1 . How to practise emotional awareness?
What is emotional awareness? Emotional awareness is being able to identify and make sense of not only our own emotions but those of others. It’s absolutely essential in understanding our behaviors and changing our way of dealing with the problems. With emotional awareness, we can understand how this influences our behaviors.
Of course, describing exactly how we feel can often prove difficult.
Mindfulness is the process of bringing our attention to the present moment and becoming more aware of our thoughts. It’s a state of calm, non-judgmental reflection.
Self-reflection develops emotional awareness and is key to understanding why you feel the way you do. Activities such as journaling can be really beneficial in learning about your thought processes.
| A．And in turn, change the way we respond to challenging situations. |
| B．Without emotional awareness, we may develop emotional blind spots. |
| C．It’s the very reason we turn to general phrases like “I’m not myself today”. |
| D．Sometimes what we really struggle with is putting our emotions into words. |
| E．There are many ways to be mindful, from practising breathwork to sitting in silence. |
| F．And for many of us, that means understanding how we feel and why can be incredibly difficult. |
| G．Research shows that being aware of your emotions is hugely beneficial to social and emotional functioning. |
2 . How to Overcome Fear
Everyone experiences fear sometimes. Fear can actually help keep you safe by alerting you to potentially dangerous situations.
Realize that it’s okay to have fears. Fear is an adaptive function that prolongs our lives. Fear triggers a “fight-or-flight” response, which readies our bodies to take action in order to protect ourselves.
Understand your triggers. Is it something obvious, like the sight of a snake on a trail? Figure out everything that triggers your fear.
Imagine the outcome you desire. Now that you better understand your fear, think about what exactly you want to change.
Practice engaging with the fear. The power to label your emotions is beneficial for self-understanding and emotional intelligence.
Make your fear a source of fascination. Try to re-frame your fear in a positive light and acknowledge the thrill it can offer. When you start seeing fear as a source of energy, you might even embrace its role in your life.
| A．However, there are times when fear runs overwhelming and disturbs your daily life |
| B．Start seeing fear as an opportunity |
| C．Recognize when fears become overwhelming |
| D．The more you can know about your fear, the better |
| E．Think about yourself experiencing life without your fear |
| F．Figure out exactly what power your fear has over your mind and behavior |
| G．Acknowledge what comes up with no attachment to “good” or “bad” |
3 . How do you express gratitude in your everyday life? For me, it sometimes feels worrying: hand-writing hundreds of thank you cards after an anniversary, or making sure to eat every last bite on my plate so my grandma wouldn’t think I was ungrateful for the meal.
Start a gratitude journal or write a letter. Make it a habit to put down the things that you’re thankful for.
Bear in mind the difference between saying “thanks to” and “thanks for”. Being grateful “for” something can be a little unclear or general.
| A．Stretch your gratitude muscle. |
| B．Notice the world surrounding you. |
| C．Better still, deliver it in person and read it to them. |
| D．A habitual gratitude journal will certainly benefit us. |
| E．But experts say it doesn’t have to be that complicated. |
| F．In fact, this habit reduces materialism and enhances generosity. |
| G．Being grateful “to” something or someone implies a direct relationship. |
Crying is a natural response to emotions. Regardless of
5 . Walter Benjamin, the German philosopher, once noted that boredom was the “dream bird that hatches the egg of experience”. However, the creative flights of fancy which often arise from having little to do are being killed off by social media, researchers argued. Viewing mindlessly through attention-grabbing posts and videos prevents “profound (深层的) boredom” that can drive people on to new passions or skills. Instead, people find themselves in a state of “superficial boredom”, which does not motivate creative thought.
Dr Timothy Hill, leader of the research team at the University of Bath, said, “The problem we observed was that social media can ease superficial boredom. But that also consumes time and energy, and may prevent people progressing to a state of profound boredom, where they might discover new passions. Profound boredom may sound like a negative concept but, in fact, it can be intensely positive if people are given the chance for undisturbed thinking and development.
Researchers interviewed 15 people during the pandemic (流行病), when boredom was more likely because of restrictions. Many described being trapped in regularly daily walks and watching television, with many turning to social media to pass the time. But although the participants said that social media provided a temporary escape from superficial boredom, it also appeared to exacerbate it, leaving them feeling they had wasted their time.
The pandemic was a painful and consuming experience for thousands of less fortunate people. But there are stories of those in lockdown who found new hobbies, careers or directions in life. Switching off devices could help people reach the state of boredom which pushes them on to new hobbies or achievements.
This research has given us a window to understand how the “always-on”, 24/7 culture and devices that promise an abundance of information and entertainment may be fixing our superficial boredom but are actually preventing us from finding more meaningful things.
1. Why are Walter Benjamin’s words mentioned?| A．To call for attention to the research on boredom. |
| B．To comment on the strategies to face loneliness. |
| C．To offer advice on developing creative thinking. |
| D．To clarify the problem caused by social media. |
| A．Profound boredom is of value. |
| B．Social media can fuel passions. |
| C．The research has some limitations. |
| D．Creative thought is easily disturbed. |
| A．Avoid. | B．Break. |
| C．Inspire. | D．Worsen. |
| A．Why people enjoy boredom |
| B．How boredom helps kill time |
| C．Why being bored may be good for you |
| D．How social media blocks creative ideas |
6 . Winter goes and summer comes. The tides
And how will I master these emotions so that each day will be
With this new knowledge I will make
| A．advance | B．disappear | C．exist | D．fall |
| A．native | B．colleague | C．supporter | D．part |
| A．jokes | B．secrets | C．experiences | D．awards |
| A．break in | B．wake up | C．take off | D．give out |
| A．constantly | B．temporarily | C．casually | D．elegantly |
| A．appear | B．blow | C．fade | D．spread |
| A．anxious | B．natural | C．additional | D．productive |
| A．sow | B．grow | C．separate | D．shelter |
| A．fold | B．follow | C．carry | D．load |
| A．react | B．review | C．recite | D．repeat |
| A．obtains | B．regards | C．allows | D．observes |
| A．chosen | B．seized | C．received | D．witnessed |
| A．self-awareness | B．self-control | C．self-esteem | D．self-pity |
| A．behind the scene | B．on the bottom line | C．at the end of the rope | D．out of sight |
| A．insignificant | B．improper | C．impolite | D．unconscious |
| A．concrete | B．inadequate | C．abstract | D．unmatched |
| A．use | B．fun | C．sure | D．sense |
| A．view | B．meeting | C．experiment | D．idiom |
| A．limited | B．reserved | C．prepared | D．afraid |
| A．salesman | B．player | C．architect | D．designer |
I like staying overnight at my Gramma’s house — that is, until Gramma starts telling me how wonderful my cousin Maya is. Then it’s Maya this and Maya that until I don’t ever want to hear another word about her.
That’s why I wasn’t too excited when Gramma called me on the phone to “come on over and bring your pajamas.” When I got there, it was worse than I’d expected. There, in Grandpa’s big leather rocker, sat Maya, all dressed up and formal-looking and wearing fancy shoes as if she’d just been to a party.
“Surprise, Kristen!” Gramma said. “Your cousin Maya and her parents have traveled in from the East Coast on business. Maya gets to stay with us this afternoon.” Gramma chattered away about how excited she’d been for this surprise get-together, and how cousins ought to get to know each other better.
I hung my baseball cap in the closet and set my backpack by the stairway, all the time smiling and nodding as if I’d been waiting forever for this chance to spend an afternoon with Maya. Grandpa’s chair squawked (咯咯叫) as Maya rocked back and forth. It’s the chair I like best in the house, the one I usually sit in. I sat down on the sofa across from her.
Shortly, Gramma went off to the kitchen to “see about some lunch,” she’d said. That left me stuck in the living room with rocking Maya.
She was still small but taller than I’d remembered her from her last visit four years ago. She was good at small talk, though, and was chatting away about how nice it was to see me again. But I could tell that she didn’t really think so. The last time she was here, we’d had hours of fun together building caves out of Gramma’s sofa pillows.
After that, I’d heard about her only through Gramma’s tales. Maya taking piano lessons. Maya learning math. Maya, Maya, Maya. Now Maya was here, looking great with the latest haircut and a fancy dress.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Glancing down at my jeans and my old sneakers, I wished I hadn’t come.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“How do you know all these things about me?” I asked.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8 . A broken heart. A sad ending to a love affair. That’s something most of us have experienced, or probably will. The experience can be destructive. You might find yourself listening more to sad music, hoping it can resonate with your feelings of disappointment, and you’ll never heal (治愈) from your broken heart.
You might go through a strong feeling of sorrow, as in Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”, or the pain of a lyric from Bob Dylan’s “Love Sick”: “I’m sick of love. I wish. I’d never met you.”
But research shows listening to sad music can help you begin to feel joy and hopefulness about your life again. Sad music can help heal and uplift you from your broken heart. Or, from any negative, disappointing life situation. It can activate empathy (共情) and the desire to reach out for others — both pathways out of the prison of heartache and hopelessness.
A recent study from Germany found the emotional impact of listening to sad music can lift the feelings of empathy, compassion, and a desire for positive connection with others. That, itself, is psychologically healing. It draws you away from anxiety with yourself, and possibly towards helping others in need of comfort.
Another experiment, from the University of Kent, found that when people were experiencing sadness, listening to music that was “beautiful but sad” excited their mood. In fact, it did so when the person first consciously understood the situation causing their sadness before beginning to listen to the sad music. That is, when they intended that the sad music might help, they found that it did. But that wasn’t true if they just listened to sad music without first thinking about the sad situation.
Then, you may be answering the question raised in the old Bee Gees’ song, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?”
1. What does the underlined word “resonate” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Communicate. | B．Cooperate. | C．Contrast. | D．Correspond. |
| A．To present the sad feelings from their songs. |
| B．To celebrate their achievements in the music field. |
| C．To compare the difference between their music. |
| D．To convince others of the healing effects of music. |
| A．Shared feelings might enable people to help others. |
| B．Sad music can strengthen relationship between people |
| C．Showing empathy does good both mentally and physically |
| D．Sad songs can benefit people with the intention of lifting spirits. |
| A．What does music bring to us? | B．How can sad music heal a broken heart? |
| C．Why is sad music so popular? | D．When can we turn to others for help? |
9 . It’s well-known that being in green spaces is good for physical and mental health.
“If you’re in a body of water, your internal state just becomes calm,” Dr Natalie Azar, NBC News medical contributor, told TODAY. “
Being near water gives people a consciousness of something greater than themselves. The sounds and movement of water can get people to focus their attention and this invites calm. “You don’t have to go to the coast to experience this wellbeing,” said Azar. “Any waterway will do, including lakes, rivers, canals or ponds.
A new study conducted by King’s College London has also proved that spending time near urban canals and rivers is linked to feeling happy and healthy, stressed a press release from the college. Moreover, it has found that urban waterways are superior to feelings of wellbeing than just being near the ocean.
“
The study has also found that there are continuous improvements to mental wellbeing for up to 24 hours after visiting urban waterways.
| A．These results remain to be tested. |
| B．Even a flowing fountain will work. |
| C．This is good news for urban people. |
| D．It’s something that I think we’ve all experienced. |
| E．Our findings show that blue spaces are naturally calming. |
| F．Canals and rivers contain not only water but also trees and other plants. |
| G．Now scientists have discovered blue spaces are also connected to better mental health. |
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)
