Most people say “yes” much more readily than “no”.
A friend is moving house this weekend and would like some help, and you agree. But, what you really wanted was a couple of quiet days relaxing at home. Or a roommate spends the entire weekends playing video games and wants to borrow your homework for “reference”. But, you’ve just finished it after taking a whole day to work hard.
Many people say “yes” to those kinds of requests. They tend not to consider their own interests and feelings, and are often angry with themselves afterwards.
Saying “no” requires courage and considerable practice, in fact, according to psychologists.
“Everyone wants to be liked,” says Gabriel Steinki, a German psychologist. “Saying ‘no’ risk losing the affection of the person asking the favor or even a job.”
The result is that many people say “yes” just for keeping the peace. But experts say this is regrettable. Anyone should have the right to say “no”.
In fact, rejecting a request can even help to strengthen a relationship because it expresses a true feeling.
But, for people used to agreeing to every request, changing can be a long and uncomfortable learning process.
Most people believe that “If I say ‘no’, I’ll lose the affection of the person. But the affection is important to me.” This way of thinking can be replaced by this “If he only likes me because I always do what suits him, then the price of his affection is too high in the long term.”
Steinki says the key is talking to the other person to find a mutual(相互的) solution. “One needs to present the situation from one’s own point of view, and to suggest how the situation can be dealt with to the advantage of both parties. The other person must have the feeling that his interests are being considered.”
When the refusal is not accepted, Steinki advises giving the reasons calmly again until the person gets the message.
1. Most people say “yes” much more readily than “no” because ____________.
A. they don’t care about their own interests and feelings
B. they don’t know they will regret afterwards
C. they have already been used to saying “yes”
D. they care more about others’ affection
2. According to the writer, what should you do if you want to refuse the other person’s request?
A. Just say you can’t help him.
B. Say sorry to him.
C. Refuse him clearly.
D. Talk to the other person to find a mutual way.
3. According to the writer, what should you do if your refusal is not accepted?
A. Say yes to him.
B. Repeat your reason for his acceptance.
C. Just go away.
D. Say no to him.
4. What is the best title of the passage?
A. You Need Courage to Say “No”
B. “Yes” More than “No”
C. Nobody Has the Right to Say “No”
D. It’s Easy to Say “Yes”
Most airlines go all out to ensure their passengers have the best possible flight experience. Now, Europe’s low-budget airline, easyJet, wants to extend the positive experience beyond the plane ride with “Sneakairs”—smart shoes that allow visitors to explore new cities and towns without ever looking at a map.
To transform Sneakairs from an ordinary shoe to a tour guide, all the wearer has to do is enter his or her desired destination into the easyJet smartphone app. A built-in GPS will determine the wearer’s starting location while the Google Maps navigation(导航) tool will help chart the best route. Whenever a change of direction is necessary, the app will communicate with the appropriate shoe via the Bluetooth and cause it to vibrate(振动). For example, if the wearer needs to turn right, he/she will feel the sensation in the right shoe. Should the user miss the turn, the smart shoes will both vibrate at the same time, reminding him/her to change course.
Visitors that wander off the suggested path or decide to take a break for a cup of coffee or a meal have nothing to worry about. The smart app will automatically determine the new location and chart out a new route, once the desired destination is reached. Sneakairs will vibrate three times to inform the user of the arrival and then go back to being ordinary shoes—until their navigation services are needed again!
Sneakairs is certainly not the first navigation shoe in the market. However, easyJet is the first airline to offer them to passengers just as they are about to land in an unknown city. However, before Sneakairs can go mainstream, the easyJet team still needs to make some adjustments. Among the challenges that need to be addressed is the smart shoe’s three-hour battery life, which is hardly enough for a tourist to catch all the delights a new or town has to offer!
1.The airline easyJet designed Sneakairs in order to ________.
A. help people exercise with better shoes
B. attract more people to choose easyJet
C. make sure their passengers have the best possible flight experience
D. provide passengers with further pleasant experience beside their flight
2.What does the author mainly talk about in Paragraph 2?
A. How Sneakairs works.
B. How visitors choose routes.
C. How users avoid getting lost.
D. What users should pay attention to.
3.What might easyJet do to improve its smart shoes?
A. Bring down their cost.
B. Add more functions.
C. Develop more types.
D. Make the battery last longer.
4.Where does this text probably come from?
A. A commercial ad.B. A science report.
C. A tourist map.D. An airline guide.
Some time ago, I discovered a whole lot of antique(古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the char that had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.
The second shop, although slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth — so I thought that my approach must be wrong.
I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes. How much do you want do it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “Ok,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It has a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that; it’s nothing.”
Everything was going according to the plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me.” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I’m sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right.” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, ‘Would you mend this chair for me?’” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for five pounds?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.
1.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer ________.
A. was rather impolite
B. was warmly welcomed
C. asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair
D. asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair
2.Why did the writer said “Would you like to buy a chair?” in the fifth shop?
A. He was sure that he won’t be able to have the chair repaired.
B. He wanted to make some money by selling the chair.
C. He had a plan in mind about how to get his chair mended.
D. He planned to get a new chair after selling the broken one.
3.The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper ________.
A. changed his mind
B. accepted the offer
C. saw the writer’s purpose
D. decided to help the writer
4.How much will the writer pay?
A. £5 B. £7 C. £20 D. £27
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假如你正在参加学校举办的一个英语演讲比赛，就如何应对全球变暖这一话题发表自己的见解，号召同学们过低碳生活，为减少二氧化碳(CO2)排放做贡献。请就这一话题写一篇演讲稿，陈述你自己的观点。演讲稿应包括以下内容：
1．节能减排，低碳生活，人人可为；
2．改变以往的家庭生活习惯(用电，用水等)；
3．出行使用公共交通或骑自行车；
4．……
注意：1.词数100左右；
2．可适当增加细节内容，以使行文连贯；
3．开头已经给出，但不计入总词数。
参考词汇：low carbon life低碳生活；carbon emission碳排放
Good morning，everyone，
My topic today is how to live a low carbon life. As we all know，the earth is becoming warmer and warmer due to the global climate change. __________________________
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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11处起）不计分。
On a cold winter night, it was snowing heavily, a bus with 45 passenger had an accident because of the wet road. And all of them were trapping in the bus and what was worse, the bus ran out gas and it was very cold in it. They could do nothing but to wait for help. A man who lived nearby saw that had happened. He and some villagers managed to open the door and helped all of them out of bus. He took them to his home but offered food and water and even some warm clothes to the children. They spent two days in their home and finally help come. All of them were thankful with his help.
