Direction: Read the following passage. Fill in the numbered blanks by using the information from the passage. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

We know that in many cases things aren’t personal, but we tend to think that things are about us, whether good or bad. For instance, when your friends go on a night out without inviting you, you probably get upset and end up shouting at them. If? you tend to take things so personally, then this will be upsetting you and damaging your self-respect--- and it might also be putting unnecessary stress on your relationships. So it’s important for us to take some steps to stop taking things so personally.

Firstly, assess the situation more logically. Don’t give in to your immediate emotional reaction---rather take a step back and think about what has happened. For instance, if you’re upset because weren’t invited to an event, then think it like this: Was it an event that they maybe thought you wouldn’t be interested in? Or was it an event that perhaps they didn’t think you could make? When you step back and stop being egocentric(以自我为中心）, then you’ll easily see many other possible reasons for your not being invited.

Also don’t blame yourself. Sometimes, the person does mean to be critical and rude. However, you can view this as their problem and not as something you’ve done wrong. If someone you know is regularly acting badly towards you, it may even be that they feel threatened by you because they’re impressed by you--- actually that’s a compliments(褒扬）in a way.

Focusing on the positive is also important. Our friends say countless nice things about us on an average day and this helps to slowly develop our self-confidence. If someone has given us 20 compliment and one insult, then why should this damage our self-confidence? If you’re feeling low, try to think back to the positive things that have been said to you.

?????????????????????? Title: Taking Things Too Personally

Dear Aunty,
After years of her crying. I finally gave in and allowed my daughter to have a cat. I now regret my decision. As someone needs to have a clean, tidy house, I no longer feel relaxed in my own home. If I tell her, “sorry, the cat has to go.” She will be heartbroken. What can I do?
-Feline Phobic
Dear Phobic,
I’m an animal lover and on your kid’s and cat’s side. Tell your daughter your problem. Ask her to help you come up with a plan. Perhaps you can agree to allow the cat only in certain areas of the house. This is a chance for your daughter to develop the sense of responsibility owning a pet requires.
Dear Aunty,
I got the highest grade on a biology test. Now the popular kids think I’m brainy, and want me in their lab group. I knew I was being used. Now, they want my homework. What should I do?
-Lily
Dear Lily.
Popularity can come at a price, but it’s no excuse to cheat. Offer to help new friends with their homework, but don’t give them yours.
Dear Aunty,
I’m one of six assistants in a dental(牙科的) office. But I’m new-there just four months. I’ve tried to join conversations, but they just ignore me. They go shopping together. No one invites me. How can I break into the circle?
-Crystal
Dear Crystal,
Humans run in packs like dogs. When a new dog enters the pack, a lot of discovery goes on. So bring cookies for everyone! Then try making friends with one co-worker. Invite her to lunch. When you get familiar with each other, tell her how hard you’re finding the situation at work. chances are, she’ll take you under her wing.
【小题1】Aunty thinks that Phobic should        .

Why do people drink too much, eat too much, smoke cigarettes or take drugs? What’s to blame for all the bad behavior? Most people would say that, while these self-destructive acts can have many root causes, they all have one obvious thing in common: they are all examples of failures of self-control, lacking the will power to resist them.

According to a recent study, however, if you really think about it, something about that simple answer doesn’t quite make sense. In fact, it turns out that sometimes it’s having will power that really gets you into trouble.

Think back to the time you took your very first sip of beer. Disgusting, wasn’t it? When my father gave me my first taste of beer as a teenager, I wondered why anyone would voluntarily drink it. And smoking? No one enjoys their first cigarette — it tastes awful. So even though smoking, and drinking alcohol or coffee, can become temptation(attraction) you need will power to resist, they never, ever start out that way.

Just getting past those first horrible experiences actually requires a lot of self-control. Ironically (讽刺的是), only those who can control themselves well, rather than give in to them, can ever come to someday develop a “taste” for Budweiser beer, Marlboro cigarettes, or dark-roasted Starbucks coffee. We do it for social acceptance. We force ourselves to consume alcohol, cigarettes, coffee and even illegal drugs, in order to seem experienced, grown-up, and cool.

These bad habits aren’t self-control failures — far from it. They are voluntary choices, and they are in fact self-control successes. Self-control is simply a tool to be put to some use, helpful or harmful. To live happy and productive lives, we need to develop not only our self-control, but also the wisdom to make good decisions about when and where to apply it.

1.What do most people think causes bad behavior?

2.The author mentions his experience in the third paragraph to prove ____.

3.In the last paragraph, the author stresses(强调) that ____.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

“The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful，” says Plato. Self?control is at the root of all the advantages. Let a man give in to his impulses (冲动) and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral (道德上的) freedom.

A single angry word has lost many a friend. When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself. If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger. Many a person has dropped dead in great anger. Fits of anger bring fits of disease. “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad” “Keep cool”， says George Herbert, “for fierceness (狂怒) makes error a fault.”

To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself. “Anger，” says Pythagoras, “brings with folly(愚蠢) and ends with regret.” You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him.

Self?control is man's last greatest victory.

If a man lacks self?control he seems to lack everything. Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no self?confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling. If he lacks self?control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking also.

1.What does the reader learn from the first paragraph?

A. The greatest victory for a man is to conquer everything except himself.

B. One's moral freedom is based on the control of himself.

C. To control oneself is the most difficult in one's life.

D. If a person is too stubborn, he will feel most shameful.

2.What is the correct interpretation of “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad”？

A. If the gods want to kill you, they make you crazy first.

B. If you cannot control yourself, you will become crazy.

C. If you always lose your temper, you will soon be finished.

D. If you are mad, you will be punished by the gods.

3.If a man lacks self?control, he lacks all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A. the very backbone and nerve of character?

B. the patience and power to control himself

C. self?confidence

D. strong feelings

Why do people drink too much, eat too much, smoke cigarettes or take drugs? What’s to blame for all the bad behavior? Most people would say that, while these self-destructive (自我毁灭的) acts can have many root causes, they all have one obvious thing in common: they are all examples of failures of self-control, lacking the will power to resist them.
According to a recent study, however, if you really think about it, something about that simple answer doesn’t quite make sense. In fact, it turns out that sometimes it’s having will power that really gets you into trouble.
Think back to the time you took your very first sip (啜饮) of beer. Disgusting, wasn’t it? When my father gave me my first taste of beer as a teenager, I wondered why anyone would voluntarily drink it. And smoking? No one enjoys their first cigarette — it tastes awful. So even though smoking, and drinking alcohol or coffee, can become temptation (诱惑) you need will power to resist, they never, ever start out that way.
Just getting past those first horrible experiences actually requires a lot of self-control. Ironically (讽刺的是), only those who can control themselves well, rather than give in to them, can ever come to someday develop a “taste” for Budweiser beer, Marlboro cigarettes, or dark-roasted Starbucks coffee. We do it for social acceptance. We force ourselves to consume alcohol, cigarettes, coffee and even illegal drugs, in order to seem experienced, grown-up, and cool.
These bad habits aren’t self-control failures — far from it. They are voluntary choices, and they are in fact self-control successes. Self-control is simply a tool to be put to some use, helpful or harmful. To live happy and productive lives, we need to develop not only our self-control, but also the wisdom to make good decisions about when and where to apply it.
【小题1】What do most people think causes bad behavior?