中級閱讀模擬測驗　第八回

Psychologists say that people who can name their feelings handle them far better. A child who says only that the day was bad may in fact feel 11 before a test, or deep 12 after losing a match. Teachers therefore ask students to keep a short evening diary. Writing one honest line each night can 13 a worried mind more than an hour of advice. Over time young writers are often 14 by how many different feelings appear on a single page. This habit solves no problems by itself, yet most students end the term calmer and far more 15 with the person they are becoming.

Every Tuesday evening Mei-ling works as a 16 on a telephone help line. Callers are strangers, yet within minutes they tell her things they hide from every close 17 in their lives. Some are simply lonely; others still 18 for a parent who died last spring. Mei-ling rarely gives advice, because she has learned that a caller in the dark needs a steady voice far more than a 19 plan. When the line finally goes quiet, she often hears a small laugh instead of tears, and for her that sound is a real 20 at the end of a tiring day.