2012年6月四级单项选择阅读理解真题附讲解(2)
Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negativethoughts like "I never do anything right" into positive ones like "I can succeed." But was positivethinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?
Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that saystrying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simplyhighlight how unhappy they are.
The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and ElainePerunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that whenpeople get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. Ifyou tell your dim friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you're just underlining hisfaults. In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton askedparticipants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were laterpraised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written.
In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students' self-esteem. Theparticipants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tellthemselves, "I am lovable."
Those with low self-esteem didn't feel better after the forced self-affirmation. In fact, theirmoods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren'turged to think positive thoughts.
The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治疗) that urge peopleto accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we notonly often fail but can make things worse. Meditation (静思) techniques, in contrast, can teachpeople to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power ofnegative thinking.
注意:此部分试题请在答题卡2 上作答。
62. What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?
A) It is a highly profitable industry.
B) It is based on the concept of positive thinking.
C) It was established by Norman Vincent Peale.
D) It has yielded positive results.
63. What is the finding of the Canadian researchers?
A) Encouraging positive thinking many do more harm than good.
B) There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems.
C) Unhappy people cannot think positively.
D) The power of positive thinking is limited.
64. What does the author mean by "… you're just underlining his faults" (Line 4, Para. 3)?
A) You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough.
B) You are pointing out the errors he has committed.
C) You are emphasizing the fact that he is not intelligent.
D) You are trying to make him feel better about his faults.
65. What do we learn from the experiment of Wood, Lee and Perunovic?
A) It is important for people to continually boost their self-esteem.
B) Self-affirmation can bring a positive change to one's mood.
C) Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem.
D) People with low self-esteem seldom write down their true feelings.
66. What do we learn from the last paragraph?
A) The effects of positive thinking vary from person to person.
B) Meditation may prove to be a good form of psychotherapy.
C) Different people tend to have different ways of thinking.
D) People can avoid making mistakes through meditation.
Passage 2
62. B) It is based on the concept of positive thinking
细节理解题
本题是问从文章第一段中我们能够了解自我帮助产业的哪些情况。文章第一句就说自我帮助产业是建立在把消极思考转化为积极思考的基础之上,因此B项是正确的。虽然文章一开始虽然说自我帮助产业的规模有110亿美元,但这只是说产业规模,并没有提到该行业具有很高的利润率,因此不能由此判断A项就是正确的。文章中只说Norman Vincent是积极思考的倡导者,并没有说该行业是由他创立的,因此C项不正确。第一段末尾作者就质疑积极思考是否真的有效,因此D项不是正确选项。
63. A) Encouraging positive thinking may do more harm than good
细节归纳题
本题问加拿大研究学者的发现是什么,文章第二段提到他们发表的文章里说让人们更积极地思考实际上会产生相反的效果,只会起到强调人们又多不开心的作用。后面又用实验来说明了这个观点,在文章的第三段和第五段也都再次说到积极思考会起到相反作用,使人们更不开心。因此本题选A项。
64. C) You are emphasizing the fact that he is not intelligent.
细节理解题
本题问作者说“… you’re just underlining his faults”的含义是什么。文中前面说到有时说的过分,反而会让人感觉更糟,然后又说告诉朋友有爱因斯坦那样的潜能,自然会让朋友感觉有点夸张,反而会觉得是在说自己不聪明。
65. C) Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem
细节理解题
本题问从Wood的实验中我们可以了解些什么。此题与63题有一定关联。答案应在对实验结果进行分析说明的段落来找,即文章的第五段。文章第五段说实验者在被迫进行多次自我肯定后,自卑的情况并没有得到改善,反而加重了。因此此题应该选C项。
66. B) Meditation may prove to be a good form of psychotherapy (心理治疗)
细节理解题
本题问从文章最后一段我们可以了解些什么,毫无疑问答案自然是在文章最后一段。在这一段里,作者说文章还推荐人们把静思作为一种心理治疗的方法,因此应当选B项。文章只是说静思可以帮助人们学会接受自己的不足,把自己的不足放到更广泛的层面去思考,但并没有说静思可以使人们避免犯错误。因此D项不正确。