Passage 1:

Psychologists have long held that a person’s character cannot undergo a transformation in any meaningful way and that the key traits of personality are determined at a very young age. However, researchers have begun looking more closely at ways we can change. Positive psychologists have identified 24 qualities we admire, such as loyalty and kindness, and are studying them to find out why they come so naturally to some people. What they’re discovering is that many of these qualities amount to habitual behavior that determined the way we respond to the world. The good news is that all this can be learned.
Some qualities are less challenging to develop than others, optimism being one of them. However, developing qualities requires mastering a range of skills which are diverse and sometimes surprising. For example, to bring more joy and passion into your life, you must be open to experiencing negative emotions. Cultivating such qualities will help you realize your full potential.

Summary of Passage 1

Psychologist have traditionally believed that a personality 1. was impossible and that by a 2., a person’s character tends to be fixed. This is not true according to positive psychologists, who say that our personal qualities can be seen as habitual behavior. One of the easiest qualities to acquire is 3.. However, regardless of the quality, it is necessary to learn a wide variety of different 4. in order for a new quality to develop; for example, a person must understand and feel some 5.in order to increase their happiness.

TASK 2 Reading Comprehension阅读理解

Paragraph1 One is the lopsidedness built into scientific research. Scientific funding goes mainly to areas with many problems. That may be wise policy, but it will also create an impression that many more potential problems exist than is the case.

Paragraph2 Secondly, environmental groups need to be noticed by the mass media. They also need to keep the money rolling in. Understandably，perhaps, they sometimes overstate their arguments. In 1997, for example, the World Wide Fund for Nature issued a press release entitled: ‘Two thirds of the world’s forests lost forever’. The truth turns out to be nearer 20％.

Paragraph3 Though these groups are run overwhelmingly by selfless folk, they nevertheless share many of the characteristics of other lobby groups. That would matter less if people applied the same degree of skepticism to environmental lobbying as they do to lobby groups in other fields. A trade organization arguing for, say, weaker pollution controls is instantly seen as self-interested. Yet a green organization opposing such a weakening is seen as altruistic, even if an impartial view of the controls in question might suggest they are doing more harm than good.

1. What aspect of scientific research does the writer express concern about in paragraph 1？

• A.the need to produce results
• B.the lack of financial support
• C.the selection of areas to research
• D.the desire to solve every research problem

2. The writer quotes from the Worldwide Fund for Nature to illustrate how

• A.influential the mass media can be.
• B.effective environmental groups can be.
• C.the mass media can help groups raise funds.
• D.environmental groups can exaggerate their claims.

3. What is the writer’s main point about lobby groups in paragraph 3？

• A.Some are more active than others.
• B.Some are better organized than others.
• C.Some receive more criticism than others.
• D.Some support more important issues than other.