I ran across an old photo of him the other day, thinking of some old things. He’s been dead for 25 years. His name was Rex.

36  was his favorite recreation(娛樂). He had so much 37 in the water as any person I have known. You didn’t have to throw a stick in the water to 38 him to go in. Of course, he would bring back a stick to you if you 39 throw one in.

That 40 me of that night, 41 he brought back a small box that he found somewhere--- how 42 nobody ever knew. Since it was Rex, it 43 easily have been half a race. The box wasn’t a good one. It was just a 44 old piece that somebody 45. Still it was something he wanted, probably 46 there was some difficulty in transportation（運輸）. And that he thought could test his courage. We first knew about his achievement when, deep in the night, we 47 him trying to get the box up onto the porch(門 廳). It sounded 48 two or three people were trying to tear the house 49 . We came downstairs and turned on the 50 light. Rex was on the top step trying to pull the thing up, but it had 51somehow. And he was just holding his own(堅持著). I suppose he would have held his own 52 dawn if we hadn’t helped him. The next day we carried the box miles away and threw it out. If we had thrown it out in a 53 place, he would have brought it home again, as a small token(象征)of his strength in such matters. 54, he had been taught to carry heavy wooden objects about and he was 55 of his skill.

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 (心理治療) 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 (靜思) techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Section C.

Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading that you do not need. （請注意題號，將答案填涂在答題卡相應的位置）

When the police arrived, the crowd made off _____ all directions.

A. in                  B. to                  C. at            D. for

We were shocked at ____ news that he was elected _______ chairman of the Students’ Union

A. the; the                             B. a; the                            C. the; /                  D. /; /

Boss ___ us taking some days off to get refreshed after so many days of hard work.

A. expected   B. advised    C. hoped   D. suggested

Whenever a patient needs an injection of Penicillin, the doctor does need to make sure whether his patient is ___ to the medicine.

A. sensitive   B. addicted   C. allergic   D. efficient

____ the factors already referred to, people sometimes feel insecure because their motives are misunderstood by others.

A. But for    B. Except    C. Apart from   D. Except that

The story I’m going to tell truly happened in my life.

The other day, I met a man outside the gym who_16___a movie star. He was handsome and smiling. His upper body was muscular and he __17_to be on top of the world.

“How are you?” I _18___with a smile. “I’m doing really well,” he replied in a cheerful voice. His enthusiasm and big smile _19___the parking garage . _20___as he walked up, I _21___his long legs were thin and I saw he had a silver cane(手杖).“Why do you need that cane?” I couldn’t _22___thinking he had a minor injury. “I have MS,” he answered in a _23___ voice too, as his broad smile __24__left his face. Multiple Sclerosis is a very serious disease and often painful. I looked at him from my little red sports car and said, “You _25___it very well. You seem like a happy man _26___ the MS.” Without losing a bit of his smile he replied, “ I am a happy man,” and then added, “I’d be even happier if I had that sports _27___.”

 It was ironic(諷刺的). Just _28___we spoke, I’d been sitting in that little sports car, feeling sad about my painful shoulder over the last 11 months although I was _29___ after an operation. Here’s a man with a __30__far tougher than mine, but his positive attitude made him feel no _31___happiness. He went on with his enjoyment of life as usual, which moved me deeply.

     It was also a wonderful reminder of that old _32___, “I cried because I had no shoes. Then I met a man who had no feet.” _33___ your problems, just keep in__34__that none of us goes through life __35__and like the man with MS, make the most of what you have. Count your blessings.

During a state of deep relaxation, several physiological changes take place in the body: the body's oxygen consumption is reduced; the heart beat decreases; muscle tension and sweating ease, and there is decreased sympathetic （交感的） nervous system activity．This restful state not only allows the body to repair and restore itself, but it has a calming effect on the consciousness．

    How to achieve this state of relaxation, however, is a matter of opinion, and in some medical circles, a matter of controversy．A recent report by Dr．David Holmes of the University of Kansas in the journal “American psychologist” said that simply sitting in an armchair has just as many beneficial characteristics for the body as meditation （冥想） does．Researchers of other relaxation techniques disagree．These experts believe that more structured techniques, such as meditation, lead to a condition of deep relaxation．

    The debate goes on, but one thing appears to be clear: the relaxation response can be reached by a number of methods, and the methods themselves are not as important as getting there．One day, one method may work best; on another day, an alternative method may be more appropriate．Once you are aware of all the methods, you can find the one that works best on you．

    Some of the relaxation techniques are meditation, auto analysis and progressive muscle relaxation response．More than just sitting quietly in a chair, they have the added benefit of structure and discipline, and for these reasons appear to be more effective for most individuals．

According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true when a person is in a state of deep relaxation?

       A．The body takes in less oxygen．

       B．The heart beats less frequently．

       C．Muscles become tense and the body sweats easily．

       D．The consciousness becomes more or less calmed．

People seem to agree that ____．

       A．sitting in an armchair benefits a person as meditation does

       B．structured relaxation techniques are more beneficial for a person

       C．to achieve a state of deep relaxation is possible through various means

       D．what people are all struggling for is a state of deep relaxation

In the third paragraph, the phrase “getting there” means _____．

       A．a(chǎn)rriving at one’s destination  

       B．getting what one wants most

       C．finding out a suitable relaxation technique   

       D．reaching a state of deep relaxation

The author's attitude toward relaxation discussed in the passage is best described as ______．

       A．sceptical B．objective C．optimistic        D．critical

閱讀表達（共5小題；每小題3分，滿分15分）

閱讀下面短文并回答問題，然后將答案寫到答題卡相應的位置上（請注意字數(shù)要求）。

[1]Some people believe that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community, then we will have a better life．Do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?

[2]In this fast-paced world, many values are changing．While people traditionally put caring, sharing and generosity in life and work in the first place, modern people seem to be more concerned about themselves．

[3]Modern people act selfishly to survive the rough competition of life．They say that it is a jungle out there．To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy．Obviously greedy and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas．In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues．We are in any way advocating any selfish conduct．It is just that people are pressured to act in a certain way due to outside influences．

[4]In spite of common practice, it is hard to conclude that modern society is built on _____________, both of which are not newly invented vocabulary．In ancient times people also did greedy and selfish things though such behaviors were more condemned then．But we can not ignore the fact that people in the past lived a relatively more separate life and faced less pressure compared with the modern people．

[5]Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer either．Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite．But I personally think that people should not be too selfish．Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a beneficial relationship on both sides．

[6]In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure．However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and to build a beneficial relationship with others．

What is the best title of the text? （no more than 10 words）

_______________________________________________________________________

Which sentence in the text is the closest in meaning to the following one?

People at work may struggle to achieve their own goals at the price of their coworkers．

Fill in the blank in Paragraph 4 with proper words．（no more than 5 words）

________________________________________________________________

List two changes in values or behaviors between the past and the present days according to the text．

       1)In the past people __________________________________________．

       2）In modern society people______________________________________．

Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 into Chinese．

_______________________________________________________________________