We do some strange things when we don’t like the way our life is going．Too often we blame(责怪)someone else．‘‘I wish my parents were more understanding．”
“I have such a bad Chemistry teacher!”
“My friends are so boring and self-centered．They make my life worse and worse．’’
Blame! Blame! Blame!
It seems natural to sing this self-pitying song，but the truth is，if you don’t like your life，you should do something about it．No one else knows exactly how you feel or what you need．No one can read your mind correctly．You are the only one with the power to cheek your life，and if you want it to be different，you can change what you’re doing．
When you’re in trouble，don’t give away your power to decide how you feel about yourself. Choose how you want to think and act．Other people can’t make you unhappy or angry．They only act in their own way and then it’s up to you to decide how you will respond(回应)．For example，your friends go out to lunch without you and you feel very angry．How are you going to act? You may blame your friends，“They are not kind．Who needs them anyway?” Or you may tell your friends how you feel，listen to their explanation，and let them know you’d like to be invited next time．
When you decide everything in your own way，you’re getting hold of your own life and shaping(塑造)it according to your tastes and feelings．You can choose to be happy，to make friends and to build an interesting life．When you blame others for what is or isn’t happening in your life，you have stopped growing or learning．
One of the most important rules is that you can never change another person by your direct action．The only person you have the right to change is yourself．Once you change，the other person has something different to respond to and change is possible．If you want change in your life，begin with yourself．

1. 1.

   What should we do if we don’t like our life?

   1. A.
      Change what we’re doing．
   2. B.
      Read our minds correctly．
   3. C.
      Sing that self-pitying song．
   4. D.
      Tell others what we want．
2. 2.

   If the writer’s friends have dinner together without him，he may______.

   1. A.
      ask somebody else to talk to them
   2. B.
      do the same thing to them in return
   3. C.
      talk to them and try to find out why
   4. D.
      forget it and be still friendly with them
3. 3.

   What’s the writer’s idea about how to change others?

   1. A.
      He thinks it’s impossible to change others．
   2. B.
      He believes our love can change everything．
   3. C.
      He chooses to talk with others directly．
   4. D.
      He prefers to change ourselves first instead．
4. 4.

   At the beginning of the passage three examples are given______.

   1. A.
      to support the idea that people often blame others
   2. B.
      to suggest that there are various problems in people’s life
   3. C.
      to show that not all chemistry teachers are fit for their job
   4. D.
      to explain the reason why some people’s life is worse and worse
5. 5.

   What’s the best title of the passage?

   1. A.
      Blame! Blame! Blame!
   2. B.
      Who Controls My Life?
   3. C.
      Change! Change! Change!
   4. D.
      What Makes Me Unhappy?

“Cool” is a word with many meanings．Its old meaning is used to express a temperature that is a little bit cold．As the world has changed，the word has had many different meaning．
“Cool” can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything．
When you see a famous car in the street，maybe you will say，“It's cool．”You may think，“He's so cool，”when you see your favorite footballer．
We all maximize（扩大） the meaning of “cool”．You can use it instead of many words such as “new” or “surprising”．Here's an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used．A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall（瀑布）they had visited．On one student's paper was Just the one sentence，“It's so cool．Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt．
But the story also shows a scarcity（缺乏）of words．Without “cool”，some people have no words to show the same meaning．So it is quite important to keep some credibility（可信性）．Can you think of many other words that make your life as colorful as the word “cool”？ I can．And I think they are also very cool．
【小题1】We know that the word "cool" has had ________.

“Cool” is a word with many meanings．Its old meaning is used to express a temperature that is a little bit cold．As the world has changed，the word has had many different meaning．
“Cool” can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything．
When you see a famous car in the street，maybe you will say，“It's cool．”You may think，“He's so cool，”when you see your favorite footballer．
We all maximize（扩大） the meaning of “cool”．You can use it instead of many words such as “new” or “surprising”．Here's an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used．A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall（瀑布）they had visited．On one student's paper was Just the one sentence，“It's so cool．Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt．
But the story also shows a scarcity（缺乏）of words．Without “cool”，some people have no words to show the same meaning．So it is quite important to keep some credibility（可信性）．Can you think of many other words that make your life as colorful as the word “cool”？ I can．And I think they are also very cool．
【小题1】We know that the word "cool" has had ________.

I hated dinner parties. But I decided to give them another shot because I’m in London. And my friend Mallery invited me. And because dinner parties in London are very different from those back in New York. There, “I’m having a dinner party” means “I’m booking a table for 12 at a restaurant you can’t afford and we’ll be sharing the cheque evenly, no matter what you eat.”
Worse, in Manhattan there is always someone who leaves before the bill arrives. They’ll throw down cash, half of what they owe, and then people like me, who don’t drink, end up paying even more. But if I try to use the same trick, the hostess will shout “Where are you going?” And it’s not like I can say I have somewhere to go : everyone knows I have nowhere to go.
But in London, dinner parties are in people’s homes. Not only that, the guests are an interesting mix. The last time I went to one, the guests were from France, India, Denmark and Nigeria; it was like a gathering at the United Nations. In New York, the mix is less striking. It’s like a gathering at Bloomingdale’s, a well-known department store.
For New Yorkers, talking about other parts of the world means Brooklyn and Queens in New York. But at Mallery’s, when I said that I had been to Myanmar recently, people knew where it was. In New York people would think it was a usual new club.
【小题1】What does the word “shot” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?