People often view the “last” moments of an event positively simply because they signal the end of an experience, say experts.

University of Michigan researchers found that even if an experience is painful or negative, but ends on a good note, people will consider it to be positive.

“Endings are powerful,” said Ed O’Brien, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan.

O’Brien and colleague Phoebe Ellsworth, the Frank Murphy Distinguished Professor of Law and Psychology, conducted a chocolate tasting experiment with 52 college students to test the theory.

Volunteers could taste five different Hershey’s Kisses chocolates—milk, dark, cream, caramel and almond – but did not know in advance how many pieces they would eat or the type. Participants rated how much they enjoyed the chocolate and described each flavor so that the researchers could record the order in which the randomly (随机的) selected treats were eaten.

Volunteers were assigned to the “next” or the “last ” condition by chance.

In the “next” condition, the experimenter said “Here is your next chocolate” before offering each chocolate, including the fifth.

For the “last” condition, the experimenter said “Here is your last chocolate” before offering  the fifth chocolate.

These participants rated the fifth chocolate more enjoyable than volunteers in the “next” condition.

As predicted, participants who knew they were eating the final chocolate of a taste test enjoyed it more.

In fact, when asked to pick their favorite chocolate, the majority of “last” participants chose the fifth – even though the flavor of the fifth was randomly chosen.

They also rated the overall experience as more enjoyable than volunteers who thought they were just eating one more chocolate in a series.

O’Brien says these findings may have far-reaching implications. For example, the last book or film in a series or the last speaker in a symposium (研讨会) may receive unwarranted praise.

The last job applicant, meanwhile, may look more qualified.

1.Which of the following is TRUE about the experiment?

A．The majority of “last” participants chose the almond flavor as their favorite.

B．Some participants enjoyed the experiment more because the last flavor tasted better.

C．The result would be different if researchers had used another brand of chocolate.

D．Some participants didn’t know it was their last chocolate when offered the fifth one.

2.What does the underlined word “unwarranted” in the second-to-last paragraph mean?

A．Fake.             B．Unwanted.         C．Unreasonable.      D．Insincere.

3.Which of the following is the best title for the article?

A．“Last” is the best.

B．Why “last” matters most.

C．It is the last step that is the hardest.

D．He who laughs last laughs best.

 

Are you a compulsive spender, or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay cash? Your answers to these questions will reflect your personality. According to psychologists, our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values, but can also stem from past problems.

Experts in psychology believe that for many people, money is an important symbol of strength and influence. Husbands who complain about their wives’ spending habits may be afraid that they are losing power in their marriage. Wives, on the other hand, may waste huge amounts of money because they are angry at their husbands. In addition, many people consider money a symbol of love. They spend it on their family and friends to express love, or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love.

People can be addicted to different things — for example, alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television. They are compulsive in their addictions, i.e. they must satisfy these needs to feel comfortable. In the same way, according to psychologists, compulsive spenders must spend money. For people who buy on credit, furthermore, charge accounts are even more exciting than money: in other words, they feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasures in spending enormous amounts are actually greater than those they get from the things they buy.

There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game: when they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason.

It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business: they consider people’s needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, etc. in their advertising and sales methods.

Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy(疗法)” to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money: they give them “assignments”. If a person buys something in every store that he enters, for instance, a therapist might teach him self-discipline in this way: on the first day of his therapy, he must go into a store, stay five minutes, and then leave. On the second day, he should stay for ten minutes and try something on. On the third day, he stays for fifteen minutes, asks the salesclerk a question, but does not buy anything. Soon he will learn that nothing bad will happen to him if he doesn’t buy anything, and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying.  

1.If you use charge accounts, ____.

A．you pay in cash                         B．you pay with credit card

C．you pay less than you should               D．you pay more than you should

2.Compulsive bargain hunters buy things for all the following reasons except that ____.

A．the things they buy are cheap

B．they believe they can balance their budgets

C．they get psychological satisfaction

D．they really need the things they buy

3.Behavior therapy in this case aims at____.

A．helping businessmen to increase their business

B．helping compulsive spenders to buy less

C．finding out how people will react if they are allowed to buy

D．finding out what people will do in front of a bargain

4.The underlined word “those” in Paragraph 3 refers to ____.

A．different things                         B．their addictions

C．charge accounts                        D．their pleasures

5.From the passage we can conclude that ____.

A．how you spend money reveals if you are psychologically healthy

B．money is a necessity and will bring you happiness if you have much

C．compulsive buying problems can be solved by taking some medicine

D．all businessmen understand well the psychology of customers

 

Reseachers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately juage 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person’s shoes．“Shoes convey useful information about their wearers，’’the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality．

Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style，cost，color and condition of someone’s shoes．In the study，63 University of Kansas researchers looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study’s participants．Volunteers in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes，and then filled out a personality questionnaire．

Some of the results were expected：People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes，and flashier shoes were typically worn by outgoing people．However，some of the more specific results are strange enough．For example，“practical and functional’’ shoes were generally worn by more “pleasant" people，while ankle boots were more linked with ‘‘aggressive’’ personalities．The strangest of all may be that those who wore‘ ‘uncomfortable looking” shoes tend to have “calm” personalities．And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take extreme care of them，you may suffer from “attachment anxiety"，spending lots of time worrying about what other people think of your appearance．There was even a political calculation in the mix with more liberal(主张变革的)types wearing “shabbier and less expensive” shoes．

The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personalities，but researchers noted that volunteers were also likely to be unaware that their footwear choices were showing the deep side of their personalities．

1.What does this text mainly tell us?

A．Shoes Call hide people’s real personalities．

B．Shoes convey false information about the wearer．

C．People’s personalities call be judged by their shoes．

D．People know little about their personalities．

2.The participants were asked to      

A．provide pictures of their shoes

B．look at pictures of different shoes

C．design a personality questionnaire

D．hand in their commonly worn shoes

3.Which of the results is beyond people’s expectation?

A．Wealthy people often wear expensive shoes．

B．Pleasant people like wearing uncomfortable shoes．

C．Aggressive people are likely to wear"ankle boots．

D．Fashion shoes are typically worn by outgoing people．

4.People suffering from“attachment anxiety” tend to      

A．wear strange shoes     B．worry about their appearance

C．have a calm character   D．become a political leader

5.The author wrote the text in order to      

A．inform us of a new study    B．introduce a research method

C．teach how to choose shoes   D．describe different personalitie

 

短文改错（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

Dear Tom,

I know there have trouble for you to communicate with others, and you may often feel lonely．That's why you are new from here and people don't know about you．But I think you can make it if you can follow the advices below．

First, you should take a active part in the discussions and show your own opinions about the matters．At the same time, never fail to listening to other people's views．Second, you should learn your classmates' likes and dislikes．Only in this way can you be able to get to know more different people and show them that you are actually very friendly．Last but not least, I will always be ready to help you．We can take part in some activities together, that I can introduce you to others．

As time going on, people will know you better and be willing to make friends with you．

Best regards．

Peter

 

Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick，just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him，his head warm on Bertie’s feet，when Father cleared his throat and began, “You’ll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We’ve found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England. ”

His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. “But the lion,” he cried, “What about the lion?”

“I’m afraid there’s something else I have to tell you, ” his father said. Looking across at Bertie’s mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.

“No! You can’t send him to a circus!” said Bertie. “People will come to see him. He’ll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will laugh at him. He’d rather die. Any animal would! ” But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.

Bertie felt completely betrayed (出卖). He waited until he heard his father’s deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels，he crept (蹑手蹑脚地移动) downstairs，took down his father’s rifle (步枪) and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion’s neck. The time had come.

“Be wild now”，he whispered. “You’ve got to be wild. Don’t ever come home. All my life I’ll think of you. I promise I will. ” He buried his head in the lion’s neck. Then, Bertie climbed down the hill and walked away.

When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.

There was only one thing left to do. With tears filling his eyes and his mouth，he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion’s head.

1.Bertie’s mother was sad probably because she _____.

A．had been seriously ill recently

B．had decided to send Bertie to school

C．knew Bertie would hate to go to England

D．knew selling the lion would upset Bertie

2.The underlined word “they” in Para. 4 probably refers to _____.

A．other animals      B．some audience     C．Bertie’s parents   D．circus owners

3.In the last paragraph, the boy lifted the rifle to _____.

A．threaten the lion back to the wild           B．kill the lion out of fear

C．protect himself from the lion               D．show his anger towards his father

4.The passage intends to show that _____.

A．animal-hunting is popular in Africa

B．parents are sometimes cruel to their children

C．people and animals can be faithful to each other

D．animals usually lead a miserable life in circuses