Question

    A star athlete at the college where I work recently stopped by my office. After committing a few unforced errors during a weekend match, she was riven by self-criticism. “I’m at peak fitness, and I practice hard. How is this happening?” She asked.

This student believes she should be able to control the outcomes of her life by virtue of her hard work. She has a sense that hours on the field should get her exactly where she needs to go. Many students have similar mentality. When they win, they feel powerful and smart. When they fail, they are crushed by self-blame. If my achievements are mine to control, they reason, my failures must be entirely my fault, too.

We talk often about young adults struggling with failure because their parents have protected them from discomfort. But there is something else at play: a false promise that they can achieve anything if they are willing to work for it.

Psychologists have sourced this phenomenon to a misapplication of “mindset” research, which has found that praising children for effort will increase academic performance. A 2018 analysis found that while praising effort over ability may benefit economically disadvantaged students, it does not necessarily help everyone.

One possible explanation comes from Suniya Luthar, who argued in a research paper that for teens in wealthy, pressure-cooker communities, “it is not a lack of motivation and perseverance (毅力) that is the big problem. Instead, it is unhealthy perfectionism, and difficulty with backing off when they should, when the desire for achievements is over the top.” They push themselves onward in face of impossible goals. A 2007 study found that teens who refused to give up impossible goals showed higher levels of C-reaction protein, a marker of systemic inflammation (全身炎症) linked to heart disease and other medical conditions. A 2014 study showed a connection between the perfectionist tendencies and depression.

The cruel reality is that you can do everything in your power and still fail. Instead of allowing our kids to beat themselves up when things don’t go their way, we adults should help students pursue success in healthier ways in part by redefining failure as a feature, not a bug, of learning. At Smith College where I teach, students are asked to explore how setbacks and missteps made them stronger or more effective. We would be wise to remind our kids that life has a way of sucker-punching (意外打击) us when we least expect it. It’s often the people who learn to say “stuff happens” who get up the fastest.

1.Why was star athlete trapped by self-blame?

A.She broke down during the match.

B.She didn’t try her best in the match.

C.She believed hard work should pay off.

D.She thought she should have practiced harder.

2.What can we learn from Paragraph 5?

A.Lack of motivation and perseverance leads to teens’ failure.

B.Praising children for effort increases academic performance.

C.Children struggle with failure due to parents’ over-protection.

D.Unhealthy perfectionism causes physical and emotional stress.

3.According to the author, adults should _________.

A.help students learn from failure

B.protect students from discomfort

C.reward students for their hard work

D.explore the cause of students’ failure

4.Which of the following does the author probably agree with?

A.Effort equals achievement.

B.Motivation is the key to success.

C.Success is not always under control.

D.Effort is more important than ability.

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.A

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。研究表明“心态”的误用使年青人有了个伪命题：如果他们愿意为之工作，他们就能取得任何成就。但实际并非如此，生活会在最不经意的时候，给你打击，反而是那些经常说“事情会发生”的人站起来得最快。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段最后一句““I’m at peak fitness, and I practice hard. How is this happening?” She asked.”，第二段开始：“This student believes she should be able to control the outcomes of her life by virtue of her hard work.”，这位明星运动员深陷自责，她觉得她足够努力，她能通过努力来控制生活的结果，选项C：她相信努力工作就会有回报。题目问明星运动员深陷自责的原因，所以选项C切题，故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据第五段：“Instead, it is unhealthy perfectionism, and difficulty with backing off when they should, when the desire for achievements is over the top.” 相反，这是不健康的完美主义，当对成就的渴望超过巅峰时，他们很难在应该退的时候退缩。“A 2007 study found that teens who refused to give up impossible goals showed higher levels of C-reaction protein, a marker of systemic inflammation (全身炎症) linked to heart disease and other medical conditions. A 2014 study showed a connection between the perfectionist tendencies and depression.”，2007年和2014年的研究表明拒绝放弃不可能的目标会产生心脏病以及其它医学相关的炎症，抑郁与此有关。选项D：不健康的完美主义会导致身体和情感压力。所以，从第五段可以知道的研究结论是选项D切题，故选D。

3.细节理解题。最后一段：“……we adults should help students pursue success in healthier ways in part by redefining failure as a feature, not a bug, of learning.” 我们成年人应该帮助学生以更健康的方式追求成功，将失败重新定义为学习的一个特征，而不是错误。选项A是要帮助学生从失败中学习，所以选项A切题，故选A。

4.推理判断题。文中作者用了研究结论来说明：“The cruel reality is that you can do everything in your power and still fail.”，残酷的现实是，你可以尽你所能，仍然失败。所以可以推测出作者同意的观点是：付出未必总是有回报，选项C：成功并不总是在控制之下。选项C切题，故选C。