1 . How to say sorry and really mean it?
Wait, never hurry to apologize
Did you turn things around royally?
“But if the other party is angry at your previous wrong doing, it may be more effective to wait because their anger may prevent them from being receptive to an apology.”
Explain, don’t excuse
Because admitting to being wrong is painful and can make people worried that they’re a bad person, they often water down their apology with excuses. For example, “I certainly apologize if I offended anyone” and “I’m very sorry,but in my defense ,you started it.”
Let your body do the talking
Experts agree that face-to-face apologies beat phoned-in, e-mailed, or handwritten ones. “Facial expressions, posture, and the tone of voice have all been shown to be important channels that convey sincerity when you express regret,” Giner-Sorolla says. “Anyone can type” “I feel really ashamed, but if you say it live, it’s obvious whether or not you mean it.
A phone call is second best: You’ll convey emotions with your voice and get instant feedback. E-mailed apologies aren’t perfect. They lack emotional connections.
| A．A little cool-off time could help. |
| B．That sort of apology has a name-a nonapology. |
| C．Is there more to saying sorry than just saying “sorry”? |
| D．Tliere is nothing worse in these situations than sincere apologies. |
| E．Once you’ve typed them, the receivers can forward them to anyone. |
| F．Being a victim does not automatically transform a person into a good person. |
| G．Therefore, the best time to apologize is when one feels ready to sincerely apologize. |
2 . Shyness is the
It is obvious that such uncomfortable feelings must
Shy people, having
Can shyness be completely eliminated, or at least
| A．base | B．basis | C．cause | D．reason |
| A．worried | B．concerned | C．surprised | D．amused |
| A．acts | B．actions | C．style | D．deeds |
| A．taking place | B．ringing | C．occurring | D．striking |
| A．magnificent | B．appealing | C．fun | D．unattractive |
| A．effect | B．interfere | C．affect | D．turn |
| A．reacted | B．replied | C．reflected | D．responded |
| A．In general | B．Furthermore | C．However | D．Nevertheless |
| A．high | B．low | C．medium | D．no |
| A．about | B．against | C．at | D．for |
| A．gives | B．makes | C．confirms | D．generate |
| A．worthy | B．unworthy | C．deserving | D．aware |
| A．word | B．sentence | C．statement | D．announcement |
| A．undertaking | B．overdoing | C．exercising | D．trying |
| A．dropped | B．reduced | C．abandoned | D．abided |
| A．get | B．handle | C．dispose | D．overcome |
| A．hand in hand | B．next | C．after | D．short of |
| A．advantages | B．strengths | C．flaws | D．length |
| A．low | B．inferior | C．bad | D．disabled |
| A．true | B．real | C．realistic | D．genuine |
3 . The Haleakalā Movement, which has affected the Hawaiian people, involved many Hawaiian activists peacefully protesting(抗议) against the construction of the Daniel K. Solar Telescope atop Haleakalā. The top of Haleakalā is a very sacred piece of land to Hawaiians. The problem is the leveling out of Haleakalā to structurally support the base of the telescope. Hawaiians could not watch their sacred land atop their mountain destroyed.
The goal of the protesters was to stop the movement of the trucks hauling(拖拽)telescope parts to the top of Haleakalā. At each event, protesters would march on the crosswalk in front of the base yard entrance holding signs that read “Aloha „Āina” and “Kūʻē,” meaning Love the Land and Resist respectively. When the trucks started their engines, several protesters lay down in the driveway, with their arms linked together with PVC pipes. Twenty of them were arrested.
I, as a youth of this generation, am a part of those Hawaiians who stood against the construction of the telescope and the destruction of our sacred mountain. I experienced first-hand and through social media what happened at each protest. Each of the protests that I attended took place at the Maui Base yard, however, there were others that took place atop Haleakalā. Most of the protesters marching were of Maui roots, but there were other protesters that came from different islands to show their support for the natives‟ stand against the destruction of our sacred mountain.
Following all that I had experienced these days, I left with the understanding that the youth of our generation have a very important role. Our role is to learn from the mistakes of the present and guide the world down the right path allowing it to grow and prosper. We, as the seeds of the present, must grow to protect the history of the human race, but at the same time prevent ourselves from repeating the actions and decisions that may have once destroyed us in the past. We, the youth, are the key to the prosperity of the future.
1. What caused the Haleakalā Movement?| A．That the sacred top of the mountain would be leveled out. |
| B．That local Hawaiians stopped the trucks from going uphill. |
| C．That twenty local Hawaiians protesters were arrested by the police. |
| D．That the rainforests on Mt. Haleakalā were seriously destroyed. |
| A．all Hawaiian young people should participate in the movement |
| B．it is important to protect the environment in Hawaii rainforest |
| C．local Hawaiian culture is more important than the advanced technology |
| D．young people are an important factor for tomorrow‟s prosperity |
| A．a teenage student | B．a school teacher |
| C．a government official | D．a policeman |
“Stop the world, I want to get off!” This popular expression refers to a feeling of panic, or stress, that makes people want to stop whatever they are doing, try to relax, and become calm again. Stress is one of the most common causes of health problems in modern life. Too much stress results in physical, emotional, and mental health problems.
There are numerous physical effects of stress. Stress can affect the heart. It can increase the pulse rate, make the heart miss beats, and can cause high blood pressure. Stress can affect the respiratory(呼吸的) system. It can lead to asthma and cause a person to breathe too fast, resulting in a loss of important carbon dioxide. Stress can affect the stomach. It can cause stomachaches and problems of digesting food. These are only a few examples of the wide range of illnesses and symptoms resulting from stress.
Emotions are also easily affected by stress. People suffering from stress often feel anxious. They may have panic attacks and feel tired all the time. When people are under stress, they often overreact to little problems. For example, a normally gentle parent under a lot of stress at work may yell at a child for dropping a glass of juice. Stress can make people angry, moody, or nervous.
Long-term stress can lead to a variety of serious mental illnesses. Depression, an extreme feeling of sadness and hopelessness, can be the result of continued and increasing stress. Alcoholism and other addictions often develop as a result of overuse of alcohol or drugs to try to relieve stress. If stress is allowed to continue, then one’s mental health is put at risk.
It is obvious that stress is a serious problem. It attacks the body. It affects the emotions. Untreated, it may eventually result in mental illness. Stress has a great influence on the health, our feelings, and our minds. So, reduce stress: stop the world and rest for a while.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The everyday signs of conscientiousness (认真尽责) ——being punctual, careful in doing work, self-disciplined, and scrupulous (一丝不苟的) in attending to responsibilities ——are typical characteristics of the model organizational citizen, the people who keep things running as they should. They follow the rules, help out, and are concerned about the people they work with. It’s the conscientious worker who helps newcomers or updates people who return after an absence, who never abuses sick leaves, who always gets things done on deadline.
Conscientiousness is a key to success in any field. In studies of job performance, outstanding effectiveness for almost all jobs, from semi-skilled labor to sales and management, depends on conscientiousness. It is particularly important for outstanding performance in jobs at the lower levels of an organization: the secretary whose message taking is perfect, the delivery truck driver who is always on time. Conscientiousness also offers a buffer (缓冲) against the threat of job loss in today’s constantly changing market, because employees with this quality are among the most valued.
But conscientiousness in the absence of social skills can lead to problems. Since conscientious people demand so much of themselves, they can hold other people to their own standards, and so be overly judgmental when others don’t show the same high levels of model behavior. Factory workers in Great Britain and the United States who were extremely conscientious, for example, tended to criticize co-workers even about failures that seemed unimportant to those they criticized, which damaged their relationships.
When conscientiousness takes the form of living up to expectations, it can discourage creativity. In creative professions like art or advertising, openness to wild ideas and spontaneity (自发性) are scarce and in demand. Success in such occupations calls for a balance, however; without enough conscientiousness to follow through, people become mere dreamers, with nothing to show for their imaginativeness.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Jack, a clerk at the local bank, was wandering alone on the street. It was a cold, silent winter night. His mind was on his wife Linda, who had been in a car accident two months ago and was now lying in a hospital bed, waiting for more money for her operation. Jack had sold everything he had, and he had tried his best to borrow money from all the people and banks he could. But the real world is cruel.
A large amount of money was still needed. To Jack, it would mean a great deal of suffering to see his wife die without any help. “I have only one option left, ”Jack said to himself. Then he went to the bank, his workplace, again. For several days, he observed the bank and planned a theft.
The next day, he went to work as usual. Everything seemed normal: he joked with his workmates and helped his clients as he always did. But no one noticed that he had brought a bigger suitcase to work, instead of the small one he always carried. At 5:00 pm, the bank closed, and the clerks and the guards had all gone home. However, at that moment, Jack was in the bathroom, and the guards didn’t notice him, of course. When the noises coming from the street were replaced by silence and everything turned dark, Jack came out from the bathroom. He first cut the lines of the alarms and monitors with tools from his new suitcase.
He was all too familiar with the equipment since he had been working there for 8 years and had been studying the security system for the past 30 days. Using a special key and some other tools, he then easily opened the doors of the safes. The bank’s security system wasn’t very good, which allowed Jack to take a lot of money. Several minutes later, Jack left the bank with a heavy bag filled with money.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：
After Jack had been gone from the bank for a while, the alarms began to ring.__________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：
But the most unlucky man was the manager of the bank, an old man._________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
7 . We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.
What’s the problem? It’s possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence. It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.
Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t
even exist if it weren’t for casual conversation. Small talk is the grease(润滑剂) for social communication, says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. ＂Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,＂ he explains. ＂The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.＂
In a 2014 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction(互动) with its waiter; the other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. ＂It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,＂ says Dunn. ＂But interactions with peripheral(边缘的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.＂
Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. ＂Small talk is the basis of good manners,＂ he says.
1. What phenomenon is described in the first paragraph?| A．Addiction to smartphones. |
| B．Inappropriate behaviours in public places. |
| C．Absence of communication between strangers. |
| D．Impatience with slow service. |
| A．Showing good manners. | B．Relating to other people. |
| C．Focusing on a topic. | D．Making business deals. |
| A．It improves family relationships. | B．It raises people’s confidence. |
| C．It matters as much as a formal talk. | D．It makes people feel good. |
| A．Conversation Counts | B．Ways of Making Small Talk |
| C．Benefits of Small Talk | D．Uncomfortable Silence |
He had a perfect resume and gave good responses to her questions, but the fact that he never looked her in the eye said “untrustworthy,” so she decided to offer the job to her second choice. “It wasn’t until I attended a diversity workshop that I realized the person we passed over was the perfect person.” Tiffany admits. What she hadn’t known at the time of the interview was that the candidate’s “different” behavior was simply a cultural misunderstanding. He was an Asian-American raised in a family where respect for those in authority was shown by turning away your eyes. “I was just thrown off by the lack of eye contact, not realizing it was cultural,” Tiffany says. “I missed out, but will not miss that opportunity again.”
Many of us have had similar experiences with behaviors we describe as different. As the world becomes smaller and our workplaces more diverse, it is becoming essential to expand our understanding of others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions (假设) .
Hire Advantage
At a time when hiring qualified people is becoming more difficult, employers who can have no personal biases (偏见) from the process have an obvious advantage. My company, Mindsets LLC, helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots. A real estate (房产) agent we worked with illustrates the positive difference such training can make .
“During my Mindsets coaching period, I was taught how to own a diversified workforce. I employed people from different cultures and skill sets. The agents were able to make use of their full potential and experiences to build up the company. When the real estate market began to change, it was because we had a diverse agent pool that we were able to stay in the real estate market much longer than others in the same profession.”
Blinded by Gender
Dale is an account executive who attended one of my workshops in charge of a diverse workforce. “Through some of the lessons, I discovered my personal bias.” he recalls. “I learned I had not been looking at a person as a whole person, and being open to differences.” In his case, the blindness was not about culture but rather gender.
“I had a management position open in my department; and the two finalists were a man and a woman. Had I not attended this workshop, I would have automatically assumed the man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit of extensive travel. My assumption would have been that even though both candidates were great and could have been successful in the position, I assumed the woman would have wanted to be home with her children and not travel.” Dale’s assumptions are another example of the well-intentioned but incorrect thinking that limits an organization’s ability to promote the full potential of a diverse workforce. “I learned from the class that instead of forcing my gender biases into the situation, I needed to present the full range of duties, responsibilities and expectations to all candidates and allow them to make an informed decision.” Dale sings high praise for the workshop, “because it helped me make decisions based on fairness.”
A better Bottom Line
An open mind about diversity not only improves organizations from inside, it is profitable as well. These comments from a customer service representative show how an inclusive attitude can improve sales.” Most of my customers speak English as a second language. One of the best things my company has done is to contract with a language service that offers translations over the phone. It wasn’t until my boss received Mindsets’ training that she was able to understand how important inclusiveness was to customer service. As a result, our customer base has increased.”
Once we start to see people as individuals, we can move positively toward inclusiveness for everyone. Diversity is about coming together and taking advantage of our differences and similarities and about building better communities and organizations. When we begin to question our assumptions and challenge what we think we have learned from our past , from the media, peers, family, friends, etc, we begin to realize that some of our conclusions are imperfect or contrary to our fundamental values. We need to train ourselves to think differently, shift our mindsets and realize that diversity opens doors for all of us, creating opportunities in organizations and communities that benefit everyone.
1. In Tiffany’s view, the first candidate was passed over because he ________.| A．was an Asian-American |
| B．didn’t perform as perfectly as the second one |
| C．was untrustworthy |
| D．showed no respect for authority |
| A．racial discrimination |
| B．cultural differences |
| C．gender discrimination |
| D．emphasis on physical appearance |
| A．A real estate agency. |
| B．A hi-tech company. |
| C．A company dealing with financial affairs. |
| D．A company training workforce. |
| A．It helped him make fair decisions. |
| B．It helped him discover his personal bias about gender. |
| C．It helped him look at a person as a whole one. |
| D．It helped him find successful candidates. |
| A．viewing people as individuals |
| B．challenging our past |
| C．training ourselves in Mindsets’ workshops |
| D．building better communications |
I’d like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory: You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That’s when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.
One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly (勉强地) agreed.
Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn’t have a chance to mention last night: I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I’m bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request.
However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, and threw it as hard as I could.
It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.
Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, and then picked up the ball again. If you’ll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.
The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.
This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn’t it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.
Seeing that you weren’t going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel.
Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.
“Throw it granny-style!” one of you said.
“Just back up a little and give it all you’ve got!” another offered.
And, most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”
I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.
Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.
It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.
I surprised myself—and I’m sure you as well—by letting out a cry, “DAMN IT!!!” I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I’d be put out of my misery.
Alas, the heart attack didn’t happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link: “Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?”
Unfortunately for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period were just enough blows for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, “Please just come get the damn ball.”
And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.
Sincerely,
Jen Cordery
1. The writer agreed to throw the ball because ______.| A．she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries |
| B．she wanted to refresh her childhood memories |
| C．she could not refuse the polite request from the young man |
| D．she had fallen in love with the young man at first sight |
| A．anxious | B．brave | C．afraid | D．curious |
| A．To explain why she failed the attempts to throw the ball back. |
| B．To complain that she had not mastered the ball throwing skills. |
| C．To show how cruel those 13-year-old boys were. |
| D．To express her dislike towards softball. |
| A．inspired | B．encouraged | C．awkward | D．depressed |
| A．The writer managed to throw the ball back. |
| B．The boy got the ball back by himself. |
| C．The writer threw the ball away out of anger. |
| D．The boys got angry and left without the ball. |
| A．To express her regret over what she did the day before. |
| B．To announce that she would never play all games again. |
| C．To joke on her inability to throw the ball over the fence. |
| D．To criticize the young men for their cruelty to her dignity. |
My husband lived a poor life in Italy. He applied to go to America, but there was a limit in number and he was rejected. He was accepted by Canada, though, and from Calgary he jumped onto a train to San Francisco. There he stayed —illegally. He became a US citizen when we got married. By then he was a charming European with a Romanian accent and the manners of a prince.
With seven years’ experience in America, a US passport, and two children later, he felt it was safe to visit Romania. He hadn’t seen his mother, two sisters, and two brothers since he was sixteen. We flew to Munich, Germany; picked up the German-made car we had purchased in the States; and drove to Romania via Austria and Hungary. When we reached Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, his family was waiting outside his sister’s house to greet us. After a long time of hugging, kissing, and crying, his family also hugged me, the American wife with two young children. They had great interest in me. Few Americans visited Romania at that time, and most Romanians had little chance to travel. I had brought an English-Romanian dictionary with me and managed to communicate, using only nouns, with no verbs. My Romanian improved, and the family’s stock of English words increased, but mostly I spoke in broken, New York-accented Romanian. The sisters loved their gifts of skirts and purses, the brothers loved the radios, and the children loved the candy. We made side trips to the Black Sea and enjoyed sightseeing in beautiful mountains. Dining at outdoor cafes to the music of violins was fantastic with fancy flavor, but nothing was as special as family dinners.
Romania didn’t have many dry cleaners. Most homes had old-fashioned washing machines but no dryers, and it was a hot summer. My husband’s relatives didn’t want to risk dirtying their clothes. Their solution was as simple as it was shocking: the women only wore their bras(胸罩) and slips (衬裙) at dinner table. The men were eating without shirts. They all had jobs, so time was precious. Having dinner without proper clothes was a small inconvenience compared with the effort of washing clothes —at least in my husband’s home, perhaps all across Romania. I, of course, having just met them, ate fully clothed. I washed my clothes by hand and hung them outdoors to dry.
On the last night of our three-week stay, we had a large family dinner. I was tired of washing my clothes. So I pulled my dress over my head and placed it on the chair behind me. All men and women applauded for my action. Even with my poor Romanian, I understood that they were saying, “She’s part of our family now.”
My children were 4 and 5 at the time, but they still have memories of that trip. They know how to say, “Good morning.” and “There are apricots (杏子) on the tree.” I can still say, “Do you speak Romanian?”and “I swim in the Black Sea.” But most of all, I remember sitting at a long dining-room table in my bra, enjoying meatballs with fresh garlic (大蒜).
1. From Para. 1, we learn that ________.
| A．a trip to Europe would be dangerous |
| B．the mother didn’t want to see her son |
| C．Romania might be unsafe at that time |
| D．the mother didn’t like to write in pen |
| A．experiences | B．application |
| C．illegal stay | D．marriage |
| A．bought a new German-made car |
| B．had little interest in the relatives |
| C．used a new language with effort |
| D．enjoyed the mountain sights best |
| A．The way people dressed . |
| B．The way people spoke. |
| C．The fantastic violin music. |
| D．The fancy food flavor. |
| A．she offered gifts to the whole family |
| B．she spoke her husband’s language |
| C．she washed all the clothes by hand |
| D．she had dinner in bra like other ladies |
| A．“east and west, home is the best” |
| B．“when in Rome do as the Romans do” |
| C．“marry a dog and follow the dog forever” |
| D．“the course of true love never runs smooth” |
