A peer is a person who is about the same age as you. Peers affect your life, whether you know it or not, just by spending time with you.
Peers can have a good effect on one another. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in solar system. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book and now everyone’s reading it.
However, sometimes peers affect one another in another way. For example, one kid in school might try to get another to cut class with him, your soccer friend might try to persuade you to be mean to another player and never pass her the ball, or a kid in the neighborhood might want you to shoplift with him.
Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or because they worry that other kids may make fun of them if they don’t go along with the group. Others may go along because they are curious to try something new that others are doing. The idea that “ everyone’s doing it” may influence some kids to leave their better judgments or their common senses behind.
Peer pressure can be extremely strong and hard to get rid of. Experiments have shown how peer pressure can influence someone to change her/ his mind from what she/ he knows for sure is a correct answer to the incorrect answer——just because everyone else gives the incorrect answer! That holds true for people of any age in peer pressure situations.
It can be hard to walk away from peer pressure, but it can be done. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do. Inner strength and self- confidence can help you stand firm, walk away and resist doing something when you know better.
【小题1】 What is the passage mainly about ?

My eighth grade consisted of 28 classmates．We knew each other so well that most of us could distinguish each other’s handwriting at a glance．Although we grew up together, we still had class outcasts(被抛弃者)．From second grade on, a small group started harassing(骚扰)two or three of the others．I was one of those two or three, though I didn’t know why．In most cases when children get picked on, they aren’t good at sports or they read too much or they wear the wrong clothes or they are of a different race．But in my class, we all read too much and didn’t know how to play sports．We had also been brought up to carefully respect each other’s race．This is what was so strange about my situation．Usually, people are made outcasts because they are in some way different from the larger group．But in my class, large differences did not exist．It was as if the outcasts were invented by the group out of a need for them．

The harassment came in the form of laughter when I talked, and rolled eyes when I turned around．If I was out on the playground and approached a group of people, they often fell silent. Sometimes, someone would not see me coming and I would catch the tail end of a joke at my expense．

There was another girl in our class who was perhaps even more rejected than I．She provided the group with a lot of material for jokes. One day one popular girl came up to me to show me something she said I wouldn’t want to miss．We walked to a corner of the playground．Three or four girls there were reading aloud from a small book, which I was told was the girl’s diary．

I sat down and, laughing till my sides hurt, heard my voice finally mixed with the others．Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last．Looking back, I wonder how I could have participated in making fun of this girl when I knew perfectly well how it felt．If I were in that situation today I would react differently, but I can’t honestly be sure．

69．The author was made an outcast because _________．

       A．she couldn’t play sports as well as others                       

B．her family belonged to a minority group

       C．her classmates found her clothes funny                       

D．her classmates required an outcast

70．How was the author treated as an outcast?

       A．She was often the target of teasing．

B．No one responded to her talking．

       C．She was refused to approach others．

D．Her diary was often made public．

71．What did the author do to the girl mentioned in Paragraph 3?

       A．She showed great sympathy with the girl．

       B．She joined others in making fun of the girl．

       C．She stopped the others from hurting the girl．

       D．She found more materials about the girl for jokes．

72．What does the passage intend to tell us?

       A．Someone is likely to become an outcast．

       B．We shouldn’t hit a person when he is down．

       C．One should pay somebody back in his own way．

       D．Everyone has a desire to be accepted by others．

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        .

My eighth grade consisted of 28 classmates. We knew each other so well that most of us could distinguish each other's handwriting at a glance. Although we grew up together, we still had class outcasts．From second grade on, a small group started harassing （骚扰） two or three of the others．I was one of those two or three, though I didn't know why．In most cases when children get picked on, they aren't good at sports or they read too much or they wear the wrong clothes or they are of a different race．But in my class, we all read too much and didn't know how to play sports．We had also been brought up to carefully respect each other's race．This is what was so strange about my situation．Usually, people are made outcasts because they are in some way different from the larger group．But in my class, large differences did not exist．It was as if the outcasts were invented by the group out of a need for them．

The harassment came in the form of laughter when I talked, and rolled eyes when I turned around．If I was out on the playground and approached a group of people, they often fell silent．Sometimes, someone would not see me coming and I would catch the tail end of a joke at my expense．

There was another girl in our class who was perhaps even more rejected than I．She provided the group with a lot of material for jokes．One day one popular girl came up to me to show me something she said I wouldn't want to miss．We walked to a comer of the playground．Three or four girls there were reading aloud from a small book, which I was told was the girl's diary．

I sat down and, laughing till my sides hurt, heard my voice finally mixed with the others．Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last．Looking back, I wonder how I could have participated in making fun of this girl when I knew perfectly well how it felt．If I were in that situation today I would react differently, but I can't honestly be sure．

1.The author was made an outcast because ____．

A．she couldn't play sports as well as others

B．her classmates needed to find an outcast her

C．her classmates found her clothes funny

D．family belonged to a minority group

2.How was the author treated as an outcast?

A．She was refused to approach others．

B．No one responded to her talking．

C．She was often the target of teasing．

D．Her diary was often made public．

3.What did the author do to the girl mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．She showed great sympathy with the girl．

B．She found more materials about the girl for jokes．

C．She stopped the others from hurting the girl．

D．She joined others in making fun of the girl．

4.What does the passage intend to tell us?

A．Everyone is likely to become an outcast．

B．We shouldn't hit a person when he is down．

C．Everyone has a desire to be accepted by others．

D．One should pay somebody back in his own way．

My eighth grade consisted of 28 classmates. We knew each other so well that most of us could distinguish each other's handwriting at a glance. Although we grew up together, we still had class outcasts．From second grade on, a small group started harassing （骚扰） two or three of the others．I was one of those two or three, though I didn't know why．In most cases when children get picked on, they aren't good at sports or they read too much or they wear the wrong clothes or they are of a different race．But in my class, we all read too much and didn't know how to play sports．We had also been brought up to carefully respect each other's race．This is what was so strange about my situation．Usually, people are made outcasts because they are in some way different from the larger group．But in my class, large differences did not exist．It was as if the outcasts were invented by the group out of a need for them．
The harassment came in the form of laughter when I talked, and rolled eyes when I turned around．If I was out on the playground and approached a group of people, they often fell silent．Sometimes, someone would not see me coming and I would catch the tail end of a joke at my expense．
There was another girl in our class who was perhaps even more rejected than I．She provided the group with a lot of material for jokes．One day one popular girl came up to me to show me something she said I wouldn't want to miss．We walked to a comer of the playground．Three or four girls there were reading aloud from a small book, which I was told was the girl's diary．
I sat down and, laughing till my sides hurt, heard my voice finally mixed with the others．Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last．Looking back, I wonder how I could have participated in making fun of this girl when I knew perfectly well how it felt．If I were in that situation today I would react differently, but I can't honestly be sure．

1. 1.

   The author was made an outcast because ____．

   1. A.
      she couldn't play sports as well as others
   2. B.
      her classmates needed to find an outcast her
   3. C.
      her classmates found her clothes funny
   4. D.
      family belonged to a minority group
2. 2.

   How was the author treated as an outcast?

   1. A.
      She was refused to approach others．
   2. B.
      No one responded to her talking．
   3. C.
      She was often the target of teasing．
   4. D.
      Her diary was often made public．
3. 3.

   What did the author do to the girl mentioned in Paragraph 3?

   1. A.
      She showed great sympathy with the girl．
   2. B.
      She found more materials about the girl for jokes．
   3. C.
      She stopped the others from hurting the girl．
   4. D.
      She joined others in making fun of the girl．
4. 4.

   What does the passage intend to tell us?

   1. A.
      Everyone is likely to become an outcast．
   2. B.
      We shouldn't hit a person when he is down．
   3. C.
      Everyone has a desire to be accepted by others．
   4. D.
      One should pay somebody back in his own way．