If you feel at present that you don’t have enough friends in your life，one reason may be that you have let yourself become too busy to make time for the relationships you already have.

Starting and keeping friendship requires effort and commitment．Many of us let our lives become so busy with work and other commitments that we don’t get around to scheduling time for pleasure and renewal（叙旧，更新）with the friends，relatives and acquaintances we already have．

Making the effort to call your friends more regularly and to accept more of the invitations you receive from others can improve your social life in a hurry!

Are there any people you could call right now and be assured of a pleasant welcome? Are there people that you could count on to help you in time of difficulty? Can you have close talks with them? Do you have fun when you are together? Are you happy to have them in your life?

If you haven’t seen much of them lately, is it because you have become too busy? Have you grown apart? Was there an argument?

If the main reason you haven’t been getting together with the people you already know is because you have gotten too busy, take a good look at how you spend your time．Compare it with your real values and priorities（优先考虑的事）in life．Is your busy lifestyle really bringing you the quality of life that you want?

If you have become too busy for friends，why has this happened? Are you seeking material toys in your life at the expense of relationships with other human beings? Have you allowed your time to be over-committed because you never say “No” to anyone? Do you insist on doing things yourself that could be delegated to others? If so, why? Do you believe that everything depends on you?

Examine whether the way you are now spending your time accurately reflects your deepest values and priorities．Make sure that you schedule adequate time for the things that are truly most important to you．

If you really want to keep friends in your life, make a space in your schedule, and a space in your heart for them.

1. The author mainly discusses _______________in this passage.

A. how to spend our spare time

B. how to balance friendship and work

C. whether we should keep friendship

D. whether we should invite friends to dinner

2.Which of the following doesn’t indicate a good relationship?

A. You feel depressed with others in life.

B. You have someone to have close talks with.

C. You have someone to count on when you are in trouble.

D. You have fun when you are with someone.

3.What does the underlined word “delegated” (Para.7) probably mean?

A. declined     B. answered         C. appointed        D. handled

4.The reason why you have become too busy for friends may be the following EXCEPT that________.

A. you spend too much time seeking material toys in your life

B. you stick to doing everything all by yourself

C. you feel it difficult to keep friendship

D. you never refuse whatever other people ask you to do

5. Which would be the best title for the text?

A. How to Make New Friends              B. Too busy for Friendship?

C. How to Spend Your Time               D. Too busy with work?

 —Do you believe that difficult situations or hard experiences _______ the best qualities of a man?

—There is no doubt about that.

A．bring in                               B．bring out

C．bring forward                          D．bring up

Are you an optimist? Do you look at your glass and see it as half full? Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining and that things generally turn out for the best? Do you believe that if something is meant to be, it will be? If you reply “yes” to all of these questions, then you are an optimist. You probably are enthusiastic, cheerful and outgoing. You may be successful at work and in love.

But you may be misguided because things don’t turn out for the best. You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (for example, you may fail to obtain a new job; another chance will come around soon). Wrong. When one door closes, another door slams (砰然关上) in your face. That’s bitter reality.

Now a book has been published which confirms what pessimists (悲观者) have suspected all along. It’s called The Positive Power of Defensive Pessimism. Its author argues that defensive pessimism can lead to positive results. Defensive pessimism is a strategy used to manage fear, anxiety and worry. Defensive pessimists prepare for the things by setting low outcomes for themselves. They carefully consider everything that may go wrong and plan for ways to handle these problems. And this gives them a sense of control. Lawrence Sanno, a psychology professor, says, “What’s interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people, so their low opinion of the situation’s outcomes is not realistic. They use it to motivate themselves to perform better.”

So far, so good. This is not rocket science. Defensive pessimists prepare carefully and consider what might go wrong, whether at work, on date or even in a sports game. It makes sense to have a back-up plan. There are many sayings in English urging caution. For example, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” And “Don’t count your chickens until they hatch.” To have a confident and optimistic approach to life’s problems is good. But listen to what Woody Alien, the American comedian says, “Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.”

There are pros and cons to being an optimist and a pessimist. Don’t feel bad if you see the glass half empty. You are a realist. But lighten up and hook up with someone who sees the same glass half full.

1.What’s the passage mainly about?

A. The benefits of defensive pessimism.

B. A book that has recently been published.

C. The dangers of being too optimistic.

D. How to become successful in life.

2.The underlined sentence “This is not rocket science” (Para. 4) means __________.

A. there is no real proof                  B. it is quite simple to understand

C. the cost is not so high                                  D. it’s not a dangerous thing to do         

3.Which of the following English expressions would a defensive pessimist believe?

A. Whatever will be, will be.             B. The glass is half full not half empty.

C. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.    D. Every cloud has a silver lining.

4.The writer would probably describe himself as __________.

A. a realist                     B. an optimist                   C.  a   defeatist                    D. a scientist

Have you ever heard the story of the four-minute mile? For years people believed that it is impossible for a human being to  【1】 a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proved it  【2】 in 1954．Within one year, 37 runners  【3】 the belief barrier．And the year after that, 300 other runners did the same thing．
What happens if you put an animal in a  【4】? Any animal, big or small, will swim its way through．What happens when someone, who does not know how to swim, falls in deep waters? You  【5】．If an animal who has not learned swimming could  【6】 by swimming, why not you? Because you believe you will drown while the animal does not．
These  【7】 show the power of beliefs．There is no other more  【8】 force in directing human behavior than belief．Our beliefs have the power to  【9】 and to destroy．
In a way it is our beliefs that determine how much we’ll be able to  【10】 our potential．So pay attention to some of your  【11】．Do you believe you are weak in mathematics? Do you believe that other people dislike you？Do you believe life is full of  【12】？
Belief is not  【13】, however．It’s nothing but the generalization of a past incident．As a kid, if a dog bit you, you believed all dogs to be 【14】．To change certain behavior, identify the beliefs associated with it．Change those beliefs and a new pattern is  【15】 created．

Have you ever heard the story of the four-minute mile? For years people believed that it is impossible for a human being to  【1】 a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proved it  【2】 in 1954．Within one year, 37 runners  【3】 the belief barrier．And the year after that, 300 other runners did the same thing．

What happens if you put an animal in a  【4】? Any animal, big or small, will swim its way through．What happens when someone, who does not know how to swim, falls in deep waters? You  【5】．If an animal who has not learned swimming could  【6】 by swimming, why not you? Because you believe you will drown while the animal does not．

These  【7】 show the power of beliefs．There is no other more  【8】 force in directing human behavior than belief．Our beliefs have the power to  【9】 and to destroy．

In a way it is our beliefs that determine how much we’ll be able to  【10】 our potential．So pay attention to some of your  【11】．Do you believe you are weak in mathematics? Do you believe that other people dislike you？Do you believe life is full of  【12】？

Belief is not  【13】, however．It’s nothing but the generalization of a past incident．As a kid, if a dog bit you, you believed all dogs to be 【14】．To change certain behavior, identify the beliefs associated with it．Change those beliefs and a new pattern is  【15】 created．

1.                A．run            B．walk           C．swim D．jog

2.                A．right           B．wrong          C．fake D．true

3.                A．broke          B．built           C．faced D．lowered

4.                A．cage           B．desert          C．forest    D．pond

5.                A．drown         B．swim           C．float D．sink

6.                A．struggle        B．escape         C．drown    D．leave

7.                A．samples        B．cases           C．situations D．periods

8.                A．terrible         B．reasonable      C．considerable   D．powerful

9.                A．damage        B．provide         C．create    D．withdraw

10.               A．access         B．realize         C．show D．perform

11.               A．problems       B．beliefs         C．possibilities D．subjects

12.               A．surprises       B．choices         C．problems  D．possibilities

13.               A．beautiful       B．changeable      C．strong D．mysterious

14.               A．safe           B．rude           C．merciless  D．dangerous

15.               A．occasionally     B．immediately     C．accidentally    D．automatically