A surprising new research suggests it can actually be good to feel bad at work, and that feeling good in the workplace can lead to negative outcomes.
The study of emotions in the workplace, edited by University of Liverpool researchers Dr. Lindebaum and Peter Jordan, is the topic of a Special Issue of the journal ‘Human Relations’. They found that the common belief that being positive in the workplace produces positive outcomes, while negative emotions lead to negative outcomes, may be in need for reconsideration. This is partly due to this belief failing to take into account the differences in working environment which affect outcomes.
For instance, anger does not always lead to negative outcomes and in some cases, anger can be considered a force for good through acting upon injustices. An employee, for example, could express anger constructively after a manager has treated a fellow worker unfairly. In such cases, anger can be useful. Likewise, being too positive in the workplace, rather than resulting in greater performance and productivity, can lead to self-satisfaction and being too shallow in one’s personality.
One article within the issue also finds that, within team work situation, negativity can have a good effect, leading to fewer consensuses (共识) but a further discussion or debate on an important issue among workers, which improve team effect.
Lindebaum said, “The findings of the study published in this Special Issue challenge the common belief that in the workplace positive emotions bring about a positive outcome, and vice versa(反之亦然).”
He added, “This Special Issue adds to our knowledge and understanding of how the positive and negative dynamics (动态) affect the working environment and is certain to have practical application in the workplace for the years to come.” Why did researchers of the study of emotions find that the common belief needs to be considered again?
| A．Because different people hold different attitudes towards it. |
| B．Because it doesn’t consider the differences in real working environment. |
| C．Because it has been proved to be totally wrong in real working environment. |
| D．Because it doesn’t tell the truth. |
What does the underlined word “Likewise” in paragraph 3 probably mean?
| A．Similarly | B．Differently |
| C．Extremely | D．Occasionally |
It can be inferred from what Lindebaum said in the last paragraph that ____.
| A．the findings of the study will completely change people’s belief in the end |
| B．the findings of the study will not have any influence on the workplace |
| C．the findings of the study won’t be just a theory published in the journal |
| D．the findings of the study will make us work negatively in the future |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．To Be Positive About Your Work |
| B．To Be Negative About Your Work |
| C．Negativity at Work Probably Bringing About Good Things |
| D．People Challenging the Commonly-held Belief |
An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit(追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched(发起) the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.
In Chicago, the mayor(市长) appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.
The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity can be achieved. Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
Ultimately, as Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process, or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?
| A．To invite authors to guide readers. |
| B．To encourage people to read and share. |
| C．To involve people in community service. |
| D．To promote the friendship between cities. |
According to the passage, where would the project be more easily carried out?
| A．In large communities with little sense of unity. |
| B．In large cities where libraries are far from home. |
| C．In medium-sized cities with a diverse population. |
| D．In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached. |
The underlined words “shared a word” in Paragraph 5 probably mean .
| A．exchanged ideas with each other |
| B．discussed the meaning of a word |
| C．gained life experience |
| D．used the same language |
According to Nancy, the degree of success of the project is judged by .
| A．the careful selection of a proper book |
| B．the growing popularity of the writers |
| C．the number of people who benefit from reading |
| D．the number of books that each person reads |
It was graduation day at the university where I work and a beautiful day quite unlike the first graduation I attended as a young professor．On that cold day years ago, as we watched the students walking into the hall, one of my colleagues turned to me and said, "Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the saddest time of your life．" At my inquiry, he answered, "Because the students you have gotten to know have to leave．"
As years went by, my previous confusion about my colleague's words no longer existed．When I came across naughty students, I have had to rethink why I chose to be a teacher．It obviously isn't the money．Once a former computer science student of mine called me, asking me if I wanted to have a change．He was working at Nintendo Corporation．His salary was higher than my current one, though I have more education and have worked for over a decade．With my programming skills, he said he could get me hired．I thanked him, but declined his kind offer．
A few days before this current graduation, while working on final grades, I found a note a student had slipped in with her homework．She thanked me for being her teacher and said the things she had learned in my class—not about math, but about life—would be things she would remember long after the math skills had faded away．As I finished reading, I remembered why I had become a teacher．
Now, on this sunny graduation day, as I again observed the sea of blue hats and gowns, I did so with renewed dedication （奉献） and a deeper sense of satisfaction—I will always be grateful that I am a teacher．Hearing his colleague's description of graduation for the first time, the author __________．
| A．quite agreed with his colleague |
| B．was very puzzled |
| C．thought it very funny |
| D．was very sad |
The computer science student called up the author because he___________．
| A．wanted to inform the author of his present job |
| B．tried to persuade the author to work with him |
| C．wanted the author to share his joy and satisfaction |
| D．thought the author wasn't fit to be a teacher |
The underlined part “blue hats and gowns” refers to___________．
| A．university colleagues | B．graduates' clothes |
| C．life memories | D．decorations in the hall |
The author wrote this passage to __________．
| A．express his devotion to being a teacher |
| B．compare two different graduation ceremonies |
| C．talk about the meaning of graduation |
| D．give advice on how to be a good teacher |
People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions--and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
"We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions," Jack said. "Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect the mouth."
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Whites and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than Westerners did. "The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions," Jack said. "Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less."
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.The discovery shows that Westerners __
| A．pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth |
| B．consider facial expressions universally reliable |
| C．observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways |
| D．have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions |
What were the people asked to do in the study?
| A．To make a face at each other. |
| B．To get their faces impressive. |
| C．To classify some face pictures. |
| D．To observe the researchers' faces. |
What does the underlined word "they" in Paragraph 6 refer to?
| A．The participants in the study. |
| B．The researchers of the study. |
| C．The errors made during the study. |
| D．The data collected from the study. |
In comparison with Westerners, Easterners are likely to __
| A．do translation more successfully |
| B．study the mouth more frequently |
| C．examine the eyes more attentively |
| D．read facial expressions more correctly |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul |
| B．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions |
| C．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills |
| D．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding |
Answering the Community Needs of Our City
The Silver City Council（议会） recognizes that citizens have certain needs. To better meet your needs, we have made several changes to community facilities(设施） in 2004. This chart shows how we have tried to make your life better.
Transport Three stations for the suburbs have been added to the western train service.20 new buses for the southern line were purchased（购买）in January. 50 percent of city bus-stops have been upgraded（升级）. Buses to the eastern suburbs will run every15 minutes.
Communication Broadband cable（宽带揽线） is now available（可用的） to all parts of the city. All of the new Government buildings are ' smart'-wired for better computer service!
Medical Facilities The new state-of-the-art Nightingale Hospital was opened in June. To overcome a shortage of trained medical staff（工作人员） at Dover Hospital, 10 doctors have been employed from overseas.Some facilities at Station Street Hospital have been upgraded.
Education Textbooks will be free to all primary students in 2004 ! Rent for private schools has been reduced. Teachers report that the 'no hat - no play' rule has been successful.
Protection and Security Extra police now patrol (巡逻 ) the tourist areas. 50 new police officers graduated in July and have taken up duties in the city area.
Entertainment / Recreation The John Street basketball courts have been re-surfaced ! The new Central Community Building opened in May. 5,000 new fiction books were bought for the Silver City Library.The public notice is from _____________.
| A．the community | B．the local government | C．The citizens | D．a travel agency |
The notice is mainly about ____________.
| A．the work carried out by the people of Silver City |
| B．the facilities available in Silver City |
| C．some improvements in Silver City |
| D．information for interested tourists |
All the following are true EXCEPT that __
| A．both residents and tourists can enjoy more security now |
| B．Station Street Hospital had out-dated facilities before 2004 |
| C．primary students had to pay for their textbooks in 2003 |
| D．Dover Hospital is still short of trained medical staff |
Which of the following changes would tourists to Silver City be most happy with?
| A．Travel books are provided in the new library. |
| B．Traveling by train is more convenient in Silver City. |
| C．Free medical treatment is available at Station Street Hospital. |
| D．There are more police officers on duty now. |
To extinguish (熄灭) different kinds of fires, several types of fire extinguishers have been invented. They must be ready for immediate use when fire breaks out. Most portable (手提式的) kinds operate for less than a minute, so they are useful only on small fires. The law requires（要求） ships, trains, buses and planes to carry extinguishers.
Since fuel, oxygen and heat must be present in order for fire to exist, one or more of these things must be removed or reduced to put out a fire. If the heat is reduced by cooling the material below a certain temperature, the fire goes out. The cooling method is the most common way to put out a fire. Water is the best cooling material because it is low in cost and easy to get.
Another method of extinguishing fire is by cutting off the oxygen. This is usually done by covering the fire with sand, steam or some other things. A blanket may be used to cover a small fire.
A third method is called separation, which includes removing the fuel, or material easy to burn from a fire, so that it can find no fuel.
The method that is used to put out a fire depends on the type of fire. Fires have been grouped in three classes. Fires in wood, paper, cloth and the like are called Class A fires. These materials usually help keep the fire on. Such fires can be stopped most readily by cooling with water.If a fire breaks out on a bus, which of the following should be ready there for you to use?
| A．Sand | B．Water | C． A blanket. | D．An extinguisher. |
To cover a small piece of burning wood with a basin( 盆）in order to stop the fire is an example of___________.
| A．separating the fire | B．reducing the heat |
| C．removing the fuel | D．cutting off the oxygen |
In choosing how to put out a fire, we should first be clear about__________.
| A．when it breaks out | B．how it comes about |
| C．what kind it is | D．where it takes place |
What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Another class of fires | B．Another type of extinguishers |
| C．How fires break out. | D．How fires can be prevented. |
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