Passage 3

　　We can make mistakes at any age. Some mistakes we make are about money. But most mistakes ate about people. Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen? When I got that great job, did Jim really feel good about it, as a friend? Or did he envy my luck? And Paul why didn’t pick up that he was friendly just because I had a car? When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad. But when we look back, It’s too late.

　　Why do we go wrong about our friends or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning. And if we don’t really listen we miss the feeling behind the words. Suppose someone tells you, “You’re a lucky dog.” That’s being friendly. But “l(fā)ucky dog”? There’s a bit of envy in those words. Maybe he doesn’t see it himself. But bringing in the “dog” bit puts you down a little. What he may be saying is that he doesn’t see it himself. But bringing in the “dog” bit puts you down a little. What he may be saying is that he doesn’t think you deserve your luck.

　　“Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for” is another noise that says one thing and means another. It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem as part of your life as a whole. Wrapped up in this phrase is the thought that your problem isn’t important. It’s telling you to think of all the starving people in the world when you haven’t got a date for Saturday night.

　　How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking. Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says agree with the tone of voice? His posture (姿態(tài))? The look in his eyes? Stop and think. The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people to you may save another mistake.

　　51. This passage is mainly about ________.

　　A. how to interpret what people say

　　B. what to do when you listen to others talking

　　C. how to avoid mistakes when you communicate with people

　　D. Why we go wrong with people sometimes

　　52. According to the author, the reason why we go wrong about our friends is that ________.

　　A. We fail to listen carefully when they talk

　　B. People tend to be annoyed when we check what they say

　　C. People usually state one thing but means another

　　D. We tend to doubt what our friends say

　　53. In the sentence “Maybe he doesn’t see it himself” of the second paragraph, the pronoun “it” refers to ________.

　　A. being friendly B. a bit of envy C. lucky dog D. your luck

　　54. When we listen to a person talking, the most important thing for us to do is ________.

　　A. notice the way the person is talking

　　B. take a good look at the person talking

　　C. mind his tone, his posture and the look in his eyes

　　D. examine the real meaning of what he says based on his manner, his tone and his posture

　　55. The author most probably is a ________.

　　A. teacher B. psychologist C. philosopher D. doctor

　　Passage 4

　　A moment’s drilling by the dentist may make us nervous and upset. Many of us cannot stand pain. To avoid the pain of a drilling that may last perhaps a minute or two, we demand the “needle”---a shot of Novocain (奴佛卡因)---that deadens the nerves around the tooth.

　　Now it’s true that the human body has developed its millions of nerves to be highly aware of what goes on both inside and outside of it. This helps us adjust to the world. Without our nerves and our brain, which is a bundle of nerves, we wouldn’t know what’s happening. But we pay for our sensitivity. We can feel pain when the slightest thing is wrong with any part of our body. The history of torture is based on the human body being open to pain.

　　But there is a way to handle pain. Look at the Indian fakir (行僧) who sits on a bed of nails. Fakirs can put a needle right through an arm, and feel no pain. This ability that some humans have developed to handle pain should give us ideas about how the mind can deal with pain.

　　The big thing in withstanding pain is our attitude toward it. If the dentist says, “This will hurt a little,” it helps us to accept the pain. By staying relaxed, and by treating the pain as an interesting sensation (感覺), we can handle the pain without falling apart. After all, although pain is an unpleasant sensation, it is still a sensation, and sensations are the stuff of life.

　　56. The passage is mainly about ________.

　　A. how to suffer pain B. how to avoid pain

　　C. how to handle pain D. how to stop pain

　　57. The sentence “But we pay for our sensitivity.” In the second paragraph implies that ________.

　　A. we should pay a debt for our feeling

　　B. we have to be hurt when we feel something

　　C. our pain is worth feeling

　　D. when we feel pain, we are suffering it

　　58. When the author mentions the Indian fakir, he suggests that ________.

　　A. Indians are not at all afraid of pain

　　B. people may be senseless of pain

　　C. some people are able to handle pain

　　D. fakirs have magic to put needles right through their arms

　　59. The most important thing to handle pain is _______.

　　A. how we look at pain

　　B. to feel pain as much as possible

　　C. to show an interest in pain

　　D. to accept the pain reluctantly

　　60. The author’s attitude towards pain is ________.

　　A. pessimistic B. optimistic C. radical (極端的) D. practical