Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 31 to 35.
When you wake up in the morning, do you assume that you're going to have a great day or that you're going to have a difficult day? If you normally have positive expectations, you might consider yourself an optimist, and if your expectations are usually negative, you may be a pessimist.
According to research done by the Mayo Clinic, optimism can have a strong positive effect on your health. Their research shows that optimists may live longer, get colds less often, and be less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease. Optimists may even deal with stress better than pessimists do.
If you think you might be a pessimist and would like to try to be more optimistic, pay attention to what some call “self-talk.” The term “self-talk” refers to the automatic thoughts that go through your head all the time. You know-the ideas, worries, beliefs, and hopes that run through your mind as you're driving, washing dishes, folding laundry. Are those thoughts negative like, “Everyone knows so much more than I do,” or positive like, “I'm learning a lot at this job”?
If your self-talk is negative, there are some things you can do to steer it in a more positive direction. First, you can simply stop your negative self-talk. Every time you catch yourself thinking something negative, you can stop yourself by actually saying, “Stop,” out loud. Alternatively, you can revise your self-talk. For example, if you catch yourself saying, “I’m terrible at giving presentations,” revise that to a question like, “How can I improve my presentation skills?” Another idea is to think of yourself as a friend. When you “hear” a negative sentence go through your mind, think about whether or not you would feel comfortable saying it to a friend. If the sentence seems too mean to say to a friend, think about what would sound better.
(Adapted from Select Readings by Linda Lee and Jean Bernard)
Question 31. Which could be the best title for the passage?
A. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? B. Self-talk for health.
C. Thinking negatively: Is it all bad? D. Treat yourself better!
Question 32. According to paragraph 2, what is NOT a benefit to thinking positively?
A. improved life expectancy B. catch colds less frequently
C. totally free from stress D. less chance to contract serious diseases
Question 33. The word “steer” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _______.
A. remove B. generate C. turn D. develop
Question 34. The word “it” in paragraph 4 refers to _______.
A. a negative thought B. an important sentence
C. a friend D. a stupid question
Question 35. Which of the following is true, according to the passage?
A. Most people tend to engage in negative thoughts rather than positive ones.
B. There is a direct correlation between optimism and health.
C. Presentation skills are not as important as your optimistic thoughts.
D. You can create conscious thoughts from your head all the time.
