Listen carefully; we would like to tell you something that could save your precious time and money! Best of all, it is free! It’s “no”. What do you ask? We’ll say it again. “No”. Sweet and simple “no”.
Say “no” at your office and see how quickly that pile of work on your desk disappears. “Saying “no” to others means you are saying “yes” to yourself,” said Leslie Charles, a professional speaker from East Lansing, Michigan.
Susie Watson, a famous writer, said people who always say “yes” need to say “no” without guilt (内疚) or fear of punishment. “I would rather have someone give me a loving ‘no’ than an obligated (强制的)‘yes’”, she said.
Susie Watson says she feels “no” obligation to give an explanation when she says “no” either socially or professionally. Does she feel guilty about it? “Not at all,” said Watson, who is director of advertising and public relations at Timex Corp in Middle-bury. “Most people are afraid of saying “no”. My advice is to say “yes” only if you don’t mean ‘no’.”
Watson said “no” is the most effective weapon against wasting time. “Every year there are more demands on your time. Other people are happy to use up your time,” Watson said. Time saving appears to be “no’s” greatest friend. “No” can be your new friend, a powerful tool to take back your life. “No” may even take you further in the business world than “yes”. “No” is power and strength. “No” now seems completely correct. “Saying ‘no’ isn’t easy. But finally it’s greatly liberating,” Charles said. But, he added, a “no” project needs to be worked on every day because it is hard to change long-term habit.
But, he also warns: “Don’t go to extremes. Don’t find yourself saying “no” to everything. In return you should learn to hear “no”.”
53. The underlined part “saying ‘yes’ to yourself” in the second paragraph means ______.
A. you can have more time to play with others
B. you needn’t care about other’s feeling if you are happy
C. you are selfish and treat others rudely
D. you can deal with your business as you have planned
54. When you say “no” to others you should say it in a ______.
A. secret way B. polite way C. proud way D. guilty way
55 In Watson’s opinion, people can save much time on condition that ______.
A. they say “no” at a suitable time B. they say “no” as much as possible
C. they are afraid of saying “no” D. they make others angry at them
56. If a person says “no” to everything, the result he or she receives may be that he or she _____.
A. enjoys a wonderful life B. makes a lot of money
C. faces difficulty in life D. forgets to say “yes” in the end
Most likely, you aren’t the family breadwinner. But doing a small job or getting a weekly allowance (零花钱) would put some money in your pocket. For kids and grown-ups alike, money is easy to spend. If you aren’t careful, it can be going in no time.
Being responsible with your money is an important skill to learn — and the sooner you start the better. Whether you are tracking your spending or saving for something special, creating a budget can help you deal with your expenses and plan for the future. All you need are paper and a pencil — and some self-control.
First, take a look at our sample monthly budget. Then, use a separate sheet of paper to plan your own. In the first two columns (栏), list your sources (来源) of income and how much you expect to earn from them. In the third and fourth columns, list what you expect to spend your money on and the amount.
The left-hand total should be more than or equal to the right-hand total. If it is, you have an effective budget. Budgets are not complex, but sticking to them can be tough. When planning your budget, be realistic about your expenses. If you know that you drop $18 at a movie, don’t write $12 in that space simply because you wish you were spending less.
If you are eyeing a big purchase, such as a $150 skateboard, spend less and save more until you have the total amount. No matter how attractive it may be, avoid spending your savings. One day, you will thank yourself!
Monthly Income |
Amount |
Monthly Expense |
Amount |
Allowance |
$20.00 |
Snacks |
$20.00 |
Money earned selling drinks |
$25.00 |
Music downloads |
$12.00 |
Money earned babysitting |
$12.50 |
Movies |
$18.00 |
Money earned delivering newspapers |
$30.00 |
Video rental |
$10.00 |
Total |
$87.50 |
Total |
$66.00 |
Who is the passage written for?
A.Children. | B.Parents. | C.Breadwinners. | D.Bank managers. |
The purpose of making a budget is to help people _________.
A.learn to be realistic | B.increase their saving |
C.manage their money well | D.test their power-control |
What should people do when planning a budget?
A.Fill in the expenses as they really are. |
B.Avoid spending money on expensive things. |
C.Set aside a fixed amount of money as savings. |
D.List income and expenses on two pieces of paper. |
Which of the following budgets is effective?
A
Monthly Income |
Amount |
Monthly Expense |
Amount |
Allowance |
$20.00 |
Money earned walking dogs |
$20.00 |
Bus fares |
$40.00 |
Movies |
$28.00 |
Total |
$60.00 |
Total |
$48.00 |
B
Monthly Income |
Amount |
Monthly Expense |
Amount |
Allowance |
$20.00 |
Movies |
$30.00 |
Money earned washing cars |
$10.00 |
Bus fares |
$10.00 |
Total |
$30.00 |
Total |
$40.00 |
C
Monthly Income |
Amount |
Monthly Expense |
Amount |
Allowance |
$27.50 |
Money earned brushing shoes |
$22.00 |
Money earned washing dishes |
$22.50 |
Birthday gifts |
$28.00 |
Total |
$50.00 |
Total |
$50.00 |
D
Monthly Income |
Amount |
Monthly Expense |
Amount |
Allowance |
$26.00 |
Video rental |
$22.00 |
Money earned doing yard work |
$24.00 |
Birthday gifts |
$28.00 |
Total |
$50.00 |
Total |
$50.00 |
The passage mainly tells us ________.
A.the importance of making a budget | B.how to make a budget |
C.how to form good habits | D.how to spend money |
阅读下面短文,从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。
As summer comes near, many children are really happy to forget about school for a few months. However, they might be taking that goal too seriously. Studies have found that children often forget between one and three months’ worth of school learning during the summer months. Spelling and math abilities drop off the most, while reading is not really influenced by the time off. The main reason for this is because most children sometimes read outside of the classroom, whether newspapers, magazines, books, or video game guides. However, their math and spelling skills only get exercised in the school setting.
The first purpose of summer holidays was to let farm children have time off to help work in the fields during the growing season, but this reason is no longer a good one since fewer kids actually work on farms today. Some cities in the United States, such as Los Angeles, have moved to a year-round school timetable, which may help reduce the loss of school skills that happens during the long summer holiday. To improve skills and to keep a good level of preparation, headmasters suggest trips to museums, summer camps, holidays with educational value, and visits to libraries to keep kids interested throughout the summer.
There are other educational systems that provide holidays while still keeping students’ skills up to date. For example, in Japan, students attend class for seven weeks in a row, followed by two weeks of holiday. This continues the whole year. In Italy, students attend class six days per week, but finish at 1: 30 pm each day, so that school does not run their life the way that it does in America, where students attend high school from 7: 45 am until 3: 00 pm each weekday. In areas where there are not enough classrooms—in Afghanistan or Somalia, for example—older students attend classes in the morning while the younger kids go to school in the afternoon.
Headmasters fear that the three-month summer holiday stops the flow of learning. Just as students become used to new math problems or new ideas in reading, writing, or thinking skills, they “shut down” during the summer holiday. When they go back to school after the long summer holiday, they take up to two months to return to their previous (先前的) level of skill. So the debate continues: whether to continue holidays or to make changes based on the Los Angeles or the Japanese models.Which skills suffer the most over the summer holidays?
A.Math and reading. | B.Math and spelling. |
C.Reading and writing. | D.Reading and thinking. |
What can we learn about the first purpose of summer holidays?
A.It is still widely acceptable now. | B.It was popular in some cities. |
C.It is not a good reason for city kids. | D.It was more for teachers than for students. |
The underlined phrase “shut down” in the last paragraph probably means __________.
A.stop learning | B.get sick |
C.go on reading | D.focus on studies |
What can we infer from the passage?
A.Parents always read to their kids to keep reading skills. |
B.Summer holidays lead to the loss of all the school skills. |
C.Students love holidays and get their mind off learning in holidays. |
D.In Italy students attend classes in the late afternoon six days a week. |
Bottled water has become the choice for people who are healthy and thirsty. Bottled water is all over the world. But some say the planet’s health, and people’s health may be suffering from it.
The idea that bottled water is safer for humans may not be true. The Natural Resources Defense Council of America said, “There is no promise that because water comes out of a bottle, it is cleaner or safer than water from the tap.” Another New York City-based action group added that some bottled water is “really just tap water in a bottle—sometimes more clean, sometimes not.”
It is not proven that bottled water is better than tap water. Nick Reeves from the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management said, “The high mineral content (含量) of some bottled water makes them not good for feeding babies and young children.” Also, most bottled water doesn’t have fluoride (氟化物), which can make teeth stronger. Kids are drinking more bottled water and less fluoridated tap water, and some say that’s behind the recent rise in bad teeth.
Storing is another problem. Placed near heat, the plastic bottles can produce bad chemicals (化学物质) into the water.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used worldwide to bottle water each year. The plastic can take between 400 and 1,000 years to break down.
In terms of energy use, plastic bottles are also not cheap. One report said that if water and soft drink bottlers had used 10 percent recycled materials in their plastic bottles, they would have saved about 72 million gallons of gas.
So, if you are worried about the effect of bottled water on the Earth, you can take the following steps.
● Drink from your tap. Unless your government warns against this, it should be fine.
● Get a container (容器). Carry your tap water in a steel or a lined drinking container, and clean it between uses.
● Keep it cool. Don’t drink from a bottle that has been sitting in the sun, don’t store it near chemicals, and don’t reuse plastic bottles.
● Choose glass containers over plastic if possible. When finished, recycle!What is the main idea of the article?
A.Drinking tap water is the only choice for people. |
B.Glass containers are better than plastic bottles. |
C.Plastic bottles are harmful to the environment. |
D.Bottled water may not be as good as we think. |
What can we learn about plastic bottles from the article?
A.They break down in less than 300 years. | B.They can be used for many other things. |
C.They are a risk to the environment. | D.They are cheap to make. |
According to the article, we can know that bottled water is __________.
A.no problem for the environment | B.more expensive than tap water |
C.always safer than tap water | D.better for babies |
Which of the following about tap water is NOT mentioned in the article?
A.There are a lot of problems storing tap water. |
B.Bottled water can be just tap water in a bottle. |
C.It may be better for your teeth. |
D.It may contain fluoride. |
Most of the time, people wear hats to protect themselves from harsh weather conditions. Hats are also worn to show politeness and as signs of social position. But nowadays, hats, especially women’s hats, are much more than that. More exactly, hats have changed into fashion and style symbols by many movie stars. What’s more, people now consider many different features (特点)when choosing even a simple hat. Many designers point out that, when choosing the right hat, it’s important to consider the color of your skin as well as your hair, your height, and the shape of your face.
First of all, the color of the hat should match the color of your skin and hair. For instance, black hats should be avoided if you are dark skinned. If a purple hat is placed on top of red hair, one will look as attractive as a summer flower. Second, the height of the hat is also an important point. Tall women should not go for hats with tall crowns, just as short women should choose hats with upturned brims to give the look of height. Third, and most importantly, the shape of the face decides the kind of hat one should pick. A small, gentle hat that fits the head looks good on a small face. However, women with big, round faces should choose a different style.
As the saying goes, “Fine feathers make fine birds.” A good hat can not only help your dress but also support your features, so why not choose the best possible one next time you want to be in public?What does the underlined word “harsh” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A.good | B.strange | C.poor | D.different |
According to the article, which of the following women would look most attractive?
A.A big-faced woman who wears a small, nice hat. |
B.A short red-haired woman who wears a purple hat. |
C.A tall woman who wears a hat with a huge upturned brim. |
D.A small dark-skinned woman who wears a black hat with a tall crown. |
What does the last paragraph suggest?
A.Hats are worn on the head to keep warm. |
B.Hats can help you look better in public. |
C.Hats are not as important as character. |
D.Hats can make you look much taller. |
What is the best title for the article?
A.How to Show Your Social Position | B.How to Improve Your Features |
C.How to Choose a Proper Hat | D.How to Design a Nice Hat |
Our lifestyles today are very busy. We have family, school, sports, entertainment and social activities to fit into a time that seems never enough. We need to be healthy to meet the demands of daily life. But what does it mean to have a healthy lifestyle?
To have a healthy lifestyle, we need to:
◆ eat different kinds of healthy food most of the time
◆ do exercise often
◆ have time to relax
◆ get enough sleep to give our bodies time to grow healthy and strong
Read about a normal day in the lives of two children.
Abbey gets up at 7:00 am, feeds the dog, and has cereal and a glass of juice for breakfast. She walks to school with her friend, Julia. She has a bag of chips for a morning snack, drinks water, and has a chicken and lettuce sandwich with a banana for lunch. She likes to play soccer with her friends at lunch and morning break time. She walks home with Julia, has some crackers with cheese and juice for afternoon snack and plays with the dog for a while. She plays computer games for an hour or two before dinner, then has a shower and does her homework. She watches her favorite television show for an hour, then usually goes to bed at about 9:30 pm. |
Carl gets up at 8:30 am and has two pieces of bread with jam and a glass of milk for breakfast. His mother drives him to school on her way to work. He eats cookies with juice for morning snack and a pot pie ordered from the school lunch room with juice for lunch. He likes to play card games with his friends at lunchtime and climb the fixed equipment at morning break time. He catches the bus home, has a cereal bar and a can of soda for afternoon snack, then watches some television. He has a shower before dinner, then plays the computer for an hour or two. He goes to bed at about 10:30 pm. |
No matter which kind of lifestyle you agree on, just remember it’s important to balance all aspects of life.About a healthy lifestyle, the writer doesn’t talk about __________.
A.diet | B.exercise | C.relaxation | D.medicine |
What can we learn from the article?
A.Abbey plays soccer with her friends at school. |
B.Abbey does her homework first after school. |
C.Carl goes to school by bus every day. |
D.Carl has juice for breakfast. |
Where is the article probably from?
A.A health magazine. |
B.A clothing website. |
C.A sports guidebook. |
D.A travel advertisement. |