【任务3：请宿主在6h内完成本次阅读真题，并保证正答率高于60%。任务奖励：200积分。】

终于盼来了新任务！

岑越崎想起积分商店那些令人心醉的的商品栏，除了记忆强化，还有专注力强化、认知强化，甚至包括解绑，便忍不住畅想未来的美好前途。

终于要摆脱智障这个标签了。

These are the habits to avoid if you want to make a behavior change

A) According to recent research, behavioral change involves physical changes in the brain. In the past

decade, researchers have shown that when it comes to the duration（持续） of making a new behavior a deep-rooted habit there is not a simple answer. Even for the most productive and disciplined among us, undoing something that has become an automatic part of who we are takes more than an overnight effort（一蹴而就）. Once we've successfully made that change, we then have to make other adjustments to our lives to ensure that we continue to maintain it, which is often a whole other challenge in itself.

B) At its core, success in changing and maintaining a behavior rarely occurs without the introduction

of some sort of system. When there isn't the right framework in place, we face a greater likelihood of derailing（出轨） our hard-earned（来之不易的） progress. To ensure success in changing and maintaining a behavior, we should stay away from some detrimental habits.

C) The first one to avoid is relying on willpower. Think about the last time you vowed to （发誓）resist a temptation. Perhaps you didn't want to check your phone every 15 minutes, or you were determined not to reach for a chocolate bar at 3 p.m. Think about how difficult it must have been not to glance at your phone when it was within reach, or not to walk to the vending machine when your afternoon slump （衰落）hit.

D) The research on whether we have finite（有限的） or infinite willpower is inconclusive, but experts do generally agree that you can't change and sustain a habit if you rely on your willpower alone. The old military （军队）saying “You never rise to the occasion（关键时机）, you only sink to the level of training”also applies to （适用）behavior change. The idea is simple-you repeat something so many times that it becomes automatic.

E) Think about what else you can change about your surrounding that makes it easier for you to perform this change on a daily basis. This is called your “cue.” Basically, it's a trigger to perform that particular habit. If you don't want to reach for a sugary treat at 3 p.m., have a box of herbal tea ready at your desk. When 3 p.m. comes around, that's your cue to pour yourself a cup of hot water and drink that tea, instead of walking to the vending（售卖机） machine.

F) The second one to avoid is focusing on negative goals. Sometimes, it's not your process that lets you down, but the habit that you want to change in the first place. For starters, not eating chocolate to beat your afternoon slump is a harder goal than swapping chocolate for herbal tea when you reach the designated time. Your brain wants to find routines that have succeeded in the past and allow you to repeat those actions again in the future without having to think about them explicitly（清楚的）. However, this habit-learning system isn't so effective when it comes to learning not to do something. That's why rather than giving up something, think about introducing something in its place. Focus on actions you are going to take that will ultimately conflict with the behaviors you want to stop. When your attention is on doing something new, you give your habit system a chance to operate.

G) The third one to avoid is using the same strategies（策略） in different circumstances（情况）. Because we are creatures of habit, it's natural to assume（设想） that when we do manage to adopt and sustain a desirable behavior, that same strategy will work （奏效）when we want to make another behavior change. But that's not always the case. Sometimes, the system that got you to change one behavior might not work for another.

H) Sometimes we become accustomed to relying on our guts（内脏，直觉） when it comes to decision-making. This serves us well in certain situations, but can hinder（阻碍） us in others especially when we need to consider metrics （度量）and data, rather than letting our instinct （本能）override（推翻） everything. For example, if you want to stop checking your email first thing in the morning, you might decide to substitute another activity in its place. But if you want to stop indulging （沉迷）in video games, simply deciding you will go for a run might not be as effective. You might need to introduce another reinforcement, such as meeting a friend and booking an exercise class together,

I) The fourth one to avoid is not forgiving ourselves for slipping up（失误）. Of course, even the best-laid plans fail sometimes. You might have stuck to your screen-free nighttime routine for five days, and then a big project landed on your desk and you found yourself in bed with your laptop （笔记本电脑）before you went to sleep. Or you prepared meals on Sunday and stuck to eating healthy dinners at home, but by Friday you found yourself so exhausted （疲惫的）and opted to order greasy （油腻的）takeout. Life happens and even if your behavior change is small, every single day can prove pretty inflexible, and at some point your luck may run out（耗尽）, even if just for a day. The perfectionist （完美主义者）in you might be screaming（尖叫） to abandon your goals altogether, but try to see it in the bigger picture. Just because you might have temporarily strayed off course doesn't mean you can't start afresh the next day.

J) The final one to avoid is discounting （忽略）small progress. There's a habit that many perfectionists tend to fall into when they try to establish a behavior change. They focus too much on the big goal and don't take the time to celebrate the small progress they make in the process. Your brain responds to rewards. The basal ganglia（神经元）, the brain region linked to our performance of habits, is most active at the beginning of a behavior, when the habit is cued, and at the end, when it's rewarded. Say your goal is to run five miles three times a week, and this week you ran one mile on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Rather than focusing on how far you've gone toward your goal, think about how you can reward yourself for the progress you've made. It doesn't have to be big or expensive; it can be something as simple as making your favorite fruit juice after your run. Whatever your reward, it has to be more than just the activity itself to get you going.

K) Initiating （开始）a new behavior usually seems like the hardest part of the process of change. However, people often fail to adequately（充分） prepare for maintaining it. One of the reasons for this is because we mistakenly believe the strategies we used to initiate the change will be equally effective in helping us continue the change. But they won't. Where changing a strongly deep-rooted habit requires changing our belief about that habit that penetrates（植根） deeply into our lives, continually manifesting （显现）that wisdom requires that we maintain a positive outlook. If our mood is low, the wisdom to behave differently seems to disappear and we go back to eating more and exercising less. The key, then, to maintaining new behaviors is to be happy! Which is why it's so hard to maintain new behaviors.

L) Remember, overcoming the behavioral inertia（惰性) that prevents us from implementing（实行） new changes, like eating a healthy diet or exercising, can benefit us in the long run and can improve our physical and mental health. No one was born with habits. They were all learned, and can all, therefore, be unlearned. The question is: how badly do you really want to change?

36. There is general consensus among experts that willpower alone cannot guarantee one's success in

changing and maintaining a habit.

37. One need not abandon their goals completely just because they missed their target temporarily;

they can start anew,

38. Research shows it is quite another challenge to maintain a behavioral change after you have

initiated it.

39. It is wrong to assume the strategies we use to start a change of behavior will work equally well in

helping maintain it,

40. Sometimes, it may not be successful to simply substitute one activity with another to effect a

change of habit; you may need extra reinforcement.

41.One should introduce something new to replace an old habit instead of simply kicking it.（忽略）

42. Perfectionists focus too much on their big target and neglect celebrating the small gains they make

in the process.43. It is of great benefit to us in the long term to conquer the inertia that stops us from making behavioral changes.

44. The strategy that successfully changed one of your behaviors may not work for some other

behavior of yours.

45. Without a happy mood, it seems that our wisdom to adopt a different behavior vanishes.

答案：DIAKHFJLGK

The “American Dream” promises（承诺） that in the Land of Opportunity, any individual can climb the economic □□（阶梯） and prosper （繁荣）through hard work and ambition alone. And yet, young Americans today are struggling to earn more than their parents did at the same age, and upward mobility（向上流动性） in the US actually compares unfavourably（不利的） to that of other industrialised （工业化）nations.

So why does the idea of the American Dream persist? A new study in the American Journal of Political Science identifics one factor that has been overlooked（忽略）: the influence of reality TV.

Reality shows have come to dominate（主导） US television over the past 20 years, notes Eunji Kim from Vanderbilt University. And the overwhelming majority of these have a " rags-to-riches " （白手起家 ）storyline: they feature ordinary Americans who work hard to achieve great economic success. And while these programmes are regularly among the most-watched shows, news broadcasts-which paint a more realistic view of the economic hardship faced by millions of Americans--get a much smaller proportion （占比）of the viewership.

Rags-to-riches stories are ubiquitous (无处不在的) on TV-but does watching these programmes actually convince people that economic mobility is easily attainable? To find out, Kim's team had participants（参与者） watch a 5-minute clip（视频切片） from a reality show with a rags-to-riches storyline. Control participants watched a clip from a reality show that didn't have a rags-to-riches story. After watching the shows, participants rated（评分） how much they agreed with four statements （陈述）relating to the American Dream.

The results showed that those who'd watched a rags-to-riches clip did indeed have a significantly greater belief in the American Dream, Interestingly, when participants were separated（分离的） by party affiliation（联盟）, this effect was significant among Republicans （共和党）but not Democrats（民主党）, suggesting that the kind of messages implicit in these TV shows may play into people's existing socioeconomic （社会经济学）belicfs.

Kim also conducted a survey of 3,000 US residents. They also rated the extent to which they believed success in life is related to various internal factors (such as ambition) and external factors (such as family wealth). Finally, they read a list of TV programmes and indicated（指出） which they regularly watched.

Participants who were heavy viewers of rags-to-riches programmes or frequent viewers had a stronger belicf in the American Dream than those who never watched such shows.

Kim concludes that “ rags-to-riches entertainment media are an important cultural force that promotes and perpetuates（延续） belicfs in upward mobility". And here's the problem: if people mistakenly believe that hard work is all that is needed for individuals to make a better life for themselves, they may be less supportive of policies that could actually combat（斗争） inequality.

"In this era （时代）of choice, entertainment media is what captures （俘获）hearts and minds,” Kim writes. " Its political consequences are anything but trivial（细微的）".

46. What do we learn from the passage about young Americans of today?

A) They have greater ambitions than their parents.

B) They find it difficult to achieve upward mobility.

C) They have overtaken（赶上） their parents in terms of earnings.

D) They envy （嫉妒）the opportunities in other industrialised nations.

47.What does Kim's team find about reality TV shows in America?

A) They reinterpret （重新解释）the essence of the popular rags-to-riches culture.

B) They urge people to achieve economic success through hard work.

C) They help strengthen people's conviction（信念） in the American Dream.

D) They feature ordinary Americans striving for social recognition,

48. What does the author say about news broadcasts in America?

A) They attract far fewer viewers than reality TV.

B) They are bent on reporting the dark side of life.

C) They stand in striking （显著的）contrast with reality TV.

D) They focus on Americans'economic hardships,

49. What can we infer from the passage about Republicans in general?

A) They believe strongly in the American Dream.

B) They strive to climb the socio-economic □□.

C) They have a very strong affiliation with their party.

D) They tend to watch more rags-to-riches TV shows.

50. What is stated about people who believe in upward mobility?

A) They are likely to blame the government for their plight.（困境）

B) They regard political consequences as anything but trivial.

C) They respect individuals striving to climb the social □□.

D) They are less likely to approve of policies to fight inequality.

答案：BCAAD

Sarcasm（讽刺） and jazz have something surprisingly in common: You know them when you hear them.

Sarcasm is mostly understood through tone of voice, which is used to portray （描绘）the opposite of the literal words（字面意思）. For example, when someone says, "Well, that's exactly what I need right now," their tone can tell you it's not what they need at all.

Most frequently, sarcasm highlights an irritation（恼怒） or is, quite simply, mean（刻薄）. If you want to be happier and improve your relationships, cut out sarcasm. Why?

Because sarcasm is actually hostility（敌意） disguised （伪装）as humor.

Despite smiling outwardly（表面的）, many people who receive sarcastic（讽刺） comments feel put down and often think the sarcastic person is rude, or contemptible（卑鄙的）.

Indeed, it's not surprising that the origin of the word sarcasm derives from the Greek word "sarkazein" which literally means "to tear （撕裂）or strip （剥夺）the flesh （肉）off."

Hence, it's no wonder that sarcasm is often preceded by the word "cutting" and that it hurts.

What's more, since actions strongly determine thoughts and feelings, when a person consistently acts sarcastically it may only serve to heighten （加剧）their underlying hostility（敌意） and insecurity（不安全感）.

After all, when you come right down to it, sarcasm can be used as a subtle（敏感的） form of bullying and most bullies are angry, insecure, or cowardly（懦弱的）.

Alternatively（另外）, when a person stops voicing negative comments, especially sarcastic ones, they may soon start to feel happier and more self-confident.

Also, other people in their life benefit even more because they no longer have to hear the emotionally hurtful language of sarcasm.

Now, I'm not saying all sarcasm is bad.

It may just be better used sparingly（保守的） - like a potent spice（香料） in cooking. Too much of the spice, and the dish will be overwhelmed by it.

Similarly, an occasional （偶尔的）dash（冒犯） of sarcastic wit can spice up a chat and add an element of humor to it.

But a big or steady serving of sarcasm will overwhelm the emotional flavor of any conversation and can taste very bitter to its recipient.

So, tone down the sarcasm and work on clever wit instead, which is usually without any hostility and thus more appreciated by those you're communicating with.

In essence（本质上）, sarcasm is easy while true, harmless wit takes talent.

Thus, the main difference between wit and sarcasm is that, as already stated, sarcasm is often hostility disguised as humor.

It can be intended to hurt and is often bitter and biting.

Witty statements are usually in response to someone's unhelpful remarks or behaviors, and the intent is to untangle（理清） and clarify the issue by emphasizing its absurdities.（荒谬）

Sarcastic statements are expressed in a cutting（极端的） manner（方法）; witty remarks are delivered with undisguised and harmless humor.

1.Why does the author say sarcasm and jazz have something surprisingly in common?

A) Both are recognized when heard.

B) Both have exactly the same tone.

C)Both mean the opposite of what they appear to.

D) Both have hidden in them an evident irritation.（愤怒）

2.How do many people feel when they hear sarcastic comments?

A)They feel hostile towards the sarcastic person.

B)They feel belittled and disrespected.

C)They feel a strong urge to retaliate（报复）.

D) They feel incapable of disguising （掩饰）their irritation.

3.What happens when a person consistently acts sarcastically?

A)They feel their dignity（自尊） greatly heightened.

B)They feel increasingly insecure and hostile.

C) They endure hostility under the disguise of humor.

D) They taste bitterness even in pleasant interactions.

4.What does the author say about people quitting sarcastic comments?

A) It makes others happier and more self-confident.

B)It restrains （阻止 ）them from being irritating and bullying.

C)It benefits not only themselves but also those around them.

D) It shields them from negative comments and outright（直接的） hostility（敌意）.

5.What is the chief （主要的）difference between a speaker's wit and sarcasm?

A) Their clarity.

B)Their appreciation.

C)Their emphasis.

D) Their intention.

Key: A-B-B-C-D

When someone asks us 'what do you do?' we nearly always reply with our occupation. Work, for many of us

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