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 (引證) older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your friend who is slow to learn 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 against 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 (自尊). 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 (自我肯定). In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren’t urged to think of positive thoughts.
The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治療) 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 (靜思) techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic viewpoint. Call it the power of negative thinking. 
小題1:The first paragraph is written _________.

A．to raise an argument about positive thinking

B．to introduce the power of positive thinking

C．to encourage people to have positive thoughts

D．to introduce the $11 billion self-help industry

小題2:According to the study of the Canadian researchers, _________.

A．positive thinking is not as powerful as negative thinking

B．encouraging positive thinking may actually discourage people

C．happy people can think positively while unhappy people can’t

D．getting people to think positively can strengthen their confidence

小題3:What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．You are pointing out the mistakes he has made.

B．You are reminding him that he is not intelligent.

C．You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough.

D．You are showing he has great potential in spite of faults.

小題4:We can learn from the last paragraph that _________.

A．negative feelings must be got rid of

B．there’s no point in thinking positively

C．it doesn’t make sense to think negatively

D．negative thinking is not always negative

Going to college and living away from home for the first time can be terribie．Students tend to have higher academic achievements in college when they enjoy living in the dormitory．Most colleges and universities have many programs that help first-year students adjust to studying and living in a new community．Take advantage of these programs and make new friends as you adjust to your college life．
         ．Greet and meet everyone in the dorm．Find out their class schedules and hobbies．You may be able to find study partners this way．Most students are just like you being away from their home the first time．Don't be afraid toknock on your neighbors'doors and introduce yourself．The residence(居住區(qū))staff will also help you in adjusting tocollege iife．Get to know them as soon as possible．
Get along with your roommate．Your roommates can be eitherr your lifelong friends or enemies．Try to be friends to them．Respect each other, including their space．Do not use your roommates’ belongings without permission．Communicate among each other regarding your daily schedule, study or sleep habits and off campus guest visits. Always say hello．
Get involved．To adjust to college life away from home，you need to got involved in college activities．Join clubs．Attend events that are hosted by your residence life and academic departments．Attend those events with your new friends. Most colleges have many events throughout the semester．Student union is a great place to meet new friends and learn about the upcoming events．
Call home when you need to．College life can be very exciting in the beginning. Most students get lonely and homesick during the middle of the semester or during festivals，It is normal to feel sad．Call home or even visit home when you need to. Talk to your friends back home．Understand that many people love and support you and they are very proud of you．
小題1:What does the text mainly tell us?

A．Advice on how to adjust to college life．

B．Things that can be done in a dormitory．

C．Places to live in when going to a college．

D．Ways of making friends with roommates．

小題2:What can be proper to fill in the blank in Paragraph 2?

A．Greet people everywhere．	B．Meet new friends．
C．Share your hobbies.	D．Adjust to college life．

小題3:Which of the following is not proper in getting along with your roommates?

A．Say hello to them frequently．

B．Respect them and their space．

C．Use their belongings secretly．

D．Know about their living habits．

小題4:According to the text，when you feel homesick at college，you can       ．

A．find study partners	B．join clubs
C．call your parents	D．talk to new friends

小題5:In which part of a website might the text appear?

A．Style and fashion．	B．Science and technology．
C．Sports and health．	D．Culture and education．

Microsoft has a problem：It desperately wants the remaining Windows XP users to upgrade to a newer version of the operating system but a good many of them still haven’t started．The latest numbers from NetMarket show that Windows XP still accounts for around 29．5％of all desktops in use even though Microsoft is due to end support for the l3-Year-old platform on April 8th．ZDNet reports that Microsoft plans to force remaining XP users to start next week by sending them notices reminding them again that it will end XP support within a month．
However, as Computerworld reports，Microsoft may have a tough time convincing some Windows XP users to upgrade because it's trying to sell them on Windows 8，the newest operating system that has angered many longtime PC users by removing the traditional Start menu and by adding the interface(界面)a special feature．Computerworld writes that many Windows users expressed anger last month when Microsoft asked them to help switch as many people as they could from Windows XP to Windows 8 partly because Microsoft hasn’t offered any sort of discount for Windows XP users making the switch．
This is particularly tiresome, these users said，because switching from XP to Windows 8 won’t just require a software upgrade but will instead likely force them to buy new machines capable(能夠)of running Microsoft’s new operating system．Some users were also annoyed that Microsoft only mentioned Windows 8 and not Windows 7 as upgrade possibilities．
In the end，it looks like when Microsoft ends support for Windows XP next month there will still be a large part of the desktop PC world using the platform．Hackers who have been saving up all their best new malware(惡意軟件)for the day when Windows XP support ends are about to have a field day．
小題1:What problem does Microsoft have now?

A．Windows XP is out of date and needs improvement．

B．Windows 8 runs worse than Windows XP．

C．No people like to upgrade their operating system．

D．Lots of users refuse to switch from XP to Windows 8．

小題2:How will Microsoft remind users ofthe stop of XP support?

A．By sending them notices．

B．By sending them daily emails．

C．By adding the interface a special feature．

D．By removing the traditional Start menu．

小題3:Which is probably one of the reasons why users dislike Window 8?

A．Microsoft hasn’t offered any discount for it．

B．They like Window 7 more than Window 8．

C．Microsoft refuses to offer them a new machine．

D．It’s impossible for them to use the new operating system．

小題4:What does the underlined phrase “have a field day” probably mean in the last paragraph?

A．Show up without warning．

B．Make rapid progress．

C．Make full use of the opportunity．

D．Come to an end completely．

小題5:What can be inferred from the text?

A．Windows XP will completely be out of use in a month．

B．Windows XP will still be in use for a period of time．

C．Windows 8 will have a longer history than Windows XP．

D．Windows 7 will easily be attacked by Hackers．

Teenagers at one German school are learning how to achieve happiness alongside other traditional subjects such as math and languages.
The class sit in a circle with their eyes shut and they count from one to ten: someone starts, the next voice comes from the far right, a third from the other side.
The aim of the game is to listen for an opportunity to shout out the number without clashing (沖突) with another voice or leaving a pause. On the first try, most of the young Germans try to be first, while a few are too shy to join in, but by the fifth time round, they develop a rhythm. The message: give other people space but also confidently claim your own. This is a requirement for social well-being.
The Willy Hellpach School in Heidelberg is the first in the nation to develop a happiness course. It is intended for students preparing for university entrance exams.
"The course isn't there to make you happy," Ernst Fritz -Schubert, the school principal, warned pupils, "but rather to help you discover the ways to become happy."
Cooking a meal together is one of the class exercises. Improving body language under the guidance of two professional actresses is another.
The course is taught for three periods a week. Despite the happy subject, the pupils themselves insist it is no laughing matter.
"In the first period, we had to each say something positive about another member of the class and about ourselves. No laughing at people." said Fanny, 17.
Research by the school shows it is not the first to start happiness classes: they also exist at some U. S. universities, mainly based on positive thinking, using findings from studies of depression.
小題1:What's the writing purpose of this passage?

A．To help students struggle against being sad.

B．To describe all the traditional courses.

C．To arouse the readers' interest in happiness.

D．To introduce the happiness course.

小題2:The game intended for the students in the 2nd paragraph is mainly to _________.

A．try their best to get opportunities for themselves

B．practice how to speak in front of people

C．equip them with required social skills

D．confidently speak out one's opinions

小題3:According to the passage, the happiness course is _________.

A．to help students discover the ways to happiness

B．to make all the students happy all the time

C．required to be taken by the first year students

D．created by the Willy Hellpach School

小題4:It can be inferred from the passage that _________.

A．the students can certainly become happy after the course

B．the students just took the course as a laughing matter

C．the students' self'-respect can also improve happiness

D．the students waste time learning something without value

In 1901, H．G．Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon．When the explorers landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities．They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met．In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise．“Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H．G．Wells could only imagine travel to the moon．In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon．People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon．However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one．A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it．
Underground systems are already in place．Many cities have underground car parks．In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas．The “Chunnel”, a tunnel（隧道） connecting England and France, is now complete．
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities．” The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on．A solar dome（太陽能穹頂） would cover the whole city．
Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space．The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness．H．G．Wells’ “moon people” would agree．Would you?
小題1:The explorers in H．G．Wells’ story were surprised to find that the “moon people” _____．

A．lived in so many underground cities

B．knew so much about the earth

C．understood their language

D．were ahead of them in space technology

小題2:What does the underlined word “it” refer to?

A．Discovering the moon’s inner space．	B．Traveling to outer space．
C．Meeting the “moon people” again．	D．Using the earth’s inner space．

小題3:What sort of underground systems are already here with us?

A．Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas．

B．Offices, shopping areas, power stations．

C．Gardens, car parks, power stations．

D．Tunnels, gardens, offices．

小題4:What would be the best title for the text?

A．Alice Cities—cities of the future．	B．Space travel with H．G．Wells．
C．Building down, not up．	D．Enjoy living underground．

On countless mornings over the past year, I stood with my son, James, in our driveway, watching our neighbor hurry off to kindergarten．My wife and I wanted to give James the best  education, but that meant we'd have to change our jobs and spend less time with our kid．I asked myself, "Would this trade-off be worth it?" When I look at the research on child development, I think it might not．Where our kids go to school might matter less than most American parents think．
Social scientists have long tried to determine why some children grow up to be successful．In a 2001 study, Greg Duncan, a professor of education at the University of California, measured the influence that the people in a child's life have on how well the child does in school．Duncan and his team found almost no relationship between how students did on the test and whom they sat beside in class, whom they hung out with after school and who lived in their block．The only meaningful link they found was between siblings （兄弟姐妹） and twins in particular．
For a long time, scholars thought that a family's income heavily affected how well kids did   in life．But that might not be the case．When Susan Mayer at the University of Chicago looked at the relationship between family income and lifetime achievement, she ran a series of experiments to measure it, finding such outcomes weren't caused by income．She argued that the things that make a difference are relatively inexpensive: the number of books a kid has or how often his family goes to museums．
Lareau, another scholar began one of the most in-depth observations of American parenting．He concluded that success is much more related to the amount of time parents spend with their children．He said "Many parents I interviewed are anxious about their children's futures．But they have exaggerated（夸大） the sense of the risks involved if they don't give their children 'the best' of everything．"
So at last, we decided to leave things as it were．More time with our kid is the best we can provide．
小題1:The first paragraph is intended to _．

A．introduce the topic of the passage

B．confirm the result of a research

C．stress the importance of good education

D．support a research on child development

小題2:From the passage we know that most American parents _．

A．spend a lot of time with their children

B．like to buy a variety of books for their children

C．think children's achievement largely depends on schools

D．believe their income cannot afford children's education

小題3:Who believes children's brothers and sisters may influence their academic performance?

A．Lareau．

B．Greg Duncan．

C．Susan Mayer．

D．James．

小題4:Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．Parents' time matters to children's future．

B．School education determines children's future．

C．Family income counts to children's achievements．

D．Less education means more risks for children's success．

If English means endless new words，difficult gramrnar and sometimes strange pronunciation，you are wrong．Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university，learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power，Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter．This is the area of the brain which processes information．It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles．
The study also found the effect is greater，the younger people learn a second language.
A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli，from University College London，took a group of Britons who only spoke English．They were compared with a goup of “early bilinguals．’’who had learnt a second language before the age of five，as well as a number of later learners．
Scans showed that grey matter density(密度)in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language．But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language，the smaller the difference.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language，”said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn．
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. ‘‘Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible，”he said．“You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas．”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of 2 and 34. Reading，writing，and comprehension were all tested．The results showed，that the younger they started to learn，the better．“Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world，’’explained the scientists．
小題1:The main subject talked about in this passage is         

A．language can help brain power

B．man's ability of learning a second language

C．science on learning a second language

D．language learning and maths study

小題2:In the second paragraph，the writer mentions “exercise” in order to     

A．say language is also a kind of physical labor

B．make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well

C．show the importance of using the language when you learn the language

D．prove that one needs more practice when he(she)is learning a language

小題3:The underlined word‘‘bilinguals”in Paragraph 4 probably means       

A．people who can speak two languages

B．second language learners

C．researchers on language learning

D．a(chǎn)ctive language learners

小題4:We may know from the scientific findings that        

A．the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people’s brain

B．there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language

C．the earlier you start to learn a second language，the higher the grey matter density is

D．the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time

小題5:In the last two paragraphs，the author wants to tell us that      

A．learning a second language is the same as studying maths

B．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language

C．you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language

D．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects

“It hurts me more than you，’’and “This is for your own good．’’These are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin，clean my room，stay home and do homework.
That was before we entered the permissive period in educafion in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school．The schools and the educators made it easy on us．They thought that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy. We stopped making our children do homework. We gave them calculators，turned on the television，left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation．
Now teachers，faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years，are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake．One such teacher is Sharon Klompus who says of her students-“so passive”-and-wonders what happened．Nothing was demanded of them，she believes. Television，says Klompus，contributes to children’s passivity．“We’re not training kids to work any more,” says Klompus．“we’re talking about a generation of kids who’ve never been hurt or hungry．They have learned somebody will always do it for them. Instead of saying ‘go look it up’，you tell them the answer．It takes greater energy to say no to a kid．”
Yes，it does．It takes energy and it takes work. It’s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work．It’s time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it's for their own good．It’s time to start telling them no again.
小題1:Why are children becoming more inactive in study?

A．Because they watch TV too often

B．Because they have done too much homework．

C．Because they have to fulfill too many duties．

D．Because teachers are too strict with them．

小題2:To such children as described in the passage         

A．it is easier to say no than to say yes

B．neither is easy-to say yes or to say no

C．it is easier to say yes than to say no

D．neither is difficult-to say yes or to say no

小題3:We learn from the passage that the author’s mother used to lay emphasis on       

A．1earning Latin

B．natural development

C．discipline

D．education at school

小題4:By “permissive period in education’’the author means a time         ．

A．when children are allowed to do what they wish to

B．when everything can be taught at school

C．when every child can be educated

D．when ehildren are permitted to receive education

小題5:What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Parents should leave their children alone，

B．Kids should have more activities at school．

C．It’s time to be stricter with our kids．

D．Parents should always set a good example to their kids．

The earth is the only planet that scientists think has life. Why does the earth have life while the other planets (行星) don't? For one thing, the earth is just the right temperature. As the_third_planet from the sun, the earth seems to be just the right distance away. The planets which are closer to the sun are hot that their surfaces bake (烘烤) in the sun. The farthest planets are cold balls.
When the earth developed — which scientists believe may have happened about 4 billion years ago — many gases covered the earth. The gases caused the earth to be hot. But something wonderful happened. The temperature was just right for thick clouds to form. It rained very hard for a very long time. This gave the earth its oceans. Water made it possible for plants to grow. The plants created oxygen in the atmosphere. Oxygen is the gas that humans and animals breathe.
Only one other planet in the solar system seems to be something like the earth. That planet is Mars (火星). Mars is smaller than the earth, and it is quite a bit cooler. But it is not too cold for humans. On some days, the temperatures are as low as a winter day in the northern United States. If you wore a special space suit, you could walk around on Mars. You would have to bring your own air to breathe, the air on Mars is too thin to breathe.
Mars has the largest volcano (火山) in the solar system. It is sixteen miles high. The highest volcano on the earth is five miles high. The most unexpected (未預(yù)測到的) sight on Mars is dried up river beds. Scientists believe that Mars was once much better than it is now. Does this mean there could have been living things on Mars? Scientists are not sure, but there has been no sign so far.
小題1:Which of the following is NOT the reason that the earth has life?

A．The earth is just the right temperature.

B．The volcanos on earth are lower than those on Mars.

C．There is oxygen in the atmosphere of the earth.

D．The earth seems to be just the right distance away from the sun.

小題2:The underlined phrase “the third planet” in the first paragraph refers to ________.

A．the Sun	B．the Moon
C．the Earth	D．the Mars

小題3:Which of the following about the Mars is NOT true?

A．There could have been living things on Mars.

B．Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system.

C．There is almost no oxygen in the air on Mars.

D．Mars is smaller than the earth, and it is quite a bit cooler.

I hear many parents saying that their teenage children are rebellion（反叛的）. I wish it were so. At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents. You should be learning to stand on your own two feet. But take a good look at the present rebellion. It seems that teenagers are all taking the same way of showing that they degree with their parents. Instead of striking out bravely on their own, most of them are trying to seize at one another’s hands for safety.
They say they want to dress as they please. But they all wear the same clothes. They set off in new directions in music. But somehow reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that the crowd is doing it. They have come out of their cocoon(蠶繭) -----into a larger cocoon.
It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and to go his or her own way. Industry has firmly opened up a teenage market. These days every teenager can learn from newspapers and TV what a teenager should have and be. And many of today’s parents have come to award（獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)） high narks for the popularity of their children. All this adds up to great difficulty for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path.
But the difficulty is worth getting over. The path is worth following. You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party. You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records. You may have some thoughts that you don’t care to share at once with your classmates. Well, go to it. Find yourself. Be yourself. Popularity will come-----with the people who respect you for who you are. That’s the only kind of popularity that really counts.
小題1:The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to tell_______.

A．readers how to be popular in the world

B．parents how to control and guide their children

C．teenagers how to learn to decide things for themselves

D．people how to understand and respect each other

小題2:According to the writer, many teenagers think they are brave enough to act on their own, but, in fact, most of them______.

A．a(chǎn)re not sure of themselves

B．have much difficulty in understanding each other

C．dare not do things

D．a(chǎn)re very much afraid of getting lost

小題3:During the teenage years, one should learn to_____.

A．become different from others in as many ways as possible

B．find one’s real self

C．get into the right reason and become popular

D．rebel against parents