3 . Go on a 15-minute Tour

Didn’t someone say that life is about the journey, not the destination?     1     when you are focused only on getting to the next meeting, starting your next class period, or hurrying to send an email, you’re missing all of the people between Points A and B.

To commit some time to the journey, take some time to walk around where you work and notice your surroundings.     2     Also, some of the smaller yet critical social clues that exist right under your nose will be concentrated on again.

    3     Things to look for include the look and feel of people’s work spaces, the timing of when different people move around the office, and which people seek interaction versus those who stay at their desks all day.

After your first observation tour, select a different day to tour your workspace for moods. Other people’s moods can provide you with critical clues about how things are going.     4     Focus on what you see, hear, and pick up on in other people.

Schedule 15 minutes to tour your workplace twice a week for a month and be sure to avoid making too many assumptions or conclusions — just simply observe.     5    

A．You’ll be amazed at what you see along the way.

B．Spare a little time to closely monitor each person’s progress.

C．Notice what people may be feeling when you drop by to talk briefly.

D．During any workday, take just 15 minutes to observe neglected things.

E．You generally love the breathtaking landscape and people’s performances.

F．Going on a short tour will help you get in tune with other people and their emotions.

G．To become socially aware, remember to enjoy the journey and notice people along the way.

5 . False Memories or Parallel (平行的) Realities?

Here is a common situation: You’re talking with someone about an event, only to discover that you both remember things quite differently. Usually, you’d put it down to a poor memory, but what if it wasn’t just one person who remembered things differently? What if it was millions?

In fact, this isn’t a “what if” situation. It’s known as the Mandela Effect, and it was first noticed in 2009 by paranormal researcher Fiona Broome. Broome was chatting with people about the South African activist Nelson Mandela, and she commented how sad it was that he had died in prison in the 1980s.     1     Actually, he'd been released in 1990, become president of South Africa, and died in 2013.

Broome was so shocked at this that she started an investigation.     2     People have memories of movies that never existed, and famous words that were never spoken. There is even a group who clearly recall seeing maps showing that New Zealand was northeast of Australia (it’s southeast ). So what in the world is going on?

    3     In each reality, history is shaped by different events, and the Mandela Effect occurs when some of us shift from one reality to another. Therefore, those who remember Nelson Mandela dying in the 1980s aren’t wrong. They’re just remembering events from their original reality.

More likely, however, is that the Mandela Effect has to do with how our brains store information.     4     Many people remember Pikachu’s tail having a black tip on the end of it, when in fact it was always yellow. “Aha!” you cry. “Parallel realities!” Probably not. Consider instead that people often ignore unfamiliar details and transform information to make it more understandable. In the Pikachu example, his tail may not have a black tip, but his ears certainly do. Thus, both his ears and tail are misremembered as having black tips.     5    

All things considered, if you’re stuck arguing with someone about whose version of events is correct, it may indeed be easier to agree that neither of you is wrong. You just come from different realities.

A．Before we explain let’s look at an example.

B．It turns out she wasn’t the only one who’d experienced this.

C．If several people make these memory errors, the false memory gets stronger socially.

D．The story of Nelson Mandela is not the only example of this type of false group memory.

E．Some claim the Mandela Effect happens because we live in one of many parallel realities.

F．Many in her group agreed, while others mentioned that Nelson Mandela had not died in prison.

G．As more incidents of the Mandela effect continue to occur, perhaps more research into the origins will tell us the causes.

6 . As a young child, I was painfully shy. I’d watch other children play in the park, wishing I could join them, but I was too scared to approach. Eventually, my mother would come to the rescue. She’d ask the other kids if I could play, too. Today, I feel comfortable giving public lectures in large halls and having conversations in small groups, but I still tend to avoid situations in which I’m expected to spend time with a roomful of strangers.

There could be many reasons. For one thing, I might be carrying some childhood fear of rejection. But beyond that possibility, one likely element is that I tend to underestimate how much people like me after I meet them, as most of us do.

A new research paper reports that the common concern that new people may not like us, or that they may not enjoy our company, is largely unfounded.

Erica Boothby of Cornell University and her colleagues conducted a series of studies to find out what our conversation partners really think of us. In doing so, they discovered a new cognitive illusion (认知错觉) they call “the liking gap”: our failure to realize how much strangers appreciate our company after a bit of conversation.

The researchers observed the gap in a variety of situations: strangers getting acquainted in the research laboratory, first-year college students getting to know their dormitory mates over the course of many months, and community members meeting fellow participants in personal development workshops. In each circumstance, people consistently underestimated how much others liked them. For much of the academic year, as dormitory mates got to know each other and even started to develop enduring friendships, the liking gap persisted.

The data also revealed some of the potential reasons for the illusion: we are often more severe with ourselves than with others, and our inner critic prevents us from appreciating how positively other people evaluate us. Not knowing what our conversation partners really think of us, we use our own thoughts as a proxy (代理人). This is a mistake, because our thoughts tend to be more negative than reality.

1. Why does the author mention his childhood experience?

A．To show how his character changed.

B．To explain what he was like when he was young.

C．To show an example of why people are shy of communication.

D．To emphasize the important role of a mother in one’s childhood.

2. What does the underlined word “unfounded” probably mean?

A．Careless.

B．Baseless.

C．Selfless.

D．Meaningless.

3. What do we know about the liking gap from the text?

A．It indicates what strangers really think of us.

B．It begins and ends quickly among strangers.

C．It disappears when strangers get to know each other.

D．It states our misunderstanding of how much others like us.

4. Which of the following is the best title for this text?

A．People Like You More than You Know

B．How to Get Along Well with Strangers

C．The Way to Know What Others Think of Us

D．Having Conversations with Strangers Benefits Us

7 . When romantic partners argue over things like finances, jealousy, or other interpersonal issues, they tend to employ their current feelings as fuel for a heated argument. But thinking about the future helps overcome relationship conflicts, according to a University of Waterloo study just published online in Social Psychological and Personality Science. Alex Huynh, a doctoral candidate in psychology is the lead author of the study, which he published with Igor Grossmann from the University of Waterloo, and Daniel Yang from Yale University.

Previous research has shown that third-perspective reasoning can be a positive strategy for reconciliation (调解) of interpersonal struggles. Huynh and his collaborators investigated whether similar benefit can be induced by simply thinking about the future. Study participants were instructed to reflect on a recent conflict with a romantic partner or a close friend. One group of participants were then asked to describe how they would feel about the conflict one year in the future, while another group was asked to describe how they feel in the present.

The team examined participants’ written responses through a text-analysis program for their use of pronouns — such as I, me, she, he. These choices of pronouns were used to capture participants’ focus on the feelings and behaviour of those involved in the conflict. Written responses were also examined for forgiveness and reinterpreting the conflict more positively, both of which implied the participants’ use of reasoning strategies.

The researchers found that envisioning future relationship affected both participants’ focus on their feelings, and their reasoning strategies. As a result, participants reported more positivity about their relationship altogether, especially when study participants extended their thinking about the relationship a year into the future.

“Our study demonstrates that adopting a future-oriented perspective in the context of a relationship conflict — reflecting on how one might feel a year from now — may be a valuable coping tool for one’s psychological happiness and relationship well-being,” said Huynh.

1. What do romantic partners do in face of most disagreements?

A．They lose faith in their future.	B．They focus on their present feelings.
C．They look forward to a fierce conflict.	D．They care more about financial problems.

2. What does the underlined word “induced” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean？

A．Caused.	B．Explained.
C．Reduced.	D．Improved.

3. What do we know about the study?

A．All the study participants described how they felt both in the present and in the future.

B．Study participants described their recent relationship with their romantic partners or friends.

C．A text-analysis program was employed to examine participants’ use of negative words.

D．The reasoning strategies in participants’ written responses were well worthy of note.

4. What can be the best title of the text?

A．You have a year to solve your interpersonal problems!

B．Thinking about future is essential for relationship maintenance!

C．Your current feelings are the real cause of your heated arguments!

D．Beneficial reasoning is a positive strategy for reconciliation!

8 . When someone hurts you, it can feel good to hang onto the anger and resentment (愤恨) that may bubble up after their actions. However, forgiving others can actually benefit you both mentally and physically.    1     Forgiving yourself for hurting someone else is another tough task. With a little bit of patience, you can learn to forgive yourself or others.

Forgiving is a willingness to move on from an injustice you went through.    2     While you can consciously decide to forgive someone, it may take some time to process your emotions and actually come to terms with your situation.

    3    You yourself value relationship with him or her, and believe that forgiving is worth it. Forgiveness is a decision that should be made thoughtfully, especially if someone did something seriously wrong. Take time to think through your feelings and your reasoning, to better understand the situation.

Avoid giving someone too many chances.    4     But if they are repeatedly and knowingly hurting you, or if they have done something extremely terrible, then you should consider protecting yourself. If someone has shown that they will mistreat you again and again, or that they are willing to do you serious harm, then you need to protect your own well-being.

Take the time to process your emotions. Sometimes, it takes a while to untangle (排解) all your feelings and figure out what to do. That’s okay. Give yourself time and space to process. Helpful processing tools include: Write in a journal about it. Talk to a mentor or trusted person about the situation.    5    

A．Think of some reasons for forgiving yourself.

B．Consider why you want to forgive this person.

C．You may choose to forgive someone once, twice, or three times.

D．Giving too many chances to people who hurt you is not a wise idea.

E．Spend some time focusing on something else, and come back later.

F．It can also help you move on from thinking about what the other person did.

G．Forgiving someone is a tough decision to make, and it doesn’t happen instantly.

9 . How to Deal with a Colleague who Keeps Challenging Your Views

It can be difficult to develop an environment of teamwork when you continually run up against a colleague who challenges your views.     1    . This will ensure you respect one another, even when you disagree.

Handle unnecessary confrontation (对峙).

If a co-worker habitually challenges your ideas in a group discussion in a confrontational manner, don’t engage him or get into an argument. Pause for a moment, look the colleague in the eye.     2    . This will force the co-worker to either repeat his comment in front of everyone with the same level of confrontation, or soften his approach.

    3    .

There’s a time and place for everything, including professional disagreements. If a colleague interrupts you or talks over you in an effort to contradict your point or insert (插入) his own opinion, gently remind him that you still have the floor. If the colleague is challenging something you say before you have a chance to address the point, note that as well.

Agree to respect each other.

    4    . Constructive debate and brainstorming can strengthen the overall performance of the entire team. Speak to your colleague at a time when you are emotionally stable. For example, you might say, “Can we agree to a respectful and civil way to discuss matters when it’s clear there’s no one ‘right’ answer?”

Prepare rebuttals (反驳).

If a particular colleague has a long history of disagreeing with you, you might be able to anticipate his arguments or objections. Prepare rebuttals to address anything your colleague might throw at you.     5    . It also strengthens your points without being confrontational, and allows you to give him credit for his constructive comments when necessary.

A．Hold your ground.

B．Ask for peace-making.

C．This will help you support your own arguments.

D．And ask him in a calm voice to repeat what he said.

E．Here are the ways to deal with colleagues of this kind.

F．Just find ways to make peace and communicate with your colleague.

G．The bottom line is, colleagues are not going to agree with each other all the time.

10 . Most of us associate awe (敬畏) with something rare and beautiful: nature, music or a spiritual experience. But people can waken awe too, and not just public heroes. Research shows that we can be awed by our nearest and dearest — the people sitting next to us on the couch, chatting on the other end of the phone, looking back at us over Zoom.     1    

Often, interpersonal awe is a response to life’s big, sweeping changes, such as witnessing a baby’s first steps.     2     John Bargh said he was “truly awestruck” — by his 5-year-old daughter while dining in a McDonald’s. When she heard another child crying, she grabbed the toy from her Happy Meal, walked over to the boy and handed it to him.

Though we can’t make someone else behave in a way that’s awesome, we can prepare ourselves to notice it when they do and boost the emotion’s positive effects.

Question your assumptions. Do you believe your partner is insensitive or your sibling is selfish? There may be a little truth to that, but it’s never the whole tale.     3     To increase your chances of feeling awed by the other person, ask yourself what’s going on in his or her life that you don’t know about.

Name awe when you see it. Speaking out “Wow, that was awesome!” is a simple way to help you identify and remember a special experience. Savor (品味) it in the moment and then tell others about it. This will reinforce your positive emotions.     4     Studies show that you will feel awe again simply by remembering an awe experience.

    5     This makes the other person feel good and can give your relationship a boost. And it will help you too: Studies show that people who practice gratitude have significantly higher levels of happiness and psychological well-being.

A．Thank the person who awed you.

B．And recall it or write about it later.

C．Psychologists call this interpersonal awe.

D．It’s easy to forget that it can be awesome too.

E．But interpersonal awe does happen in smaller moments.

F．Here’s why you should recognize those moments of interpersonal awe.

G．The story you tell yourself gets in the way of catching people at their best.