A、Human brains tend to store bad memories. B、Human brains search for a memory before reacting. C、Responses are based on a refere

Moderator:
    Hello, ladies and gentlemen. It gives me great honor to introduce our speaker for today’s lecture, Dr. Peter Wood. Dr. Wood, professor of psychology at Harvard University, has written lots of books on the issues about how to make yourself more positive, which is partly determined by environment but mostly by your own attitude.
    Dr. Wood:
    Thank you for that introduction. I feel happy to meet you here.
    Everyone faces difficulties from time to time. Sometimes the difficulties we face in life come from situations out of our control, and other times our difficulties are a direct consequence of the decisions we make.
    In life, we cannot change events or their outcome. We can, however, choose the emotion and meaning we attach to them. It’s like the saying goes " life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react. " Our brains are designed to store information and then, at every single second of every day, when new information is received, our brains search for a reference memory to lay the foundation for our response. Think about it, this is why if you have a bad experience on a roller coaster or eating a certain food, for the rest of your life you have an automatic impulse reaction whenever you come across them.
    We have to retrain ourselves to see the positive in even the most challenging times.
    Sometimes the best we can do is breathing. During overwhelmingly difficult times, our stress levels rise, our breathing gets shallow, and our body’s natural rhythm gets all out of whack. If you find yourself highly stressed out, take 10 minutes, find a quiet space, and just breathe deeply. Breathing has been shown to lower stress levels and help relax your automatic nervous system. One of the keys to staying positive is to be relaxed, and making sure you’re breathing correctly is the best way to start.
    When life feels completely overwhelming, we often lose sight of those things we can change. Assess your situation honestly, and look for those things you can control. This will help you to feel more centred, more focused, and assist you in being able to tackle the challenge.
    Sometimes there are things we just cannot control. Whether it’s older people, mother nature, or just plain bad timing, no matter how much we want to, we cannot control everything. Take time to look at your difficulty, identify the things that are out of your control, and then let them go.
    That’s all about today’s talk. Thank you!
    Questions 16 to 19 are based on the recording you have just heard.
    16. What does the introduction say about Dr. Wood’s books?
    17. Why do people have a reaction towards something they have a bad experience with?
    18. What is the key to staying positive?
    19. What will make you feel more centred and focused?