Passage One

They earn and spend, buy and sell, work and play. It's a mass of individuals, struggling to satisfy often-conflicting goals, who set the pace for the American system.

Whether the nation's huge business machine sputters or steams ahead depends on millions of individual consumers, the real "bosses" of the American economy. 

People's decisions on where to live and work, what to buy or pass over, how . much to save are at the heart of the free market system. Business and government take their cues from consumers, changing plans to meet their wants and needs. Everyday, the nation's 218 million consumers spend more than 3 billion dollars. Their purchases account for almost two-thirds of all the money spent each year, with government and business responsible for the rest. The trouble is that while people's needs are almost endless, their incomes aren 't. 

Where money goes? About 70 percent of the average household's spending . goes for necessities such as housing, food, clothes and health care. To be able to afford these items and still have money left for nonessentials such as travel and entertainment, most families find themselves economizing and watching their pennies. The same problem of matching limited resources with seemingly endless . demands confronts businesses and public agencies. 

That is what the economy is all about-making choices on how to use limited resources of money, manpower, machinery and materials, whether it involves a shopper deciding what to buy in the supermarket or a manufacturer deciding what line of goods to produce. 

Choices made in the economy involve a continuous [tug-of-war] between. consumers and producers over price.

 If many businesses are offering a product and there is plenty of it to satisfy the needs of all consumers, a producer will be forced to sell at a price not far above costs in order to keep from being stuck with a lot of unmarketable supplies. This is why, for example, prices for fresh fruit and vegetables drop during the summer months when such produce is in great number. 

There is a natural ceiling on price, but it differs from one buyer to the next, depending on how much each can afford to pay and how badly he wants to buy. If a company prices its goods or services too high, some consumers will decide they're getting too little value for the money and will put off buying. "It's not worth that much'" is the view heard in such situation. 

But if a respected brand of clothing or appliance is marked down during a sale, the reaction may be just the opposite: a rush of purchases. Why? "It's a good. buy for the money."  

Questions 1-5 are based on Passage One.

The real "bosses" in paragraph 2 refer to _____.

Psychologists have known for some time that optimism is a good defense against unhappiness. But some of us are just not natural optimists. What are we supposed to do? 

Positive psychologists believe optimism can be learned. All we have to do is to spend time mulling over all the things that have gone right for us, rather than dwelling on what has gone badly. (46. "Research on depression shows that one of the biggest causes of depression is ruminating about something that went wrong in the past." says Baylis. You keep feeding it the oxygen of attention and the flames keep burning you. )

But just as dwelling on negative events can lead to depression, dwelling on things that have gone well can help pick you up, he says, (47. "You have to thank your lucky stars about what goes right on a daily basis. Whenever you get the feeling of being negative about things, just take a moment out and remind youself of the stuff that has gone well." )

Seligman, who is the figurehead of the positive psychology movement, goes further than suggesting people learn to think positively. He has worked out what he sees as a blueprint for happiness that people can use to set them on the path to a fulfilling and satisfying life. He believes there are three routes to happiness, which he calls the "pleasant life", the "good life" and the "meaningful life". (48. Some are. better than others, although a mix of all three is ideal. The pleasant life sees superficial pleasures as the key to happiness. While a life bent on instant pleasure. and gratification offers some degree of happiness, it is ultimately unsatisfying on its own.)

(49.To be seriously happy, Seligman says, we have to set our sights on a good life and a meaningful life. To do this we need to identify what he calls our signature. strengths, which could be anything from perseverance and leadership to a love of learning.)  

Seligman says that once we know our signature strengths, using them more and more in our daily lives will make us feel happier and more fulfilled. By exploiting our strengths, he says, we will find life more gratifying and become completely immersed in what we are doing, whether working, making music or playing sport-a state positive psychologists call "flow". 

Using our signature strengths in our working and social lives will help us achieve what Seligman calls a good life, while using them to help others will put us on course for achieving a meaningful life, he says. 

While positive psychology is broadly seen as valid by the psychology and psychiatry establishment, it does have its critics. 

(50. Positive psychologists also stand accused of burying their heads in the. sand and ignoring that depressed. even merely unhappy people, have real problems that need dealing with.) Seligman counters this, saying positive psychology is not meant to replace other forms of therapy, but should be complementary, while people work through their negative feelings.  

Paragraph Ten

One of the biggest enemies of accomplishment is comfort. Most people are so attached to being comfortable that they're just not willng to do what it takes to succeed. To some extent, taking risks is very uncomfortable. but very necessary for success.

To succeed, you need to step out of your comfort z_____.

Paragraph Eight

It is important to identify the basis of comparison before drafting a comparison or contrast essay. When two things are very similar, it is the contrast that is worth writing about. And when they are not very much alike, you should highlight similarities.

T_____ on writing an essay of comparison and contrast.

Paragraph Nine

One world-famous psychologist proved through his experiments that an animal rewarded for good behavior will learn much more rapidly and retain what it learns far more effectively than an animal punished for bad behavior. Later studies have shown that the same applies to humans.

A s_____ nature of animals and humans.

Paragraph Seven

When you really apologize, you would feel good about yourself. An effective. apology is an act of honesty. Apologizing doesn't make us perfect, but it shows our commitment to be honest about our imperfections and steadfast in our efforts to do better.

Apologize to show your s_____.

Paragraph Six

Without saying a word, the vicious outlaw drew his gun and cut the policeman down with a shower of lead. As the dying officer fell, he leaped out of the car, grabbed the officer's revolver, and fired another bullet into the prostrate.

The outlaw s_____ at the policeman.

Paragraph Three

The desire for easy answers enslaves too many people to lives of mediocrity. The way out of the trap is to think for yourself. Have the courage to ask the hard questions, and to work to find the answers. Make a commitment every day to do the mental work that will lead to growth and achievement.

Be an i_____ thinker.

Paragraph Four

Winners train for months and years before the actual competition. The winning is really in the preparation, not in the race itself. Being prepared will make you strong, bold, confident and competent. Practice preparation. Be sure you're ready to make the best of all that life has to offer.

O_____ always goes to the one who is well prepared.

Paragraph Five

Parents should pay close attention to whether or not they are practicing honesty, fairness, and caring for themselves. Nobody is perfect all the time. That is why it's important for parents, in fact, to act as role models for their children in terms of humility, self-awareness, and honesty by acknowledging and working on their mistakes and flaws.

Parents should set a good e_____ to their children .

Paragraph Two

communicators who speak a different language, the level of uncertainty is especially high. Consider the basic challenge of communicating in an unfamiliar language. Unless you can speak and understand the other language like a native, it's often difficult to know for certain what others are saying or to express your own ideas accurately.

A great challenge of getting the intended m_____ in communication.