Are you the type of person who always says“yes”？I’ve come to learn that it is very im-portant to learn to say NO！It’s okay. People are still going to like you. They may even respect you more because they know you are honest.

I，m not saying to say“no" to someone who really needs your help. I’m talking about re-fusing that meeting that you really do not want to attend or that birthday party that you don’t want to be a guest at.

Think for a moment how you feel when you say YES to something that you really don’t want to do. If you’re like I once was，you can’t sleep at night and you think about it too much. It weighs on your mind. You try to find ways out. Whatever you’re saying to yourself，if you really wanted to go，you wouldn’t have all of these thoughts.

So，why not just say NO from the beginning? Maybe you feel like if you don’t show up at the meeting（by the way，it is not one you must attend) your boss isn’t going to like you or your co-workers won’t respect you. Maybe you feel as if your mom，dad or sisters won’t love you as much if you don’t do everything for them that they ask every occasion.

If these people are your true friends，family members，or a good boss，they will like or love you the same no matter what. People treat you the way you teach them to，and if you’re some-one who always says“yes" then that’s what they，re expecting.

You need to do what is right for you. Of course we do have real obligations in life to ful-fill，but we do not have to do everything others want us to do.

1.Which of the following statements would the writer agree with？

A．We should try to do what our friends ask us to do.

B．We should help others in need.

C．Always saying“yes" means you are dishonest.

D．Always saying“no" means you are brave.

2.What does the underlined word，’ It" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Saying "yes"．

B．A friend's birthday party.

C．Something you’re unwilling to do.

D．Something you think difficult to do.

3.The writer believes that if you say“no" to your family members，you’11＿·

A．have the same relationship with them as before

B．have a loose relationship with them

C．disappoint them

D．upset them

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Learn to Make a Right Choice              B．To Be Yourself

C．Do What You Want to Do                  D．Learn to Say No

FRANCE has destroyed the hopes of those who had planned to take refuge（避难）in one of the few places on Earth which some believe will be spared when the world ends on December 21 ．Local officials banned access to the Pic de Bugarach，a mountain in the southwest where rumor has it that the hilltop will open on the last day and aliens will appear with spaceships to save nearby humans.

Eric Freysselinard，the state’s top representative in the area，said he was blocking access to the mountain for public safety reasons to avoid a rush of New Age fanatics(盲信者），sight-seers and media crews. Believers say the world will end on December 21，2012，the end date of the ancient Mayan calendar，and they see Bugarach as one of a few sacred mountains sheltered from the cataclysm(大灾难）．

Mr Freysselinard said the 100 police and firefighters will also control approaches to the tiny village of the same name at the foot of the mountain，and if too many people turn up，they will block access there too.“We are expecting a few people who believe in this end of the world，but in extremely limited numbers，” he said in the. nearby city of Carcassonne.“We are expecting greater numbers of people who are just curious，but in numbers we cannot determine. Above all，we are expecting lots of journalists，”he said.

Films，documentaries and websites have promoted the idea that the ancient Mayan calendar predicts that doomsday is on December 21．The culture ministry in Guatemala-where half the population are of Mayan descent-is hosting a massive event in the capital just in case the world actually does end，while tour groups are promoting doomsday-themed getaways.

1.Many people plan to go to Pic de Bugarach mainly because      ．

A．they want to take refuge on December 21，2012

B．they want to meet aliens with spaceships to save humans

C．they want to visit the scenery of the mountain

D．they want to make profits by attracting tourists

2.Eric Freysselinard was blocking access to the mountain for      ．

A．forbidding the rumour spreading           B．improving environmental protection

C．protecting public safety                   D．avoiding destroying natural sources

3.What kinds of people would come to Pic de Bugarach？

a. Tourists. b. Journalists. c. Local officials. d. Visionaries. e. The Mayans.

A．a. b. e.            B．a. b. c.            C．a. b. d.            D．b. d. e.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．The World Ends on December 21           B．The Ancient Mayan Calendar Ends

C．A Massive Event in The Capital              D．French Say‘No’to The Refugee

Switzerland is the best place to be born in the world in 2013，and the US is just 16th. A new study made by the Economist Intelligence Unit says American babies will have a dimmer（暗淡）future than those born in Hong Kong，Ireland and even Canada. The EIU，a sister company of The Economist，tried to measure how well countries will provide the best opportunities for a healthy，safe and prosperous life in years to come.

People born in Switzerland will tend to be the happiest and have the best quality of life in terms of wealth，health and trust in public institutions，according to the analysis. The Scandinavian countries of Norway，Sweden and Denmark also all make the top five in a‘quality-of-lif e’index(指数）where it is best to be born next year.

One of the most important factors is being rich，but other factors come into play including crime，trust in public institutions and the health of family life. In total，the index takes into account 11 factors. These include fixed factors such as geography，others that change slowly over time such as demography (人口学) social and cultural characteristics, and the state of the world economy. The index also looks at income per head in 2030，which is roughly when children born in 2013 will reach adulthood. Small economies take up the top 10 countries，with Australia coming second and New Zealand and the Netherlands not too far behind.

Half of the top 10 countries are European，but only one，the Netherlands，is from the eurozone. The crisis-ridden south of Europe，including Greece，Portugal and Spain，falls behind despite the advantage of a favourable climate. Interestingly，the largest European economies-Germany，France and Britain-do not do particularly well. Nigeria has the unenviable(不值得羡慕的)title of being the worst country for a baby to enter the world in 2013.

1.According to the passage，the happiest people live in      ·

A．Denmark          B．Switzerland        C．Germany          D．Nigeria

2.The factors of telling the best place to be born don’t include      ．

A．economy                             B．geography

C．trust in public institutions                 D．pollution

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text？

A．The Economist Intelligence Unit is a company.

B．The Economist attempted to measure the best place to live.

C．The Scandinavian countries are hardly at the top of the list.

D．Half of the top 10 countries are from the eurozone.

4.The purpose of the text is to show people      ．

A．the best place to be born in 2013

B．a new study made by the EIU

C．the worst country to be born in 2013

D．the factors of measuring the best place to be born

-Sorry，I shouldn’t have rushed you.

一    ．How about having a walk in the park beside the theatre？

A．You are welcome                        B．That’s right

C．I have no idea                          D．Never mind

To see a young couple loving each other is    ；but to see an old couple loving each other is the best sight of all.

A．no wonder        B．no doubt          C．no way            D．no problem

Only when you are living in a foreign country    the importance of English.

A．you can realize     B．you realized        C．did you realize      D．can you realize

In a new study of African elephants，researchers have    four distinct characters that are among a group.

A．convinced         B．identified          C．differed           D．existed

Mo Yan’s novel，Red Sorghum，     was made into a film，won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1988．

A．that              B．which             C．what             D．it

As everybody knows，     a person I s，the more things he needs to do tomorrow.

A．the lazy           B．lazier             C．the lazier          D．the laziest

Online music providers in China hope to set up a plan that will charge individual users for music    

A．prints            B．projects           C．records           D．downloads