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 very positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your stupid 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 techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.
【小题1】What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?

A．It has produced positive results.

B．It is a highly profitable industry.

C．It is based on the concept of positive thinking.

D．It was established by Norman Vincent Peale.

【小题2】What does the word “underline” mean (Line 4, Para. 3)?

A．point out

B．lay emphasis on

C．pay no attention to

D．take for granted

【小题3】 Which of the following is TRUE about the Canadian researchers’ study?

A．Encouraging positive thinking many do more good than harm.

B．Self-affirmation can bring a positive change to one’s mood.

C．There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems.

D．Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem.

【小题4】What do we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Meditation may prove to be a good form of psychotherapy.

B．People can avoid making mistakes through meditation.

C．Different people tend to have different ways of thinking.

D．The effects of positive thinking vary from person to person.

---Mary’s skirt is a real bargain.

---_____ must be in a secondhand shop that she bought it.

   A. That           　B. This             C. It             D. There 

 

Condoleezza Rice is used to standing out. It is not only because she holds the position as U.S. Secretary of State. Her youth, gender and skin color have 　36　 a lot of attention throughout her political career.

Condoleezza Rice,　37　 as Condi to her close friends, was born in 1954 in Birmingham. During 1950s,blacks were not treated as 　38　 citizens in the south. Although slavery was　39　 in 1865,the southern states passed their own laws to continue the 　40　of blacks and whites. Despite the discrimination 　41　 black people, her parents told her she could become? 42　 she wanted. They taught her to believe that great things were 　43　 for her.

Rice was a gifted student with a 　44　 for the piano and she entered college at the age of 15 with the 　45　 of becoming a concert pianist. Along the way she was　46　 by political? scientist Josef Korbel, the father of former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Rice 　47　 her plans and studied international politics, and in the 1980s she was teaching at Stanford University,　48　 her career developed quickly. She　49　 on George H. Bush's national security council(顾问) in 1989.Later she 　50　 to Stanford, and became its youngest, first female and first 　51　 provost after two years.

In 2001,Rice re-entered the political world,　52　 George W. Bush's national security advisor. She has drawn international 　53　 in this position, and has been the most powerful national security advisors in American 　54　.

She held this position until 2005,when 　55　 Secretary of State.

36.A. directed B. turned C. paid    D. attracted?

37.A. known   B. Considered C. Seen   D. accepted?

38.A. respectful     B. equal  C. different     D. noble?

39.A. finished B. Stopped     C. Prevented   D. ended?

40.A. difference     B. disagreement     C. separation   D. division?

41.A. against  B. to              C. with    D. towards?

42.A. whoever       B. whomever  C. whatever    D. whichever?

43.A. desiring B. waiting      C. preparing   D. longing?

44.A. talent    B. interest       C. hobby D. favourite?

45.A. purpose B. goal    C. intention    D. attention?

46.A. effected B. affected      C. impressed   D. influenced?

47.A. changed B. postponed   C. cancelled    D. exchanged?

48.A. which    B. where C. when  D. that?

49.A. acted     B. waited C. served D. called?

50.A. paid a visit    B. showed concern C. attended     D. returned?

51.A. black     B. white  C. capable      D. efficient?

52.A. turning  B. holding      C. becoming   D. taking?

53.A. praise    B. approval     C. criticism     D. attention?

54.A. politics  B. history       C. culture              D. government?

55.A. elected  B. invited       C. appointed   D. succeeded??

　　The city of Venice, in Italy, is one of a kind. It is built on more than 120 islands, just off the coast. The islands are small and close together. The waterways between them are used as streets. They are called canals.

　　In this watery world, people use boats to get from place to place. Gondolas to place, small boats that are moved with one oar（桨）, were once the only boats used in the canals. But today motorboats make getting around faster; there are still lots of gondolas, though. Many visitors go to Venice all the year round. And they like to ride in the old-style（老式）boats.

　　If you aren't going far in this city, it's easier to go on foot. There are hundreds of narrow footpaths. About 100 low bridges connect the footpaths and islands. But these bridges cause problems for the boaters. When the sea tide（潮）is high, the canal water rises. People in the boats must duck to fit under bridges.

(1)After reading the first paragraph, we can come to the conclusion that ________.

[　　]

A．all the buildings in Venice are help up（抬高）on seawater

B．there's no land in the city of Venice

C．the streets in Venice are all lined with waterways

D．nobody can be seen walking in the streets of Venice

(2)It is clear that ________.

[　　]

A．all the Venetian people ride in boats with one oar to get from place to place

B．gondolas are the only boats used in the canals

C．the ways of getting round in Venice are different from those in any other city

D．motorboats have taken the place of gondolas in Venice now

(3)Which of the following statements shows no difference between itself and the passage? ________

[　　]

A．All the Venetian people like to ride in the old-style boats.

B．Neither cars nor buses are used in Venice.

C．Citizens in Venice don't walk much.

D．Gondolas rides are much more expensive.

(4)Which of the following statements leads us to the conclusion that traveling around Venice by gondolas can be slow? ________

[　　]

A．Gondolas, small boats that are moved with one oar, were once the only boats used in the canals.

B．But today, motorboats make getting around faster.

C．But these bridges cause problems for the boaters.

D．People in the boats must duck to fit under bridges.

(5)The word“duck”in the last sentence means ________.

[　　]

A．bend one's head in order not to be hit

B．go quickly under water for a short time

C．swim as a duck does

D．dive suddenly like a duck