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 . One way to prevent anxiety from getting out of control is to recognise its benefits. It is a mistake to think that we’d make better decisions if only we keep our feelings under control. Instead, a mix of feelings like anxiety and logical thinking leads to sound decision-making. It’s true that there is plenty of research showing that higher levels of anxiety can make us more likely to avoid risks in our decision-making. There is also evidence that anxiety can increase the attention you pay to relevant information.
Recent studies have shown that people who are anxious about their relationships (for example, they fear to be abandoned) tend to be better at recognising people who tell lies and are more likely to raise the alarm when danger is present.
In the real world though, it’s worth realising that feeling anxious once in a while is extremely common. It communicates to others that you care, and what’s more, it’s probably a sign that you are intelligent. At least two published studies have identified that people who score higher on measures of anxiety also tend to perform better on intelligence tests. This seems reasonable: if you’re a thinker, you are sure to be always thinking about the future and imagine possible plots, including bad ones.
The important thing, if you are a worrywart (杞人忧天者), is not to let your fear destroy your dreams. And don’t bury your head in the sand. Instead, act on your fears—do the research as well as preparation, so rather than walking blindly into that which you fear, you meet the challenge in full readiness.
When anxiety beats you, or casts a shadow over your life, this is a serious problem. No one is denying that. But like everyday anxiety of this kind that you feel before a presentation or an interview, you needn’t see it as your enemy. Anxiety is an important feeling, developed through evolution. As for people who are fairly anxious by nature, there is reason for cheer, too. Your nerves are a sign of your watchfulness. Listen to them and act on them. Then you can turn your nervousness into your advantage.
1. What is the theme of the passage?| A．Effective ways to prevent anxiety. |
| B．Unexpected benefits of anxiety. |
| C．Tips on how to keep a good mood. |
| D．Common misunderstandings about anxiety. |
| A．It can enable us to be more focused. |
| B．It can stop us from thinking logically. |
| C．It can make us more willing to take risks. |
| D．It can be the only reason for all bad decisions. |
| A．Anxious people are less sensitive to danger. |
| B．Anxious people have difficulty discovering liars. |
| C．Feeling anxious is more likely to put people at risk. |
| D．Feeling anxious occasionally is a sign of intelligence. |
| A．Regard it as our enemy. |
| B．Take action to control it. |
| C．Avoid being defeated by it. |
| D．Treat it as a minor feeling. |
Most underrated pleasures of one’s life
One of the biggest drivers of good relationships in our lives is a developed level of understanding in those relationships. The relationships
I realized it with a couple of friends of mine. Recently my “friend ecosystem” had a sudden change. A couple of them
The whole change made me thoughtful. I started to think about the cause of being better friends with some. It turns out that among the large number of other factors, one of the key ones is
While
Finally, how do you ensure you are understood? To start with, make sure that the people who
Being caring and respectful to
When you get to that level with the person where you are completely understood, it will be an awesome feeling!
4 . Think about that. If you are anything like me, you struggle to ask for help when you need it. It’s something a lot of humans battle with. You don’t want to be a burden on others. You are afraid to speak up, or want to prove that you can do it yourself.
You don’t ask for help when you don’t know how to do something or can’t manage it on your own, because you might be afraid of looking stupid or incompetent. You might pretend like you know what you’re doing when you’re really drowning. Perhaps you think asking for help is a sign of weakness; that if you ask for help you’re admitting you’re inadequate in some way; that you lack knowledge, skill or experience to do something yourself. You don’t want anyone to see that you’re struggling and you want people to think that you’re in control and can handle things.
There are tons of reason you won’t ask for help, but not to do so can be a mistake. You get in your own way if you make asking for help mean something negative about you when it doesn’t. Asking for help doesn’t mean you’re stupid or inadequate. It simply means you need help with something specific for a time.
Confident people often ask others for help. They do so not only because they’re secure enough to let it be known they need help, but they know that trying to do everything themselves is not always the best use of their time, skills or energy. They recognize it can leave them feeling overwhelmed and stressed and then they can’t do things properly. Confident people find someone who’s good at what they need to learn or get done and then ask for their help and guidance. They know that asking, “Can you help me?” shows respect for the other person’s knowledge and abilities. Otherwise, they wouldn’t ask.
1. What is the author’s personality like?| A．He shows great love to others. | B．He hesitates to ask others for help. |
| C．He looks down upon other people. | D．He dislikes those who pretend to know. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Unqualified. | C．Determined. | D．Devoted. |
| A．offer help to other people | B．respect others’ abilities |
| C．promote their abilities | D．turn to others for help |
| A．advise us to learn more knowledge | B．encourage us to bravely ask for help |
| C．show our respect to the people around us | D．encourage us to be more confident in our life |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Everyone expect to have good interpersonal relationships, from which we can benefit. Therefore, not everyone has such good relationships. When the relationship went bad, loneliness and even trouble come along. But how can we establish and maintain a warm relationship? To begin with, they need to learn to respect others. Respect others will leave a good impression, what is beneficial for building a positive interpersonal relationship. Secondly, we should treat others honest and sincerely since honesty is an essential part of a good relationship. Last but not a least, we must reflect on our behaviour when we argue with others, which is helpful developing a kinder relationship. I really hope more friend are able to have an ideal relationship with others.
Your personality shapes you. Personality is the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors that make a person unique. Understanding personality allows us
The importance of good communication skills cannot be overstated. Communication is key to any relationship whether at work or in your personal life.
Listening is really the single most important factor in becoming a clear and
On top of this, actively listening and engaging
Humour has been an essential part of human behaviour and can not only entertain but
Lin,
Humour isn’t just about laughter,
9 . When I was seven, my parents explained to me that my sister would be different.
Throughout our lives, my sister has often got stared at because she has Down syndrome (唐氏综合征), which makes her appear abnormal. There were times when I had to struggle with her.
I had this in mind when I was traveling alone recently and saw a mother and a son with special needs at the airport gate.
Some people gave the son and mother strange looks, the same kind of looks my sister and I would sometimes get.
To be honest. I didn’t even really regard what I did as something different or good.
| A．They had got off another plane. |
| B．People would stare at us even more. |
| C．I don’t know what I should do to help. |
| D．But I went up and asked if I could lend a hand. |
| E．I just consider it as the only choice in that situation. |
| F．I was so angry that I shouted loudly at the strangers. |
| G．I had no idea what impact she would have on my daily life. |
10 . One recent night， while I was leafing through its pages of an old journal， my eyes met a quote by the British writer Graham Greene that I had marked， “A prejudice had something in common with an ideal.”In other words， ideals—general descriptions of people's expectations of themselves and others—can often lead us to unreasonable ideas.It got me thinking about how we often allow ourselves to generalize about groups of people.We like to stereotype people by the color of their skin， the year of their birth or any other related factors.
I grew up in a multi-racial corner of America.The different groups were often subject to narrow stereotypes：Jewish people were“greedy”， Mexicans were“poorly educated”， and Asians were“good at math”.These labels were taught to us from a young age.They wormed their way into our belief systems， harming how we came to see others.It made me sad growing up to see people repeat these stereotypes as if they were true.The rush-to judgment of people breeds a culture of discrimination.
You can also see these over-generalized descriptions being made against today's Chinese people.Whether it be a lack of interest or worry among mile millennial being described as “monkish”， or“dad-fashion”which has given the“greasy middle-aged men”tag.stereotypes always seem to gain a foothold in the consciousness of our society.But these generalizations do real harm as these myths may become part of the wider population.
It's about time that we， as a society， walked away from generalizations and stereotypes.I leave you with the words of Martin Luther King Jr.from his famous“I Have a Dream”speech：“T look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin， but by the content of their character.”By reserving judgment and really getting to know the individual you might just find your irrational ideas have no foundation.
1. According to the passage， how do people tend to judge others?| A．By describing people's personalities. |
| B．By truly getting to know those around. |
| C．By observing their noticeable features. |
| D．By following Martin Luther King's speech. |
| A．generalizations have unfavorable position in society |
| B．generalizations have a negative influence on our society |
| C．generalizations are found peculiar to the middle-age Chinese |
| D．generalizations make today's Chinese people lack interest or worry |
| A．the common prejudice |
| B．people's expectation of themselves |
| C．the groundless worries |
| D．the famous speech of Martin Luther King Jr. |
