1 . Will your happiness differ if you are doing a kind action without any expectation of rewards or with an expectation of rewards? A study by University of Sussex, headed by Dr. Daniel Campbell­Meikeljohn, tried to answer that question. He and his partners analyzed over 1, 000 brain scans from other studies related to reactions to making a decision based on kindness. They split the studies based on who was making a decision for altruistic (无私的) reasons and who was making a decision due to the expectation of an obvious reward. The results were interesting.

In both instances, the reward center of the brain lit up on the MRI scans (磁共振成像扫描). Yet, for those who made their decision without any rewards, other areas of the brain lit up as well. Specifically, it lit up the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (前扣带皮层区域), which scientists believe plays a role in emotional regulation. Also, it might aid in maintaining excitement related to an event that creates a positive emotional state.

In one study about the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, it is believed that this brain region could be related to depression if it isn’t developed properly or is dysfunctional. The fact that this part of the brain lights up during acts of generosity and caring without expectation of rewards shows that the altruistic individuals are getting more sustainable pleasure than those motivated by rewards. It also could aid in explaining how it helps depressive individuals feel happier after doing a kind deed.

We live in a society, and no man is a lonely island. We all need each other. For those who genuinely desire to help others regardless of repayment, maintaining a balance of helping others and yourself is very important. It is healthy and necessary to be kind to yourself, as well as to others.

1. Why did the author think the results interesting?

A．There are no differences as to the lit­up area of the brain.

B．The reward center of the brain lit up in one case alone.

C．The subgenual anterior cingulate cortex makes no difference.

D．The reward center of the brain lit up in both cases.

2. What can be learned about the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex?

A．It might help keep calm.	B．It may make a difference to controlling emotion.
C．It can create positive emotion.	D．It has nothing to do with depression.

3. What does the author seem to suggest in the last paragraph?

A．Help others regardless of yourself.	B．Treat others and yourself with kindness.
C．For the sake of yourself, lend a hand.	D．Practise kindness at all costs.

2 . How To Stop Bein g A People Pleaser

As a recovering people pleaser, I spent much of my life keeping others happy. Breaking this habit meant stepping on a few toes. However, I’ve become a happier person as a result. Here are some tips I used to stop being a people pleaser.

Identify your priorities. Take a moment to think about why you are trying to learn how to stop being a people pleaser.     1     Why do you feel the need to keep them happy? Answering these questions will help you set a goal that you can hold yourself accountable to.

Just say “no”. One reason why people pleasers say “yes” to everything is that they fear disappointing others.     2     If you are a people pleaser, you are likely to spend lots of energy trying to control how people feel about you. The best thing you can do is let them feel their feelings. It will feel liberating to free yourself from being responsible for someone else’s reaction.

    3     Saying “no” is a good way to set better boundaries in your important relationships. All healthy relationships have their own boundaries. If you haven’t set boundaries in your relationships, the odds are that at some point you will end up feeling pressured to do something you don’t want to do.

Accept yourself. Many people pleasers are insecure about who they are.     4     Check out our summary of Brené Brown’s the Gifts of Imperfection to learn how to accept your imperfections and love yourself.

Remember that you cannot please everyone. No matter what you do there will always be someone who is unhappy with your choices.     5    

A．Learn to set healthy boundaries.

B．Don’t mix up your boundaries with others’.

C．Who are the people that you feel the need to please?

D．Spend some time learning to love yourself for who you are.

E．So why bother trying to please everyone if it isn’t possible?

F．But saying “no” is the best way to take care of your own needs.

G．That is why the more you seek security, the less of it you have.

3 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(不多于3个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Do you know how to be street smart? Being street smart means    1     (know) how to keep    2     (you) safe from strangers when you are alone or with other kids. Whether you are walking to school, hanging out in the playground,     3     riding your bike in your neighborhood, being street smart    4     (help) you stay safe. When you are street smart, you know your way around, you know what to do in difficult    5     (situation) and you are able to “tread” people.

Imagine there is a baby walking around alone.     6    baby couldn’t understand a “Don’t Walk” sign, wouldn’t know where    7     (go) for help, and couldn’t find the way back home. What’s more, the baby might not know good people from bad people. She/ He would be    8    danger.

Thank goodness, you are not a baby anymore! You know your way around and you know the rules of the road. The    9     (hard) thing to learn is how to deal with strangers. But if you learn and follow safety rules all the time, such as not to talk to strangers, you can be    10     (real) street smart.

4 . Lying to friends and family members may seem like a way to lose their trust.     1    Researchers found that lying for the right reasons can actually strengthen some social bonds (联系).

    2     That depends on the situation. Lying to cover up a misdeed (不端行为), known as anti-social lying, isn’t likely to improve your relationships.     3     On the other hand, lies told to help another person are good for relationships. It is commonly known as telling a white lie.

To study how these two types of lies affect relationships within social groups, researchers created a hypothetical (假定的) mathematical model. The model showed that individuals who tell anti-social lies become isolated (孤立的) within their social networks sometimes.     4     In fact, these individuals are likely to form strong links with other individuals within their social networks.

While the researchers created a hypothetical model, it could be used to understand how lying affects groups of friends in the real world.     5    

A．Do white lies serve a social function?

B．And real-world lies can take many forms.

C．What exactly are the “right” reasons for lying?

D．But new research suggests this may not always be the case.

E．This type of lie weakens the friendships between two people.

F．However, individuals who tell white lies don’t have such feeling.

G．It could also help scientists understand the influence of lying in online communities.

5 . We’re directly affected by our environment. When the rising temperature or the bitter cold is the first thing on your mind, it might be hard to discuss anything else. However, as a matter of fact, you needn’t have worried so much about this.     1     However, there are ways to change the activity into a meaningful moment between two people.

1.     2    

Talking about shared interests is the easiest way to make a connection with someone-and more personal talking about the weather. When you start a conversation with someone, try searching for pieces of information that you can connect to.

2. Don’t ask someone what they do.

When speaking with someone for the first time, work is always one of our topics. But wanting to know what someone does for a living may kill our conversations.     3     When it comes to small talk, try avoiding jobs and discovering general interests instead.

3. Enjoy the silence.

No one likes a long stop-but most silent moments between topics aren’t as long as you think they are.     4     Sometimes stops are needed in order to continue a conversation. Remember that if you say something, the other person may need to think about it, so enjoy the silence.

4. Look at your conversation as a learning experience.

Different people have different thoughts, ideas and feelings. Ask someone about a topic they’ re familiar with that you know nothing about. Every time you meet someone new — or even speak with someone you know — it’s an opportunity to learn something.     5     You can expand your knowledge of other areas, cultures and nations.

A．Search for common interests.

B．Keep your introduction simple.

C．Small talk may not be pleasant.

D．In fact, a little quiet can be a good thing.

E．It’ll benefit you more than you may realize.

F．Making small talk is an art that can be mastered.

G．It may send the signal that the most important part about us is our job.

6 . Apologizing for a mistake might seem difficult, but it will help you repair and improve your relationships with others after that offense (冒犯).

Acknowledge the offense. This is an essential element of a good apology.     1    Apologies are most likely to be well-received if you show that you recognize who was responsible and who was harmed. For example, saying “I made a mistake” is more effective than saying“mistakes were made”, which fails to clarify responsibility.

    2    In some cases, it’s helpful to explain an offense, especially to explain that it was not intentional and that it will not happen again. But explanations that are long-winded, sound like excuses, or blame the victim (e. g. You were really getting on my nerves.) tend to have an opposite effect.

Express regret.    3     Expressing these feelings communicates that you recognize and regret the suffering you caused. Be careful of phrases like “That was uncharacteristic of me.”     4     Instead, acknowledge your disappointment in yourself and your commitment to improve.

Tell them how you’ll change. Let them know how you’ll change and what you’d do to make that possible. For instance, if you’ve been late once again, instead of just apologizing, share how you’d keep an early alarm to be on time!     5    

A．Provide a proper explanation.

B．Express your intention clearly.

C．But many apologies don’t do this enough.

D．When you hurt someone, it’s natural to feel shame or regret.

E．A true apology is one where you promise it won’t be repeated again.

F．This might show that you aren’t taking full ownership for what happened.

G．This will enable you to know what means the most to the offended person.

7 . Researchers set up an experiment in which 5-year-olds were tested with their fellows under different circumstances of transparency (透明) and different audiences. They set up a sticker machine that in some settings was transparent, and other settings in which only the giver of stickers knew how many stickers he could give. They had children give out stickers in both settings. The results were striking: children were consistently generous only when the receiver and audience of the stickers were fully aware of the donation options. Children were notably ungenerous when the receiver of stickers couldn’t see the options.

The researchers said, “Children only showed consistently pro-social behavior in our study in the condition when they could see the receiver and their allocations (分配物) were fully visible; in all other conditions, children were statistically ungenerous, giving the receiver the smaller amount of stickers.”

They made the conclusions that at a very early age, children are learning how to position themselves socially. Well before they apprehend the sociology of their networks and what social reputation really means, they think strategically about giving as a function of how they can gain a reputation with a peer as a generous citizen or pro-social agent when the receiver observes them.

Children change their behavior in response to having an audience. Help children give to others in full view, delivering meals to families, and in private, dropping off treats or surprises for those who need support without signing their names. Also, children should be reminded that thank-you notes are lovely but unnecessary to receive. When we give gifts or lend help to others, try to help children remember why—to provide something for another. It really doesn’t have to be recognized. When a thank-you card doesn’t come, it doesn’t make a gift any less valuable or meaningful for those who were lucky enough to receive.

1. What did the researchers discover?

A．The givers’ behavior greatly inspired the receivers to help in return.

B．The children gave out an equal number of stickers in both settings.

C．The presence of an audience affected children’s decisions to give.

D．Donating helped children to become more generous in the future.

2. Which is pro-social behavior according to the researchers?

A．Observing the givers.	B．Donating more stickers.
C．Gaining a reputation.	D．Receiving more allocations.

3. What does the underlined word “apprehend” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Share.

B．Predict.

C．Confirm.

D．Understand.

4. What is the purpose of the last paragraph?

A．To suggest recognizing others’ kindness.	B．To acknowledge the giver’s contribution.
C．To confirm the benefits of being grateful.	D．To advise inspiring generosity in children.

8 . Having a good sense of humor makes you more enjoyable to be around.     1     . Here’s how you can develop your sense of humor.

●Surround Yourself with Humor

You learn more effectively when you fully expose yourself to a subject. Similarly, you can improve your sense of humor by surrounding yourself with humor. Watch stand-up comedians. Listen to programs that amuse you.Read humorous books.     2     .

●Learn What Amuses You

    3     . We amuse our friends by praising a change they made. However, when it comes to being funny, don’t change your sense of humor to amuse other people. Instead, start with what amuses you.Then, if you think the other person will also be amused with it, share it with them.

●Think About Timing and Audience

You don’t have to be funny all the time, so don’t expect that of yourself. When you catch yourself trying to be funny, slow down. Simply speak slower so you’re not as likely to stop and repeat yourself. Try speaking at 60-70 % of your usual rate.     4     .

●    5    

You don’t need to seize every single opportunity to be funny. If you’re in the middle of a bad joke, just end it. “You know what, now that I’m telling it, it’s not as funny as it sounded in my head,” can be a bit of an awkward end and hurt your pride a little bit, but it saves everyone time and patience. In the long run, they’ll respect your taste.

A．Be Creative, Not Silly

B．Pause in between sentences

C．There’s a lot of fun out there

D．You might also do better at work

E．Know When to Pull the Plug on Yourself

F．You can also try your hand in the real world

G．A lot of times, we say things purely to please others

9 . Your math teacher wears clothes made in 1985 and always mispronounces your name. Your English teacher loves to start classes with quick quizzes. It can be hard to think of these givers of grades as real people. But they eat pizza, watch movies and enjoy sports on weekends, just like you. So how can you get along well with your teachers?

You can do a lot of things to develop a good relationship with your teacher. First, do the obvious things: Show up in class on time with all tasks completed. Stay focused, be respectful and ask questions. Second, show an interest in the subject. Obviously, your teachers are really interested in their subjects, or they wouldn’t have decided to teach them! Show the teacher that you care about the subject—even if you’re not a math talent or fluent in French—and send the message that you are a hard-working student.

You can also schedule a private meeting in a teacher’s free time. Use this time to get extra help, ask questions, ask for information about a career (职业) in the subject or talk about your progress in class. You may be surprised to learn that your teacher is a bit more relaxed when only facing you than when teaching in front of the whole class.

What if you just don’t like the teacher? When it comes to working with teachers, one’s characteristics can come into play just as they can in any other relationships. People just naturally get along better with some people than with others; it’s impossible to like everyone all the time. Learning to work with people you don’t like is a good interpersonal (人际的) skill to have in life,   no matter what your goals are.

Teachers are there for more than just homework; they know about more than their subject matters. They can help you learn how to behave as an adult and lifelong learner. Undoubtedly, there will be a few teachers along the way who you’ll always remember—and who might change your life forever.

1. How can students develop a good relationship with their teachers?

A．By learning as many subjects as possible.

B．By respecting other students in class.

C．By finishing their homework on time.

D．By developing personal interests.

2. What is important when working with teachers you don’t like?

A．Your characteristics.

B．Your interpersonal skills.

C．Your career goals.

D．Your grades in exams.

3. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Teachers can help you grow up.

B．Teachers are all lifelong learners.

C．Teachers should set enough homework.

D．Teachers tend to change you completely.

10 . People are taught how to speak, but good sentence structure and a wide range of vocabulary words won’t always lead to being understood or understanding others.    1    

The good news is that it’s never too late to learn how to communicate more effectively. The first step is to realize you’ re having communication issues.    2    The following is a list of the top three signs that you need to learn healthier communication skills.

You have the same fights over and over.

Your fights are about the same topic again and again. If this is happening, it means you don’t yet have the skills to resolve conflicts.    3    The fight may end, but it’s only a matter of time before you argue about the same thing again. When you learn how to resolve conflicts, issues don’t pile up or become baggage that weighs down your relationship.

    4    

You don’t want to fight so you try not to bring up subjects that lead only to pain and disconnection. The problem is that avoiding them leads to pain and disconnection anyway. Unless you learn how to have hard conversations productively, you will get more and more disconnected until your relationship is in danger of ending.

You regularly feel misunderstood or unheard.

No matter how hard you try, you don’t feel understood. Perhaps your partner has expressed the same feeling.Over time the disconnected feeling does damage to your relationship. It’s important to learn how to communicate in a better way, so that both you and the other person feel heard and understood.    5    To be heard, your partner will need to learn how to listen. For you, to be able to hear your partner, you will need to do the same.

A．You avoid discussing certain topics.

B．You argue with your partners about some issues.

C．If you can’t resolve issues, they will continue to show up.

D．This requires more than just speaking to your partner or vice versa.

E．Then, you can learn how to communicate in a more productive way.

F．If you leave conflicts unsettled, you will feel disconnected and lonely.

G．Effective communication requires much more than being able to speak.