The word tolerance is widely used in liberal democracies. It indicates a positive meaning. Politicians urge us to be tolerant towards minorities. Educators teach us to be tolerant towards the other. The press is full of references to the need to display tolerance when faced with individuals or groups espousing a different view or holding a different religious belief. A tolerant society is an objective sought after by anyone who believes in the values of democracy. A tolerant individual is attributed with virtuous qualities.
The question we must ask is whether we have been using the word tolerance fully aware of its meaning and whether we have applied it correctly to reflect what we really wish to convey?
The word tolerance means to bear, or to bear with. If I tolerate something or someone, I basically say that I am ready to bear it or him. I can tolerate a bad smell or a noisy neighbour. The act of toleration forces me to desist from conveying my objection to the existence of a phenomenon, which I find difficult to bear. A bad smell or a noisy neighbour is considered by me to be an objectionable phenomenon. By tolerating either of them, I am not transforming the bad smell or the noisy neighbour into positive phenomena. Let's be honest: I don't have a different taste when it comes to bad smells. I simply dislike it and wish that it disappears. I don't respect the noisy neighbour. I would rather have him stop at once the noise he is making so I can live in peace.
To try to remove the bad smell or take reasonable action in order for the noisy neighbour to stop bothering me would most probably not be considered an intolerant act by most people.
Now, let's try to apply the word tolerance in reference to a person who is law-abiding and holds a legally acceptable different view from my own. I may have a strong view, which is opposed to his. Quite frankly, I may decide to tolerate his view. By so doing, I would be attributing to it a negative characteristic. I would apply the same attitude to his view as to the bad smell or noisy neighbour. Thus, to try to take action in order to make his view disappear would be considered an intolerant act. To tolerate his view the way I would a bad smell or a noisy neighbour, could hardly be considered virtuous.
The subject tolerating is by nature not equal to the object being tolerated. If I tolerate you, I essentially say that I am above you and am prepared, although unwillingly, to bear with your presence or with your practices or opinions. That may be true in the case of an individual who is ready to tolerate the other. However, this attitude by such an individual, though empirically true, is hardly a virtue. Certainly, the fact that an individual, in reality, may merely tolerate the other or his opinion does not justify a government or any official authority promoting tolerance as a virtue. One cannot tolerate an equal being. True equality involves respect, not toleration. To respect the other as a distinctive person is hardly to tolerate him. This is the true meaning of equality: diversity existing in a mutually-respectful socio-legal setting.
The danger with tolerance is that it can lead to the acceptance of individuals or groups bent on destroying the foundations of democratic systems. We have seen such cases with regard to political parties or destructive religious groups that have been treated in a liberal manner under the guise of tolerance.
A tolerant attitude involves the grant of a favour, not a right. The question we should ask ourselves is whether we would ever wish a parliament to make laws according to us, as individuals and as part of a collective entity or a permission to pursue certain actions interpreted as a favour rather than a right? Indeed, would we ever wish anyone to listen to our views and accept us the way we are simply because he is kind enough to tolerate us? The first two paragraphs are mainly intended to show that __________.
| A．tolerance is a symbol of liberal democracies |
| B．democratic society always advocates tolerance |
| C．people’s understanding of tolerance is one-sided |
| D．tolerance can be applied to many situations |
The example of a bad smell and a noisy neighbour is raised to indicate that _________.
| A．the writer are fed up with them |
| B．most people find them hard to tolerate |
| C．the writer isn’t prejudiced against them |
| D．tolerating them isn’t a virtuous act |
Which of the following will the writer probably agree with?
| A．Too much tolerance will endanger the foundations of democratic systems. |
| B．By tolerating people can transform something negative into the opposite. |
| C．People tolerating others are likely to consider them as their equals. |
| D．Being tolerant should be regarded as a right instead of a favour |
The best title for this passage should be “___________”.
| A．Tolerance and respect | B．What is to be tolerated? |
| C．Is Tolerance a Virtue? | D．Should people be tolerant? |
A woman renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk’s office was asked to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.
“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a …”
“Of course I have a job,” said Emily. “I’m a mother.”
“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation…‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.
One day I found myself in the same situation. The clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title. “What is your occupation?” she asked.
The words simply popped out. “I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”
The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.
I repeated the title slowly, then I stared with wonder as my statement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “Just what you do in this field?”
Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t), in the lab and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most careers and rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out.
As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (鼓舞) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants---ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal（嗓音的） pattern.
I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”
Motherhood…What a glorious career! Especially when there’s a title on the door. What can we infer from the conversation between the woman and the recorder at the beginning of the passage?
| A．Motherhood was not recognized and respected as a job by society. |
| B．The recorder was impatient and rude. |
| C．The author was upset about the situation that mothers faced. |
| D．The woman felt ashamed to admit what her job was. |
How did the female clerk feel at first when the author told her occupation?
| A．curious | B．indifferent | C．interested | D．puzzled |
Why did the woman clerk show more respect for the author?
| A．Because the author cared little about rewards. |
| B．Because she admired the author’s research work in the lab. |
| C．Because the writer did something she had little knowledge of. |
| D．Because she thought the author did admirable work. |
What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To show how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it. |
| B．To show that the author had a grander job than Emily. |
| C．To argue that motherhood is a worthy career and deserves respect. |
| D．To show that being a mother is hard and boring work. |
They were going to Fort Lauderdale — three boys and three girls — and when they boarded the bus, they were carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags, dreaming of golden beaches and sea tides as the gray, cold spring of New York went behind them.
As the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice Vingo. He sat in front of them, completely in silence.
Deep into the night, outside Washington, the bus pulled into Howard Johnson’s, and everybody got off except Vingo. The young people began to wonder about him. When they went back to the bus, one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself.
“Want some wine?” she said. He smiled and took a swig from the bottle. He thanked her and became silent again. After a while, she went back to the others, and Vingo nodded in sleep.
In the morning, they awoke outside another Howard Johnson’s, and this time Vingo went in. The girl insisted that he join them. He ordered black coffee and some cookies as the young people talked about sleeping on beaches. When they returned to the bus, the girl sat with Vingo again, and after a while, slowly and painfully, he began to tell his story. He had been in prison in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home.
“Are you married?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” she said.
“Well, when I was in prison I wrote to my wife,” he said, “I told her that I was going to be away for a long time, and that if she couldn’t stand it, if the kids kept asking questions, and if it hurt her too much, well, she could jus forget me. I’d understand. Get a new man, I said — she’s a wonderful woman. I told her she didn’t have to write me. And she didn’t. Not for three and a half years.”
“And you’re going home now, not knowing?”
“Yeah. Well, last week, when I was sure the parole (假释) was coming through, I wrote her again. We used to live in Brunswick, just before Jacksonville, and there’s a big oak (橡树) just as you come into town. I told her that if she didn’t have a new man and if she’d take me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and I’d get off and come home. If she didn’t want me, forget it — no handkerchief and I’d go on through.”
“Wow,” the girl exclaimed, “Wow.”
She told the others, and soon all of them were in it, looking at the pictures Vingo showed them of his wife and three children.
Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, and the young people took over window seats on the right side, waiting for the approach of the great oak. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, as if protecting himself against still another disappointment.
Then Brunswick was ten miles, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, shouting and crying.
Vingo sat there astonished, looking at the oak. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs — 20 of them, 30 of them, maybe hundreds, flying in the wind. As the young people shouted, Vingo slowly rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.At the beginning of the story, the young boys and girls ______.
| A．showed a great interest in Vingo | B．didn’t notice Vingo at all |
| C．wanted to offer help to Vingo | D．didn’t like Vingo at all |
The underlined part “Howard Johnson’s” is most probably a(n) ______.
| A．bus station | B．apartment | C．hospital | D．restaurant |
How did Vingo feel on the way home?
| A．Ashamed. | B．Relaxed. | C．Nervous. | D．Disappointed. |
The paragraphs following this passage would most probably talk about ______.
| A．Vingo’s experience in prison |
| B．the young people’s travel to Fort Lauderdale |
| C．Vingo’s three lovely children |
| D．the dialogue between Vingo and his family |
High-quality customer service is preached(宣扬) by many, but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done.
Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of retail store, but instead will alert their friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers and anyone who will listen.
Store managers are often the last to hear complaints, and often find out only when their regular customers decide to frequent their competitors, according to a study jointly conducted by Verde group and Wharton school.
“Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers.” Said Paula Courtney, president of the Verde group. “The store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement.”
On average, every unhappy customer will complain to at least four other, and will no longer visit the specific store for every dissatisfied customer, a store will lose up to three more due to negative reviews. The resulting “snowball effect” can be disastrous to retailers.
According to the research, shoppers who purchased clothing encountered the most problems. Ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers.
The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered(塞满了的) shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude salespeople.
During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting local police to work as parking attendants. Some hired flag wavers to direct customers to empty peaking spaces. This guidance got rid of the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly, and avoided confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.
Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions. Most importantly, salespeople should be diplomatic and polite with angry customers.
“Retailers who’re responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren’t so friendly.” Said professor Stephen Hoch. “Maybe something as simple as a greeter at the store entrance would help.”
Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filing complaints to the retailer, instead of complaining to the rest of the world. Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong.Why are store managers often the last to hear complaints?
| A．Few customers believe the service will be improved. |
| B．Customers would rather relate their unhappy experiences to people around them. |
| C．Customers have no easy access to store managers. |
| D．Most customers won’t bother to complain even if they have had unhappy experiences. |
Shop owners often hire moonlighting police as parking attendants so that shoppers .
| A．can find their cars easily after shopping | B．won’t have trouble parking their cars |
| C．can stay longer browsing in the store | D．won’t have any worries about security |
What contributes most to smoothing over issues with customers?
| A．Design of the store layout. | B．Hiring of efficient employees. |
| C．Manners of the salespeople. | D．Huge supply of goods for sale. |
To achieve better shopping experiences, customers are advised to .
| A．voice their dissatisfaction to store managers directly |
| B．shop around and make comparisons between stores |
| C．settle their disputes with stores in a diplomatic way |
| D．put pressure on stores to improve their service |
In our culture, the sources of what we call a sense of “mastery”— feeling important and worthwhile — and the sources of what we call a sense of “pleasure”— finding life enjoyable — are not always the same．Women often are told “You can’t have it all.” Sometimes what the speaker really is saying is: “You choose a career, so you can’t expect to have closer relationships or a happy family life.” or “You have a wonderful husband and children — what’s all this about wanting a career?” But women need to understand and develop both aspects of well-being, if they are to feel good about themselves.
Our study shows that, for women, well-being has two aspects．One is mastery, which includes self-respect, a sense of control over your life, and low levels of anxiety and depression．Mastery is closely related to the “doing” side of life, to work and activity．Pleasure is the other aspect, and it is made up of happiness, satisfaction and optimism．It is tied more closely to the “feeling” side of life．The two are independent of each other．A woman could be high in mastery and low in pleasure, and vice versa（反之亦然）．For example, a woman who has a good job, but whose mother has just died, might be feeling very good about herself and in control of her work life, but the pleasure side could be damaged for a time.
The concepts of mastery and pleasure can help us identify the sources of well-being for women, and correct past mistakes．In the past, women were encouraged to look only at the feeling side of life as the source of all well-being．But we know that both mastery and pleasure are important．And mastery seems to be achieved largely through work．In our study, all the groups of employed women were valued significantly higher in mastery than women who were not employed.
A woman’s well-being is developed when she takes on multiple roles．At least by middle adulthood, the women who were involved in a combination of roles — marriages, motherhood, and employment — were the highest in well-being, in spite of warnings about stress and strain.It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ________.
| A．for women, a sense of “mastery” is more important than a sense of “pleasure” |
| B．for women, a sense of “pleasure” is more important than a sense of “mastery” |
| C．women can’t have a sense of “mastery” and a sense of “pleasure” at the same time |
| D．a sense of “mastery” and a sense of “pleasure” are both necessary to women |
The author’s attitude towards women having a career is________.
| A．negative | B．positive |
| C．indifferent | D．realistic |
One can conclude from the passage that if a woman takes on several social roles, ________.
| A．it will be easier for her to overcome stress and strain |
| B．she will be more successful in her career |
| C．her chances of getting promoted will be greater |
| D．her life will be richer and more meaningful |
Which of the following can be considered as a source of “pleasure” for women?
| A．Family life | B．Multiple roles in society |
| C．Regular employment | D．Freedom from anxiety |
More than 1.5 billion people around the world live without electricity. Finding better ways to bring light to the poor is the goal of researchers like Professor Irvine. In the late 1990s, he was working in Nepal when his return flight was canceled. A delay gave him time to take a fourteen-day hiking trip in the Himalayas.
One day he looked in the window of a school and noticed how dark it was. This is a common problem for millions of children around the world. Many families use kerosene oil (煤油) lamps. There are many problems with these lamps. They produce only a small amount of light. They are dangerous to breathe. And they are a big fire danger, causing many injuries and deaths each year. Kerosene costs less than other forms of lighting, but it is still costly in poor countries. Professor Irvine says many people spend over 100 dollars a year on the fuel.
When he returned to Canada, he began researching ways to provide safe and clean lighting. He began experimenting with light-emitting diodes (发光二极管), LEDs, at his lab. As a professor of renewable energy, he already knew about the technology. Light-emitting diodes are small glass lamps that use much less electricity than traditional bulbs (灯泡) and last much longer. He used a one-watt bright white LED made in Japan. He found it on the Internet and connected it to a bicycle-powered generator (发电机). He remembers thinking it was so bright that a child could read by the light of a single diode.
In 2000, after much research and many experiments, he returned to Nepal to put the systems into homes. Now the homes of 25,000 people in 51 countries have been equipped with it. “The one-time cost of our system which basically lives forever, as well as the solar panel — is less than one hundred dollars. So, one year of kerosene would pay for a solid-state lighting system,” he said. Now his aim is to develop a lower-cost lighting system. In January, Irvine is leaving the University of Calgary. He has also decided to start his own company in India.We can learn from the second paragraph that kerosene oil lamps ______.
| A．cost more than other forms of lighting |
| B．have damaged children’s eyesight |
| C．have wasted only a little fuel |
| D．have a lot of disadvantages |
Irvine connected a white LED to a bicycle-powered generator to prove ______.
| A．whether it can work without electricity |
| B．whether it can work well with less electricity |
| C．whether it can last longer than a generator |
| D．whether it is brighter than a traditional bulb |
We can learn from the text that Irvine ______.
| A．likes India rather than Nepal |
| B．is good at making new kinds of bulbs |
| C．is giving up his job in the university |
| D．is to earn much money from his company |
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