What does it mean to say that we live in a world of persuasion? It means that we live among competing interests. Your roommate’s need to study for an exam may take priority（优先）over pizza. Your instructor may have good reasons not to change your grade. And the object of your romantic interest may have other choices.
In such a world, persuasion is the art of getting others to give fair and favorable consideration to our point of view. When we persuade, we want to influence how others believe and behave. We may not always prevail — other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situation, and the merits of the case. But when we practice the art of persuasion, we try to ensure that our position receives the attention it deserves.
Some people, however, object to the very idea of persuasion. They may regard it as an unwelcome interruption into their lives. Just the opposite, we believe that persuasion is unavoidable — to live is to persuade. Persuasion may be ethical（合乎道义的）or unethical, selfless or selfish, inspiring or degrading. Persuaders may enlighten our minds or catch our vulnerability(弱点). Ethical persuasion, however, calls on sound reasoning and is sensitive to the feelings and needs of listeners. Such persuasion can help us apply the wisdom of the past to the decisions we now must make. Therefore, the most basic part of education is learning to resist the one kind of persuasion and to encourage and practice the other.
Beyond its personal importance to us, persuasion is necessary to society. The right to persuade and be persuaded is the bedrock of the American political system, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution（美国宪法）.
1.According to the passage, persuasion means ________.
A. changing others’ point of view
B. exercising power over other people
C. getting other people to consider your point of view
D. getting people to agree with you and do what you want
2.The underlined word in the second paragraph “prevail” means“________”.
A. fail B. win C. speak D. listen
3.The passage states that some people object to persuasion because they think it is ________.
A. unwelcome behavior B. difficult to do well
C. a danger to society D. never successful
4.The passage mainly discusses ________.
A. people’s different opinions towards persuasion
B. the reasons why people persuade
C. that persuasion is both good and bad
D. that persuasion is important and it is all around us
Can you believe your eyes? A recent experiment suggests that the answer to that question may depend on your age.
Martin Doherty, a psychologist at the University of Stirling in Scotland, led the team of scientists. In this experiment, Doherty and his team tested the perception(观察力) of some people, using pictures of some orange circles. The researchers showed the same pictures to two groups of people. The first group included 151 children aged 4 to 10, and the second group included 24 adults aged 18 to 25.
The first group of pictures showed two circles alone on a white background. One of the circles was larger than the other, and these people were asked to identify the larger one. Four-year-olds identified the correct circle 79 percent of the time. Adults identified the correct circle 95 percent of the time.
Next, both groups were shown a picture where the orange circles, again of different sizes, were surrounded by gray circles. Here's where the trick lies in. In some of the pictures, the smaller orange circle was surrounded by even smaller gray circles —making the orange circle appear larger than the other orange circle, which was the real larger one. And the larger orange circle was surrounded by even bigger gray circles—so it appeared to be smaller than the real smaller orange circle.
When young children aged 4 to 6 looked at these tricky pictures, they weren't fooled—they were still able to find the bigger circle with roughly the same accuracy as before. Older children and adults, on the other hand, did not do as well. Older children often identified the smaller circle as the larger one, and adults got it wrong most of the time.
As children get older, Doherty said, their brains may develop the ability to identify visual context. In other words, they will begin to process the whole picture at once: the tricky gray circles, as well as the orange circle in the middle. As a result, they're more likely to fall for this kind of visual trick.
1.Why are younger children not fooled?_____________.
A. Because their brain can hardly notice related things together.
B. Because older people are influenced by their experience.
C. Because people's eyes become weaker as they grow older.
D. Because they are smarter than older children and adults.
2.Doherty and his team of scientists did an experiment to evaluate_____________.
A. children's and adults' eye-sight
B. people's ability to see accurately
C. children's and adults' brains
D. the influence of people's age
3.When asked to find the larger circle,_____________.
A. children at 6 got it wrong 79 % of the time with no gray ones around
B. only adults over 18 got it right 95% of the time with gray ones around
C. children at 4 got it right about 79 % of the time with gray ones around
D. adults got it right most of the time with gray ones around
4.According to the passage, we can know that_____________.
A. a smaller orange circle appears bigger on a white background
B. an orange circle appears bigger than a gray one of the same size
C. a circle surrounded by other circles looks bigger than its real size
D. a circle surrounded by bigger ones looks smaller than its real size
Everyone knows that eating too much junk food is not good to our health. Yet, what is it about junk food that is so completely irresistible(无可抗拒的)? For one thing, it’s everywhere. From chips in fast food restaurants to candy in supermarkets, junk food always seems available. Thankfully, science is now providing new clues to help us reduce snacking.
Make friends with dainty(讲究的) eaters.
Studies have found that people tend to increase or reduce the amount of food they eat depending on what their companions are taking in.
See happy movies and always get the smaller bag of popcorn(爆米花).
According to some experts, people eat up to 29% more popcorn if they are watching a sad or serious movie, compared to when they are watching a comedy. Viewers consumed almost 200 calories more when snacking from a large bucket, as opposed to when given a medium-sized container.
Eat breakfast.
Nutritionists have gone back and forth（来来回回）about the question of how much to eat in the morning, but new studies suggest that consuming a good breakfast is a must. Surveys on long-term weight-loss show that two key factors in keeping weight down are eating breakfast and exercising.
Divide your food and conquer overeating.
Any kind of dividing your food into portions slows down your eating. Any kind of marker makes you aware of what you’re eating and of portion size. Researchers advise reallocating（再分配）snack foods into small plastic bags. It sounds simplistic, but it works.
1.Why do people eat too much junk food though it is bad for our health?
A. It’s delicious from chips to candy.
B. Because it’s available here and there.
C. It’s easily taken everywhere.
D. It’s easily bought in fast food restaurants.
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. If people are watching a tragedy, they eat up to 29% more popcorn.
B. People are likely to eat more food when staying with friends.
C. Nutritionists have the same opinion about how much to eat in the morning.
D. People prefer to snack from a large bucket.
3.What will he or she do if he or she wants to lose weight?
A. To eat nothing in the morning.
B. To get up early and to go to bed late.
C. To eat breakfast and exercise.
D. To snack from a medium-size bucket.
假如你叫李华，是校报的英语小记者。校报英语园地本期的话题是Festivals and Holidays。你打算以My Favorite Festival为题进行演讲，请根据写作提纲，介绍你最喜欢的传统节日——春节。
内容包括：1. 春节的重要性；2. 主要庆祝活动； 3. 你喜欢的原因。
注意：字数100字左右。
参考词汇：对联couplet 压岁钱lucky money
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短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
It was almost five years since I began to learn English. I’m glad to say I’m getting along well with it. However, first I came across a lot of difficulties. I couldn’t pronounce English sounds good, nor could I remember the words I had learned. In class, I couldn’t understand that the teacher had said. I almost lost my heart when the teacher said to me, “Keeping on and you will do well.” I was greatly encouraging. I started working hard at English. With the help by my teacher and classmates, I made some progresses. I’m very pleased, but I will work harder.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（一个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, and 1. (thousand) of kinds of animals have disappeared from the world forever. About 170 kinds in the US alone 2. (consider) in danger.
Why should people care? 3. we need animals, and if they are gone, there will never be any more. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. 4. (destroy) one kind of animal can create many problems. For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks (老鹰), the farmers’ stores of corn and grain were destroyed 5. rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied (繁殖) 6. (quick).
Luckily, some people are working 7. (help) save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about 8. problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger. Quite a few 9. (country) have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animals on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger 10. (be) growing.
