The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like "I never do anything right" into positive ones like "I can succeed." But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?
Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.
The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your dim friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you're just underlining his faults. In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written.
In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students' self-esteem. The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, "I am lovable."
Those with low self-esteem didn't feel better after the forced self-affirmation. In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren't urged to think positive thoughts.
The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治疗) that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse. Meditation (静思) techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.
1.What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?
A.It is a highly profitable industry. |
B.It is based on the concept of positive thinking. |
C.It was established by Norman Vincent Peale. |
D.It has yielded positive results. |
2.What is the finding of the Canadian researchers?
A.Encouraging positive thinking many do more harm than good. |
B.There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems. |
C.Unhappy people cannot think positively. |
D.The power of positive thinking is limited. |
3.What does the author mean by "… you're just underlining his faults" (Line 4, Para. 3)?
A.You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough. |
B.You are pointing out the errors he has committed. |
C.You are emphasizing the fact that he is not intelligent. |
D.You are trying to make him feel better about his faults. |
4. What do we learn from the experiment of Wood, Lee and Perunovic?
A. It is important for people to continually boost their self-esteem.
B. Self-affirmation can bring a positive change to one's mood.
C. Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem.
D. People with low self-esteem seldom write down their true feelings.
Section C.
Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading that you do not need. (请注意题号,将答案填涂在答题卡相应的位置)
科目:高中英语 来源:2013-2014学年湖北省荆州市毕业班质量检查(Ⅱ)英语试卷(解析版) 题型:单项填空
At the age of 11, Peter Lynch started caddying(当球童) at Brae Burn Country Club in Newton, Mass. “It was better than a newspaper carrier, and much more profitable,” the Fidelity vice chairman recalls. He kept it up during the summers for almost a decade. “You get to know the course and can give the golf players advice about how to approach various holes,” he says. “Where else, at age 15 or 16, can you serve as a trusted adviser to high-powered people?”
One of those people was George Sullivan, then president of Fidelity’s funds, who was so impressed with Lynch’s smarts that he hired him in 1966. “There were about 75 applicants for 3 job openings,” Lynch says now. “But I was the only one who had caddied for the president for 10 years.”
In between caddying and managing money, Lynch went to Boston College on a scholarship from a program called the Francis Ouimet Fund. Named after the 1913 winner of the U.S. Open, the fund launched in 1949 which is open to Massachusetts kids only. Ouimet executive director Robert Donovan says, “Help with college is a logical extension of friendly relation between golfers and their favorite caddies, because there is a close tie to train up them to be excellent that happens between the players and the kids who carry their golf poles. And for the teens, caddying is all about being around successful role models.”
It is obvious that caddies who are finally successful include all kinds of outstanding personnel, from actor Bill Murray, to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, to former GE chairman and CEO Jack Welch.
Of course, the great number of financial giants who caddied in their youth might be coincidence, but Dick Connolly thinks not. “Caddying life teaches you a lot about business, and about life,” he says. “You learn to show up early and look people in the eye when you shake their hand, and you learn how to read people -- including who’s likely to cheat and who isn’t.” Connolly is a longtime investment advisor at Morgan Stanley’s Boston office, a former Ouimet scholarship student and, along with Peter Lynch and Roger Altman, one of the program’s biggest supporters. He wants to share the most important lesson he learned on the links, so he says: “One golfer I caddied for told me that if you want to succeed in any field -- golf or business -- you have to spend a lot of lonely hours, either practicing or working, when you’d rather be partying with your friends. That’s true, and it stuck with me.”
1.Which of the following may Peter Lynch agree about caddying?
A. He could have a relaxing job as a caddie.
B. He could make more money from the golf players.
C. His duty was to advise the players how to play golf.
D. His caddying experiences contributed to his later career.
2.Why was the Francis Ouimet Fund set up to support Massachusetts kids only?
A. Because of the advice from the rich golf players.
B. Because of those giants with caddying experiences.
C. Because of the great success the caddies have achieved.
D. Because of the friendly relation between golfers and their caddies.
3.According to Dick Connolly, caddying experience in your youth_____.
A. helps you learn to live with loneliness
B. teaches you a lot about business and life
C. makes it possible to meet with great people
D. offers you chances to communicate with others
4.Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?
A. Legend of Peter Lynch.
B. An introduction of Golf Caddying.
C. Golf Caddying into Future Success.
D. Five Giants with Caddying Experiences.
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科目:高中英语 来源:2014届湖北省高二下学期期中考试英语试卷(解析版) 题型:完型填空
I keep a two dollar bill in my wallet that was given to me by my mother when I was six years old.
The 31 goes with me wherever I go. My mother gave it to me so that 32 would follow me. She looked at me and said, “I want you to carry this two dollar bill for extra good luck.”
“Thanks, mom,” I replied, “I will keep it 33 to me always.”
My mother passed away when I was seven years old. I remember I took out my two dollar bill and held it in my hand for the longest time, knowing that she would 34 me the rest of my life.
Each time I felt I had a crisis, I would 35 for my two dollar bill and set it on the table. I would 36 at it for several hours and could always 37 a solution. When I applied for my first job, I was thirty years old and very shy. The thought of being interviewed for a job was 38 but I had to work. I saw one of the interviewers well dressed with 39 purse and shoes. I also knew the chance of being chosen was 40 when looking at the length of others’ resumes.
“What makes you feel you are 41 for this job?” The well-dressed woman asked. “I really need this job and there is nothing I can not do” I responded. She then asked me a series of questions and the interview was over. As I left, I 42 and said “Please give me a chance. I learn quickly and can be a very 43 member of your team.”
I went home, 44 . That evening I received a phone call. “Gina” she said, “we decided to give you a chance to 45 yourself.” “Thank you, you will not regret this decision.” I 46 the phone and yelled. At that instant, I remember my mom once said to us “You are 47 in my mind. Don’t 48 failure. It is a way to get us to try harder.”
How 49 this gift from Mom! It had built up 50 in me.
1. A.money B.check C.bill D.paper
2. A.luck B.happiness C.wealth D.wisdom
3. A.close B.near C.hard D.firm
4. A.look out for B.watch over C.see to D.come across
5. A.get B.stretch C.hold D.reach
6. A.stare B.glance C.observe D.glare
7. A.come up with B.put forward C.set up D.pull through
8. A.exciting B.amazing C.nervous D.scary
9. A.suitable B.matching C.fancy D.exaggerating(夸张的)
10. A.slim B.terrible C.few D.abundant
11. A.born B.qualified C.stable D.grateful
12. A.turned around B.turned back C.put up D.raise up
13. A.productive B.additional C.concise(简洁) D.effective
14. A.terrified B.exhausted C.sound D.cautious
15. A.test B.challenge C.prove D.strengthen
16. A.hung up B.got through C.set aside D.got off
17. A.brilliant B.awesome C.careful D.unbelievable
18. A.stand B.bend C.fear D.ruin
19. A.rare B.special C.relative D.primary
20. A.confidence B.perseverance C.model D.intelligence
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科目:高中英语 来源:贵州省09-10学年度高一上学期期中考试试卷(英语) 题型:完形填空
第三节 完形填空 (每小题1. 5分)
阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
When one takes shoes to a shop to be mended, he is given a ticket with a number on it. Then, 1 his shoes are ready, he goes back to the shop, gives the ticket to the shoemaker, gets his shoes and 2 for them.
One day Mrs Smith gave her husband a pair of her shoes which needed 3 and asked him to 4 them to the shop. Mr Smith did so, and put the 5 for them in his pocket.
He went back four days 6 to get the shoes, 7 when he went into the shop, he was not able to find his ticket 8 , and the shoemaker did not want to give him the 9 until he got the ticket. “How do I know that the shoes are 10 unless you give me the ticket?” he said. “If I give them to you now, somebody 11 may come into my shop with the ticket tomorrow, and then I shan’t be able to give him the shoes.” Mrs Smith needed the shoes very much, so her husband 12 for a moment and then went out to his 13 , which was at the side of the road 14 the shop. He _15 the door, and whistled(耳语)to his wife’s small 16 , which was sitting on the back seat. Then he went back into the shop with the dog and _17 it, “Get the shoes!” the dog began to 18 around the shop, and soon it found Mrs Smith’s shoes and brought one of them to Mr Smith, then the 19 . “That should prove(证明)that they are my wife’s,.” said Mr Smith. The shoemaker 20 . Then he gave the shoes to Mr Smith.
⒈ A. before B. when C. since D. unless
⒉ A. cares B. looks C. pays D. waits
⒊ A. making B. mending C. buying D. selling
⒋ A. show B. change C. find D. take
⒌ A. ticket B. paper C. bill D. list
⒍ A. late B. later C. ago D. long
⒎ A. or B. because C. and D. but
⒏ A. with his son B. again C. in his office D. slowly
⒐ A. shoes B. idea C. dog D. answer
⒑ A. black B. beautiful C. yours D. whose
⒒ A. old B. young C. other D. else
⒓ A. worried B. stood C. thought D. hoped
⒔ A. car B. bus C. boat D. train
⒕ A. inside B. round C. up D. outside
⒖ A. opened B. closed C. broke D. built
⒗ A. clock B. dog C. hen D. cat
⒘ A. talked B. replied C. answered D. said to
⒙ A. hear B. taste C. smell D. see
⒚ A. other B. others C. ticket D. pairs
⒛ A. surprised B. cried out C. laughed D. frightened
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, the sport of canoe(赛艇)racing was added to the list of international competitions. The favorite team in the four-man canoe 1 was the United States team. One member of that team was a young man named Bill Havens.
As the 2 for the Olympics neared, it became clear that Bill’s wife would give 3 to their first child at about the same time, so Bill 4 himself in a dilemma(左右为难的困境).Should he go to Paris or should he stay at home with his family and 5 about the Olympics? After all, competing in the Olympics was one of his lifelong 6 .
Bill, after a great deal of thinking, decided to withdraw from the competition.
7 it turned out, the United States four-man canoe team won the gold medal in Paris, and Bill’s wife was 8 in giving birth to their child. She was 9 late, in fact, that Bill could have 10 in the event and returned home in time.
It was a shame, but Bill said that he had no 11 . Bill knew what was most important to him and he 12 what he believed was best. Not everybody has the 13 of character to say no to something that he or she 14 wants in order to say yes to something that truly 15 .
There was a(n) 16 end to Bill’s story. The child 17 born to Bill and his wife was a boy whom they 18 Frank. Twenty-eight years later, in 1952, Bill 19 a telegram from Frank. It was sent from Helsinki, Finland, where the 1952 Olympics were being held. The telegram 20 :“Dad, I won. I’m bringing home the gold medal you lost the chance to win while waiting for me to be born.”
1.A.contest B.race C.sports D.game
2.A.year B.deadline C.time D.chance
3.A.birth B.baby C.help D.hand
4.A.found B.put C.thought D.trapped
5.A.expect B.compete C.comment D.forget
6.A.promises B.dreams C.journeys D.businesses
7.A.What B.As C.So D.That
8.A.early B.lucky C.late D.miserable
9.A.very B.too C.so D.much
10.A.taken B.finished C.fought D.competed
11.A.regrets B.advantages C.disappointments D.choices
12.A.did B.paid C.made D.lost
13.A.origin B.strength C.reason D.energy
14.A.apparently B.truly C.finally D.seemingly
15.A.wants B.needs C.values D.matters
16.A.expected B.annoying C.interesting D.disappointing
17.A.eventually B.fortunately C.actually D.initially
18.A.named B.marked C.expected D.indicated
19.A.sent B.accepted C.mailed D.received
20.A.showed B.read C.told D.noted
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:完形填空
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