When it comes to relationship, we spend a lot of time discussing their joys, but rarely talk about the pain when they break down. Yet most people have a story about a broken relationship.
For Jane Black, a six-year friendship ended when her friend was rude to one of her children. “After quite a few drinks at a party in my house, she said something rude to my child. I ended the friendship face to face at the party,” she says. “I didn’t realize what I was doing at the time, I was simply standing up for my child, but in her eyes any challenge was a betrayal.”
When Angela Thompson noticed a seven-year friendship disappearing, she let it go. “I didn’t know how to deal with the issue. I didn’t sit down for a grown-up conversation; I just walked away quietly.” The decision caused a reaction among Thompson’s other friends. “The other friends in the circle are the worst people when you are trying to break up with a friend,” she says. “They don’t want you to stop being friends, because it puts them in a difficult position. You get told to just get it over.”
Though we have plenty of measures for handling conflict at work or family fight, we still don’t have good ways of ending friendships. Do we sit down and properly break up, or just walk away? Psychologist Serena Cauchy has the following advice.
Don’t blame.
Talk about your needs and feeling rather than talking like a Dutch uncle.
Do talk about your needs.
Talk about why the friendship is not working for you—about how your needs aren’t being met.
Don’t gossip.
Negative talk hurts everyone involved and in some cases can make matters worse.
Don’t be so accessible.
If there is a common wish to conclude the friendship, then you can remove it.
1.How did Angela Thompson deal with her friendship when it went wrong?
A. She ended it face to face.
B. She left it as it was.
C. She turned to her friends for advice.
D. She made a direct challenge.
2.According to the third paragraph, we learn the other friends________.
A. will help you to fix a broken friendship
B. will choose either of the sides who broke up
C. will ask you to forgive each other
D. will be the worst people to break up with you at the same time
3.Which is NOT mentioned by Psychologist Serena Cauchy?
A. End the friendship if it can’t be renewed.
B. Don’t complain behind one’s back.
C. Express what you want and expect.
D. Sincerely talk about friends’ shortcomings.
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. A True Friendship
B. When Friendships disappear
C. How Friendships Last
D. Ways to Fix Friendships
On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley saved me.
The previous afternoon, I played with my six-year-old peers in Heather Peters’ backyard. I was enjoying my cake, when Heather asked me where my sleeping bag was. Only then did I know this party was a sleepover. The word “sleep-over” to a six-year-old bed-wetter is like what “cancer” means to an adult. But what if I told them I was a bed-wetter? At least with cancer, people gather at your bedside instead of running from it.
I thought of a way to escape. I would explain that I needed my mother’s permission to spend the nights. But as I called my Mom, Heather stood beside me to listen. She granted permission! Then I would be sleeping in the same living room as the other girls. I didn't bring my own nightdress, so Mrs. Peters offered me Heather's nightdress.
As the other girls drifted into their sweet dreams, I tried to stay awake. “Do I need to go again? I’ll stay up to go one more time...”. Of course, I finally fell asleep.
The next morning, I was the first to wake up. I was warm! I lay in panic for what seemed like hours before the other girls started to wake up. I did the only thing I could do—I pretended that the bed-wetting didn't happen. I got up, took off Heather's nightdress and changed into my clothes like the other girls.
Mrs. Peters walked into the room, and before she could say anything, she stepped right onto the pile of my wet nightdress. My heart stopped as I watched her face burn red. “WHO DID THIS?” She screamed, with a look so scary. Should I answer? And that was when it happened—Mr. Peters came in and grabbed his wife, “Elvis Presley died!”
The news of the King’s death overtook Mrs. Peters, and I was narrowly excused. Then, we left Peters’ together but without the other girls knowing what had happened.
1.The author had to spend the night at Peters’ because ________.
A. they had fun together and played too late
B. she was offered the nightdress
C. the famous singer Elvis Presley died that night
D. she and her friends were having a sleepover party
2.Mrs. Peters got angry because ________.
A. she found the nightdress wet
B. Elvis Presley died that morning
C. her husband grabbed her
D. not all the girls behaved themselves
3.From the story, we know Mrs. Peters was ________.
A. a crazy and strict woman
B. a devoted fan of Elvis Presley
C. a woman for perfection
D. a woman with a strong fear of getting dirty
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. How I escaped Mrs. Peters’ punishment.
B. How Elvis Presley saved my life.
C. An embarrassing escape in my life.
D. An unforgettable party in my memory.
Morning is extremely important, because it is the beginning of a day. How you choose to your morning can often be used to predict what kind of day you are going to have.
each day with love and gratitude (感激). When you get up in the morning, think of what a great luck it is to be —to see, to hear, to love, to have something to look forward to. Happiness is simply the feeling of appreciating others. Realize that it’s not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. Don’t have pressure on each new morning. yourself from the things that you didn’t yesterday and made you down. Let yesterday go. Every morning is the start of a new day with new . Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.
1.A. live B. enjoy C. changeD. spend
2.A. CompareB. Treat C. BeginD. Concern
3.A. aliveB. alikeC. aheadD. awake
4.A. lainB. laidC. coveredD. floated
5.A. Comfort B. KeepC. FreeD. Cure
6.A. give out B. come outC. set outD. work out
7.A. views B. tasksC. difficultiesD. opportunities
While I was on my way into Wal-Mart, I was greeted by a woman working at the door. Before I wanted to buy what I wanted, I had a(n) to make, and I was stopped by the woman, who wanted to my bag. Usually I would have got angry, because I knew I didn’t steal. I had just noticed someone ahead of me being not so nice. That person treated this lady as if she was . The person had just snatched(攫取) a bag back from her and stormed off even saying “thank you”. I could say that this lady looked , but she was still trying to make ends meet. I could tell this woman was by what had just happened, and no one knew how many people had been her that way all day long.
What if she was a grandmother who had to her grandchildren, because the parents had just lost their life in an accident? What if her husband was seriously and they couldn’t afford the medical expenses?
All she wanted was to do her well. All she wanted was to customers as she was trained. All she needed was to be . I wondered whether I could be someone that she needed.
I looked her in her eyes as she scanned my bag, and then I smiled and said, “Your hair is beautiful!” Her face and she told me how easy it was to manage her hair. She handed my bag back, and told me the customer service desk was straight down on my left. I said “Thank you!”
1.A. purchase B. difficulty C. survey D. return
2.A. observe B. steal C. check D. take
3.A. nobody B. something C. anythingD. anybody
4.A. without B. beyondC. after D. before
5.A. strong B. oldC. wise D. awful
6.A. hurt B. impressed C. moved D. ignored
7.A. accepting B. treating C. judging D. approaching
8.A. care forB. care aboutC. look intoD. look for
9.A. poor B. disturbed C. disappointedD. sick
10.A. favor B. greeting C. jobD. training
11.A. supportB. serve C. help D. instruct
12.A. protected B. appreciated C. hired D. liked
13.A. set upB. lifted up C. lit upD. cheered up
--Andrew won’t like it, you know.
-- _____? I don’t care what Andrew thinks!
A. So whatB. How comeC. What ifD. How about
These tax laws which are intended for domestic companies do not _____ to foreign companies.
A. contribute B. leadC. applyD. adapt
