2 . Do you have a hard time saying“no”? If “yes” rules your life and “no” doesn’t exist, here are some tips for you to say “no” without feeling bad.

Switch out “no” for “later”

If you’re just starting out, you don’t have to jump straight to “no”.     1     . But saying later is much easier. Make your default (预设) response to any request with “Let me get back to you later.”Don’t rely on your “laters” forever, because too many would make you unreliable in the long run.

Rehearse (排演) your “no”

Sometimes, invites or requests happen naturally and in person, requiring an answer immediately.     2    . If you’re afraid of coming off as robotic or unnatural, it helps to rehearse your lines in front of a mirror.

    3    

Offering an excuse may seem polite to decline a request, but it sets you up for an awkward situation. No matter what excuse you offer, people who are determined to get you to say “yes” will come up with a way to reel (卷轴) you in.    4    . If you say “no” to them, you can still soften the blow by being polite and appreciative.

Do offer an alternative

If the person asking you for something is someone who you want to maintain a positive relationship with, you can decrease the impact of your “no” by offering an alternative.     5    . Hence, the person won’t feel upset and you don’t feel guilty for your“no”, either. It is a win-win situation!

A．Don’t offer an explanation

B．Don’t say “yes” to others easily

C．Saying “no”at once can be tough

D．But noisy places with many people aren’t your choices

E．So it would be useful to rehearse your “no” in advance

F．Being frank with people by saying “no” doesn’t mean rude

G．The goal is to find a common ground and reach an agreement

4 . Most people want to live a life that feels meaningful.     1    , especially if you’re young. By exploring yourself and your passions, you will figure out what matters to you and make your life significant. Here are a handful of ways to make your life matter.

•     2    

If you want to have a meaningful life, the first step is to understand your own life story. When have you felt strongest and happiest? How you interpret the events of your life impacts how you see yourself. There’s a lot of power in being able to construct your own sense of meaning and purpose.

• Living with compassion (共情)

Compassion is key to leading a meaningful life. If you want to influence those around you in a meaningful way, try to develop a sense of compassion for others. Pay attention to the body language of those around you.     3    .

• Connecting with the world

Try to build positive, meaningful relationships with people who support you and build you up, like your friends and family.     4    . Your life will feel more meaningful if you make an effort to express yourself and your emotions.

• Giving back

    5    . Try giving back to your community through service to organizations that are important to you. However, giving back does not just mean donating your time to charity. You should also work to be kind to those around you. This can help you feel your life matters as you’ll have a positive impact on friends and family members.

A．Making lifestyle changes

B．Figuring out who you are

C．It can be difficult to make it

D．This can give you insight into their emotions

E．Pay attention to the needs of those around you

F．Volunteering can be a great way to feel your life has meaning

G．Meanwhile, self-expression is a great way to interact with the world

5 . According to Jaime Roberts, good consulting is often about loosening the body, opening the mind and, more often than not, keeping the mouth shut.

Your body language matters

Jaime Roberts has been one of my go to experts for advice for decades. When I once asked her why she was so good at consulting, she was quick to mention her body language. “    1    ,” she said, “Otherwise, they might not open up to me as much as I would want them to.”

You don’t have to fix the problem

That’s another thing Jaime Roberts has learned on the job, “People who ask ‘What should I do?’ often want to process a problem themselves.     2    ,” she said. “Part of the trick is remembering that listening is the best thing you have to do, in most cases.”

You don’t need to give advice right now

Texts and FaceTime might be immediate, but your advice doesn’t have to be.     3    . “Forcing yourself to give advice when you can’t will do more harm than good,” she said.

    4    

You’re bound to hear about problems you haven’t experienced firsthand. That’s why Jaime Roberts says you should let them know that you’re just human beings with limited experience.     5    .

A．Don’t say their choices are wrong

B．You cannot give advice as giving someone an order

C．I try to appear relaxed and avoid looks of shock or judgment

D．You don’t need to have the same problem to be a good consultant

E．But you should let them know you will do your best to understand them

F．You’re a good consultant if you can help them fix the problem on their own

G．You can politely explain to them that you will talk to them when you’re ready

6 . Developing an optimistic outlook can be good for both your physical and mental health. Here are some ways to make thinking positive thoughts easy.

●Spend time with positive people

If you surround yourself with constant complainers, their negativity is likely to rub off on you. Spend time with positive friends and family members to increase the likelihood that their positive thinking habits will become yours too.    1    

●Recognize and replace negative thoughts

You won’t be successful at positive thinking, if you’re still stuck in frequent negative thoughts.    2    If you find yourself thinking something such as, “I always mess everything up”, replace it with something more realistic such as, “Sometimes I make mistakes but I learn from them.”

●Consider the consequences of negativity

Spend some time thinking about the consequences of negative thinking.    3     For example, a person who thinks, “I probably won’t get this job interview,” may put less effort into the interview. As a result, he may decrease his chances of getting the job.

●Create a daily gratitude list

If you start keeping a daily gratitude list, you’ll start noticing exactly how much you have to be thankful for.    4     And you focus on the positive in your life instead of thinking about all the bad things that have happened in the day.

●Look for silver lining

When something bad happens, look for the silver lining.     5     While it may be difficult to find good in a tough situation, it is always there if you look hard enough. Focusing on the positive helps you to stay hopeful and optimistic even when things are tough.

A．Often, it can become a self-fulfilling prediction

B．This will help you look for the good in other people.

C．Learn how to surround yourself with positive people.

D．Your past mistakes are not there for you to hold on to.

E．This means looking for the positive side of a negative event.

F．Learn to recognize and replace thoughts that are overly negative.

G．Generate ideas on limiting the time you spend with negative people

7 . In conversations with strangers, people commonly tend to think they should speak less than half the conversation time to be likable. But we’ve discovered this idea is wrong. Our data shows that people tend to think they should speak about 45% of the time to be likable in a one-on-one conversation with someone new. However, it appears speaking up a bit more is actually a better strategy.

In our research, we randomly assigned people to speak for 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% of the time in a conversation with someone new. We found that the more they spoke, the more they were liked by their new partners. This was only one study with 116 participants, but the outcome is supported by other researchers’ findings. For example, a previous study randomly assigned one in a pair to take on the role of “speaker” and the other to take on the role of “listener. ” After engaging in 12-minute interactions, listeners liked speakers more than speakers liked listeners because listeners felt more similar to speakers than speakers did to listeners. This outcome suggests the reason people prefer those who speak up: Learning more about a new partner can make you feel like you have more in common with him or her.

Further, we assigned people to speak for up to 70% and even 90% of the time. The result shows it is not an ideal strategy. Our research does not suggest people hold down a conversational partner but rather that they feel comfortable speaking up more than they usually might.

Research like ours can help people gain a ‘more reasonable understanding of social interactions with new people and become more confident about how to make a good first impression. It has the obvious benefit of allowing us to carefully control speaking time. However, it does not reflect more natural conversations. Future research should figure out whether our findings generalize to more natural interactions.

1. What is the common belief concerning conversations with strangers?

A．Speaking a little less is preferred.

B．Speaking half the time is the best.

C．Listeners are more likable than speakers.

D．Listeners fail to control the conversations.

2. How was the research carried out?

A．By analyzing speaking habits.

B．By making comparisons.

C．By listing examples.

D．By collecting data.

3. What is the disadvantage of the research?

A．The conversation time is limited.

B．Further study is hard to continue.

C．The findings are less widely appliable.

D．Interactions with strangers are missing.

4. In which situation can the research finding be applied?

A．Attending a family gathering.

B．Partying with your friends.

C．Meeting a new teacher.

D．Making a public speech.

8 . Talking to someone on a train, bus, or subway can be risky yet exciting, as you never know when they’re going to get off. Starting a connection can be fun as the costs are fairly low and you can easily start and stop a conversation, or get off if things become awkward.     1    

Make eye contact. Making brief eye contact can show the persons that you’re interested and help you judge whether they are interested in you. Glance at the persons and try to hold your gaze (注视) for just a second or two.    2    If they meet your gaze, it’s likely positive. If they look away quickly or appear disinterested, it’s probably best not to approach.

Smile at the persons. If you’ve successfully met their gaze, smile at them.

    3    If they smile back, you’re likely in luck in getting them to talk to you.

If you want to start a conversation with the persons, smiling is a great way to get somebody’s attention.

    4    Make a point to appear open, comfortable and available. Do this by keeping your arms uncrossed. Stand or sit up straight and show good posture (姿势). Don’t cross your body or turn away from the persons, as these gestures can make you appear closed off or disinterested.

Approach the persons to start talking to them.     5    If you’re far away, move closer. You should be a comfortable distance where you can hear each other yet not feel awkward if the conversation doesn’t work out.

A．Use open body language.

B．Mind your manners while talking.

C．Notice how they respond to your gaze.

D．Don’t worry because you can follow some tips that make you smile.

E．Once you’ve read that the persons are interested in chatting, make a move.

F．A small but sincere smile makes you appear interested, friendly and approachable.

G．Therefore, try to get someone’s attention and start a conversation by following the tips.

9 . When a Houston dad found out his eight-year-old son was being bullied (欺负), he didn’t get mad at the classmate who teased him. Instead, he talked with the so-called bully and realized that the boy was struggling, too.

Aubrey Fontenot’s son, Jordan, told him a boy named Tamarion was teasing him. Fontenot decided to sit down with his son and Tamarion to understand what was going on, and something unexpected happened.

Tamarion told Fontenot he was being teased at school, too. “I asked, ‘By who? You are big. You are huge. Who is teasing you?’” the father said. “He said, ‘Just all the other kids, man. They are making fun of me.” Fontenot learned that Tamarion was getting teased for his clothes and shoes—his clothes and shoes were old and dirty. Fontenot then spoke to the boy’s mother. “She kind of confirmed it,” Fontenot said. “And she said, ‘That’s the kind of situation.’”

He felt sympathetic to the young boy and wanted to help. So he asked Tamarion’s mom if he could take her son to do some shopping.

Fontenot posted videos of their trip to the mall on social media and they went viral. Tamarion eventually smiled, and then the two were laughing and singing together on their shopping trip. Just as if he were taking his own son to do some shopping, Fontenot got Tamarion new clothes and shoes, and shared words of wisdom with him.

Then, the dad united the two boys. He said it was awkward at first—just a day earlier, they didn’t get along well at school. But the two classmates started playing sports games together and soon became friends.

It was not just about the clothes and shoes. Tamarion gained a friend in Jordan, and a mentor in his dad. Fontenot said he was also bullied when he was a child, so he knew it was important to listen to Tamarion’s story. He chose kindness instead of anger and brought the two boys together. “I wouldn’t say that was the goal, but that was the reward,” Fontenot said.

1. What was Fontenot’s attitude toward his son’s being bullied?

A．Amazed and embarrassed.

B．Angry and impatient.

C．Calm and sensible.

D．Sad and discouraged.

2. Why does the author say “something unexpected happened” in the second paragraph?

A．Fontenot liked Tamarion instantly.	B．Tamarion bullied Jordan out of kindness.
C．Tamarion was also a victim of bullying.	D．Fontenot and Tamarion’s mother used to be friends.

3. What did Fontenot do to solve the problem of bullying?

A．He turned to the school for help.	B．He asked Tamarion’s mother to settle the problem.
C．He ordered his son never to play with Tamarion again.	D．He made the two boys united and join together.

4. What can we know from the text?

A．Jordan’s being bullied arose from his clothes and shoes.

B．Jordan and Tamarion got along well in the beginning.

C．Tamarion’s mother paid little attention to Tamarion.

D．Fontenot communicated with Tamarion’s mother to know about him.

10 . There are many people out there who want to be “part of the crowd.” If you want to be the leader and stand out from the crowd instead, then this article is for you.

Be yourself and love yourself. In order to be as different as possible, you have to beyou — not a carbon copy of someone else. If you don’t know who you are, that process can seem a bit scary.    1    If you’re not comfortable with who you are, you’ll inevitably end up trying to be someone else.

Try new things. We are naturally raised as part of a group,    2    These thing are good — they can open us up to things we’re not even aware of—but it’s also important to try things that are brand new to you that other people haven’t already accepted.

    3    From a very young age, we’re sort of brainwashed to ft into our society. We wear clothes, go to school, do things to match our gender, and so on. It’s hard to realize that this is a box you can get out of. There are lines that you can color outside. It just hasn’t occurred to most of us.

Know the world works in opposites. Nothing is really as it seems. So many people are trying to be different, and it results in them all being the same! Being quiet may mean that when you talk, people hear you louder. When you’re not trying to attract that boy or girl, they become attracted to you.    4    

Know you’ll bump heads. Society isn’t super good at accepting what isn’t trendy. People are praised for being fashionable and pretty—few are praised for expanding our limits and coloring outside the lines.    5    Think of it as a good thing! By getting criticism, you’re doing something. You’re getting noticed. You’re exposing people to other things. You’re different.

A．Color outside the lines.

B．Note your environment.

C．It’s important to love yourself, too.

D．So trying to be different may not get you anywhere.

E．but hose people may not welcome you with open arms.

F．Criticism is going to happen if you step outside of the box at all.

G．so we’re constantly being exposed to things others have already approved.