1 . Popularity is a well-explored subject in social psychology. Mitch Prinstein, a professor of clinical psychology sorts the popular into two categories: the likable and the status seekers. The likables’ plays-well-with-others qualities strengthen schoolyard friendships, jump-start interpersonal skills and, when tapped early, are employed ever after in life and work. Then there’s the kind of popularity that appears in adolescence: status born of power and even dishonorable behavior.
What did Dr. Prinstein’s study find about the most liked kids?
| A．They appeared to be aggressive. |
| B．They tended to be more adaptable. |
| C．They enjoyed the highest status. |
| D．They performed well academically. |
2 . Why You Won’t Apologize
In our relationships with others, it’s inevitable that we’ll hurt people from time to time, even though, in some cases, we don’t mean to.
An apology is an attempt to repair the damage we’ve done to a relationship. To do this，we need to imagine ourselves to be in the victim’s position and to show empathy (共情) for the pain we have caused the victim. Some researches have indicated that people with the personality of narcissism (自恋) generally see no need to apologize when they have wronged another person.
We all want to believe we’re essentially good people. Accepting the fact that we’ve hurt someone we care about conflicts with our precious self-image. People who believe that personality is fixed are especially easily affected by the idea that an act of apology is a threat to their self-image. If personal characteristics stay the same, then, of course, hurting someone they care about is inconsistent (不一致) with their self-image as an essentially good person. In reality, of course, even good people sometimes do bad things.
Sometimes people don’t apologize because they don’t believe it will do any good. This could come from the belief that some mistakes are unforgivable.
| A．However, it’s quite difficult to make a sincere apology. |
| B．The challenge then is finding a way to make things right again. |
| C．There may also be unrealistic expectations about the process of forgiveness. |
| D．But even for most normal people, it can be extremely difficult to feel sorry for those who have been offended. |
| E．Understanding and accepting this fact of life can help ease our mind and thus help make an effective apology. |
| F．Although apologizing can be hard to do, it is, in fact, the most effective approach to mending a broken relationship. |
Building Trust in Virtual Environments
Research into the science behind human communication tells us that up to 90 percent of what we tell one another is nonverbal. It’s the countless eye, facial and body movements we flash one another that help us understand someone’s intention and determine if we should trust them.
The challenge we all face is figuring out ways to build trust in virtual environments. Sure, we have some interactions on videoconferences, but the physical cues (暗示) we’ve become accustomed to reacting to are restricted and masked. This is forcing us to develop new ways to trust one another. Good leaders are working to engineer those opportunities to build trust in their now virtual teams.
There are lessons we can learn from global multinational companies that have figured out how to make virtual relationships work over the past few decades. If you have vital business partners, or even employees working overseas, you have, at best, limited opportunities to meet them in person. What these companies have learned is that actions speak louder than words, and people base a simple analysis of trustworthiness on delivering on commitments. People that do are trustworthy; people that don’t aren’t.
When you hire virtual workers and get a new virtual team member, there is the question of whether someone has the background and experience they claim to have. That means we all need to lean on tools and techniques to help certify (证实) someone’s background. Some companies have built talent databases in which people can search their teammates and confirm their impressive backgrounds. Knowing that you are working with a certified superstar builds trust.
Finding ways to get someone to prove their trustworthiness by doing what they say they will and backing up their claims of experience will go a long way in helping you adapt to the new reality that we work in.
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4 . The Truth Is Out
Human beings are not born liars, but the moment we can form complete sentences we begin lying to protect the feelings of others, to avoid punishment and conflict, and, most frequently, because lying gives advantages the truth wouldn’t provide. Lying gets results.
One study by Bella DePaulo, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, found lies played a part in 30-38 percent of people’s social interactions. Socially skillful people told a lot more lies than their more awkward coworkers.
Nowhere is this more obvious than on the singles scene. First dates have always involved a certain amount of self-boast, but some singles now regard out-and-out deceit (欺骗) as a reasonable strategy.
Experts believe that increased competition and the higher expectations among singles, along with the popularity of Internet dating, are encouraging outbreaks of deceitfulness. The problem is that many singles are presenting images of themselves that are impossible to live up to, and costing their already limited chances of long-term love in the process.
Of course, long-term lovers aren’t immune (不受影响) to the conflict-avoiding, problem-burying lie either. Once again, a pleasant singles scene coupled with unrealistic expectations has put new pressure on less-than-faultless relationships and tempted many into more serious deception. A study last year by Cahoot found that a majority of partners lie to each other about their personal financial situation. Other studies have found that women appreciate wise lies about their weight or looks.
Possibly. After all, few of us feel that lying is wrong any more.
| A．Lying, it seems, is becoming an acceptable and even admirable social skill. |
| B．A lie is only wrong because it might be discovered, and cause hurt and upset. |
| C．But the Cahoot research also showed that lying is on increasingly difficult ground. |
| D．We, as a result, are all on the receiving end of a great many more lies than in the past. |
| E．They are so emotionally and intellectually evolved now that they are lying more, on a regular basis. |
| F．They either stop potential lovers by asking for too much, or they invite lies that will be discovered quickly. |
5 . “People have been 53 there and standing there and taking pictures of each other，” Ro says. “The town square was totally full ...”
| A．driving | B．hiding |
| C．camping | D．sitting |
6 . Talking to someone on a train, bus, or subway can be risky yet exciting, as you never know when they’re going to get off. Starting a connection can be fun as the costs are fairly low and you can easily start and stop a conversation, or get off if things become awkward.
Make eye contact. Making brief eye contact can show the persons that you’re interested and help you judge whether they are interested in you. Glance at the persons and try to hold your gaze (注视) for just a second or two.
Smile at the persons. If you’ve successfully met their gaze, smile at them.
If you want to start a conversation with the persons, smiling is a great way to get somebody’s attention.
Approach the persons to start talking to them.
| A．Use open body language. |
| B．Mind your manners while talking. |
| C．Notice how they respond to your gaze. |
| D．Don’t worry because you can follow some tips that make you smile. |
| E．Once you’ve read that the persons are interested in chatting, make a move. |
| F．A small but sincere smile makes you appear interested, friendly and approachable. |
| G．Therefore, try to get someone’s attention and start a conversation by following the tips. |
7 . There’s a song by the great Jamaican singer Bob Marley called So Much Trouble In The World. Marley understood that part of the reason why there are so many problems in the world is the lack of tolerance between people. The UN understands this too that’s why it made Nov 16 “International Day for Tolerance”.
But first of all, what is tolerance? French philosopher Voltaire (1694 — 1778) can give us some help. According to him, tolerance “is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty (脆弱) and error; let us pardon each other’s folly — that is the first law of nature.”
Nobody’s perfect. When we’re tempted to criticize another person, we should perhaps remember our own imperfections first.
Very often, people don’t realize that they’re intolerant. This is because intolerance has a lot to do with ignorance. For example, the UN’s campaign is in part about the treatment of females by males. But often, the behavior of men toward women is intolerant because men don’t put themselves in the shoes of women.
It’s worth thinking a little about the words “tolerance” and “intolerance”. Are they the best words to describe the evils of which we’re speaking here? To agree to be “tolerant” of someone isn’t necessarily a very respectful thing. When someone is tolerated, it implies that there’s something wrong with them.
But it seems wrong that people should agree to “tolerate” people with black skin, for example. And should women think they have received the respect they are due when men agree to “tolerate” them?
Still, what Voltaire said stands: We humans are not perfect and this weakness is something that we all share. That’s the reason we should be tolerant.
It’s a little like generosity. We can give things to another person, and we can also give our forgiveness. Bob Marley understood this. In the song mentioned above, he advised: “Write your love on a rock so it stays for eternity (永恒); write your hate in the sand so the waves will wash it away.”
1. What’s the purpose of the UN “International Day For Tolerance”?| A．To arouse peoples awareness of tolerance among people. |
| B．To celebrate the founding of the UN. |
| C．To solve the problem of global community. |
| D．To change people’s opinions towards globalization. |
| A．being willing to express your love to others |
| B．trying to overcome your imperfections |
| C．giving a hand to vulnerable groups (弱势群体) |
| D．accepting each other’s weaknesses |
| A．They are used to finding faults. |
| B．They consider tolerance a kind of frailty. |
| C．They don’t see things from the angle of others. |
| D．They are intolerant of themselves too. |
| A．Humans are advised to treat others better. | B．Humans learned to find faults in others. |
| C．Humans need to give something to others. | D．Humans will change their attitudes to others. |
| A．The origin of the International Day of Tolerance. |
| B．The meaning and importance of tolerance. |
| C．The philosophy behind Bob Marley’s song. |
| D．Effective ways to show tolerance. |
| A．Go to the factory. | B．Contact a customer. | C．Deliver a car. |
9 . Although we benefit from deep and meaningful conversations that help us build connections with one another, we often stick to small talk with strangers because we underestimate (低估) how much others are interested in our lives and wrongly believe that deep conversations will be more awkward and less enjoyable than they actually are, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and his colleagues designed a series of experiments with more than 1, 800 participants. The researchers asked pairs of people — mainly strangers — to discuss either relatively deep or shallow topics. In the first experiment, people received shallow or deep questions to discuss. Before the conversations, participants predicted how awkward they thought the conversations would be, how connected they thought they would feel to their conversation partner and how much they would enjoy the conversations. Afterward, they rated how awkward the conversations actually were, how connected they actually felt and how much enjoyment they actually experienced.
The researchers found that both deep and shallow conversations felt less awkward than the participants had expected. That effect tended to be stronger for deep conversations.
Deep conversations were also more enjoyable and led to a stronger sense of connection. In the second experiment, participants who had a deep conversation with one partner and a shallow conversation with another partner initially expected to prefer the shallow conversation but actually preferred the deep conversation after having both of them.
“Our participants’ expectations about deep conversations were greatly mistaken in a way that could keep people from interacting deeply with others in their daily lives,” Epley said. “As the pandemic (疫情) wanes and social distance restrictions become less strict, and we all get back to talking with each other again, being aware that others also like deep conversations might lead you to have more pleasant interactions.”
1. What were the participants asked to do in the first experiment?| A．Choose some topics they prefer. | B．Avoid discussing shallow topics. |
| C．Make predictions on their feelings. | D．Classify various types of questions. |
| A．preferred to discuss shallow questions with strangers |
| B．felt very awkward when conducting deep conversations |
| C．underestimated how awkward their strange partners felt |
| D．overestimated the awkwardness of talking with strangers |
| A．It is easier to conduct than making small talk. |
| B．It usually causes a weaker sense of connection. |
| C．It is more enjoyable than having shallow ones. |
| D．It is more awkward than previously expected. |
| A．Worsens. | B．Appears. | C．Spreads. | D．Fades. |
10 . Perhaps you know two people would get on well—if only they would speak to each other. Your shy friends aren’t intentionally avoiding one another; it is just not in their nature to strike up a conversation. You can help things along by greasing (润滑) the wheels of social interaction.
Make Introductions
The first step to getting two shy people to talk to one another is to offer an introduction.
Ease Anxiety
Find Mutual Interests
Give your shy friends a reason to talk. Figure out what they have in common and let them know about it. For example, if Josh and David are both into watching the UFC, make an introduction and a comment about the latest fight.
Get Active
Shy people have trouble living in the moment. They tend to think about past weaknesses or worry about future social obstacles rather than focus on the current situation. Put your shy friends in a situation that forces them to stop thinking so much and have a little fun. Ideally, your shy acquaintances should have to work together to overcome an obstacle—similar to what happens at company party.
| A．Some shy people are their own worst critics. |
| B．Most shy people are hesitant to offer a handshake or a name. |
| C．You might need to include yourself in the conversation at first. |
| D．Don’t worry that your shy friends will feel that you are interfering. |
| E．Promote the conversation by easing the anxiety shared by your shy friends. |
| F．They will come away with a shared experience and hopefully a tighter bond. |
| G．Getting to know the likes and dislikes of your shy friends will make this easier. |
