Question

【题目】

Stay on the brighter side of life

One very important component of optimism is gratitude or feeling grateful. In fact, there is a strong connection between a grateful attitude and a heightened sense of well-being. Appreciate all the positives in your life by starting a gratitude journal in order to remember what you’re grateful for. ___【1】___

Feeling down? Instead of feeling sorry for yourself waiting for the universe to throw you a bone, try acting like you’re happy—even if you aren’t. A sincere smile and a forced smile will cause the same chemical reactions in your brain, so you can actually fool your mind into feeling better by making it react chemically as if things were going well. __【2】___ Reassure yourself that everything is good— even if you don’t feel it.

“__【3】__ If you’re stuck in traffic, then everything else must be going horribly too,” says Anne Parker, a wellness counselor. By blowing negative events out of proportion, you’re setting yourself up for feeling down all day. Instead, acknowledge that you’re stuck in traffic, but also bring to mind something good, like the beautiful scenery outside the window. That way, you’ll get in the habit of forbidding negative circumstances from blanketing your whole day.

Swearing to lose 20 pounds or to run a marathon seems like goals leading to happiness, but they take time to achieve. ___【4】__ You may even end up admitting that you have been defeated. However, if you focus on the small milestones that occur along the way, you will feel positive about your progress, which will give you the strength to keep going.

__【5】___ Try making someone else’s day better. A report by United Healthcare and Volunteer Match found that volunteers are 72% more likely to characterize themselves as optimistic compared with non-volunteers. Plus, 89% of volunteers say that volunteering has improved their sense of well-being, and 92% say that it enriches their sense of purpose in life.

A. Try to help someone in need.

B. Want to give your attitude a lift?

C. People tend to think in an either-or way.

D. Act in an optimistic way—smile, laugh, tell a joke.

E. You’ll fail to appreciate more important things in your life.

F. By focusing on not having accomplished them yet, you will start to feel down on yourself.

G. By remembering the pleasant things in your life, you can actually turn a negative attitude around.

Answer 1

【答案】【1】 G

【2】 D

【3】C

【4】 F

【5】 B

【解析】【1】空格前的remember what you’re grateful for与G选项中的By remembering the pleasant things in your life相呼应。

【2】本段的主旨是try act like you are happy，与D选项是相符的。

【3】根据第三段的By blowing negative events out of proportion，bring to mind something good, forbidding negative circumstances 得出答案。

【4】本段空格前后主要阐述了如果将目标定的很大，短时间内不能达到目标，人就会觉得沮丧，因此应该选F。

【5】根据本段的主旨以及最后一句话92% say that it enriches their sense of purpose in life可知答案。