A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will nev

A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break mybones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’ s not really true. Wordshave the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the wordscome from someone’s else or ourselves --- the positive and negative effects arejust as lasting.

We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually tooembarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because moreand more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.

This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, rememberthings, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as muchas 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, weshould only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also bequick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish aproject, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Goodjob!”

Often, words come out of our mouths without thinkingabout the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words causecertain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, wemight use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clerk willprobably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh（刻薄的）andcritical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.

Words possess power because of their lasting effect.Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said tous! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it loving? Is itneeded? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better leftunsaid.

Words possess power: both positive and negative. Thosearound us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope,build self-esteem（自尊）and motivate others to do their best.Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or toheal? The choice is ours.

1. The main idea of the first paragraph is that________.

A．not sticksand stones but words will hurt us

B．inspiringwords give us confidence

C．negativewords may let us down

D．words have alasting effect on us

2.There is no sense for us to feel embarrassed when wetalk to ourselves because _______

A．almosteverybody has the habit of talking to themselves

B．we canbenefit from talking to ourselves

C．talking toourselves always gives us courage

D．it does noharm to have “self-talk” whenwe are alone

3.The underlined part in the third paragraph meansthat we should also timely _______

A．praiseourselves                        B．remindourselves

C．makeourselves relaxed                  D．giveourselves amusement

4. The author would probably hold the view that___________

A．encouragingwords are sure to lead to kind offers

B．negativewords may stimulate（刺激） us to make more progress

C．people tendto remember friendly words

D．it is betterto think twice before talking to others

试题答案

【答案】

1.D

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

试题