1 . “How are you?” These are the three most useless words in the world of communication. The person asking doesn’t really want to know, and the person responding doesn’t tell the truth.
But the key to making the most out of small talk, according to Harvard researchers, is, to simply ask the other person follow-up questions. In a series of experiments, researchers analyzed more than 300 online conversations and found that those who were asked more meaningful follow-up questions (a.k.a. questions that aren’t “how are you?” or “what do you do?”), found the other person much more likable.
So how do you move from tongue-tied to being an interesting person? It depends on questions you start with, and then you can focus on the stream of follow-up questions.
Open your eyes before you open your mouth. Find something to focus on in your surroundings, like the piece of art on the wall, a family picture on their desk, a race car helmet, scattered coins from various countries and so on. There’s bound to be something that will spark small talk and help lead the conversation into unique follow-up questions.
Share some news (that actually happened).
If you have “news”, share it: “I adopted a pet over the weekend” or “My 6-year-old rode a bike for the first time yesterday”. Believe it or not, most people actually do want to know more about others, especially if they both work at the same company.
If you’re new to a company and leading a team, for example, start your first meeting by going around the room and asking each person to say one interesting thing that recently happened in their lives.
It’s not just what you say.
No matter what or how much you say, your tone of voice, facial expression and eye contact will broadcast so much more. In person, look at the other person when you speak, not at the conference table or the wall.
| A．Avoid any small talk in our daily life. |
| B．Be in the moment and observe your surroundings. |
| C．It will also contribute to your success in your work. |
| D．On the phone, smile — it will make your voice sound warmer. |
| E．What follows is a meaningless exchange with zero connection. |
| F．Here are some strategies on having a meaningful conversation. |
| G．Due to the momentary sharing, you’ve allowed everyone to feel more personally and genuinely connected with each other. |
2 . Before James Blunt became a musician, he served in the army. He spent four and a half years there, with six months in Kosovo as part of the peacekeeping force. Before leaving the army, Blunt had decided to achieve his dream of becoming a musician. In 2003, he was discovered by a music producer Linda Perry who signed him to her Custard label. However, the road to success never runs smoothly. It seemed that he would become another struggling singer trying to live from hand to mouth (现挣现吃地) when his first two singles failed to make an impact on the British charts. But everything changed when his third single You’re Beautiful made it all the way to No.1 on the UK singles charts, and remained there for five weeks. The album (专辑) Back to Bedlam soon followed and quickly became one of the biggest selling records of the year, remaining ten continual weeks at No. 1. Since then, he has sold more than three million records, making him the first British artist to top the American singles charts in nearly a decade.
Blunt, 34, a throwback (返祖者)to the 1970s soft rock golden age, has been quoted by Western media as saying that he will never get used to people screaming at him in the street.
His success proves a lasting theory: You spend years chasing the right song. Then, if you’re lucky, and if the song really takes off, you spend the rest of your life trying to escape it, or learning to live with it. A few years removed from You’re Beautiful, he can still fill stages worldwide with fans who stay until the end.
1. Which of the following can describe James Blunt’s life as a musician before he sang the song You’re Beautiful?| A．Difficult. | B．Happy. | C．Boring. | D．Smooth. |
| A．Blunt will never adjust himself to the noisy environment around. |
| B．The popularity of Blunt has been gaining him an increasing number of fans out of his expectation. |
| C．What Blunt sings disturbs people so much that they yell to him their anger. |
| D．People in the street are rude civilians who are against any form of entertaining, including Blunt’s songs. |
| A．Blunt is wellknown in the world for his talent |
| B．Blunt’s fame as a musician came easily |
| C．Blunt wasn’t lucky enough to win his fans’ support |
| D．Blunt has to face the inconvenience his fame has caused |
Living Heritage: Guqin
Wandering sounds, irregular rhythms and a carrier of gentle emotions. This is the musical language of guqin, a seven string instrument
The earliest piece of guqin in China, unearthed in Hubei province in 2016,
The guqin
This graceful dialogue,
Take a moment
Some people have a vivid sense of future self, which feels
You could almost think about your future self as a relationship that should
Peru
In the family,
The Goddess of the Luo River comes alive in a video, which was shared by Henan TV Station on social media platform Sina Weibo. The ancient tale of romance is given
The story of the Goddess of the Luo River has been the
But the reason why the video,
It’s not the first time that Henan TV Station has gained attention with its appealing videos
8 . Friendships can enrich your life in many ways. Good friends teach you about yourself and challenge you to be better.
●Friends encourage healthy behaviors
One possible explanation for those health benefits is that friendships can help you make lifestyle changes that can have a direct impact on your well-being. For example, your friends can help you set and maintain goals to eat better and exercise more.
●
If you find yourself going through a hard time, having a friend to help you through can make the transition (转变) easier.
Research also shows that happiness is contagious (有感染力的) among friends. One study of high school students found that those who were depressed were twice as likely to recover if they had happy friends.
●Friends help build your confidence
●Friends push you to be your best
Great friends have the power to mold(塑造) you into the best version of yourself.
| A．Friends help you beat stress |
| B．Friends give you emotional support |
| C．They also have a positive impact on your health |
| D．They see you and love you for who you truly are |
| E．Friends can also help you cope with stressful situations |
| F．Everyone has self-doubts and insecurities every now and then |
| G．Likewise, kids were half as likely to develop depression if their friends had a “healthy mood” |
China will release the world’s first high-fidelity (高保真) virtual giant panda and a metaverse-like(类似宇宙的) world
The details of the giant panda’s bones, muscles, skin, hair and facial features will be created with millimeter-level precision. After it goes online, the public can immerse
The digital project
The National Forestry and Grassland Administration has also introduced VR solutions, which make visiting China’s Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park on people’s phones
10 . As she approached 97, Gwen Erickson from Minnesota began raising one of America’s most popular, yet endangered, butterflies — the Monarch. Last year the grandmother
While some might say that nature should be left to
The whole process is a little
When
Normally Erickson doesn’t like to talk about herself and what she does, but she does this time as she wants to
This new
| A．decided | B．desired | C．managed | D．expected |
| A．number | B．size | C．type | D．variety |
| A．suit | B．study | C．feed | D．sustain |
| A．aging | B．declining | C．increasing | D．moving |
| A．Regretfully | B．Hopefully | C．Thankfully | D．Unfortunately |
| A．provide | B．fight | C．seek | D．charge |
| A．money-saving | B．labour-demanding | C．energy-efficient | D．time-consuming |
| A．sped up | B．turned up | C．woke up | D．grew up |
| A．impatient | B．delighted | C．nervous | D．unwilling |
| A．accompanied | B．attended | C．greeted | D．followed |
| A．evaluating | B．analyzing | C．recalling | D．conducting |
| A．revise | B．develop | C．keep | D．express |
| A．Therefore | B．Moreover | C．Meanwhile | D．However |
| A．allow | B．encourage | C．persuade | D．invite |
| A．passion | B．business | C．dream | D．world |
| A．opportunity | B．result | C．change | D．inspiration |
| A．hobby | B．habit | C．routine | D．exercise |
| A．relying on | B．asking for | C．calling on | D．caring for |
| A．promises | B．reminds | C．warns | D．convinces |
| A．successful | B．generous | C．optimistic | D．purposeful |
