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Finding the Real You

    Psychometric testing—personality testing—has been very popular nowadays as studies show their results to be three times more accurate in predicting your job performance. These tests are now included in almost all graduate recruitment (招聘) and are widely used in the selection of managers.

    The most popular of these personality tests is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). It is based on the theory that we are born with a tendency to one personality type which stays more or less fixed throughout life. You answer 88 questions and are then given your “type”, such as Outgoing or Quiet, Feeling or Thinking.

    Critics of personality testing raise doubts about “social engineering”. Psychologist Dr. Colin Gill warns that the “popular” personality traits (特性) have their disadvantages. “People who are extremely open to new experiences can be butterflies, going from one idea to the next without mastering any of them.” However, the psychometric test is here to stay, which may be why a whole sub-industry on cheating personality tests has sprung up. “It's possible to cheat,” admits Gill, “but having to pretend to be the person you are at work will be tiring and unhappy and probably short-lived.”

    So can we change our personality? “Your basic personalities fixed by the time you're 21,”says Gill, “but it can be affected by motivation and intelligence. If you didn't have the personality type to be a doctor but desperately wanted to be one and were intelligent enough to master the skills, you could still go ahead. But trying to go too much against type for too long requires much energy and is actually to be suffered for long. I think it's why we're seeing this trend for downshifting—too many people trying to fit into a type that they aren't really suited for.”

    Our interest in personality now exists in every part of our lives. If you ask an expert for advice on anything, you'll probably be quizzed about your personality. But if personality tests have any value to us, perhaps it is to free us from the idea that all of us are full of potential, and remind us of what we are. As they say in one test when they ask for your age: pick the one you are, not the one you wish you were.

    Students spend more time at school than anywhere else. At school, children need a safe and comfortable environment to help them learn. By doing the following, parents can help make sure children have a good school life.

    ____. Ask your children if they see anyone bullied(被欺负), if they are bullied, or if anything else makes them feel uncomfortable. Look for warning signs, such as a sudden drop in grades or a loss of friends.

    ____. Tell children that fighting could lead to them getting hurt, or hurting someone else. Tell them about other ways they can solve a problem, such as walking away or telling to teachers or the adult you know well.

    ____. Talk to your children about what they do online—what websites they visit, who they email, and who they chat with. Let them know they can talk to you if anything they see online makes them uncomfortable.

    ____. Teach children to follow traffic lights and rules when walking or biking. Stress that they should cross the street at crosswalks.

    ____. Don't go anywhere with them, or accept gifts from them when you don't know. If they see a stranger hanging around or in their school, they should tell the people that you know.

光射到平面镜上，入射角为15°，反射角为