1 . My House
My mother moved a lot when she was growing up on account of Grandpa being in the army. She hated having to adjust to new schools and make new friends. That’s why I thought she was joking when she put forward the idea of moving. But she was completely serious. “For just the two of us,” my mother said, “an apartment in the city will suit our needs much better.” Personally, I think she’s lost her mind. I guess I can understand why she would want to move, but what about me and what this house means to me?
I suppose if you looked at my house, you might think it was just another country house. But to me it is anything but standard. I moved into this house with my parents ten years ago. I can still remember that first day like it was yesterday. The first thing I noticed was the big front yard. To me it seemed like an ocean of grass — I couldn’t wait to dive in. The backyard was full of gnarled (扭曲的，粗糙的) and scary trees that talk on windy nights. But I grew to like them and the shadows they cast in my room. My father and I even built a small treehouse, where I often go to remember all the wonderful times we had before my father’s death.
This house is special — maybe only to me — but special nevertheless. It’s the little seemingly insignificant things that make this house so special to me: the ice-cold tile floors that make me tremble on midnight; the smell of my father’s pipe that still exists: the towering bookcases of my mother; the view outside my bedroom window.
This house holds too many memories, memories which would be lost if we gave it up.
1. Why did the author’s mother decide to move?| A．Because she hated the countryside. |
| B．Because Grandpa was on constant move. |
| C．Because Dad’s death made her lose her mind. |
| D．Because she thought a city flat more fit for them. |
| A．The treehouse. | B．The green grass. | C．The big trees. | D．The cold floors. |
| A．By arguing whether the house was standard. |
| B．By explaining why the house suited their needs. |
| C．By describing the small things related to her house. |
| D．By comparing the differences between country and city life. |
2 . High school life, especially in the senior year, is a rollercoaster of emotions filled with challenges and pressures. The constant demand for academic excellence, combined with the expections of college applications, and managing extracurricular (课外的) activities can lead even the best students to feel the weight of stress. However, it’s not only possible but essential to find moments of joy and strategies to reduce the pressure efficiently.
Understanding the nature of stress is the primary step. Stress isn’t just a state of mental unrest; it’s a physiological response.
Interestingly, not all stress is harmful. We often overlook the distinction of different stress. Acute (急性的) stress, in contrast to the chronic (长期的), can act as a force.
However, long exposure to stress leads to chronic stress. This kind of stress, if left unchecked, can cause various health issues ranging from mental health problems like anxiety and depression to physical ailments like high blood pressure and even heart diseases.
To reduce the effects of stress, mindfulness and meditation have proven effective. Even on a busy day, sparing just a few moments to focus on one’s breathing or practicing guided meditation can significantly reduce stress levels.
Pursuing hobbies or activities that one is passionate about can also be a good way. Whether it’s painting, reading, playing a musical instrument, or engaging in sports, these activities not only divert the mind but also release endorphins, the body’s natural mood lifters.
Another aspect is communication.
So, with the weight of expectations, deadlines, and too many responsibilities, remember to prioritize mental well-being.
| A．When channeled correctly, stress can be our friend. |
| B．This response is a swift, automatic sequence designed for survival. |
| C．Prioritizing self-care isn’t a luxury (奢侈品); it’s a necessity. |
| D．Every challenge, it approached with a positive mindset, can be an opportunity for growth. |
| E．Seeding external help or just talking to a friend can be incredibly therapeutic. |
| F．They attach us to the present, clearing the mental disorder and lifting the spirit. |
| G．These parts often provide processes adjusted to individual needs. |
3 . For some it is the sound of a bouncing basketball. For others the clearing of a throat. For Dr. Jane Gregory the list includes pigeons, ticking clocks and the sound of popcorn being eaten. “I cried on the plane the other day because I couldn’t figure out the volume on my new headphones and so I couldn’t block out the sound of a guy sniffing,” she says. Gregory is among those who experience misophonia, a phenomenon in which particular sounds can prove unbearable, triggering(引起)emotions from anxiety and panic to shame and anger. Now in her book, Sounds Like Misophonia, the academic is on a mission to explore what’s behind it, and to help those affected cope.
Gregory, a clinical psychologist at the University of Oxford, suggests misophonia is far from being a simple sensitivity to sound. It can be fed by a complex interplay of factors, including a lower ability to filter out certain noises, the association of negative meanings with particular sounds, and the burden of feelings associated with an emotional response to them.
Yet, the phenomenon was largely unknown until the 2010s. In one study, researchers asked people with high and low traits of misophonia to listen out for a “trigger” sound in the presence of a masking sound. Both groups detected the trigger just as easily. “The person with misophonia had a more intense reaction, but only after they identified what the sound was,” adds Gregory. Those results, she says, suggest that people with misophonia are not inherently better at detecting particular sounds, such as a sniff or a rustle—rather they might be listening out for them more, or not be as good as others at tuning them out. This is a trait, Gregory speculates, that might have offered our ancestors an evolutionary advantage, such as helping them to detect hiding predators. Another implication of the research, Gregory says, is that it is not just the auditory features of the sounds that cause negative reactions but the meaning attached to them. An example would be a reaction to the jingling of a dog’s collar after being frightened by an aggressive dog.
Gregory hopes her book will support those too often told to ignore sounds. She says: “The emotional reaction is much more complex than just being annoyed... They feel trapped and helpless when they encounter these sounds. If you think it’s nothing, then you’re not experiencing what this person is experiencing.”
1. Misophonia is a phenomenon where ________.| A．people fail to recognize particular sounds | B．specific sounds cause negative emotions |
| C．different feelings are mixed up together | D．people lose control of their emotions |
| A．Trigger sounds of similar origins. | B．Disability to ignore certain sounds. |
| C．Understanding of particular sounds. | D．Inborn ability to tell certain sounds. |
| A．To detect certain sounds is a solution to misophonia. |
| B．People with misophonia are well understood by others. |
| C．People can benefit from misophonia in some situations. |
| D．Objects related to sounds may trigger negative reactions. |
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” We all know that healthy habits can help us build a strong body, but how can we live a happy life? Over the past two decades, scientists have identified many techniques to raise our happiness, but these methods cannot work magic. “Things like poverty or injury are obviously going to affect your well-being,” says Laurie Santos, at Yale University. “But for many of us, our happiness is much more under our control than we think.” Her free course, The Science of Well-being, explores evidence-based ways to increase happiness.
For a taste of what the course involves, consider our tendency to compare ourselves negatively with the people around us. By recognizing when those thoughts have started to arise, you can consciously shift the reference point to something more neutral(中立的).With this kind of thinking, you may start to feel more content.
The use of gratitude journals, where you regularly count your blessing, work on a similar basis. We have a tendency for “hedonic adaptation”, essentially getting used to the good things in our life over time, and taking them for granted, so they no longer bring us the same interest—we should delay that process.
Other tips like small acts of kindness may surprise you with rewarding experience. However, those approaches to happier life should be used carefully. There is now some evidence that pursuit of happiness can have the opposite effect if it becomes time-consuming. Keeping a gratitude journal appears to be effective if it is used once a week. It seems that the technique may become a burden if it is practiced too regularly.
There seems little doubt that we can learn to be happier, but we should recognize that the path to a better life is with ups and downs. You cannot remove every negative feeling, but with some science-backed strategies, you can shift the balance so as to experience more positive feeling than negative ones.
1. How can we deal with the tendency to compare ourselves negatively with those around us?2. What does “hedonic adaptation” mean?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
As approaches to happier life small acts of kindness can effectively improve our well-being, we should use them as much as possible.
4. In addition to the methods mentioned in the passage, what other method(s) can you take to increase happiness? (In about 40 words)
Last year, I baked biscuits for complete strangers to say “thank you”. I’d had to call 999 because I found my husband unconscious on the floor. Within minutes, a police car arrived and soon my husband received medical care in hospital.
A week later, when I dropped off still-warm biscuits and presented a thank-you note at the police station, the policemen thanked me for delivering gifts.
I drove away feeling light and happy. Later, I realized that my natural high might have been more than it seemed.Research has shown that sharing gratitude has positive effects on health. People who express gratitude will increase their happiness levels, lower their blood pressure and get better sleep.
What about people who receive gratitude?Research has confirmed that when people receive thanks, they experience positive emotions.“Those are happy surprises,”says Jo-Ann Tsang, a professor of psychology. When someone is thanked,he’s more likely to return the favor or pass kindness on, and his chances of being helpful again doubles, probably because he enjoys feeling socially valued.
The give-and-take of gratitude also deepens relationships. Studies show that when your loved ones regularly express gratitude,making you feel appreciated,you’re more likely to return appreciative feelings, which leads to more satisfactory in your relationships.
Nowadays,however,many people don’t express gratitude. Our modern lifestyle may be to blame. With commercial and social media, everything is speeding the younger generation to feel they’re the center of the world. If it’s all about them, why thank others?
Why not thank others? Just take a look at how many positive effects can saying “thank you”have on personal health—and the well-being of others.
If you aren’t particularly grateful, I strongly suggest you learn to be.People who are instructed to keep gratitude journals,in which they write down positive things that happen to them,cultivate gratitude over time.
1. What health benefits can people gain from expressing gratitude?2. How do people probably respond when they receive gratitude and feel socially valued?
3. Please decide which part of the following statement is false, then underline it and explain why.
▷ Saying “thank-you”improves relationships,but nowadays some young people don’t want to do it because everything is making them feel blamed by the whole society.
4. If possible, who would you like to express gratitude to most? Why? (In about 40 words)
6 . The Power in Accepting Your Errors
It pays to be kind to yourself. A new study shows that being compassionate (同情的) with yourself when you make mistakes can reduce depression.
It is generally good to hold yourself to high standards and strive to do your best. But sometimes people have unrealistic views of what they should achieve.
However, self-compassion can help protect people from such negative impacts, a new study finds.
In both groups, people who were kinder to themselves were less likely to experience sadness and depression, the researchers found.
| A．They set standards that are too high. |
| B．Even the most intelligent and productive people make mistakes. |
| C．This is a good example of improving and changing based on a mistake. |
| D．Self-compassion is treating yourself the way you would treat a good friend. |
| E．Such feelings can increase stress and lead to symptoms (症状) of depression. |
| F．So learning self-compassion could improve treatment for those with depression. |
| G．Previous research has shown that people who are perfectionists are more likely to become depressed. |
Laughter can help us to feel more
8 . Everyone feels anxious or nervous at times. Feelings like these can surface when you face a challenge.
●Start with a growth mindset (思想倾向).
Some people have a fixed mindset. They might think, “This is how I am. I get anxious before speaking in class. So I don’t raise my hand.” With a fixed mindset, people don’t think things can change. But people with a growth mindset know they can get better at just about everything — with effort and practice.
●Notice what anxiety feels like for you.
Get to know the body feelings that are part of anxiety. When you’re anxious, do you feel “butterflies”? Shaky hands? A faster heartbeat? Know that these feelings are part of the body’s normal response to a challenge.
●
When you’re anxious, it’s common to tell yourself things like, “I can’t do this.” Or “What if I mess this up?” Instead, tell yourself something that could help you face the moment with a bit of courage, “It’s OK to feel anxious. I can do this anyway.” It’s facing the anxiety that helps you manage it. This is called exposure.
Learning to cope with anxiety takes time and patience. Most of all, it takes practice and willingness to face it. It starts with one small step.
| A．Give it all of your attention. |
| B．That includes dealing with anxiety. |
| C．Talk yourself through anxiety and face it. |
| D．They’re not harmful and they fade on their own. |
| E．It can help you “reset” and be ready to move forward. |
| F．For example, you might feel nervous before taking big exams. |
| G．The more you practice, the better you’ll get at managing anxiety. |
9 . The Happy Man
The happy man lives objectively, and has free love and wide interests, through which he secures his happiness. To be the receivers of love is a vital cause of happiness, but the man who demands love is not the man to whom it is given.
What then can a man do who is unhappy because he is enclosed in self? If he is to get out of the vicious (恶性的) circle of unhappiness, it must be by true interests. But before that, he should analyze his trouble first.
Admit to himself every day at least one painful truth.
All unhappiness depends upon lack of integration (融合). There is disintegration within the self,consciously and unconsciously or between the self and society.
| A．There is much he can do about it. |
| B．The man who receives love is the man who gives it. |
| C．The interests will arise when you overcome being self-centered. |
| D．The happy life is to an extraordinary extent the same as the good life. |
| E．Teach himself life is worth even not having great virtue or intelligence. |
| F．Self-denying leaves a man self-absorbed and aware of his own sacrifice. |
| G．Neither divided against the self nor the world, the happy man never fails to unite. |
