1 . When it starts to smell like home

In casual conversations, government documents, and formal job interviews, there is a simple question: “Where are you from?”     1     I could say I am from Peru — my birthplace, or Mexico where I spent the majority of my childhood, or the United States whose culture is deeply rooted into my life.

No matter what answer I choose, a small voice whispers in my head: I am not enough to say I am from Peru, Mexico, or the United States. To be from somewhere carries expectations of understanding, accepting, and reforming “your” culture, “your” home.     2     Like dandelion (蒲公英), dragged by the waves of the wind, broken parts of me are spread across the three countries and in three different times, and further torn apart in many more smaller moments.

    3     They are “going home” for school breaks. As students who frequently move may also understand, I have never seen my living space as “home”. So, does this mean I do not have, and will never have a home? Yes or so, I thought. I resigned myself to live with this sense of sadness until very recently.

When I was walking through a supermarket, a memorable smell of bread drifted into my nose. Whenever Mom and I would stop by the bakery section of HEB, a Mexican supermarket, she would buy me this cheap sausage bread, the kind where the sausage would fall out of it on the first bite and you’re left eating the buttery, salty bread by itself.     4    

Sadly, even with this inner feeling, nothing outer has changed. I will always feel a sense of loss in not having a physical home to “go back to”. Yet when a smell catches me off guard with the memories it brings, I am lucky enough to feel like I am “at home” in these brief moments.     5    

A．I can never answer without hesitating.

B．Instead what better home can I ask for?

C．As if the blown dandelion have landed to grow.

D．This sometimes leads to uncomfortable feelings.

E．But what does it take for something to be “mine”?

F．There are times when I feel envious of my friends.

G．A simple smell of bread brings up a simple pleasure.

2 . Having an off day when you feel stressed or sad is totally normal.    1    We’ve put together some different things you can try to help turn your mood around and get feeling like yourself again.

Take a few minutes to breathe deeply. The simple action of taking full, deep breaths can help you start to feel better. Deep breathing increases oxygen supply throughout the body.     2     Deep breathing also helps activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which produces a calming effect.

Start keeping diaries.    3    It is a way to cognitively deal with the circumstances behind how you are feeling. In fact, studies have shown that writing offers benefits of emotional well-being, including relief of emotional distress. Besides, adjourning has been shown to benefit the immune system.

    4    Emotional tears signal the body to let out endorphins or “feel-good” hormones to promote a feeling of calm and well-being. Not only does crying allow your body to let out stress hormones, but at the end of a good cry, the body assumes a calmer state with a lower heart and breathing rate.

Rely on your support system. Studies have shown the benefits of having a close support system of family and friends to whom you can turn. Social support leads to a sense of belonging and security rather than loneliness while dealing with emotional pain.    5    

A．Take a break to laugh.

B．Go ahead and cry if you need to.

C．Take some time for yourself and treat yourself.

D．It’s also been linked to an increased sense of self-worth.

E．Writing down your feelings provides a great benefit.

F．This can help to relax muscles and reduce your blood pressure.

G．The good news is that there are things you can do for yourself to start feeling better.

3 . Anger has a bad reputation.     1     We temporarily lose our judgment, regaining it only after our anger dies down — often when it’s too late. It’s as if anger destroys us, overwhelming our best intentions.

But what if anger is a valuable-friend, not an adversary (对手) to be defeated?     2     It provides us with information about the world around us. Anger is an internal signal that identifies our unmet needs and presents us with opportunities for course correction, healing, and growth. It motivates us to act toward meeting our needs and reaching our goals.

Anger has one main purpose — to secure our safety and survival. We respond with anger when we are threatened or when our boundaries are violated (侵犯).     3    

What we need is a willingness to experience anger without suppressing it or discharging it immediately. When we have the courage to remain present with our anger, we can look directly at it. We can investigate and come to understand it, and we can extract its wisdom.

    4     Rather than identify with anger’s urge to act, or with its feelings of frustration and powerlessness, you now relate to its message of worth and efficacy. This change, in turn, frees you to grow through your anger.

Anger, like a fire, is a force. Left unchecked, it can be destructive.     5    

A．Uncovering the wisdom of anger begins with feeling it fully.

B．It gives us energy and power to overcome threatening situations.

C．Yet when it is used wisely, it can be powerful beneficial instrument.

D．When you come to see anger as a friend, you change your relationship with it.

E．While anger sometimes involves aggressive tendencies, it also carries great wisdom.

F．When we have the courage to remain present with our anger, we can look directly at it.

G．When it bursts out, it can take control of our body, our thoughts, our senses, and our actions.

4 . Have you ever wondered about the significance of emotions in our life?     1    In order to grow and be better than before, you must learn to be emotionally intelligent. Let’s explore some powerful strategies to help you become emotionally mature!

Try using “I” statements.

Whenever your feelings are disrupted or you get hurt, it is good to tell others how you really feel.     2     You need to tell others how you feel about the situation but do so in a non-aggressive way. The best way to do this is by using “I” statements instead of “You” statements. Here is an example: “I feel miserable and heartbroken”. You should use this statement instead of, “You make me feel miserable and heartbroken”.

    3    

In some situations, your loved ones could be hurting you through their words or their actions, and you could also be wrong. You must not let negative thoughts question your judgment. What happens in more than 70% of situations is that we let negative thoughts take hold of us, which is completely wrong. Whenever the other person is behaving in an upsetting manner, ask yourself if you have done anything to make them feel like that.

Take responsibility for your actions.

Just like your words, you need to take full responsibility for your actions. If you don’t own whatever you say or do, how can you become emotionally strong? Many people make silly excuses and don’t take responsibility for their actions, and that is where they hurt others and themselves. If you have made a mistake and hurt others in the process, apologize immediately.     4    

Avoid negative people.

    5     If you are surrounded by happy and motivated people, you will always be happy. If you are surrounded by negative people that only bring others down then you will always feel miserable. In order to be emotionally intelligent, you must have a good and supporting company by your side.

A．Always question your thoughts.

B．Pay attention to emotional value.

C．It won’t bring your self-respect down.

D．You are known by the company you keep.

E．Emotions play a critical part in our lives.

F．Taking care of yourself should be prioritized over anything else.

G．Masking your feelings or trying to be emotionless will only harm you.

5 . We all know that staying healthy is important. So here is another health tip: Empathy, which refers to the ability to share another person’s feelings and emotions as if they were your own. How can this be? Isn’t empathy about focusing on the other person?     1    ?

Empathy helps you survive

Empathy can save your life, which certainly is good for your health!     2    . If someone is screaming and running for you to follow, or even has a look of terror on their face, you pick up their fear and immediately tune in to the situation. That can be the moment when you run away from a dangerous situation.

Empathy connects you to others

    3    . While it may be centered on figuring out what is going on for others, in that process, you nurture the important human ability to connect better with others, And being connected to others is good for your well-being.

    4    

Stress may be brought on by many different things. Over periods of time, this state of pressure becomes unhealthy. When you fully engage in empathy, you draw on skills for emotion regulation (调节). In doing so, you are also controlling emotions that can be stressful.

Empathy guides your moral code of conduct

Perhaps larger than almost everything is how you treat others and expect to be treated.     5    . When you create rules that make you safe, protect you from those acting badly, and take care of those less fortunate, you are using empathy to guide those codes.

A．Empathy can lower your stress

B．How does practicing empathy benefit you

C．Empathy encourages you to show your emotions

D．How can empathy help you behave well in a connected world

E．The ability to read others helps you make decisions in your favor

F．Empathy connects you to other people in deep and meaningful ways

G．Empathy helps you identify what you consider to be acceptable behavior

6 . Test anxiety is a form of performance anxiety. Wanting to perform well can be a strong encouraging factor that helps you prepare for success.     1     Here are some tips to help you reduce your test anxiety.

    2    . Proper prepare is one of the best ways to immediately lower anxiety levels. Give yourself enough time to study and develop a study plan that works for you.

Get a good night’s sleep. Since your brain is responsible for taking all the information you’ve studied and storing it for test day, getting seven to nine hours of sleep will help you remember what you’ve learned. Proper rest is also important for calming yourself.     3    .

Try to do some exercise. The importance of exercise goes far beyond (超出) its physical benefits. Exercise can also help you to calm your mind and relax. You can lift weights and practice yoga in the gym.     4     These can reduce feelings of anxiety to set you up for success on test day.

Form a picture of success in your mind. When you imagine success, you create a mental image (心理意象) of yourself performing well on the test and achieving your goal.     5     You begin to believe in your ability to do so in real life. You can stay focused on your goals and avoid getting distracted (注意力分散的).

A．Take time to master what you’ve learned.

B．Feeling rushed will only increase the anxiety.

C．Don’t pay attention to what other people are doing.

D．You can also go for a walk with your family outside.

E．Therefore, have a good sleep when preparing for a big test.

F．This can help prepare your mind and body for the test experience.

G．However, the pressure to get a good grade may cause you to experience anxiety.

7 . Confidence is a feeling of trust in your abilities, qualities and judgment. Building confidence is like building a house. You need to start with a solid foundation, then construct everything else from there. It takes time and effort to improve your confidence, especially if you haven’t had the opportunity to prove your skills in the past.     1     Start strengthening your self-confidence with these how-to guides.

    2     It’s easier said than done, but daily, positive thoughts about what you’re able to do can improve your confidence. Everyone has days when staying positive is tough, but force yourself to remember one good thing you like about who you are every morning until it’s a habit.

Do things you’re good at. What happens when you do things that you are good at?     3    Your strengths become even stronger, which helps improve your belief in yourself. Taking this approach also has another benefit: It can increase how satisfied you are with your life.

Spend time with positive people. The people around you greatly impact how you feel about yourself. If judgmental or critical people surround you, it’ll take a toll(产生负面影响)on your mental strength. If, however, you’re interacting with people who can cheer others on and support one another, you’ll feel much better.     4    

Take care of yourself. Focusing on you and what you need sometimes feel like it’s selfish,but it’s not!     5     Taking care of yourself can help you take care of others, but it can also help boost your self-confidence. Easy ways to start include taking a break when you’re overwhelmed(不堪重负的), wearing your favorite outfit, or doing something you love.

A．Act as if you feel confident.

B．Your self-confidence starts to rise.

C．It’s a necessary part of being human.

D．However, it is something that everyone can do!

E．Think positively about yourself and your skills.

F．Actually, it’s hard to feel good about yourself if you overuse your health.

G．So focus on creating healthier relationships with the positive people in your life.

8 . A growing number of psychologists are getting out the message that anxiety has a positive role to play in our lives. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, who recently published Future Tense: Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad), thinks our culture goes too far in demonizing (妖魔化) the difficult emotion.

Psychologist Todd Kashdan, director of the Well-Being Lab at George Mason University in Virginia, is a critic of what he calls happyology. We don’t always have to be smiley and calm, or worry there’s something wrong with us. Sometimes, he says, worry itself is what is right. Fear of heights? Good, because you’re not going to be the person who falls off a cliff while taking a selfie.

These experts wonder if the natural role that anxiety plays in our lives is somehow being forgotten. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced in March 2022 that the prevalence of anxiety had increased globally by 25% over the previous year. The WHO called the finding “a wake-up call to all countries to step up mental health services and support”. Do we know for certain that this data represents a public health crisis? Or could it mean that millions of folks are quite rightly feeling uncertain, stressed out and afraid?

We can experience healthy, often completely valid periods of anxiety without being categorized as mentally ill, according to behavioral psychologists. Anxiety is an adaptive strategy in human evolution. It helps us to prepare for the uncertain future. Anxiety helps us solve unknowns by planning and imagining, by plotting out possible ways.

According to Alice Boyes, who has a PhD in clinical psychology, coping with anxiety by avoiding them just reinforces your insecurity, because you’re not getting better at solving the problem. “Over time, you will feel less and less capable,” she warns.

The key is to manage anxiety before it overtakes us, like tending a garden so the weeds don’t spread. How do you do that? Solutions include meditation, exercise, compassionate connection such as volunteering, access to nature and mentally reframing what we’re experiencing.

1. Which statement is Kashdan’s opinion?

A．Fear may prevent you from taking dangerous actions.

B．Happyology is quite popular among the young nowadays.

C．Being smiley can stop us from worrying something wrong.

D．Difficult emotions such as anxiety should not be demonized.

2. What is the author’s attitude toward WHO’s announcement?

A．Unclear.

B．Disapproving.

C．Objective.

D．Positive.

3. What does the underlined word “reinforces” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Resists.

B．Increases.

C．Adjusts.

D．Reveals.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．The upside of anxiety.	B．The key to manage anxiety.
C．The origin of difficult emotions.	D．The right attitude to negative emotions.

9 . Do you think you need to shout at yourself to force yourself to finish your homework? If so, think again.    1     Research shows that practicing self-compassion (自我关怀) improves our mental and physical well-being and supports long-term success.

Self-compassion is the practice of being kind and supportive to ourselves. The opposite is being self-critical and mean to ourselves when we make a mistake.     2     These negative responses are related to depression, stress and reduced quality of life.

A 2017 study found people who practice self-compassion tend to handle stress better. Their bodies have less of a stress response when, for example, they meet with difficulties at work or school.     3     Let’s say they do poorly on a geometry test. Self-compassion helps them use the experience to make changes going forward, like seeking out a math tutor.

    4     We can start with mindfulness. First of all, practice observing our thoughts — are they understanding or critical? Don’t judge ourselves too severely then. Rather than getting caught up in how we could have done better, forgive ourselves and think about what to change while remaining respectful, and loving to ourselves.     5     We can read a novel, play a musical instrument or kick around a soccer ball with friends.

With practice, we can learn to treat ourselves with kindness and unconditional love — not tough love.

A．So how do we develop self-compassion?

B．It may be more effective to be kind to yourself.

C．It includes letting go of your strict self-criticism.

D．Mindfulness is the key to practicing self-compassion.

E．But this approach does not make us feel or perform better.

F．They have more confidence to look for areas where they can improve.

G．Also, show ourselves kindness in ways that nourish (滋养) our spirit and body.

10 . They say you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. But when it comes to tackling a tricky task, researchers have found that getting angry can also be a powerful motivator.

The experiments suggest people who are angry perform better on a set of challenging tasks than those who are emotionally neutral.

The study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, details how researchers at Texas A&M University conducted experiments involving more than 1,000 people, and analysed survey data from more than 1,400 people to explore the possible impact of anger on people in various circumstances.

In one experiment, students were shown images previously found to cause anger, desire, amusement, sadness or no particular emotion at all. Participants were subsequently asked to solve a series of anagrams (变形词).

The results reveal that for a challenging set of anagrams, those who were angry did better — although no difference was seen for easy anagrams.

The researchers say one explanation could be down to a link between anger and greater persistence (坚持), with the team finding those who were angry spent more time on the difficult set of anagrams.

In another experiment, participants who were angry did better at avoiding flags in a skiing video game than those who were neutral or sad, and were on a par with (同水平) those who felt amusement or desire.

“This pattern could indicate that general physical arousal (激起) had a benefit for game scores, as this would be greater in anger, amused, and desire conditions compared to the sad and neutral conditions,” the researchers write. However, no such differences in performance was found when it came to an easier video game.

“People often prefer to use positive emotions as tools more than negative and tend to see negative emotions as undesirable,” said Lench, the first author of the study. “Our research adds to the growing evidence that a mix of positive and negative emotions promotes wellbeing, and that using negative emotions as tools can be particularly effective in some situations.”

1. What tasks did the researchers set for the students?

A．Catching flies with honey.

B．Helping analyze survey data.

C．Putting tasks into different categories.

D．Performing tasks in various emotional states.

2. Why does anger enable people to perform better on challenging tasks?

A．It brings team spirit into full play.

B．It promotes a deep insight into the tasks.

C．It increases effort toward attaining a goal.

D．It changes challenging tasks into easy ones.

3. What are paragraphs 7 and 8 mainly about?

A．Research result consistent with previous findings.

B．Potential application of the research finding.

C．A further explanation of the research method.

D．A reasonable doubt about the research process.

4. What does Lench intend to do in the last paragraph?

A．To present more proofs.	B．To draw a conclusion.
C．To make a comparison.	D．To criticize old practices.