Saying no starts small

“All right then — just one more piece...” Words every girl has said when they are faced with the delicious cheesecake. Of course, many of us know we may eat the whole thing in the end.

It isn’t just girls. Most of us find it hard to say “no” to something attractive. However, scientists now say that willpower is very important to success and a happy life.

Scientists in different countries have been studying the effects of willpower on people’s lives for a long time. The results are similar, according to an article on February 7 in the Guardian, a famous British newspaper.

In one experiment, scientists told young children that they could either have a marshmallow (圆形软糖) now, or two marshmallows in 15 minutes. Waiting obviously needed more willpower. Scientists then continued studying the children as they grew up. They wanted to see if some children always had stronger willpower. They also wanted to see how having stronger willpower affected their lives.

Years later, scientists found that the children who had waited for two marshmallows were all healthier, happier and richer adults. Oppositely, the children who had shown weaker willpower at that young age were more likely to be in low-paid jobs, to be overweight, to have social problems.

But there is hope, Roy F Baumeister, an American social psychology(心理学) professor (教授) told the Guardian. Baumeister says we can train our willpower just like we train our muscles. Even a little practice can strengthen our overall self-control if we do it regularly.

You could start by making yourself stand up straight, speaking in complete sentences, or using a computer mouse with the other hand. Scientists have found that people who manage to change little habits often perform much better in laboratory willpower tests.

Like muscles, willpower can “get tired”. Don’t try to do too many things at the same time, or when you don’t have enough energy, for example when you are ill. If you already feel tired, you can try to recharge(恢复) your willpower with a good night’s sleep and by eating well.

30. The example of a girl eating cheesecake is used to

A. prove that girls have weak willpower

B. introduce the topic of willpower to the readers

C. show that cheesecake is especially attractive to girls

D. show the connection between willpower and success

31. What can we infer from the experiment?     

A. The scientists had already known the results before the experiment.

B. It showed that willpower is the most important to success and a happy life.

C. The children who chose to wait were more likely to be successful in their lives.     

D. The children who chose only one marshmallow at first had stronger willpower.

32. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the training of willpower?

A. You should have a goal every day. 

B. Good rest and proper diet can help.

C. Willpower needs to be exercised regularly.

D. Keep willpower from being used too much.

33. What is the article mainly about?

A. How willpower and muscles are similar and how they can be trained.

B. How willpower affects people’s lives and how it is similar to muscles.

C. How willpower is important to success and how we can make it stronger.

D. How willpower is connected with success and how they affect each other.

June 5 is World Environment Day.This makes us pay more attention to our environment and the need to protect it.
When Wang Baoxuan,a Beijing high school boy,finishes his exercise books,he does not throw them away.He puts them in the big box in the corner of his classroom.Other students do so.Then the exercise books are sold to a paper-factory in Beijing.The paper is collected and used again by students and teachers in the school.At the same time,the money made from selling the paper goes towards schools in Inner Mongolia  for planting trees and grass.During spring time,the sandstorms often attack here.
Wang’s school is one of the schools in the capital that take part in the “green promise”environmental protection activity.So far,nearly 210,000 students have taken part in the activity,collecting more than 174 kilograms of waste paper.
“There are some environment problems in the city,such as sandstorms.We should do our duty and encourage others to do so as well.”Said Wang.
Vice-premier Zeng Peiyan has written a letter to the teachers and students to encourage them to go on taking part in the environmental protection.
【小题1】What do Wang Baoxuan and his schoolmates do with the waste exercise books?

As a music teacher for twenty-seven years I have always known that music touches the soul. It can break through all kinds of barriers to reach students in a very special way. It can be the means for each child to find their light.
A few years ago I was blessed with the opportunity to teach pre-school students one afternoon a week. One of my most memorable students was Vanessa. She was five years old, had difficulty walking and could not speak. We mostly sat on the floor for our music lessons and Vanessa liked to sit on my lap. One of her favorite songs was John the Rabbit. It was a call and response song where I sang the call and the students clapped two times while singing the repeating phrase “Oh yes!” Vanessa liked to put her hands together with mine and clap with me. We performed that song during every class Vanessa and I clapped together. She never said or sang a word.
One day late in the school year when the song was finished Vanessa turned around, looked at me in the eye, clapped her tiny hands two times and said the words “Oh yes!” I opened my mouth and could not speak. Through music we had made a connection.
Several years later I came across Vanessa on the street in town. I stopped my car and waved to say hello. She waved back with a big smile on her face and then clapped her hands two times mimicking the song we had performed in our music class. This precious little girl through her connection with music left an impression on me that will last forever.
Every child has the ability to learn and grow. It is up to us educators to discover the way to reach each and every one of our students. We all must find each child’s light.
【小题1】The author thinks music__________.

Imagine the situation. You are driving along a desert or on a mountain. You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device(装置) which uses satellites (卫星) to find the user’s position(位置). It can find your position to within 20 metres. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are.

GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. You can hold it in your hand, or put in your pocket. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.

There are three parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites orbiting the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates(计算) its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. They control the satellites and make sure they are working well.

Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile. They are becoming cheaper and more and more accurate(精确的). There are also new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost again.

1.According to the passage, with the help of the GPS, people __________.

A．can’t be lost in a new city

B．can’t find their way in different countries

C．can learn about the culture of an unknown place

D．can spend the least time getting to another place

2.We can learn from the passage that ____________.

A．there are three parts to the GPS

B．a GPS can’t be put into a watch

C．a GPS can help you start your car

D．the GPS are becoming more and more expensive

3.The underlined word “They” in paragraph 3 means “____________”.

A．Receivers         B．GPS devices        C．Satellites          D．Ground stations

4.The passage is mainly about _______________.

A．the history of the GPS                    B．the introduction of the GPS

C．the shape of the GPS                     D．the three parts of the GPS

5.What can we infer(推断) from the passage?

A．All GPS devices have electronic maps.

B．People in many countries will use the GPS for free.

C．The receiver of the GPS contacts at least five of the satellites.

D．The GPS will become more and more common in everyday life.

When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.

My mother has realized the disadvantages of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she. I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人).I said in a voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs Tan.” And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, “Why he doesn’t send me the check. It’s already two weeks late.”

And then, in perfect English I said : “I’m getting rather anxious .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.” Then she talked more loudly. “What does he want? I’ll come to New York and say it in front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t accept any more excuses. If I don’t receive the check immediately, I have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”

The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English. When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is clear and direct. It was the language that helped me form the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.

1.Why was the author’s mother poorly served?

A. She was unable to speak good English

B. She was often misunderstood.

C. She was not clearly heard.

D. She was not very polite.

2.From Paragraph 2, what can we know about the author?

A. She was good at pretending.

B. She was rude to the stockbroker.

C. She was ready to help her mother.

D. She was unwilling to phone for her mother

3.What happened after the author made the phone call?

A. They forgave the stockbroker.

B. They failed to get the check.

C. They went to New York immediately.

D. They spoke to their boss at once.

4.What does the author think of her mother’s English now?

A. It confuses her.

B. It embarrasses her.

C. It helps her understand the world.

D. It helps her forgive rude people.

5.What can we infer from the passage?

A. Chinese English is clear and natural to native speakers.

B. Chinese English is impolite to native speakers.

C. Chinese English has a very bad name in America.

D. Chinese English may bring inconvenience in America.