1 . 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.     1     . Perhaps we don’t feel we deserved it, or we don’t think it was a responsible way to spend our money. But should we feel like this? Do we really have to feel guilty about treating ourselves?

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.    2     . It may be that as well as lifting your mood, when you buy a treat, you might just be looking after yourself.

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.    3     , while self-nurturing is taking responsible decisions to satisfy our needs and take care of ourselves in ways that don’t have a significant impact.

    4    . So, many universities publish guides with advice for coping with exam stress. Reflecting the difference between self-indulgence and self-nurture, they recommend rewarding yourself for your efforts, doing things that you enjoy and are good at so that you can feel accomplishment.    5     . Thus, perhaps, as long as we make responsible decisions, we shouldn’t feel guilty about our guilty pleasures.

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

2 . Finding the words to explain how you feel isn’t always easy. This is why young people’s mental health charity has made “My Voice Matters” the theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week.

    1    

Do you have trouble sharing your thoughts or worry no one will listen if you do? Making your voice heard means understanding that your words matter and your opinions count. Dr Julia Clements, a psychologist, says that it means expressing your views, thoughts and feelings, not bottling them all up, and being open to hearing the thoughts, feelings and views of others too.     2     In fact you don’t have to use your voice at all. “You can express what you like and don’t like or what you want for the future by writing or drawing instead,” says Clements. “It’s about finding ways to share what matters to you,” she explains.

Why is it important?

    3     Scientists have discovered that sharing your feelings produces a feel-good chemical in your brain that makes you feel relaxed and calm. Your voice can make a big difference to other people too, including friends and families. Clements says, “You can spread kindness and happiness simply by speaking. With a few kind words, you could help someone feel good about themselves or let them know they are supported.”     4    

How can you find your voice?

Clements suggests practising conversations with friends, parents or carers on the way home from school and seeing if you have different opinions about something. If you’re struggling to explain your feelings, find a way that feels right for you, whether it’s talking face-to-face or writing it down.     5     When you’re ready, “Take a deep breath and believe in yourself,” says Clements. “Know that your opinion matters.”

A．What does speaking up mean?

B．What are the benefits of speaking up?

C．Making yourself heard isn’t about shouting the loudest.

D．Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you are confused about something.

E．Everyone has their own unique way of processing and sharing their feelings.

F．Sharing your feelings with a person you trust will help you make sense of them.

G．Words have the power to uplift someone’s spirits and make a positive impact on their day.

3 . When life is stressful, it’s very easy to give in to feelings of anger or depression.     1     Here are some ways that can help you better deal with a wide range of negative emotions.

·Acknowledge your feelings.

Dealing with negative emotions can be difficult. But it’s important to allow yourself to experience those emotions. Suppressing(抑制)them can cause stress.     2     For example, if you are feeling nervous, ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?” Acknowledging the issue can help you figure out how to handle it.

·Change your environment.

    3     Try changing your space to make it a more calming place. For example, if your negative emotions arise from feeling out of control, try organizing your space. Clearing up the mess can make you feel on top of things.

    4    

When you know that something is causing a negative emotion, try to shift your focus away from that situation. For example, if you are stuck in a traffic jam and running late, listen to your favorite CD. Focusing on something positive can help to calm you down.

·Talk about your feelings.

Talking about your negative emotions is very productive. It is a good idea to let your loved ones know your feelings. Try saying, “I’ve been really stressed out lately. Do you have time to talk things through with me?”     5     It’s fine to express anger or frustration, but do so without shouting.

A．It’s time to figure out what causes them.

B．Shift your focus away from the bad thing.

C．Be calm and reasonable while you are talking.

D．You don’t have to put too much effort into them.

E．When you experience a negative emotion, acknowledge it.

F．However, you will be more productive if you can handle them.

G．Small changes can have a big impact on your emotional health.

4 . When reading, my mother likes to slice a paragraph or a sentence out and attach it to the wall of her kitchen. She picks boring sentences that puzzle me. But I prefer copying favorite bright lines into a journal in soft, gray No. 2 pencil, word by word.

She doesn’t know any of this. There's nothing shocking: for our chatting. we seldom begin certain conversations though we talk on the phone weekly, sometimes making each other laugh so hard that I choke and she cries. But what we don't say could fill up rooms. Fights with my father. Small failures in school. Anything that really upsets us.

My mother has never told me “I love you, Lisa.”—as if the four-word absence explains who I am—so I carry it with me, like a label on me. The last time she almost spoke the words was two years ago, when she called to tell me a friend had been in hospital. I said, “I love you, Mom.” She stopped for a while and then said, “Thank you.” I haven't said it since, but I've wondered why my mother doesn't until I've found a poem that supplies words for the blank spaces I try to understand in our conversations:

Don’t fill up on bread. I say absent-mindedly. The servings here are huge.

My son, middle-aged, says: Did you really just say that to me?

What he doesn’t know is that when we’re walking together, I desire to reach for his hand.

It's humble, yet heartbreaking. After copying it down in my journal, I emailed it to mom, adding “This poem makes me think of you.” My mother doesn’t read poetry—or at least, she doesn’t tell me, and I felt nervous clicking “Send”.

She never mentioned the poem. But the next time I went home for vacation, I noticed something new in the kitchen fixed to an antique board: the poem. The board hung above the heater, the warmest spot in the kitchen. The poem still hangs there. Neither my mother nor I have ever spoken about it.

1. What's the function of paragraph 1?

A．To stress the theme.	B．To establish the setting.
C．To represent the characters.	D．To create the atmosphere.

2. Which of the following best describes the mother daughter relationship?

A．Shaky.

B．Distant.

C．Reserved.

D．Intense.

3. Why did the author send the poem to her mom?

A．It reminded her of mom's love.

B．She wanted to apologize to mom.

C．It suited mom's taste of literature.

D．She needed an interpretation from mom.

4. What does the poem mean to mom?

A．A memory of golden days.

B．Daughter’s gratefulness to her.

C．A decoration in the plain kitchen.

D．Daughter's understanding of her.

5 . Halfway home I asked to stop for a drink. Then afterward I jumped in the backseat to read a book to my brother. And that’s what _________ me, because the crash happened a few miles down the road. The entire front of our car was _________.

I was taken in an ambulance. But my dad, Kash, never regained _________. He died too _________ to save his organs. But everything else was _________: his eyes and tissues. We have a list of fifty people whose _________ he changed. The only things my mom _________ were his bones.

As for me, I couldn’t even play the piano, which had been such a _________ part of my identity. All the bones in my left _________ were seriously damaged, and whenever I tried to __________ with my right hand, I’d just __________ desperately crying. I went through surgery after surgery, but nothing __________. Finally the doctors told me: “Your hand is dying, and the only thing __________ to try is a bone transplant.” Only then did my mother __________ my father’s bones. When the doctor transplanted his bones onto my wrist, the blood started to flow. My hand __________ came back to life. And I could play again.

Now, seventeen years later, though our house is small, we have a piano. Whenever I play the piano, I __________ my dad so deeply. How I wish he could have survived that __________. In our living room we keep a photo album of my dad. I __________ the fact that he never got to meet my kids, but they are quite __________ with him. They call him “Papa Kash”, who we know is __________ alive in this house.

1.

A．honored

B．developed

C．discouraged

D．saved

2.

A．controlled

B．destroyed

C．exposed

D．renewed

3.

A．consciousness

B．reputation

C．acceptance

D．confidence

4.

A．randomly

B．secretly

C．quickly

D．peacefully

5.

A．buried

B．donated

C．refused

D．replaced

6.

A．attitudes

B．purposes

C．lives

D．interests

7.

A．presented

B．recognized

C．witnessed

D．reserved

8.

A．difficult

B．significant

C．strange

D．practical

9.

A．wrist

B．leg

C．chest

D．foot

10.

A．drag

B．strike

C．play

D．touch

11.

A．ended up

B．gave up

C．aimed at

D．insisted on

12.

A．remained

B．matched

C．worked

D．appeared

13.

A．left

B．persuaded

C．avoided

D．predicted

14.

A．approach

B．demonstrate

C．discover

D．remember

15.

A．frequently

B．impossibly

C．mistakenly

D．incredibly

16.

A．move

B．trust

C．miss

D．annoy

17.

A．business

B．accident

C．report

D．surgery

18.

A．hate

B．imagine

C．deny

D．doubt

19.

A．angry

B．familiar

C．strict

D．popular

20.

A．seldom

B．later

C．never

D．forever

6 . How to Learn from Your Regrets

Regret’s benefits don’t come to us by chance.     1     . Here are three steps you can take the next time you find yourself thinking carefully about your past missteps.

Kill the ghost (鬼魂).

People often say their regrets keep coming to their mind. This suggests that regret is like a ghost. Bring your ghost out of the shadows by making a list of your regrets. Write down why each one still bothers you and its bad effects.     2    .

Forgive yourself.

    3    , but sometimes you just can’t stop blaming yourself. Perhaps you dropped out of school decades ago and are constantly calculating today how much money you would be making if you had pressed on to graduation. Now is the time to declare: “I will not waste my life reliving a decision that cannot be changed.”

Collect your diploma.

Regret is like a school run by human nature. If you never experienced regret, you would keep repeating the same behaviors that led you to miss opportunities.     4    . Next. list all the ways that you can invest in your own skills and improvement right now — and get started.

Regrets may hurt.     5    , while trying to live without them is a lost opportunity to grow. Life is a journey full of pleasures and pains. To live it well and fully means learning from every bit of it, including the mistakes, and moving forward.

A．After you make a mistake, life moves on

B．Filling your mind with them is destructive

C．The ghost certainly doesn’t rule a person’s life

D．We have to seek them out on purpose to improve ourselves

E．You will find that a list is a lot less frightening than a ghost

F．You choose a life sentence for a poor decision you made in the past

G．If you let regret teach, you can note how you want to change your behavior