If you want to stay physically and mentally
healthy, the articles said, avoid stressful events.
But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow. Even if stressful events are
dangerous, many—like the death of a loved one—are impossible to avoid. Moreover, any
warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription (处方) for staying away from
opportunities as well as trouble. Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted
to be completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move.
The notion that all stress makes you sick also ignores a lot of what we know about
people. It assumes we’re all vulnerable (脆弱的) and passive in the face of adversity (逆
境). But what about human initiative and creativity? Many come through periods of
stress with more physical and mental vigor than they had before. We also know that a
long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom, and physical and metal
strain.
21. The result of Holmes-Rahe’s medical research tells us ________.
A) the way you handle major events may cause stress
B) what should be done to avoid stress
C) what kind of event would cause stress
D) how to cope with sudden changes in life
22. The studies on stress in the early 1970’s led to ________.
A) widespread concern over its harmful effects
B) great panic over the mental disorder it could cause
C) an intensive research into stress-related illnesses
D) popular avoidance of stressful jobs
23. The score of the Holmes-Rahe test shows ________.
A) how much pressure you are under
B) how positive events can change your life
C) how stressful a major event can be
D) how you can deal with life-changing events
24. Why is “such simplistic advice” (Line 1, Para. 3) impossible to follow?
A) No one can stay on the same job for long.
B) No prescription is effective in relieving stress.
C) People have to get married someday.
D) You could be missing opportunities as well.
25. According to the passage people who have experienced ups and downs may become
________.
A) nervous when faced with difficulties
B) physically and mentally strained
C) more capable of coping with adversity
D) indifferent toward what happens to them
Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Most episodes of absent-mindedness—forgetting where you left something or
wondering why you just entered a room—are caused by a simple lack of attention, says
Schacter. “You’re supposed to remember something, but you haven’t encoded it deeply.”
Encoding, Schacter explains, is a special way of paying attention to an event that
has a major impact on recalling it later. Failure to encode properly can create annoying
situations. If you put your mobile phone in a pocket, for example, and don’t pay attention
to what you did because you’re involved in a conversation, you’ll probably forget that
the phone is in the jacket now hanging in you wardrobe (衣柜). “Your memory itself isn’t
failing you,” says Schacter. “Rather, you didn’t give your memory system the information
it needed.”
Lack of interest can also lead to absent-mindedness. “A man who can recite sports
statistics from 30 years ago,” says Zelinski, “may not remember to drop a letter in the
mailbox.” Women have slightly better memories than men, possibly because they pay
more attention to their environment, and memory relies on just that.
Visual cues can help prevent absent-mindedness, says Schacter. “But be sure the cue
is clear and available,” he cautions. If you want to remember to take a medication (药物)
with lunch, put the pill bottle on the kitchen table—don’t leave it in the medicine chest
and write yourself a note that you keep in a pocket.
Another common episode of absent-mindedness: walking into a room and
wondering why you’re there. Most likely, you were thinking about something else.
“Everyone does this from time to time,” says Zelinski. The best thing to do is to return to
where you were before entering the room, and you’ll likely remember.
26. Why does the author think that encoding properly is very important?