1 . Mindfulness—in basic terms, the practice of being “present” in the moment and paying attention to one’s own thoughts and feelings—has seen something of a boom over the last few years. While it certainly has its benefits, some argue that it encourages blind acceptance of the status quo, taking us so far into ourselves that we forget the rest of the world. In a new preprint on PsyArxiv, Michael Poulin and colleagues from New York’s University at Buffalo also find that mindfulness can decrease prosocial behaviours (亲社会行为).
The first study was designed to look at the impact of mindfulness on prosocial activity, and in particular, whether this depends on a person’s “self-construal”. In short, if someone has an independent self-construal they see the self as separate from others, rather than thinking more collectively and conceptualizing themselves as part of a wider group.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, one oriented around mindfulness meditation, and the other focusing on a control meditation in the form of mind wandering. Those in the mindfulness condition listened to a tape designed to inspire mindfulness through mindful breathing, while those in the mind wandering condition were instructed to “let your mind wander and think freely”.
After listening to the tapes, participants read about a local poverty and homelessness charity, before being asked whether or not they wanted to stuff envelopes in support of the organisation. Participants who decided to take part were left to do so for as long as they wanted. The team also measured participants’ self-construal by asking them to indicate how much they identified with friends, family, and wider groups compared to how much they thought of themselves as independent.
Most participants (84%) stuffed at least some envelopes after the task. People who participated in the mindfulness meditation stuffed 15% more envelopes than those who did the control mediation—if they had an interdependent self-construal. But for those with independent self-construals, mindfulness decreased the number of envelopes stuffed by 15%.
As the second study took place online, participants were not asked to stuff envelopes, but instead to sign up (or not) to chat online with alumni donors to request financial support for the same charity. And similar to the results of the first study, those in the interdependent condition saw an increased likelihood of volunteering after the mindfulness task, while those with independent self-construal were less likely to volunteer after listening to the mindfulness exercise.
Mindfulness has often been positioned as a panacea (灵丹妙药), not only for anxiety or other mental health conditions but in other areas, too: productivity, creativity, personal relationships, and particular traits or habits. Rather than treating it as a wholesale good, however, it may be better to understand when mindfulness might be truly beneficial—and, importantly, for whom.
1. What does the underlined word “stuff envelopes” in Para. 4 mean?| A．To employ people. | B．To write letters. | C．To donate money. | D．To open envelopes. |
| A．people less value charity work |
| B．people more willing to volunteer |
| C．interdependent people more independent |
| D．independent-minded people less prosocial |
| A．closely related to charity | B．not as popular as it used to be |
| C．useful under certain circumstances | D．effective in solving social problems |
| A．Supportive. | B．Disapproving. | C．Neutral. | D．Critical. |
2 . A peer is a person who is about the same age as you. Peers affect your life, whether you know it or not, just by spending time with you.
Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or because they worry that other kids may make fun of them if they don't go along with the group.
| A．Peers can have a good effect on one another. |
| B．Peer pressure is the direct influence on people by peers. |
| C．Good peers may give you a hand when you are in trouble. |
| D．Peer pressure can be extremely strong and hard to get rid of. |
| E．Maybe one kid in school tried to get another to cut class with him. |
| F．It can be hard to walk away from peer pressure, but it can be done. |
| G．Others may go along because they are curious to try something new that others are doing. |
3 . In the USA, youth curfews (宵禁) are traditionally issued by a parent in the interest of safety. This type of curfew is personal, and rightfully so. However, to stop teenagers committing crimes, some officials have turned youth curfews from family decisions into public laws.
The idea may have been thought to have good intentions. In practice, however, these policies have been shown to be unfair and unconstitutional, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In the town of Sumner, Washington, a father allowed his fourteen-year-old son to go to a convenience store after 11:00 p.m. Sumner had adopted a curfew law that prohibited people under the age of eighteen from being in public places past that hour. The father was fined, and then he pursued a legal challenge against the town. The ACLU, which filed the case on behalf of the father, claimed the curfew laws had violated (侵犯) parents' rights. In the end, Sumner's curfew laws were struck down.
But isn't it irresponsible not to enforce a curfew on teenagers? Curfew laws supporters argue that officials should provide a curfew to ensure teens are home by a reasonable hour. The risk of a serious accident is three times as high for drivers aged sixteen to nineteen as for drivers over twenty. And dangers only increase at night. This indicates to some that a law keeping teens off the road late at night is a positive safety measure. Still, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that the best ways for drivers to increase safety are by obeying the speed limit, wearing a seat belt, and paying attention. The NHTSA makes no mention of youth curfews making driving safer.
In cities, curfew enforcement has been ineffective or even had a negative impact on communities. Most crimes committed by teens actually happen around 3：00 p.m. , right after school. On non-school days, that time shifts to between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. The curfew hours, usually between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. , occur at a time of day when teenage crime is at its lowest. Meanwhile, violent crime rates peak around 10:00 p.m. for adults. When law enforcement performs the teen curfew sweep, policemen are distracted from the more serious violent crimes being committed by adults at that time. Also troubling is the racial discrimination in cities with curfews. For example, recent data have found that in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 56% of youths charged with breaking curfews were African American. Other law enforcement department reports show similar problems. Curfew laws are criticized because they are enforced in a racially discriminatory way.
The ACLU has succeeded in striking down at least one curfew law because of concerns over parental rights. Along with other community and civil rights groups, it continues to pursue other cases, arguing that curfew law enforcement can only increase tension and crime. To arrest teens for driving home from the movies, playing basketball in the park, or simply walking their dog is to punish them for being outside their homes—a policy inconsistent with the individual rights established in the U. S. Constitution.
1. What is the authors attitude towards legal curfews for teenagers?| A．Disapproving. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Reasonable curfew hours for teenagers. |
| B．The necessity of enforcing youth curfews. |
| C．Unwanted consequences of youth curfews. |
| D．The impact of youth curfews on adult crimes. |
| A．It helps people defend their individual rights. |
| B．It is in favour of enforcing a curfew on teenagers. |
| C．It stresses the responsibilities of parents to their children. |
| D．It believes youth curfews are highly related to road safety. |
| A．teenagers in the United States love their independence |
| B．enforcing youth curfews will lead to distrust of the policemen |
| C．legal curfews should exist only when parents are irresponsible |
| D．legal curfews violate individual liberties and may be cancelled |
4 . Who is a genius? This question has greatly interested humankind for centuries.
Let’s state clearly: Einstein was a genius. His face is almost the international symbol for genius. But we want to go beyond one man and explore the nature of genius itself. Why is it that some people are so much more intelligent or creative than the rest of us? And who are they?
In the sciences and arts, those praised as geniuses were most often white men, of European origin. Perhaps this is not a surprise. It’s said that history is written by the victors, and those victors set the standards for admission to the genius club. When contributions were made by geniuses outside the club—women, or people of a different color or belief—they were unacknowledged and rejected by others.
A study recently published by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender(性别)are “really, really smart.” Even worse, the study found that girls act on that belief: Around age six they start to avoid activities said to be for children who are “really, really smart.” Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn’t take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.
Here’s the good news. In a wired world with constant global communication, we’re all positioned to see flashes of genius wherever they appear. And the more we look, the more we will see that social factors(因素)like gender, race, and class do not determine the appearance of genius. As a writer says, future geniuses come from those with “intelligence, creativity, perseverance(毅力), and simple good fortune, who are able to change the world.”
1. What does the author think of victors’ standards for joining the genius club?| A．They’re unfair. | B．They’re conservative. |
| C．They’re objective. | D．They’re strict. |
| A．They think themselves smart. |
| B．They look up to great thinkers. |
| C．They see gender differences earlier than boys. |
| D．They are likely to be influenced by social beliefs |
| A．Improved global communication. |
| B．Less discrimination against women. |
| C．Acceptance of victors’ concepts. |
| D．Changes in people’s social positions. |
| A．Geniuses Think Alike | B．Genius Takes Many Forms |
| C．Genius and Intelligence | D．Genius and Luck |
5 . 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 tricky, and misunderstood, overlap between strength-based 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 have gone so far as to say that it is occurring in epidemic proportions, with about 25% of young people showing symptoms of narcissism. The inflated ego of Generation Me is reflected in reality TV, celebrity worship, out-of-control consumerism and materialism…perhaps even a new type of president.
We are correct to be concerned about this phenomenon but our fear that all kids are potential narcissists has caused an unhelpful counter-reaction to approaches that seek to make our children and teens feel good about themselves.
In my own research on strength-based parenting it is common for people to wrongly label this approach as a recipe for 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 self-assurance that comes with identifying and using their positive qualities will make a child arrogant, selfish and uncaring. Genuine confidence about one's strengths is categorized as over-confidence; desirable self-knowledge is branded as excessive self-admiration.
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 or has been applied only within certain contexts such as the workplace, research on narcissism has made its way into the mass media and into our collective consciousness. The New York Times noted that narcissism is a favored "go-to" topic and that people everywhere are diagnosing others with it.
The fear that a strength-based approach will cause narcissism also occurs because we unknowingly fall prey to binary (非此即彼) thinking. We mistakenly believe that one cannot be both confident and humble. We focus on Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian rather than Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. There's no way that Gandhi and Mother Teresa could have achieved what they did without confidence in their strengths, and yet they are both pillars of modesty and selflessness.
When we assume that strength-focus is the same as a self-focus, We fail to entertain the idea that people who know their strengths are, actually, more likely to be pro-social and focus on helping others.
It's tempting 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. Why teenagers' strengths are often mistaken for narcissism?| A．Strengths psychology is less accessible to the general public. |
| B．Academic journals and mass media report more on narcissism. |
| C．There is a lack of strengths in our collective consciousness. |
| D．Numbers of people are diagnosed with narcissism by doctors. |
| A．they are both victims of binary thinking |
| B．one can be both modest and sure of himself |
| C．confidence is quite important for celebrities |
| D．public figures unknowingly fall prey to narcissism |
| A．Skeptical. |
| B．Favorable. |
| C．Neutral. |
| D．Cautious. |
| A．Teens' Strength Psychology |
| B．Teens' Narcissism Diagnosis |
| C．Teen's Anxiety and Depression |
| D．Teens' Confidence Misunderstood |
Times Higher Education (THE) has released its World University Rankings 2021, with Tsinghua University in Beijing
7 . Humans’ overconsumption of resources is a leading contributor to global climate change, says University of Arizona researcher Sabrina Helm. Therefore, it’s increasingly important to understand the choices consumers make and how those decisions affect the health of a planet with limited resources. In a new study, published in the journal Young Consumers, Helm and her colleagues explore how materialistic values influence pro-environmental behaviors in millennials, who are now the nation’s most influential group of consumers.
The researchers focused on two main categories of pro-environmental behaviors: reduced consumption, which includes actions like repairing instead of replacing older items; and “green buying,” or purchasing products designed to limit environmental impacts. The researchers also looked at how engaging in pro-environmental behaviors affects consumer well-being.
More materialistic participants, the researchers found, were unlikely to engage in reduced consumption. However, materialism did not seem to have an effect on their likelihood of practicing “green buying.” That’s probably because “green buying,” unlike reduced consumption, still offers a way for materialists to fulfill their desire to get new items, Helm said.
Study participants who reported having fewer materialistic values were much more likely to engage in reduced consumption. Consuming less was, in turn, linked to higher personal well-being and lower psychological suffering. Green buying—which may have some positive environmental effects, although to a smaller degree than reduced consumption—was not found to improve consumer well-being, Helm said.
The take-home message for consumers: “The key is to reduce consumption and not just buy green stuff. Having less and buying less can actually make us more satisfied and happier,” Helm said. “If you have a lot of stuff, you have a lot on your mind,” she said. “For example, it requires maintenance and there’s a lot of burdens of ownership, and if you relieve yourself of that burden of ownership, most people report feeling a lot better and freer.”
Helm and her colleagues additionally looked at how materialism affects millennial consumers’ proactive financial behaviors, such as budgeting and saving. Examining financial behaviors alongside pro-environmental behaviors provides a picture of how young adults proactively deal with resource limitations in two contexts: environmental and financial, Helm said.
As expected, Helm and her colleagues found that those who reported having more materialistic values engaged in fewer proactive financial behaviors than their less materialistic counterparts (对应的人). The researchers also found that, consistent with previous studies, proactive financial behaviors were associated with better personal well-being, life satisfaction and financial satisfaction, as well as lower psychological suffering.
Understanding how materialistic values impact consumer behaviors, and how those behaviors in turn affect personal and environmental well-being, is important, Helm said. However, she acknowledges that for many consumers, shifting behaviors to be more financially proactive and consume less will be challenging.
1. What do we know about pro-environmental behaviors?| A．They are a cause of climate change. |
| B．They lead to a more satisfying life. |
| C．They vary in different age groups. |
| D．They are affected by materialism. |
| A．ownership of green products brings a sense of happiness |
| B．materialists prefer practicing green buying to buying less |
| C．green buying helps control people’s desire to buy new items |
| D．buying less and green buying have similar effects on people |
| A．Replacing older items. | B．Developing new resources. |
| C．Buying greener products. | D．Being careful with expenses. |
| A．When people develop proactive financial behaviors. |
| B．Which financial behaviors lead to mental well-being. |
| C．Why it is hard to change people’s financial behaviors. |
| D．How materialistic values influence financial behaviors. |
| trust replace contact through focus concerned content among |
While the Internet brings people closer together, it also harms friendships.
Firstly, talking online can’t
Secondly, the Internet makes people self-centered. For example, instead of communicating with their friends, some are only
Thirdly, online relationships may not be as they appear. Friendships are built based on
I think the best way to maintain healthy relationships is to
9 . “We didn’t really find a good role model of any country doing things sustainably,” says Daniel O’Neill at the University of Leeds, UK. “We need to do things in a completely different way if we are to have any hope of achieving a good life for all people on the planet.”
O’Neill and his colleagues
The team also used 11 measures to assess whether citizens had good lives. Some were basic needs or expectations like nutrition, access to energy and long life expectancy. The others
A(n) ideal country would score zero for resource overshoot and 11 for citizen well-being: everyone’s needs would be met and no natural resources destroyed.
Rich countries overshoot their limits to feed their lifestyles. “The USA transgresses(超越) all seven planetary boundary indicators, but … scores relatively
However, South Africa transgresses the same natural boundaries as the UK, but
A few countries are better at balancing well-being and
“The
“We can no longer balance that simply letting the market decide what is best for us will lead to anything but disaster,” says Steinberger.
O’Neill’s team says poorer countries should
“Some of the strongest determinants of life satisfaction are good health; strong family and community relationships; economic security in the form of employment or higher incomes; and relative rather than absolute
| A．kept | B．criticised | C．praised | D．rated |
| A．endangered | B．promoted | C．reflected | D．changed |
| A．highly | B．lowly | C．disappointingly | D．unexpectedly |
| A．well | B．similarly | C．creatively | D．otherwise |
| A．misses | B．cancels | C．sets | D．achieves |
| A．reliability | B．independence | C．sustainability | D．productivity |
| A．Initially | B．Moreover | C．Therefore | D．However |
| A．description | B．analysis | C．balance | D．limitation |
| A．discover | B．prioritise | C．neglect | D．monitor |
| A．harmony | B．security | C．health | D．wealth |
10 . Financial Education-Awareness Dilemma
When it comes to financial education, the majority of today's youth will regard it as a necessity for certain specific people who want to make their career in the financial world.
Suppose you have $100 in a saving account that pays simple interest at the rate of 2%per year. lf you leave the money in the account, how much will you have accumulated after 5 years: more than $102, exactly $102, or less than $102? The test might look simple, but only half of the people surveyed gave the correct answer.
On the contrary, people who have a lower degree of financial literacy tend to borrow more, accumulate less wealth, and pay more in fees related financial products. They are less likely to invest, more likely to experience difficulty with debt, and less likely to know the terms of their mortgages and other loans. Thus, the cost of this financial ignorance is very high.
What is the solution?
| A．Financial education must start early. |
| B．However, they miss an important point. |
| C．Why does each of us have to face a financial challenge? |
| D．Why does financial literacy matter so much in our society'? |
| E．Rich people are generally better educated on financial management. |
| F．Besides, these people have more than double the wealth of people who don’t. |
| G．For example, they frequently make late credit card payments, overspend their credit limit, etc. |
