Decisions, decisions! Our lives are full of them, from the small ones to the life-changing. The right to choose is central to everyone. Yet sometimes we make bad decisions that leave us unhappy or full of regret. Can science help?
Most of us know little about the mental processes that lie behind our decisions. Luckily, what psychologists（心理学家）are finding may help us all make better choices. Here are some of their amazing discoveries to help you make up your mind.
Consider your emotions. You might think that emotions are the enemy of decision making, but in fact they're a part of it. Whenever you make up your mind, your brain’s emotional center is active. University of Southern California scientist, Antonio Damasio, has studied people with damage to only the emotional parts of their brains, and found that they were unable to make basic choices about what to wear or eat. Damasio thinks this may be because our brains store emotional memories of past choices, which we use to help the present decision making.
However, making choices under the influence of an emotion can greatly affect the result. Take anger, for example. A study by Nitika Garg of the University of Mississippi and other scientists found the angry shoppers were more likely to choose the first thing they were offered rather than considering other choices. It seems anger can lead us to make quick decisions without much thinking.
All emotions affect our thinking and motivation（动机）, so it may be best to avoid making important decisions under their influence. Yet strangely there’s one emotion that seems to help us make good choices. The American researchers found that sad people took time to consider the various choices on offer, and ended up making the best choices. In fact many studies show that people who feel unhappy have the most reasonable view of the world.
1.According to the text, what may help us make better decisions?
A．To think about happy times.
B．To make many decisions at a time.
C．To stop feeling regretful about the past.
D．To learn about the process of decision-making.
2.Damasio’s study suggests that _________.
A．emotions are the enemy of decision making
B．our brain has nothing to do with decision making
C．people with physical damage find it hard to make up their minds
D．our emotional memories of past choices can affect present decisions
3.Why are angry shoppers more likely to choose the first thing they are offered?
A．They often forget their past choices.
B．They make decisions without much thinking.
C．They tend to save time when shopping.
D．They are too angry to bargain.
4.What do we learn from the text?
A．Emotions are a part of decision making.
B．Sad people always make worst choices.
C．No emotion seems to help us make good choices.
D．Only sad feelings affect our thinking and motivation.
Last year, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, DC. I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?”
When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended. Immediately, I pulled out all of my change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her. But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money. I just need help finding the post office.”
In an instant, I realized what I had done. I acted with prejudice—I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be. I hated what I saw in myself.
The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant. I left Honduras and arrived in the US at the age of 15. I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister. Through the years, I have been a doorkeeper, cashier and pizza delivery driver among many other humble (卑微的) jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer.
In my own life, I have experienced prejudice. I remember a time—at the age of 17 —when I was a busboy, I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me.
But now, living in my American middle—class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am, where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going. That blind woman on the streets cured me of my blindness. She reminded me of my belief in humility (谦虚). By the way, I helped that lady to the post office. I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson.
1.How did the writer give the blind woman money?
A．In a modest way. B．In a polite way. C．In an impatient way. D．In a painful way.
2.According to the text, the writer________.
A. still lives a poor life B. was busy with his work
C. was born in Honduras D. was a native of Washington D.C.
3.According to the text, the author most probably agrees that one should_________.
A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled B．try to experience different kinds of cultures
C．treat others equally with love and respect D．think about one’s past as often as possible
4.What would be the best title of the text?
A．A priceless lesson B．An act of prejudice
C．A sightseeing trip D．A humble moment
Tales From Animal Hospital
David Grant
David Grant has become a familiar face to millions of fans of Animal Hospital. Here Dr Grant tells us the very best of his personal stories about the animals he has treated, including familiar patients such as the dogs Snowy and Duchess, the delightful cat Marigold Serendipity Diamond. He also takes the reader behind the scenes at Harmsworth Memorial Animal Hospital as he describes his day, from ordinary medical check-ups to surgery （外科手术）. Tales From Animal Hospital will delight all fans of the program and anyone who has a lively interest in their pet, whether it be cat, dog or snake I !
$ 14.99 Hardback 272 pp Simon Schuster
ISBN 0751304417
Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer
Michael White
From the author of Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science, comes this colorful description of the life of the world’s first modern scientist. Interesting yet based on fact, Michael White’s learned yet readable new book offers a true picture of Newton completely different from what people commonly know about him. Newton is shown as a gifted scientist with very human weaknesses who stood at the point in history where magic (魔术)ended and science began.
£8.99 Hardback 320 pp Fourth Estate
ISBN 1857024168
Fermat’s Last Theorem
Simon Singh
In 1963 a schoolboy called Andrew Wiles reading in his school library came across the world’s greatest mathematical problem: Fermat’s Last Theorem (定理). First put forward by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the seventeenth century, the theorem (法则)had baffled and beaten the finest mathematical minds, including a French woman scientist who made a major advance in working out the problem, and who had to dress like a man in order to be able to study at the Ecole
Polytechnique. Through unbelievable determination Andrew Wiles finally worked out the problem in 1995. An unusual story of human effort over three centuries, Fermat’s Last Theorem will delight specialists and general readers alike.
£12.99 Hardback 384 pp Fourth Estate
ISBN 1857025210
1.In Michael White’s book, Newton is described as .
A．a person who did not look the same as in many pictures
B．a person who lived a colorful and meaningful life
C．a great but not perfect man
D．an old-time magician
2.Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “baffle” as it is used in the text?
A．To encourage people to raise questions. B．To cause difficulty in understanding.
C．to provide a person with an explanation. D．To limit people’s imagination.
3.If a student wants to read a book about a famous scientist and he doesn’t want it too serious to read, which of the three books in the above is suitable?
A．The first. B．The second.
C．The third. D．Both the first and the second.
When I was young, I really doubted whether there was love between my parents. Every day they were busy earning money so that they could 41 the high tuition my brother and I needed. They didn’t 42 in the romantic ways that I read in books or saw on TV.
One day, Mom was sewing a quilt（被子）. I 43 sat down beside her. “Mom, I have a 44 here,” I said after a while. “Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very 45 voice.
Mom stopped her work and raised her head with 46 in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. She bent her head and continued to sew the quilt. I was 47 if I had hurt her. I was in great embarrassment and I was at a loss what to do. But at last she said, very 48 , “Susan, look at this 49 . Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and lasting. If 50 is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen, but it’s really there. 51 is inside.”
I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until years later.
One day, Dad accidentally got 52 while on duty. Ever since then he could no longer 53 properly. Every morning and dusk Mom would help Dad walk slowly on the country road. Along the country road, there were beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The leaves were gently glistening（发光） 54 the sun shining upon them. All of these made up the most beautiful 55 in the world.
“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day. “Susan, don’t worry about me,” he said gently. “I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life.” Looking into his eyes, I 56 what they meant.
The doctor had said Dad would 57 in two months. But that day never came. He 58 away in peace.
59 I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this 60 , I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, which makes life strong and warm…
1. A．afford B．cost C．spend D．offer
2. A．go B．live C．act D．walk
3. A．happily B．silently C．secretly D．nervously
4. A．request B．problem C．message D．question
5. A．loud B．light C．low D．clear
6. A．surprise B．anger C．stress D．horror
7. A．amazed B．confused C．shocked D．ashamed
8. A．quickly B．excitedly C．bitterly D．gently
9. A．quilt B．needle C．thread D．sewing
10. A．belief B．work C．experience D．life
11. A．Warmth B．Thread C．Cotton D．Love
12. A．tired B．drunk C．ill D．injured
13. A．talk B．walk C．work D．think
14. A．with B．as C．for D．by
15. A．signs B．symbols C．pictures D．reflections
16. A．read B．doubted C．translated D．recognized
17. A．retire B．recover C．regain D．remove
18. A．passed B．escaped C．faded D．turned
19. A．Again B．Once C．Then D．Later
20. A．word B．account C．experience D．accident
---“ Is there anything special you’d like for dinner, Teddy?”
--- “ Nothing _____, as usual , mummy “
A．on the whole B．in particular C．in general D．in total
Progress so far has been very good . _______ ,we are sure that the project will be
completed on time.
A．However B．Otherwise C．Besides D．Therefore
