When I was younger, I thought that boys and grown men should not cry. The tears were signs of being weak and a sissy(胆小鬼), which a man is not supposed to be. This was even strengthened in my young mind when the song, Boys Don't Cry, came out in the early 1980s.
But just this June, I discovered that courage is not all about trying to keep all the pain inside in check. Courage is not all about trying to hide the tears. It is the opposite — the tears strengthen the heart's courage. And I saw this in my father. That day my father cried.
My 18-year-old sister eloped (私奔) and from it I saw how weak my father's heart was. My sister and I were used to seeing him as an iron-willed figure and authoritarian father.
For three days after my sister eloped, he would not talk. He would just sit quietly outside our house in the dark. On the fourth night, I sat beside him and asked him to tell me what he felt about everything.
It has been years since I have laid my hand on my father's shoulder as we have drifted apart (疏远) farther and farther while I was growing up. That night，though, I sensed my father trying to control his pain and I wanted him to be able to let it out. We have all cried over what happened except him. All of us except him.
The simple touch and my words, “Dad, it is not your fault.”, broke my father's dam. In the darkness, he began to cry. I felt his shoulders shaking as he whispered, "Where did I go wrong? All I ever wanted was for my children to grow up right. Why couldn't your sister wait?"
I understood then why he preferred to be in the dark. By being there, he hoped to spare his family of a father's pain. His tears, though we did not see them before that night, were there all the same. I saw his courage, that night when my father cried with my hand on his shoulder, and understood his pain.
【小题1】Why did the author think men shouldn’t cry when he was younger?(No more than 12 words)
【小题2】According to the author and his sister, what kind of person was their father?
(No more than 6 words)
【小题3】How did the author make his father let out his pain?
(No more than 9 words)
【小题4】When did the author see his father’s courage?
(No more than 7 words)
Most of us can’t distinguish between certain expressions without contextual clues. In one study, participants were unable to tell whether faces in photos were showing pain or pleasure about a quarter of the time. In another, when people watched silent videos of the same person experiencing pain and faking pain, they couldn’t tell which was which.
And yet, as bad as we are at reading expressions, we jump to all kinds of conclusions based on people’s faces. We might scoff at the ancient physiognomy—assessing character on the basis of facial feature—but we unknowingly practice it daily. Recent research shows that while there’s practically no evidence that faces reveal character, we nonetheless behave as if certain features signal certain traits. People with typically “female” facial features seem more trustworthy; those with lower eyebrows appear more controlling. In another study, people were ready to decide whether an unfamiliar face should be trusted after looking at it for just 200 milliseconds. Even when given a chance to look longer, they rarely changed their mind.
Such judgments can defy logic. Subjects playing a trust game invested more money with a player who had a trustworthy face than with one who didn’t—even when the two players had the same fame. Another study reported that judges needed less evidence to sentence a person with an untrustworthy face. And a researcher focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict found that a Palestinian peace offering was more likely to be accepted by Jewish Israeli if it was attributed to a politician with “babyfacedness”.
Which brings us to a contradiction. A person’s face may not reflect her nature, and yet research finds that specific facial features do seem to influence futures. U.S. Army War College graduates with controlling-looking faces are more likely than their peers to become generals; people with obvious cheekbones, appearing strong and competent, are more likely to become CEOs of successful companies. This makes a certain sense. If everyone assumes strong-chinned Daniel is an ambitious person, he’s more likely to become one. Perhaps by treating others as though their face reveals their character, we motivate them to become the people we assume them to be.
【小题1】Miss Green wants to find a pet shop for her dog while she is on holiday. She is most likely to choose the shop’s owner with ________.
| A．a strong chin | B．“female” facial features |
| C．low eyebrows | D．obvious cheekbones |
| A．People rush to judgments based on facial features. |
| B．People are better at telling “pain” than “delight” from faces. |
| C．People consider it instructive to study the ancient physiognomy. |
| D．People would change their first impression if given more chances. |
| A．facial features reveal minds |
| B．trust is essential in big issues |
| C．baby faces are more trustworthy |
| D．decisions are easily influenced by faces |
| A．facial features mirror character |
| B．people’s behavior is contradictory |
| C．people won’t be judged by appearance |
| D．facial features can influence eventual character |
Even if you’re not a serial procrastinator(拖延者), chances are there are many times you’ve put off a must-do task in favour of doing another more fun one.
Recognize procrastination
The biggest misconception we have about procrastination is that it’s a time management problem.
Tim Pychyl, head of the Procrastination Research Group, suggests taking three steps to get your procrastination habits under control. First, learn how to tell the difference between procrastination and purposeful delay. Whereas procrastination is often irrational, purposeful delay tends to be rational.
Use your power hours
Give yourself an even better chance of succeeding by setting cues and intentions for yourself, and learning how to maximize your power hours.
| A．Make a list of the tools and materials you’ll need to do the job. |
| B．Setting cues and intentions is all about making it as easy as possible to follow through on a task or goal. |
| C．Second, realize that when you’re procrastinating, you’re acting against your own self-interest. |
| D．In its more harmless forms, procrastinating can lead us to let our homes get messier than we’d like. |
| E．Set an intention to do one every time you’re in the shower. |
| F．If we make more lists or get a time management app, we’ll solve all our problems. |
| G．Pychyl stresses that conquering your procrastination isn’t just about feeling better in the moment—it’s about having more agency over your life. |
Just over six months ago, I saw an advertisement in the Morning Mail for a set of the complete works of William Shakespeare. Your company, Cosmo books Ltd, offered this set (eight books of plays and two books of poetry) at what was claimed (宣称) to be a ‘remarkable’ price: fifteen pounds and fifty pence, including postage and packing. I had wanted a set of Shakespeare’s plays and poems for some time, and these books, in red imitation leather, looked particularly attractive; so I sent for them.
Two weeks later, the books arrived, together with a set of the complete works of Charles Dickens which I had not ordered. So I returned the Dickens books to you, with a cheque (支票) for fifteen pounds and fifty pence for the works of Shakespeare. Two more weeks passed. Then there arrived on my doorstep a second set of the works of Shakespeare, the same set of novels by Dickens and a six book set of the plays of Moliere, in French. Since I do not read French, these were of no use to me at all. However, I could not afford (付得起) to post all these books back to you, so I wrote to you at the end of August of last year, instructing you to come and collect all the books that I did not want, and asking you not to send any other books until further notice.
You did not reply to that letter. Instead you sent me a bill for forty two pounds, and a set of the plays of Shiller, in German. Since then, a new set of books has arrived every two weeks, the works of Goethe, the poems of Milton, the plays of Strindberg; I hardly know what I have. The books are still all in their boxes, in the garage, and my car has to stand in the rain outside. I have no room for any more books, and even if I read from now until the Last Judgment, I should not finish reading all the books that you have sent me.
Please send no more books, send no more bills, send no more angry letters demanding payment. Just send one large lorry and take all the books away, leaving me only with the one set of the complete works of Shakespeare for which I have paid.
Yours faithfully,
SIMON WALKER
【小题1】Simon Walker wrote the letter to _________.| A．complain about sending him books he had not ordered |
| B．advise readers not to order books from Cosmo Books Ltd. |
| C．laugh at Cosmo Books Ltd. |
| D．urge (督促) Cosmo Books Ltd. to take away the books he had not ordered. |
| A．a set of 10 books of the works of Shakespeare |
| B．unlimited number of Cosmo Books |
| C．a book containing all the plays and poems of Shakespeare |
| D．fifteen pounds and fifty pence |
| A．he had ordered the set and had been waiting for them to come for some time |
| B．he claimed that the books were being offered at a remarkable price |
| C．he wanted a set of Shakespeare’s works, and this set was cheap, and looked attractive |
| D．the set he already had was not particularly attractive |
| A．Cosmo Books have sent bills for books that they have not sent |
| B．Mr. Walker took some action after receiving the books he did not order |
| C．Mr. Walker hasn’t received the books that he ordered |
| D．Several sets of books have been sent to Mr. Walker free of charge |
| A．annoyance | B．sadness | C．respect | D．humor |
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