1 . Someone with strong communication skills can build positive relationships and resolve conflicts(冲突). This guide can teach you the basics.

    1    

When you’re having a serious conversation, the last thing you want is to be interrupted(打扰)by a phone call. So turn your phone on Do Not Disturb. If you have a radio or television in your office, turn it off.

Be clear when speaking.

Be clear about your goal so your message can be understood in a way that every listener can understand.    2     Similarly, be sure to express clearly to avoid any kind of misunderstanding. Organizing your words in advance is helpful. You should speak at a volume(音量)level that is guaranteed to be heard as well.

Change your tone of voice to draw attention.

Dull and unchanged voices may not always be pleasing to the ear. So good communicators use vocal color to stress their message. Yale University recommend you some tips. Raise the volume of your voice when you transition from one topic or point to another.     3     Speak briefly but pause to emphasize key words when requesting action.

Keep eye contact.

    4     During a conversation or presentation, maintain eye contact for as long as it feels natural. Generally, you’ll want to aim for 2 to 4 seconds at a time. Remember to take in all of your audience. If you’re addressing at boardroom, look each member in the eye.     5    

A．Reduce interruption.

B．Keep your audience in mind.

C．Increase your volume whenever you are summing up.

D．Eye contact helps make others believe you’re trustworthy.

E．Ignoring any single person can easily be regarded as impolite.

F．This requires using simple words rather than more complex ones.

G．Before you attempt to communicate ideas, organize your thoughts using key points.

2 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What will Edward be responsible for?

A．Doing online marketing.

B．Organizing the musicians.

C．Sending out the invitations.

2. What is the woman going to do first?

A．Draw the posters.

B．Make the guest list.

C．Design the invitations.

3. Who will be in charge of making the room reservations?

A．Nancy.

B．John.

C．Tim.

4. Where is Nancy now?

A．In a hotel.

B．On a train.

C．In the hospital.

3 . Bad judgments are meant to feed our own personal ego (自我意识) and put others down, which is not the healthiest thing to do. Here are five reasons why you should stop it now.

You start finding faults in everyone. Judging quickly moves on to more private areas of your life.     1     You fail to appreciate them and start getting dissatisfied with them. You become critical of even those who matter to you.

Judging becomes a habit. If you judge people, sooner or later, it becomes a habit, and you start judging everyone around you for the tiniest of things.     2     And you might dismiss even the best of people through these microscopic judgments.

People begin to distrust you. If you pass judgments about other people in front of your audience, you will lose their trust. As they will begin to feel that if you can judge others in front of them, you can talk about them behind their back.     3    

Judgment is a sign of unhappiness. If you are 100% happy with who you are, you are a lot less likely to feel the need to judge others. If you are self-assured, you will not feel the need to cast a downward glance at others.     4     Either way, it is a negative attitude.

    5     If you’re judging others, you’re probably judging yourself pretty harshly as well. You often tend to think that if you are judging people by what they wear, someone might in turn judge you, which, as a consequence, makes you extremely concerned with your appearance.

A．You are viewed positively by people.

B．You start taking yourself too seriously.

C．Hence, seeing others positively shows we are positive people.

D．You judge their clothing, actions, success, values, and everything.

E．Likewise, you also judge because you feel you are better than others.

F．You start judging your close ones; friends, family members, partner, etc.

G．And no one wants to make friends with someone often talking unkindly about others.

4 . A few years ago, I walked into Panera and placed my order. As I sat down, I noticed that at the table next to me, there was an older man with a cap eating his soup alone. At the sight of this, a feeling of sadness began to wash over me. Why was he eating alone? Was he lonely? Did he want someone to keep him company?

This wasn’t the first time I’d felt sad when I noticed someone eating alone. I automatically assume they’re lonely and need someone to be there for them. For some reason, eating with other people is the norm. Modern society has evolved to the point where most people eat with others and do almost every activity together. If we need to get lunch before a class, we’d rather ask around to see if someone will come with us. But is it possible we just don’t want to appear lonely?

For me, it’s easy to get pressured to have to be around other people when I see everyone else around me accompanied by a friend almost all the time. So many people are always around someone else, and that may make people think we always need someone with us to feel better about ourselves.

But that’s not true. We can enjoy being alone not everyone needs to be constantly surrounded by friends to be happy. And we shouldn’t be afraid to eat alone if that’s what we want to do. We don’t have to do what everyone else does.

Ultimately, I don’t think I’ll ever not get sad if I see someone eating alone, but I’ll bear in mind that maybe they just want a break from the world, or maybe they prefer it that way. It’s important to realize seeing someone doing something alone doesn’t always mean they’re lonely.

1. Why does the author mention her experience at Panera a few years ago?

A．To introduce the topic of caring for old people.

B．To start the discussion about people eating alone.

C．To describe a memorable encounter.

D．To illustrate the benefits of eating alone outside.

2. What does the author think of the norm of eating with other people?

A．It is a good way to avoid awkwardness.

B．It helps maintain social connections.

C．It is common but deserves questioning.

D．It is unreasonable and unacceptable.

3. How does the author feel when people around her have company but she doesn’t?

A．Uncomfortable.

B．Isolated.

C．Envious.

D．Relaxed.

4. What message does the author want to convey?

A．Social relationships are unnecessary.

B．People need to be alone to recharge.

C．Loneliness is unavoidable in our daily life.

D．Being alone doesn’t equate to loneliness.

5 . The Power of Peers

Do birds of a feather really flock together? People do tend to choose friends who are similar to them. Many behaviors spread socially. Activities in certain brain areas change when other people are around.     1     You can use the power of social relationships to gain healthier habits — and motivate others to do the same.

    2     Teens are especially responsive to peer influence. At the same time, the reward system in the teen brain becomes extra sensitive. Teens are just learning to explore the social world. Understanding other people’s values and being influenced by them are important parts of socializing.

A research shows that even just having another peer around can change the reward response in the brain and also the risk-taking tendencies of teenagers. Some people seem to be more easily influenced than others and more sensitive to feeling included or excluded by others.     3     But it’s also a time that peer influence can help teens thrive if it gets them more involved with their community or helps them learn behaviors to get along with others.

It’s the quality of friendships — not quantity — that really makes the difference. Friendships you feel you want to let go of may be low quality.     4       High quality friendships provide understanding, support, and recognition of your self-worth. These types of friendships are more steady and satisfying.

Spending time with friends can be especially helpful for people. Noticing that our behavior is influenced by other people, we can be intentional and try to focus on the people who are doing the things we want to get into ourselves.     5    

A．Adolescence is such a risky period.

B．That can affect what you choose to do.

C．Peer pressure can sometimes lead to competition.

D．People care about what others think across all different age groups.

E．They are linked to poor academic performance and behavioral issues.

F．Sharing your healthy habits could also make a real difference to others.

G．The number of friends you have determines your level of social influence.

6 . Every day, as I took long walks through North Vancouver, I would think about the potential joys of a physically closer network. Wouldn’t it be great to have someone who could join me at a moment’s notice? How good would it be to have more non-scheduled hangs instead of ones that had to be planned weeks in advance?

This doesn’t have to be just a dream. Although technology is making it easier to maintain long-distance connections, nothing can replace seeing friends in person. Researchers have found that happiness spreads “like an emotional contagion (传染)”, especially among those who live close together.

Friends who live in the same city could decide to move within walking distance of one another — the same neighborhood, block, or even apartment building. Doing so would likely involve a lot of effort, but the resulting community could pay emotional dividends for years. Doing so would make it easier to support one another materially and emotionally.

Moving close to your friends requires some masterminding. Cities can make doing so easier by ending single-family zoning codes and encouraging a variety of housing types in neighborhoods. But even without official policies, people can make it work on their own. Sam Unger, 32, a food scientist and a friend of mine, has created a chosen family like this in Montreal, where about 15 of her friends live within walking distance of one another. When someone moves away, they try to transfer (移交) their lease (租约) to other friends. And when pals based elsewhere in the city are looking to move, Unger will try selling them on the positives of her neighborhood and sometimes even look for housing for them. “It’s funny,” she told me. “The other day, I bought a fire extinguisher, and she’s like, ‘Oh, well, I have one. You could just call me if you had a fire, and I’d be right over with it.’”

1. What kind of lifestyle does the author prefer?

A．Alone.

B．Modern.

C．Scheduled

D．Free.

2. What does the underlined word “dividends” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．Needs.

B．Benefits.

C．States

D．Effects.

3. Why does the author mention Sam Unger?

A．To tell Sam Unger has a talent in business.

B．To prove people can move closer on their own.

C．To show how important the official policies are.

D．To suggest how one can get on well with others.

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Live Closer to Your Friends

B．The Internet Brings People Closer

C．A Way to Maintain Relationships

D．Technology Harms Friendships

7 . It’s never easy to say “no”, especially when we’re asked by someone close to us, Maybe a friend is asking you for a favor, or a co-worker is asking you to cover their shift for the afternoon     1    . Don’t worry, We’ve put together some tips to help you politely refuse a request without feeling guilty or hurting anyone’s feelings in the process.

Be kind but forthright. Though you can always just say “no” on your own terms, you might find more success by padding your refusal with positivity.     2    . There’s no need to hide the real reason why you’re saying “no”, as long as you can express it in a polite manner. People will appreciate it if you tell them kindly and quickly why you can’t accommodate them.

    3    . It’s important to set boundaries (界限) with co workers and close friends alike. People shouldn’t expect they can take advantage of you or you’ll drop everything for them at the last minute. Aim for relationships in which both of you feel glad to say “yes” when you can but are also understanding when one of you can’t.

Offer a brief explanation. Providing a concise explanation as to why you’re refusing a request is one polite way to say “no”. For instance, if you already have other work this week that would prevent you from hitting a pew deadline, let the person know that. You’d better avoid adding too much fluff (无价值的东西) to your explanation.     4     .

Know yourself. Knowing yourself and your needs will help you decide if you should say“no”. Have a brainstorming session about areas where you have too much on your plate.     5    . You need to be able to take care of yourself before you can show up for others.

A．Set healthy boundaries.

B．Be honest about your own needs.

C．When should you say “no” to them?

D．Set boundaries between work and your personal life.

E．That can very likely give the other person false hope.

F．You can try keeping your voice calm, welcoming and kind.

G．How can you stand your ground politely without feeling guilty?

8 . A therapy (治疗) client and I are working on an eating disorder and find it originated from a relationship break-up or perhaps being bullied in middle school. Such hurtful experiences led to not eating for a couple of weeks. Then comes a high praise from a friend that totally backfires. Maybe it’s an enthusiastic, “Wow, you look great!’’ In a flash, this praise excites an inner and often unconscious thought: “Oh, people care more about me if I lose weight. So many things feel out of control but I can control people’s affection by not eating.”

Often, very well-intentioned individuals offer praise out of a desire to uplift and connect. Such praise is often tied, directly or indirectly, to a person’s relationship with the standards of a specific group or institution. Sadly, such praise can easily reduce an individual’s dignity to their level in line with the group’s expectations rather than supporting their inherent (固有的) dignity and worth. So, what’s a better way?

One answer is to exit the game of “right and wrong” and enter a more life-giving focus on what needs are present. Returning to our example above, when you see that someone has lost weight and you want to give them a praise, just pause and take a deep breath. Simply ask, “How are you doing?” See them and hear them. Appreciate them as a person of limitless value. Know there may be much more to their inner world than meets the eye. Similarly, when you see someone’s success in school, appreciate the hard work they put into it. Ask with gentle curiosity, “How’s it been for you?” Listen with your full attention that in itself can be a rare gift in today’s hustle and bustle world.

By maintaining your concern and listening to the ways they want to be accompanied and supported — even when it might not be your first instinct — you can see them as a whole person, with complex feelings, very human needs, and inherent dignity.

1. What does the underlined word “backfires” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A．Improves the situation.	B．Shows sincere concern.
C．Removes hurtful feelings.	D．Produces an unexpected result.

2. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．Analyzing the phenomenon.	B．Listing another example.
C．Presenting the solution.	D．Making a proposal.

3. Why does the author suggest simply asking “How are you doing”?

A．To start a light conversation.

B．To focus on one’s inner needs.

C．To explore the secret of keeping slim.

D．To show appreciation for one’s efforts.

4. What might be the title for the text?

A．Say No to the “Right or Wrong” Game

B．Why We Need to Make Praises to Others.

C．Follow Me and Be a Qualified Therapist

D．How Innocent Words can Be Harmful

9 . It’s a great feeling when someone gives you a compliment (赞美), isn’t it?    1    When you compliment someone, he/she will become open and begin to talk with you. How do you give an appropriate compliment, though? It’s important to be sincere and specific about your praise.

When someone does an activity or a task particularly well, let him/her know about it by saying “You did a great job!”     2     For example, “That was a great presentation! I particularly liked the funny examples you used.”

    3    You can use “I like” or “I love” to start compliments, especially if someone wears a new coat or has a new haircut. For example, “I love your hair today” or “I like your skirt”.

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.

    4    

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.”    5     If you like how organized another colleague is, tell him/her, “I really appreciate how organized you are. I would love to be as organized as you.”

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.

10 . Tips to help you overcome people-pleasing

Considering other people’s feelings and treating them with kindness is something we strive to do.    1    

When this happens, people-pleasing has crossed the line from kind and generous to self-abandonment — not being the authentic self because we’re afraid others will disapprove, criticize, or reject us. Here are tips for you to overcome such behaviors.

    2    

Self-care is a necessity, not a luxury. It’s not something you do if you have time or if you deserve it. Taking care of your emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical needs keeps you healthy. Without it, you’ll get sick, stressed, and irritable. Try putting self-care activities (exercise, socializing, hobbies, etc.) on your calendar to ensure that self-care is a priority.

Not everyone’s opinion matters.

One big mistake people-pleasers make is acting as if everyone’s opinion matters equally. You don’t differentiate whose opinion matters more. Generally, the closer the relationship, the more you’ll value their opinion and want to please them. Thus, it’s natural to want to do things to make your loved ones happy.     3    

Healthy conflict can improve relationships.

Most people worry that painful conflicts will destroy relationships.     4     But it’s not helpful or possible. When you avoid conflict, you suppress your feelings and needs. And this causes you to disconnect from yourself and from others. But healthy conflict is the one in which both parties can respectfully express themselves.     5     This is quite different from the unhealthy conflicts.

A．Be aware of your inner needs.

B．Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish.

C．This indicates that we’re People-Pleasers.

D．It’s understandable and common to want to avoid them.

E．But sacrificing our wellbeing to make others happy is not.

F．However, you don’t need to please acquaintances in the same way.

G．It results in greater understanding and ultimately strengthens the relationship.