1 . I once had a real show of what love is about from my son, Branton, who was then eight and totally unkind to his little sister, Susan.

One Autumn evening, I discovered Susan was ________. I thought she was in the house at first. By the time I ________ she was gone, Branton was comfortably on the sofa watching his favorite television program with a friend. After I’d searched every room for Susan, I began to be ________. It was dark by then, and she was only 5. Our house in the country had many ________ surrounding it.

Careful not to betray my ________, I announced, “Susan is gone.” There was a pause, then Branton ________ and looked at me. “I can’t find Susan,” I ________. “She isn’t in the house, and I don’t know where she is.” He was up as if a bomb had blown him off the sofa. “I’ll find her,” he said running to the door. Then he stopped and turned to his friend. “Get up, Jeff,” he ________, “We’ve got to find Susan. Hurry up.” Within two minutes he’d rung two doorbells to ask if the ________ knew where his sister was. Branton, still running at top ________, came up and passed me by, calling, “Susan, Susan.”

As we headed up the big path into the woods, I heard the sound of a child ________ out. It was Susan. I tried to comfort her we were coming — while attempting to ________ falling in the mud. Meanwhile, Branton ran on ahead, apparently ________ nothing. In another minute he had her in his arms. As I ________, I heard him saying repeatedly, “Susan, are you all right?” as tears streamed down his cheeks.

That night I told Susan, who frequently ________ Branton’s trick, that we all should know what Branton really felt about us.

1.

A．missing

B．injured

C．puzzled

D．asleep

2.

A．argued

B．realized

C．compared

D．agreed

3.

A．surprised

B．frightened

C．delighted

D．tired

4.

A．woods

B．villages

C．houses

D．mountains

5.

A．anger

B．secret

C．anxiety

D．doubt

6.

A．laughed

B．shook

C．shouted

D．turned

7.

A．repeated

B．prayed

C．announced

D．scolded

8.

A．persuaded

B．suggested

C．commanded

D．blamed

9.

A．teachers

B．classmates

C．workers

D．neighbors

10.

A．cost

B．height

C．speed

D．trip

11.

A．crying

B．going

C．leaving

D．dying

12.

A．imagine

B．risk

C．avoid

D．enjoy

13.

A．interested in

B．familiar with

C．crazy about

D．afraid of

14.

A．called

B．approached

C．greeted

D．discovered

15.

A．thanked

B．valued

C．accepted

D．suffered

2 . When you hear that your friend has passed an exam that you failed earlier, how do you react? Do you share in her happiness? If you do, congratulations!     1     Studies have shown that experiencing Freudenfreude can lead to acts of kindness, such as helping others. By celebrating the victories of others, we can bring more success into our own lives.

    2     Sometimes, the disappointment of our own failure can make it difficult to feel happy for others. If we were raised in an environment where winning was strongly associated with self-worth, we may mistakenly interpret someone else’s success as our own failure. Our mental health and overall well being can also affect our ability to share in someone else’s joy.     3    

One method to evoke positive feelings for others is through asking questions. We don’t have to wait for someone else’s good news to practice Freudenfreude. By inviting others to share their victories and genuinely listening to their stories, we can cultivate joy.     4    

Since emotions are contagious (有感染力的), expressing appreciation can also enhance Freudenfreude. We can think of Freudenfreude as something that can be shared when we are experiencing personal happiness.     5     Starting by sharing our own achievements and expressing gratitude can create a sense of shared joy, enhancing Freudenfreude for both parties involved.

A．To better understand Freudenfreude, it is important to realize that it is a win-win.

B．According to social scientists, finding pleasure in another person’s success is what they call Freudenfreude.

C．However, experiencing Freudenfreude is not always easy.

D．Despite these challenges, generating Freudenfreude is valuable, and there are ways to cultivate this feeling.

E．You might ask: “What’s the best thing that happened to you this week?”

F．It is a term that describes the joy we feel when someone else succeeds.

G．To do this, we can give credit to others for their support and acknowledge their contribution to our success.

3 . 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.

4 . Ways to Embrace Solitude (独处)

For many, being alone is something they shy away from because it’s like loneliness. But loneliness and solitude are not the same.    1    . The latter offers a chance to direct attention to self-care and self-discovery without outside influences or expectations from others. It sharpens your concentration and helps you focus on your tasks and also boosts your creativity regularly.

Psychologists even consider solitude as important as relationships and view the ability to be alone as a sign of healthy emotional development.    2    , just as people learn social skills to guide themselves in the world of relationships successfully. And some specific strategies may make it a constructive, enjoyable experience.

Enjoy solitary activities

People who enjoy solitude find satisfaction and meaning when getting absorbed in a hobby, reading for pleasure, or getting out in nature. They rarely experience boredom when they’re alone and genuinely enjoy themselves while doing something interesting.

    3    

In solitude, buried feelings, memories, or problems can surface. Rather than avoid being discouraged by them, you can learn to engage in the regulation with curiosity, using the private time to explore your feelings without judgment. Accepting and expressing them safely helps you self-regulate and release stress.

Be self-reflective

People who enjoy solitude are willing to self-reflect.    4    , reflecting on their values, or considering the bigger picture. Instead of going round about situations you can’t control, self-reflection invites self- awareness, bringing you closer to insight about who you are.

Know when to exit solitude

    5    , if you begin to feel lonely or your thoughts turn to self-harm. It is equally important to know when it’s time to leave solitude and seek the company of others.

A．Protect your privacy

B．Feel and regulate your emotions

C．They prefer listening to solitude signals

D．Break your solitude and turn for support

E．The former is marked by negative feelings

F．There are skills associated with its capacity

G．They spend time considering behavior patterns

5 . Soothe the Sunday scaries

Most of us look forward to the weekend as a time to relax, connect with friends and family, and deal with tasks from a to-do list that gets neglected during the workweek. But as the weekend comes to an end, many are missing out on Sunday Funday and instead experiencing an overwhelming sense of anxiety and even dread about the upcoming week.     1     Some people describe it as a heaviness they can feel in their body, while others feel so unsettled that they could jump out of their skin.

Even though the Sunday scaries are common, they are manageable. Here’s how experts say you can ease your end-of-weekend anxiety.

Structure your Sunday.     2     You might still go through that sense of dread, but that feeling is harder to hold on to when you’ re engaging in something that makes you feel good.

Don’t forget to relax. If you’re feeling more stress, it’s important to make space for relaxing activities to ground yourself. Maybe a midafternoon shower or bath, maybe an engaging movie or show, whatever feels like a helpful distraction to reground from the scaries.

Identify your anxiety sources. Try to figure out what’s really causing you to dread the week.     3     Even if there’s not a single reason behind your Sunday anxiety, organizing the stress into small parts can help make it all more manageable.

    4     Getting rid of the Sunday scaries isn’t just about minimizing the gloom of the week ahead. Have something to look forward to. This gives you the opportunity to shift your thoughts to fun and will help improve your mood.

End your Sunday with the right energy. Sunday night is a proper wind-down time. Maybe you want to journal, do a face mask, read a few pages of a good book. Do your best to honor this time and make Sunday night all about you.     5    

A．Is it a deadline, meeting or presentation?

B．Create some excitement for the week ahead.

C．Experts have referred to this worry as Sunday scaries.

D．Sunday scaries come from tiredness after a really busy weekend.

E．Then you feel empowered and confident that you’ll be ready for the next day.

F．Instead of sitting on the couch and watching the clock, go to do something that you enjoy.

G．Anxiety is a natural response that happens in preparation for anything that causes pain or discomfort.

6 . The Healing Power of Music

Since Mom died and Dad lived alone, he was often angry, and lately he was getting more and more confusing. Today _______ to be worse than usual. He had a new aid named Linda, from our home country of Lithuania. The _______ of a stranger was bound to make Dad even more _______ .

Sure enough, Dad started _______ as soon as I got in the door. “This new girl doesn’t know anything,” he whispered with dissatisfaction.

“It’ll take some time for her to learn how to help you,” I _______ him.

The three of us sat _______ in the living room. I wished I could think of something to say. Lord, please help us feel more comfortable with this arrangement.

Linda _______ to her feet. Walking over to Dad’s record player, she _______ a Lithuanian folk record onto the turntable (转盘). The familiar accordion (手风琴) music played. Dad started _______ along to it. Liuda smiled.

The music seemed to drive all the ________ from the room. We chatted about Lithuania. It was one of the ________ visits Dad and I had ever had.

When I left, he hugged me good-bye and asked me to ________ old photos with him and Linda next time. ________ , I had a look at the old Dad, the man I’d always loved ________ time with.

I’d come to Dad’s house expecting the ________ . But with Linda’s help and a little music from the old country, I’d found what I would always love.

1.

A．promised

B．tended

C．planned

D．needed

2.

A．choice

B．presence

C．name

D．assistance

3.

A．absent-minded

B．ill-tempered

C．light-hearted

D．heart-struck

4.

A．shouting

B．warning

C．remarking

D．complaining

5.

A．advised

B．directed

C．comforted

D．informed

6.

A．impatiently

B．anxiously

C．awkwardly

D．boringly

7.

A．sprang

B．went

C．struggled

D．came

8.

A．threw

B．placed

C．grabbed

D．played

9.

A．laughing

B．singing

C．clapping

D．smiling

10.

A．tension

B．atmosphere

C．sound

D．warmth

11.

A．longest

B．strangest

C．nicest

D．rarest

12.

A．check out

B．hang on

C．get through

D．look at

13.

A．For a moment

B．At a time

C．By the way

D．On the whole

14.

A．treasuring

B．wasting

C．saving

D．spending

15.

A．best

B．commonest

C．worst

D．happiest