Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
Most of us strive for self-respect — to see ourselves in a positive light, to be ___1___ of who we are. Any comments or criticisms that undermine those feelings of self-worth can be uncomfortable and it's only ___2___ to want to avoid them. But the thing is, ___3___ your self-worth really is being undermined is, to a large degree, subjective. Much of it comes down to your ___4___ of what someone said or did.
When you take things personally, you're interpreting these situations as saying something significant and negative about you as a person. Say your boss picks holes in your sales report, and you come away feeling like this means she thinks you're a ___5___ member of staff. Or, two of your friends cancel your ___6___ get-together at the pub and you interpret this as meaning they're bored of you. Psychologists have a ___7___ for this. They call it personalisation.
But the ___8___ is that your boss might view you very highly. It's just you made some ___9___ in the report and she wanted to point those out so that you do better next time. ___10___, in the case of your friends cancelling, perhaps they both felt unwell that weekend or they just ___11___ their minds.
In both ___12___ — and others that we all experience — there's another ___13___ at work that psychologists call mind reading. This is when you assume to know what other people are thinking about you, when you can't really know without ___14___ them directly.
So, ___15___ personalisation and mind reading is to challenge your negative assumptions of what's ___16___. When you find yourself taking a situation personally, try to think of other interpretations that are less focused on you — especially in the sense of saying anything deep or ___17___ they say about you.
When you do this, it might help to try to put yourself in other people's shoes. The fact your boss took the time to give you ___18___ at all means they care enough to want to help you ___19___. When it comes to your friends — maybe it's because your friendship is so ___20___ that they felt able to cancel at late notice.
解析to see ourselves in a positive light, to be ___ of who we are——希望以积极的眼光看自己，意味着要对自己的身份感到“自豪”，be proud of 为常见搭配。afraid（害怕）、critical（批评）、tolerant（容忍）均与“positive light”相悖。
2.
A) risky
B) natural
C) admirable
D) foolish
答案 B
解析it's only ___ to want to avoid them——固定句式 it's only natural to do sth.“想要回避（这些不适感）是再自然不过的事”。risky/admirable/foolish 均不构成“人之常情”的语义。
3.
A) whether
B) where
C) why
D) how
答案 A
解析But the thing is, ___ your self-worth really is being undermined is, to a large degree, subjective——主语从句填 whether，意为“自尊是否真的被削弱在很大程度上是主观判断”。where/why/how 与“被削弱”的真假判断不匹配。
4.
A) citation
B) imitation
C) perception
D) introduction
答案 C
解析Much of it comes down to your ___ of what someone said or did——是否觉得受伤大多取决于个人对他人言行的“看法/感知”，perception 与上文 subjective 呼应。citation（引用）/imitation（模仿）/introduction（引入）均与“主观感受”不挂钩。
5.
A) poor
B) loyal
C) creative
D) shy
答案 A
解析boss picks holes in your sales report... she thinks you're a ___ member of staff——老板挑错让你以为她认为自己是“差劲的”员工，poor member of staff 与“被挑刺”的负面解读一致。loyal/creative/shy 都不是上司挑错可能引出的负面标签。
6.
A) sponsored
B) crowded
C) disputed
D) planned
答案 D
解析two of your friends cancel your ___ get-together——只有事先“约好/计划好”的聚会才能谈“取消”，planned get-together 即“原定的聚会”。sponsored/crowded/disputed 都与“被取消”这一动作不构成必要前提。
7.
A) method
B) term
C) design
D) goal
答案 B
解析Psychologists have a ___ for this. They call it personalisation——心理学家“给这种现象起了个术语”，have a term for sth. 为固定表达。method/design/goal 都不能承接 They call it...这一“命名”句。
8.
A) evidence
B) factor
C) condition
D) reality
答案 D
解析But the ___ is that your boss might view you very highly——以 But 起句，转折引出与你“主观假设”相反的“真实情况”，the reality is that... 为常见结构。evidence/factor/condition 都缺少“事实真相”的语义。
9.
A) complaints
B) choices
C) mistakes
D) suggestions
答案 C
解析It's just you made some ___ in the report and she wanted to point those out so that you do better next time——既然要被“指出来”并希望“下次做得更好”，对应的就是报告中的“错误”，make mistakes 固定搭配。complaints/choices/suggestions 不与“被指出以改进”形成同义。
10.
A) Similarly
B) Relatively
C) Accordingly
D) Contrarily
答案 A
解析上一段刚刚以“老板挑错”为例给出另一种解读，本段开头 ___, in the case of your friends cancelling 再以“朋友取消聚会”做同类例证，故用 Similarly（同样地）承接。Relatively/Accordingly/Contrarily 都不能构成“另举一例”的衔接。
11.
A) opened
B) changed
C) trained
D) cleared
答案 B
解析perhaps they both felt unwell that weekend or they just ___ their minds——临时取消聚会的常见原因之一是“改变主意”，固定短语 change one's mind。opened/trained/cleared one's mind 都不表“反悔/改变决定”。
12.
A) quotations
B) experiments
C) questions
D) examples
答案 D
解析In both ___ — and others that we all experience——前文一连给了“老板挑错”“朋友取消聚会”两个具体情境，本句以 In both ___ 回指这两个“例子”，examples 与“others that we all experience”遥相呼应。quotations/experiments/questions 都不符“前文已举两例”的所指。
13.
A) process
B) objective
C) outcome
D) background
答案 A
解析there's another ___ at work that psychologists call mind reading——心理学家命名的是一种“心理过程/机制”，process 与上一段 personalisation 同属心理过程，构成并列。objective/outcome/background 都不符“at work”所修饰的“正在发挥作用的机制”。
14.
A) blaming
B) warning
C) teaching
D) asking
答案 D
解析you can't really know without ___ them directly——“不直接询问他们就无法真正知道”，asking 与 directly 搭配最自然，呼应 mind reading（心思揣测）需要靠“沟通”来澄清。blaming/warning/teaching 均偏题。
15.
A) arguing about
B) accounting for
C) engaging in
D) interfering with
答案 C
解析So, ___ personalisation and mind reading is to challenge your negative assumptions——主语应是“一种应对方式”，本文给出的策略是“质疑自己的负面假设”，故选 engaging in 表达“着手处理/介入”这两种心理过程。arguing about（争论）、accounting for（解释）、interfering with（妨碍）都不能与“挑战负面假设”构成同义复述。
16.
A) happened
B) continued
C) returned
D) disappeared
答案 A
解析challenge your negative assumptions of what's ___ ——挑战的是“对已经发生之事的负面解读”，what has happened 与下句“taking a situation personally”相呼应。continued/returned/disappeared 都偏离“事件本身”。
17.
A) casual
B) obvious
C) familiar
D) fundamental
答案 D
解析less focused on you — especially in the sense of saying anything deep or ___ they say about you——与 deep 并列，表达“他们说的话并不是关乎你深层、根本性特质”的程度，fundamental 与 deep 同义递进。casual/obvious/familiar 都不能与 deep 构成同范畴并列。
18.
A) reward
B) feedback
C) trust
D) proof
答案 B
解析your boss took the time to give you ___ at all means they care enough——老板“花时间给你的”自然是“反馈/建议”，give feedback 为搭配。reward/trust/proof 都不与“花时间给予”的语境衔接。
19.
A) innovate
B) concentrate
C) improve
D) relax
答案 C
解析they care enough to want to help you ___ ——老板给反馈的目的是希望你“变得更好”，help you improve 顺承前文 do better next time。innovate/concentrate/relax 都不与“反馈以助提升”相符。
20.
A) strange
B) strong
C) vulnerable
D) valuable
答案 B
解析your friendship is so ___ that they felt able to cancel at late notice——朋友之所以敢临时取消，是因为彼此“关系够好/够稳固”，strong friendship 为常见搭配。strange/vulnerable/valuable 都不解释“放心地临时取消”这一行为。