Early this morning, I got up to make a batch of Rice Krispie Treats for my neighbor across the hall. She barely greets me when we see each other, and her sweet little boy, who's now four,  has picked up her mother's manner and will not talk to me, either．

Last Monday, she had called the firefighters when a pan I'd forgotten on the stove caused my flat to fog up while I was out taking a walk. When I came home, the street in front of our apartment house was blocked by a police car, a fire truck and an ambulance! The instant I saw them, I remembered the pan! Luckily, nothing serious had happened, and all my neighbors agreed with the firefighter who said, "It could have happened to anyone．" When I thanked the neighbor who had called the firefighters-let's call her Ivy-and apologized for causing the trouble, she just asked if my cats were all right．When I said they were fine, she said, "Well, that's ok then," and turned into her flat．l felt strangely safe, knowing that even though we don't get along, she'd done the right thing and didn't blame me．So, the Rice Krispie Treats．

Last Christmas, my neighbor carelessly let it out that she was holding a grudge （怨恨） towards me because of an incident we'd had four years ago．I had particularly apologized and asked if there was anything I could do to improve our relationship. She would not accept my apology．

It had taken me a lot of courage to apologize and ask that question instead of insisting that we both shared responsibility for what had happened．Her flat-out refusal to make amends（补偿） really shocked and saddened me．After that, I decided I'd just leave her be-a relationship takes two to work．So, you see, I was really scared she was going to refuse my offer again, leaving me standing on her doorstep, facing the closed door and holding my plate of treats． I know some people have a hard time understanding how the possibility of rejection can make an adult so afraid, but that's just the way I felt．

Then, I reminded myself of how loving and good I had felt yesterday when I'd done some random acts of kindness （thanks to helpothers．org）, after telling myself: Feet the fear,  and do it anyway! So I put the squares of Rice Krispie Treats on a beautiful plate, opened my apartment  door-and there she was, standing in the hallway．I smiled and said, "Hi," but when she saw me, she turned on her heels and went back inside, even though she seemed to have just stepped out．I went after her, regardless, and quickly said, "I'm sorry, I've got something for you ! I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you were paying attention on Monday．" When she heard me speaking, she turned around． As I held the plate towards her, explaining these were very sweet American treats, and that she could just try and see whether she and her family would like them, her eyebrows winged up-and she took the plate．l was so happy and excited．We then talked a bit about how she'd become aware of the smoke in my flat, and parted ways．

Back in my place, I did a "happy dance", because I had dared to be kind even though I hadn't been sure at all my kindness would be welcome．I do hope that our relationship will slowly get better; I know I was and still am biased（存有偏见）towards her at times, but even if we don't make amends, I want to be able to be kind without depending on other people's behaviors and reactions .

1.The neighbor held a grudge towards the writer most probably because_____．

A．the writer's cats disturb her neighbor frequently

B．the writer didn't thank her for calling the firefighters

C．the writer never apologized to her for her misbehaviors

D．the writer had an unpleasant experience with the neighbor long ago

2. From Paragraph 4, we can learn that the author_____.

A．was afraid of being rejected again by her neighbor

B．didn't know how to get along with her neighbor

C．didn't admit it was her fault in the last incident

D．refused to forgive her neighbor's rude behavior

3. After the writer said "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!", she decided to_____.

A．do an act of kindness

B．leave her neighbor be

C．apologize to her neighbor once more

D．do something to let her neighbor down

4.What can we learn about the writer?

A．She was a professional dancer．

B．She often had quarrels with her neighbor．

C．She had a bias against her neighbor sometimes．

D．She had an unpleasant experience at Christmas this year．

5. What does the author try to tell us?

A．Don't punish yourself because of other's mistakes．

B．We should be kind to others, regardless of their behavior．

C．We must keep a good relationship with our neighbors．

D．When we make a mistake, we should have the courage to admit it．

 

Question: Why is it so hard for some people to apologize after they’ve done something wrong? I have made every effort to persuade my uncle to be nice to people that he knows he’s hurt.  71   How I wish things would be better if he’d just say he’s sorry and ask them to forgive him.

    Answer: 72  It’s just easier for him to pretend nothing happened than to face the embarrassment of admitting he was wrong. You’ve probably done the same thing yourself at some time. In fact, most of us have. Furthermore, what if others won’t forgive him even if he apologizes?

     73  Pride blinds us to our mistakes or faults. Or at least it makes us pay less attention to their seriousness.

    Pride also makes us unwilling to admit to others that we were wrong. Perhaps we’re afraid they will look down on us if we admit it.  74

    But others see through our pride. And things would be far better if we admitted our faults and asked for forgiveness.  75

    Now you know why your uncle refuses to apologize, talk to him again. Help him to learn how to apologize and ask for forgiveness from others.

    A. But a deeper reason is pride.

    B. But he just refuses to do that.

    C. We may even hope that somehow they will overlook it.

    D. As a result, you would offend others and hurt their feelings.

    E. There are a variety of reasons for your uncle’s refusal to apologize.

    F. Otherwise our pride would only hurt us and cause conflict with others.

G. One reason your uncle finds it hard to apologize could be embarrassment.

 

I start to wonder what else had changed since I’d been gone. My parents are in an awkward puzzle, wondering how to treat me now----whether to treat me—still their daughter—as one of them, an adult, or as the child they feel they sent away months earlier.
I run into two of my best friends from high school; we stare at each other, expressionless. We ask the simple questions and give simple answers. It’s as if we have nothing to say to each other. I wonder how things have changed so much in such a small amount of time. We used to laugh and promise that no matter how far away we were, our love for each other would never change. Their interests don’t interest me anymore, and I find myself unable to relate my life to theirs.
I had been so excited to come home, but now I just look at it all and wonder: Is it me? Why hadn’t the world stood still here while I was gone?  My room isn’t the same, my friends and I don’t share the same promise, and my parents don’t know how to treat me—or who I am, for that matter.
I get back to school feeling half-satisfied, but not disappointed. I sit up in my bed in my dorm room, surrounded by my pictures, dolls. As I wonder what has happened, I realize that I can’t expect the world to stand still and move forward at the same time.  I can change and expect that things at home will stay the same. I have to find comfort in what has changed and what is new; keep the memories, but live in the present.
A few weeks later, I’m packing again, this time for winter break. My mom meets me at the door. I have come home accepting the changes, not only in my surroundings, but most of all in me.
【小题1】
What can we infer about the writer?

A．She is a high school student.	B．She is a college student.
C．She is a clerk in a school.	D．She is a traveler.

【小题2】
. What surprises the writer most?

A．The living conditions of her parents.

B．The decorations in her room.

C．The meeting with her best friends.

D．The things still staying the same.

【小题3】
What is this passage mainly about?

A．The writer’s curiosity about the changes.

B．The changes in the writer’s surroundings and in herself.

C．The writer’s disappointment about the changes.

D．The writer’s refusal to accept the changes.

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 these 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 Gabriele Steinki, a German psychologist. “Saying ‘no’ risks 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.In the opinion of experts, _________ .

A. people need a lot of practice to say “no”

B. people should say “yes” to keep the peace

C. saying “no” means losing a job

D. people have the right to be liked

3.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.

4.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

5.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”

 

Technology: Taking the good without the bad?

Very soon, unimaginably powerful technologies will remake our lives．This could have dangerous consequences, especially because we may not even understand the basic science underlyi ng them．There’s a growing gap between our technological capability and our basic scientific understanding．We can do very clever things with the technology of the future without necessarily understanding some of the science underneath, and that is very dangerous．

The technologies that are particularly dangerous over the next hundred years are nanotechnology （纳米技术）, artificial intelligence and biotechnology．The benefits that they will bring are beyond doubt．But they are going to be very, very dangerous．I’m working in the field of artificial intelligence．I have a model design for something that might be 50,000 million times smarter than the human brain．Target date is 2010．The only thing that's not possible in the film Terminator（终结者） is that the people win．If you're fighting against technology w hich is 50,000 million times smarter than you, you probably will not win．

Nanotechnology．We've all heard of the grey glue problem, that self-replicating nanotech devices might keep on copying until the world has become sticky glue．And certainly in biotechnology, we've really got a big problem because it's converging with nanotechnology and IT．Once you start mixing nanotech with organisms and you start feeding nanotech-enabled bacteria, we can really go an awful lot further than the Borg in Star Trek（星际迷航）．And those superhuman organisms might not like us very much．

Eventually these technologies will become routine．That’s a threat to humanity．I don’t think it’s possible to slow it down．So what we need to do is accelerate the scientific research and try to get some extra tools．The problems facing us in the future are getting bigger and bigger．I think if we don’t get some proper science done, the future is hopeless indeed．

1.From the text, we know that the author’s greatest concern is         ．

A．our lack of technological understanding of the process involved

B．our lack of technological capability

C．creating technology without really understanding the basic science

D．Our refusal to face the consequences of the technology we create

2.It can be inferred from the text that the author         ．

A．thinks people overvalue the capabilities of technology

B．is not optimistic that artificial intelligence will always be used positively

C．thinks that we should take science fiction movies more seriously

D．believes artificial intelligence is the greatest threat we face technologically

3.Why does the author say it is not possible in the film Terminator that the humans win?

A．Because the power of the technology is exaggerated（夸大）．

B．Because the strength of the machines is much greater．

C．Because machines with that much intelligence can easily defeat humans．

D．Because human beings are not courageous enough to win the battle．