“Love your neighbor as yourself" is a saying familiar to most of us. It means that you must have the ability to love and accept yourself in order to form and keep satisfying relationship with others. Self-esteem means accepting yourself for who you really are, and believing that you are indeed a worthwhile person who is deserving of love and respect from others.
Self-esteem is our sense of how good we feel about ourselves. It is based on our judgment of ourselves, not on other people's assessment, but simply on our own. Our self-esteem is not dependent on our talent. Some very ordinary people feel very good about themselves, while other extraordinarily high achievers hold low opinions of themselves.
Self-esteem is the primary key to long-term stress management. Why? The first three sources of stress are: predictable life event, unexpected changes and build-up of daily stresses. These are much easier to handle when we believe in ourselves. A positive, healthy self-esteem gives us the “hardiness” (强健) to deal with the difficulties of life, and to see them as challenges to be met, rather than threats to be feared.
The fourth category of stress is entirely the result of a low self-esteem. It is the category of stress that is most common and tiring over the long run. This kind of stress cannot be overcome, or even changed, until the self-esteem problems that cause it are corrected.
Learning to love yourself for who you are is the key to overcoming stress. Self-esteem comes from the self, and cannot be promoted by others. A person who feels that his self-esteem comes from the approval of those around him or her is bound to self-destruct (自毁). One cannot keep the level of “performance” required to please everyone else, especially if that performance disagrees with who you are and is simply a facade that makes you popular with the world. When the applause is gone, there is nothing left.
Only those who can feel the strength of knowing who they are and those who can feel good about that will survive the stresses of life. Self-esteem is the basis of contentment and positive living.
1.What is the key to overcoming stress according to the passage?
A. Removing yourself from stressful situation.
B. Learning to love yourself for who you are.
C. Facing the stress and dealing with it.
D. Getting help from friends.
2.What does the underlined word "facade" (in Para 5) mean?
A. A false appearance. B. A big worry.
C. A wrong action. D. A strange feeling.
3.The passage is written to ______.
A. tell people how to overcome stress
B. help people form good relationship with others
C. show the importance of feeling good about yourself
D. provide the different methods to get a clear view of yourself
Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.
By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic (逻辑) behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”
Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power, even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything, and create an explanation. For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now.
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.
Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem, why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there.
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.
1.What would be the best title for the text?
A. A Way on How to Write
B. Increase Your Brain Power through Writing
C. Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing
D. How to Start Your Writing
2.If a writer writes something, it means that he or she _______.
A. has understood it very well
B. needs to understand it better
C. wants to remember it in his or her mind
D. is exercising his or her “explain power”
3.The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in the fifth paragraph implies that ______.
A. you are already successful
B. you still need to work hard
C. writing can help you walk half way
D. you have been on the way to success
4.What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?
A. To advise readers to start their writing.
B. To explain the importance of writing.
C. To persuade readers to become writers.
D. To increase readers’ brain power.
Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers. He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry. The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products.
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18th birthday.
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hasn’t completely kicked the habit. Every now and then he still smokes in secret.
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time. Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Obama said at a news conference.
“I don’t do it in front of my kids. I don’t do it in front of my family. I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up,” he said.
“Once you go down this path, it’s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important. The new law is not about me, it’s about the next generation of kids coming up. What we don’t want is kids going down that path.” he said.
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.
1.The new law makes life difficult for ________.
A. Obama B. tobacco industry
C. White House D. US Food and Drug Administration
2.What do we know about Obama?
A. He no longer smokes.
B. He still smokes as usual.
C. He began to smoke at eighteen.
D. He is trying hard to give up smoking.
3. According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about ________.
A. children B. officials
C. his family D. businessmen
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，共20分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
“Grandpa, what was the hardest thing you ever had in your life?” I expected a story of physical during those hard times, but Grandpa stopped walking and began to speak with in his eyes.
“Your grandma got after your Aunt Mary was born. Since there was no one to your mom and uncles, I had to send them to an orphanage (孤儿院) I could take two or three jobs until your grandma got well. The thing I ever had to do was put my babies there. I went every to see them, but the nuns (修女) wouldn’t let me talk to them. I could only my children play from behind a one-way (单向的) mirror. Sure, I brought them candies every week, but I could hope they knew the candies were me. I would keep both hands on the glass for the thirty minutes I was to see them, hoping they would see me and come to touch my ― but they never did. I’ll never myself for not holding them.”
I had never seen my grandfather cry before. He me close, and I told him that I had the best grandfather ever and that I loved him.
For fifteen years, that talk with Grandpa remained our .
After my grandmother passed away, my grandfather began to a loss of memory. I to encourage my mother to let Grandpa come and live with us, but she said, “Why? He never what happened to us!”
“He has always cared for you and loved you. He was really for not being able to hold you that year!” I said. Tears started to gather in the corners of her eyes. The anger and sadness faded (逐渐消失) from her face. Not long after, my grandfather came to live with us.
1.A. strength B. work C. exercise D. examination
2.A. patience B. pleasure C. care D. tears
3.A. sick B. lost C. disappointed D. changed
4.A. look for B. depend on C. take care of D. look up to
5.A. but B. so C. or D. if
6.A. happiest B. bravest C. easiest D. hardest
7.A. week B. day C. month D. afternoon
8.A. feel B. hear C. make D. watch
9.A. nearly B. certainly C. only D. seldom
10.A. about B. for C. with D. from
11.A. allowed B. ordered C. begged D. encouraged
12.A. hands B. glasses C. candies D. eyes
13.A. help B. devote C. forgive D. enjoy
14.A. ran B. caught C. followed D. held
15.A. strange B. special C. active D. lucky
16.A. pity B. shame C. puzzle D. secret
17.A. get rid of B. pay attention toC. suffer from D. recover from
18.A. tried B. managed C. agreed D. promised
19.A. talked about B. cared about C. found out D. left out
20.A. cruel B. unfortunate C. responsible D. sorry
I think_____ impresses me about his painting is the colors he uses.
A. who B. that C. which D. what
I don’t really like the author _____ I have to admit his books are very exciting.
A. until B. unless C. although D. once
