1 . Get Better at Saying No

“No” is a short, simple word that can cause anxiety for the person trying to say it. The following strategies can help you get better at saying no.

Be intentional about what you communicate.

    1     Sure — but as psychologist Vanessa Bohns points out, leaving it at that is often pretty uncomfortable. Instead, she advises communicating three things: “It’s not because of me, it’s not because of you, and it’s not because of us.”     2     This reassures them that they didn’t do anything wrong by asking. Then, follow up with a short explanation: “I wish I could, but I just don’t have the time right now.” That helps make it clear that your “no” isn’t a poor reflection of your own character; it’s not the other person; and it’s not a disapproval of the relationship, Bohns says.

Have a planned phrase for more informal encounters.

Not every situation, of course, calls for such a thoughtful approach. Think through times when you’ve gotten stressed over delivering a quick “no”, and then brainstorm phrases you could use in the future. Bohns, for example, is often asked to donate to some cause or another as she checks out at the grocery store.     3     “It’s true, and it’s a way of saying, essentially, that I’m still a good person,” she says.

    4    

There’s always that one guy who won’t take no for an answer. If someone is applying undue pressure, adopt what psychologist Ellen Hendriksen describes as the broken-record technique.     5     Occasionally, the asker will get irritated (恼火的), she says — but usually after repeating yourself two or three times, even the most persistent (执著的) people will get the message.

A．She says no directly.

B．It’s sticking to your answer.

C．Adopt the broken-record technique.

D．Repeat your request again and again.

E．She now has a go-to response: “I already donated this year.”

F．One way to do that is by thanking people for thinking of you.

G．You might have heard the tip that “no” is a complete sentence.

5 . Pick up any packaged processed food, and there’s a decent chance that one of its listed ingredients will be “natural flavour”. The ingredient sounds good, particularly in contrast to “artificial flavours” since there is a common belief that ingredients from nature are necessarily safer than something artificially made. But it’s not true. Then what exactly does the natural flavour mean? It refers to extracts (提取物) got from natural sources like plants, meat or seafood. When consumers see the “natural flavour” on a label, they are unlikely to assume that someone is squeezing the juice from oranges into their bottles. They know even though natural flavour must come from natural sources, it needn’t all come from the plant or meat. For example, orange flavours might contain not only orange extracts, but also extracts from bark and grass.

So if flavours like orange are needed, why not just use oranges? The answer comes down to “availability, cost, and sustainability”, according to flavour chemist Gary Reineccius of the University of Minnesota. “If you’re going to use all your grapes on grape soda,” Reineccius says, “you don’t have any grapes for wine making; the products are going to be exorbitant; besides, what do you do with the by-products you create after you’ve squeezed all the juice out of the grapes?”

Actually, while chemists make natural flavours by extracting chemicals from natural ingredients, artificial flavours are made by creating the same chemicals artificially. The reason why companies bother to use natural flavours rather than artificial flavours is simple: marketing. “Many of these products have health titles,” says Platkin, professor from Hunter College. “Consumers may be talked to believe products with natural flavours are healthier, though they are nutritionally no different from those with artificial flavours. Natural flavours may involve more forest clear-cutting and carbon emissions from transport than flavours created in the lab.”

Platkin suggests getting more transparent (易懂的) labeling on packaging that describes exactly what the natural or artificial flavours are, so consumers are-not misled into buying one product over another because of “natural flavours”. Reineccius also offers simple guidance: “Don’t buy anything because it says ‘natural flavours’. Buy it because you like it.”

1. Which is misunderstanding about the “natural flavour” juice according to Paragraph 1？

A．It comes from 100% original fruit.

B．It is nothing but advertising tricks.

C．It certainly contains extracts made in the lab.

D．It is absolutely safer than juice with artificial flavours.

2. What does the underlined word “exorbitant” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Popular.

B．Expensive.

C．Favorable.

D．Innovative.

3. Why do companies use natural flavours in the products?

A．To cut the costs.	B．To promote the sales.
C．To advocate a healthy diet.	D．To avoid food safety issues.

4. What can we conclude from the text?

A．Gary and Platkin hold opposite perspectives.

B．Natural flavours are more environmentally friendly.

C．Customers are misled for ignoring labels on packaging.

D．Natural and artificial flavours are more alike than you think.

6 . New research confirms that human footprints found in New Mexico are probably the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, a finding that upends what many scientists knew about human habitation and migration (迁徙).

The footprints were discovered at the edge of an ancient lakebed in White Sands national park. According to the new paper published in the journal Science, they date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago. Actually, the estimated age of the footprints was first reported in Science in 2021, but some researchers raised concerns about the dates. Questions focused on whether seeds of water plants used for the original dating may have absorbed ancient carbon from the lake — which could, in theory, throw off radiocarbon dating (碳14年代测定) by thousands of years. But the new study presents two additional lines of evidence for the older date range. It uses two entirely different materials found at the site, ancient pollen (花粉) and stone grains.

The reported age of the footprints challenges the once conventional wisdom that humans did not reach the Americas until a few thousand years before rising sea levels covered the Bering land bridge between Russia and Alaska, perhaps about 15,000 years ago. “This is a subject that’s always been controversial (有争议的) because it’s so significant. It’s about how we understand the last chapter of the peopling of the world,” said Thomas Urban, an archaeologist (考古学家) at Cornell University, who was involved in the 2021 study but not the new one.

Thomas Stafford, an independent archaeological geologist in New Mexico, who was not involved in the study, said he “was a bit suspicious (怀疑的) before” but now is convinced. The new study isolated about 75,000 grams of pure pollen from the same stone layer that contained the footprints. “Dating pollen is laborious but worthwhile,” said Kathleen Springer, a research geologist at the US Geological Survey and a co-author of the new paper.

Ancient footprints of any kind can provide archaeologists with a quick look of a moment in time. While some archeological sites in the Americas point to similar date ranges — including necklaces carved from giant animal remains in Brazil — scientists still question whether such objects really indicate human presence. “White Sands is unique because there’s no question these footprints were left by people,” said Jennifer Raff, a scientist at the University of Kansas, who was not involved in the study.

1. The underlined word “upends” (Paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to “________”.

A．supports

B．connects

C．challenges

D．compares

2. According to the passage, what is special about the new research?

A．It shows the footprints were made by the Russians.

B．It offers more convincing lines of evidence for dating.

C．It confirms that the ancient humans enjoyed living by the lake.

D．It reveals the footprints are much younger than previously thought.

3. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ________.

A．necklaces are valuable objects for archaeologists to date animals

B．human footprints are often sure signs of human presence

C．ancient objects in Brazil are not included in the study

D．White Sands is one important archaeological site

4. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．Humans Reached Americas 15,000 Years Earlier Than Believed

B．American Archaeologists Unearthed Valuable Manmade Objects

C．New Research Confirms Early Human Presence in Americas

D．Scientists Discovers New Species of Humans in Americas

7 . To the human ears, a field of flowers is silent, except the noise of birds and insects. To certain animal ears, however, a field of flowers is full of conversation. Now, scientists have discovered that plants actually make noise as a way of communicating. In other words, they talk!

It has long been known that plants communicate when they are stressed. You need only watch a houseplant to realize that a plant lowers its head when it needs water, or turns yellow when it has been watered too much. Some plants also send out a bad smell when stressed to try and stop insects from taking advantage of their stressed state and eating them up.

Now, a new study that was published in Cell and conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University, shows that not only do plants express themselves in the above ways when stressed, they also make sounds, like talking.

According to NoCamels, plants send out sounds at frequencies (频率) between 40 to 80 kilohertz—out of the range (范围) of human ears, but within the range of some animals. “Bats (蝙蝠) make sounds in these ranges all the time, and mice, dogs and cats can partly hear within it,” Dr. Lilach Hadany, one of the authors of the study, told NoCamels.

What is surprising about Hadany’s study is that the researchers have managed to understand and group the sounds that plants make for the first time. Plants that are not stressed make about one noise per hour, but plants that are stressed, thirsty, or injured make many hundreds of sounds per hour; and each of these sounds seems to show the certain type of stress the plant is under.

This type of information could be key for agriculture (农业). Knowing what sounds their plants are making will help farmers determine whether their plants are in danger or disease and allow them to make the necessary changes to allow their plants to grow well.

1. Why do some plants send out a bad smell?

A．To show they hate birds.	B．To say they are in need of water.
C．To protect themselves from danger.	D．To tell people to stop watering them.

2. Which of the following can hear plants most clearly?

A．Humans.

B．Cats.

C．Dogs.

D．Bats.

3. What does the last paragraph focus on?

A．The big problems farmers have been facing.

B．The possible application of the new study.

C．The ways for farmers to learn plants’ languages.

D．The points needed to be improved for the study.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Plants Change Their Looks to Ask for Help

B．Necessary Changes Are Made to Agriculture

C．Plants Can Make Sounds to Communicate

D．A Field of Plants Is Silent to the Human Ears

8 . Last Monday, I visited Jalan Besar to find a new fan blade (风扇叶片) for a standing fan that my daughters had broken.

I worked in the Jalan Besar area 30 years ago and remembered that there were lots of small hardware shops selling unusual things so I thought that I would have no problem finding a fan blade. However, after walking around for almost an hour, I found out that these shops were no longer around.

When I was ready to give up and go home, I spotted an old-fashioned hardware store. After being greeted by a woman, I explained my predicament. She immediately asked me to show her the broken blade. Out of nowhere, a man who looked to be in his 60s came out.

He asked to see the blade and then disappeared into the shop. He came back with a blade but it did not look the same as what I had in my hand. We compared the two blades and he said that it might work.

I asked him how much it was. He told me that he had taken the blade off an old fan that someone had brought in for repair. He said, “It didn’t cost me anything, so why should I charge you for it?” That really touched me. I took the blade home and it worked perfectly! My daughters got a “new” fan for nothing.

When I told my wife (almost in her 60s) this story, she said this reminded her of the kind aunties and uncles who used to run small shops and were always ready to help others when she was growing up.

1. Why did the author go to Jalan Besar?

A．To visit his old friends.	B．To apply for a job.
C．To fix the broken fan.	D．To buy a new fan.

2. What does the underlined word “predicament” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Nervous mood.	B．Difficult situation.
C．Anxious waiting.	D．Boring moments.

3. Which of the following can best describe the old man?

A．Kind and brave.	B．Honest and helpful.
C．Determined and curious.	D．Open-minded and humorous.

4. How did the author’s wife react to his experience?

A．She remembered the old days.	B．She was greatly surprised.
C．She couldn’t believe it.	D．She thought little of it.