1. What got the speaker to study psychology?
A.Her observation of adults. | B.Her university education. | C.Her unhappy childhood. |
A.Wealthy people. | B.Creative people. | C.Ordinary people. |
A.Creative people are happier than other people. |
B.People are happier when they concentrate hard. |
C.People’s happiness depends on where they are. |
A.Satisfied. | B.Surprised. | C.Disappointed. |
2 . You might have heard of the expression “a guilty pleasure”—maybe it’s the chocolate bar you buy on the way home from work, or the new clothes that you don’t really need.
Perhaps not. Psychologists have suggested that buying things for yourself can make you feel better as it provides an opportunity to take control of your situation.
Of course, there are also examples of people turning to destructive behaviour when faced with stressful circumstances. People might spend money that they don’t have or turn to dangerous addictions. Psychologist Leon Seltzer considers the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurturing.
A.Exams are vital for students. |
B.Self-indulgence can have negative consequences |
C.The difference becomes evident when students manage exam pressure |
D.They also recommend embracing activities that could dampen your spirits |
E.Besides, you should avoid things that may make you feel worse afterwards |
F.It comes from the idea that when we treat ourselves, it can sometimes leave us feeling guilty |
G.It can give you social contact as well as a confidence boost from changes you make to your self-image |
3 . Act Your Shoe Size, Not Your Age
As adults, it seems that we are constantly pursuing happiness, often with mixed results. Yet children appear to have it down to an art and for the most part they don’t need self-help books or methods.
What does a child do when he’s sad? He cries. When he’s angry? He shouts. Scared? Probably a bit of both.
A couple of Christmases ago, my daughter, who was nine years old at the time, got a Superman T-shirt for Christmas. It cost less than a five but she was overjoyed, and couldn’t stop talking about it. However, too often we adults believe that a new job, bigger house or better car will be the magic silver bullet that will allow us to finally be content.
Having said all above, it’s necessary to add that we shouldn’t try too hard to be happy.
A.Scientists tell us this can have the opposite effect. |
B.Have you ever noticed how much children laugh? |
C.As we grow up, we learn to control these emotions. |
D.Instead, they look after their well-being unconsciously. |
E.Actually, being grateful for small things is a better way. |
F.Indeed happiness consists in the possession of a lot of money. |
G.People laughing without cause can find the true meaning of happiness. |
4 . When you hear that your friend has passed an exam that you failed earlier, how do you react? Do you share in her happiness? If you do, congratulations!
One method to evoke positive feelings for others is through asking questions. We don’t have to wait for someone else’s good news to practice Freudenfreude. By inviting others to share their victories and genuinely listening to their stories, we can cultivate joy.
Since emotions are contagious (有感染力的), expressing appreciation can also enhance Freudenfreude. We can think of Freudenfreude as something that can be shared when we are experiencing personal happiness.
A.To better understand Freudenfreude, it is important to realize that it is a win-win. |
B.According to social scientists, finding pleasure in another person’s success is what they call Freudenfreude. |
C.However, experiencing Freudenfreude is not always easy. |
D.Despite these challenges, generating Freudenfreude is valuable, and there are ways to cultivate this feeling. |
E.You might ask: “What’s the best thing that happened to you this week?” |
F.It is a term that describes the joy we feel when someone else succeeds. |
G.To do this, we can give credit to others for their support and acknowledge their contribution to our success. |
5 . When I was growing up, Father Christmas played an important part in my family’s Christmas tradition.
Each year my parents would feed us a light meal, make sure we put on our new pajamas (睡衣), and put us to bed. Father Christmas himself was going to leave presents at night! A few hours later, my mom would wake us up telling us to hurry up because he was getting ready to leave. With our eyes barely (勉强地) open, we would go down the stairs and Father Christmas would meet us at the bottom of the stairs by name, tell us how good we were that year, and hand us each a present. In all the excitement, we didn’t realize that our dad was missing until he walked in the door.
When I was 8 years old, my mom very gently (温柔地) and lovingly told me that Father Christmas was just a fun story. She then asked me to never tell my younger sisters or any of the other kids in our family. She believed every child should decide on their own when they were ready to move on and know the truth about Father Christmas. It was a promise I have kept all these years.
Until this year.
My youngest is 10, and I thought other children might make fun of him if he were to say Father Christmas was real. So I gently mentioned that there really wasn’t a man who lived in the North Pole.
“Oh, okay. I know that.”
I then told him not to ever tell anyone else, especially his two cousins, who at 7 and 5 still believe. I didn’t want him to blow my father’s cover.
“Mom, I know Father Christmas is Grandpa and I won’t say anything to them.”
It then dawned on ( 开始明白) me that for my children, Father Christmas would always be real. For them, he was their grandfather who took the time each year to dress up and their grandmother helped him get ready so that their Christmas could be a little more special. My mother was right; Christmas is the spirit of love and giving.
1. What does the author mainly tell us in Paragraph 2?A.Her great expectation of Father Christmas. |
B.The importance of Father Christmas to her. |
C.Her memories of Christmas celebrations in her family. |
D.The preparation her family made for Christmas Eve. |
A.She wanted to give them a surprise. |
B.She didn’t know how to explain it. |
C.She didn’t think they were old enough to understand it. |
D.She thought they should decide when to unlock it by themselves. |
A.Say no to the Christmas present from my father. |
B.Regard my father as the real Father Christmas. |
C.Tell the truth about my father dressing up as Father Christmas. |
D.Notice my father being away from the family party at Christmas. |
A.The True Spirit of Christmas |
B.The Real Life of Father Christmas |
C.A Secret My Son Found at Christmas |
D.My Experience of Meeting Father Christmas |
6 . Soothe the Sunday scaries
Most of us look forward to the weekend as a time to relax, connect with friends and family, and deal with tasks from a to-do list that gets neglected during the workweek. But as the weekend comes to an end, many are missing out on Sunday Funday and instead experiencing an overwhelming sense of anxiety and even dread about the upcoming week.
Even though the Sunday scaries are common, they are manageable. Here’s how experts say you can ease your end-of-weekend anxiety.
Structure your Sunday.
Don’t forget to relax. If you’re feeling more stress, it’s important to make space for relaxing activities to ground yourself. Maybe a midafternoon shower or bath, maybe an engaging movie or show, whatever feels like a helpful distraction to reground from the scaries.
Identify your anxiety sources. Try to figure out what’s really causing you to dread the week.
End your Sunday with the right energy. Sunday night is a proper wind-down time. Maybe you want to journal, do a face mask, read a few pages of a good book. Do your best to honor this time and make Sunday night all about you.
A.Is it a deadline, meeting or presentation? |
B.Create some excitement for the week ahead. |
C.Experts have referred to this worry as Sunday scaries. |
D.Sunday scaries come from tiredness after a really busy weekend. |
E.Then you feel empowered and confident that you’ll be ready for the next day. |
F.Instead of sitting on the couch and watching the clock, go to do something that you enjoy. |
G.Anxiety is a natural response that happens in preparation for anything that causes pain or discomfort. |
7 . The Healing Power of Music
Since Mom died and Dad lived alone, he was often angry, and lately he was getting more and more confusing. Today
Sure enough, Dad started
“It’ll take some time for her to learn how to help you,” I
The three of us sat
Linda
The music seemed to drive all the
When I left, he hugged me good-bye and asked me to
I’d come to Dad’s house expecting the
A.promised | B.tended | C.planned | D.needed |
A.choice | B.presence | C.name | D.assistance |
A.absent-minded | B.ill-tempered | C.light-hearted | D.heart-struck |
A.shouting | B.warning | C.remarking | D.complaining |
A.advised | B.directed | C.comforted | D.informed |
A.impatiently | B.anxiously | C.awkwardly | D.boringly |
A.sprang | B.went | C.struggled | D.came |
A.threw | B.placed | C.grabbed | D.played |
A.laughing | B.singing | C.clapping | D.smiling |
A.tension | B.atmosphere | C.sound | D.warmth |
A.longest | B.strangest | C.nicest | D.rarest |
A.check out | B.hang on | C.get through | D.look at |
A.For a moment | B.At a time | C.By the way | D.On the whole |
A.treasuring | B.wasting | C.saving | D.spending |
A.best | B.commonest | C.worst | D.happiest |
8 . During a job interview, you’re so nervous that it’s hard to think. And afterwards, when someone asks you how it goes, you actually can’t remember. You might feel that you’re losing your memory, but according to Dr Ira Fischler, this “blackout” is probably not a loss of memory at all. It’s more likely that you didn’t even have the memory in the first place.
Fischler is a professor of psychology at the University of Florida. “When memories of specific emotional events appear to be lost, it’s most often because our attention during the event is not on the interaction itself,” he told Global News. Instead, it’s common for a person to be engrossed in how they present themselves or their inner emotional state during the interaction—especially at the stressful moments. This would explain why some people struggle to recall the questions asked during a job interview, for example. They are instead concentrating their attention on how they’re presenting themselves to the employers at that moment.
When we’re in a situation that causes nervousness or anxiety, a “fight or flight” reaction is caused, which sends certain hormones (荷尔蒙) out into the body. “It can cause several side effects, like feeling light-headed and dizzy and affect the way our brain remembers situations that we’ve been in,” said psychologist Laura Bloom. She thinks of the hippocampus (海马结构), a part of the brain responsible for memory, as the brain’s library and each memory as a card with all the information about what happened on it.
“When something stressful happens, the experience of trauma (精神创伤) causes our brain not necessarily to keep all of the details properly,” she said “Therefore, it will be extremely important and beneficial for you to replace the ‘fight or flight’ response with calmer and more peaceful approaches.”
1. What does the first paragraph serve as?A.A background. | B.A comment. | C.An explanation. | D.An introduction. |
A.Work out. | B.Focus on. | C.Make for. | D.Go over. |
A.Tips on dealing with stressful events. |
B.Harm of the “fight or flight” response. |
C.Things that affect people’s memory. |
D.The importance of details to the brain. |
A.How Senses Affect Your Memory |
B.How Your Body Responds to Stress |
C.Why You May Lose Memory Under Stress |
D.Why Your Brain Occasionally Fails to Learn |
9 . Often when we have an uncomfortable feeling,such as sadness,fear or shame,our first reaction is to reject that feeling. We may tell ourselves that it is a bad feeling we don’t want to have.
Certainly no one wants to feel emotional pain all the time,but when we reject our emotions,we may actually make things worse. Often emotions arise as they give us useful information about the,world.
An alternative to pushing away our emotions is to accept them. Accepting means that we must practice allowing our emotions to be what they are without judging them.
Emotions help us decide what we should stay away from and what we should approach.
A.We have emotions for a reason. |
B.Actually,it is vital to handle our emotions. |
C.It isn’t easy to learn how to accept emotions. |
D.It also means accepting that emotions will change. |
E.Then we may do something to get rid of that feeling. |
F.Therefore,pushing away emotions isn’t the best idea. |
G.Without emotions,we would make terrible decisions all the time. |
10 . Both my husband and I will celebrate birthdays in the next few weeks, and we are wondering where all the time has gone. Then we start to rethink about our years together, and the time before our relationship, and the memories flood back along with more smiles than tears. As a great deal of psychological research confirms, we actually recall more positive than negative memories as we age.
New research by Erika Sparrow and colleagues, just published in the journal Psychology and Aging, reviewed 16 studies on aging and altruism(利他主义), asking whether people become more open-handed and are more willing to give as they get older. The answer is yes — regardless of financial status, the level of education, or gender, older people responded more willingly when asked to give resources or help others than younger people.
So maybe all of us simply need to think happy thoughts. Can it really be this easy? Mara Maher reports, in the journal Memory and Emotion, that the focus on positive aspects of our past as we get older seems to be intentional, a specific goal-directed process to create more positive memories in order to increase our sense of well-being. So there are at least some good things about getting old! But must we age to obtain these benefits?
Perhaps not. Ernst Bohlmeijer and colleagues found that people who experience even mild depression or daily stress benefit from “gratitude exercises”, daily diaries where individuals write about positive experiences of their day and reflect on past experiences for which they are grateful. Taking time to actively think about and reflect on the positive experiences in our lives provides perspectives and improves our sense of well-being, regardless of our age.
And we can start this process with our children! Research from The Family Narratives Lab has demonstrated many benefits of recalling happy memories between parents and children, including helping children learn to meet challenges and regulate their emotions.
This birthday season, my husband and I will share our positive experiences as a gift to each other. In doing this, we will increase our sense of belonging and caring for each other, our family and our community.
1. What did the new research from Erika’s team find about older people?A.They have a more open mind. | B.They are more generous to others. |
C.They are more likely to be tricked. | D.They have a better financial situation. |
A.It is difficult to be achieved. | B.It is limited to certain age groups. |
C.It may be performed purposefully. | D.It can be helpful for people to focus on goals. |
A.By improving their mental well-being. | B.By raising kind and considerate children. |
C.By teaching them ways to meet challenges. | D.By strengthening their relationship with others. |
A.Aging has both advantages and disadvantages. |
B.Reflecting on grateful memories can decrease stress. |
C.Keeping a diary helps increase our sense of well-being. |
D.Remembering positive experiences is beneficial across age. |