1 . Back in 1964, in his book Games People Play, psychiatrist Eric Berne described a pattern of conversation he called “Why Don’t You — Yes But”, which remains one of the most annoying aspects of everyday social life. The person adopting the strategy is usually a chronic complainer. Something is terrible about their relationship, job, or other situation, and they complain about it endlessly, but find some excuse to dismiss any solution that’s proposed. The reason, of course, is that on some level they don’t want a solution; they want to be validated (认可) in their position that the world is out to get them. If they can “win” the game — dismissing every suggestion until interlocutor (对话者) gives up in annoyance — they get to feel pleasurably righteous (正当的) in their anger and excused from any obligation to change.

Part of the trouble here is the so-called responsibility/fault fallacy (谬误). When you’re feeling hard done by — taken for granted by your partner, say, or obliged to work for a stupid boss — it’s easy to become attached to the position that it’s not your job to address the matter, and that doing so would be an admission of fault. But there’s a confusion here. For example, if I were to discover a newborn at my front door, it wouldn’t be my fault, but it most certainly would be my responsibility. There would be choices to make, and no possibility of avoiding them, since trying to ignore the matter would be a choice. The point is that what goes for the baby on the doorstep is true in all cases: even if the other person is 100% in the wrong, there’s nothing to be gained, long-term, from using this as a justification to evade responsibility.

Should you find yourself on the receiving end of this kind of complaining, there’s a clever way to shut it down — which is to agree with it. Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb describes this as “over-validation”. For one thing, you’ll be spared further complaining, since the other person’s motivation was to confirm her beliefs, and now you’re confirming them. But for another, as Gottlieb notes, people confronted with over-validation often hear their complaints afresh and start arguing back. The concept that they’re utterly powerless suddenly seems unrealistic, not to mention rather annoying — so they’re prompted instead to generate ideas about how they might change things.

“And then, sometimes, something magical might happen, ” Gotlieb writes. The other person “might realize she’s not as trapped as you are saying she is, or as she feels. ” Avoiding responsibility feels comfortable, but turns out to be a prison; whereas assuming responsibility feels unpleasant, but ends up being freeing.

1. What is the characteristic of a chronic complainer, according to Eric Berne?

A．They are angry about their ill treatment and feel bitter towards whoever tries to help.

B．They are habitually unhappy and endlessly find fault with people around them.

C．They constantly dismiss others’ proposals while taking no responsibility for dealing with the problem.

D．They lack the basic skills required for successful conversations with others.

2. What does the author try to illustrate with the example of the newborn on one’s doorstep?

A．People tend to think that one should not be held responsible for others’ mistakes.

B．It is easy to become attached to the position of overlooking one’s own fault.

C．People are often at a loss when confronted with a number of choices.

D．A distinction should be drawn between responsibility and fault.

3. What does the author advise people to do to chronic complainers?

A．Stop them from going further by agreeing with them.

B．Listen to their complaints attentively and sympathetically.

C．Ask them to validate their beliefs with further evidence.

D．Persuade them to clarify the confusion they caused.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．What is the responsibility/fault fallacy for chronic complainers?

B．How can you avoid dangerous traps in everyday social life?

C．Who are chronic complainers and how to deal with them?

D．Why should we stop being a chronic complainer and assume responsibility?

2 . About 50 years ago, the famous British band The Beatles sang that “money can’t buy me love”. Today, British economists are saying that it perhaps can’t buy you happiness cither. This is showed by the Happy Planet Index (HPI 快乐指数) published recently by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in London.

The index is about how well countries are using their resources. It shows how well they provide people with better health and longer and happier lives, and at what cost to their environment.

It would seem to be common sense that people in richer countries live happier lives, while those in developing countries are having a harder time. But the results are surprising, even shocking. The numbers show that some of the so-called developed countries are performing very badly. The United States, for example, ranks number 150^th. On the other hand, some little-known developing countries are doing a much better job. A tiny island in the Pacific, Vanuatu, comes in first. There are 178 countries and areas in the index. China ranks number 31.

Countries are graded on the basis of information supplied in response to the following questions. How do people feel about their lives? How long does an average person live? How greatly does a country need to use its natural resources to maintain its living standards? This is what the index calls the “ecological footprint”.

The NEF found that the people of island nations enjoy the highest HPI rankings. Their populations live happier and longer lives, and use fewer resources.

The results also seem to show that it is possible to live longer, happier lives with a much smaller environment impact. The index points out that people in the US and Germany enjoy similar lives.

“However, Germany’s ecological footprint is only about half that of the US. This means that Germany is around twice as efficient as the US at producing happy lives,” says Nic Marks, head of NEF’s Center for well-being.

So the Happy Planet Index (HPI) tells us a brand-new concept of understanding “being happy”. HPI figures out different countries or individuals’ HPI through their “Ecological Footprint” and “Life Satisfaction Level” or “Life Expectancy”. Clearly, people’s HPI is related to their consumption of the resources on the earth.

You can find out your own HPI by visiting http: //www, happyplanetindex.org.

1. The passage is mainly about __________.

A．in which country people feel the happiest

B．why money can’t buy you happiness

C．what index can influence people’s happiness

D．what Happy Planet Index is

2. According to the passage, __________plays a major part in the index.

A．the richness of natural resources

B．the efficiency of energy consumption

C．the development of economy

D．the life expectancy of the people

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The happiest countries listed in the index are quite different from those expected.

B．Developing countries are having & hard time reaching the top of the index.

C．Countries that have high HPI rankings have a greater impact on the environment.

D．The less happy countries depend on the developed countries’ resources.

4. The author cites Germany as an example to show that __________.

A．some developed countries are performing badly ecologically

B．it is possible to live a happy life with fewer resources

C．not all the people in developed countries enjoy happy lives

D．history and culture play an important role in people’s lives

3 . At some point in our lives, the chances are that you and I will feel lonely. It’s an important topic and one that causes a lot of misery, but there are plenty of _________ surrounding it. Here are three of the biggest.

Is loneliness all about isolation?

Feeling lonely is not the same as being alone. Loneliness is a feeling of _________. It’s the sense that no one around you really understands you and that you don’t have the kind of meaningful connections you would like. Being _________ can be a factor, but it’s not the only one. You can feel lonely in a crowd, just as you can seek _________ in spending some time alone. Sometimes we want to be alone. But if we don’t have the option to spend time with people who understand us, that’s when loneliness _________.

Does loneliness disproportionately affect old people?

Loneliness is undoubtedly getting a higher profile, but that _________ means a higher percentage of old people feel lonely now compared to a few years ago. _________, the study from Christina Victor from Brunel University has shown that the proportion of old people experiencing chronic loneliness has remained steady for 70 years, with 6 to 13 percent saying they feel lonely all or most of the time. But it is true that the actual numbers of lonely old people are _________ simply because there are more old people in the world. Loneliness is more _________ in old age than in other adults, but in her review a peak is also found in adolescence. __________, studies show that 50 to 60 percent of old people are not often lonely.

Is loneliness always bad?

This one is a bit more __________. You often see statistics quoted on the effect that loneliness can have on our health. Reviews of the research have found that it could increase the risk of heart disease by almost a third and that __________ people have higher blood pressure and a lower life expectancy. It is possible that unhappily isolated people are more likely to become __________. But it could also happen the other way around. People could become isolated and lonely because they already have poor health, which stops them from __________. Or lonely people may show up in the statistics as less healthy because their loneliness has __________ them of the motivation to look after their health. It could work both ways.

1.

A．discoveries

B．assumptions

C．myths

D．reasons

2.

A．dissatisfaction

B．disobedience

C．disconnection

D．distrust

3.

A．isolated

B．confused

C．distracted

D．scolded

4.

A．revenge

B．ambition

C．guidance

D．relief

5.

A．cracks

B．strikes

C．brakes

D．disappears

6.

A．equally

B．mainly

C．rarely

D．definitely

7.

A．By contrast

B．In fact

C．As a result

D．All in all

8.

A．rising

B．declining

C．fluctuating

D．reviving

9.

A．painful

B．unexpected

C．preventable

D．common

10.

A．However

B．Likewise

C．Therefore

D．Meanwhile

11.

A．complex

B．apparent

C．relevant

D．innovative

12.

A．old

B．optimistic

C．lonely

D．urban

13.

A．fit

B．timid

C．angry

D．ill

14.

A．exercising

B．socializing

C．adventuring

D．evaluating

15.

A．assured

B．robbed

C．informed

D．accuse

4 . When it came to moral reasoning, we like to think our views on right and wrong are rational (理智的). But ultimately they are grounded in emotion. Philosophers have argued over this claim for a quarter of a millennium without _________. Times up! Now scientists armed with brain scanners are stepping in to settle the matter. Though reason can shape moral judgment, emotion is often _________.

Harvard psychologist Joshua Greene does brain scans of people as they study the so-called trolley problem. Suppose a trolley is rolling down the track toward five people who will _________ unless you pull a lever (杠杆) that pushes it onto another track— where, unfortunately, lies one person who will die instead. An easy call, most people say: _________ the loss of life — a “utillitarian” (功利主义的) goal as philosopher put it — is the thing to do.

But suppose the only way to save the five people is to push someone else onto the track — a _________ whose body will bring the trolley to a stop before it hits the others. It’s still a one-for-five _________ and you still initiate the action that dooms the one. _________, now you are more directly involved; most people say it would be wrong to do this trade off. Why? According to Greene’s brain scans, the second situation more thoroughly excites parts of the brain linked to _________ than does the leve-pulling situation. Apparently, the intuitive hesitation of giving someone a deadly push is more _________ than the hesitation to a deadly lever pull.

Further studies suggest that in both cases the emotional __________ compete for control with more rational parts of the brain. In the second situation the emotions are usually strong enough to win.

And when they lose, it is only after a tough __________ process. The few people who approve of pushing an innocent man onto the tracks take longer to reach their decision. So too with people who approve of smothering (死) a crying baby rather than catching the attention of enemy troops who would then kill the baby along with other __________.

Princeton philosopher Peter Singer argues that we should __________ our moral intutions (本能) and ask whether that logic deserves respect in the first place. Why obey moral impulses that evolved to serve the “__________” — such as sympathy that moves toward relatives and friends? Why not worry more about people an ocean away whose suffering we could cheaply relieve? Isn’t it better to save 10 starving African babies than to keep your 90-year-old father on life support? In the absence of a tough decision-making process, reason may indeed be a(n) “__________ of the passion.”

1.

A．comprehension

B．hesitation

C．resolution

D．imagination

2.

A．diverse

B．generous

C．passive

D．decisive

3.

A．die

B．continue

C．hesitate

D．escape

4.

A．respecting

B．minimizing

C．investigating

D．maximizing

5.

A．referee

B．counselor

C．criminal

D．bystander

6.

A．proportion

B．deal

C．loss

D．gain

7.

A．Likewise

B．However

C．Therefore

D．Moreover

8.

A．imagination

B．reason

C．emotion

D．belief

9.

A．polite

B．religious

C．professional

D．intense

10.

A．concerns

B．efforts

C．bonds

D．therapies

11.

A．self-serving

B．decision-making

C．problem-solving

D．truth-seeking

12.

A．innocents

B．barriers

C．examples

D．accidents

13.

A．follow

B．spread

C．examine

D．ignore

14.

A．selfless

B．self-restraint

C．self-deceptive

D．selfish

15.

A．master

B．advocate

C．slave

D．protester