Research shows that forming connections with your coworkers is good for your career and your overall happiness.
It’s a fact that as you get older, it becomes harder to make friends. It’s a natural progression, whether you work in an office or a remote area. As you get older and leave school, you often have more demands for your time and fewer opportunities to get to know those around you.
“Maintaining friendships takes effort, but it’s well worth it,” says CEO and Fast Company contributor Corey Weiner. “Studies show that a friend can make you a better collaborator (合作者), a more creative and productive worker and generally happier with your job.”
After all, most of you spend a huge number of your waking hours at work. Of course, it’s more fun to have someone to collaborate with and occasionally sympathize with. But how do you go about making genuine connections with coworkers or other like-minded individuals in your industry?
It might sound overly simplistic, but a big part of building friendships is just putting yourself out there. “If you’re not used to having a lot of friends any more, you may actually need to remind yourself to engage,” writes Professor Art Markman. “Set time on your calendar for a phone call or make plans to get a cup of coffee.”
“Don’t wait for someone else to make the first move,” says Keith Rollag, author of What to Do When You’re New. “If things go well during an initial coffee or activity, actively follow up to build on that connection.”
You’re not going to immediately bond with all of your coworkers or every person you meet at a networking happy hour. But making continual attempts to find connections with your non-annoying colleagues will eventually pay off. Last but not least, don’t call them work husband or work wife in the beginning.
1. Why is it harder to make friends when people get older?| A．They focus more on other business. |
| B．They have more demands on friends. |
| C．They reject to put many efforts into it. |
| D．They are too old to know other people. |
| A．The way to make friends. | B．The need to do jobs well. |
| C．The importance of the studies. | D．The meaning of gaining friendship. |
| A．Keeping in touch with old friends. | B．Spending more time drinking coffee. |
| C．The initiative in forming connections. | D．The balance between work and life. |
| A．To offer suggestions. | B．To explain reasons. |
| C．To draw conclusions. | D．To make comments. |
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【推荐1】Linda Abraham, co-founder of Scores, a leading digital analytic company, established her organization on a simple premise(前提): hire people you respect, not necessary people you like. Since starting the business in 1999, she has intentionally brought in people she didn’t like but thought they would be good for the team. ＂They’re almost like allergy shots for your organization,＂ she says.
A few years back, she hired Dan against the wishes of other people on her team. Even during the interview process, he rubbed people the wrong way. But Linda thought he had the right skills and experience. He came from a large tech company and tended to talk a lot about scale, which many people regarded as advocating bureaucracy(官僚主义) — a no-no (不可接受的事) in the start-up culture.
For the first six months, he made regular observations about one of the company’s products and how it could work better. ＂When I really dug into what he was trying to say, I was impressed,＂ Linda says. While he wasn’t very experienced in his comments (he often described things as ＂dumb＂), he was insightful. ＂We ended up scrapping(废弃) the job we hired him for and had him take on the improvements he suggested,＂ she says.
Even in the new role, he wasn’t likable. But Linda tried to focus on the content of what he was saying rather than the way he was saying it, and she coached others to do the same. She also invested time in helping Dan understand how he was coming across and what he could do to change his style. Eventually her attitude toward him changed. ＂I’ve come to like him quite a bit,＂ she says. ＂He’s ruffled more than a few feathers along the way, but he’s been promoted and has really crushed it.＂
1. Linda probably hires people who .| A．are very popular with others |
| B．can benefit her company |
| C．respect others very much |
| D．have different personalities |
| A．he misunderstood what people said |
| B．he blamed others for their mistakes |
| C．he got lost on the way to the interview |
| D．he didn’t get on well with people present |
| A．Linda accepted Dan’s style |
| B．Dan changed his style completely |
| C．Linda fell in love with Dan deeply |
| D．Dan had to practice speaking a lot |
| A．How to run a big company |
| B．How to live with other people |
| C．How to change a person quickly |
| D．How to manage someone you don’t like |
【推荐2】Martha had been working for Miller Laboratories for two years, but she was not happy there. Nothing significant had happened in the way of promotions or salary increases. Martha felt that her supervisor, a younger and less experienced person than she, did not like her. In fact, the supervisor often said unpleasant things to her.
One day, while talking with her friend Maria, she mentioned how discouraged she was. Maria gave her the name of a cousin of hers who was director of Human Resources Department for a large chemical company. Martha called him the next day and set up an interview on her lunch hour.
During the interview, Mr. Petri said, “You’re just the kind of person we need here. You’re being wasted in your other job. Give me a call in a day or two. I’m sure we can find a place for you in our organization.” Martha was so happy she almost danced out of the building.
That afternoon, Ruth Kenny, her supervisor, saw that Martha had come in ten minutes late from her lunch hour and she said, “Oh, so you finally decided to come back to work today?”
This was the last straw. She could not take another insult. Besides, Mr. Petri was right: she was being wasted in this job.
“Look,” she said angrily, “if you don’t like the way I work, I don’t need to stay here. I’ll go where I’m appreciated! Good-bye!” She took up her things and stormed out of the office.
That night she called Maria and told her what had happened and then asked Maria, “What do you think?”
“Well,” said Maria carefully, “are you sure about the other job?”
“Well, not exactly, but…”
Maria continued, “Will you be able to get a recommendation from Ms. Kenny if you need one?”
“A recommendation?… from Ms. Kenny?” hesitated Martha, in a worried tone.
“Martha, I hope you didn’t burn your bridges.” Maria said. “I think I would have handled it differently.”
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true?| A．At her supervisor’s criticism, Martha lost her temper. |
| B．Mr. Petri felt Martha was not valued in her present job. |
| C．Martha’s interview with the director was on her lunch hour. |
| D．Martha got the name of the director through her cousin. |
| A．the last opportunity | B．the straw that saves Martha’s life |
| C．the last reminder | D．the final unpleasant thing |
| A．Martha has handled the matter properly. |
| B．Martha shouldn’t have set the bridge on fire. |
| C．Martha should have found a new job before leaving. |
| D．Martha shouldn’t have lost her temper with her supervisor. |
Larry first began diving when he was his daughter’s age. Similarly, his father had taken him along on one of his expeditions. Since then, he had never looked back. Larry started out by renting diving suits from the small diving shop just along the shore. He had hated them. They were either too big or too small. Then, there was the instructor. He gave him a short lesson before allowing him into the water with his father. He had made an exception. Larry would never have been able to go down without at least five hours of theory and another similar number of hours on practical lessons with a guide. Children his age were not even allowed to dive.
After the first expedition, Larry’s later diving adventures only got better and better. There was never a dull moment. In his black and blue suit and with an oxygen tank fastened on his back, Larry dived from boats into the middle of the ocean. Dangerous areas did not prevent him from continuing his search. Sometimes, he was limited to a cage underwater but that did not bother him. At least, he was still able to take photographs of the underwater creatures
Larry’s first expedition without his father was in the Cayman Islands. There were numerous diving spots in the area and Larry was determined to visit all of them. Fortunately for him, a man offered to take him around the different spots for free
Larry looked at his daughter. She looked as excited as he had been when he was her age. He hoped she would be able to continue the family tradition. Already, she looked like she was much braver than Larry had been then. This was the key to a successful underwater expedition.
1. In what way was this expedition different for Larry?
| A．His daughter had grown up. |
| B．He had become a famous diver. |
| C．His father would dive with him. |
| D．His daughter would dive with him. |
| A．Larry had some privileges. |
| B．Larry liked the rented diving suits. |
| C．Divers had to buy diving equipment. |
| D．Ten-year-old children were permitted to dive. |
| A．To protect himself from danger. |
| B．To dive into the deep water. |
| C．To admire the underwater view. |
| D．To take photos more conveniently. |
| A．Become a successful diver. |
| B．Make a good diving guide. |
| C．Take a lot of photos underwater. |
| D．Have longer hours of training. |
【推荐1】Children who are abused and neglected at home are more likely than their peers to do bully at school, to have behavior problems, to become victims of bullying and to hide their inner world, according to a report.
The first British overview of research on the relationship between how children are treated at home and how they behave at school proves that abuse has a “profound effect” on children’s performance in all aspects of school life.
The study includes the finding that mistreatment in the first five years of life almost triples a child’s possibility of having multiple physiological, behavioral and academic problems at school.
Children with special educational needs are more than seven times more likely than their classmates to suffer physical abuse and have almost the same chance of being neglected, according to the research.
The study also says that children who have spent a year or more in anxiety are more likely than their peers to have suffered mistreatment and are more likely to fail their GCSEs; 8% of youngsters in anxiety achieve god GCSEs, compared with a national average of more than 50%.
Although it is impossible to count precisely the numbers of children suffering abuse, often without either their school authorities or other services knowing the truth of their circumstances, one study found one in ten young British adults reported at least one serious abusive incident in their childhoods. The report calls on schools to address pupils’ problems “with a careful eye to the possibility of there being problems at home”, and suggests that this approach could lead to early identification of any abuse.
1. Which of the following might abused children do?| A．Bullying their peers. | B．Fighting against others. |
| C．Neglecting what others’ do. | D．Hiding their thoughts from others. |
| A．Children failing their GCSE. | B．Children suffering physical abuse. |
| C．Children becoming victims of bullying. | D．Children with special educational needs. |
| A．School abuse occurs frequently in British schools. |
| B．Schools should play a role in preventing home abuse. |
| C．The number of children suffering home abuse is accurate. |
| D．Most of British adults suffered serious abuse in childhood. |
| A．The performances of abused children. | B．The comparisons among abused children. |
| C．The profound effect of abuse on children. | D．The causes of mistreatment arising at home. |
【推荐2】Something’s happening at the lowest point on our planet,some 1,388 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea, a salt lake close to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, is shrinking at an alarming rate—about 3.3 feet per year, according to the environmentalist group EcoPeace Middle East.
“It’s not just like one country is punishing the Dead Sea; it’s more like the whole region,” said photographer Moritz Küstner, who visited the area in February to work on his series “The Dying Dead Sea”.
The Dead Sea needs water from the other natural sources surrounding it, such as the Jordan River basin. But around the 1960s, the courses of some water sources it relied upon were diverted. Israel, for instance, built a pipeline during that time so it could supply water throughout the country.
Mineral extraction(提取) industries are another main reason why the water levels are declining, experts say. The Dead Sea’s minerals have been popular for their medical power and can often be found in cosmetics(化妆品) and other consumer products.
And then, of course, there’s the Middle East’s hot, dry climate, which makes it difficult for the lake to refill itself. Last year, Israel and Jordan signed a $900 million deal in an effort to stabilize the Dead Sea’s water levels. It involves building a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea which would be able to not only supply water to Israel and Jordan but also to pump much needed water—some 300 million cubic meters annually—into the Dead Sea.
“This is the most important and significant agreement since the peace treaty with Jordan (in 1994),” said Silvan Shalom, Israel’s energy and water resources minister at the time. Whether the canal—estimated to take three years to complete—will work out positively and as planned remains to be seen.
For now, Küstner shows us that the Dead Sea remains very much a place of interest, with people from all over the world going there to swim in its salty waters.
1. How many reasons for the Dead Sea’s shrinking does the author mention in the passage?| A．One. | B．Two. |
| C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．Switch. | B．Improve. |
| C．Accomplish. | D．Repair. |
| A．The Dead Sea is drying out causing water shortage to humans. |
| B．Küstner visited the Dead Sea to shoot TV series about people’s life. |
| C．The Dead Sea’s minerals have been used in some products. |
| D．The Dead Sea’s water levels have been stabilized by building a canal. |
| A．How the Dead Sea’s water levels’ decline influences human beings. |
| B．How important the Dead Sea is in Israel,Jordan and the West Bank. |
| C．What we should do to save the Dead Sea from being destroyed. |
| D．Why the Dead Sea is dying and the measure taken to save it. |
【推荐3】The sperm whale is an astonishing creature. It’s longer than a semi-truck, weighs more than 90, 000 pounds and is the largest member of the toothed whale family. It’s known to dive 6, 500 feet in search of food, and to stay down there for longer than an hour at a time.
Perhaps most fantastically, the sperm whale’s brain weighs as much as 20 pounds-the biggest of any species on Earth. But when it comes to brains, is size all that matters? There’s a lot we don’t know about the sperm whale’s intelligence because it’s difficult to carry out neurological (神经的) testing on such a huge marine mammal. But some clues point to sperm whales being much smarter than we give them credit for.
A 2021 study published in Biology Letters, for example, looked back to 19th-century historical logbooks from whalers. Researchers found that sperm whales were at first easy to catch-but almost immediately, the whales learned how to evade hunters and whaling success dropped by 60 percent. The study suggests that the whales passed information to one another through soundwaves to avoid being caught.
Animals that have big brains usually have a few things in common. They usually live long lives; for example, sperm whales can live for 70 years or longer. Additionally, they’re capable of complex behaviors and they tend to be more socia1. Whales may work together to hunt or communicate in a language all their own.
What’s more, humans, whales and dolphins all have spindle neurons in their brains. These nerve cells make us capable of deeper thought, such as reasoning skills, memory, communication and adaptive thinking. And like humans, whales have emotional intelligence- meaning they＇re capable of empathy, grief and sadness. Still, in proportion to (与…成比例)our body size, the human brain is bigger than that of the sperm whale.
Yet there’s still so much we don’t know about how smart sperm whales really are. And just like the whalers of a century ago, we have likely been underestimating marine mammals, whether large or small, for as long as we’ve known of their existence.
1. Why do people know little about the sperm whale’s intelligence?| A．Sperm whales’ big size makes research difficult. |
| B．It didn’t attract scientists’ attention until recently. |
| C．Whalers didn’t keep enough records of their hunting. |
| D．Sperm whales usually stay deep down in the ocean. |
| A．Track. | B．Avoid. | C．Locate. | D．Trick. |
| A．The nerve cells distinguish humans from animals. |
| B．Sperm whales have smaller brains than humans. |
| C．Spindle neurons make higher intelligence possible. |
| D．Emotional intelligence is unique to whales and humans. |
| A．Sperm Whales Are Astonishingly Smart |
| B．Sperm Whales Have the Biggest Brain |
| C．Break the Code of Whale Language |
| D．Unlock the Mystery of Sea Mammals |
