A conversation is not a business meeting at work or with your family. It is a personal or informal talk that takes place in the restaurant, in a car or walking on the street on your way to work.
It can make or break a relationship. It can make a career successful. It can make new friends. It can just brighten up another person’s life. It can change the world!
Here are some ways to make a conversation bring meaning to you and others.
Before starting a conversation, be clear about what you want to achieve. Knowing your purpose beforehand allows you to keep your conversation to the point and never get lost out of the way.
Start a topic that is very timely and appropriate. The starting point has to be depending on your relationship with the person you are talking to and the situation the person or both of you are going through. Starting the conversation with the right topic sets the tone that brings both sides at ease.
Come up with something that will make both of you interested. This allows the other person to be drawn more to speak up. Discovering common likes and dislikes opens up a bond (纽带) between two people.
Put yourself in the shoes of the other person. Think how the other person feels at that moment. Feeling how the other person feels helps you to be in his position.
One of the most difficult tasks to do in a conversation is really listening. Do not prepare for what to say while the other person is talking. Do not just keep quiet because you want to give the other person a time to talk. The proof that you really listen is to repeat your understanding of what was said in your own words.
After you have spoken, give the other person a time to talk. There are some people who like to talk about themselves. If you are one of them, try to be less selfish. A conversation is not a monologue (独角戏) or an interview.
Managing a conversation shows the kind of person you are. You do not have to wait for the other person to lead the discussion. You can do this. No matter who you are, if you lead a talk, you make a difference.
| How to make meaningful conversations |
|
| Passage outline |
Supporting details |
| A conversation is a personal or informal talk taking place in the |
|
| What can a conversation do? |
It can change the world by |
| How can you make a conversation |
Talk with a purpose. Knowing your purpose in |
| Choose a good |
|
| Find common interests. Discovering common likes and dislikes opens up a bond between two people, allowing the other person to be drawn more to speak up. |
|
| Put yourself in the shoes of the other person. Feeling how the other person feels can |
|
| Allow your listener to |
It’s such a happy-looking library, painted yellow, decorated with palm-tree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it’s pedestrian-friendly, too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.
It’s a library built with love.
A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that aims to promote literacy and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, “That’s what we’re going to do for our spring break!”
Son Austin, now a 10th-grader, didn’t see the point of building a library that resembles a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51-year-old owner of a ship supply company modified a small wooden house that he’d built years earlier for daughter Abbie’s toy horses, and made a door of glass.
After adding the library’s final touches (装点), the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to “take a book, return a book,” and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.
They stocked it with 20 or so books they’d already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids’ favorites. “I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again,” said Janey, a stay-at-home mom.
Since then, the collection keeps replenishing (补充) itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day.
The project’s best payoff, says Peter, are the thank-you notes left behind. “We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.” In what way is the library “pedestrian-friendly”?
| A．It owns a yellow roof. |
| B．It stands near a sidewalk. |
| C．It protects book lovers from the sun. |
| D．It uses palm-tree stickers as decorations. |
Janey got the idea to build a library from __________.
| A．a visit to Brian Williams |
| B．a spring break with her family |
| C．a book sent by one of her neighbors |
| D．a report on a Wisconsin-based organization |
The library was built __________.
| A．by a ship supply company |
| B．on the basis of toy horses |
| C．like a mailbox |
| D．with glass |
What can we infer about the signboard?
| A．It was made by a user of the library. |
| B．It marked a final touch to the library. |
| C．It aimed at making the library last long. |
| D．It indicated the library was a family property. |
The passage tells us that the users __________.
| A．donate books to the library |
| B．get paid to collect books for the library |
| C．receive thank-you notes for using the library |
| D．visit the library over 5 times on average daily |
In my living room, there is a plaque (匾) that advises me to “Bloom (开花) where you are planted.” It reminds me of Dorothy. I got to know Dorothy in the early 1980s, when I was teaching Early Childhood Development through a program with Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. The job responsibilities required occasional visits to the classroom of each teacher in the program. Dorothy stands out in my memory as one who “bloomed” in her remote area.
Dorothy taught in a school In Harlan County, Kentucky, Appalachian Mountain area. To get to her school from the town of Harlan, I followed a road winding around the mountain. In the eight-mile journey, I crossed the same railroad track five times, giving the possibility of getting caught by the same train five times. Rather than feeling excited by this drive through the mountains, I found it depressing. The poverty level was shocking and the small shabby houses gave me the greatest feeling of hopelessness.
From the moment of my arrival at the little school, all gloom (忧郁) disappeared. Upon arriving at Dorothy’s classroom. I was greeted with smiling faces and treated like a queen. The children had been prepared to show me their latest projects. Dorothy told me with a big smile that they were serving poke greens salad and cornbread for “dinner” (lunch). In case you don’t know, poke greens are a weed-type plant that grows wild, especially on poor ground.
Dorothy never ran out of reports of exciting activities of her students. Her enthusiasm never cooled down. When it came time to sit for the testing and interviewing required to receive her Child Development Associate Certification, Dorothy was ready. She came to the assessment and passed in all areas. Afterward, she invited me to the one-and-only steak house in the area to celebrate her victory, as if she had received her Ph. D. degree. After the meal, she placed a little box containing an old pen in my hand. She said it was a family heirloom (传家宝), but to me it is a treasured symbol of appreciation and pride that cannot be matched with things. “Early Childhood Development” in Paragraph 1 refers to __________.
| A．a program directed by Dorothy |
| B．a course given by the author |
| C．an activity held by the students |
| D．an organization sponsored by Union college |
In the journey, the author was most disappointed at seeing __________.
| A．the long track |
| B．the poor houses |
| C．the same train |
| D．the winding road |
Upon arriving at the classroom, the author was cheered up by __________.
| A．a warm welcome |
| B．the sight of poke greens |
| C．Dorothy’s latest projects |
| D．a big dinner made for her |
What can we know about Dorothy from the last paragraph?
A. She was invited to a celebration at a restaurant.
B. She got a pen as a gift from the author.
C. She passed the required assessment.
D. She received her Ph. D. degree. What does the author mainly intend to tell us?
| A．Whatever you do, you must do it carefully. |
| B．Whoever you are, you deserve equal treatment. |
| C．However poor you are, you have the right to education, |
| D．Wherever you are, you can accomplish your achievement. |
Aristotle once wrote that “happiness is a state of activity”. In other words, whether you’re
Seeking life-long satisfaction or a few moments of good cheer, you’ve got to move forward. We’ve interviewed the experts and found five steps to take toward a sunny mood（心情）：
Over a 30-year period, University of Illinois researchers asked nearly 120,000 people how income, education, political participation, volunteer activities and close relationships affected their happiness. Reported Newsweek’s Sharon Begley on the findings, “The highest levels of happiness are found with the most stable and satisfying relationships.”
Singing aloud, talking to a stranger, raising your hand: all may increase a feeling of happiness, according to a study from Wake Forest University. Participants（参与者）followed the development of their moods for two weeks and reported feeling happier when they were more outgoing and less happy when reserved or withdrawn.
The editors of forbes.com gave $5 or $20 to 46 strangers by chance. Half the group was told to spend the money on themselves, while the other half was told to spend it on others. Those who’d shared the wealth felt much happier at the end of the day than those who’d spent it on themselves. There was no difference in happiness between those who spent $5 or $20, suggesting that it’s not how much money you spend, but how you spend it, that inspires the spirit.
Studies from the Positive Psychology Center showed that discouraged people who wrote down three good things that happened to them each day for six months reported an improved attitude.
Drinking water really can help keep you cheerful. A small 2012 study from the University of Connecticut suggested that even slight dehydration（脱水） affected the moods of its female participants.
【选项】
| Title |
|
| Introduction |
You will move |
| The findings of |
Some |
| •Value your relationships |
•The |
| • yourself |
•You can gain happiness by singing aloud or talking to others. |
| •Spend money on others |
•Your spirit will be inspired by |
| • |
•You attitude would be improved when you fix your attention on good things. |
| •Drink water |
•If a woman takes in enough water,her |
| Conclusion |
Happiness can be found if all |
阅读下面的短文，然后完成表格，注意：一空一词。
Aristotle once wrote that “happiness is a state of activity”. In other words, whether you’re seeking life-long satisfaction or a few moments of good cheer, you’ve got to move forward. We’ve interviewed the experts and found five steps to take toward a sunny mood（心情）：
Over a 30-year period, University of Illinois researchers asked nearly 120,000 people how income, education, political participation, volunteer activities and close relationships affected their happiness. Reported Newsweek’s Sharon Begley on the findings, “The highest levels of happiness are found with the most stable and satisfying relationships.”
Singing aloud, talking to a stranger, raising your hand: all may increase a feeling of happiness, according to a study from Wake Forest University. Participants（参与者）followed the development of their moods for two weeks and reported feeling happier when they were more outgoing and less happy when reserved or withdrawn.
The editors of forbes.com gave $5 or $20 to 46 strangers by chance. Half the group was told to spend the money on themselves, while the other half was told to spend it on others. Those who’d shared the wealth felt much happier at the end of the day than those who’d spent it on themselves. There was no difference in happiness between those who spent $5 or $20, suggesting that it’s not how much money you spend, but how you spend it, that inspires the spirit.
Studies from the Positive Psychology Center showed that discouraged people who wrote down three good things that happened to them each day for six months reported an improved attitude.
Drinking water really can help keep you cheerful. A small 2012 study from the University of Connecticut suggested that even slight dehydration（脱水） affected the moods of its female participants.
| Title |
|
| Introduction |
You will move |
| The findings of( |
Some |
| •Value your relationships |
•The |
| • yourself |
•You can gain happiness by singing aloud or talking to others. |
| •Spend money on others |
•Your spirit will be inspired by |
| • |
•You attitude would be improved when you fix your attention on good things. |
| •Drink water |
•If a woman takes in enough water,her |
| Conclusion |
Happiness can be found if all |
The story is told about what happened on a flight between a passenger and an air hostess(乘务员）.The passenger rang and told the air hostess that he needed a cup of to take his medicine when the plane just took off. She told him that she would him the water in ten minutes.
Thirty minutes later, when the passenger's ring for sounded, the air hostess was in a hurry. She was kept so that she forgot to deliver (送)him the water. As a result, the passenger was to take his medicine. She over to him with a cup of water, but he it.
In the following hours on the , each time the air hostess passed by the （9） she would ask him with a smile he needed help or not. But the passenger （11） paid attention to her.
When the passenger was going to get the plane, he asked the air hostess to (13） him the passengers' booklet (意见薄). She was very . She knew he would write down words, which might result in the loss of her job. with a smile she handed it to him.
Off the plane, she the booklet, and smiled a smile, the passenger put it，"On the flight, you asked me whether I need help or not for twelve times . How can I refuse your twelve sincere (真诚的）smiles?"
That's ！ Who can refuse twelve sincere smiles from a person?
| A．coffee | B．tea | C．water | D．cola |
| A．take | B．bring | C．carry | D．hold |
| A．food | B．drink | C．service | D．medicine |
| A．tired | B．silent | C．calm | D．busy |
| A．forced | B．delayed | C．required | D．banned |
|
| A．refused | B．accepted | C．liked | D．hated |
| A．seat | B．air | C．floor | D．flight |
| A．customer | B．passenger | C．guest | D．visitor |
| A．whether | B．when | C．what | D．that |
| A．never | B．often | C．always | D．seldom |
| A．on | B．to | C．off | D．from |
| A．hand | B．take | C．throw | D．lend |
| A．glad | B．angry | C．curious | D．sad |
| A．good | B．sharp | C．polite | D．nice |
|
| A．hid | B．tore | C．opened | D．closed |
| A．if | B．for | C．after | D．when |
| A．in all | B．above all | C．or else | D．or so |
| A．wrong | B．wonderful | C．impossible | D．right |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号