1 . When communicating with others, we often focus on what we should say.     1     Listening well means not just understanding the words or the information being communicated, but also understanding the emotions the speaker is trying to convey. The following are tips for becoming an active listener.

Focus fully on the speaker. You can’t listen in an active way if you’re constantly checking your phone.     2     You need to stay focused on the moment-to-moment experience in order to pick up the important nonverbal cues in a conversation. If you find it hard to concentrate on some speakers, try repeating their words over in your head-it’ll reinforce their message and help you stay focused.

Display your interest in what’s being said by using body language. Nod occasionally, smile at the person, and make sure your posture is open and inviting.     3    

Avoid interrupting or trying to redirect the conversation to your concerns by saying something like, “you think that’s bad, let me tell you what happened to me.”     4     You can’t concentrate on what someone’s saying if you’re forming what you’re going to say next. Often, the speaker can read your facial expressions and know that your mind’s elsewhere.

    5     In order to communicate effectively with someone, you don’t have to like them or agree with their ideas, values or opinions. However, you do need to set aside your judgement and hold back blame and criticism in order to fully understand them. The most difficult communication, when successfully performed, can often lead to an unlikely connection with someone.

A．Try to set aside judgement.

B．Be aware of individual differences.

C．It will make you feel more self-confident.

D．Listening is not the same as waiting for your turn to talk.

E．Encourage the speaker to continue with “yes”or “uh huh”.

F．Thinking about something else also implies you are not an active listener.

G．However, effective communication is less about talking and more about listening.

2 . 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.

3 . How to Start a Conversation with Strangers

Introduce Yourself

It’s not necessary to be clever when you introduce yourself. Simply focus on being genuine and sincere. When you approach the other person to start the conversation, give him a warm smile and clearly state your name.     1     Remember to speak at a regular pace, taking care not to speak too quickly or slowly, so that the other person will have no difficulty understanding you.

Begin the Conversation

    2    A comment about the weather or a current event may be most appropriate. Avoid beginning the conversation with anything too personal, as this may make the other person feel uncomfortable to continue the conversation. After you make your opening comments, give the person enough time to respond. Show a sincere interest in the thoughts she expresses about the subject.

Continue the Conversation

If you are building a rapport(关系), feel free to move on to a bit more personal topics to continue the conversation.    3    Open­ended questions — those that can’t be answered by a simple “yes” or “no” — help to keep a conversation going.

    4    

When you have run out of things to say or need to move on to do something else, prepare your exit strategy. You may say that you need to use the bathroom or catch up with someone else. Let the other person know how much you enjoyed talking to her.     5    

A．End the Conversation.

B．Bring up a general topic to begin the conversation.

C．This will help keep the conversation flowing freely.

D．If appropriate, make plans to talk again at a later date.

E．Your conversational partner will feel valued and appreciated.

F．Explain who you are and why you want to have the conversation.

G．You may want to ask about his favourite hobby, his career, his classes or upcoming events.

4 . Apologies are commonly known as a sign of empathy(共情) in the workplace. But over-apologizing or excessively saying sorry when you don’t need to is a bad habit that can weaken your authority, and more importantly, it hurts your pride.     1    , what can you do? Below are four alternatives to saying “I’m sorry”:

When someone bumps(撞) into you or they’re in your way

When someone bumps into you, saying excuse me or pardon me is more appropriate than saying sorry.     2    .

When you have a question

Practice speaking up in meetings without apologizing first. You’re not interrupting or annoying if you have a question, so don’t assume you are.

    3    

“Thank you.” These two words are often more powerful than an apology. Try replacing feelings of shame with gratitude. Saying “Thank you. Let’s begin.” acknowledges that your colleagues waited for you.

When someone makes an unreasonable request for your time

Instead, say, “No, I’m not able to do that.” If people make unreasonable requests for your time, it’s wise to learn how to push back.     4    . You may be worried about saying “no” because you fear people will dislike you or get upset. Typically, the opposite is true, and people will respect your honesty.

    5     On the contrary, a well-placed apology can be very powerful.

A．Don’t apologize for taking up space

B．We cannot say “no” randomly

C．When a colleague offers you good advice

D．When you’re late for a meeting and make others wait

E．If you find yourself falling into the habit of over-apologizing

F．Remember, saying you’re sorry isn’t necessarily a sign of weakness

G．Stating your limits and expectations clearly doesn’t mean you’re being difficult

6 . Internal communication, also known as IC, refers to a group of processes responsible for effective circulation of message within an organization. These messages are information that is valuable to the organization and are supposed to be kept confidential(机密的). The means of transferring this information is often done through emails, letters, notice boards, and even with the help of social media like Skype, Zoom, and Google Meet, in the current times.

Honest internal communication is the healthiest way to keep your organization growing. With honesty around the workplace, it is a safer environment for the employees to voice their opinions which could help in the modification of a certain operation that might have been outdated. Other than changes, not opening up to your colleagues can result in frustration and give rise to “gossip culture” at the workplace. When information is not passed out with lucidity, not only does the quality of work get affected but it also gives rise to questioning the worth of the time spent in the company.

An atmosphere of honesty also encourages growth in responsibility, leadership, and self-accountability. If the CEO of a company voices the shortcomings of his team in a respectful manner, it would bring room for each and every employee to take it on a positive note and bring around the change for the one common goal of development of the company that they are working for. This brings a lot of change in the attitude of every individual employee since they start seeing the company that they are working for as an asset that they cherish (珍爱) dearly.

In a workplace, things go both wrong and right, so it is important to both appreciate and criticize when such situations occur from the end of both the leadership and the employees. The positives should be celebrated while the negatives should be taken as positive criticisms that could help the company grow into something better. The main goal of unity and development should always be kept in mind.

1. Which is considered one main character of IC?

A．It comes with the times of social media.	B．It exists within the leadership of a company.
C．It is often kept secret within an organization.	D．It needs a long and difficult process in most cases.

2. What does the underlined word “lucidity” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Clearness.

B．Appreciation.

C．Authority.

D．Assistance.

3. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The main responsibilities of the CEO.	B．The importance of unity for a company.
C．The advantage of a powerful leadership.	D．The role of an honest leadership in a company.

4. What does the author suggest to us in a workplace in the last paragraph?

A．Communicating both the positives and the negatives.

B．Taking responsibilities bravely for our mistakes.

C．Trying all possible means to avoid the negatives.

D．Strengthening unity mainly among the employees.

9 . As workers return to the office, friends meet up and religious services move from online to in person, people are asking the question: to shake hands or not to shake hands? When the coronavirus (新冠病毒) crisis first began, an event planning business in Kansas City began selling “I Shake Hands” stickers.     1     Those who did not want to shake hands with others could simply choose not to wear a sticker.

    2     A widely held belief is that it started as a way to show that a person was offering peace and not holding a hidden weapon. But hands have germs. Dr. Anthony Fauci, America's leading disease expert, warned that we shouldn't shake hands again. While Dr. Amesh Adalja, another expert, does not agree.     3     The answer, he says, is simple. If you are worried about COVID, the best way to make handshakes safe is to be fully vaccinated (打疫苗). And for any other things that might be on people's hands, just wash your hands before you touch your face.

Diane Gottsman is a national etiquette (礼仪) expert. She said though the country is entering a time similar to the start of the pandemic, when people wanted to know if others were socially distancing before getting close to them, she does not think the handshake will go away because of the pandemic.     4    But she said people should take things slowly. Don't be the first to extend your hand. You can watch the other person and allow them to extend their greeting of choice.

At the beginning of the pandemic, some companies offered to create new workplace rules, such as a no-handshake policy. But there was not enough interest for people.     5    

A．You'd better avoid shaking hands.

B．The handshake has been around for centuries.

C．The words were meant to make social situations easier.

D．Anyway, people long for human interaction and human touch.

E．Etiquette means the rules making up the correct way to behave in society.

F．He thinks people are overthinking the question of whether to shake hands or not.

G．It's a really hard greeting to deny as it has been deep-rooted since we were young.

10 . Like the rest of us, scientists have long suspected the healing capacity (修复能力) of a good hug. Unlike the rest of us, they’ve gone about trying to prove it.

“Laboratory studies suggest that things like hugs help us feel safer. They can also make us less sensitive to physical pain and less reactive when we’re faced with threatening experiences,” says Michael Murphy. He is a research professor in the department of psychological sciences at Texas Tech University. “This lab work has shown that hugs and other touch behavior are related to stress. The more stress we have, the more our heart rates and blood pressure go up. At this time, hugs and other forms of personal touch may give off all sorts of feel-good chemicals, so that stress can be reduced.”

“There’s a lot that we still need to learn, and there’s a lot we don’t know,” Murphy says. “However, what seems to be rising up is that hugs, as well as other forms of loving and gentle touch, are really powerful. They remind people that they’ re cared about and that they have someone in their corner.”

We expect touch. When we were born, we were placed in our mothers’ arms almost immediately. In that first year of our life, we spend a lot of time being held by other people. And as we grow up, we seek out hugs and touch as a way of connection. I think what we have lost in the past few years are these really easy opportunities to be reminded of connection.”

While he was at Carnegie Mellon, Murphy was the lead author of a hug-centered 2018 article in the scientific journal PLOS One. In a series of interviews with 404 adults over a two-week period, the researchers found that receiving a hug is associated with the attenuation of negative emotions that occur on days with interpersonal conflicts. That is to say, generally, hugs help to reduce the negative impacts that personal conflicts may cause in our daily lives.

1. What can we infer about hugs from the laboratory studies?

A．They show people’s good social relationships.

B．They can cure us of our mental disease.

C．They can put much pressure on people.

D．They make us feel calm and at ease.

2. Why do people seek out hugs and touch as they grow up?

A．To recall childhood memories.

B．To keep connected with others.

C．To solve relationship problems.

D．To express their social politeness.

3. What does the underlined word “attenuation” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A．Expression.	B．Influence.
C．Suffering.	D．Reduction.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The Power of Hugs

B．How to Reduce Stress

C．How to Care for Others

D．The Importance of Interpersonal Relations