Relationships are an important part of your life. Relationships help you meet your social and emotional needs. They help you feel accepted and liked by others. The feelings you have about yourself and others depend on how well these needs are met.
One of the most important things in life is to be loved and accepted by others. This gives you a feeling of security. You feel secure when you know you can count on family and friends to love and to accept you the way you are. You add to your feeling of security by making others feel loved. Helping people you care about makes you feel giving and unselfish.
Think about how good you feel when someone compliments or thanks you. “What a good job” or “I appreciate your help” are comments that you like to hear about yourself. Such comments make you feel worthwhile. Naturally you feel happy when you receive a compliment. Likewise, you can compliment your family members or friends on their accomplishments.
Learn to express your thoughts clearly and listen to what others say. Talk thins over with your family and friends. Share your hopes and dreams. .Express your joys and frustrations. When family members and friends are talking, take time to listen to what they are saying. Give them clues that show you are listening, such as a nod of approval or a smile.
Another relationship sill that helps people get along with one another is trust. To earn trust you need to show parents, adults, and friends that you can handle new experiences and responsibilities. Being honest and truthful with people can also help you.
| A．Building Trust |
| B．Approval and encouragement |
| C．Communication |
| D．Belonging and Acceptance |
| E．The importance of relationship |
| F．Being responsible |
2 . Your Weak-Tie Friendships Matter
For nearly ten years, I have spent my Monday evenings attending rehearsals for my amateur choir (合唱队). Mondays are not my favorite day, and I often arrive in a bad mood, but by the end of the rehearsal, I usually feel energized. The singing does me good. So do the people. With a few exceptions, I would not describe my fellow choir members as close friends. We exchange brief chats, smiles and jokes — but that is enough for me to come away feeling a little better about the world.
There is no choir practice now, and won’t be for a long time. I miss it. In lockdown, I do not feel short on emotional support, but I do feel short of friendly faces and casual conversations. Another way of putting this is that I miss my “weak ties.”
In 1973, Mark Granovetter, a sociology professor at Stanford University, published a paper entitled “The Strength of Weak Ties.” Until then, scholars had assumed that an individual’s well-being depended mainly on the quality of their relationships with their close friends and family. Granovetter showed that quantity mattered, too. He categorized a person’s social world as “strong ties” and “weak ties.” His central insight was that for new ideas, weak ties are more important to us than strong ones. As Granovetter pointed out, the people whom we often talk to swim in the same pool of information as we do. We depend on acquaintances(相识的人) whom we see infrequently to bring us news of opportunities.
This was the idea behind the Pixar building, the design of which was overseen by Steve Jobs. The building has a large central hall through which employees from different departments have to pass several times a day. Jobs wanted colleagues to bump into each other and shoot the breeze (闲聊). He believed in the power of these seemingly random conversations to fire up creativity.
Encounters with weak ties can be good for our mental well-being, too. Gillian Sandstrom, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Essex, investigated the extent to which people get happiness from weak-tie relationships. She found that on days when a person had a greater number of casual interactions with weak ties — say, a local barista (咖啡师), a neighbor, a member of yoga class — they experienced more happiness and a greater sense of belonging.
For these reasons, we should continue to find ways to cultivate weak-tie relationships, during lockdown and beyond. Sandstrom adds that we can also engage in more weak-tie-style interactions with our strong ties. The goal is to let others know that you are thinking of them without asking for a great deal of time, energy or attention.
1. What can we learn about the author from the article?| A．She has been a keen singer from an early age. |
| B．She finds her Monday workdays quite difficult. |
| C．She barely knows most of her fellow choir members. |
| D．She has trouble maintaining friendships during lockdown. |
| A．have the same concerns |
| B．avoid conflicts of interests |
| C．see each other too frequently |
| D．be exposed to similar facts and ideas |
| A．It helps staff build friendship. |
| B．It allows staff to have a break. |
| C．It encourage staff to meet and chat. |
| D．It helps Jobs communicate with staff. |
| A．We can develop weak ties into strong ties. |
| B．We should spend more time with strong ties. |
| C．We should balance weak ties with strong ties. |
| D．We can apply casual interactions to strong ties. |
3 . How to Overcome Social Anxiety
Do you get nervous when you are tasked to give a speech? Do you get sweaty and uncomfortable during interviews? Many people get nervous or self-conscious on occasion, but social anxiety is more than just shyness or occasional nerves.
Analyze the negative thoughts contributing to social anxiety. For example, when you are worried about an upcoming social gathering, identify the underlying negative thought like “I’ll seem boring”. Be objective and ask questions like “Do I know for sure that they will get bored with me?”
Stop unhelpful thinking patterns that fuel your anxiety. One typical example is mind reading, which refers to assuming someone is thinking something negative about you.
Gather up your courage to face your fears. Avoidance will only keep your social anxiety disorder going. It prevents you from becoming more comfortable in social situations.
| A．Focus on other things instead of yourself. |
| B．To be exact, it is a slight fear of social situations. |
| C．Avoid thinking about what other people are thinking of you. |
| D．Labeling is another thinking trap you should avoid falling into. |
| E．The longer you escape a situation, the more frightening it becomes. |
| F．Figuring out the reasons for your anxiety helps lessen its negative impact. |
| G．If you have a social anxiety disorder, the stress of these situations is too much to handle. |
4 . Are you patient? Do you have attention to detail, free time and access to a computer? Well, then a scientist might welcome your help. Researchers in the UK say it’s becoming important to count on common people to help them with their projects. They need people to examine data and submit their observations online.
British teenagers Sasha and Matthew are taking part in a study of penguins (企鹅) from the comfort of their homes. The pair look at pictures and tag (加标签于) photos identifying adults, chicks and eggs. Every click of their mouse is helping to build up a detailed picture of penguin colonies (群). They, and thousands of others, are helping scientists to understand why some colonies are growing and others are decreasing. Within the first four hours of Penguin Watch going live, “citizen scientists” marked more images than the research team did in five years.
Dr. Tom Hart, Penguin Watch Coordinator at Oxford University, says, “When you go beyond what a scientist can analyse to what a mass audience can do, then it increases beyond what any other project could do.”
The British Science Association says families are helping out with careful research. It made a difference to the Planet Hunters Project, which ran for five years. Volunteers looked at dots which showed how the brightness of a star changed at different points in its solar system.
According to Dr. Robert Simpson from Oxford University, who took part in the project, the volunteers discovered planets and these are now in published papers. He says with pride, “We can go and look at these planets with other telescopes and we know they exist because of those helpers.”
But how do scientists guard their research against accidental or deliberate mistakes in observation? Dr. Simpson isn’t worried. “We get lots of people looking at the same things, ”he says. The researcher warns that people who are mistakenly clicking on the site are very obvious and can be identified very quickly. So, there’s no fooling the scientists.
And to make sure things go well, the Penguin Watch paper will go through a peer review before being published. After that, every “citizen scientist” will be credited.
1. According to the passage, who will be suitable to help the scientists?| A．An engineer who works in a company. |
| B．A university student who likes science. |
| C．A businessman who invests in a new project. |
| D．A careful teenager who uses the computer smoothly. |
| A．Publish his observation data by himself. |
| B．Observe pictures and record his observation. |
| C．Discuss his observation with other volunteers. |
| D．Take his report to the scientist and correct mistakes. |
| A．By working with volunteers. | B．By using their own data. |
| C．By identifying pictures and photos. | D．By going through a peer review. |
| A．Objective | B．Supportive. | C．Negative. | D．Doubtful. |
An Apology Is Just a Step Toward Becoming a Better Person
No matter how hard we try, we can’t avoid hurting those we love. People are discovering they can’t stand the way their partners chew, talk and brush the cat. Since we probably can’t predict when our behaviors will annoy others, we need to learn how to make apologies afterward. A good apology has three parts.
First, show regret about the influence of your past behavior. A sincere apology means that you admit your choices negatively affected others. It involves regret or guilt - sometimes for what you’ve done to the other person, not necessarily for your own action.
Second, take responsibility in the present. Refusing to accept responsibility is not a sign of strength. It’s a sign of narcissism(自恋). In many situations, we’re too busy finding fault in the other person’s actions instead of accepting our role in the problem. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is when something is broken if it’s your responsibility to fix it. Taking responsibility is a recognition of the power that you gain when you stop blaming people.
Third, describe how you plan to improve in the future. You can’t right your wrongs if you don’t explain how you’re going to fix or prevent the problem. Then we should follow through on our promise so that we can earn forgiveness
The three steps are relatively easy to try. The hard part is finding the power to apologize, because it means feeling guilty about having done a bad thing and maybe even some shame at the thought of being a bad person. Psychologists have discovered a good solution to that: When you’ve hurt someone, think about your key values. If sympathy, justice or generosity show up on your list, you might realize that apologizing doesn’t mean admitting you’re a bad person. It’s just a step toward becoming a better person.
1. What does a sincere apology mean according to the passage?2. What’s the difficult part in an apology according to the passage?
3. Please decide whether the following statement is true or false, then explain why according to the passage.
Apologizing usually means admitting you are a bad person.
4. Do you agree with the author’s opinion about how to make a good apology? Why or why not?(About 40 words)
| A．Boss and employee. | B．Shop assistant and customer. |
| C．Host and guest. | D．Teacher and student. |
7 . Video conferencing has been around for more than 20 years. Until the Covid-19 pandemic, though, you would find that many people needing to attend a meeting remotely would be calling from a real conference room full of their teammates. Today, we're routinely holding video conferences that are 100% virtual (虚拟).And this is creating a problem that technology can't fix.
The problem is us, specifically the fact that we haven't evolved socially to the point where we can bear much separation. So much of our well-being and work productivity is decided on how close we are physically. The removal of that for any period of time can be severely damaging. One surprising victim of social distancing is laughter
Normally people laugh about 18 times per day. And 97% of that time we're laughing with others - we are 30 times more likely to laugh with others than to laugh alone. Think about it: how often when you and your friends laugh at something, is that something actually funny? Research shows that 80% of what people laugh at is really not that funny.
So why do people laugh? They laugh in order to laugh with others. Just as everyone starts yawning (打哈欠) when just one person yawns, most people can't help but laugh when those around them do. This is why TV comedy shows often use prerecorded laugh tracks.
Laughing in response to other people's laughing is not just a behavioral phenomenon. When we laugh, our body produces two key chemicals: endorphin which helps relieve pain and sets off feelings of pleasure, and dopamine which can improve learning, motivation and attention. In fact, studies show that people can stand 15% more pain simply by laughing for a few minutes beforehand. Laughter is also associated with higher motivation and productivity at work.
In today's home-alone, virtual-team world, this is exactly what you as a team leader should be doing: for your team members to stay healthy and productive, you need to get them to laugh more and stress less.
1. What is the problem mentioned at the start of the text?| A．Physical weakness. | B．Lack of technology. |
| C．Social distancing. | D．Reliance or virtual conference. |
| A．laugh tracks are popular | B．laughing is uncontrollable |
| C．laughing starts with yawning | D．laughing comes more easily in groups |
| A．Why laughing is important to work. |
| B．How laughing keeps us physically healthy. |
| C．Whether laughing is a behavioral phenomenon. |
| D．What chemicals our body produces when we laugh |
| A．Concrete steps to produce laughter in a team. |
| B．Other factors that may influence a team's health. |
| C．Ways to tell the real world from the virtual world. |
| D．The importance of maintaining work productivity. |
8 . In this world of email and text messages, you often don't have to actually talk to people,and you might have developed a fear of talking to new people.
Greet then when you see them again. You should use their name and say. "Good to see you again." Mention the previous conversation, and they will respond to you.
| A．Give them a lift to work. |
| B．This is a sign of social anxiety. |
| C．Ask them some simple questions. |
| D．You'd better remember their names. |
| E．Say hello to the people you see every day. |
| F．This is a good lifestyle many people want to have. |
| G．Doing like this can turn a stranger into a new friend. |
9 . Smiling gives you a happy appearance.
What does your smile mean as a company manager? Management is serious business! However, most managers are aware of the positive effect that a well-meant smile can have on others.
Finding the right balance between showing a happy facial expression and a serious facial expression is an art in itself.We want to come across as being relaxed and friendly.
| A．Smiling a lot is a valued personality. |
| B．In addition，not all smiles are created equal. |
| C．Most people respond angrily to this gesture |
| D．The smile here is more by way of an apology. |
| E．But we also want to be taken seriously at the same time. |
| F．In most situations your smile will contribute to your success. |
| G．You will quickly feel uncomfortable in situations where smiling is required. |
There is immense value in stepping out of your comfort zone and making a change to your life that you truly want to happen. This not only creates your
The first step is to change your words. Your words-whether spoken or thought-influence your own experience and
“By taking just a couple of breaths before speaking, we can first open our hearts, and feel the connection and appreciation for ourselves and whoever we’re communicating with or about,” explains Andrea Gardener.
This conscious action will transform the words
