1 . When I re-entered the full-time workforce a few years ago after a decade of lonely self-employment, there was one thing I was looking forward to the most: the opportunity to have work friends once again. It wasn’t until I entered the corporate world that I realized, for me at least, being friends with colleagues didn’t emerge as a thing on the list at all. This is surprising when you consider the current common emphasis by scholars and trainers and managers on the importance of cultivating close interpersonal relationships at work. So much research has been done to explore the way in which collegial ties can help overcome a range of work place-issues affecting productivity and the quality of work output such as team-based conflict, jealousy, undermining, anger, and more.

Perhaps my expectations of lunches, watercooler’ gossip and caring, deep and meaningful conversations were a legacy of the last time I was in that kind of office environment-Whereas now, as I near the end of my fourth decade, I realize work can be fully functional and entirely fulfilling without needing to be best mates with the people sitting next to you or form a close bond with them.

In an academic analysis just published in the profoundly-respected Journal of Management, researchers have looked-at the concept of “indifferent relationships ”. It’s a simple term that illustrates the fact that relationships at work can reasonably be not close, not important, not sensible and even, dare I say it, disposable or replaceable.

Indifferent relationships are neither positive nor negative. The limited research conducted thus far indicates they’ re especially dominant among those who value independence over cooperation, and harmony over conflict. Indifference is also the preferred option among those who are socially lazy. Maintaining relationships over the long term takes effort. For some of us, too much effort, actually.

As noted above, indifferent relationships may not always be the most helpful approach in resolving some of the issues that pop up at work. But there are nonetheless several proven benefits. One of those is efficiency. Less time chatting and socializing means more time working and yielding (产出).

The other is self-esteem. As human beings, we’re prepared to compare ourselves to each other in what is an anxiety-provoking phenomenon. Apparently, we look down on acquaintances more so than close friends. Since the former is most common among those more likely involved in indifferent relationships, their predominance can boost individuals’ sense of self-worth.

Ego aside, a third advantage is that the emotional neutrality of indifferent relationships has been found to enhance critical evaluation, to strengthen one’s focus on task resolution, and to gain greater access to valuable information. None of that might be as fun as after-work socializing but, hey, I’ll take it anyway

1. What did the author realize when he re-entered the corporate world?

A．Making hew mends with this workmates was not as easy as he had thought.

B．Cultivating positive interpersonal relationships helped him shake off lonely feelings.

C．Building close relationships with his colleagues was not as important as he had expected.

D．Working in the corporate world requires more interpersonal skills than self-employment.

2. What be inferred about relationships at work from an academic analysis?

A．They should be cultivated.

B．They are actual irrelevant.

C．They are vital to corporate culture.

D．They should be reasonably intimate.

3. What does the author say about people who are socially lazy?

A．They feel uncomfortable when engaging in social interactions.

B．They often find themselves in confrontation with their colleagues.

C．They lack basic communication skills in dealing with interpersonal issues.

D．They are unwilling to make efforts to maintain workplace relationships.

4. What is one of the benefits of indifferent relationships?

A．They provide fun at work.

B．They improve work efficiency.

C．They help resolve differences.

D．They help control emotions.

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

What to say to a rude person

As the British doctor Lord Robert Winston took a train from London to Manchester, he found himself becoming steadily annoyed. A woman had picked up her phone and began a loud conversation,     1     would last an unbelievable hour.Furious, Winston began to tweet about the woman.He took her picture and sent it to his more than 40,000 followers.

    2     the train arrived at its destination, Winston got off and left quickly.He had enough of the woman’s rudeness.But the press were now waiting for her on the platform.And when they gleefully showed her the Lord’s messages, she used just one word to describe Winston’s actions: rude.

Winston’s tale is something of a microcosm of our age of increasing rudeness,     3     (fuel)by social media (and, often politics).What can we do to fix this?

Studies have shown that rudeness spreads quickly and virally, almost like the common cold.Just witnessing rudeness makes it far more likely     4     we, in turn, will be rude later on.Once infected, we are more aggressive,     5    (creative) and worse at our jobs.The only way to end a conflicts to make a conscious decision to do so.We must have the courage to call it out, face to face.We must say,“Just stop.” For Winston, that would have meant     6    (approach) the woman, telling her that her conversation was frustrating other passengers and politely asked her to speak more quietly or make a call at     7     time.

The rage and injustice we feel at the rude behavior of a stranger     8     drive us to do odd things.I surveyed 2,000 adults, three fourths of whom overreacted. The acts of revenge people had taken     9     (range) from the ridiculous(“I rubbed fries on their wind-shield”) to the disturbing (“I sabotaged them at work”).Winston did shine on the woman’s behavior—but from afar, in a way that shamed her.

We must instead combat rudeness head on.When we see it occur in a store, we must step up and say something.If it happens to a colleague, we must point it out.We must defend strangers in the same way we’d defend our best friends. But we can do it with grace, by handling it without a trace of aggression and without being rude     10    .Because once rude people can see their actions through the eyes of others, they are far more likely to end that conflict themselves. As this tide of rudeness rises, civilization needs civility.

4 . Why Do We Find It Hard to Say “No”?

As we all know, saying “no” to others is not easy at all. But sometimes we have to learn to say “no”.     1     Below are common reasons why people find it hard to say “no”:

●     2     You are a kind soul at heart. You don’t want to turn the person away and you want to help when possible, even if it may eat into your time.

●Afraid of being rude. I was brought up under the idea that saying “no”, especially to people who are older, is rude. This thinking is common in Asian culture, where face saving is important.     3    

●Wanting to be agreeable. You don’t want to alienate (疏远) yourself from the group because you’re not in agreement. So you agree to others’ requests.

●Fear of conflict.     4     This might lead to an ugly confrontation (面对). Even if there isn’t, there might be disagreement which might lead to bad effects in the future.

●     5     Perhaps you are worried saying “no” means closing doors. For example, one of my friends’ wives was asked to work in another department in her company. Since she liked her team, she didn’t want to go. However, she didn’t want to say “no” as she felt it would affect her promotion chances in the future.

A．Wanting to help others.

B．Fear of losing chances.

C．Wanting to keep a good relationship.

D．I slowly realized I needed to learn to say “no”.

E．You are afraid the person might be angry if you refuse him/her.

F．It means not making others look bad or lose face.

G．To learn to say “no”, we have to first understand what’s stopping us from it.

5 .

A．The boss treats Johnson in an unfair manner.

B．Johnson is not willing to work far from home.

C．Johnson is not intelligent enough to be promoted.

D．The boss puts cooperation first while giving promotions.

6 .

A．Guest and receptionist.	B．Patient and nurse.
C．Customer and shop assistant.	D．Passenger and air hostess.

7 . 阅读下面短文，按照要求完成阅读任务。

On my first job as a sports editor for the Montpelier Leader Enterprise (MLE), I didn’t get a lot of fan mail, so my attention was caught by letter on my desk one morning.

When I opened it, I read: “Sweet piece of writing on the Tigers. Keep up the good work.” It was signed by Don Wolfe, the sports editor. Because I was a teenager, his words couldn’t have been more inspiring. I kept it in my drawer until it got old. Whenever I doubted I had the right stuff to be a writer, I would reread Don’s note and walk on air again.

Later, when I got to know him, I learned that Don made a habit of writing a quick, encouraging note to people in all walks of life. “when I made others feel good about themselves,” he told me, “I feel good, too.”

Over the years, I’ve tried to copy Don and write uplifting words, in a world too often cold and unresponsive, such notes bring warmth.

Why are positive note writers in such short supply? My guess is that people who shy away from the practice are too self-conscious. They are afraid they will be misunderstood. Also, writing takes time; it is far easier to pick up the phone. The drawback(缺点) of phone calls, of course, is that they do not last. And it sounds insincere on the phone. A note attaches more importance to our well-wishing. It is a matter of record, and our words can be read more than once, savored (品味) and treasured, and they bring strength and love to us.

Today I sent а warm letter to my old boss. I don’t know if it will make his day, but it made mine. As my friend Don Wolfe said, “Making others feel good about themselves makes me feel good too.”

1. What does the underlined part “walk on air” in Paragraph 2 probably mean? (No more than 5 words)
2. According to the author, why aren’t people willing to write letters? (No more than 15 words)
3. Why did the author write to his old boss? (No more than 15 words)
4. What’s the text mainly about? (No more than 10 words)
5. Have you ever been encouraged by someone? And how? (No more than 20 words)

8 . Teens who have good, supportive relationships with their teachers enjoy better health as adults, according to research published by an American research center.

“This research suggests that improving students’ relationships with teachers could have positive and long-lasting effects beyond just academic success,” said Jinho Kim, a professor at Korea University and author of the study. “It could also bring about health implications in the long run.” Previous research has suggested that teens’ social relationships might be linked to health outcomes in adulthood. However, it is not clear whether the link between teen relationships and lifetime health is causal (因果的) — it could be that other factors, such as different family backgrounds, might contribute to both relationship problems in adolescence and to poor health in adulthood. Also, most research has focused on teens’ relationships with their peers (同龄人), rather than on their relationships with teachers.

To explore those questions further, Kim analyzed data on nearly 20, 000 participants from the Add Health study, a national study in the U. S. that followed participants from seventh grade into early adulthood. The participant pool included more than 3, 400 pairs of siblings (兄弟姐妹). As teens, participants answered questions, like “How often have you had trouble getting along with other students and your teachers?” As adults, participants were asked about their physical and mental health.

Kim found that participants who had reported better relationships with both their peers and teachers in middle and high school also reported better physical and mental health in their mid-20s. However, when he controlled for family background by looking at pairs of siblings together, only the link between good teacher relationships and adult health remained significant.

The results suggest teacher relationships are more important than previously realized and that schools should invest in training teachers on how to build warm and supportive relationships with their students. “This is not something that most teachers receive much training in,” Kim said, “but it should be.”

1. What does the underlined word “implications” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Recipes.

B．Habits.

C．Risks.

D．Benefits.

2. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．Poor health in adolescence.	B．Teens’ relationships with their peers.
C．Limitations of the previous research.	D．Factors affecting health in adulthood.

3. What does Kim’s research show?

A．Positive student-teacher relationship helps students’ adult health.

B．Good family background promises long-term adult health.

C．Healthy peer relationships leads to students’ academic success.

D．Good adult health depends on teens’ good teachers.

4. Where does this text probably come from?

A．A medical report.

B．A health magazine.

C．A term paper.

D．A family survey.