阅读理解 " Years ago, a friend of mine observed that 80 percent of the people in this country have too much self-esteem and 20 percent have much too little. That struck me as pretty accurate, but psychologists will tell you that self-esteem is not a constant. People's appraisal of their own worth varies...I have the impression that more people have unstable self-esteem than before. I say this because some of the traditional standards people used to measure their own worth have eroded (middle class respectability) , whereas more people now seem to measure themselves a-gainst celebrities and superstars. It would be interesting to know if anybody has studied changes in the criteria we use to measure self-esteem. "
Comment 1:
You bring up an interesting point because I do believe values and beliefs have changed. It would be very interesting to see the criteria used for self-worth. I find it hard to believe that only 20% of people have low self-esteem. I've been following Brene Brown's thoughts on the subject of self-worth, and low self-worth (on some level) seems much more common.
Comment 2:
If the quality of one's self-esteem is going to be judged by comparisons with those who are celebrities and superstars, then the entire exercise is really pointless.
Comment 3:
Self-esteem solution: A happy marriage.
Comment 4:
Ego (self-worth) is proportionate to wealth. The more wealth, the more self-worth.
Comment 5:
Benjamin Franklin said it best, and it applies to all facets of life. " Contentment will make a poor man rich just as discontent will make a rich man poor. " It does not mean not try to do your best, or be the richest. It simply means once you've done your best be content with yourself, just as if you don't give your best effort discontent is sure to follow.
Comment 6:
I've "retired" from 30 years of expensive, if interesting, "personal growth" and "self-improvement," much probably motivated by trying to "fix" myself. Hanging out with friends at a local cafe is way more satisfying.
Comment 7:
A related concept you may be interested in is the "sociometer theory" of self-esteem, pioneered by Mark Leary (Wake Forest). Basically it states that our self-esteem is determined by the amount of perceived social acceptance/rejection, and that determination is full of cognitive biases and errors. Awesome stuff.
单选题 1.The main idea of the quoted blog is that______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】主旨题。本题做题的关键是找出博客的主题句和几个主要评论的共同点，同时可以结合排除法做题。博客的主题句应该是段尾句It would be interesting to know if anybody has studied changes in the criteria we use to measure self-esteem．(了解是否有人研究过我们评价人的自我价值的标准所发生的变化一定是挺有趣的。)此外，but psychologists will tell you that self-esteem is not a constant．People’s appraisal of their own worth varies…(但是，心理学家会告诉你自我价值不是恒定不变的。人们对自身价值的评价是变化的……)也是本段主题的体现。Comment 1的主题句是段首的You bring up an interesting point because I do believe values and beliefs have changed．It would be very interesting to see the criteria used for self-worth．(你提出了一个非常有趣的观点因为我确实相信价值观和信念已经发生了变化。关注评价自我价值的标准是很有趣的一件事情。)Comment 2只有一句话，该句话体现主题的关键词是the quality of one’s self-esteem is going to be judged by…(由……来评价一个人自我价值的本质。)Comment 3和Comment 4都介绍了自己对自我价值的评价标准：Comment 3认为是A happy marriage(幸福的婚姻)，而Comment 4则认为Ego(self-worth)is proportionate to wealth(自我价值和财富是成正比的)，即财富越多，自我价值就越高。Comment 5主要是讨论了富兰克林的名言Contentment will make a poor man rich just as discontent will make a rich man poor(满足可以让穷人觉得富有，就像不满会让富人觉得贫穷一样)，这也是在讨论应该如何评价自我价值。Comment 6是谈了评论者自己的自我价值观。Comment 7所引用并评论的“sociometer theory”(社会尺度理论)所信奉的our self-esteem is determined by the amount of perceived social acceptance／rejection(我们的自我价值是由我们所接受的社会认可／拒绝所决定的)，讨论的还是评价自我价值的标准。所以C选项the criteria for people to measure their self-worth are changing(人们评价他们自我价值的标准在变化)是正确答案。而A选项most people in the country have too much self-esteem(这个国家的大多数人对自己评价过高)只是博客中涉及的细节，其他评论中没有提及；B选项it is urgent to help those who have too little self-esteem(现在迫切需要帮助那些自我评价过低的人)和D选项the traditional standards make people feel unstable(那些传统标准让人觉得不稳定)是原文中未涉及的内容。
单选题 2.Among all the comments, which of the following choices brings in authoritative sources in their discussions?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】推断题。做题关键是要准确理解题目的意思，特别是关键词authoritative sources(权威观点)，应该指的是名人名言或者理论。本题根据原文中人名和专有名词的线索做题最为快捷，Comment 1中的Brene Brown、Comment 5中的Benjamin Franklin以及Comment 7的“sociometer theory”都属于authoritative sources，而其他评论中则均未涉及，因此可以判断正确答案应该是C。
单选题 3.What all the commentators try to respond to in their writing is ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】主旨题。本题问的是所有评论中都涉及的内容，做题方法同41题，概括各个评论的共同主题，可以判断正确答案应该是B选项the standards of self-worth measurement(自我价值的评价标准)。而A选项the respect for the traditional values(对传统价值理念的尊重)是原文基本未涉及的内容；C选项marriage，celebrities and social activities(婚姻、名人和社会活动)只是个别评论中谈到的，例如：marriage只有Comment 3中提到了；D选项ego，contentment and social judgment(自我，满足和社会评价)也是如此，例如social judgment(社会评价)只是Comment 7的内容。
单选题 4.Why does the writer of Comment 5 try to clarify Benjamin Franklin's saying?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】推断题。首先根据题目关键词Benjamin Franklin’s saying在Comment 5中定位，找出原文中的答案，然后再进行合理的推断，同时也可以结合排除法做题。本题在原文中的答案应该是It does not mean not try to do your best，or be the richest．It simply means once you’ve done your best be content with yourself，just as if you don’t give your best effort discontent is sure to follow．(这句话并不意味着不用尽力做到最好，或者不要做最富有的人，而仅仅意味着一旦你尽力去做了，就应该对自己满意，就像如果你不尽力的话，你一定会对自己不满一样。)这两句话的作用应该是来解释Franklin的名言的真正含义，之所以需要解释应该是因为人们对此有误解，因此正确答案应该是D选项Because misunderstanding might occur of Franklin’s saying(因为会产生对Franklin的名言的误解)。尽管A选项Because Benjamin Franklin’s saying is universally applicable(因为Franklin的名言是普遍适用的)中的Benjamin Franklin’s saying is universally applicable与原文中it applies to all facets of life(它适用于生活的所有方面)的语义一致，但是却不是本题所问的clarify(澄清)Franklin的名言的原因。而B选项Because contentment means“rich”and discontent means“poor”(因为满足意味着“富有”而不满足则意味着“贫穷”)和C选项Because if you do your best，you will be the richest(因为如果你尽力了，你就会成为最富有的)都和原文意思不符。
单选题 5.What is the writer's attitude toward the "sociometer theory" in Comment 7?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】主观态度推断题。根据Comment 7中的评论that determination is full of cognitive biases and errors(这一决定充满了认知的偏见和错误)以及Awesome stuff(可怕的东西)可以判断作者对“sociometer theory”的态度是否定的，因此D选项Negative(负面的，否定的)是正确答案。而A选项Affirmative(肯定的)、B选项Objective(客观的)以及C选项Detached(分离的)均与原文表达不符。