1 . It’s a great feeling when someone gives you a compliment (赞美), isn’t it?
When someone does an activity or a task particularly well, let him/her know about it by saying “You did a great job!”
When you’ve bought something new, it feels great when other people are excited about it. For example, if you take out your new mobile phone and a colleague says, “What a cool phone!”, it makes you feel like you made the right decision to buy it.
Compliment someone on their personalities and you'll make a new friend. For example, if you like how happy a coworker is, you can tell him/her, “You are always so happy. It makes my day better.”
| A．It’s a useful way to start a conversation, too. |
| B．Everyone likes compliments about their appearance. |
| C．Be careful with compliments about appearance, though. |
| D．So, try giving someone a compliment and see their reaction. |
| E．Return the favor by complimenting others on nice things they own. |
| F．To make the compliment more meaningful, make it more specific. |
| G．Use compliments like this for any quality that you appreciate in a person. |
2 . Active listening is a communication skill that involves going beyond simply hearing the words that another person speaks but also seeking to understand the meaning and intention behind them. The word “active” implies that you are taking some type of action when listening to others.
Be fully present
Active listening requires being fully present in the conversation. It enables you to concentrate on what is being said. Being present involves listening with all your senses and giving your full attention to the speaker. To use this active listening technique effectively, put away your cell phone, ignore distractions, and shut down your internal dialogue.
Pay attention to non-verbal cues (非言语暗示)
As much as 65% of a person’s communication is unspoken,
Keep good eye contact
When engaged in active listening, making eye contact is especially important. This tells the other person that you are present and listening to what he or she says.
Be patient
Patience is an important active listening technique because it allows the other person to speak without interruption. Being patient involves not trying to fill periods of silence with your own thoughts or stories. This also requires listening to understand, not to respond.
| A．Don’t prepare a reply while listening. |
| B．It also shows that you aren’t distracted. |
| C．This isn’t helpful during active listening. |
| D．So use open, non-threatening body language. |
| E．Don’t focus too much on insignificant details. |
| F．Place your focus on your conversation partner. |
| G．This involves using certain strategies or techniques. |
3 . We all know the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. This is an old proverb we learn from an early age.
Have you ever noticed that when you do something nice for someone else, it makes you feel better too? This isn’t just something that happens randomly (随机地).
Making others feel good can “warm” your heart, sure — but being nice to others can also affect the actual chemical balance of your heart. Kindness releases the hormone oxytocin which reduces blood pressure and therefore protects the heart.
Kindness can help you live longer. You may be shaking your head at this one, but there’s science to back it up. According to Health.com, you’re at a greater risk of heart disease if you don’t have a strong network of family and friends. When you’re kind to others, you develop strong, meaningful relationships and friendships.
| A．Anxiety is an extremely common human experience. |
| B．This behavior can help you handle stressful situations. |
| C．Kindness strengthens your heart physically and emotionally. |
| D．It has something to do with the pleasure centers in your brain. |
| E．Besides improving personal relationships, kindness can make you healthier. |
| F．So, make some new friends, or expand your kindness to the ones you already have. |
| G．However, there are a number of real-life benefits connected with the way we treat others. |
4 . Have you ever been in mid-conversation with someone, when you look over and find them standing in the same position as you or holding the same facial expression? It may seem like they have consciously copied you, but it is much more likely that it is the chameleon (变色龙) effect at play.
The chameleon effect is the unconscious imitation of another person’s gestures or behavior. Just as a chameleon attempts to match any environment’s colors, people acquire the behavior of others to bring them closer together and help make their interactions smooth.
The chameleon effect was confirmed in an experiment by psychologists John Bargh and Tanya Chartrand in 1999. The part of their experiment included 78 people, who each spoke with an experimenter. During the test, Bargh and Chartrand studied whether participants would copy the actions of someone they hadn’t met before, like moving the foot and touching the face. The second part measured the impact that copying someone has on the person being imitated.
In the first stage, participants increased their face touching by 20% and their foot movement by 50% while in conversation about a photograph with the experimenter. The individuals weren’t aware of what they were being studied for, and the photograph was used to catch their attention to insure unconscious acts. The second stage involved half of the participants being copied, and then rating the likability of the experimenter. The results, showed that those who were imitated scored the experimenter higher. It has shown that when someone copies our behavior, we develop more positive feelings about them. These interactions could be a person unconsciously willing to be liked, and forming a moment of connection.
The main reasons behind humans’ imitation are positive. However, when people carry this chameleon effect to the extreme, they can lose their sense of self. Those who change their entire personalities in different groups often go undetected. But more common signs of the chameleon effect are easier to notice. Next time you are in a social gathering, take a look around and you might just see some chameleons for yourself.
1. Why do people imitate others’ behavior?| A．To show admiration for others. | B．To adapt to the surroundings. |
| C．To establish a connection with others. | D．To attract others’ attention. |
| A．By directing their attention to a photo. | B．By keeping an eye on their actions. |
| C．By telling them the purpose of the study. | D．By evaluating the impacts of imitation. |
| A．People tend to like those who imitate their behavior. |
| B．Too much of the chameleon effect can be beneficial. |
| C．People imitating others are not easy to be detected. |
| D．The copied movements help people to feel relaxed. |
| A．Students adopt teachers’ accents for fun after class. |
| B．People change their habits to please others on purpose. |
| C．A comedian copies a celebrity vividly on stage. |
| D．A husband and his wife share similar behaviors over time. |
5 . I came across some excellent tips on how to communicate better with others.
Pause(停顿)before replying to others.
Be honest.
Ask for feedback（反馈）from others. When it’s all said and done, one of the best ways you can learn to communicate more effectively is to ask for feedback. Take some time to speak to those who you communicate with frequently to find out how you can improve on your communication with them.
| A．Be patient and open-minded. |
| B．Trust and hard work are valuable. |
| C．When you’re honest, communication becomes a lot easier. |
| D．I believe communication is key to living a good life. |
| E．It’s not always easy to ask for feedback, but it’s worth it! |
| F．You’ll be on the road to creating a better understanding with others. |
| G．Pause works wonders when it comes to communicating effectively with others. |
6 . How to build a personal brand (品牌)
People tend to think about a personal brand as bragging (自吹自擂) , self- promotion and all about yourself. But it's actually something much more important.
Figure out your goal. What do you want your personal brand to help you achieve? Are you looking to change jobs or enter a new industry, and you need your brand to reflect a new skill set?
Get clear on what you want to be known for.
Bring value to others online.
| A．It's your name. |
| B．Lead with no confusion. |
| C．Introduce yourself in detail. |
| D．Write your aim down and make it specific. |
| E．Focusing on something helpful is a good way |
| F．Why do you expect people to know about your job? |
| G．How do you want people to describe you as an expert? |
7 . My wife and I were at a crowded grocery store not long ago. It was a weekday evening, cold and wet and tense. People were carelessly blocking aisles, complaining and cutting one another off with their carts. At one point, two women quarreled for several minutes in the freezer section.
Things got worse at the checkout line. The cashier scanned a man’s discount card, but he misread the savings on her screen as an additional charge. He decided she was acting on purpose and began to argue.
Other customers looked away as the cashier tried to reason with him. She called a manager, who took him to customer service. Shaken, she moved to the next customer in line.
We’ve all witnessed uncomfortable scenes like this in public places. My reaction when I see them is both personal and professional. I am a data analyst and sociologist who studies how and why people interact with one another — or why they choose not to. To me, the grocery scene was another example of how our trust in others has disappeared. But it was also a teachable moment on how we can rebuild our faith — starting with just one person.
Therefore, my wife and I reached the disturbed cashier. I grabbed a bottle of water from a nearby cooler and handed it to her. We learned her name was Beth.
“We felt bad about how that man treated you and wanted to buy this for you.” I said.
Beth’s face lit up, and we talked as she scanned our items. She told us she had been working that evening through severe foot pain and would be having surgery later that week. We wished her well in her recovery, and she thanked us as we left.
That is the balancing act, the moment of countering social and emotional pain with healing, that will add up to restore trust across the United States. You can start that pattern in someone else’s life, even in a place as ordinary as the neighborhood grocery store.
1. By describing the arguments, the author wants to show________.| A．the job as a cashier is not easy | B．people in the U.S are unfriendly |
| C．arguments in public are very common | D．trust in each other has worn off |
| A．Sad and regretful. | B．Sorry and embarrassed. |
| C．Cheerful and rewarded. | D．Grateful and relieved. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Optimistic. | C．Uncaring. | D．Cautious. |
| A．A Miserable Cashier | B．A Helping Hand |
| C．Learning to Trust Again | D．Starting a new life |
8 . They caused the first wound, but you are causing the rest; this is what not forgiving does. They got it started but you keep it going. Forgive and let it go, or it will eat you alive. You think they made you feel this way, but when you don’t forgive, you are the one creating the pain on yourself.
Whatever you do — don’t wait to forgive someone until they apologize, ask for your forgiveness or even admit they have harmed you. If you are waiting for someone to admit they have hurt you, you could be waiting forever and it puts them in the power position, where you need something from them to move forward in your own life.
Forgiveness has nothing to do with how wrong someone else was; no matter how wrong they are, when you forgive a person, you break the ties with their ill deeds that keep you in pain. Forgiving breaks the unhealthy bonds between you and the one who hurt you, and redefines you as an independent victor in your own life. Whether they accept their responsibility or not, you are no longer dependent on their participation for your healing (治愈). You can forgive them, and you can then move on. Boundaries are an essential part of forgiveness.
It is easy to hold a grudge (记仇). It is easy to blame. But these experiences are a lasting role of a powerless victim (受害者). When you hold grudges the victimization continues.
It takes emotional bravery to forgive. It takes a huge determination toward self-care to let go of painful past events and not let them identify your future. There is no self-love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without self-love. Forgiving others may be the ultimate act of self-love. Through forgiveness you can protect yourself from suffering from the lapses made by others.
1. According to the author, if you don’t forgive, you’ll _____.| A．suffer further | B．keep your pride |
| C．become stronger | D．receive an apology |
| A．It counts a great deal. | B．It is tied to you firmly. |
| C．It is nothing important. | D．It decides whether you forgive. |
| A．decisions | B．mistakes |
| C．contributions | D．apologies |
| A．To advise us not to blame others. |
| B．To tell us it is difficult to forgive others. |
| C．To tell us the importance of forgiving others. |
| D．To advise us to learn to forgive others for self-love. |
9 . No matter what profession or occupation you hold you will need to work with others to meet your goals. Group work is a great way to showcase your own skills while getting help from your teammates in areas where you might not be as strong.
Clarify the team expectations so everyone is on the same page.
Direct your concern toward the problem, not your teammates. Don’t accuse or blame anyone on your team for causing the conflict, even if you believe they did.
Focus on the success of the group, not your personal success. When you’re on a team, everyone’s success depends on each member working toward a common goal.
| A．Make sure you do an equal share of the work. |
| B．Volunteer to take on extra work when necessary. |
| C．Treat the team’s accomplishments as a group success. |
| D．Our guide will show you how to boost your teamwork skills. |
| E．State the issue you’re having, then listen to what everyone has to say. |
| F．Instead, keep all of your comments focused on the issue and how your team can solve it. |
| G．This can include explaining the expectations or asking questions if you find them unclear. |
10 . Almost everyone gossips. And a new study finds that people spend about 52 minutes per day, on average, talking to someone about others who are not present
But here’s the surprise: Despite the assumption that most gossip is trash talk, the study finds the majority of gossip is nonjudgmental chat.
“People love to talk about others,” says Jeremy Cone, a psychologist at Williams College. “Think about your own conversations with a family member or friend: You talk about everyday things that keep you connected. You share your daughter got her driver’s license or your uncle has a kidney stone. Much of it is just documenting facts.”
Of course, the study also finds that some gossip is negative or mean-spirited. About 15% of the gossip included some type of negative judgement.
But even negative gossip can serve a purpose, as more research has found.
“I think gossiping can be a smart thing to do,” says Elena Martinescu who has studied gossip in the workplace. “It allows people to keep track of what’s going on and form social connection with other people.”
Research has shown that gossip can help build group cohesion (凝聚力) and cooperation. “When you gossip, you can keep track of who is contributing to the group and who's being selfish,” Martinescu explains. “And by sharing this information, you can exclude those group members who are social loafers (游手好闲的人).”
“We also found negative gossip makes people likely to repair the aspects of their behavior that they were criticized for,” Martinescu says.
So, say, for instance, you were criticized for always arriving at work late. Hearing that gossip about yourself may motivate you to want to be on time.
Of course, this isn’t a license to be loose lips or to repeat baseless claims that can damage someone’s reputation unfairly. But confiding (吐露个人隐私) in your friends and colleagues and sharing impressions about another person — even when they’re negative — may be helpful.
1. Why do people often gossip according to Jeremy Cone?| A．Because gossip can satisfy their curiosity. | B．Because they can share social information. |
| C．Because they want to correct others’ mistakes. | D．Because spreading negative facts is unavoidable. |
| A．People can be improved in an all-round way. | B．People can get rid of immoral behavior rapidly. |
| C．People can be kept informed of others' privacy. | D．People can change their behavior for the better.. |
| A．It is plain to see that people gossip all the time. |
| B．Based on the study, the majority of gossip is trash talk. |
| C．It’s advisable that we turn a deaf ear to negative gossip. |
| D．It’s likely that gossip helps us know more about one's quality. |
| A．Gossip is the last thing people could do. | B．Gossip should be advocated by the society. |
| C．Gossip may not be as harmful as it sounds. | D．Gossip is the best way to build social bonds. |
