1 . Making friends as an adult can be tough, but it isn’t impossible.
According to psychologist and friendship expert Dr Marisa G Franco, there is a necessary element for starting a friendship: continuous unplanned interactions (being in the same place and the same time, again and again). When we’re younger and at school or university, this is much easier as we’re automatically placed within a wide network of people who are all going through the same thing.
Once you’ve built up a friendly connection with someone, you need to give that relationship time to develop. Keep showing up and be intentional about the effort you put in with that person, while having enough confidence in the relationship to not be too demanding of them.
A.Friends, like books, should be few but good. |
B.Sometimes it will go well, sometimes it won’t. |
C.But as we get older, we have less time to just hang out. |
D.It’s not enough to just be in the room with these folks, though. |
E.Nevertheless, making friends with right people is full of benefits. |
F.Unfortunately, though, there’s no way around the time and effort it takes. |
G.Over time, your shared experiences will bring the two of you closer together. |
2 . Active Listening: A Key Skill for Effective Communication
Active listening is a communication skill that goes beyond simply hearing words and involves fully taking part and understanding the speaker’s message. Importantly, it is a significant part in effective communication.
Give full attention to the speaker. Active listening requires being fully present in the conversation, observing the speaker’s body language, and facial expressions to avoid negative responses. It also requires listening to the speaker with all your senses, including sight, sound and so on.
Maintain good eye contact with the conversation partner. When taking part in active listening, making eye contact is especially important.
By actively listening, we can create stronger connections, and promote trust and respect in our relationships. Remember, active listening goes beyond simply hearing.
A.Respond properly to the speaker. |
B.Reflect on the responses of the speaker. |
C.It focuses on the way you answer the speaker. |
D.It shows that you are truly interested in what they say. |
E.The fact, however, is that many people often fail in active listening. |
F.It also involves improving communication quality and connecting with others. |
G.To use this technique effectively, we’d better not do other things at the same time. |
A.Husband and wife. | B.Co-workers. | C.Salesman and customer. |
4 . Customer service refers to the way that companies behave towards their customers.
First of all, you need to realize the great value of the customers. It’s they who are the boss, and it, s because of them that you get your pay checks. So do take your customers seriously.
Making customers feel they are important is an excellent way to serve them better.
In addition, there are some other skills which will help you in serving your customers better. For example, once you finish solving the problem for the customers, before ending the call, always remember to ask if there is anything else you can do for them. End the call with a “thank you”. If the customers are angry, let them express their anger completely.
In a word, always remember that if the customers remain happy, you’ll be in business.
A.Treat customers as individuals. |
B.Never interrupt or start speaking until they’ve finished. |
C.You can bring in as many new customers as you want. |
D.So customer service is important and you should know how to improve it. |
E.Finding out the needs of the customers is another important customer service tip. |
F.More companies are finding that their customer service should not be limited to stores. |
G.It’s the quality of service that determines whether the customer remains with the company. |
5 . Trust is the basic of any relationship in both a professional and a personal capacity (能力). Here are some ways to build trust and be trustworthy.
Be always honest. Honesty is a quality that must be developed fully if you desire to build trust with others. Half-truths and white lies result in disasters.
Communicate effectively. Poor communication is one of the main reasons why trust is unable to be developed in any environment.
Do not be too quick in making decisions. There is no need to take too much pressure if you’re faced with a tough situation.
Take the necessary time.
A.Keep your word. |
B.Don’t take everything for sure. |
C.Trust can’t be built in a short time. |
D.Therefore, avoid them if you are trying to build trust. |
E.The failure to explain your stand may cause unpleasant results. |
F.You’d better take the time to consider your way from every aspect. |
G.Make sure you are paying attention to old and new relationships equally. |
6 . Have you ever argued with a friend, and said or done something you regretted? Sometimes it can be hard to put things right, especially when feelings have been hurt. Knowing how to apologise can help you become friends again and to understand why you fell out in the first place.
We argue for all kinds of reasons. You might think your football team is fantastic but your friend disagrees; or maybe your sister is being really annoying. Sometimes, especially if you’re angry, things can spiral out of control and you’ll say or do something you regret. Arguing and disagreeing with others occasionally is normal — we all do it — but it’s important to resolve your differences afterwards so bad feelings don’t get worse. This is where an apology can help.
We all make mistakes, and apologising is a way of admitting we’ve got something wrong and will try not to do it again. Dr. Jennifer Thomas, a psychologist and author, believes an apology needs to show the other person that we’re genuinely (真诚地) sorry, we accept responsibility for our actions and we want their forgiveness.
Sometimes another person may pressure you into taking the blame when it’s not your fault. If you feel this is happening, try talking about why you argued in the first place and explain how it made you feel. If you still can’t agree, you could ask a parent or teacher to help you resolve the problem.
Sorry on its own might not always be enough, so try to ask the other person how they felt while you were arguing. Explain your side too, and make it clear you’ll try not to repeat the same mistake again. A genuine apology isn’t a magic wand (魔杖); it may take some time for someone to understand and forgive. Even after you’ve said sorry, you could still feel bad but you can feel good about trying to fix things and promising yourself to do better next time.
1. Why is it important to resolve differences after an argument?A.To ensure that bad feelings worsen over time. | B.To maintain relationship and prevent damage. |
C.To avoid taking responsibility for one’s action. | D.To establish leading power over one’s friends. |
A.Stop. | B.Decrease. | C.Increase. | D.Win. |
A.Both parties will forget the argument. | B.Forgiveness could take quite a while. |
C.The person apologizing can calm down. | D.Relationships will improve immediately. |
A.The Power of Apologies | B.The Causes of Arguments |
C.The Significance of Forgiveness | D.The Benefits of Communication |
7 . Social media does have its shortcomings, and one of those is that it can often seem like everybody is living and winning big — except you.
Someone could have +1000 likes on their pictures or a million views on their videos and still be unhappy.
There are couples that appear happy on social media but behind those photos, they suffer a lot in relationships.
You don’t know what some people go through to come out with the fantastic pictures you envy. The real key players mostly operate behind the scenes but make the most happen. They may look like nobody but they are building their kingdoms while others are getting high on likes and attention. Success is not what is presented on social media.
Be yourself and never give up on yourself. Don’t compare yourself to others. The real champions of social media are those who add value to others, not the ones who show their lifestyle to impress others.
A.Those ones don’t get documented. |
B.Some even think it’s a complete show-off. |
C.Being popular on social media is not everything. |
D.Self-worth is determined by the number of likes one gets. |
E.There are couples who post nothing but are in loving relationship. |
F.It takes tears, sleepless nights, and loads of failure to make it in life. |
G.You are always flooded with strangers’ images that show the life you long for. |
8 . So many things can keep you from seeing your loved ones in person, from busy schedules to long distances to a rather unexpected COVID-19 virus. Fortunately, thanks to modern technology, the people we miss are often only a phone call or text message away. But if you’re someone who prefers to type out messages, you may want to reconsider. A new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, found that communication that included voice, like a phone call or video chat, created stronger social relationships than communication through typing, like text messaging or email.
In the study, researchers used various experiments to measure relationships. In one, they asked 200 people what it would be like to reconnect with an old friend by email or by phone and then asked them to do one or the other. Although people anticipated that a phone call would be more awkward, hearing someone’s voice actually made the experience better.
“People reported they did form a stronger relationship with their old friend on the phone compared with email, and they did not feel more awkward,” said Amit Kumar, an assistant professor of marketing at the McCombs School of Business.
In another experiment, the researchers had strangers connected by either texting, talking over video chat, or talking using only audio. They found that both forms of voice communication—whether video or audio only — made the strangers feel significantly more connected than when they communicated by text.
Sabrina Romanoff, a Harvard psychologist, says, “People tend to text or email instead of calling because of convenience, as they see it as a controlled form of communication where they can communicate information exactly in the way they want without unexpected additions by the other person.”
Romanoff says that in reality, texting can make it hard to determine the true meaning behind a conversation. “A phone call is actually more convenient when considering the net effects of the message,” she explains. “Each party is more present, and therefore, able to understand the meaning behind the content without thinking about the endless possible meanings behind words.”
1. How did the researchers carry out the study?A.By comparing. | B.By reasoning. | C.By imagining. | D.By discussing. |
A.Ensured. | B.Refused. | C.Expected. | D.Disagreed. |
A.texting makes them feel more connected |
B.they feel awkward when making a phone call |
C.texting helps communicate their information exactly |
D.calling helps determine the true meaning behind the conversation |
A.Texting does harm to social relationships. |
B.Voice communication brings people closer. |
C.A phone call does more good than a text message. |
D.People prefer a text message rather than a phone call. |
9 . From birth, every person needs other human beings. Babies need to be cared for to survive. Their first
People find different ways to meet their natural desire to
You need others for many
So what can you do if you
Finding community requires a(n)
Finding a place where you belong may not be easy, but it will help you live a happier life.
1.A.feelings | B.needs | C.connections | D.belongings |
A.indeed | B.meanwhile | C.furthermore | D.however |
A.interested | B.different | C.lonely | D.involved |
A.build up | B.believe in | C.benefit from | D.belong to |
A.while | B.although | C.as | D.when |
A.reasons | B.occasions | C.difficulties | D.senses |
A.lose | B.lack | C.show | D.maintain |
A.catch up with | B.reach out to | C.count on | D.object to |
A.at first | B.in other words | C.to some extent | D.on average |
A.concentrate on | B.care about | C.give way to | D.make comments on |
A.anxiety | B.arrangement | C.willingness | D.hesitation |
A.polite | B.kind | C.patient | D.true |
10 . Social anxiety(社恐) is a men tal disorder that is often misunderstood. It involves being fearful of social situations, especially unfamiliar ones.
A person with social anxiety has an increase in heart rate, sweating and dizziness(头晕). In all of these cases, it’s important to slow down your breathing to help you gain control back of your body.
Challenge your thoughts
When you have social anxiety, perhaps you’re worried you might trip over, laugh or cough at the wrong time.
Set goals
The idea of goal setting is not only to decide where you want to end up, but to learn about where you are now.
Say yes
A.Focus on breathing |
B.In this way, you can clearly see your progress. |
C.The truth is that these things happen at any time. |
D.Maybe you've gotten into the habit of saying “no” to everything. |
E.Luckily, there are a few small steps to help you feel more comfortable. |