So many of us hold on to little complaints that may have come from an argument, a misunderstanding, the way we were raised, or some other painful event. Stubbornly, we wait for someone else to reach out to us—believing this is the only way we can forgive or rekindle a friendship or family relationship.
A friend of mine, recently told me that she hadn’t spoken to her son in almost three years. She said that she and her son had had a disagreement about his wife and that she wouldn’t speak to him again unless he called first. When I suggested that she be the one to reach out, she said, “I can’t do that. He’s the one who should apologize.” After a little gentle encouragement, however, she did decide to be the first one to reach out. To her amazement, her son was grateful for her willingness to call and offered an apology of his own. As is usually the case when someone takes the chance and reaches out, everyone wins.
Whenever we hold on to our anger, we turn “small stuff（问题）” into really “big stuff” in our minds. We start to believe that our positions are more important than our happiness. They are not. If you want to be a more peaceful person you must understand that being right is almost never more important than allowing yourself to be happy. The way to be happy is to let go, and reach out. Let other people be right. This doesn’t mean that you’re wrong. Everything will be fine. You’ll experience the peace of letting go, as well as the joy of letting others be right.
You’ll also notice that, as you reach out and let others be “right,” they will become less defensive and more loving toward you. They might even reach back. But, if for some reason they don’t, that’s okay too. You’ll have the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your part to create a more loving world, and certainly you’ll be more peaceful yourself.The underlined word “rekindle” in Paragraph 1 probably means “______”.
| A．recover | B．develop | C．accept | D．replace |
In the author’s opinion, we hold on to our anger often because we think ______.
| A．we can turn small issues into big ones |
| B．our positions are higher than others |
| C．our own opinions matter most |
| D．others will be less defensive |
The best thing to do after a quarrel is to_________.
| A．let go of our own rights |
| B．realize that you are wrong |
| C．expect others to give in |
| D．apologize to others first |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Be Peaceful | B．Reach Out and Give |
| C．Small and Big Stuff | D．Enjoy Your Friendship |
We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.
The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.
Each of the guests liked Kelly more, the younger one, enjoying her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a unusual girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.
I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions.
But we seldom think of how it might affect（影响） the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being paid no attention. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying. I said, “What are you doing here, my dear?”
She turned to me with a sad expression and said,” Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I’m not pretty? Why don’t they say nice things about me as much?”
I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging（拥抱） her to make her feel better.
Now whenever I visit a friend’s home. I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.The underlined expression “make a big ‘to do’ over” (paragraph 4) means_______.
| A．show much concern about | B．have a special effect on |
| C．list jobs to be done for | D．do good things for |
We can conclude from the passage that_______.
| A．parents should pay more attention to the elder children |
| B．the younger children are usually more easily hurt |
| C．people usually like the younger children more |
| D．adults should treat children equally |
Kristen felt sad and cried because_______.
| A．the guests gave her more coats to carry |
| B．she didn't look as pretty as Kelly |
| C．the guests enjoyed her sister more than her |
| D．her mother didn’t introduce her the guests |
Most people buy a lot of gifts just before Christmas. But some people think we buy too much. They have started a special day called Buy Nothing Day. They don’t want anyone to go shopping on that day.
Buy Nothing Day is November 29. It’s 25 days before Christmas. It’s after Thanksgiving Day and often the first day of Christmas shopping. At this time, we see ads in Newspapers and on TV telling us to “buy, buy, buy!”
The idea for Buy Nothing Day started in Vancouver, British Columbia. Now people all over the world celebrate Buy Nothing Day. In California, parents and children get together to read stories, sing songs, and paint pictures. The children talk about why they don’t need a lot of toys. This year, in Manchester, England, people dressed up in costumes(统一服装) to tell people that we buy too much.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, high school students wanted to tell other students about Buy Nothing Day. They organized a spaghetti dinner to give people information about Buy Nothing Day. They asked restaurants in the neighborhood to donate（捐赠） the food. They made posters and talked to other students about it. The dinner was a big success, and many students agreed not to buy anything on November 29. The students at high schools liked the idea of this new tradition. Next year, they want to have another dinner to tell more people about Buy Nothing Day!Which of the following is NOT the day for people to celebrate Buy Nothing Day?
| A．November 29. | B．25 days before Christmas. |
| C．After Thanksgiving. | D．The first day after Christmas. |
People usually buy many gifts_______.
| A．before Thanksgiving | B．on Christmas |
| C．before Christmas | D．anytime |
How do people celebrate Buy Nothing Day?
| A．In California, parents and children get together to play games. |
| B．In England, people celebrate by performing plays. |
| C．In Mexico, high school students dress up. |
| D．They buy nothing and persuade others not to buy things. |
What did the students do in New Mexico for the day?
| A．They donated the food of their own. |
| B．They talked to others about it. |
| C．They made some slogans（标语口号） for it. |
| D．They organized a luxurious（奢华的） dinner. |
Left-Handers’ Day
International Left-Handers’ Day is August the thirteenth. The International Left-Handers Day, Web site says the Left-Handers Club started the holiday in 1992. It wanted left-handers around the world to celebrate. And it wanted to bring attention to the everyday problems of people who use their left hands.
One of these problems is difficulty using equipment and tools, like scissors. In general, most tools and equipment are made for people who are right-handed. The Left-Handers Club tries to educate designers and producers to consider the safety of left-handed people when producing their products.
Another problem is that many people have considered it bad to be left-handed. Some teachers and parents have tried to force children who used their left hands to use their right ones instead.
Scientists do not really know why some people are left-handed. They have believed the reason is genetic.They say the gene（基因） increases the chance of being left-handed. It appears to play an important part in deciding which part of the brain controls different activities. In right-handed people, the left side of the brain usually controls speech and language. The right side controls feelings. However, the opposite is often true in left-handed people.
Scientists believe the gene is responsible for this. The gene showed a link with left-handedness in nine to twelve percent of the population.
About ten percent of people around the world are left-handed.International Left-handers’ Day aims to（目的是） bring attention to_________.
| A．the right-handers |
| B．the everyday problems |
| C．the people who have some difficulty using equipment and tools |
| D．the everyday problems of people who use their left hands |
How many problems of people who use their left hands are mentioned?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
As to why some people are left-handed, scientists believe the reason is________.
| A．habits | B．genetics | C．parents | D．birthplaces |
______of people around the world are left-handers.
| A．About 9% | B．About 12% | C．About 9.12% | D．About 10% |
One morning in Philadelphia, the sun shone bright through all the thick jungles and the tall churches. John, 6, wearing the worn-out clothes, walked from afar, his dark small hands holding a piece of stolen bread.
John stopped for a moment at the entrance to the sacred church and then left tightlyholding the bread,
He was an orphan(弧儿), whose parents were killed in World War Illeaving him alonein the orphanage for five years, Like many children in the orphanage, he had a lot of free time. Mostly no one took care of them, so they had to learn how to steal those they wanted.
John believed the existence of God, so every Sunday morning in any case be would go to the cburch to have a look and listen to those people singing inside or reciting the Bible.He felt only at this moment he was the child of God and so close to God. But he couldn'tenter because his clothes were so dirty. John himself knew it.
John was quietly counting. This was his 45th Sunday at the entrance to the church. He stood on tiptoe for a while and walked away.
As time passed, the pastor(牧师) noticed John and learned from others that he was thesmall boy who liked stealing things in the orphanages.
On the 46th Sunday, the sun was shining and John came still holding a piece of bread with his dark small hands. When he just stood there, the pastor came out. He felt like running away, but he was carried by the pastor's friendly smile.
The pastor walked up to his side, clearly seeing John's small hands tremble.
"Are you John?"
John didn't answer, but looked at the pastor and nodded.
"Do you believe in God?" the pastor petted John on his head stained with dust.
"Yes,l do!" This time John told him loudly.
"So you believe in yourself?"
John looked at the pastor, without a word.
The pastor went on saying, "At the first sight of you, I find you're different from other kids because you have a good heart."
His face tunung red, John said timidly, "In fact, I'm a thief." With that, he loweredhis head.
The pastor didn't speak, but held John's dark small hands, slowly opened them andput them against his wrinkled face.
"Ah:" Just at the same time, John shouted and was about to take out his dark smallhands. Yet the pastor tightly held his small hands and spread them out in the sun.
"Do you see, John?"
"What?"
"You're cupping the sunshine in your hands."
John blankly looked at his hands: when did they become so beautiful?
"In God's eyes, all cluldren are the same. When they are willing to spread out their hands to greet the sun, the sun will naturally shine on them. And you have two things more than they do. First is courage and the second is kindness." With that, the pastor led him into the church. It was the first time that John went into this sacred place, and at this moment he didn't feel inferior, but the unspeakable warmth.
On that morning embracing the sunshine, John found himself again, along with the confidence, satisfaction, happiness, dreams he had never had.
Twenty years have passed. Now the boy who ever tightly held the bread with his dirt hands has been the most famous chefin Philadelphia and made many popular dishes.
Every Sunday morning, he would personally send the bread he baked to the orphanage. Those children who greeted him with cheers were used to consciously spreading their palms before they got the bread.
Because they all knew when we are willing to spread out our hands to greet thesunshine, the sun will naturally shine on us.The method the writer uses to develop Paragraph lis
| A．presenting contrasts | B．showing causes |
| C．offering analyses | D．providing explanations |
Why didn't John go inside whenever he went to the church?
| A．He was frightened to be recognized by the pastor |
| B．He was not welcomed by those singing in the church. |
| C．He was ashamed of his dirty clothes and identity as a thief. |
| D．He was left alone in the orphanage and nobody cared for him. |
John felt when the pastor walked up to him.
| A．excited | B．nervous | C．satisfied | D．angry |
Which of the following questions did John respond to firmly?
| A．6'Are you John?" | B．"Do you see, John?" |
| C．"So you believe in yourself?" | D．"Do you believe in God?" |
Which of the following can best reflect the pastor's great influence on John?
| A．John became a famous chef. |
| B．John admitted his bad behavior. |
| C．John believed the existence of God. |
| D．John spread warmth to other orphans. |
According to the passage, the sunshine cupped in hands can bring
A. cheers and confidence B, dreams and imagination
C. courage and lindness D. orgiveness and satisfaction
You are careful with your money: you collect all kinds of coupons; look for group-buy deals if you eat out; you don't buy clothes unless in a sale. Does all this make you a wise consumer?
Let's do the math first: you walk into a coffee shop and see two deals for a cup of coffee. The first deal offers 33 percent extra coffee. The second takes 33 percent off the regular price. What's the better deal? Well, they are about the same, you'd think. And you'd be wrong. The deals appear to be equal, but in fact, they are different. Here's the math: Let's say the standard coffee is 10 yuan and let's divide the amount of coffee into three portions(部分). That makes about 3.3 yuan per portion, The first deal gets you 4 portions for 10 yuan (2.5 yuan per portion) and the second gets you 3 portions of coffee for 6.6 yuan (2.2 yuan per portion) and is therefore a better deal.
In a new study published by the Journal of Marketing, participants were asked the same question, and most of them chose the first deal, the Atlantic website reported. Why? Because getting something extra for free feels better than getting the same for less. The applications of this view into consumer psychology(心理) are huge. Instead of offering direct discounts, shops offer larger sizes or free samples.
According to the study, the reason why these marketing tricks work is that consumers don't really know how much anything should cost, so we rely on parts of our brains that aren't strictly quantitative.
There are some traps we should be aware of when shopping. First of all, we are heavily influenced by the first number. Suppose you are shopping in Hong Kong. You walk into Hermes, and you see a 100,000 yuan bag. "That's crazy." You shake your head and leave. The next shop is Gucci, a handbag here costs 25,000 yuan. The price is still high, but compared to the 100,000 yuan price tag you just committed to your memory, this is a steal. Stores often use the price difference to set consumers' expectation.
Another trap we often fall to Is that we are not really sure what things are worth. And so we use clues(暗示) to tell us what we ought to pay for them. US economist Dan Ariely has done an experiment to prove this. According to the Atlantic, Ariely pretended he was giving a lecture on poetry. He told one group of students that the tickets cost money and another group that they would be paid to attend. Then he informed both groups that thelecture was free. The first group was anxious to attend, believing they were getting something of value for free. The second group mostly declined, believing they were being forced to volunteer for the same event without reward.
What's a lecture on poetry by an economist worth? The students had no idea. That's the point. Do we really know what a shirt is worth ? What about a cup of coffee? What's the worth of a life insurance.policy? Who knows? Most of us don't. As a result, our shopping brain uses only what is knowable: visual(祝觉的) clues, invited emotions, comparisons, and a sense of bargain. We are not stupid. We are just easily influenced.The first paragraph of the passage is intended to
| A．ask a question | B．introduce a topic |
| C．give some examples | D．describe a phenomenon |
The writer takes the math for example in Paragraph 2 to show . _.
| A．consumers usually fall into marketing traps |
| B．consumers' expectation is difficult to predict |
| C．consumers' purchasing power is always changing |
| D．consumers rely on their own judgment when shopping |
What consumer psychology is mentioned in the passage?
| A．The first number has little influence on which item should be bought. |
| B．Consumers never use visual clues to decide how much should be paid. |
| C．Getting something extra for free is better than getting the same for less. |
| D．Consumers never rely on parts of the brains that aren't strictly quantitative. |
According to the passage, shops use the following tricks to make more profits EXCEPT .
| A．showing price differences | B．offering larger sizes |
| C．providing free samples | D．giving direct discounts |
What can we know from US economist Dan Ariely's experiment?
| A．Ariely's free lecture enjoyed popularity among students. |
| B．The students actually didn't know what the lecture was worth. |
| C．The second group was willing to be volunteers without reward. |
| D．The first group was eager to find out the value of Ariely's lecture. |
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