1 . Speaking of self-improvement, perhaps you want to become more productive, read more books, take regular exercise or learn something new.
Observe your emotional reactions.
Our emotions can often overwhelm (击败) us and make us behave in ways we’d rather not. The first step in dealing with your emotions is to recognize your current feelings.
Develop a way to express your emotions.
Chris Martin, the singer-songwriter and frontman of the band Coldplay, once said, “You've got to express yourself in life, and it's better out than in. What you reveal, you heal.”
Sometimes emotions can be overwhelming even if you undertake all other steps to manage them. In this case, the only left option is to find a therapist (治疗师). Many successful, respected people like J. K. Rowling, Emma Stone, and Michael Phelps all promote therapy’s benefits. Turning to these professionals is one of the best ways to improve yourself. These trained professionals can provide guidance and support when it comes to coping with your emotions.
| A．Work with a licensed therapist. |
| B．Receive professional training as therapists. |
| C．This can feel incredibly uncomfortable at first. |
| D．There are so many ways to let out your emotions. |
| E．Remember you can’t manage what you don't know. |
| F．It will help you improve your concentration. |
| G．Have you thought of learning to control your emotions? |
2 . Sometimes your parents might ask you to write thank-you notes to people but you might not want to do it. However, writing thank-you notes can not only make you feel good but also make the person getting the note feel good.
Amit Kumar is a professor at the University of Texas. He worked with Nicholas Epley to do experiments to see why people hesitate to send thank-you notes. They also studied the reactions of people who received the notes.
Kumar and Epley asked students in business classes to write a letter of thanks to another person. And then they asked both the writers and the receivers how the letter made them feel.
As a result, they found that writing the letter was a good experience for the writers. It improved their mood right afterward though the writers only thought the letter would be embarrassing for someone who got a letter of thanks. However, that was not the case.
The writer worried about what to say and how to say it. However, Kumar says, the receivers did not care much about whether writers got the words right. Those who got letters felt really good.And they didn’t really feel embarrassed at all.
“When you are a receiver, you focus on the warmth,” Kumar says. The receivers considered the feelings on the letters while the writers only tried their best to make sure their writing was correct.
In general, most people don’t always realize that thank-you notes make others feel good. If they knew, things might change. “They would do it more often,” Kumar says.
Kumar thinks that this study is a good reminder. It shows that small things can have an effect. Writing a thank-you note is a simple thing. Still, it can make a big difference. We feel good when we do nice things for others.
1. What’s the purpose of Kumar and Epley’s experiment?| A．To advise us to thank our parents. |
| B．To see thank-you notes’ influence. |
| C．To get children close to their parents. |
| D．To prove letters are the best to show our thanks. |
| A．Their writing skills. | B．Receivers’ feelings. |
| C．Receivers’ warmth. | D．Their proper words. |
| A．They enjoyed being thanked | B．They feel shame and sad. |
| C．They didn’t care about the notes. | D．They hate writers’ mistaken ideas. |
| A．Be generous to others. | B．Be willing to do nice things. |
| C．Pay attention to small things. | D．Write thank-you notes frequently. |
