Question

    “I wish I could!” It’s my response when turning down an invitation, but it’s not exactly true.

Sometimes it is. For example, if you need people to feed your baby sheep, but I have to go to work that day, I really wish I could come to your farm.

But if you’ve invited me to attend a three-hour meeting, “I wish I could” is a lie. It’s a lie of omission, though, which is better than a regular lie. In a lie of omission, two people just assume（设想）different things about what’s left unsaid.

When you hear “I wish I could”, your imagination might complete my response as “I wish I could go to your makeup party.” If that’s what you think I mean, great. I may not want to go to your pottery exhibit (I really don’t), but I don’t want to make you sad either. So this works for both of us.

If I’m being honest about how that sentence really ends, most of the time it means “I wish I could please you by doing the thing you’re asking me to do; however, I’m not going to do it.” I’d love to say I’m a reformed（改进的）people pleaser, but I’m only reformed enough to say no to your event, not reformed enough to be clear and say, “I’d rather eat glass than attend a meeting on a Friday.” I admit it: I like being liked. Who doesn’t?

It made me happy that, when a friend asked last week, “Come and try my hot yoga class tomorrow?” and I answered, “I wish I could!” she walked away smiling. Plus, who knows? Maybe I’ll be in the mood for hot yoga next time. Probably not, but I’ve left the window open for her to ask me again.

1.What does the text mainly focus on?

A.The art of turning down.

B.The power of saying no directly.

C.The relationship between friends.

D.The most effective ways to accept invitations.

2.What can we infer about the author from Paragraph 3?

A.She is a habitual liar.

B.She is a sports enthusiast.

C.She tends to make people angry.

D.She knows how to tell white lies.

3.What does the author mean by saying “I’m a reformed people pleaser” in Paragraph 5?

A.She pleases everyone.

B.She hates those who tell lies.

C.She says no in an indirect way.

D.She pays little attention to others’ feelings.

4.Which of the following words best describe the author?

A.Wise and polite. B.Brave and generous.

C.Honest and respected. D.Sensitive and self-centered.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。主要叙述了如何通过委婉的方式拒绝别人的要求或者邀请。

1.主旨大意题。本篇文章主要讲述了例如“I wish I could”式的委婉拒绝法，所以主要讨论了拒绝的艺术。故选A项。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段“It’s a lie of omission, though, which is better than a regular lie. In a lie of omission, two people just assume different things about what’s left unsaid.”，句意是这是一个疏忽的谎言，比一个普通的谎言要好。在一个不作为的谎言中，两个人只是对没说的话有不同的看法。可知她了解如何编造善意的谎言。故选D项。

3.推理判断题。根据第五段“but I’m only reformed enough to say no to your event, not reformed enough to be clear”，我只会对你的事说不，而不会把事情搞清楚。可知她不采用直白的语言方式来拒绝别人。故选C项。

4.推理判断题。通读全篇可知，良好的拒绝艺术并不会给双方带来尴尬和难堪，还让自己不会失去别人下次邀约或请求的机会，故这种方式是礼貌和智慧的。故选A项。