Question

The $ 11 billion self – help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like “I never do anything right” into positive ones like “I can succeed.” But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?

Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.

The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your dim friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you're just underlining his faults.

In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written.

In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students' self-esteem. The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, "I am lovable."

Those with low self-esteem didn't feel better after the forced self-affirmation. In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren't urged to think positive thoughts.

The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治疗) that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse. Meditation (静思) techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.

1.What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?

A. It is based on the concept of positive thinking.

B. It is a highly profitable industry.

C. It was established by Norman Vincent Peale.

D. It has produced positive results.

2.What is the finding of the Canadian researchers?

A. There can be no simple treatment for psychological problems.

B. Encouraging positive thinking may do more harm than good.

C. Unhappy people cannot think positively.

D. The power of positive thinking is limited.

3.What does the author mean by “you're just underlining his faults” in the third paragraph?

A. You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough.

B. You are pointing out the errors he has made.

C. You are emphasizing the fact that he is not intelligent.

D. You are trying to make him feel better about his faults.

4.It can be inferred from the experiment of Wood, Lee and Perunovic that        .

A. it is important for people to continually keep their self - esteem

B. self-affirmation can bring a positive change to one’s mood

C. people with low self-esteem seldom write down their true feelings

D. forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文属于科普类阅读，虽然积极的思维有好处，但是如果我们强迫那些自我认知程度较低的人去积极思维，不但不能提高积极程度，反而会有相反的结果。

1.A 细节理解题。首段第一句“The $ 11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like “I never do anything right” into positive ones like “I can succeed.”属于细节理解题。选项中的based on与文中的built on同义。可知self-help industry是以人们的积极思维为基础的。故A正确。

2.B 细节理解题。第二段：“Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have opposite effect;”之后，作者在下一段又再次强调了这一观点“older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse , not better.” cause of a tragedy与选项中的cause of the crash一致。抓住关键词“opposite effect; feel worse , not better”，答案即可一目了然。故B正确。

3.C 句意理解题。本题关键是正确理解文章中两个单词“underline(加强，强调)”与“dim(迟钝的，愚笨的)”。选项B中的point out是“指出”之意，与文章中的underlining意思不符。可知该句是指你在强调他不聪明这个事实。故C正确。

4.

【名师点睛】

阅读较难的读物时，经常遇到很长的句子。这些长句往往是初学者在阅读理解中的拦路虎。倘若初学者具备准确找出长句的核心的能力，那么这只拦路虎也就变成了纸老虎，一点也不可怕了。

何为句子的核心?所谓句子的核心(the core of a sentence)，就是指句子最主要的成分：主语、谓语动词及其宾语或表语。这三种句子成分是句子最基本的要素。虽然有的句子表面上很长，其实它们的核心部分只不过是几个关键词。其他的部分统统都是为这几个核心词服务的，或是描述修饰它们，或是解释说明以下细节：时间(when)、地点(where)、原因(why)、方式(how)、何物(what)、数量(how many或how much)及何种结果(what result)等。

本文第二段就是一个很长的句子：Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.

本句的主干就是Researchers published a study。其余部分都是对主干的补充。句子含有定语从句that says ........定语从句中有动名词短语trying to get people to think more positively在句中作主语；句中含有同位语从句it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.解释the opposite effect。该同位语从句中有宾语从句how unhappy they are.

考点：考查科普说明文阅读