One of the executives gathered at the Aspen Institute for a day-long leadership workshop using the works of Shakespeare was discussing the role of Brutus in the death of Julius Caesar. “Brutus was not an honorable man,” he said. “He was a traitor（叛徒）. And he murdered someone in cold blood.” The agreement was that Brutus had acted with cruelty when other options were available to him. He made a bad decision, they said—at least as it was presented by Shakespeare—to take the lead in murdering Julius Caesar. And though one of the executives acknowledged that Brutus had the good of the republic in mind, Caesar was nevertheless his superior. “You have to endeavor,” the executives said, “our policy is to obey the chain of command.”
During the last few years, business executives and book writers looking for a new way to advise corporate America have been exploiting Shakespeare’s wisdom for profitable ends. None more so than husband and wife team Kenneth and Carol Adelman, well-known advisers to the White House, who started up a training company called “Movers and Shakespeares”. They are amateur Shakespeare scholars and Shakespeare lovers, and they have combined their passion and their high level contacts into a management training business. They conduct between 30 and 40 workshops annually, focusing on half a dozen different plays, mostly for corporations, but also for government agencies.
The workshops all take the same form, focusing on a single play as a kind of case study, and using individual scenes as specific lessons. In Julius Caesar , sly provocation（狡诈的挑唆） of Brutus to take up arms against the what was a basis for a discussion of methods of team building and grass roots organism.
Although neither of the Adelmans is academically trained in literature, the programmes, contain plenty of Shakespeare tradition and background. Their workshop on Henry V, for example, includes a helpful explanation of Henry’s winning strategy at the Battle of Agincourt. But they do come to the text with a few biases (偏向): their reading of Henry V minimizes his misuse of power. Instead, they emphasize the story of the youth who seizes opportunity and becomes a masterful leader. And at the workshop on Caesar, Mr. Adelmans had little good to say about Brutus, saying “the noblest Roman of them all” couldn’t make his mind up about things.
Many of the participants pointed to very specific elements in the play that they felt related Caesar’s pride, which led to his murder, and Brutus’s mistakes in leading the after the murder, they said, raise vital questions for anyone serving as a business when and how do you resist the boss?According to paragraph 1, what did all the executives think of Brutus?
| A．Cruel. | B．Superior. |
| C．Honorable. | D．Bade |
According to the passage, the Adelmans set up “Movers and Shakespeares” to ________.
| A．help executives to understand Shakespeare’s plays better |
| B．give advice on leadership by analyzing Shakespeare’s plays |
| C．provide case studies of Shakespeare’s plays in literature workshops |
| D．guide government agencies to follow the characters in Shakespeare’s plays. |
Why do the Adelmans conduct a workshop on Henry V?
| A．To highlight the importance of catching opportunities. |
| B．To encourage masterful leaders to plan strategies to win. |
| C．To illustrate the harm of prejudices in management. |
| D．To warn executives against power misuse. |
It can be inferred from the passage that ____.
| A．the Adelmans’ programme proves biased as the roles of characters are maximized. |
| B．executives feel bored with too many specific elements of Shakespeare’s plays. |
| C．the Adelmans will make more profits if they are professional scholars. |
| D．Shakespeare has played an important role in the management field. |
The best title for the passage is _____.
| A．Shakespeare’s plays: Executives reconsider corporate culture |
| B．Shakespeare’s plays: An essential key to business success |
| C．Shakespeare’s plays: a lesson for business motivation |
| D．Shakespeare’s plays: Dramatic training brings dramatic results |
On warm summer days with little or no wind, the air temperature in cities can be up to ten degrees higher than that of the surrounding countryside. This is a phenomenon commonly referred to as the “urban heat island” effect.
This phenomenon happens when pavement, buildings, and other infrastructure (基础设施) replace natural land cover. Large amounts of paved and dark colored surfaces—such as roofs, roads, and parking lots—absorb, rather than reflect, the sun’s heat, causing surface temperatures and overall ambient (周围的) air temperature to rise. Unlike soil, paved areas contribute to runoff, which means that as paved areas increase, the amount of water available for evaporation (蒸发) decreases. Moreover, urban areas have fewer trees and less natural vegetation which help to control the heat by providing shade and blocking solar radiation. The surfaces of leaves also provide water for evaporation which cools the air, further worsening the heat island effect.
In particular, during summer, more energy is required to cool the insides of building and for refrigeration, thereby creating additional heat output. This in turn leads to higher ambient air temperatures, which can also significantly increase the formation of urban smog in an area, degrading local air quality. Such a situation may directly affect public health with individuals more likely to suffer from heat exhaustion and the effects of asthma (哮喘). The underlined part in Paragraph 2 means ________.
| A．Due to dark colored roads, urban areas are becoming hotter each year |
| B．Dark colored surfaces reflect the sun’s heat, causing air temperatures to rise |
| C．Because urban surfaces absorb heat, air and surface temperatures increase |
| D．Rising ambient air temperatures lead to urban surfaces absorbing more heat |
Which of the following is not a cause of the urban heat island effect?
| A．The lack of trees |
| B．The demand for refrigeration |
| C．The blocking of solar radiation |
| D．The construction of infrastructure. |
The underlined word “degrading” most probably means ________.
| A．ignoring | B．improving |
| C．highlighting | D．worsening |
The passage is mainly developed by ________.
| A．giving typical examples |
| B．following the time order |
| C．presenting the effect and analyzing the cause |
| D．analyzing a problem and seeking the solution |
More and more pupils are giving teachers presents, but the practice only creates insecurity in parents and staff.
I’ve certainly noticed some pupils being feverishly overgenerous of late. Last year, I received not one bottle of wine but four for helping a disaffected pupil through his GCSEs. By and large, my colleagues report the gifts differing along gender lines. Gentlemen get ties, mugs, booze and, if they’re really lucky, tickets to football matches. The ladies are often presented with flowers, jewels, chocolates and so on.
When my son was at private school, I noticed there was a real competitiveness between the students about giving presents to teachers, with expensive baskets from fancy stores and huge bouquets being handed out on the last days of term. Since my wife and I only let my son give thank-you cards, it was clear we were not “classy”. Now he is at an inner-city primary, we’ve noticed that this kind of nonsense seems to have more or less disappeared. For one thing, there isn’t that kind of money floating around – but there isn’t that kind of competitive culture either.
Personally, I think gifts to teachers should be banned beyond the thank-you card: they cause many more problems than they solve, creating insecurity in both parents and staff. Perhaps the recession and the lack of money in people’s pockets might be a good excuse for the government to issue some guidelines to schools that gifts shouldn’t be accepted by teachers.
The gifts that I really value are the cards which say a genuine thank you. I still keep them in a file at home.What can the author most probably be?
| A．A teacher. | B．A school nurse. |
| C．A researcher. | D．A gift shop owner. |
The underlined word “nonsense” in Paragraph 3 refers to the fact that ________.
| A．the son only gives thank-you cards to teachers |
| B．the author and his wife are not classy |
| C．the son goes to an inner-city primary |
| D．the students give gifts to teachers |
To solve the problem, the author thinks it’s a good way to ________.
| A．forbid the students to give any gifts to teachers |
| B．create insecurity by giving thank-you cards |
| C．make people have less money in pockets |
| D．issue some guidelines by the government |
Which of the following can be the best title?
| A．Don’t Forget to Give Gifts to Your Teachers |
| B．Presents Won’t Make Pupils Teachers’ Pets |
| C．Learn the Competitive Culture of Gifts |
| D．Refuse Presents from Your Students |
Last summer, as part of my high school graduation project, I volunteered at Saunders House nursing home.
I choose this experience because it was something that I had never done before and I wanted to lend a helping hand. When I first came up with the idea of volunteering at a nursing home, I wanted to help out with activities and meet with some of the residents (住客).
At first it was challenging because I was extremely shy; however after getting to know the residents a little better, I started to feel more comfortable around them. My goal in volunteering was to bring a smile to the residents by doing different activities from word games to playing chess. I feel as if I had accomplished that goal.
At the nursing home, I did a lot of different activities with the residents ranging from Jeopardy, to Wheel of Fortune. One of my favorites was a word game where I would write a ten letter word on the board and the residents would try to come up with as many smaller words as possible. I could tell that it was one of their favorite games because they always seemed to be so enthusiastic when they played. I also transported residents to and from their rooms when they needed help; and whenever it was a nice day out, I would take them outside to get some fresh air and relax. On Saturday mornings, I would deliver the newspaper to the residents and on Sundays, I assisted with morning church services.
The most unforgettable part of this experience was when I had one on one conversations with the residents; it was incredible how many great stories they had to tell. One of the first residents was Mr. Charles Bowman who is one hundred and three years old!The author volunteered at the nursing home because ________.
| A．she was willing to help |
| B．the residents needed her |
| C．she was good with the old |
| D．the old people challenged her |
What helped the author get over the challenge?
| A．The determination to do the voluntary work. |
| B．Communicating with the residents. |
| C．The residents’ smiling faces. |
| D．The sense of achievements. |
The author felt it ________ to do the activities with the residents.
| A．enjoyable | B．upset |
| C．uncomfortable | D．challenging |
The author wrote the passage in order to ________.
| A．persuade readers to care more about the old |
| B．encourage readers to do voluntary work |
| C．describe a social problem |
| D．share an experience |
People would keep reproducing. Countries would probably pass ‘no reproduction’ laws to keep population balanced, but obviously not everyone would observe. The world’s population would grow very quickly at that. Animals and plants would die out, because humans needed the food.
There would be no room for more people in the world. Scientists would most likely try to create living ‘communities’ underwater, on the moon, and in space stations. The state of starvation and lack of space would be difficult to deal with. Natural selection would happen with humans, which is when certain types of animals or plants are selected for, or selected against. For instance, rich humans and strong, tough humans would be more likely to live, because the rich could afford to buy the limited food, and the tough humans could kill people for their food, and steal the food. This possibility relates directly to the assumption that humans would not die of diseases and such, but must be killed or run out of the necessities for living.
If you mean that no one could ever die, even if they were shot, burned, starved and eaten, then that would never ever happen; it’s a fantasy. However, if that were the case, then at some point, if there were not more areas to live than the land that humans live on now, then we would end up so packed that it would be virtually impossible to move, and humans would be forced to be on top of other people. It would be ridiculously crowded.
Although, if humans lived forever, then I assume that we would all be extremely smart, and would have figured out solutions to the living situations, like on another planet, on the moon, under water, etc. What can we infer from the underlined part in Paragraph 1?
| A．More food would be produced for humans |
| B．More room would be found for the growing population. |
| C．New babies would come into this world without an end. |
| D．Humans would continue to develop their intelligence. |
How is Paragraph 2 mainly developed?
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By making conclusions. |
| C．By giving advice. | D．By giving examples. |
What does the author mean by “it’s a fantasy” in paragraph 3?
| A．It will surely happen. |
| B．It will probably become a fact. |
| C．It is a story that is based on facts. |
| D．It is a belief based on imagination. |
What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To analyze the possibility that animals and plants die out. |
| B．To explain why scientists will create living areas for humans. |
| C．To argue that no human being is likely to live forever. |
| D．To convince people that it is possible for humans to live on other planets. |
1. Mean old ladies
There is always a reason why an old lady gives you a serious look – you are being too loud, dressed improperly or not crossing the street in the right place. Sometimes it can be lovely, but if you are already having a bad day, a mean old lady can drive you mad.
What to do about it:
I’ve come to realize that when people start conflicts, it is actually an expression of their inner state expressed in an outside way. You, your personality, your looks or your actions have nothing to do with it. It is not personal, so why take it personally?
2. That person, who cuts in front of everybody in line
This is something that gets me angry. Even if I am not in a hurry, I still feel bad for the other people in line who are being treated unjustly. Are you more patient than I am or do you feel annoying too?
What to do about it:
If we have negative thoughts then we are wasting our energy on negativity. Situations like this could be a great opportunity to learn to control our first negative responses and practice understanding. After all, the person may just have a quick question or maybe there is an emergency.
3. Friends that tell you “I told you so”
It is one thing to admit that you made a mistake and another to hear it from a friend. Friends should be there to support you and cheer you up when you are feeling down, not make themselves feel better at your expense, right?
What to do about it:
It helps to remember that when people say “I told you so”, they may mean, “Please listen to my advice to avoid future mistakes.” If this is not the help you need – voice it out, without getting defensive. According to the author, what can you do when meeting with a mean old lady?
| A．Take it personally. |
| B．Take it seriously. |
| C．Don’t apologize to her. |
| D．Don’t get upset. |
When seeing someone cutting in line, we’d better ________.
| A．stop him immediately |
| B．treat it with a good state of mind |
| C．pretend not to see it |
| D．teach him a good lesson |
The third tip intends to advise you ________.
| A．not to keep silent at a friend’s improper suggestion |
| B．to tell your friend if they have misunderstood you |
| C．not to talk to your friend if they feel better at your expense |
| D．to apologize to your friend when you’ve done something wrong |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．What to do when meeting with these people? |
| B．How to ask your friends for help when in trouble? |
| C．How to give advice to your friends when asked to? |
| D．What to say when faced with different situations? |
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