| 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. |
| A．Boss and employee. | B．Shop assistant and customer. |
| C．Host and guest. | D．Teacher and student. |
Is Small Talk Necessary?
What’s the first thing you do when you enter a crowded room? You probably look around for a familiar face. When you can’t find one, you have two choices: you can stand alone, or you can walk up and speak to someone that you don’t know.
Starting a conversation with a stranger, though, is often uncomfortable and can be a little scary. Yet as you go through life, you’re sure to encounter strangers in many different situations, when a need to connect with others will hopefully outweigh your fears. In order to prepare, it helps to learn the art of small talk.
Small talk is the beginning stage of a casual conversation, which usually takes place between strangers or casual acquaintances. With small talk, two or more people search for common interests and points of connection. If one is discovered, the conversation usually begins to flow more naturally, often resulting in deeper discussion.
Mastering a few techniques will allow you to enter a room full of strangers with confidence.
When you walk up to a group, notice anyone trying to make eye contact with you because this is often a sign that the person is interested in talking. Begin by introducing yourself, and then, you should begin with one of three topics: talk about yourself, the other person or something you can both observe, like the weather.
Another way to begin a conversation is with a compliment. Your praise of someone’s scarf might lead to a discussion about favorite places to shop.
Radio host Terry Gross, who has interviewed thousands of people over the years, says one opening request works for her every time: “Tell me about yourself.” This approach gets the ball rolling because people enjoy talking about themselves.
Though small talk takes practice, it’s worth the effort and it’s the stimulus that can lead to deeper conversations.
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| A. uncomfortable；B. critically；C. balance；D. nonsense；E. temptation F. responding；G. effectively；H. practice；I. demands；J. reasoning；K. delivering |
Embrace the rule of awkward silence
The rule of awkward silence is simple: When faced with a challenging question, instead of answering, pause and think deeply about how you want to answer. This is no short pause; rather, it involves taking several seconds (10, 20 or longer) to think things through before
At Apple, Tim Cook has engaged in the
Cook isn’t alone in embracing the rule of awkward silence. Steve Jobs once took almost 20 seconds to respond to a personal attack,
The rule of awkward silence has always been valuable as a tool of emotional intelligence because it allows you to
Why the rule of awkward silence is more valuable than ever.
We live in a world that
As in, think
Critical thinking calls for deep and careful consideration of a subject. It involves weighing and analyzing facts, and careful
None of this is possible without time.
And time has become the biggest luxury on the planet.
But when you embrace the rule of awkward silence, you steal back time. Time that used to be wasted on
So, the next time someone asks you a challenging question, or even what seems on the surface to be a simple one, resist the
Instead, embrace the rule of awkward silence, and think before you speak.
| A.highlights B. bestseller C. distinctions D. desired AB. coined AC. centered AD. producing BC. mental BD. outcomes CD. value ABC. effective |
A leadership is the most significant word in today's competitive business environment because it directs the manager of a business to focus inward on their personal capabilities and style. Experts on leadership will quickly point out that "how things get done" influences the success of the
When Stephen Covey, founder and director of the Leadership Institute, explored leadership styles in the past decade, he focused on the habits of a great number of highly
6 . To Apologize or Not to Apologize
Why difficult?
When we do wrong to someone we know, even not
Why now?
The question of whether leaders should apologize publicly has never been more
Why
Why do we apologize? Why do we ever put ourselves in situations likely to be difficult, embarrassing, and even risky? Leaders who apologize publicly could be an easy target for
Why refuse?
Why is it that leaders so often try every means to
| A．immediately | B．intentionally | C．occasionally | D．accidentally |
| A．simple | B．ridiculous | C．abnormal | D．different |
| A．individual | B．company | C．family | D．society |
| A．conflicts | B．matters | C．appeals | D．deceives |
| A．urgent | B．risky | C．boring | D．simple |
| A．interestedly | B．patiently | C．frequently | D．hopefully |
| A．faithful | B．reliable | C．confusing | D．public |
| A．sincere | B．acceptable | C．private | D．positive |
| A．bother | B．reduce | C．regret | D．ignore |
| A．promotion | B．criticism | C．appreciation | D．identification |
| A．personality | B．will | C．reason | D．desire |
| A．attempt | B．involve | C．commit | D．avoid |
| A．politically | B．professionally | C．academically | D．physically |
| A．avoidance | B．admission | C．involvement | D．elimination |
| A．fulfillment | B．statement | C．occupation | D．strategy |
Whether in the workplace or on the football field, effective teamwork can produce amazing results. However,
Effective leadership is one of the most important factors of good teamwork. The team’s leader should possess the skills
Communication is a vital factor of all interpersonal relationship and especially that of a team. Team members must be able to express their feelings, share ideas and see each other’s opinions.
Conflicts will arise
The team leader
Regardless of
8 . To Please Your Friends, Tell Them What They Already Know
The research emerged out of some real-life observations shared by Gilbert and co-authors Gus Cooney and Timothy D.Wilson: “Conversation is the most common of all human social activities, and doing it well requires that we know what our conversation partners most want to hear.
“When our friends try to tell us about movies we’ve never seen or albums we’ve never heard, we usually find ourselves bored, confused, and underwhelmed.
In their first experiment, the researchers assigned participants to groups of three, with one person acting as the speaker and the other two acting as listeners.Speakers watched a video and then tried to describe it to the listeners.Some of the listeners had seen the video the speaker was describing, and others had not.
A second study showed that when asked to predict their own reactions before hearing the story, listeners made the same mistake that speakers did.
| A．The speakers, before speaking, predicted how much the listeners would enjoy hearing them talk, and how interesting and effective the listeners would consider them. |
| B．The reason behind this is that the speakers seem to be able to keep their audience engaged in their stories. |
| C．Listeners could fill in the gaps in the speaker’s story because they had already seen the video the speaker was describing. |
| D．Speakers think listeners will most enjoy hearing stories about experiences that the listeners have not themselves had, but our studies suggest the speakers were wrong. |
| E．That’s because those experiences are so complex that they are nearly impossible for an ordinary person to communicate well. |
| F．As a matter of fact, however, listeners responded much more positively, when they had seen the video. |
