【推荐2】How to Be a Good Listener

Being a good listener can help you see the world through the eyes of others. It enriches your understanding and expands your capacity for empathy (同情). Good listening skills can provide you with a deeper level of understanding about someone’s situation.     1    

1.Place yourself in other people’s shoes. It's easy to only consider the impact of the other person’s “telling” on you. But you must open out and look at the problems from the other person’s view.     2    

2.Avoid comparing the person’s experiences to your own. You may think that the best thing you can do to really listen is to compare the person’s experiences to your own. But this type of thinking actually makes the person feel like you’re not really listening at all.     3     That means that you’re focusing more on yourself than on the person’s situation.

3.    4     Some people think that, when they’re listening, they should find a quick and easy solution to the person’s problem. According to the research, it is totally wrong to do so. Instead focus on absorbing everything the person is saying to you. Only after that can you really try to help.

4.Know what not to do. Knowing what to avoid when you’re trying to be a good listener can be almost as helpful as knowing what to do. If you want the speaker to take you seriously you’d better not interrupt in the middle of a point.     5     Make eye contact with the person so that the person realizes that you are interested and are listening.

A．Don’t try to help immediately.

B．Avoid saying “I” or “me” a lot.

C．Try to solve the person’s problem quickly.

D．Don’t try to change the subject, even if it’s a little uncomfortable.

E．If so, you would see your way through the problems much faster.

F．Therefore you had better listen to what the person is saying carefully.

G．If you want to know how to be a good listener, read on to get started!

【推荐1】ARCTIC CIRCLE & NORTHERN LIGHTS TOUR

HIGHLIGHTS

Experience the Arctic Circle and amazing northern lights with us.

Cover a total of 400 miles in this 14-hour expedition.

Cross the broad Yukon River.

En-route, enjoy breathtaking views of Alaska, USA.

You may see moose, lynxes and foxes in their natural habitat.

ATTENTION: The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is a natural phenomenon and can not be guaranteed. There is no refund (退款) if the Aurora Borealis does not appear.

PICKUP TIME

12:15 pm - 1:00 pm.

MEETING POINT

Your hotel in Fairbanks.

WHAT TO EXPECT

▲1: 00 pm—Departure from Fairbanks.

Trans-Alaska-Pipeline—Get a close-up view of the famous pipeline and learn interesting facts about the engineering and building period.

Arctic Circle—Have your picture taken at the Arctic Circle and receive your Arctic Circle Certificate.

Yukon River—Walk right to the edge of Alaska’s most famous river.

▲3: 00 pm—Arrival at your hotel in Fairbanks.

On the return journey to Fairbanks we pass many sites, which are perfect for possible northern lights viewing.

We provide ham (or veggie) sandwich, chips, sweets, two bottles of water and hot drinks. Please feel free to bring extra food.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Cancellations 30 days ahead of tour date are subject to 5% banking charge.

Cancellations within 30 days are non-refundable.

IMPORTANT

A minimum of 2 people is required for online booking. Single travelers and short notice reservations (within 7 days of tour date) always have to contact us for availability at info@1stAlaskaTours.com or 907-590-5900.

1. What can guests surely do on the tour?

A．Enjoy amazing northern lights.	B．See some wild animals in their habitat.
C．Go through the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline.	D．Get an Arctic Circle Certificate.

2. Which of the following cases is refundable?

A．Cancelling a month before tour date.	B．Not crossing the Yukon River.
C．Booking within 7 days of tour date.	D．Not seeing northern lights.

3. Where can the text probably be found?

A．In a geography textbook.	B．On a science website.
C．On a tour homepage.	D．In a photography journal.

【推荐2】The California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) in Old Sacramento totals 100,000 square feet. Completed at a cost of $ 16. 1 million, the museum opened in May 1981. It houses 21 old locomotives (火车头) and cars, some dating back to 1862. Here visitors can learn a lot about railroad history in California and the west in America.

Hours & Tickets

The museum is open from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. daily (except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day). Tickets are sold until 4:30 p. m. $12 adults; $6 students; children aged 5 and under are free.

Parking

A small number of metered parking spaces are available on the streets of Old Sacramento. However, these spaces are not for guests visiting longer than 90 minutes. All-day parking is available in large public garages at both ends of Old Sacramento.

Food Service

The Silver Palace Restaurant in the Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station serves good food at the right prices. It is just one block southwest of the main entrance to the museum. There are many other restaurants throughout Old Sacramento.

Other Offerings

Guided tours and films about the museum are offered daily. There are many other chances at the museum, too, including some historical attractions (景点) within Old Sacramento State Historic Park.

1. What can we learn about CSRM?

A．It has a history of 154 years.	B．It has some old locomotives.
C．It is open for 8 hours every day.	D．It costs up to $ 15 million to build it.

2. How much should a 4-year-old boy and his parents pay if they visit the museum?

A．$12

B．$24

C．$30

D．$36

3. In the author’s eyes, the Silver Palace Restaurant         .

A．is worth visiting	B．is far from the museum
C．is famous for its expensive food	D．is the best one in Old Sacramento

【推荐3】The World’s Most Impressive Subways

The Tokyo Metro And Toei Lines

The Tokyo Metro and Toei lines that compose Tokyo’s massive subway system carry almost 8 million people each day, making it the busiest system in the world. The system is famous for its oshiya—literally, “pusher”—who pushes passengers into crowded subway cars so the doors can. close. And you think your ride is hell.

The Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro has some of the most beautiful stations in the world. The best of them were built during the Stalinist era and feature beautiful lamps, marble moldings (大理石装饰) and fantastic wall paintings. With more than 7 million riders a day, keeping all that marble clean has got to be a burden.

The Hong Kong MTR

The Hong Kong MTR has the distinction of being one of the few subway systems in the world that actually turns a profit. It’s privately owned and uses real estate (房地产) development along its tracks to increase income and ridership. It also introduced “Octopus cards” that allow people to not only pay their fares electronically, but buy things at convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and even parking meters. It’s estimated that 95% of all adults in Hong Kong own an Octopus card.

Shanghai Metro

Shanghai is the third city in China to build a metro system, and it has become the country’s largest in the 12 years since it opened. Shanghai Metro has 142 miles of track and plans to add another 180 miles within five years. By that point, it would be three times larger than Chicago “L”. The system carries about 2. 18 million people a day.

The London Metro

Londoners call their subway the Underground, even though 55 percent of it lies above ground. No matter when you access the oldest public transportation system in the world, you can call it anything you like. Trains started in 1863 and they’ve been running ever since. Some 3 million people ride each day, every one of them remembering to “Mind the gap”.

1. Which of the following can provide the riders with some wonderful decorations at the stations?

A．The Moscow Metro.	B．The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines
C．The London Metro.	D．The Hong Kong MTR.

2. According to the passage, the only subway that can bring more financial gains is ________.

A．the Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines	B．the Moscow Metro
C．the Hong Kong MTR	D．the London Metro

3. We can learn from the passage that Shanghai Metro ________.

A．carries the most people each day	B．is the world’s largest
C．is the busiest in the world	D．may be larger than the Chicago Subway in the future

4. What do we know about the Hong Kong MTR?

A．It has become the country’s largest subway since it opened.

B．It is not owned by the government

C．It carries the most people every day.

D．It is the busiest system in the world.

5. This passage mainly tells us the ________ of the five subways.

A．development

B．features

C．background

D．system

【推荐1】Shoppers in the United States have many different retail stores (零售店) to choose from. You can shop at large department stores, furniture stores, jewelry stores, electronic equipment stores and many others. Another type of retail store—the catalog store, has become popular in the U.S.

Catalog stores offer much of the same goods as traditional retail stores. However, in these stores, shoppers select the items they wish to buy from large catalogs that are filled with photos and descriptions of all the different goods. The variety of products listed in the catalogs includes everything from baby clothing to video equipment and watches. The prices of these items are very low. In fact, the same items often cost more in other retail stores. And that’s the reason many people prefer to shop in catalog stores.

When shoppers go to a catalog store, they see many brand-name products on display. If they are interested in purchasing an item, they need to follow this simple procedure.

●First, they go to a counter to find the store’s catalog.

●They look in the catalog to find the exact item they wish to buy.

●Then, they fill out an order form with the name of the item, the item number from the catalog, the price, and their name and address.

●After completing the form, the customer gives it to a salesperson, who checks to see if the item is in stock.

If the item is available, the stockroom sends it on a conveyor belt (输送带) to the pick-up   counter. When the item arrives at the pick-up counter, the customer’s name is called, and the customer pays for the item.

The whole procedure usually takes ten to twenty minutes. If the item isn’t available, the salesperson can usually check the store’s computer and find out when it will be in stock again.

Catalog stores usually don’t offer all the services that regular retail stores do. They usually don’t have many salespeople, so customers can’t expect to receive much assistance or attention from store employees. Customers need to know about the features and the quality of the items they wish to buy before they shop, since there isn’t much opportunity to ask questions or examine the product in the store. However, catalog stores offer quality items at lower prices, and consumers seem to appreciate this.

1. What is the difference between the traditional retail stores and the catalog stores?

A．The prices of products in catalog stores are higher.

B．Shoppers select the items they need from large catalogs.

C．Catalog Stores offer more products than the traditional stores.

D．Catalog stores usually offer all the services that regular retail stores do.

2. Which of the following is the right procedure for a shopper in a catalog store?
①Check the catalog to select the items.
②Fill out the order form.
③Wait at the pick-up counter.
④Find a catalog at a counter.
⑤Find a salesperson to cheek the form.

A．④-①-③-⑤-②	B．①-④-②-③-⑤
C．④-①-②-⑤-③	D．④-②-⑤-③-①

3. From the text we know that shopper of catalog stores______.

A．become salespeople now

B．do the same as in retail stores

C．have more chances to examine the goods

D．should know the information of the goods ahead

4. Catalog stores are popular mainly because they________

A．offer quality goods at lower prices

B．have many salespersons for service

C．can help save much time when doing shopping

D．offer the exact items the customer wishes to purchase

【推荐2】A new type of robot could help industries to cut costs and make better products.

Industrial robots have long been dangerous, caged creatures. But in recent years, the barriers between robots and humans have been coming down. A friendlier type of robot has begun appearing on the factory floor – and with it, a new way of working that could cut costs in many industries.

One area that has benefited hugely is the car industry. “In a car plant, a vehicle is produced every minute, and approximately 1,000 cars are made a day,” said Adolfo Suarez Roos, the Airbus Group expert who works with robotics on the French National Research Agency project ICARO. On the project, robots are able to help workers with repetitive tasks.

Suarez is hopeful the same success can be enjoyed while making planes. But given that robotics isn’t as widely used, the challenges are very different. “When making cars ,a robot has 40 seconds to do its job and the complete programming task takes about a month,” he said. “At Airbus, we produce 1.5 aircraft per day, so we have to look at tasks that will last several hours. We need mobile robots and a very simple way to program the robot.”

At Cranfield University, the EPSRC Centre in Intelligent Automation is trying to make this a reality for flight. An important part of the work is understanding how tasks can be divided between industrial robots and human operators to make use of the skills of both. When man and machine are working together over long periods of time, engineers are looking at how human can improve the robot or the robot can improve the human.

The project, called Futurassy, last year began introducing the robots to perform the processes that could be used across other sites by Airbus, an aircraft company.

The first robotic unit bought by Airbus arrived last year, and is now used at the A380 station, where humans now work with the robot. Key to the success of this project is safety, and making sure that the barriers between human and robot are just enough to still allow a productive working relationship.

Prof Phil Webb claims there is no doubt that the number of robots putting together aircraft will increase significantly over the next few years. Cost pressures placed on the traditional centers in North America and Europe mean they soon won’t have a choice but to move ahead with robotics.

1. Which industry has benefited a lot from robotics according to the article?

A．The car industry.	B．The plane industry.
C．The computer industry.	D．The service industry.

2. What are the main difficulties of using robots to make planes?
a. The high cost of robots.                         
b. The safety of using robots.
c. The poor creativity of robots.                 
d. Task division between human and robots.
e. Finding an easy way to program the robots.

A．a, b, c	B．b, c, d
C．b, d, e	D．a, c, e

3. What is the main factor that has pushed the aircraft industry to move ahead with robotics?

A．Technology development.	B．Cost pressures.
C．A shortage of workers.	D．The low efficiency of workers.

4. What is the article mainly about?

A．Safety tips for robotics in industries.

B．The aircraft industry’s difficult situation.

C．The use of robots in the aircraft industry.

D．The advantages and disadvantages of robots.

【推荐3】A knight (骑士) was a mounted warrior of medieval Europe who served a king or other feudal superior, usually in return for land. Knighthood was taken quite seriously and had to be earned.

At about the age of eight, a boy would begin training in preparation for knighthood. This young trainee, known as a page (学习骑士),would train with mentors to learn about horses, armor, and weapons. Pages practiced fighting with a sword against a wooden stake and learned to skillfully use a bow and arrow. The lady of the castle taught a young page about manners and social graces, as well as how to sing, play instruments, and dance. A priest might give a page religious training and teach him to read and write. By the age of fourteen, the page would become a squire (骑士的随从). A squire was responsible for dressing a knight for battles and tournaments and taking care of the knight armor and weapons. He would even follow his master on the battlefield to protect him if the knight fell.

A squire had to gain skill in using a lance (长矛), spear, or sword, so he would practice against a wooden dummy called a quintain(矛靶). The quintain and a shield were hung on a wooden pole, and when hit, the whole structure would spin. The squire would learn to ride up and hit the shield’s center, but then quickly move out of the way without getting hit and knocked off his horse by the quintain.

At about age twenty, a squire was finally prepared to be called a knight, which involved an extended ceremony. On the evening before becoming a knight the squire confessed his sins to a priest, was given a symbolic bath, and then fasted in order to cleanse his soul. The squire would dress all in white and stay in a chapel all night praying and watching over his weapons and armor.

In the morning, the squire would dress in symbolically-colored clothing: red for his blood, white for purity, and brown for his return to the earth after death. At this ceremony, the knight wore a code of chivalry, which required him always to be brave, loyal, courteous, and to protect the defenseless. Knighthood was granted by the overlord (领主) and the new knight was tapped on the shoulders or neck with the flat side of the sword.

If this new knight ever broke his promise or acted dishonorably, he would be stripped of his knighthood in another ceremony, in which he was 14 buried. In the Middle Ages, a knight without honor was considered as good as dead.

1. What were the responsibilities of a squire?

A．Practicing fighting with a sword and using a bow and arrow skillfully.

B．Looking after weapons and learning manners from the Lady of the castle.

C．Confessing his sin and praying for his mentors.

D．Dressing a knight for fighting and protecting him.

2. What does the underlined word “chivalry” mean?

A．The noble spirit a knight possesses.	B．The tough task a knight has to finish.
C．The high goal a knight must achieve.	D．The military discipline a knight should obey.

3. If a knight failed to keep his promise, what would happen?

A．He would be sentenced to death.	B．He would be robbed of his title.
C．He would be forced to leave Court.	D．His land would be returned to the King.

4. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．Why people wanted to be knights.	B．How one became a knight.
C．When knighthood started.	D．Who knights had to serve.