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 What started out as a shy, withdrawn and frightened employee turned out to be one of the most productive and loyal employee that I had ever worked with.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 |
It’s 8:30, time for John to start work. So he turns on his radio. Then he eats breakfast. As he eats, he reads his e-mail and reviews his to-do list. Then he sits on the sofa and thinks about an article he needs to write ... Wait a minute! Radio? Breakfast? Sofa? What kind of workplace is this? Well, actually it is John’s house, and he is a telecommuter — he works at home, communicating with the workplace through the Internet.
Like John, millions of people — and their employers — are finding that telecommuting is a great way to work. Telecommuters can follow their own timetables. They work in the comfort of homes, where they can also look after young children or elderly parents. They save time and money by not traveling to work. Their employers save, too, because they need less office space and furniture. Studies show that telecommuters change jobs less often. This saves employers even more money. Telecommuting helps society, too, by reducing pollution and traffic problems.
Jobs that are suited to telecommuting include writing, design work, computer programming and accounting. If a job is related to working with information, a telecommuter can probably do it.From the passage we can learn that John does his job .
| A．by telephon | B．through the Internet |
| C．in his office | D．away from home |
One of the advantages of telecommuting is that you can .
| A．work for several employers | B．enjoy a lot of traveling |
| C．get along well with other workers | D．work on your own schedule |
Telecommuters change jobs less often, so .
| A．their employers can save money |
| B．their employers will give them a higher pay |
| C．they can get more work experience |
| D．they will have a longer paid holiday |
The underlined phrase “suited to” in the third paragraph probably means “ ”.
| A．acceptable for | B．bad for | C．difficult for | D．fit for |
Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive (令人赞叹的) as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that ______.
| A．the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building |
| B．India has some of the most famous buildings in the world |
| C．ancient Indian emperors were cruel |
| D．construction workers led a hard life in ancient India |
The Taj Mahal was first built as ______.
| A．a memorial building | B．a tourist attraction |
| C．a prison | D．a gift to Mumtaz |
From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in ______.
| A．1626 | B．1653 | C．1632 | D．1634 |
The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “______”.
| A．the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal |
| B．the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal |
| C．the married happiness of the emperor and his wife |
| D．the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power |
Scholars and researchers have tried to discover what personality characteristics go along with success in different cultural experiences. Their findings have often been unclear or incomplete. But three typical characteristics stand out in their reports: patience, a sense of humor, and the awareness of being unclear.
Patience, of course, is the ability to keep calm when things do not go as one wants them to, or as one hopes they would, or even as one was sure they would. Impatience sometimes brings improvements in relations with other people, but usually it does not.
A person with a sense of humor is less likely to take things too seriously and more ready to see the humor in his own reaction than a humorless person. The value of a sense of humor really needs to be paid more attention to.
“The awareness of being unclear” is a more difficult concept to understand than patience and a sense of humor. Foreigners often find themselves in situations that are unclear as they are newcomers. That is, they do not know what is happening in a certain situation. Perhaps they do not understand the local language well enough, or they do not know how some system or organization works, or they can’t be sure of different people’s roles in what is going on. “It’s like that I just got here from the moon,” a Chinese graduate student who newly arrived in the United States said. “Things are just so different here.”The passage mainly tells us ______.
| A．about some uneasy traveling experiences in foreign countries |
| B．about the three main ways to communicate with foreigners |
| C．about some typical characteristics in different cultural experiences |
| D．how to show your characters to foreigners |
According to the passage, which characteristic should be focused on most?
| A．The ability to keep cool. | B．The sense of humor. |
| C．Patience. | D．The awareness of being unclear. |
“The awareness of being unclear” refers to “______” .
| A．not knowing what is happening in a situation |
| B．not understanding the local language well enough |
| C．being aware that the situation is unclear |
| D．not knowing how some system or organization works |
By what the Chinese graduate student said, we can learn that ______.
| A．he is not used to the culture of America |
| B．he went to the United States to study the moon |
| C．he is a person with a sense of humor |
| D．he has just returned from the moon |
The home computer industry has been growing rapidly in the United States in the last ten years. Computers used to be large, expensive machines that were very difficult to use. But scientists and technicians have been making them smaller and cheaper while at the same time they have been made easier to use. As a result, their popularity has been increasing as more people have been buying computers for their homes and businesses.
Computers have been designed to store information and compute problems that are difficult for human beings to work out. Some have voices that speak to their operators. Stores use computers to keep records of their inventories and to send bills to their customers. Offices use computers to copy letters, record business and keep in touch with other offices. People also use computers in their homes to keep track of the money they spend.
One important new use of computers is for entertainment. Many new games have been designed to be played on computers. People of all ages play these games. People also buy home computers to watch movies and listen to concerts at home. They have become very popular indeed.Compared with those of today, computers used to ______.
| A．work rapidly | B．be used for fun |
| C．be large and expensive | D．be easy to use |
In recent years, computers have become ______.
| A．more and more difficult to use | B．slower and slower |
| C．more and more expensive | D．smaller and smaller |
Home computers can be used for ______.
| A．doing business | B．writing letters |
| C．playing games | D．all of the above |
Salesmen use computers mainly to ______.
| A．talk with their friends | B．write letters |
| C．check the list of goods and send bills | D．play games for pleasure |
"I didn't hear them call my name," explained Shelley Hennig to Active Teens (AT) as she talked about that exciting moment on national television when she won the honor of Miss Teen USA 2004. "Are you ready?" is what she heard. Then she said, "I shook my head no, and then they said ‘yes’ and it was announced again."
It was four days after that life changing moment for the seventeen-year-old high school student from Destrehan, Louisiana----she was still on cloud nine．
"I was so shocked! I never believed that it could actually really happen." Present in the audience（观众）that day were: her mother and father, older brother, her friends, and her dance teacher.
Understanding why members of her family and her friends would be there, AT asked why her
dance teacher had traveled so far to see her compete（比赛）．"She's always been my role model．I've danced with her since I was six. She's been through so many difficulties and came through them all. I've learned to get over bad life's experiences and learned how to move on because of her."
One of those bad life's experiences for Shelley happened three years ago when her brother Brad was killed in a drunk driving accident. He was 18. She found writing helped her get through the rough days. She said, "I write a lot about my brother. I write a lot, a lot, a lot...”
As Miss Louisiana Teen, she traveled around the state speaking to teens（青少年）about the dangers of drinking and driving. In her role as Miss Teen USA, Sheiley will continue to speak to youth about safe driving, in addition to many other things to help the youth.
When AT asked Miss Teen USA if she had any advice for our readers, she said, "Don't let anyone change you. Hang out with people that make you feel good about yourself. That way, it is easy to be yourself."What do the words “on cloud nine” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．frightened | B．troubled | C．very happy | D．very angry |
Shelley takes her dance teachers as a role medel mainly because she is .
| A．determined | B．friendly | C．strict | D．experienced |
How many children did the Hennigs have according to the text?
| A．1. | B．2. | C．3. | D．4. |
What suggestion does Shelley give to the teens?
| A．Be yourself with the support of friends |
| B．Meet friends whenever possible |
| C．Go easy on yourself and others |
| D．Have a good role model |
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