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 relaxing at home for a couple of quiet days．Or a roommate spends the whole weekend playing video games and wants to borrow your homework for “reference”．But, you’ve just finished it after working hard for a whole day．

　　Many people say “yes” to this kind 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．“Everyone wants to be liked．” Says Gabriele Steinki, a German psychologist．“Saying ‘no’ risks losing the affection of the person asking for 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 stabilize a relationship because it expresses real affection．But, for people accustomed to agreeing every request, it’s very distressing to say “no”．

　　Most people believe that if they say “no”, they’ll lose the affection of the person．But the affection is important to them．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 this affection is too high in the long term．”

　　When people saying “no”, Steinki advises giving the reasons calmly until the person gets the message．

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阅读理解

　　Compulsive(强迫的)shoppers may have a new psychological excuse to blame for their wild shopping．Psychologists at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand are studying the “shop-till-you-drop” habit as a behavioral disorder similar to compulsive eating．Compulsive shoppers frequently buy more than they can afford or more than they need, and it causes them distress．

　　“It becomes a problem when you are out of control,” psychology lecturer Neville Blampied said．“When you are feeling bad and blue, what do you do?Some people eat chocolate cake and ice cream．Some people take the credit card and go out to the shop．” Bank managers understand the problem because they have to deal with people who have to be persuaded to stop using their cards drawing money．

　　Compulsive shopping was first discovered in 1915, although it was then known as oniomania．Few studies have been done on the problem．

　　An advertisement in a Christchurch paper, calling for people to take part in an experimental treatment program designed by Mr．Wilson, attracted 10 replies．But the problem, said Mr Wilson, is “clearly not rare ”．He thinks that compulsive shopping should be treated with drugs．“As psychologists we are interested in non-drug treatments for behavioral difficulties, ” Mr Wilson said．

　　Compulsive eaters or shoppers get a kick from their habit．“Both activities provide an immediate kind of kick and you feel a bit better, ” he said．“You have long-term problems, but human beings are extremely good at not seeing long-term problems and are very sensitive to short-term benefits,” he said．

　　The aim of the treatment was to help people find better ways of managing their emotions．The program, consisting of 10 one-hour weekly lessons and two follow-up treatments, is loosely based on teaching stress management．

　　“You often have to start to get people to correctly recognize their emotions．Not being able to know what you really feel weakens your ability to solve the problems connected with what’s making you feel that way, ” Mr．Wilson said．

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阅读理解：

　　Our boat floated on, between walls of forest too thick to allow us a view of the land we were passing through, though we knew from the map that our river must from time to time be passing through chains of hills which crossed the jungle plains．Nowhere did we find a place where we could have landed：where the jungle did not actually spread right down into the river, banks of soft mud prevented us going ashore．In any case, what would we have sailed by landing?The country was full of snakes and other dangerous creatures, and the jungle was so thick that one would be able to advance only slowly, cutting one’s way with knives the whole way．So we stayed in the boat, hoping we reached the sea, a friendly fisherman would pick us up and take us to civilization．

　　We lived on fish, caught with home-made net of string(we had no hooks), and fruits and nuts we could pick up out of the water．As we had no fire, we had to eat everything, including the fish, raw I had never tasted raw fish before, and I must say I did not much enjoy the experience; perhaps sea fish which do not live in the mud are less tasteless．After eating my raw fish, I lay back and dreamed of such things as fried chicken and rice, and ice-cream．In the never-ending damp heat of the jungle, ice-cream was a particularly frequent dream．

　　As for water, there was a choice：we could drink the muddy river water, or die of thirst．We drank the water．Men who had just escaped what had appeared to be certain death lose all worries about such small things as diseases caused by dirty water．In fact, none of us suffered from any illness as a result．

　　One day we passed another village, but fortunately nobody saw us．We did not wish to risk being taken prisoners a second time：we might not be so lucky to escape in a stolen boat again．

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阅读理解：

　　Letter to Editor of TV Weekly

　　Dear Sir/Madam,

　　I read Alison Burnham’s review of When we were 12, and I do not agree with her．I thought the programme was wonderful－I found the old news pictures really interesting－they helped to bring to life the stories the people were telling．

　　The programme reminds me of many things from my own childhood．For example, one day when I was about five, I was going to school on the bus by myself (this was the late 1960s)．My mother had given me exactly the right money for a return ticket．I held out my hand with the money in it－one big coin on top of one little coin．The bus conductor took the big top coin only and she gave me a ticket, but it was a pink one for a single journey．I needed a white one for a return journey, but I was too frightened to say anything．When school finished for the day, I couldn’t catch the bus home－I had to walk．As a grown-up, whenever I’ve been in a situation Where I need to say something or take some action, this early memory of my bus ride comes back to me, and I’m able to take control of the situation．

　　I would like to say to the director, Bret Chrysler, carry on making this kind of programme．Too much TV these days is quiz shows and so-called “reality programmes”．I appreciate the human story that can make me laugh and cry．

Yours faithfully,

Chris Daniels

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阅读理解：

　　Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy．Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs．Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs．Even judges are softer on attractive defendants．But in the executive(主管的)circle, beauty can become a liability．

　　While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman．

　　Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plainer men, effort and ability were thought to lead to their success．

　　Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck．

　　All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives．Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight successes．

　　Why are attractive women not thought to be able?An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine and an attractive man more manly than the less attractive ones．Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the “manly” qualities required．

　　This is true even in politics．“When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently,” say Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates(候选人)．She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, in order of attractiveness．The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices．They were asked to rank them again, in the order they order they would vote for them．

　　The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest vote．

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　　I was bleeding now．My ears were red, my nose was broken, and the pain of failure was beginning．I had lost．It was over．The match was stopped．The world seemed to stand still for a moment as I looked at who had beaten me．“I’ve lost,” I said in m mind．“The last chance to win and I had lost．” It was the final round of wrestling．It was my last year at camp and I wanted to have an undefeated season．But now, I had lost in the tournament(锦标赛)．

　　My coach came over to help me up．He saw that my nose was broken and realized that the match had to be stopped．He helped me up and I got small applause from my teammates．People on the other team just stared．Coach walked me over to the locker room to work on m nose．

　　“I’ll stop the bleeding,” Coach Matt said．His voice was cold and empty．He had expected me to win－he knew I could had won－but now he saw it was over．I had lost．

　　“Hey, Steve．You did good, man, He, well, he just…” my friend Paul couldn’t find what to say．

　　“Forget it, man．” I said, my nose still bleeding．

　　“Don’t talk or it won’t stop bleeding．Just relax and breath through your mouth．” Coach Matt’s voice was still cold, but warming slowly．He was like a father to me．He had been there through all m years of wrestling, all my wins and lose, all my hopes and dreams－and now he was there, fixing my smashed nose．

　　“This must have happened during that last throw．You fell to much on your face．You should’ve turned and tried to escape．You gotta think more．” Coach Matt began, his voice now warm like an old friend trying to give good advice．

　　“I wanted this so badly．” I said．

　　“Maybe we can get another contest because of the nose．You can still go undefeated!You can still do it…” Paul continued．

　　No, I lost．Nothing was left for me to do this year．This was supposed to be the year－no loses．” I said, cutting him off before he finished．

　　“Steve, you did your best．Come on．Let’s go and get your medal,” Coach said．He looked at me right in the eyes．“You gave it your all．You deserved that trophy(战利品)，not the silver medal．You deserve it, but he is getting it．You really won and the whole team is proud．”

　　I walked up to get my medal, my head held high．I shook the hands of the judges and my opponent, took m medal and saw that, in the eyes of everyone, I had really won．No matter what trophy or medal my opponent took home, no matter what．He may have had my trophy, but he could never have my will．

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　　The desire to make explorations is born with man．Wherever his imagination goes, man also has a strong wish to go．A large part of human history is considered with the exploration of the world in which we live．Again and again people have set out with surprising courage and patience to look into unknown regions and lands to see what had not yet been seen, to make the unknown known．With kites, balloons and aircraft they left the ground to pass through the lower atmosphere．Now the outer space receives their attention．

　　Why should man take the trouble of conquering space?It is hard to list the specific practical benefits that will surely see and discover new things in space that will increase our scientific knowledge, and this new knowledge will find its way into valuable practical uses．What we learn about man himself, from his experience in space, and from the effects of space and the space flight environment n him, will be extremely valuable．The new techniques developed to carry out the exploration of space, and to keep man alive in space, will certainly find practical uses in everyday life in some way．The areas that will benefits are manifold．They include communication, generation of power, transportation and travel, food production, materials, fuels and many others．But to say definitely just what the practical results will be is almost impossible．

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　　Alex felt restless．Along with his sister Rosita and his friend Hugo, Alex had been waiting in the cave for nearly three hours expecting either an attack from the returning robbers or the arrival of a rescue party, but nothing had happened．He and Rosita had some food and a sleep, and now it was Hugo’s turn to sleep after his meal．Rosita was lying in the entrance to the cave keeping watch on the valley below．Alex threw himself down beside her．

　　“I do hope Ruark is all right,” she said, her eyes on the view outside．“I keep hoping I will see him somewhere．”

　　“I’m sure he is okay,” answered Alex．“I’m pretty certain the enemy thought it was a ground attack．Anyway, they were too busy rushing to get away in their land rover to waste time firing at the condor(神鹰)．I’m not worried about him．What I’m worried, though, are the words on that tape that was attached to Ruark’s leg．I keep saying the words to myself：

　　What about the cave?There’s a two-meter hole at the back of it．No one will find it．There are so many caves…．

　　The money they stole is hidden somewhere out there and I should hate them to come back and take it from under our noses．”

　　“Well,” replied his sister, “you heard what the man said．There are so many caves．At a guess, I can see about two hundred of them dotted about．It could take a week to look in them all．

　　“Yes．It’s a clever hiding place, but I think we have one clue that might help us．Ruark settled somewhere near enough from the tape to pick up their voices．He was probably situated just above the entrance．Condors are not exactly tiny birds so he may have been on a shelf or a overhanging rock large enough to take his big feet and body,” He half closed his eyes against the strong light outside and tried to examine the opposite side of the valley．

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　　The Man of Many Secrets－Harry Houdini－was one of the greatest American entertainers in the theater this century．He was a man famous for his escapes－from prison cells, from wooden boxes floating in rivers, from locked tanks full of water．He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America．Crowds came to see this great Houdini and his “magic” tricks．

　　Of course, his secret was not magic, or supernatural powers．It was simply strength．He had the ability to move his toes as well as he moved his fingers．He could move his body into almost any position he wanted．

　　Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891．He and his brother performed card tricks in clubs in New York．They called them－selves the Houdini Brothers．When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant．But for a long time they were not very successful．Then Harry performed his first prison escape, in Chicago in 1898．He persuaded a detective to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch．

　　It was the publicity(宣传)that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success．Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs(手铐)and toes trained to escape ankle chains(镣铐)．But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors．Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck–and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, passed quickly from her mouth to his．

　　Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame．He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited．In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full．What was the result?World-wide fame, and a name remembered today．

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　　Sociologists, working in western countries, have found that a large number of women wished they had been born men．The number is said to be as high as 6％ in Germany．

　　“Women often wish they had the same chances as men have, and think it is still men’s world,” said Dr James Helen, one of the sociologists who did the study．

　　Many men say that they have more duties than women．A man has to make money to support his family and to make the important decision, so it is right for men to be paid more．Some are even against their wives working at all．When wives go out to work, they say, the home and children cannot be taken good care of．If women take full－time jobs, they won’t be able to do what they are best at doing：making a nice home and bringing up the children．

　　Some women disagree．They say they want to get out of their homes and to have freedom to choose between work and home life．Women have the right of equal pay and equal chances．

　　Anne Harper has a very good job．She also believes in “Women’s Liberation”, “I don’t wish I were a man,” she says, “and I don’t think many women do．But I do wish people would stop treating us like second－class people．At work, for example, we usually do the work that men do but get paid less．There are still a lot of jobs only to men-usually they are the best ones．If you are a man, you have a much better chance of living a wonderful life．How many women scientists are there…or engineers?”

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