Mike often
To celebrate his 45th birthday, Jack, a journalist,
3 . Psychological science is full of interesting topics, many of which tell a coherent picture of human nature, but some of which create seemingly contradictory stories. A case in point is the misunderstood overlap(交叠) between strengthbased science and the research on narcissism (自恋).
There is now convincing evidence to show that narcissism is on the rise, especially in our youth. Some researchers say that about 25% of young people showing symptoms of narcissism.
We are correct to be concerned about this phenomenon, but our fear that all kids are potential narcissists has caused an unhelpful reaction against approaches that seek to make our children and teens feel good about themselves.
In my own research on strengthbased parenting, it is common for people to wrongly think this approach to be the cause of narcissism. Their argument seems to be that a child who knows their strengths will automatically view themselves as better than everyone else. It is argued that the selfassurance that comes with identifying and using their positive qualities will make a child selfish and uncaring.
Why does this occur? It’s partly because more is known about narcissism than strengths. While strengths psychology has largely stayed within the limit of academic journals, research on narcissism has made its way into the mass media and our daily life.The New York Times noted that narcissism is a favored topic and that people everywhere are diagnosing others with it.
The fear that a strengthbased approach will cause narcissism also occurs because of our binary (非此即彼的) thinking. We mistakenly believe that one cannot be both confident and humble. Without confidence in their strengths, Gandhi and Mother Teresa couldn’t have achieved so much, and yet modesty and selflessness are their qualities.
When we assume that strengthfocus is the same as selffocus, we fail to make the idea clear that people who know their strengths are, actually, more likely to be prosocial and ready to help others.
It’s easy to conclude that every young person is at risk of becoming a narcissist but I’d like to stand up for the thousands of young kids I have worked with who are caring, thoughtful and humble—even when they use their strengths.
1. Which of the following opinions may the writer agree with?| A．To state all kids are potential narcissists is overstating the case. |
| B．Strengthbased parenting results in narcissism. |
| C．It’s unhelpful for us to make our children feel good about themselves. |
| D．Children knowing their strengths tend to be more selfish and uncaring. |
| A．Many people are diagnosed with narcissism by doctors. |
| B．There is a shortage of narcissism in our common sense. |
| C．Academic journals report more on narcissism. |
| D．The general public has fewer approaches to strengths psychology. |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Neutral. | C．Supportive. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Teens’ Narcissism Diagnosis | B．Teens’ Misunderstood Confidence |
| C．Teens’ StrengthBased Approach | D．Teens’ Psychology Research |
Paul shouted through the window, “Get in the car quickly!” Mac jumped off the bicycle and into the back seat of the car
| A．She stayed at home. | B．She went to a party. | C．She saw a movie. |
7 . Nowadays, the world is slowly becoming a high-tech society and we are now surrounded by technology. Facebook and Twitter are innovative tools; text messaging is still a somewhat existing phenomenon and even e-mail is only a flashing spot on the screen when compared with our long history of snail mail. Now we adopt these tools to the point of essentialness, and only rarely consider how we are more fundamentally affected by them.
Social media, texting and e-mail all make it much easier to communicate, gather and pass information. But they also present some dangers. By removing any real human engagement, they enable us to develop our abnormal self-love without the risk of disapproval or criticism theatrical metaphor (隐喻), these new forms of communication provide a stage on which we create our own characters, hidden behind a fourth wall of tweets, status updates and texts. This unreal state of unconcern can become addictive as we separate ourselves a safe distance from the cruelty of our fleshly lives, where we are imperfect, powerless and insignificant. In essence, we have been provided not only the means to be more free, but also to become new, to create and protect a more perfect self to the world. As we become more reliant on these tools, they become more a part of our daily routine and so we become more restricted in this fantasy.
So it is that we live in a cold era, where names and faces represent two different levels of closeness, where working relationships occur only through the magic of email and where love can start or end by text message. An environment such as this reduces interpersonal relationships to mere digital exchanges.
Would a celebrity have been so daring to do something dishonorable if he had had to do it in person? Doubtful. It seems he might have been lost in a fantasy world that ultimately convinced himself into believing the digital self could obey different rules and regulations, as if he could continually push the limits of what’s acceptable without facing the consequences of “real life.”
1. The author compares e-mail with snail mail to show ________.| A．the influence of high-tech on our life | B．the history of different types of mails |
| C．the value of traditional communications | D．the rapid development of social media |
| A．Destroying our life totally. | B．Posing more dangers than good. |
| C．Helping us to hide our faults. | D．Replacing traditional letters. |
| A．Sheltering us from virtual life. | B．Removing face-to-face interaction. |
| C．Leading to false mental perception. | D．Making us rely more on hi-tech media. |
| A．Technologies have changed our relationships. |
| B．The digital world is a recipe for pushing limits. |
| C．Love can be better conveyed by text message. |
| D．The digital self need not take responsibility. |
Going on a vacation might seem like a rather unconventional way to try to improve your sleep habits,
In fact, interest
The global pandemic appears
But can short term sleep-focused travel experiences actually have a long term impact on a person’s overall sleep? According to Dr. Robbins,
“The concept of travel actually allowing you to return home
9 . 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.
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.
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.
| 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 |
10 . Americans love their automobiles. So long, it seems, as they don’t run on batteries. A survey published in July by the Pew Research Centre found that less than two-fifths of them would consider buying an electric vehicle (EV). Despite expanding charging networks and more EV models to choose from, that is a slightly lower share than the year before.
The biggest block to EV enthusiasm in America is price. The average EV there sells for $52,000, estimates Cox Automotive, a consultancy. That is not a world away from the $48,000 that Americans typically pay for a petrol vehicle. But total costs of ownership, which combine the sales price and running costs for five years, vary more widely. At $65,000, the typical EV is $9,000 more expensive to own than a petrol car (owing to factors like pricey home chargers, dearer insurance and, compared with Europe and China, inexpensive petrol).
All this leaves America’s car industry circling a roundabout. Consumers’ unwillingness to pay for expensive EVs is forcing carmakers to take action to shift stock (库存). Tesla has cut its prices several times in the past year. Carmakers are offering average discounts of almost 10% on their EVs, more than twice as generous as for petrol cars. But this is making it even harder for the companies to make money from battery power. Continued losses in turn may make car firms lose appetite to invest in a broader electric offering that would appeal to buyers.
American carmakers are still hoping they can escape this vicious (恶性的) circle. They are mostly postponing their American EV investments rather than pulling the plug on them. And from January the EV tax credits (免税) will also be available at the point of sale, making it less burdensome for buyers to take advantage of them. All this could eventually generate profits for car firms. Eventually may, though, come a bit later than hoped.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The lack of diversity of EVs. |
| B．The uncertain prospect of EVs. |
| C．The barrier to the purchase of EVs. |
| D．The urgency of price reduction on EVs. |
| A．Issuing EV tax credits policy. |
| B．Offering better discounts on EVs. |
| C．Cutting down the cost of production. |
| D．Investing in a wider electric offering. |
| A．Dissatisfied. | B．Dismissive. | C．Cautious. | D．Casual. |
| A．Is America’s EV Revolution Suspending? |
| B．Do Electric Vehicles Outweigh Petrol Cars? |
| C．EV Revolution Is Promoting Energy Transition |
| D．EV Is Gradually Dominating America’s Car Industry |
