Have you ever been afraid to talk back when you were treated unfairly? Have you ever bought something just because the salesman talked you into it?
Many people are afraid to assert（维护，坚持） themselves. Dr. Robert Albert, author of STAND UP, SPEAK OUT and TALK BACK, thinks it is because their self-respect is low. “There’s always a superior around------ a parent, a teacher, a boss who knows better.” But Albert and other scientists are doing something to help people assert themselves.
They offer assertiveness training courses, A. T. for short. In the A. T. course people learn that they have a right to be themselves. They learn to speak out and feel good about doing so. They learn to be aggressive without hurting other people.
In one way, learning to speak out is to get rid of fear. A group taking an A. T. course will help the timid person to lose his fear. But A. T. uses an even stronger motive to share the need. The timid person speaks out in the group because he wants to tell how he feels.
Whether or not you speak up for yourself depends on your self-respect. If your face is more important than you, you may feel less of a person. You start to doubt your answers to problems. However, once you get to feel good about yourself, you can learn to speak out.
小题1:The problem the writer talks about is that ________________.
A．some people buy things they don’t want
B．some people are afraid to speak up for their rights
C．there are too many superiors
D．some people don’t think enough of themselves小题2:The cause of the problem talked about in the text is that _________.
A．some people have a low self-respect
B．there is always someone around who knows better
C．salesmen talk people into buying things they don’t want
D．people don’t share enough小题3:The underlined word “timid” probably means “___________” in Chinese
A．胆小的
B．优秀的
C．勇敢的
D．无知的小题4:One thing the A.T. course doesn’t do is to _____________.
A. share the need of people B. show people they have a right to be themselves
C. help people overcome fear D. help people to assert themselves even if others suffer
