1 . Conflict in communities is usually about the task or the person. Of course, sometimes it’s hard to separate one from the other.

Task conflict happens when people have different ideas of what needs to be done. It points to potential differences in opinion about everything you can imagine that is essential for a group: mission, priorities of tasks, compensation mechanism (机制), decision-making mechanisms, etc. Task conflict is not a problem when people realize the source of the conflict is the task and not the people. Community members must resolve tension inclusively with everyone’s voice being heard and acknowledged. However, this does not mean that the solution must include everyone’s opinion. After the conversation, everyone should feel that they had a fair chance to express their opinion and that it was taken seriously by others and not brushed aside.

Conflict between people is tricky because it’s attacking a person’s essence and self-worth. Often this form of conflict, relationship conflict, happens when two conditions are met: First, people have different values or are holding different assumptions, and secondly, neither party can see beyond their own biases. With relationship conflict, the person is perceived to be the problem and is being attacked by others. Each party assumes that most people are on their side and that the other person is acting out of self-interest. This eventually leads to people disagreeing with each other, not for the task’s sake but to prove the other person is wrong.

Sometimes conflict originates in a task. People might prefer different tools or different approaches. If this initial controversy is ignored or not dealt with appropriately, the relatively easy task conflict turns into a more complex relationship conflict. When relationship conflict occurs, a lot of things are reactive rather than reflective. People stop thinking and act impulsively (冲动地).

All in all, remember that every culture has its own way of handling conflict. Some people consider it dishonest if an argument is not addressed openly, while in other cultures, such a discussion will not be acceptable. It comes down to “Don’t assume everyone thinks like you”.

1. What does the underlined phrase “brushed aside” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Approved.

B．Ignored.

C．Swept.

D．Denied.

2. Which of the following is a relationship conflict?

A．Eric has a quarrel with his girlfriend in shopping mall.

B．Group members are debating which approaches to be used.

C．Tom is criticized by his best friend for being irresponsible.

D．Two neighbors have a big argument over community health issues.

3. What can be inferred from the fourth paragraph?

A．Relationship conflict originates from task conflict.

B．Task conflict is easier to resolve than relationship conflict.

C．Conflict in communities causes people to make impulsive decisions.

D．Task conflict can be sometimes transformed into relationship conflict.

4. What does the author intend to do in the last paragraph?

A．Give a warning.	B．Offer a suggestion.
C．Make an assumption.	D．List a misconception.

2 . In Favour of Simple Writing

Do you edit text messages carefully before sending them? If so, you may be the kind of person who takes pride in _______ even the simplest message. If you do not, you may see yourself as a go-getter, one who values excitement and speed over _______: get it done decently now rather than perfectly later.

People are constantly receiving messages, from the mailbox to the inbox to the text-message alert. What to read, what to skim (略读) and what to ignore are decisions that nearly everyone has to make dozens of times a day. A new book titled All Readers are Busy Nowadays makes the argument for being the careful kind of _______, even in informal lines. The authors also present well-established _______ that have long been prized in guides to writing.

Take “less is more”. Most books on writing well advocate the advice to _______ needless words. The authors, however, have _______ the idea. In an email to thousands of school-board members asking them to take a survey, cutting the count from127 to 49 words almost _______ the response rate.

Keeping messages to a _______ idea—or as few as absolutely needed—helps ensure that they will be read, remembered and acted on. _______ the number of the available options has the same effect, too. A link in an email, ________, attracted 50% more clicks when presented alone than when it was sent alongside a second additional link.

Syntax (句法) and ________ matter, too. It is more ________ to adopt short and active sentences, with common words familiar to everyone. From Facebook posts to online-travel reviews, even brief, informal pieces of writing that follow these rules get more likes and shares.

If everyone is a busy reader, everyone is a busy writer, too. That may make it tempting to sent as many messages as ________ as possible and hope for the best. But from essays to text messages organizing dinner plans, devoting time to the needs of readers has provable ________. If you are so busy that you write an undisciplined message which readers scan, ignore and delete, then you might as well have not ________ it at all.

1.

A．conveying

B．understanding

C．crafting

D．sending

2.

A．care

B．quantity

C．simplicity

D．technology

3.

A．reader

B．poster

C．learner

D．writer

4.

A．structures

B．principles

C．aims

D．alternatives

5.

A．remove

B．ignore

C．reconsider

D．interpret

6.

A．conveyed

B．translated

C．tested

D．shaped

7.

A．lowered

B．affected

C．doubled

D．maintained

8.

A．basic

B．positive

C．definite

D．single

9.

A．Recording

B．Reducing

C．Counting

D．Estimating

10.

A．in comparison

B．after all

C．for instance

D．in particular

11.

A．word-choice

B．pattern-design

C．target-setting

D．platform-selection

12.

A．difficult

B．suitable

C．challenging

D．common

13.

A．carefully

B．often

C．politely

D．quickly

14.

A．outcomes

B．points

C．figures

D．benefits

15.

A．received

B．written

C．read

D．answered

3 . How To Stop Bein g A People Pleaser

As a recovering people pleaser, I spent much of my life keeping others happy. Breaking this habit meant stepping on a few toes. However, I’ve become a happier person as a result. Here are some tips I used to stop being a people pleaser.

Identify your priorities. Take a moment to think about why you are trying to learn how to stop being a people pleaser.     1     Why do you feel the need to keep them happy? Answering these questions will help you set a goal that you can hold yourself accountable to.

Just say “no”. One reason why people pleasers say “yes” to everything is that they fear disappointing others.     2     If you are a people pleaser, you are likely to spend lots of energy trying to control how people feel about you. The best thing you can do is let them feel their feelings. It will feel liberating to free yourself from being responsible for someone else’s reaction.

    3     Saying “no” is a good way to set better boundaries in your important relationships. All healthy relationships have their own boundaries. If you haven’t set boundaries in your relationships, the odds are that at some point you will end up feeling pressured to do something you don’t want to do.

Accept yourself. Many people pleasers are insecure about who they are.     4     Check out our summary of Brené Brown’s the Gifts of Imperfection to learn how to accept your imperfections and love yourself.

Remember that you cannot please everyone. No matter what you do there will always be someone who is unhappy with your choices.     5    

A．Learn to set healthy boundaries.

B．Don’t mix up your boundaries with others’.

C．Who are the people that you feel the need to please?

D．Spend some time learning to love yourself for who you are.

E．So why bother trying to please everyone if it isn’t possible?

F．But saying “no” is the best way to take care of your own needs.

G．That is why the more you seek security, the less of it you have.

5 . Awe (敬畏) is that feeling we get when something is so vast that it stops us in our tracks. Often, it expands our thinking, increases positive emotions and brings overall satisfaction in life.     1    

Most of us associate awe with something rare and beautiful: nature, music or a spiritual experience. But people can trigger awe too, and not just famous people, such as athletes or astronauts.     2     Psychologists call this interpersonal awe.

Often, this interpersonal awe is a response to life’s big, sweeping charges, such as witnessing a baby’s first steps. For Lynn Heady, a retired educator, it’s watching a friend fight cancer and still embrace life.     3     John Bargh, a psychologist and professor, said he was truly awestruck by his then-5-year-old daughter. When she heard another child crying, she grabbed her toy, walked over toyer toy, walked over to the boy and handed it to him.

    4    But we can prepare ourselves to notice it when they do and take steps to boost the emotion’s positive effects. Here’s how:

Blurting (脱口而出) out “Wow, that was awesome!” is a simple way to help you identify and remember a special experience.     5     Another way is to thank the person who awed you. This makes the other person feel good and can give your relationship a boost. And it helps you too: Studies show that people who practice gratitude have significantly higher levels of happiness than those who don’t.

A．Below are some useful tips.

B．This will enhance your positive emotions.

C．But interpersonal awe happens in smaller moments, too.

D．An awe experience can make us feel small in the vast universe.

E．We can be awed by our nearest and dearest-the people around us.

F．Unfortunately, we can’t make someone else behave in a way that’s awesome.

G．It can also help our relationships, making us more understanding and supportive.

6 . Having a good sense of humor makes you more enjoyable to be around.     1     . Here’s how you can develop your sense of humor.

●Surround Yourself with Humor

You learn more effectively when you fully expose yourself to a subject. Similarly, you can improve your sense of humor by surrounding yourself with humor. Watch stand-up comedians. Listen to programs that amuse you.Read humorous books.     2     .

●Learn What Amuses You

    3     . We amuse our friends by praising a change they made. However, when it comes to being funny, don’t change your sense of humor to amuse other people. Instead, start with what amuses you.Then, if you think the other person will also be amused with it, share it with them.

●Think About Timing and Audience

You don’t have to be funny all the time, so don’t expect that of yourself. When you catch yourself trying to be funny, slow down. Simply speak slower so you’re not as likely to stop and repeat yourself. Try speaking at 60-70 % of your usual rate.     4     .

●    5    

You don’t need to seize every single opportunity to be funny. If you’re in the middle of a bad joke, just end it. “You know what, now that I’m telling it, it’s not as funny as it sounded in my head,” can be a bit of an awkward end and hurt your pride a little bit, but it saves everyone time and patience. In the long run, they’ll respect your taste.

A．Be Creative, Not Silly

B．Pause in between sentences

C．There’s a lot of fun out there

D．You might also do better at work

E．Know When to Pull the Plug on Yourself

F．You can also try your hand in the real world

G．A lot of times, we say things purely to please others

7 . When I was nine years old, I was desperately in love with a man who was 40 years my senior. Don’t worry; Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees didn’t even know I existed because he’d stopped being an actor 20 years earlier. But that didn’t stop me from decorating my books with love hearts.

The Monkees were entirely manufactured, but as a product they were a success: they used the media to develop a bond between an audience member and her target. In their TV show, they regularly broke the fourth wall, throwing knowing winks (眨眼) to camera, and shared their funny behind-the-scenes lives. They made us think we knew them, as a friend.

This kind of “parasocial relationship” (准社交关系) has long roots in media. Radio characters like Lonesome Gal started her program with, “Sweetie, I love you,” speaking directly to her listeners in the the 1950s. Each individual felt he had her undivided attention. She was an entirely virtual girlfriend, at a time when the word had nothing to do with technology.

Parasocial relationships have become a means to an end in the digital age, now that selling yourself has become a way of life. Using these relationships is how you gain followers, credibility and influence. But once you start to gain a critical mass, the relationship necessarily transforms—at least in the eye of the digital personality. You can speak directly to one fan, or even five. But it’s not possible to respond to the 10, 000 people who subscribe to your TikTok. What was once a close and friendly relationship turns into a business transaction (交易).

Rising social media stars have to manage themselves and their boundaries. That’s one of the most undeveloped skills in the digital age. Today’s parasocial relationships are surfing unknown territory, so it is expected that they—we—will make mistakes. And who is there to help when we’ve put ourselves out there online?

1. What do we know about a parasocial relationship?

A．It isn’t developed without mutual understanding.

B．It isn’t healthy or beneficial at all to either side.

C．It is a relationship that enjoys good interaction.

D．It is an imaginary relationship with a celebrity.

2. What do the underlined words “broke the fourth wall” mean in Paragraph 2?

A．Stepped down from the stage.	B．Interacted with the audience.
C．Removed bricks of the wall.	D．Engaged with photographers.

3. What has caused the change of the relationship between fans and internet celebrities?

A．The expansion of digital marketing.	B．The intentional ignorance of fans.
C．The increase in the number of fans.	D．The lack of communication skills.

4. What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To raise public concern.	B．To present a scientific study.
C．To give a full explanation.	D．To express personal feelings.

8 . Ways to Always Be Yourself and Live Happily

Don’t aim to please others.     1     This is why you shouldn’t please others but yourself. Pleasing others can be a nice thing to do, but know where your boundaries are. Instead of always aiming to please others, you should do things for yourself as well every now and then.

Don’t worry about how others view you. Occasionally thinking about how others view you may make you change for the better.     2     You should change if you want to, and change into what or who you want to change into.

    3     Do you know who you really are? Ever since you were young, you have been conditioned to be one way or another. It may be unusual just to spend a day being your spontaneous(自然的)self, but sometimes it is the only way that you can learn how to be yourself.

Forgive yourself. Forgive yourself for thinking negatively. Forgive yourself for talking without thinking twice. Don’t think negative thoughts about yourself for taking wrong steps or making wrong decisions. This kind of thinking puts your focus on the problem and not the solution. It’s better to say good thing about yourself than to say negative things.     4    

Strive for what you want to accomplish. Being yourself does not have to mean that you have to be stuck in the status quo(现状).     5     And strive for that accomplishment. You can improve yourself while still remaining true to yourself.

A．Learn more about yourself.

B．Aim for what you want to achieve.

C．Stop being negative about yourself.

D．Saying positive things is a sign that you have forgiven yourself.

E．Committing to something and working toward it will lead to happiness.

F．But you should not be constantly wondering about what others are thinking.

G．There is a problem if you are always doing what everyone else wants to do.

9 . Peer pressure occurs when a peer group has direct or indirect pressure to do certain actions. The term “peer” often refers to people one knows in real life and that have a similar social status to oneself. However, the larger culture can also bring about peer pressure.     1    .

Many people consider peer pressure a negative thing.     2    . People, especially teens and young adults, may be more likely to do prosocial behaviors when they see people their own age doing the same things. Evidence shows that teens with friends who volunteer are more likely to volunteer themselves.

Research suggests peer pressure sometimes begins in elementary school.     3    . Some may be isolated by members of the larger group. Children may begin to worry about balancing a sense of loyalty to their friends with fairness to others.

Research has long shown that peer pressure can increase the risk of someone trying drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes.     4    . While some may experiment with alcohol or drugs once or twice and decide it’s not for them, others who begin using a substance may find it difficult to quit.

    5    . Some children find it becomes more difficult to go against the group over time. But it’s important to realize that not only do younger children face peer pressure, they are also able to stand up to it.

A．However, this isn’t always the case.

B．Coping with peer pressure can be tough.

C．Unconsciously, we are all influenced by people around us.

D．Certain people are more affected by peer pressure than others.

E．At this age, group values and routine begin to form among children.

F．It’s impossible to resist peer pressure when a child is struggling to fit in.

G．For example, television can convey to the public an acceptable way to behave.

10 . The doors open wide, you enter, and they close behind you. As the elevator goes up, you realize it’s just you and one other person taking this ride. The silence soon grows uncomfortable. What’s your go-to move? A)Stare at your shoes. B)Pull out your cellphone. C)Make brief eye contact. D)Start a conversation.

If your answer is B, you’re like far too many of us, who tend to do just about anything to avoid conversation or even eye contact with strangers. And smartphones make it easier than ever to do that. But a body of research has shown that we might just be short-changing (亏待) our own happiness by ignoring opportunities to connect with the people around us.

Several years ago, psychologist Elizabeth Dunn and her colleague Gillian M. Sandstrom tested whether short conversations with strangers could lift moods. They asked participants to enter a busy coffee shop and grab a drink-half would just get in and get out, and half would strike up a conversation with the waiter. “We found that people who were randomly assigned to turn this economic behavior into a quick social interaction, left the coffee shop in a better mood,” Dunn says. Why, if connecting with others makes us happy, do we so often avoid it? Social anxiety could be preventing these types of interactions, says behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley. His experiments revealed that train and bus commuters (通勤者) who interacted with other passengers experienced a more pleasant ride-even when they believed they would prefer reading a book. It is fear that the person sitting next to us won’t enjoy talking to us that makes us keep to ourselves, Epley found.

So, how can we avoid the risks of loneliness and stop short-changing our own happiness? It might be easier than you think. Start with folks like the cashier in a grocery store or the waiter at your local coffee shop, Dunn says. You’ve got to interact with them anyway, so you might as well make an effort to turn it into a friendly exchange.

1. What can be learned about those who choose B as an answer?

A．They are addicted to the digital world.

B．They feel uncomfortable being stared at.

C．They enjoy connecting with familiar people much.

D．They hate making small talks with people unknown to them.

2. What were the happier participants in Dunn’s study asked to do?

A．Speak to the waiter.	B．Avoid asking for change.
C．Choose a drink randomly	D．Get out of the coffee shop quickly.

3. Why did commuters avoid interacting with other passengers according to Epley?

A．To protect their privacy.	B．Due to fear of rejection.
C．Due to busy schedules.	D．To enjoy views outside.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The benefits of avoiding loneliness.	B．The benefits of pleasant commutes.
C．The benefits of talking with strangers.	D．The benefits of interacting with local people.