Are you the type of person who always says yes? However, it’s OK to say no! People are still going to like you. They may even respect you more because they know you are honest.
I’m not saying that you should say no to someone who really needs your help. I’m talking about turning down the meeting that you really do not want to go to or the birthday party that you don’t want to be a guest at.
Think for a moment how you feel when you say yes to something that you really don’t want to do. If you’re like what I once was, you can’t sleep at night and you think about it too much. It weighs on your mind. You try to find ways out. If you really want to go, you will not have all of these thoughts.
So, why not just say no from the beginning? Maybe you think if you don’t show up at the meeting (by the way, it is not one you must go to), your boss isn’t going to like you or your co-workers won’t respect you. Maybe you feel as if your mom, dad or sisters won’t love you as much if you don’t do everything for them.
If these people are your true friends, family members, or a good boss, they will like or love you the same. People treat you the way you teach them to, and if you’re someone who always says yes then that’s what they’re expecting.
You need to do what is right for you. Of course we do have real obligations (责任) in life to meet, but we do not have to do everything others want us to do.In the writer’s opinion, .
| A．we must do what is right for other people |
| B．it is not always easy to win friends’ trust |
| C．saying yes is the best way to win others’ respect |
| D．learning to say no is very important in our life |
The underlined sentence “It weighs on your mind” in the third paragraph probably means “ ”.
| A．you are worried about it very much |
| B．you try to find excuses to refuse it |
| C．you are too busy to care about it |
| D．it fills your mind with good ideas |
According to the writer, if you always say yes, .
| A．your family members will love you more |
| B．your friends will soon get tired of you |
| C．people will expect you to do what they want you to do |
| D．you will have little chance of success in your life |
We can learn from the passage that the writer .
| A．seldom said no to people around him/her at one time |
| B．gets along badly with his/her boss and co-workers now |
| C．always makes his/her parents angry by refusing them |
| D．thinks it his/her own obligation to help those in need |
While other countries debate whether to fix wind turbines(涡轮机) offshore or in distant areas, Denmark is building them right in its capital. Three windmills(风车) were recently introduced in a Copenhagen neighbourhood, and the city plans to add another 97.
“We’ve made a very ambitious commitment to make Copenhagen CO2-neutral by 2025,” Frank Jensen, the mayor, says. “But going green isn’t only a good thing. It’s a must.” The city’s carbon-neutral plan, passed two years ago, will make Copenhagen the world’s first zero-carbon capital.
With wind power making up 33% of Denmark’s energy supply, the country already features plenty of wind turbines. Indeed, among the first sights greeting airborne visitors during the landing at Copenhagen’s Kastrup airport is a chain of sea-based wind towers. By 2020, the windswept country plans to get 50% of its energy from wind power.
Now turbines are moving into the city and these ones will cost less than half the price of those sea-based. Having the energy production closer makes it cheaper, and land-based turbines are the cheapest possible source of energy available today. Fixing them also makes the locals more aware of their energy consumption.
Though considerably less attractive than it was in ancient times, the windmill is enjoying popularity in the 21st century. “Windmills are a symbol of the new and clean Copenhagen,” says resident Susanne Sayers. Meanwhile, fellow Copenhagen citizen Maria Andersen worries about the noise, explaining that she wouldn’t want a wind turbine in her neighbourhood. While Copenhagen citizens approve of the windmills, they’re less willing to live close to one. The answer, the city has decided, is to sell turbine shares.
Each share represents 1,000 kW hours/year, with the profit tax-free. With a typical Copenhagen household consuming 3,500 kW hours/year, a family buying four shares effectively owns its own renewable energy supply. To date, 500 residents have bought 2,500 shares. Involving the local population was a smart move. “There are a lot of things you can do close to people if it’s not too big and if there’s a model where locals feel involved and get to share in the profit. Knowing that you, or your neighbours, own a technology creates a very different atmosphere than if a multinational owned it,” says Vad Mathiesen.
Going green? Yes. Accepted by the population? Yes. Going with centuries-old city architecture? Hardly.
Certainly, the three turbines don’t exactly blight the 18th-century city centre, as they are in a neighbourhood 3 km away. According to the mayor’s office, none of the remaining 97 turbines will rise in architecturally sensitive areas. But Sascha Haselmayer, CEO of city creation group Citymart, warns, “With Denmark being a world-leading producer of windmills, there is a risk that the answer to every energy question is windmills.”
“We’ve destroyed mountains and lakes in order to support our lifestyle,” notes Irena Bauman, an architect and professor at Sheffield University. “Wind turbines are a sign that we’re learning to live with nature. I hope we’ll have them all over the world,” she says. “They may be unpleasant to some, but better-looking ones will come. It’s just that we don’t have time to wait for them!”Denmark has decided to build windmills in its capital mainly to ______.
| A．make windmills its cultural symbol |
| B．advocate an environmentally-friendly lifestyle |
| C．take advantage of its limited wind power |
| D．greet tourists coming to Copenhagen by plane |
How has the city of Copenhagen persuaded its people to accept the windmills around their homes?
| A．By promising them that all their income is free of tax. |
| B．By designing less noisy windmills to ease their worries. |
| C．By convincing them that land-based turbines are much cheaper. |
| D．By offering them the chance to get the profit the windmills bring. |
The underlined word “blight” (Paragraph 8) is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．spoil | B．improve | C．pollute | D．occupy |
Sascha Haselmayer’s attitude to building windmills can best be described as ______.
| A．disapproving | B．unconcerned | C．cautious | D．enthusiastic |
Which of the following words would Irena Bauman most probably agree with?
| A．“It benefits us more to fit wind turbines in cities than in mountain areas or by lakes.” |
| B．“We should sell more wind turbines to other countries to make us one of the richest.” |
| C．“We should devote more time to developing the wind turbines that go with the city.” |
| D．“It’s not what wind turbines look like but how we live that really matters at present.” |
Different countries have different customs. When you travel to another country, please follow their customs, just as the saying goes, “ .”
Very often people who travel to the United States forget to tip （付小费）. It is usual to tip porters who help carry your bags, taxi drivers and waiters. Waiters expect to get a 15% tip on the cost of your meal. Taxi drivers expect about the same amount.
In England, make sure to stand in line even if there are only two of you. It’s important to respect lines there. It’s a good idea to talk about the weather. It’s a favourite subject of conversation with the British.
In Spain, it’s a good idea to have a light meal in the afternoon if someone invites you for dinner. People have dinner very late, and restaurants do not generally open until after 9 pm.
In Arab countries, men kiss one another on the cheek（脸颊）. Your host may welcome you with a kiss on both cheeks. It is polite for you to do the same.
In Japan, people usually give personal or business cards to each other when they meet for the first time. When a person gives you a card, don’t put it into your pocket right away. The person expects you to read it.
Don’t forget to be careful of your body language to express something in a conversation. A kind of body language that is used in one culture may be impolite in another.The missing sentences in the first paragraph should be “ .”
| A．Love me, love my dog. |
| B．He who laughs last laughs best. |
| C．When in Rome, do as the Romans do. |
| D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
When you travel to the USA, you don’t need to tip _________.
| A．porters | B．waiters |
| C．actors | D．taxi drivers |
The underline work “porters” in the passage means _________.
| A．搬运工 | B．清洁工 | C．接线员 | D．售票员 |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．In Spain, people usually have dinner very early. |
| B．In England, it’s not polite to talk about the weather. |
| C．In Arab countries, men kiss one another on the cheek. |
| D．In Japan you should not read the business card as soon as you get it. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．How to tip. |
| B．Body Language. |
| C．When to Have Dinner. |
| D．Advice to International Travellers. |
London used to be “foggy”（有雾的） for the same reason that cities like Beijing or Chongqing are “foggy” today. The “fog” was in fact smog（烟雾）, a mixture of smoke and fog．In other words, it was made by air pollution. In London, some of this pollution came from factories, but much of it came from the coal（煤）that people burnt in their houses to keep warm during the winter. By the 1950s, London’s smog problem had become so bad that the government decided to do something to clean the air. A new law was made and nobody could burn coal in any British city. Within a few years, the air became much cleaner. There were no more “pea-soupers”.
Many Chinese cities now face the same sort of problem with air pollution that London faced 40 or 50 years ago. However, this problem is more difficult for Chinese cities to solve. One reason is that more of the pollution comes from the factories, rather than from coal burnt in people’s houses. If these factories were closed, this would harm the economy and lots of people would lose their jobs. Another reason is that changing from coal to cleaner fuel（燃料）, like gas, is quite expensive.
However, the air in many Chinese cities is becoming cleaner and cleaner, as the government and people pay more and more attention to cutting down pollution. As a result, there are fewer “pea-soupers” in Beijing than there used to be.What was the main reason for air pollution in London?
A．There was too much smoke in the sky．
B．There were too many factories in the city．
C．People burnt too much coal in the houses．How did the air in London become much cleaner?
A．There was not so much fog in the winter later．
B．A law was made to keep people from burning coal in their houses．
C．Many factories in the city were closed．What does the underlined work “pea-soupers” refer to?
A．Smog. B．Smoke. C．Gas.The problem of air pollution is more difficult for Chinese cities to solve because of _____reasons
A．one B．two C．threeWhich sentence is Not true?
A．Using coal is much more expensive than using gas.
B．Factories made much more pollution in China.
C．The reasons of air pollution in London and Beijing are different.
No Car Day was first started by 34 cities in France on September 22, 1998．It was started to protect the environment. By now, more than 1,000 cities around the world have had a No Car Day.
The first No Car Day in China was in Chengdu in 2001．Other cities, including Taipai, Shanghai and Wuhan, also support the day.
In Beijing, more and more people are joining the campaign（运动）. It asks drivers to leave their cars at home for one day each month and walk or ride a bike to work. It also calls on Beijingers not to use cars on June 5 （World Environment Day）. The slogan for the day is, “If we drive for one less day, we can have one more nice day.”
So far, more than 200,000 drivers have shown their support. “We can’t control the weather, but we can choose not to drive,” said Wu Zonghua, a car club chairman. Beijing is trying to have 238 blue sky days this year. In the first quarter of 2012, Beijing only had 52 blue sky days. This was 11 days less than the number for the same period the year before. Much of the dust（灰尘） comes from the desert, but cars cause most of the air pollution. We must do more for No Car Day.The first No Car Day fell on _______.
A．February 2nd B．June 5th C．September 22nd_______ was the first city to have No Car Day in China.
A．Beijing B．Chengdu C．ShanghaiWhat does the underlined word “slogan” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A．目的 B．原因 C．口号How many blue sky days did Beijing have in the first quarter of 2011?
A．63． B．52． C．41．Which of the following statements is True?
A．China is the first country to start No Car Day.
B．Much of the dust in the air comes from cars.
C．No Car Day has been supported by over 1,000 cities around the world so far.
Plastic is everywhere because plastic is an extremely useful material．It is cheap, strong and lightweight．What’s more, it can take on nearly any form or shape, from soft and stretchy （有弹性的） to hard and glasslike.
Plastic, however, is far from perfect．It may even be bad for us．Studies now suggest that poisonous chemicals can get out of some types of plastic, get into our bodies, and cause a variety of health problems, including cancer, birth defects and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder （注意缺陷障碍）.
Two types of chemicals in particular have raised special concern lately．They are called phthalates （邻苯二甲酸盐） and Bisphenol-A （二酚基丙烷）, BPA for short． Not all plastic products contain them．But the ones that do are surrounded by controversy （争议）．That’s because experts disagree on how dangerous these chemicals are.
Plastic is a single word, but plastic isn’t just one thing．What all plastics share in common are plasticizers -- special chemicals that allow the material to be changed into nearly any shape or texture．Plasticizers （塑化剂） are added to plastic during the manufacturing process.
Phthalates and BPA are two types of plasticizers that work in different ways．Phthalates add softness to things like shampoo bottles, raincoats and rubber．They are also used in perfumes and makeup．BPA, on the other hand, gives a hard, clear, almost glasslike feel to products such as infant bottles．BPA also appears in food and soda cans, DVDs and other unexpected places.
How do these chemicals get into us? When plastic is heated in the microwave or dishwasher, chewed on or scratched, the chemicals can seep （渗透） out of the plastic．Even though we can’t see them, we eat them, drink them and breathe them in.
Scientists and parents are especially worried about young children, who tend to chew on everything, including plastic．Dozens of countries, including the European Union, Japan, Canada and Mexico have already banned phthalates from products made for children younger than three．California and Washington have done the same．And a number of other states are considering similar rules．As for BPA, Canada became the first country to ban the chemical from baby bottles．A dozen states are considering it.What can we know about the plastic from the first paragraph?
| A．Its characters and effects． | B．Its wide use and bad points. |
| C．Its importance and chemicals． | D．Its popularity and advantages. |
Which of the following products contains BPA?
| A．A soft plastic cup． | B．A pencil eraser. |
| C．A baby milk bottle． | D．A new perfume. |
Phthalates and BPA can get into us __________．
| A．through mouth or nose |
| B．through blood transfusion |
| C．by feeling plastic products |
| D．by heating in the microwave |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．A new ban on plastic products． |
| B．Problems caused by the plastic． |
| C．Good points of the plastic． |
| D．The use of plasticizers. |
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