Many people think that listening is a passive business. It is just the opposite. Listening well is an active exercise of our attention and hard work. It is because they do not realize this, or because they are not willing to do the work, that most people do not listen well.
Listening well also requires total concentration upon someone else. An essential part of listening well is the rule known as ‘bracketing’. Bracketing includes the temporary giving up or setting aside of your own prejudices and desires, to experience as far as possible someone else’s world from the inside, stepping into his or her shoes. Moreover, since listening well involves bracketing, it also involves a temporary acceptance of the other person. Sensing this acceptance, the speaker will seem quite willing to open up the inner part of his or her mind to the listener. True communication is under way and the energy required for listening well is so great that it can be accomplished only by the will to extend oneself for mutual growth.
Most of the time we lack this energy. Even though we may feel in our business dealings or social relationships that we are listening well, what we are usually doing is listening selectively. Often we have a prepared list in mind and wonder, as we listen, how we can achieve certain desired results to get the conversation over as quickly as possible or redirected in ways more satisfactory to us. Many of us are far
more interested in talking than in listening, or we simply refuse to listen to what we don’t want to hear.
It wasn’t until toward the end of my doctor career that I have found the knowledge that one is being truly listened to is frequently therapeutic(有疗效的) In about a quarter of the patients I saw, surprising improvement was shown during the first few months of psychotherapy(心理疗法), before any of the roots of problems had been uncovered or explained. There are several reasons for this phenomenon, but chief among them, I believe, was the patient’s sense that he or she was being truly listened to, often for the first time in years, and for some, perhaps for the first time ever.. The phrase “stepping into his or her shoes” in paragraph 2 probably means _______.
| A．preparing a topic list first |
| B．focusing on one’s own mind |
| C．directing the talk to the desired results |
| D．experiencing the speaker’s inside world |
. What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 2 ?
| A．How to listen well. |
| B．What to listen to. |
| C．Benefits of listening. |
| D．Problems in listening |
According to the author , in communication people tend to ________.
| A．listen actively |
| B．listen purposefully |
| C．set aside their prejudices |
| D．open up their inner mind |
According to the author , the patients improved mainly because _______.
| A．they were taken good care of. |
| B．they knew they were truly listened to. |
| C．they had partners to talk to. |
| D．they knew the roots of problems. |
We use both words and gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that these words and gestures can be understood in different ways. It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language. So does laughter or crying. There are also a number of striking similarities in the way different animals show the same feelings. Dogs, tigers and humans, for example, often show their teeth when they are angry. This is probably because they are born with those behavior patterns.
Fear is another emotion that is shown in much the same way all over the world. In Chinese and in English literature, a phrase like "he went pale and begin to tremble" suggests that the man is either very afraid or he has just got a very big shock. However, "he opened his eyes wide" is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it means surprise. In Chinese "surprise" can be described in a phrase like 'they stretched out their tongues!' Sticking out your tongue in English is an insulting gesture or expresses strong dislike.
Even in the same culture, people differ in ability to understand and express feelings. Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear, anger, love and happiness on people's faces. Other studies show that older people usually find it easier to recognize or understand body language than younger people do.According to the passage, __________.
| A．we can hardly understand what people's gestures mean |
| B．we can not often be sure what people mean when they describe their feelings in words or gestures |
| C．words can be better understood by older people |
| D．gestures can be understood by most of the people while words can not |
People's facial expressions may be misunderstood because __________.
| A．people of different ages may have different understanding |
| B．people of different countries speak different languages |
| C．people of different sex may understand a gesture in a different way |
| D．people have different cultures |
In the same culture, __________.
| A．people have different ability to understand and express feelings |
| B．people have the same understanding of something |
| C．people never fail to understand each other |
| D．people are equally intelligent |
From this passage, we can conclude __________.
| A．words are used as frequently as gestures |
| B．words are often found difficult to understand |
| C．words and gestures are both used in expressing feelings |
| D．gestures are more efficiently used than words |
The best title for this passage may be __________.
| A．Words and Feelings | B．Words, Gestures and Feelings |
| C．Gestures and Feelings | D．Culture and Understanding |
It feels like every time my mother and I start to have a conversation, it turns into an argument. We talk about something as simple as dinner plans and suddenly, my mother will push the conversation into World War 3. She’ll talk about my lack of bright future because I don’t plan to be a doctor. And much to her disappointment, I don’t want to do any job related to science, either. In fact, when I was pushed to say that I planned to major(主修) in English and communications, she nearly had a heart attack.
“Why can’t you be like my co-worker’s son?” she bemoans all the time. Her coworker’s son received a four-year scholarship and is now earning 70,000 dollars a year as an engineer. I don’t know what to answer except that I simply can’t be like Mr. Perfect as I’ve called the unnamed co-worker’s son. I can’t be like him. I am the type of the person who loved to help out in the community, write until the sun goes down, and most of all, wants to achieve a career because I love it, not because of a fame or salary.
I understand why my mother is worried about my future major. I’ve seen my mother struggle to raise me on her small salary and work long hours. She leaves the house around 6:30 am and usually comes home around 5 pm or even 6pm. However, I want her to know that by becoming a doctor, it doesn’t mean I’ll be successful. I’d rather follow my dreams and create my own future.Which of the following topics do the writer and his mother often talk about?
| A．the writer’s dreams | B．the writer’s future job |
| C．dinner plans | D．wars around the world |
We can infer from Paragraph 1 that the writer’s mother _____.
| A．doesn’t want the writer to major English |
| B．doesn’t think the writer should be a doctor |
| C．gets along very well with the writer |
| D．doesn’t think in the scientific field is a good idea |
The underlined word “bemoans” in Paragraph 2 most probably means “________”
| A．agrees | B．shouts | C．complains | D．smiles |
Which of the following statements is probably TRUE about the writer?
| A．He wants to be like his mother’s co-worker’s son. |
| B．He wants to find a job in his community in the future. |
| C．He doesn’t think his mother’s co-worker’s son is perfect. |
| D．He wants to do something he really likes in the future. |
We can know from the last paragraph that ____.
| A．the writer doesn’t know what his future will be like |
| B．the writer’s mother works very hard for the family |
| C．the writer doesn’t think being a doctor is a good job |
| D．the writer sometimes thinks his mother’s advice is very good. |
Researchers conducting a study of hospital stays for over two hundred and eighty six thousand older folks found something interesting in their data.
The number of hospitalizations for heart disease and stroke went down significantly among a certain group of people at a certain time of year. What folks, and what time of year, you ask? Flu season and the lucky people were the ones who got flu shots (流感疫苗).
It’s generally recommended that people over fifty get their flu shots every year. Influenza (流行性感冒) is no small thing. it’s responsible for around thirty six thousand deaths a year in the U. S. alone. Getting the shots also cuts down on the chances of getting pneumonia (肺炎), which is especially dangerous in seniors.
But what wasn’t known was that there seems to be an added benefit to getting a flu shots in terms of warding off heart problems. The data, in fact, are quite strong in suggesting this is the case.
In this study, flu shots cut clown the number of hospitalizations for heart disease by nineteen percent. Stroke went down sixteen percent one season and a whopping twenty-three percent a second season. These are big results.
So what's the connection between getting a flu shot and having a stronger heart? It isn’t yet known.
Researchers speculate that the flu virus itself may do damage to blood vessels (血管), possibly making clots (血块) more likely. Blood clots in the heart can cause heart attacks, and blood clots in the brain can cause strokes.
Whatever the specific details are, there's one more good reason to follow your doctor’ s advice and get that annual flu shot.According to the study, the number of hospitalizations for heart disease and stroke went down significantly among the ones who _____.
| A．got flu shots after they were ill |
| B．got flu shots before they were ill |
| C．got flu shots at the flu season |
| D．got flu shots whenever convenient |
The benefits of getting flu shots can be listed except that_____.
| A．it can cut down on the chances of getting pneumonia |
| B．it can cut down the number of hospitalizations for heart disease |
| C．it can kill the flu virus |
| D．if can make blood clots |
The underlined phrase "warding off" probably means_______.
| A．keeping away | B．dealing with |
| C．setting off | D．picking up |
According to the passage, we'd better ______.
| A．work out to fight against influenza |
| B．get flu shot every year |
| C．follow our doctor's all advice |
| D．protect our blood vessels |
As the new semester begins, millions of college students across the country are trying hard to remember how best to write a paper or, more likely, how best to delay that paper.
Procrastination (拖延) is the thief of time and a lot of students suffer from it. They can spend whole days in the library doing nothing but staring into space, eating snacks, surfing the Internet, watching videos and looking at other students sitting around them, who, most likely, are doing nothing either.
Paralyzed (使失去活力) by their habit to procrastinate, they write micro blogs about their fears, asking their online friends if they sometimes have the same issue. But this does nothing to break the spell (魔咒).
According to a recent report, 95 percent of us procrastinate at some point and 20 percent of the world’s population are always procrastinating. The figures are disappointing. Procrastinators are less wealthy, less healthy and less happy than those who don’t delay. Procrastinators like to find excuses to justify their behavior, but BBC columnist Rowan Pelling says they are all wrong.
Many procrastinators tell themselves they are perfectionists who work best under pressure. Pelling says this is nonsense, as work done at the last minute is more likely to have mistakes than work done on time. The behavior of procrastinators often makes them feel ashamed, inconveniences others and annoys loved ones.
Pelling also points out that procrastination feels particularly delinquent (过失的）in a society that thinks of speedy action as admirable, and, at times, even as a moral good.
Fortunately, social scientists have thrown their weight behind efforts to understand this behavioral mistake and offer strategies to control it. Piers Steel, a Canadian social scientist and author of The Procrastination Equation, believes human is “designed” to procrastinate. Nevertheless, he suggests a couple of good ways to get through the task at hand.From the first two paragraphs we can learn that _____.
| A．procrastination is beneficial to many students |
| B．many students are under great pressure in their study |
| C．lots of college students work hard to write good essays on time |
| D．many students have the habit of delaying finishing their tasks |
Which behavior belongs to procrastination? _____
| A．Never dream away the time. |
| B．Always complete the tasks ahead of time. |
| C．Never put off till tomorrow what should be done today. |
| D．Always wait to work until the “good mood” or “good time”. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is not true? _____
| A．Procrastination makes people waste their time. |
| B．Procrastinators usually complete their tasks perfectly. |
| C．Speedy action is considered as a moral standard in the society. |
| D．Procrastination is common among people. |
What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows? _____
| A．Measures to deal with procrastination. |
| B．Approaches to handling the study pressures. |
| C．More examples to illustrate procrastination. |
| D．Introduction to the book The Procrastination Equation. |
Several years ago, I had to replace a receptionist for my unit. Before I advertised for the position, I was approached by another manager, and asked if I would consider a transfer from his staff instead of opening a new competition. My natural question was to ask who he wanted me to consider and why.
It appeared from his description of this employee, Maria, that she was having a lot of problems performing her duties and had difficulties with her boss and did not appear to respond to any attempts he, the manager, had made to settle the issues. Now, after listening to his explanation, I really had severe doubts. What crossed my mind, after this discussion, was that he wanted me to take a problem off his hands.
I told him I would think about it and would let him know the next day. As promised, after thinking more about this potential performance issue, I decided that I would agree to speak with Maria privately before I made any decision.
And, what I found out during this interview, left me deep in thought. As it turned out, the performance issue appeared to result from working for a boss who never extended a good morning greeting, never gave a word of encouragement, and was constantly changing the work load and routines. The end result was a totally ruined employee who was unconfident and hated to see a new work day start.
I decided to accept her transfer to my unit. What started out as a shy, withdrawn and frightened employee turned out to be one of the most productive and loyal employee that I had ever worked with. Maria couldn’t do enough and was constantly asking for more responsibility. I was more than happy to give her what she needed – praise for work well done, respect as a person, and encouragement for doing well in anything she dealt with.
Sometimes we are guilty of holding others back from accomplishing or doing, or developing as they should or could. It may be a wise idea that we all look in the mirror, from time to time, to see what we are really like.What can we learn about the writer from the first paragraph? _____
| A．He is a manager in the company. |
| B．He doesn't like his receptionist. |
| C．He likes to compete with others. |
| D．He wants to find another position. |
After hearing his colleague's description of Maria, the writer thought that Maria ____.
| A．attempted to settle the issues |
| B．was a problem to her boss |
| C．shouldn't stay in the company |
| D．could get on well with others |
Why did Maria fail to perform well in her previous job? _____
| A．Her previous job was not suitable for her. |
| B．She had difficulty responding to her manager. |
| C．Her boss didn't inspire her working enthusiasm. |
| D．Her boss showed no trust in her ability. |
The writer probably believes that a good boss should _____.
| A．praise and award his employees a lot |
| B．respect, praise and encourage his employees |
| C．greet his employees and give them much work |
| D．always give his employees guidance in working |
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