1 . When you set a foot outside of your door to drop trash, go to a social event or go for a walk, thoughts like “I hope I don’t see anyone I know” or “please don’t talk to me” may run through your mind. I’ve also said such things to myself. Sometimes the last thing you want to do is to talk with someone, especially someone new.

Why do we go out of our ways to avoid people? Do we think meeting new people is a waste of time? Or are we just lazy, thinking that meeting someone new really is a trouble?

Communication is the key to life. We have been told that many times. Take the past generations, like our parents, for example. They seem to take full advantage of that whole “communication” idea because they grew up talking face to face while Generation-Y grew up staring at screens. We spend hours of our days sitting on Facebook. We send messages to our friends and think about all of the things we want to say to certain people that we don’t have the courage to do in reality.

Nowadays, we are so caught up in our little circle of friends—our comfort zone. We love it that they laugh at our jokes, understand our feelings and can read our minds. Most importantly, they know when we want to be alone. They just get us.

Holding a conversation with someone new means agreeing with things that you don’t really believe and being someone you think they want you to be—it is, as I said before, a trouble. It takes up so much energy, and at some point or another, it is too tiring.

But meeting new people is important. Life is too short, so meet all the people you can meet, make the effort to go out and laugh. Remember, every “hello” leads to a smile—and a smile is worth a lot.

1. What do we learn about the author?

A．He likes to meet someone new.	B．He feels stressed out lately.
C．He’s active in attending social events.	D．He used to be afraid of talking to others.

2. What’s the problem of Generation-Y in the author’s eyes?

A．They rely on the Internet to socialize.	B．They are less confident in themselves.
C．They have difficulty in communicating.	D．They are unwilling to make new friends.

3. Why do many young people avoid meeting new people?

A．They think it troublesome.	B．They are busy with their study.
C．They fear to disappoint their friends.	D．They want to do meaningful work.

4. Why does the author write the text?

A．To stress the importance of friends.

B．To give tips on how to meet new people.

C．To encourage people to meet new people.

D．To display the disadvantages of Generation-Y.

3 . 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.

4 . 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.

6 . Eyes can speak

Much meaning can be conveyed, clearly, with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak.     1    In a bus you may look at a stranger, but not for too long. And if he senses that you are staring at him, he may feel uncomfortable.

The same is true in our daily life. If you are stared at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down to see if there is anything wrong with you.     2    Eyes do speak, right?

Looking too long at someone may seem to be rude and aggressive.     3    If a man stares at a woman for more than 10 seconds and refuses to look away from her, his intentions are obvious. He wishes to attract her attention and let her know that he is admiring her.

However, when two people are engaged in a conversation, the speaker will only look into the listener’s eyes from time to time to make sure that the listener does pay attention to what the former is speaking.     4    If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking as if trying to control you, you will feel awkward. A poor liar usually exposes himself by looking too long at the victim. He wrongly believes that looking straight in the eye is a sign of honest communication.     5    

Actually, eye contact should be made based on specific relationships and situations.

A．That’s what normal eye contact is all about.

B．But things are different when it comes to staring at the opposite sex

C．Therefore, continuous eye contact is limited to lovers only.

D．On the contrary, it will give him away.

E．After all, nobody likes to be stared at for quite a long time.

F．Do you have such kind of experience?

G．If nothing goes wrong, you will feel annoyed at being stared at that way.

9 . 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.