I am one of those people who are terrible at saying no. I take on too many projects at once, and spend too much of my time doing things I’d rather not be doing. I get stuff done, but it’s not always the best I can do, or the best way I could spend my time. That’s why my newest goal, both as a professional and a person, is to be a quitter. Being a quitter isn’t being someone who gives up, who doesn’t see important things through to the end. I desire to be the opposite of that. The quitter I want to be is someone who gets out when there’s no value in what he’s doing, or when that value comes at the expense of something more important. We get involved in something, realize we don’t want to be a part of it, but keep on going. We say “Well, I’ve already invested so much time in this, I might as well stick it out.” A friend of mine once told me, “I knew I was an adult when I could stop reading a book, even after getting 500 pages into it.” Odd though it sounds, we all tend to do this. I propose the opposite: quit as often as possible, regardless of project status or time invested. If you’re reading a book, and don’t like it, stop reading. Cut your losses, realize that the smartest thing to do is stop before your losses grow even more, and quit. Instead of reading an entire book you hate, read half of a bad one and half of a good one. Isn’t that a better use of your time? Step back for a second. Let’s learn how to say “no” at the beginning, or in the middle, and free up more of our time to do the things we’d like to be doing, and the things actually worth doing. Saying no is hard, and admitting a mistaken yes is even harder. But if we do both, we’ll start to make sure that we’re spending our time creating value, rather than increasing our losses. Let’s be quitters together. 小题1:The author wants to be a quitter, because he/she .A.wishes to have more time for relaxation | B.hopes to improve his/her personality | C.expects to make more efficient use of his/her time | D.has found it hard to do several things at one time | 小题2:In what circumstances does the author suggest quitting is a good idea?A.When you know a task cannot be finished. | B.When you feel tired and need a rest. | C.When you meet with difficulties along the way. | D.When you realize what you are doing is not worth the time. | 小题3:The message the author tries to convey is to .A.learn to say no | B.create more value | C.live your life to the fullest | D.stop doing many things at a time |
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小题1:C 小题2:D 小题3:A |
文章通过自己的亲身经历告诉读者要学会说不。 小题1:细节理解题 根据第一段中“I get stuff done, but it’s not always the best I can do, or the best way I could spend my time”可知,作者是想放弃那些没有意义的事情。 小题2:细节理解题 根据第三段“The quitter I want to be is someone who gets out when there’s no value in what he’s doing, or when that value comes at the expense of something more important”可知,作者所说的“放弃”是指放弃那些不值得费时间去做的事情。 小题3:推理判断题 根据最后一段中“Saying no is hard, and admitting a mistaken yes is even harder. ”和前一段可知适当的学会说“不”可以更好让我们自己做更有效的事情。 |
核心考点
试题【I am one of those people who are terrible at saying no. I take on too many proje】;主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
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I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year - round sun.You may think People ,n such an attractive, fun - filled place are happier than others.If so you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness. Many intelligent people still think fun equals happiness.The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common.Fun is what we experience during an act.Happiness is what we experience after an act.It is a deep, long-lasting emotion. Going to an amusement park or a ball game, watching a movie or television are fun activities that help us relax, temporally forget our problems and maybe even laugh.But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends. I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun.They have constant access to exciting parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells "happiness" But in memoir(回忆录) after memoir, they expose Ac unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages and loneliness. Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying.If he is honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment.For commitment is in fact quite painful.The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement.Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features. Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness.They can dine out whenever they want and sleep as late as they want.Couples with babies are lucky to get a whole night" s sleep.I don"t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations we can ever come to.It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can truly increase our happiness.It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless.And it frees us from envy: we now understand that all those rich and famous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all. 小题1:What is the passage mainly about?A.Fun and happiness. | B.Success and satisfaction. | C.Marriage and commitment. | D.Entertainment and responsibility. | 小题2:The author probably agrees that ____.A.fun creates long - lasting satisfaction | B.long - standing fun may lead to happiness | C.fun is short-lived while happiness is long-lasting | D.fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness | 小题3:What does the author think of marriage? A.It ends in pain. B.It means commitment. C.It affords greater fun. D.It leads to raising children. 【小题14If one gets the real meaning of happiness, he ____. A.will start a business B.won" t place too much value on money C.will seek for freedom D.won"t devote himself to his family |
Last winter, when I was heavily pregnant(***), I was visiting my sister and brother-in-law’s house. I had to park my car in a nearby parking lot because they didn’t have a place for parking. The snow was extremely heavy and there was lots of 1 on the ground, so not many people dared to go out that evening! When I left their house and 2 to my car around 11pm, I noticed that my car was the only one 3 . Surrounded by silence, I rushed into the car nervously. When I finally tried to 4 away, my wheels began to spin(打滑). I realized I was stuck! I wondered what I should do. 5 , in my rear-view mirror(后视镜), I saw four teenage boys 6 my car. They were walking side by side in a line and behaved a bit like 7 ------ at least I thought that was what they looked like. My car was in a very 8 area and I was so frightened when I saw them. I was certain they were coming to my car to 9 me. Terrified, I just froze. One of the young men tapped on my window 10 and said, “Excuse me, Madam, would you like some 11 ? You seem to have a problem with the car.” Still a little afraid, I said, “I am stuck.” And the young man said, “It’s okay. Stay in your car and we’ll 12 you out of the snow.” And they did! When they finally got my car out of the snow, they 13 and waved good-bye to me. I rolled down my window and thanked them, 14 to have judged them so poorly. People like to judge the person they come across, and they are in turn judged by others. It’s natural that we judge others, but when we do this, we shouldn’t 15 the old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
小题1: | A.sand | B.ice | C.stone | D.water |
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小题2: | A.looked | B.escaped | C.returned | D.pointed |
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小题3: | A.left | B.destroyed | C.prepared | D.sold |
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小题5: | A.Actually | B.Suddenly | C.Obviously | D.Finally |
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小题6: | A.damaging | B.touching | C.hitting | D.approaching |
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小题7: | A.robbers | B.students | C.policemen | D.soldiers |
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小题8: | A.secret | B.bright | C.lonely | D.dirty |
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小题9: | A.support | B.harm | C.serve | D.warm |
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小题10: | A.rapidly | B.loudly | C.helplessly | D.gently |
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小题11: | A.change | B.advice | C.fun | D.help |
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小题13: | A.waited | B.shouted | C.smiled | D.joked |
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小题14: | A.sorry | B.delighted | C.confident | D.frightened |
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小题15: | A.hate | B.stop | C.follow | D.forget |
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Life is difficult. It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it, then life is no longer difficult. Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain(抱怨) about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that difficulties stand for a special kind of suffering especially forced on them or else on their families, their class, or even their nation. What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one. Problems, depending on their nature, cause sadness, or loneliness(孤独) or regret or anger or fear. These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes a lot of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy. Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the serious test that tells us success from failure. When we want to encourage the growth of human spirit, we encourage the human ability to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Those things that hurt, instruct(指导).” It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems. 小题1:Which sentence best express the central point of the passage?A.Problems and difficulties represent a special kind of suffering. | B.We become stronger by facing and solving problems of life. | C.Life is difficult because our problems bring us pain. | D.People like to complain about their problems. | 小题2:The writer probably used just one short sentence in the first paragraph to ___.A.save space | B.persuade readers | C.make readers laugh | D.get readers’ attention | 小题3:The main idea of paragraph 3 is that _________.A.most people feel life is easy | B.the writer feel life is easy | C.the writer likes to complain about his problems | D.most people complain about how hard their lives are | 小题4:According to the passage, we give school children difficult problems to solve in order to ______.A.encourage them to learn | B.teach them to fear the pain of solving the problems | C.help them learn to deal with pain | D.teach them how to respect problems | 小题5:The saying from Benjamin Franklin “Those things that hurt, instruct” suggests that ______.A.we do not learn from experience | B.we do not learn when we are in pain | C.pain teaches us important lessons | D.pain cannot be avoided |
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One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of 44 students in the classroom on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then she told them to think of the 45 thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It 46 the class some time to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one 47 the papers. That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the 48 of each student on a separate sheet of paper and 49 what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the whole class was 50 . “Really?” she heard whispered. “I never knew that I 51 anything to anyone!” and, “I didn’t know others liked me so much” were most of the comments. No one ever 52 those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn’t 53 . The exercise had completed its 54 . The students were 55 with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on. Several years later, one of the students was 56 in Vietnam War and his teacher 57 the funeral of that special student. After the funeral, most of Mark’s former classmates left. Mark’s mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak to his teacher. “We want to 58 you something,” his father said, taking a 59 out of his pocket. “They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might 60 it.” Opening the wallet, he 61 removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded, and refolded many times. The teacher knew without 62 that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark’s classmates had said about him. “Thank you so much for doing that,” Mark’s mother said. “As you can see, Mark 63 it.”
小题1: | A.other | B.others | C.the others | D.the other |
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小题2: | A.worst | B.nicest | C.smallest | D.biggest |
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小题3: | A.cost | B.took | C.paid | D.spent |
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小题4: | A.handed in | B.took out | C.set down | D.turned off |
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小题5: | A.number | B.address | C.name | D.home |
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小题6: | A.read | B.explained | C.expressed | D.listed |
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小题7: | A.smiling | B.crying | C.singing | D.playing |
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小题8: | A.meant | B.marked | C.referred | D.concerned |
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小题9: | A.wrote | B.recited | C.mentioned | D.examined |
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小题10: | A.decide | B.conduct | C.include | D.matter |
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小题11: | A.plan | B.decision | C.purpose | D.function |
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小题12: | A.excited | B.worried | C.satisfied | D.disappointed |
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小题13: | A.killed | B.injured | C.wounded | D.frightened |
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小题14: | A.joined | B.attended | C.took | D.held |
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小题16: | A.wallet | B.book | C.gift | D.watch |
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小题17: | A.remind | B.recognize | C.review | D.recommend |
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小题18: | A.suddenly | B.quickly | C.carefully | D.surprisingly |
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小题19: | A.looking | B.saying | C.hearing | D.noticing |
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小题20: | A.lost | B.found | C.remembered | D.treasured |
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At the beginning of my 8:00 a.m. class one Monday at UNLV(拉斯维加斯内华达大学), I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been very good. The young man then proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful. His question reminded me of something I’d read somewhere before: “Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that day,” I said to the young man. “I choose to be cheerful.” “Let me give you an example,” I continued. “In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson. One day a few weeks ago I drove to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. So I put my flashers on, grabbed my books, and marched down the road to the college.” “As soon as I got there, the secretary in the Provost’s office asked me what had happened. ‘This is my lucky day’, I replied, smiling.” “Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?” She was puzzled, “What do you mean?” “I live seventeen miles from here. I replied. My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn’t. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I’m still able to teach my class, and I’ve been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn’t have been arranged in a more convenient fashion.” 小题1:If you want to be cheerful you should ___________.A.try to succeed in doing everything | B.try to please your boss every day | C.earn a lot of money by working | D.choose to be cheerful every day | 小题2:The underlined phrase “turn over” in the third paragraph means “________”A.roll over | B.work normally | C.stopped suddenly | D.move around | 小题3:According to this passage we can infer that the teacher’s car broke down ____.A.near UNLV | B.along the highway | C.near Henderson | D.at the community college | 小题4:Which one of the following is TRUE?A.The teacher taught not only at UNLV but also at the community college. | B.That was the teacher’s lucky day because the teacher liked walking. | C.The teacher always hoped that the car would break down often. | D.The young man was sad because his car broke down. |
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