Use of English (2026)

Most of us strive for self-respect—to see ourselves in a positive light, to be [1] of who we are. Any comments or experiences that undermine those feelings of self-worth can be uncomfortable and it’s only [2] to want to avoid them. But the thing is, [3] your self-worth really is being undermined is, to a large degree, subjective. Much of it comes down to your [4] of what someone said or did.

When you take things personally, you’re interpreting these situations as saying something significant and negative about you as a person. Say your boss picks holes in your sales report, and you come away feeling like this means she thinks you’re a [5] member of staff. Or, two of your friends cancel your [6] get-together at the pub and you interpret this as meaning they’re bored of you. Psychologists have a [7] for this way of thinking: personalisation.

But the [8] is that your boss might view you very highly. It’s just you made some [9] in the report and she wanted to point these out so that you do better next time. [10], in the case of your friends cancelling, perhaps they both felt unwell that weekend or they just [11] their minds.

In both [12]—and others that we all experience—there’s another [13] at work that psychologists call mind reading. This is when you assume to know what other people are thinking about you, when you can’t really know without [14] them directly.

One simple way to avoid [15] in personalisation and mind-reading is to challenge your negative assumptions of what’s [16]. When you find yourself taking a situation personally, try to think of other interpretations that are less focused on you—especially in the sense of saying anything deep or [17] about you.

When you do this, it might help to try to put yourself in other people’s shoes. The fact your boss took the time to give you [18] at all means they care enough to want to help you [19]. When it comes to your friends—maybe it’s because your friendship is so [20] that they felt able to cancel at late notice.

[A]afraid

[B]critical

[C]proud

[D]tolerant

[A]risky

[B]natural

[C]admirable

[D]foolish

[A]whether

[B]when

[C]why

[D]how

[A]citation

[B]imitation

[C]perception

[D]introduction

[A]poor

[B]loyal

[C]creative

[D]shy

[A]sponsored

[B]crowded

[C]disputed

[D]planned

[A]method

[B]term

[C]design

[D]goal

[A]evidence

[B]theory

[C]condition

[D]reality

[A]complaints

[B]choices

[C]mistakes

[D]suggestions

10.

[A]Similarly

[B]Relatively

[C]Accordingly

[D]Contrarily

11.

[A]opened

[B]changed

[C]trained

[D]cleared

12.

[A]quotations

[B]experiments

[C]questions

[D]examples

13.

[A]process

[B]objective

[C]outcome

[D]background

14.

[A]blaming

[B]warning

[C]teaching

[D]asking

15.

[A]arguing about

[B]accounting for

[C]engaging in

[D]interfering with

16.

[A]happened

[B]continued

[C]returned

[D]disappeared

17.

[A]casual

[B]obvious

[C]familiar

[D]fundamental

18.

[A]reward

[B]feedback

[C]trust

[D]proof

19.

[A]innovate

[B]concentrate

[C]improve

[D]relax

20.

[A]strange

[B]strong

[C]vulnerable

[D]valuable

深度解析 (Answers & Logic)

1. [C] proud. 语义搭配题。破折号后解释“strive for self-respect（争取自尊）”的具体含义：以积极眼光看待自己，为自己是怎样的人而“自豪（proud）”。be proud of 为固定搭配。
2. [B] natural. 逻辑推断题。任何破坏我们自我价值感的话语都会让人不舒服，想要避开它们是完全“正常的/自然的（natural）”。
3. [A] whether. 语法结构题。这里引导主语从句，“是否（whether）”你的自我价值真的正在受到破坏，在很大程度上是主观的。
4. [C] perception. 语义衔接题。既然是“主观的（subjective）”，那么它很大程度上就归结为你对别人言行的“认知/看法（perception）”。
5. [A] poor. 语义推断题。上文说把事情针对个人意味着你把它看作是负面的（negative）。老板在报告中挑毛病，你会觉得这意味着她认为你是一个“差劲的（poor）”员工。
6. [D] planned. 语义修饰题。朋友取消了你们在酒吧“计划好的（planned）”聚会。
7. [B] term. 习惯搭配题。心理学家对这种思维方式有一个专门的“术语（term）”：个性化（personalisation）。
8. [D] reality. 逻辑转折题。上文描述了你的负面猜测，But 引导转折：但“现实（reality）”是，你的老板可能非常看重你。
9. [C] mistakes. 语境搭配题。老板给你挑毛病，只是因为你在报告中犯了一些“错误（mistakes）”，她想指出来让你下次做得更好。
10. [A] Similarly. 逻辑关系题。上一段解释了老板的行为，这一段解释朋友的行为，两者结构对等，因此填“同样地（Similarly）”。
11. [B] changed. 固定搭配题。朋友取消聚会可能只是觉得不舒服，或者仅仅是“改变了主意（changed their minds）”。
12. [D] examples. 语境指代题。在前文老板和朋友这两个“例子（examples）”中，还有另一种心理在起作用。
13. [A] process. 语义衔接题。心理学家将这种在起作用的现象称为“读心术”，这是一种心理“过程（process）”。
14. [D] asking. 逻辑推断题。你假装知道别人在想什么，但如果不直接“询问（asking）”他们，你其实无法真正知道。
15. [C] engaging in. 动词短语题。避免“参与/陷入（engaging in）”个性化和读心术的一个简单方法是质疑你的负面假设。
16. [A] happened. 语义衔接题。质疑你对“已发生的事情（what's happened）”的负面假设。
17. [D] fundamental. 语义并列题。不要觉得别人的行为说明了关于你的任何深刻或“根本性的（fundamental）”问题（即不要上纲上线）。
18. [B] feedback. 语境对应题。回顾老板的例子，老板花时间给你提意见，实际上是给你“反馈（feedback）”。
19. [C] improve. 语义推断题。老板给你反馈说明他们足够关心你，想要帮你“进步/提高（improve）”。
20. [B] strong. 逻辑推断题。对于朋友的例子：也许正是因为你们的友谊如此“坚固（strong）”，他们才觉得可以放心地临时取消聚会。

核心长难句精解 (High-Light)

1. whether 引导的主语从句与插入语：
"But the thing is, whether your self-worth really is being undermined is, to a large degree, subjective."
 【解析】`whether` 引导主语从句 `whether your self-worth really is being undermined`。整句话的谓语是第二个 `is`，表语是 `subjective`。`to a large degree` 是插入语，作程度状语。这句话点明了文章的心理学核心：伤害你的往往不是事实，而是你的主观感受。 
2. as 引导方式状语及宾语从句的嵌套：
"When you take things personally, you’re interpreting these situations as saying something significant and negative about you as a person."
 【解析】`as` 在此作介词，`interpret A as B` 意为“把 A 理解为 B”。在 `saying` 的宾语中，包含了并列的形容词 `significant and negative` 后置修饰 `something`。句子深刻揭示了“个性化（personalisation）”思维的破坏性。 
3. The fact 引导的同位语从句：
"The fact [that] your boss took the time to give you feedback at all means they care enough to want to help you improve."
 【解析】主语是 `The fact`，其后省略了 `that` 的引导词，跟了一个完整的同位语从句 `your boss took the time... at all`（你的老板竟然愿意花时间给你反馈），解释 fact 的内容。谓语是 `means`，后面又跟了一个省略 `that` 的宾语从句。 