1 . How to Communicate With a Deaf Person

Communicating with a deaf person doesn’t have to be as difficult as it might seem. The trick is to be patient, straightforward, and to remember that deaf people communicate visually.

Method1:Starting Your Conversation

    1     You can do this by moving into the person’s field of vision and waving from a polite distance, or by tapping the person gently on the shoulder.

Position yourself carefully. Make sure that the light in the room is shining directly onto your face, and that you’re not standing with your back to a light.    2    

Find out how the person prefers to communicate. Some deaf people are better lip-readers than others. Some deaf people may prefer to write back and forth or to use an interpreter. Man interactions between the deaf and the hearing require a combination of these methods.    3    

Method2:Communicating Through Lip-reading.

Keep your sentences simple and use plain language.    4     The more complex your phrasing and vocabulary, the more likely your deaf companion is to miss something.

When someone else is speaking, don’t turn away from the deaf person in your group.    5     You don’t have to look at the deaf person while someone else is talking, but try to make sure your face is visible.

A．Get the person’s attention.

B．It’s important not to talk too quickly.

C．Or, they’ll miss parts of the conversation.

D．If so, it’ll make them feel left out of the conversation.

E．Stand directly in front of the person,at a normal distance.

F．The best way to know which methods are most effective is to ask.

G．Try not to be too difficult when using your words in the beginning.

2 . We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.

What’s the problem? It’s possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence. It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.

“Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for casual conversation. Small talk is the grease(润滑剂) for social communication,” says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. “Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,” he explains. “The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.”

In a 2021 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction(互动) with its waiter; he other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. “It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,” says Dunn. “But interactions with peripheral(外围的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.”

Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. “Small talk is the basis of good manners,” he says.

1. What is important for successful small talk according to Carducci?

A．Showing good manners.

B．Relating to other people.

C．Focusing on a topic.

D．Making business deals.

2. What does the coffee shop study suggest about small talk?

A．It improves family relationships.

B．It raises people’s confidence.

C．It matters as much as a formal talk.

D．It makes people feel good.

3. What is the best title for the text?

A．Conversation Counts

B．Ways of Making Small Talk

C．Benefits of Small Talk

D．Uncomfortable Silence

4. What phenomenon is described in the first paragraph?

A．Addiction to smartphones.

B．Inappropriate behaviours in public places.

C．Absence of communication between strangers.

D．Impatience with slow service.

3 . Though to forgive is a virtue, no one regards it as an easy thing. If you are deeply hurt by someone, it can be extremely difficult to let go of your hate. However, forgiveness is possible, and it can be surprisingly beneficial to your physical and mental health. According to a recent research, people who forgive show less sadness, anger and stress and more hopefulness.

    1     Try the following steps.

Never wait for an apology. Many times the person who hurt you does not intend to apologize. They may have wanted to hurt you or they just don’t see things the same way.     2     Keep in mind that forgiveness does not necessarily mean becoming friends again with the person who upset you.

Calm yourself.     3     You can take a couple of breaths and think of something that gives you pleasure: a beautiful scene in nature, or someone you love.

Take the control away from your offender. Rethinking about your hurt gives power to the person who caused you pain. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you.

    4     If you understand your offender, you may realize that he or she was acting out of unawareness, fear, and even love. You may want to write a letter to yourself from your offender’s point of view.

Don’t forget to forgive yourself.     5     But it can rob you of your self-confidence if you don’t do it.

A．Why do you have to forgive?

B．How should you start to forgive?

C．Recognize the benefits of forgiveness.

D．Try to see things from your offender’s angle.

E．For some people, forgiving themselves is the biggest challenge.

F．To make your anger die away, try a simple stress management technique.

G．If you wait for people to apologize, you could be waiting an awfully long time.

5 . 听下面一段较长对话, 回答以下小题。
1. Who is the boss?

A．Mr. Cassel.

B．Ms. Baker.

C．Mr. Langley.

2. Why does the man apologize at the end?

A．He misunderstood the woman.

B．He can’t attend the birthday party.

C．He can't help replace the pen.

6 . Every parent has experienced the mixed bag of emotions when it comes to their kids being invited to their friends’ birthday parties.     1    . On the other hand, keeping up with purchasing gifts can really add up.

The newest birthday party trend is here to change that dilemma.     2    . The way it works is that rather than everyone bringing a gift that your child may or may not like, each guest brings a mere $5 instead. At the end of the day, your kid can pool up all of the cash and then choose their own gift, which will end up being something they actually want and will play with. This is a win for both you and your child.

    3    . First they don’t have to spend $20 and their spare time running to a toy store to try to figure out what another child may or may not want as a birthday gift. It also helps avoid the situation where a parent has to explain to their child why they cannot buy a toy since it is no this or her birthday. This can get pretty tiresome.

If your child is constantly invited to birthday parties, the costs can really add up. By cutting down the cost, parents can save a lot of money. By cutting down on the number of toys, it is both environmentally friendly and teaches children that value of owning thigs that they actually want and need, rather than be surrounded by a sea of $20 toys they will never touch.     4    

Another benefit is that it evens out the playing field.     5     Some people may be able to afford more expensive than others, but the “Fiver Party” ensures that nobody feels left out or bad about their financial situation.

This new trend lets kids be kids and allows them to focus on the real purpose of the birthday party: having fun with their friends.

A．Many gifts may end up lying around your house untouched.

B．This is also a win for all of the parents whose kids are invited to the party.

C．The “Fiver Party” might be a brilliant solution to this very problem.

D．This practical approach reduces waste and overconsumption.

E．The “Fiver Party” takes the guesswork out of trying to purchase the perfect gift.

F．On one hand, they’re happy because their child is being included and has an active social life.

G．Every child brings the same exact gift without worrying about whether their gift was “good enough”.

8 . It is widely believed that smiling means a person is happy, and it usually occurs when they're meeting another person or a group of people. However, a new study led by the body language expert Dr Harry Witchel shows this isn't always the case.

In his research, he asked 44 participants aged 18—35 to play a geography quiz game consisting of nine difficult questions so that they often got the answer wrong. Participants seated interacted with a computer alone in a room while their faces were video recorded.

After the quiz, the participants were asked to rate their experience using a range of 12 emotions including “bored”, “interested” and “frustrated”. Meanwhile, their facial expressions were then computer analysed frame by frame in order to judge how much they were smiling based on a scale of between 0 to 1.

Dr Witchel said: “According to some researchers, a real smile reflects the inner state of cheerfulness or amusement. However, behavioral ecology theory suggests that all smiles are tools used in social interactions, meaning cheerfulness is neither necessary nor rich for smiling. Our study showed that in these human­computer interaction experiments, smiling isn't driven by happiness; it is associated with subjective involvement(主观参与) , which acts like a social fuel for smiling, even when socialising with a computer on your own.”

Surprisingly, participants didn't tend to smile during the period when they were trying to figure out the answers. However, they did smile right after the computer game informed them if their answer was correct or wrong. Participants smiled more often when they got the answer wrong. Dr Witched added: “During these computerised quizzes, smiling was greatly increased just after answering questions incorrectly.This behaviour could be explained by self­ratings of involvement, rather than by ratings of happiness or frustration.”

1. Why did Dr Witchel use difficult questions in the quiz game?

A．To make it hard for participants to answer them correctly.

B．To make the answer period last as long as possible.

C．To discover the most intelligent participants.

D．To create a stressful situation for participants deliberately.

2. What can we infer from what Dr Witchel said in Paragraph 4?

A．Other researchers' opinion of a real smile is quite right.

B．Smiles aren't necessarily useful tools in social interactions.

C．Subjective involvement doesn't motivate smiling in social interactions.

D．Witchel's study finding is consistent with behavioural ecology theory.

3. What do we know about the text?

A．Participants were asked to interact with each other in the quiz.

B．Participants in the quiz smiled less often when they got the answer wrong.

C．In Dr Witchel's opinion, smiling is connected with subjective involvement.

D．Dr Witchel thinks that a real smile reflects the inner state of cheerfulness.

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

A．What Contributes to Real Happiness?

B．How to Identify Whether a Person Is Really Happy?

C．Smiling Doesn't Necessarily Mean Happiness.

D．People Generally Hold a Wrong View on Happiness.

9 . A new study, published in The Journal of Experimental Psychology found that communication interactions that included voice, like a phone call or video chat, created stronger social bonds than communication through typing, like text messaging or email.

In the study, researchers used various experiments to gauge connectedness. In one, they asked 200 people to make predictions about what it would be like to reconnect with an old friend by email or by phone and then assigned people at random 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. However, people who participated in the experiment reported that they did form a significantly stronger bond with their old friend on the phone versus email, and they did not feel more awkward.

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 via text.

Sabrina Romanoff, a Harvard trained clinical psychologist based in New York City, 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 "correspond information exactly in the way they intend 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. Each party is more present, and therefore, able to gauge the meaning behind the content without ruminating on the endless possible meanings behind words and punctuation.

1. What is the purpose of the study?

A．To encourage people to let their fingers do the talking.

B．To introduce the effects of verbal and non-verbal communications.

C．To demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of making phone calls.

D．To compare connectedness of communication through voice and typing.

2. Which way will make you feel more connected if you miss a friend far away?

A．Typing a letter.	B．Sending an email.
C．Having a video chat.	D．Texting a message.

3. What does "a controlled form of communication" refer to in Paragraph 4?

A．A way to talk about controlled topics.	B．A way to communicate without time limit.
C．A way to explain something without delay.	D．A way to express thoughts without being disturbed.

4. What advantage does making phone calls over texting?

A．Being more formal.	B．Being less awkward.
C．Being more straightforward.	D．Being less expensive

10 . How often do you have a conversation with someone, and think you are paying attention to him or her, only to realize shortly afterwards that you can't remember what he said? Or, perhaps you get distracted while he is speaking and miss the message that he is trying to deliver. In today's busy world, modern life is full of distractions: TVs, radios, traffic noises, telephones, laptops and so on, which can make it difficult to listen with our full attention.

But how can we listen more effectively? Jon kabat---zinn, professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, put forward the idea of mindful listening. He said mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way, with a purpose, at the present moment and non-judgmentally.

When we listen mindfully, we can be aware of some barriers but still remain open to the speaker's ideas and messages. Mindfulness encourages us to be aware of the present moment, let go of distractions and ignore physical and emotional reactions to what people say to us.

But how can we apply mindful listening to our life? Jon Kabat-Zinn describes three key elements of mindful listening that we can use to improve our listening skills.

First of all, be present. When we listen mindfully, our focus should be on the person we are listening to without distractions. Then develop empathy. We often see the world through our own experiences. When we're empathetic, we can understand a situation from someone else's point of view. At last, listen to our own “cues”. Our cues are the thoughts, feelings and physical reactions                                   that we have when we feel anxious or angry, and they can block out ideas and perspectives that we're uncomfortable with. Mindful listening can help us to be more aware of our cues, and allow us to choose not to let them block communication.

The rule is straightforward: simply “Listen”! Listen carefully and attentively. Pay full attention to the other person, and don't let other thoughts, like what we are going to say next, distract us.

1. What's the function of the first paragraph?

A．To introduce the topic.	B．To make a conclusion.
C．To criticize the distractions.	D．To describe daily situations.

2. What is one of the advantages of mindful listening?

A．Making a judgment correctly.	B．Sharing messages with the speaker.
C．Stopping people's running thoughts.	D．Making sure of feeling understood.

3. What does the underlined word "empathy" in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．The feeling of trusting others.	B．The ability to understand others.
C．The attitude of caring about others.	D．The behavior of listening to others.

4. What can be the best title for the passage?

A．Applications of Mindful Listening.

B．Key Elements of Mindful Listening.

C．A Research on Mindful Listening.

D．An Introduction of Mindful Listening.