1 . More Than a Feeling

Charles Darwin formulated the most successful theory in the history of biology: the theory of evolution. He was also responsible for another grand theory: the theory of emotion, which dominated his field for more than a century. Its core principle was that the mind consists of two competing forces: the rational and the emotional.     1    

We now know that, on the contrary, emotions enhance our process of reasoning and aid our decision-making. In fact, we can’t make decisions, or even think, without being influenced by our emotions.

    2     Perhaps the most important discovery regarding the role of emotion is that even when you believe you are exercising cold, logical reason, you are not. People are not usually aware of this, but the very framework (框架) of their thought process is highly influenced by what they are feeling at the time - sometimes subtly (细微地).

Consider anger, for example. Backed by the threat of attack, anger creates incentives (动机) for others to comfort the angry individual. Your mental calculations increase the importance you place on your own welfare and goals at the expense of others’. Coaches tap into anger as a motivational tool because the focus on the self encourages athletes to push themselves to achieve their goals. Anger also causes you to perceive less risk.     3    

The new view of emotion may not correspond to the way Darwin saw it, but it does support one of the basic conclusions of his theory of evolution. Humans are not as different from non-human animals as people believed. What can we learn from this? The first and most crucial step is self- awareness.     4     By studying our own emotions, we can read others’ better and communicate more effectively. Once we are in touch with our true feelings, we can take steps to manage them whenever it benefits.

A．Emotions play a critical role in shaping our thoughts and decisions, subtly influencing the framework of our reasoning even when we believe we are thinking rationally.

B．He believed that emotions played a constructive role in the lives of non-human animals, while the usefulness of emotions was largely replaced by the evolution of reason in humans.

C．That can produce better judgments in situations where risk aversion (厌恶) is inappropriate, as when you are analyzing stocks (股票) or playing poker.

D．Anger, while often perceived negatively, can sometimes fuel our motivation and reduce our perception of risk, enabling more decisive actions in certain situations.

E．Studies show that those with high levels of emotional intelligence fare better in their personal and professional lives.

F．If emotions aid rational reasoning, how does that work.

2 . You constantly find yourself apologizing to a friend when you’ve done nothing wrong. You feel you must obey someone’s demands, or they will be upset with you or even harm you or themselves. An unclear or specific threat is made that causes you to fear that someone will reveal a secret or weakness, so you do what that person wants. Or perhaps a relative is trying to make you feel obliged to do something by saying, “That’s what friends or family do for each other.” They arouse feelings of guilt in you for not meeting their needs.

If you have had experience with any of these cases, then you are the victim of emotional blackmail (勒索). This style of handle controls you through your emotions. Fear, obligation and guilt - FOG - are used by an emotional blackmailer to get what they want from people.

Anyone - a friend, colleague, parent, partner or other family members - could be that person. Their demands are intended to control their victim’s behavior in unhealthy methods. Intentional or unintentional, if your needs are always brushed aside in favor of the other person’s, things need to change.

Dr. Susan Forward identifies six stages in emotional blackmail. Implied or obvious demands come first. “I don’t think you should do things with that person. They’re not good for you.” After this kind of statement, the ball is in the victim’s court, so stage two is resistance. The victim often avoids the blackmailer or suggests alternatives instead of saying no. Stage three is persistent pressure by the blackmailer: “If we were really friends, you’d do it.” Stage four involves threats: “If you don’t do this...then I will ...” The victim doesn’t want the blackmailer to make good on their threats, so obedience, which is stage five, often leaves the victim feeling guilty or resentful. In stage six the blackmailer backs off until the next demand.

What can you do? First, recognize if you are being pressured, threatened or controlled. Stay calm, and stop so you can consider other possibilities. Identify your triggers; don’t be pressured into an immediate response. Offer a compromise (妥协). Tell the blackmailer how you feel, and give them a chance to acknowledge their behavior and change. If they won’t, walk away from the relationship. Under no circumstances should you let your fears be used against you.

1. According to the passage, emotional blackmail means ______.

A．a kind of emotion that can be mailed to others online

B．a kind of action to influence others by means of emotion

C．a colour that can greatly influence others’ emotion

D．a situation where emotion can be stored and given out freely

2. What is the purpose of using Dr. Susan Forward’s six stages in emotional blackmail?

A．To illustrate the process of emotional blackmail.

B．To explain the origin of emotional blackmail.

C．To prove the existence of emotional blackmail.

D．To demonstrate the theory of emotional blackmail.

3. The word resentful in the last paragraph but one most probably means ______.

A．amazed

B．frightened

C．indifferent

D．angry

4. We can conclude from the passage that ______.

A．wherever you are, it is impossible to avoid emotional blackmail in life

B．whenever you’re emotionally blackmailed, just let it be with no response

C．it’s an advisable way to give a proper response when emotionally blackmailed

D．it’s a correct response to sincerely negotiate with emotional blackmailer then

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use ONE word that best fits each blank.

Coping With the Sunday Scaries

A few years ago, I was in the kitchen of a friend’s house preparing a meal. When we all sat down to eat, my friend’s wife wolfed down her supper and then disappeared into another room to do some work. He smiled and said, “Sunday nights are the new Monday mornings around here.”

I was surprised at the time. Now, I find myself     1    (behave) in exactly the same manner. Every time I open up my calendar on Sunday evening, a subtle sense of dread comes over me. I feel as     2     I am behind before the week has even begun.

Apparently, my Sunday-night anxieties and Monday-morning blues are not unique to me alone. A new study led by Ilke Inceoglu from the University of Exeter found that this phenomenon often takes the form of mental concerns about the week ahead, as well as feelings of nervousness and difficulty with sleeping. “It’s as if your mind moves away from     3     has been experienced over the weekend as the general sense of relaxation or enjoyment, and quickly shifts towards whatever worries you have about everything you’ve got to do in the work week ahead,” said one of Inceoglu’s respondents.

Inceoglu found that these Sunday scaries were particularly pronounced     4     people who frequently checked their emails during the weekend, had tasks left over from the previous week, and had unreasonably high expectations of themselves. These matters seem     5    (make) worse as a result of the pandemic, where the rise of working from home     6    (blur) the boundaries between work and leisure.

What should we do about the “Sunday scaries”? Researchers have offered some useful suggestions that     7     help us make Monday less depressing. One is to change     8     you think about the weekend. One U.S. study found that when participants were asked to treat their weekend as a mini-vacation, they tended to do more cheerful activities and returned to work on Monday satisfied with their jobs.     9     second way is to redesign our Monday so that it has some of the features that make us feel good during the weekend. Introducing simple changes, such as starting the day with something you are good at, setting aside a little unstructured time where you are able to do what you want, or setting up a lunchtime date with     10     you find enjoyable to be around, could make all the difference.

4 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
Dear Sally,

I recently became engaged, I love my fiancé a lot but we are getting into a lot of arguments     1     our Wedding plans. I would prefer a small wedding, just our immediate family and closest friends. I think it is such a special moment and I only want the people who are most important to be near us. I don’t want to be surrounded by people not really     2    (care) about us. He wants the whole world to be there--- the mail carrier, the baker, the butcher!!! My fiancé says a wedding day is     3    (important) day in anyone’s life. He wants to share his joy with everyone.

It’s not a question whether we can afford it although I     4     worry about how much a wedding costs and I would rather save the money for a house. I dislike fighting but I just don’t feel comfortable with his plans.

——Nervous

Dear Nervous,

Planning weddings     5     be very stressful. Each person has clear ideas about     6     his or her “perfect” wedding would be. Each person has dreams and hopes for that day. Now it is a good time to practice compromising (妥协) with your husband-to-be.     7     one of you should be unhappy on your wedding day. If you get your way, your husband will be unhappy. If he gets his way, it sounds     8     you will be unhappy.

Why don’t the two of you talk about     9     compromise? Perhaps a medium-sized wedding? Perhaps two weddings--- a small intimate ceremony and a large reception? You     10    (have) to compromise many times in your married life. You both can start now.

——Sally

5 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。1.

A．By offering thanks orally to the loved ones.

B．By showing gratefulness on a regular basis.

C．By developing good sleeping and eating habits.

D．By taking exercise with close friends regularly.

2.

A．Noticing the positive helps cure eating disorders.

B．Practicing gratitude can lengthen your sleep cycle.

C．Showing thankfulness contributes to your career promotion.

D．Admiring others’ value can improve relationship in workplaces.

3.

A．It is a blessing that we are valued.

B．Extending gratitude has multiple benefits.

C．We should stop counting sheep or calories.

D．People can learn to be appreciative by heart.

6 . In the film Inside Out, 11-year-old Riley’s emotions are personified as brightly colored internal figures that drive her behaviors. The same five emotions—anger, fear, disgust (憎恶), sadness, and joy—appear in every other character’s head as well, functioning in much the same way in each individual. In Western cultures, this is the case, argues psychologist Batja Mesquita in Between Us. Emotions in such contexts, she writes, are considered “MINE,” or “Mental, INside the person, and Essentialist,” the latter defined in the book as always having the same properties.

This conception of emotion is not universal, however. Emotions elsewhere, she argues, are thought of as “OURS”—“OUtside   the   person,   Relational,   and   Situated.”   Using   this   distinction,   Mesquita   sets   about contrasting emotions in “the West,” where the individual is the top concern, with “the Rest,” where community is prioritized.

Mesquita describes amae as a central emotion in Japanese culture, where it builds interdependence by encouraging tolerance in parenting process. She describes hasham—which includes shame, embarrassment, and   social   respectability—as   a   fundamental   emotion   for   Egyptian Bedouins   (游牧人).   Such   observations provide a background for her to explore a range of issues, including childhood socialization, the nature of friendship, the role of language in shaping emotions, and cross-cultural communication in a globalized world.

Despite   Mesquita’s   emphasis   on   cross-cultural   emotions,   there   is   little   discussion   of whether   the MINE-OURS dichotomy (二分法) accurately explains global cultural variation. Other scholars have noted, for example, that hunter-gatherer societies at the same time emphasize both individual self-government and social cooperation. And in an apparent contradiction to her earlier arguments, Mesquita herself ultimately concludes that Westerners have OURS emotions.

Taken as a whole, however, the book contributes much to the discussion of the origins of emotions, presenting a remarkable collection of cross-cultural studies intermixed with personal stories about foreign residents’ struggles to reunite   diverse   emotional   and   social worlds.   In   chapter   8,   for   example,   Mesquita describes   an   incident   where   she—a   Dutch   native   living   in   the   United   States—bumped   into   the   famous American   psychologist   Hazel   Markus   at   a   conference   Markus   helped   organize.   Wishing   to   express understanding of Markus’s workload, Mesquita declared “You look a little tired.” The remark appeared to make Markus nervous and confused but was intended as an expression of sympathy—to sympathize in Dutch is to acknowledge suffering, not offer comfort as in the US.

The book’s take-home message is fundamental: There are no natural emotions, no inborn emotions, no universal emotions. Mesquita argues that emotions are “meaning making” and “a preparation for action” and that the idea of “emotions as inner states” is a Western construct. Instead, she suggests that emotions are a “dance” cocreated between people who live in a specific cultural context at a particular historical moment.

1. In Between Us, Mesquita indicates that ______.

A．the Japanese build kids’ emotion of shame in parenting

B．MINE-OURS dichotomy is the very cause of cross-cultural emotions

C．emotions outside “the West” are considered community-centred

D．hunter-gatherers have both emotions of “OURS” and “MINE”

2. We can infer from the incident in paragraph 5 that ______.

A．the emotion of sympathy is to offer help in Dutch culture

B．foreign residents from different cultures usually unite as one

C．as Dutch Mesquita shows her personality of warmth and caring

D．cross-cultural emotional exchanges probably cause misunderstanding

3. What is Mesquita’s main argument about emotions in her book?

A．Family education hardly influences one’s emotions.

B．Sociocultural contexts largely contribute to emotions.

C．Western people’s emotions have no properties of OURS.

D．Internal factors play a vital role in shaping how we feel.

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

A．The cultural landscape of emotions	B．The cultural origin of emotions
C．The cultural convention of emotions	D．The cultural shock of emotions

7 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct.
Hi, everyone.

Traditionally,     1     the year winds down, it’s a time for reflections—to give thanks, reconnect with loved ones, and cherish the more meaningful parts of life, removed from our usual day-to-day distractions.

Of course, the events of 2020 haven’t shown a lot of respect for our traditions. In a year of so much tragedy, it can be tough to give thanks when you’re doing your best to get by. And far too many of us will have to gather around a table with an empty chair, if we were able to gather together at all.

One thing, though, we can say about 2020 is that it forced us all to cherish what is most important, what’s most meaningful in our lives. To stop taking things for granted,     2     truly matters. To be grateful for what we have, and to be alive to the pain of those     3     (fortunate).

Throughout this challenging year, I’ve been moved, again and again, by the sacrifices so many were willing to make on behalf of others. The healthcare professionals who risked their lives to save ours. The workers who have kept our lights on and our shelves stocked, always essential to our economy, but finally     4     (recognize) for it. The protesters of every race and age who saw injustice in their streets and their institutions and demanded change. And the less heralded leaders, the quiet change-makers who saw need in their own communities and leapt to address it. They checked in on their neighbors, delivered food and PPE to seniors and those experiencing hardship, offered mental health support to those     5    (recover) from trauma.     6     holes this pandemic tore wide in our social fabric, these emerging leaders stepped forward to patch it up.

These are exactly the leaders Michelle and I started our Foundation to support. We always thought they     7     (lead) us into a bright future, if only we     8     empower them, connect them with each other, and give them a dose of inspiration when they needed it.

What we learned in 2020 is that these emerging leaders aren’t just building a brighter future, they’re safeguarding our present. In hard times, they are the ones who’ve given me solace. It’s     9     sacrifice in which I found hope. And as we begin to close the chapter on a difficult year with encouraging news on the horizon, it’s their leadership     10     will guide us today and tomorrow.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everybody.

—Quoted from Barack Obama’s Christmas speech in 2020

8 . Noah reached for his guitar, remembering his father as he did so, thinking how much he missed him. He strummed once, adjusted the tension on two strings, then strummed again. This time it sounded about right, and he began to play.

Soft music, quiet music. He hummed for a little while at first, then began to sing as night came down around him. He played and sang until the sun was gone and the sky black. It was a little after seven when he quit, and he settled back into his chair and began to rock. By habit, he looked upward and saw Orion and the Big Dipper, Gemini and the Pole Star, twinkling in the autumn sky. He started to run the numbers in his head, then stopped. He knew he’d spent almost his entire savings on the house and would have to find a job again soon, but he pushed the thought away and decided to enjoy the remaining months of restoration without worrying about it. Besides, thinking about money usually bored him. Early on, he’d learned to enjoy simple things, things that couldn’t be bought, and he had a hard time understanding people who felt otherwise. It was another trait he got from his father.

Clem, his hound dog, came up to him then and nuzzled his hand before lying down at his feet. “Hey, girl, how’re you doing?” he asked as he patted her head, and she whined softly, her soft round eyes peering upward. A car accident had taken her leg, but she still moved well enough and kept him company on quiet nights like these. He was thirty-one now, not too old, but old enough to be lonely. He hadn’t dated since he’d been back here, hadn’t met anyone who remotely interested him. It was his own fault, he knew. There was something that kept a distance between him and any woman who started to get close, something he wasn’t sure he could change even if he tried. And sometimes in the moments right before sleep came, he wondered if he was destined to be alone forever.

The evening passed, staying warm, nice. Noah listened to the crickets and the rustling leaves, thinking that the sound of nature was more real and aroused more emotion than things like cars and planes. Natural things gave back more than they took, and their sounds always brought him back to the way man was supposed to be. “It’ll keep you from going crazy,” his father had told him the day he’d shipped out. “It’s God’s music and it’ll take you home.” He finished his tea, went inside, found a book, then turned on the porch light on his way back out. After sitting down again, he looked at the book. It was old, the cover was torn, and the pages were stained with mud and water.

It was Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, and he had carried it with him throughout the war. It had even taken a bullet for him once. He rubbed the cover, dusting it off just a little. Then he let the book open randomly and read the words in front of him: This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless. Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done. Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best. Night, sleep, death and the stars. For some reason Whitman always reminded him of New Bern, and he was glad he’d come back. Though he’d been away from fourteen years, this was home and he knew a lot of people here, most of them from his youth. Like so many southern towns, the people who lived here never changed, they just grew a bit older.

1. The underlined sentence in paragraph two is the equivalent of “_________”.

A．he hated those who were unable to appreciate simple things in life

B．he didn’t see eye to eye with people who liked to save money

C．he had difficulty in figuring out how he got this trait from his father

D．he didn’t understand why people were so materialistic

2. Which of the following is NOT true according the passage?

A．Noah often played the guitar and observed the stars.

B．Clem the dog showed great affection for her master.

C．Noah was destined to be alone since no woman seemed interested in him.

D．Noah planned to restore his house before landing himself a job.

3. Which of the following statements would Noah’s father most agree with?

A．Patients suffering from mental disorder can be cured by nature.

B．The closer you are to nature, the closer you are to your true self.

C．Where there is God’s music, there is home.

D．A good book is a man’s best company.

4. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman _________.

A．had been a treasure but was now too damaged to read

B．recorded the lives of New Bern’s people who never changed over the years

C．was beyond Noah’s understanding so he randomly picked up some words to read

D．stirred a feeling of nostalgia in Noah

9 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. fatigue       B. qualified          C. challenge       D. routine       E. persistent F. meant        G. necessarily       H. fueled            I. suffer          J. recognize       K ideally

For the entirety of our life we have been coping with anxiety. But having some anxiety, especially in a stressful situation, isn’t     1     bad and can actually be beneficial, experts say. The right amount of anxiety can improve performance.

Anxiety is an uncomfortable emotion, often     2     by uncertainty. It can create intense, excessive and     3     worry and fear, not just about stressful events but also about everyday situations. There are usually physical symptoms too, like fast heart rate, muscle tension, rapid breathing, sweating and     4    .

Too much anxiety can be debilitating (使体弱力衰). But a normal amount is     5     to help keep us safe, experts say. “The emotion of anxiety and the underlying physiological stress response evolved to protect us,” Wendy Suzuki, a neuroscientist and the author of “Good Anxiety,” said, “Managing stress may be more useful than getting rid of it.” According to the Yerkes-Dodson Law, a theory that originated in the early 20th century from experiments on mice, increasing amounts of cognitive arousal, or stress, can improve performance — but only up to a certain point. The theory, represented by a curve shaped like a mountain, shows that after it peaks, greater levels of stress cause performance to     6    .

When anxiety is turned up too high, Dr. Suzuki added, it tends to become less useful. The first step in controlling anxiety that holds you back is to     7     when you’re feeling overly anxious and try to dial it down.

A certain degree of anxiety can help people prepare for a potential     8    , remain cautious and stay organized. But if anxiety is making you “uncomfortable more often than not” or interfering with     9     functioning and preventing you from living the life you want to live, that signals the need for additional support,     10     from a mental health professional.

10 . 选用适当的单词或短语补全短文。

A. influence   B. devoted     C. physically   D. circumstance   E. affected F. overall     G. financially   H. decision   I. positive       J. strive     K. joyful

Happiness, according to the Oxford English dictionary, is based on luck or good fortune. Joy on the other hand, is described as a vivid emotion of pleasure. Thus, happiness depends on     1    ; joy, on our emotional well-being.

If you know joyful people, you will probably notice common traits among them. Joyful people are often healthy, both     2     and mentally; they value strong     3     relationships, and they don’t allow the extremes of life -- sudden highs or sudden lows -- to     4     them too much. Joyful people lead a more stable life. But these abilities do not just arrive; they have to be worked at.

Teaching ourselves to be joyful may be one of the greatest things we can do to enhance our     5     health. However, it is important to understand that joy is an emotion that arises from within us and is not     6     by the things that happen to us. Instead of looking for external things to provide happiness in our lives, we must     7     to find the joy within. We must educate ourselves about joy and work to enhance it in our lives. One way to start is to make a     8     to wake up every morning and find joy in our lives. Think about a special person or a     9     pet. It is our choice to be joyful or fearful. Let’s take the time to train ourselves to be    10     -- our lives will be both happier and healthier for it.