同济大学2020级英语专业大学英语(4)期末试卷(七)

What are you? Are you a pessimist, who thinks negatively about the world and the future? Or are you an optimist, who thinks things are getting better and better? These questions are important to you and how you live your life. They are also important to scientists who do research in psychology. In this article, I will introduce the findings of these researchers. I will also point out some things that you can do in order to change your life for the better.
Consequences of Optimism and Pessimism
A fast-growing body of research －104 studies so far, involving some 15,000 people －is proving that optimistic thinking can help you to be happier, healthier and more successful. Pessimistic thinking leads, by contrast, to hopelessness, sickness, and failure, and is linked to depression, loneliness and painful shyness. “If we could teach people to think more positively,” says the psychologist Craig A. Anderson of Rice University in Houston, “it would help them fight against these mental illnesses.”
One’s Belief in Success
“Your abilities do count,” explains psychologist Michael F. Scheier of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, “but the belief that you can succeed affects whether or not you will.” In part, that’s because optimists and pessimists deal with the same challenges and disappointments in very different ways.
Take, for example, your job. In a major study, psychologist Martin E.P. Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania and his colleague Peter Schulman surveyed sales representatives at a life insurance company. They found that the positive-thinkers among longtime representatives sold 37% more insurance than did the negative thinkers. Of newly hired representatives, optimists sold 20% more.
Impressed, the company hired 100 people who had failed the standard industry test but had scored high on optimism. These people, who might never have been hired, sold 10% more insurance than did the average representative.
The Secret to an Optimist’s Success
How did they do it? The secret to an optimist’s success, according to Seligman, is in his “explanatory style”. When things go wrong, the pessimist tends to blame himself. “I’m no good at this,” he says, “I always fail.” The optimist looks for other things to blame. He blames the weather, the phone connections, even the other person. That customer was in a bad mood, he thinks. When things go right, the optimist takes credit while the pessimist sees success as the result of good luck.
同济大学2020级英语专业大学英语（4）期末试卷
（七）
Part II Reading Comprehension (35points)
Section A (Fast Reading). (10points)
Directions: In this section, you will have to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions. For questions 32-38, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A) B), C) and D) and write your answers on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 39-41, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage and write your answers on Answer Sheet 2.
Craig Anderson once had a group of students give phone calls to strangers and ask them to give blood to the Red Cross. When they failed on the first call or two, pessimists said, “I can’t do this.” Optimists told themselves, “I need to try a different approach.”
Negative or positive, it was a self-fulfilling statement. “If people feel hopeless,” says Anderson, “they don’t bother to acquire the skills they need to succeed.”
A sense of control, according to Anderson, is the test for success. The optimist feels in control of his own life. If things are going badly, he acts quickly, looking for solutions, forming a new plan of action, and reaching out for advice. The pessimist feels like he is fate’s plaything and moves slowly. He doesn’t seek advice, since he assumes nothing can be done.
Effects of Optimism and Pessimism on Health
Optimists may think they are better than the facts would justify－and sometimes that’s what keeps them alive. Dr. Sandra Levy of the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute studied women with advanced breast cancer. For the women who were generally optimistic, there was a longer disease-free interval, the best predictor of survival. In a pilot study of women in the early stages of breast cancer, Dr. Levy found the disease came on sooner among the pessimists.
Optimistic thinking won’t cure the incurable or create miracles, but it may prevent some illnesses. In a long-term study, researchers met with and examined the health histories of a group of Harvard graduates, all of whom were in the top half of their class and in fine physical condition; yet some were positive thinkers, and some negative. Twenty years later, when researchers met with them again, there were more middle-age diseases among the pessimists than the optimists. Clearly, pessimistic and optimistic thinking had an effect on their health.
Many studies suggest that the pessimist’s feeling of helplessness undermines the body’s natural defenses, the immune system. Dr. Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan has found that the pessimist doesn’t take good care of himself.Feeling passive and unable to escape life’s blows, he expects poor health and other misfortunes, no matter what he does. He eats bad food, avoid exercise, ignores the doctor, and drinks too much alcohol.
Causes of Optimism and Pessimism
Most people are a mix of optimistic and pessimistic thinkers, but they are inclined in one direction or the other. It is a pattern of thinking learned “at your mother’s knee”, says Seligman. It grows out of thousands of warnings or encouragements, negative statements or positive ones. Too many “don’ts” and warnings of danger can make a child feel incompetent, fearful and－pessimistic.
As they grow, children experience small triumphs, such as learning to tie their shoes or riding a bicycle. Parents can help turn these successes into a sense of control, and that breeds optimism. Ways to Change for Optimism
Pessimism is a hard habit to break－but that can be done. In a series of landmark studies, Dr. Carol Dweck of the University of Illinois has been working with children in the early grades of
school. As she helps students to change the explanations for their failures－from “I must be stupid” to “I didn’t study hard enough”－their academic performance improves.
Pittsburgh’s Dr. Levy wondered if turning patients into optimists would lengthen their lives. In a pilot study, two groups of cancer patients were given the same medical treatments, but some were also given psychological help to encourage optimism. Results showed that this worked. Now a major study is planned to determine whether this psychological change can alter the course of the disease.
So, if you’re a pessimist, there’s reason for optimism. You can change. Here’s how:
·Pay careful attention to your thoughts when bad things happen. Write down the first thing that comes to mind, unedited.
·Now try an experiment. Do something that’s contrary to any negative reactions. Let’s say something has gone wrong at work. Do you think “I hate my job, but I could never get a better one”? Act as if that weren’t so. Send out resumes. Go to interviews. Look into training and check job leads.
·Keep track of what happens. Were your first thoughts right or wrong? “If your thoughts are holding you back, change them,” says Hollon, “it’s trial and error, no guarantees, but give yourself a chance.”
Positive thinking leads to positive action. What you expect from the world, as the evidence suggests, is what you’re likely to get.
29.From the first paragraph we learn that one’s attitude toward life affects .
C. 37%
D. 100%
32.What are pessimists inclined to do when things go wrong?
A.To blame themselves
B. To blame their bad luck
B.have longer disease-free intervals
C.justify themselves
D.prevent all illnesses
Section B (Reading in Depth). (5points)
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter.
Please write the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 . You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
becomes bored, their work begins to show a lack of continuity in its appeal and it becomes difficult to sustain the attention of the public. After their enthusiasm has dissolved, the public simply moves
unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should
The key transportation technology for the opening years of 21st century will be telecommunications. What do telecommunications have to do with international transportation? The obvious linkage is helping ships and aircraft navigate more efficiently, cutting time and operating expenses. This means lower costs of imported goods and cheaper travel for business and pleasure.
A less obvious connection is the ability of a clothing manufacturer, for instance, to know the exact location anywhere in the world of materials and finished goods so that inventories(细帐)－and the associated transport, storage, and handling costs—are reduced sharply.
The explosive aspect of the telecommunications / transportation revolution is coming in traditional service industries and functions: technical services, data entry, financial management, software programming, etc. Consider Fidelity Investments of Boston, whose British subsidiary (子公司) sells shares in German companies to German investors by telephone from London. Cheap telecommunications provides the global transportation “highway” for the work that is performed by Fi delity’s customer representatives, Irish call center technicians, Indian software engineers, and Jamaican data entry clerks.
These white-collar activities, many of them paying well above average wages, are becoming steadily more important in all econom ies. Moreover, they now are “contestable” by any country in the world that has a decent telecommunications system and an appropriately skilled labor force.
What this means is that the last major barrier to international trade —distance—is being eliminated for an increasing portion of the global economy. Transportation costs no longer will protect inefficient producers. Buyers of goods and services—software, document processing,
B. white-collar workers’ wage is more than the average wage
C. distance as the last barrier to international trade is being eliminated
D. white-collar activities are facing challenges from all over the world
54. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Transportation costs will protect efficient producers.
B. Inefficient producers will have no protection in the global economy.
C. Inefficient producers will no longer consider transportation costs.
B. white-collar workers are being replaced by computers
C. clothing manufacturers will earn less money than before
D. distance will disappear due to global telecommunications
56. What is the main topic of the passage?
A. The development of transportation technology.
B.
The connection between international transportation and telecommunications.
C. The advances of traditional service industries.
D. The influence of telecommunications on international trade.
For the weekend, I am alone in my own house. There were no kids saying “I’m hungry” or my thoughts and enjoy the quiet, immersing(沉浸) myself to the point of getting sick of it.
I think I’ve succeeded. Twelve hours into my solitude, I’m a bit bored and lonely, a situation unfathomable (深不可测的)a mere day ago. I’m ready for some activity around me, ready for some kids traipsing( 漫步)in and out and slamming doors, bringing dirt with them on their shoes. I am even ready for a few completely unreasonable requests, such as that I make them dinner. Mostly I’m ready for some laughter and conversation.
Despite these conflicting feelings, I find this experience highly clarifying. With the house finally quiet enough for me to hear myself think, I am left with the cozy(舒适的)notion that I love the frenzy( 狂暴)of my busy life, that the quiet I often long for is nice, but only for a little while. That life just about me even for a day is not all it’s cracked up to be, and that joy comes from interacting with others and getting things done.
I have another day of solitude tomorrow, but it won’t be so lazy. I’ll crank up(开动)the stereo, get to work on some long-neglected projects and connect with a friend. One day of quiet is quite
A.going window-shopping
B.seeing a film
C.emptying her thoughts and enjoying the quiet
D.telephoning one of her friends for lunch
60.Which of the following statement is NOT true?
A.The author has longed to live alone for a long time.
B.The author no longer likes to have quiet moments in her life.
C.The author feels very lonely after being alone for a day.
D.The author feels still enjoys the busy life with her family.
D.newly-married lady who wants to live by herself
Part III Cloze (10points)
Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked
62.A. What B. Which C. When D. Such
63.A. remains B. represents C. maintains D. offers
64.A. when B. why C. where D. what
65.A. at B. to C. in D. with
66.A. come up B. come to C. come across D. come at
67.A. necessarily B. essentially C. especially D. remarkably
68.A. besides B. in addition C. except D. but
69.A. challenging B. rewarding C. considering D. compensating
70.A. correspond B. attach C. owe D. contribute
71.A. exclusively B. intimately C. ultimately D. individually
72.A. notify B. identify C. access D. witness
73.A. respects B. prospects C. purposes D. aspects
74.A. rise B. emerge C. occur D. appear
75.A. rewarding B. interesting C. relaxing D. responding
76.A. look into B. look after C. look at D. look out
77.A. necessity B. opportunity C. reality D. probability
78.A. reply B. enforce C. attach D. apply
79.A. advisable B. acceptable C. available D. considerable
80.A. suitable B. possible C. approachable D. valuable
81.A. to B. in C. from D. on
Part IV Translation (10points)
Directions: Complete the sentences on Answer Sheet 2 by translating into English the Chinese given in brackets.
Part V Writing (15points)
Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic of Shopping Online. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese:
1.目前网上购物很流行
2.网上购物有利有弊
3.作为大学生我的看法
大学英语（4）期末试卷（七）参考答案
Part II Reading Comprehension (35 points)
Section A (10 points 每个1 分)
32. C 33. B 34. C 35. A 36. D 37. B 38. C
39.warnings of danger
40.academic performance
41.holding you back
67 C 68 D 69 A 70 D 71 C
72 D 73 B 74 C 75 A 76 C
77 B 78 D 79 C 80 D 81 A
Part IV Translation (10 points) 本题共5 小题，每小题2 分，共10 分。

译对者给满分，译错者可酌情扣0.5 分，或不给分。

评分标准：
1.2 分档：译文流畅，能等效地转达原文意义，基本无语言错误。

2.1.5—1 分档：译文比较通顺连贯，能较好地转达原文意义，有少数语言错误。

3.0.5—0 档：译文不够清楚，语言错误致使原文意义转达出现偏离。

not to work for the sake of the family_(但是为了家庭,她们放弃了工作).
84.It may not be where we expected to be, _ but for the time being we might as well call it home
Part V Writing (15 points)
10。