A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone’s else or ourselves --- the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.

    We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.

    This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”

    Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clear will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh（刻薄的）and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.

    Words possess power because of their lasting effect. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.

    Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem（自尊）and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.

The main idea of the first paragraph is that ________.

A. not sticks and stones but words will hurt us 

B. inspiring words give us confidence

C. negative words may let us down

D. words have a lasting effect on us

There is no sense for us to feel embarrassed when we talk to ourselves because _______

A. almost everybody has the habit of talking to themselves

B. we can benefit from talking to ourselves

C. talking to ourselves always gives us courage

D. it does no harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone

The underlined part in the third paragraph means that we should also timely _______

A. praise ourselves                                                         B. remind ourselves

C. make ourselves relaxed                                              D. give ourselves amusement

The author would probably hold the view that ___________

A. encouraging words are sure to lead to kind offers  

B. negative words may stimulate us to make more progress

C. people tend to remember friendly words

D. it is better to think twice before talking to others

A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me．” However, that’s not really true．Words have the power to build us up or tear us down．It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone’s else or ourselves --- the positive and negative effects are just as lasting．

       We all talk to ourselves sometimes．We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though．In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit．

       This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down．Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative．So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves．We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back．The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”

       Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effect they will have．But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others．For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange．And the clerk will probably respond in a similar manner．Or harsh（刻薄的）and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive．

       Words possess power because of their lasting effect．Many of us regret something we once said．And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid．

       Words possess power: both positive and negative．Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively．We can offer hope, build self-esteem（自尊）and motivate others to do their best．Negative words destroy all those things．Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours．

The main idea of the first paragraph is that ________．

       A．not sticks and stones but words will hurt us

       B．inspiring words give us confidence

       C．negative words may let us down

       D．words have a lasting effect on us

There is no sense for us to feel embarrassed when we talk to ourselves because _______

       A．almost everybody has the habit of talking to themselves

       B．we can benefit from talking to ourselves

       C．talking to ourselves always gives us courage

       D．it does no harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone

The underlined part in the third paragraph means that we should also timely _______ ．

       A．praise ourselves              B．remind ourselves

       C．make ourselves relaxed    D．give ourselves amusement

The author would probably hold the view that ___________

       A．encouraging words are sure to lead to kind offers

       B．negative words may encourage us to make more progress

       C．people tend to remember friendly words

       D．it is better to think twice before talking to others

A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting，and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year，maybe two，and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

It was a very important event in the computerization of life—a sign that the informal. Friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters，and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.

As a child visiting my father’s office，1 was pleased to recognize，in little notes on the desks of his staff，the same handwriting 1 would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW”.

All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting，a book by Florey. Sire shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well，but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.

I don’t buy it.

I don’t want to see anyone cut off from the expressive，personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer，part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand—as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However，they have worked in many school systems.

51. Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.

B. His colleague’s handwriting was SO beautiful.

C. His colleague’s handwriting was SO terrible.

D. He still had a 1ot of Work to do.

52. People working together in an office used to ____________.

A. talk more about handwriting

B. take more notes on workdays

C. know better one another's handwriting

D. communicate better with one another

53. The author’s father wrote notes in pen _________.

A. to both his family and his staff

B. to his family in small letters

C. to his family on the fridge

D. to his staff on the desk

54. According to the author，handwritten notes _______.

A. are harder to teach in schools

B. attract more attention

C. are used only between friends

D. carry more message

55. We can learn from the passage that the author __________.

A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

B. does not want to lose handwriting

C. puts the blame on the computer

D. does not agree with Florey

A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone’s else or ourselves --- the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.

  We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.

This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”

Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clerk will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh（刻薄的）and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.

Words possess power because of their lasting effect. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.

Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem（自尊）and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.

The main idea of the first paragraph is that ________.

A. words have a lasting effect on us       B. not sticks and stones but words will hurt us 

C. inspiring words give us confidence          D. negative words may let us down 

There is no sense for us to feel embarrassed when we talk to ourselves because _______

A. it does no harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone

B. almost everybody has the habit of talking to themselves

C. we can benefit from talking to ourselves

D. talking to ourselves always gives us courage

The underlined part in the third paragraph means that we should also timely _______

A. give ourselves amusement                    B. praise ourselves  

C. remind ourselves                                   D. make ourselves relaxed   

The author would probably hold the view that ___________

A. it is better to think twice before talking to others  

B. encouraging words are sure to lead to kind offers

C. negative words may stimulate us to make more progress

D. people tend to remember friendly words

A new study finds that the animal known as man’s best friend can also be a good friend to the heart. Researchers in California say they have found that even just a short visit with a dog helped ease the worries of heart patients.               

The study divided the patients into three groups. In Group A, a dog and a person visited each patient for twelve minutes. Patients in Group B received just a human visitor for twelve minutes. And members of Group C received no visitor, human or canine(犬的).

The dogs would lie on the hospital bed so the heart patients could touch them. The researchers say some patients immediately smiled and talked to the dog and the human visitor. Dogs, in her words, “make people happier, calmer and feel more loved.”

The researchers examined the patients before, during and after the visits. They measured stress levels based on blood flow and heart activity. They say they found a twenty-four percent decrease in the group visited by both a dog and a person. They reported a ten percent decrease in the group visited by a person only. There was no change in the patients without any visit. These patients, however, did have an increase in their production of the hormone epinephrine (epinephrine肾上腺素). The body produces epinephrine during times of stress.

The increase was an average of seven percent. But the study found that patients who spent time with a dog had a seventeen percent drop in their levels of epinephrine. Patients visited by a human but not a dog also had a decrease, but only two percent.

The author believes that _______.  

   A. the dog can take the place of most medicines

   B. the dog is the most popular pet for man

   C. the findings of the research cannot be trusted

   D. visits by a human work better than visits by a dog

Which of the following best shows the stress level changes in the groups of patients? BACC

  

From the research findings we may conclude that _______.

A. the less the body produces epinephrine, the better

B. the longer a visit lasts, the happier the patient should be

C. the patients enjoyed the dogs’ company more than the human visitors’

D. it’s impossible for heart patients to recover without dogs’ visits

Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

  A. Worried Heart Patients               B. Epinephrine and Stress

  C. Good Friend to the Heart             D. Three Groups of Patients