mother’s words. He looked up at her with a serious expression and asked, “Mommy, have you ever lost a toy?”

Looking at her lovely kid, Ruthie shared her story with her son. When she was six years old, her world turned upside down when her father tragically passed away. Their family was in trouble, and they faced financial struggles. Ruthie’s mother had to take up odd jobs to make ends meet, and they had to move frequently to save money.

During one of her moves, she found that every one of her favorite girl toys was missing including Molly, an American Girl doll. Everywhere she went, she would bring the doll and she was obsessed with it. After hearing his mother’s story, the boy hugged his mother tightly, without saying anything.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150 左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Days turned into weeks, and soon it was New Year’s Day.

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Ruthie carefully unwrapped the gift box.

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5 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I was a broke university student. I should have been going to university on a scholarship because I came from a low-income family, but a last-minute £100-a-year pay rise for my mum pushed my family over the threshold (门槛) for what defined “low-income” and I was suddenly no longer qualified for £15,000 a year in scholarship money. This news came after I’d been accepted by the university and signed the lease (租约) for my accommodation.

Despite my family not being labelled low-income anymore, I still wouldn’t receive any financial support from my family as all the income went toward taking care of my disabled brother and paying their own bills. It would be tight, but because I had savings from my part-time job, I decided to go to university anyway. After paying my rent, I had £10.20 a week for everything else including food, toiletries, and school supplies.

As I was in a new city, I really wanted to make friends, which was difficult when most of the social activities were expensive. Therefore, I jumped at the chance to do a relatively cheap coffee shop trip with my roommates who were pleasant to me.

I had £20 with me to get a cheap cup of coffee and my food shopping for a few weeks. So I headed for the coffee shop. While paying, I pulled out the note and a handful of change and realized I could pay without breaking the note, so I put it back in my pocket. It wasn’t until I arrived at the supermarket that I realized the note was gone. What should I do? I was desperate it was the equivalent (相等物) of two weeks of money. My roommates helped me look for the note. However, it was in vain. Finally, I went to school empty-handed.

注意：
(1) 续写词数应为150词左右；
(2) 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

P1: As a final attempt, I messaged the coffee shop’s Facebook page asking if they’d seen it.

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P2: I said, “Oh, ...This isn’t mine; my note was an old worn one.”

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6 . The journey towards self-improvement and personal success is often paved with challenges and obstacles.     1     The power of mindset extends beyond mere positive thinking. It shapes your attitudes and actions, thereby shaping your destiny.

Mindset rests on a fundamental principle: your inner beliefs and thoughts can form your reality.     2     It is also about how an optimistic mindset fosters (培养) improved decision-making, heightened problem-solving abilities, and stronger resilience against challenges.

Factors like talent and hard work are often highlighted in professional success.     3     Consider a physical therapist, who may encounter limitations in their effectiveness due to a negative or fixed mindset despite possessing the necessary skills and knowledge. This situation underlines how a growth mindset is essential.

    4     It is a game-changer in personal and professional development. It is centered around the belief that abilities and intelligence are not fixed traits but can be cultivated through effort, learning, and perseverance.

To make full use of the potential of your mindset, it is crucial to confront and overcome limiting beliefs. You may never realize it.     5    

A．This isn’t merely hopeful thinking.

B．Effort and ability can equal a positive mindset.

C．The growth mindset means continuous improvement.

D．In fact, mindset emerges as an equally critical element.

E．Such beliefs can act as invisible barriers to your success.

F．Mindset plays an important role in building good relationship.

G．However, a crucial element that influences this journey is the mindset.

7 . There’s a special bond between good parents and their children that is a beautiful thing to see.

They care about every________of their children’s life, from the tiniest issues to the biggest heartbreaks.

Elizabeth Bautista Boyd of Oklahoma is________to have such a father who still________and protects her, even though she is a grown-up 38-year-old working woman now. Boyd drove to work on a________winter morning, and the roads were frozen.________this, her dad did something amazing for her.

She________photos of her father’s act of kindness on a social networking website________by the touching words: “You guys…This is my dad. He’d driven to my company parking lot and waited for me to________, so he could salt the icy road from my________to the company’s front door. He did this to________that I, his 38-year-old daughter, wouldn’t________Oh! Love you, Daddy.”

The photos show her dad with a bag of salt,________spreading a path of salt across the icy road. This simple but________gesture of a father’s love for his daughter has________thousands of hearts online. In around 24 hours, it obtained over 70,000 reactions and over 76,000 shares.

Some________“What an amazing Daddy you have!” and one person wrote: “Definitely give him a huge hug, big enough for all of us.

1.

A．aspect

B．advantage

C．exception

D．weakness

2.

A．regretful

B．blessed

C．confident

D．supposed

3.

A．cares for

B．talks about

C．relies on

D．keeps from

4.

A．busy

B．sunny

C．cold

D．quiet

5.

A．Interested in

B．Unsatisfied with

C．Uncertain about

D．Aware of

6.

A．selected

B．found

C．developed

D．posted

7.

A．accompanied

B．simplified

C．clarified

D．confirmed

8.

A．work

B．arrive

C．drive

D．survive

9.

A．seat

B．vehicle

C．office

D．building

10.

A．prove

B．explain

C．ensure

D．announce

11.

A．forget

B．move

C．slip

D．stop

12.

A．nervously

B．casually

C．generously

D．carefully

13.

A．strange

B．sweet

C．rude

D．crazy

14.

A．touched

B．appreciated

C．witnessed

D．convinced

15.

A．promised

B．recalled

C．debated

D．commented

8 . There are a lot of emotions, including anger. Anger can be a powerful emotion, and if not kept tame (驯服), it can quickly get out of control. You can damage and destroy relationships by letting your anger get the best of you.    1    

Give yourself a timeout. If you find yourself getting upset and the anger is building, give yourself a timeout. Walk away from the situation, practice deep breathing techniques, calm yourself down, and relax.     2     get yourself as calm as you can and focus on the problem, rather than how angry you are.

    3    When you find yourself getting angry, have an outlet in place you can do, such as, going for a run, going for a bike ride, but do something active. Exercise releases endorphins in your brain, which are natural mood enhancers and can help calm you down.

Collect your thoughts. Before you just speak out the first thing that wants to come out of your mouth, take a few minutes to collect your thoughts.     4    

Forgive. Practice forgiveness. When someone does something wrong to you, practice forgiving rather than getting upset.     5    Start with smaller incidents and work up to being able to forgive for bigger mistakes or problems.

The more you work at handling your anger, the more natural and easier it will be to keep calm. You will eventually find that you do not get upset and angry so quickly.

A．Use humor

B．Find an outlet for your anger.

C．Before you put yourself back in the situation,

D．Learn some tips to help you manage your anger.

E．The more you forgive, each time it will get easier.

F．If you find you still anger easily and it gets out of control,

G．This way, what you say is planned, rather than spontaneous, which can lead to saying things you don’t mean.

9 . Niels Eék, psychologist and co-founder of mental health and self-development platform Remente, gives advice on how to manage your mental health when returning to work.

The prospect of going back to work may cause some nervousness and anxiety, especially after spending so long with limited face-to-face contact. Upon returning to the office, you may want to keep track of how much time you are devoting to work when you return home in the evenings.

Remote working can blur the boundaries between your professional and personal life, so it’s important to re-establish this division, particularly if you have spent the last four months working from home. Reading and receiving emails and messages outside of working hours can make some people feel more anxious. To avoid this, you may want to set clear boundaries at home, where you do not address work emails during certain hours, to give yourself time to relax ready for the next day.

Of course, some tasks may be urgent, so ask your manager to phone you if something needs to be immediately addressed. That way, you don’t need to be constantly checking your device and can instead focus on your own mental and physical well-being. Go to bed at a time that allows you to rise well-rested, cook nutritious meals that you enjoy, or perhaps take an evening walk to relax. Returning to work is likely to be a shock after so long, so make sure to do what you need to do to feel relaxed each evening.

Talking to a friend or colleague can be extremely useful when addressing these anxieties. It is good to remember that these feelings are something that many people face, so being open about your emotions is nothing to feel uncomfortable about. “Remember that it is OK to tell your friends and co-workers that you need some time out” as you return to regular interactions with people after months of isolation. It may take some time to adapt to the change in circumstances, but this is totally normal.

1. What will happen to the people who return to office work?

A．They will need more career development guidance.

B．They will have to check their emails constantly.

C．They will feel more relaxed than working at home.

D．They may suffer from some mental problems.

2. What does the underlined word “blur” mean in Paragraph 3?

A．Mix up.

B．Focus on.

C．Break away.

D．Set up.

3. How can you avoid being disturbed after work in the evening?

A．Telling your manager you need rest.

B．Checking your device repeatedly for messages.

C．Confirming urgent and vital things to be addressed.

D．Telling your colleagues to spare you some time.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the passage?

A．How to manage your physical health at work

B．How to deal with anxiety as you return to work

C．Advice on a better performance at office work

D．Advice on striking a balance between work and life

10 . As the trees drop their leaves and frosts advance in, we prepare our homes and ourselves for the winter months.     1     When the seasons change, we know that we have to change our behavior to keep ourselves safe and warm. Our feelings change like the seasons. Laughing, joyful and positive like summer; sad, angry, and hopeless like winter.     2     However, it would not be practical to feel wonderful all the time.

The phrase “emotional wintering” was popularized by Katharine May. She mentions emotional wintering asks us to see our difficult or uncomfortable feelings as winters which we can get ready for and live through.     3    

Sometimes the emotional winters are caused by an event that makes us feel as though we want to withdraw into ourselves.     4     We need to take time to replenish (补充) them while accepting that we are sad. Whatever the cause, emotional wintering encourages us to accept that our emotional seasons are normal and we should manage them as best we can.

    5     To manage through challenging times, we need to adjust our habits, reassess our expectations of ourselves, and ensure that we sustain ourselves appropriately. This process gives us the space to explore the full range of emotions that make us human, and allows us to safely sit with a feeling, in relative comfort, until it passes.

With the management, we believe we will be well by the time the next summer rolls around.

A．It prepares us for the coming spring.

B．Different emotions come to all of us.

C．Emotional wintering asks us to change.

D．We can grow from challenging experience.

E．Thick socks and cosy blankets are brought out.

F．We expect to always live in our emotional summers.

G．At other times we simply use up our supplies of positivity.