How to develop courage by overcoming daily fears
At times, when it comes to courage, we tend to believe it only applies to rare and uncommon situations. Yet our ordinary lives can also be full of courage, even if we are not facing the end of a gun, a wild animal or a dangerous criminal. Courage doesn’t just mean doing heroic acts. 1. In fact, where there is fear on a daily basis, there are opportunities for you to show your courage. Here are some suggestions to develop courage by overcoming daily fears.
Recognize your fears.
By realizing that you’re fearful, you are more likely to get to the bottom of what your fear is. 2. you might come to understand that you’re afraid of failing or taking chances. You may be fearful simply because you don’t have confidence in yourself. The key is not to dwell on your fear, but rather to understand what it is that you’re worried about.
Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen.
If you hesitate to take action, ask yourself this: what’s the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then go on to improve on the worst. Is failure the worst thing that can happen? No, absolutely not. 3.. Doing nothing is actually the worst thing that can happen. When you take no action, you are assured of getting nowhere.
Take action.
4.. You cannot think courage comes just in one day. You need to act to overcome your fear. Your action may put you into discomfort, but you have to just do it. And your action can prevent you from being stuck.
5.
To build up your confidence, you need to do the same thing over and over again. Soon you will discover that less courage is needed because you have already gained mastery. You are able to move decisively forward.
A. Share your fears with others.
B. Practice, practice and practice.
C. So you are already in a comfort zone.
D. Courage comes from taking action.
E. Each undesired result is just one more step towards your goal.
F. Finding out what is truly holding you back,
G. You needn’t wait for an emergency to occur to develop courage.
There are two great trends on parents bringing up children today．First，children are now praised to an unbelievable degree．As Dorothy Parker once joked，American children aren’t raised；they are motivated．Children are constantly told how special they are．The second is that children are honed(磨砺) to an unimaginable degree．Parents spend much more time than in past generations on their children’s development．
These two great trends—greater praise and greater honing—combine in close ways. Parents shower their kids with affection，but it is intermingled with the desire to help their children achieve success．Parents are happy when their child studies hard，practices hard，wins first place，gets into a famous college．
The wolf of conditional love is hidden in these homes．The parents feel they love their children in all circumstances．But the children often think differently．They feel that childhood is a performance—on the athletic field，in school and beyond．The shadowy presence of conditional love produces a fear，the fear that there is no completely safe love．
Meanwhile，children who are uncertain of their parents’ love develop a great hunger for it. This conditional love is1ike an acid that affects children’s criteria to make their own decisions about their own colleges，majors and careers．At key decision-points，they unconsciously imagine how their parents will react．
These children tell their parents those things that will bring praise and hide the parts of their lives that won’t. Studies suggest that children who receive conditional love often do better in the short run．They can be model students．But they suffer in the long run. They come to hate their parents．They are so influenced by fear that they become afraid of risk．
Parents today are less likely to demand obedience(顺从) with explicit rules and lectures．But they are more likely to use love as a tool to exercise control. But parental love is supposed to ignore achievement. It’s meant to be an unconditional support -a gift that can not be bought and cannot be earned．
1.What does the underlined word “intermingled” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Greeted． B. Mixed． C. Compared． D. Separated．
2.Some children can’t make their own decisions probably because________.
A. they have too many options B. they are lacking in parents’ advice
C. they are doubtful about parents’ love D. they care too much about parents’ reaction
3.What’s the author’s opinion about parental love？
A. It doesn’t go to children with poor grades.
B. It is meant to control children’s behaviour.
C. It shouldn’t focus on children’s achievement.
D. It works with strict rules and constant reminding.
If a stranger offered you money to keep a suitcase in your spare room，would you accept? How about the other way round：if you had too many belongings，would you consider trusting someone you met online with their safekeeping? Anthony Paine believed enough of us would answer “yes” to these questions to launch his own startup(新兴公司)，Stashbee．His business links people with space to those who need it．
And it's just one player in the booming “sharing economy”，an industry that relies on people renting out things like their beds，bikes and even parking spaces．Airbnb，a company valued at 200bn RMB，provides a platform for those renting property short-term．DogVacay pairs holidaymaking pet owners with pet-friendly hosts，and aims to be profitable by 2017．
All their business models revolve around one simple word：trust．So，how does Stashbee measure up? BBC journalist Dougal Shaw decided to try it out for himself．He had some odds and ends to store while renovating his house，and met a host through the site who could keep them for 475 RMB for two months．All relatively smooth and painless．
Heavyweights(行业巨头)in the traditional storage industry，such as Big Yenow and Access，aren’t convinced．A representative from Access told Shaw he was skeptical about storing with “amateurs”．He considered 24／7(全天候) access to the items and better security as the main advantages of his service.
Stashbee agree that dealing with security concerns is important，but say business success depends more on people overcoming a distrust of strangers we’ve been taught since childhood. They aren’t alone．Companies such as Costockage，Roost and Spacer all run similar storage businesses，and are all relying on a shift in consumer attitudes．
And the concept of social storage doesn’t stop there．CityStasher believe there’s a gap in the market for those who want to store things for extremely short periods of time．
Would you try it out? It’s a question of trust．
1.The author put forward two questions at the beginning of the text to__________.
A. expect readers to answer them B. carry out a survey among readers
C. start a conversation among readers D. draw readers attention to the topic
2.How does Dougal Shaw try out Stashbee’s business?
A. Experiencing in person． B. Doing a survey online．
C. Analyzing some data． D. Exchanging his belongings.
3.What does the traditional storage industry value most?
A. Trust． B. Security．
C. Cost． D. Professional knowledge．
4.What can we infer from the text?
A. Trust is not well built in childhood education．
B. The new startup isn’t concerned about security．
C. No company follows the business model of Stashbee．
D. Consumer attitudes have changed greatly over time．
People with an impulsive personality refer to those who tend to do things without considering the possible dangers or problems first. According to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia, such people may be more likely to have food addiction. The study found that people exhibiting impulsive behavior weren’t necessarily overweight, but impulsiveness was related to a direct relationship with food, and therefore, less healthy weight.
Food addiction has been compared to addictive drug use. Studies have linked the dopamine (多巴胺) release that occurs after tasting delicious food to the dopamine release that happens when people consume other addictive substances.
Impulsive behavior involves several personality traits (特点). Two of these traits, known as negative urgency and lack of perseverance, were particularly associated with food addiction and high BMI (身体质量指数) during the study.
Negative urgency is characterized by the tendency to behave impulsively when experiencing negative emotions. Some people might drink alcohol or take drugs. For others, it could mean eating to feel better. Lack of perseverance is when a person has a hard time finishing hard or boring tasks. People with a lack of perseverance might have difficulty attempting to change addictive eating behavior, which could also cause obesity.
“Impulsiveness might be one reason why some people eat in an addictive way despite motivation to lose weight,” said Dr. Ashley Gearhardt, a clinical psychologist. He was involved in developing the Yale Food Addiction Scale in aid of those people. “We are theorizing that if food addiction is really a thing, then our measure, the Yale Food Addiction Scale, should be related to helping control impulsive action,” said Gearhardt.
Clinical psychologist Dr. James MacKillop, whose lab was conducting the study, believes that therapies used to treat addictive drug behavior could help people who suffer from addictive eating habits.
“Most of the programs for weight loss at this point focus on the most obvious things, which are clearly diet and exercise,” MacKillop said. “It seems that managing strong desires to eat would naturally fit in with the skills a person would need to eat healthily.”
1.According to Paragraph 1, the result of food addiction is ________.
A. less healthy weight
B. motivation to lose weight
C. negative emotions
D. taking alcohol or drugs
2.How does the author introduce the two personality traits in Paragraph 4?
A. By making comparisons and conclusions.
B. By explaining causes and effects.
C. By presenting questions and answers.
D. By giving definitions and examples.
3.What can be inferred about the Yale Food Addiction Scale from the text?
A. It has been successfully carried out among overweight people.
B. It might help some impulsive people with food addiction to lose weight.
C. It will prove whether food addiction is a problem to impulsive people.
D. It is theoretically a proper treatment for addictive food and drug behavior.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A. Dopamine release caused by food addiction
B. Food addiction compared to drug use
C. Impulsive personality linked to food addition
D. Food addiction contributing to obesity
If you frequently travel for business, Stay bridge Suites offer you a range of home comforts. Four recent visitors to Staybridge Suites explain why they booked, what they enjoyed and what made them want to return.
Claire Metcalf
“The concept is great, but the staff are the ones who really make it. ”she says. “It takes a lot of discipline to always be friendly, but the staff at Staybridge Suites do that. They genuinely care about you.”
Andrew Roberts
“One of the best things is having my own kitchen. I often end up working late and I don’t fancy eating in a restaurant on my own, so cooking for myself is a big drawcard. ”
“The main thing for me is being able to cook and have my own little flat. The staff are amazing. It is great to be recognized by them, ”he says.
Pauline Robinson
“What I love about it is the way that you are treated by the staff,” she says. “Some of the staff have been there all that time and they do look after you well. As a woman staying on my own, it is reassuring that they look out for you, and recently when I was poorly they even brought things I needed to my room. ”
Ryan Ruckledge
“The fully-equipped kitchen is great. I always have a one-bed apartment so I have a separate kitchen and dining room and I’m able to relax and cook some meals. Eating out can feel a bit much when you do it day in and day out—it makes you hate what you do—and I don’t want that.
1.What attracts visitors to Staybridge Suites?
A. A separate dining room. B. A one—bed apartment.
C. A home from home. D. A lot of discipline.
2.Who think highly of the kitchen of Staybridge Suites?
A. Pauline Robinson and Ryan Ruckledge.
B. Ryan Ruckledge and Claire Metcalf.
C. Andrew Roberts and Ryan Ruckledge.
D. Pauline Robinson and Claire Metcalf.
3.What does the underlined word “drawcard” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. barrier. B. attraction.
C. honour. D. difficulty.
4.Why does the author write the article?
A. To advertise Staybridge Suites.
B. To introduce four recent visitors.
C. To inform us of a new service.
D. To sing high praise for the staff.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What is the first prize?
A. A two-week holiday. B. A 500-pound camera. C. Two plane tickets to Jamaica.
2.When will the result of the competition come out?
A. On August25. B. On August 31. C. On September 15.
3.What requirement do the photos need to meet?
A. They must be in black and white. B. They must be taken by kids over 18.
C. They must have been taken on holiday.
4.What does the speaker remind the competitors to do?
A. Write their information on the back of the photos.
B. Take part in next month's super sports competition.
C. Get their photos back after the competition.
