单选题 It's navel gazing time again, that stretch of the year when many of us turn our attention inward and think about how we can improve the way we live our lives. But as we embark on this annual ritual of introspection, we would do well to ask ourselves a simple question: Does it really do any good?
The poet Theodore Roethke had some insight into the matter: "Self-contemplation is a curse that makes an old confusion worse. " As a psychologist, I think Roethke had a point, one that's supported by a growing body of controlled psychological studies.
In a study I conducted with Dolores Kraft, a clinical psychologist, and Dana Dunn, a social psychologist, people in one group were asked to list the reasons their relationship with a romantic partner was going the way it was, and then rate how satisfied they were with the relationship. People in another group were asked to rate their satisfaction without any analysis; they just gave their gut reactions.
It might seem that the people who thought about the specifics would be best at figuring out how they really felt, and that their satisfaction ratings would thus do the best job of predicting the outcome of their relationships.
In fact, we found the reverse. It was the people in the "gut feeling" group whose ratings predicted whether they were still dating their partner several months later. As for the navel gazers, their satisfaction ratings did not predict the outcome of their relationships at all. Rather, too much analysis can confuse people about how they really feel.
Self-reflection is especially problematic when we are feeling down. Research by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, a clinical psychologist at Yale University, shows that when people are depressed, ruminating on their problems makes things worse.
For years it was believed that emergency workers like police officers and firefighters should undergo a debriefing process to focus on and relive their experiences: the idea was that this would make them feel better and prevent mental health problems down the road. But did it do any good? In an extensive review of the research, a team led by Richard McNally, a clinical psychologist at Harvard, concluded that debriefing procedures have little benefit and might even hurt by interrupting the normal healing process. People often distract themselves from thinking about painful events right after they occur, and this may be better than mentally reliving the events.

单选题 According to the author, why do people tend to look inward at the end of a year?
A. They want to know if they get prepared for the future.
B. They consider it beneficial to their future lives.
C. They pay too much attention to their self-improvement.
D. They overemphasize their progress in the past year.

单选题 The author agrees with Theodore Roethke on that
A. people need self-reflection when they feel blue
B. people are reluctant to confide in romantic partners
C. people may be more depressed by recalling the painful past
D. people would become sober when clearing up the confusions

单选题 The findings of the study on the satisfaction ratings in romantic relationship reveal that ______.
A. meditation can keep the relationship at its peak
B. retrospection helps people feel satisfied with the partner
C. specific analysis can foretell the future of the relationship
D. thinking about details makes one uncertain about the relationship

单选题 The phrase "the navel gazers" in Paragraph 5 refers to people who ______.
A. boast of their own success
B. hesitate in romantic relationships
C. worry about their future
D. focus on their past

单选题 Which of the following is the best way to help firefighters relieve their trauma?
A. Leave them alone to adjust their emotions.
B. Provide them with consultation about their jobs.
C. Help them figure out what has happened.
D. Discuss with them how to do it better next time.