Most people I meet want to develop more harmonious and satisfying relationships. But we may not realize that this can only be achieved by partnering with two new and strange allies(盟友): uncertainty and confusion. Most of us aren’t trained to like confusion or to admit we feel hesitant and uncertain. In our schools and organizations, we place value on sounding certain and confident.
As life continues to speed up, I believe our changing world requires less certainty and far more curiosity. I’m not suggesting we let go of our beliefs, but that we become curious about what someone else believes. As we become open to the disturbing differences, sometimes we discover that another’s way of interpreting the world is actually essential to our survival.
For me, the first step in becoming curious is to admit that I’m not succeeding in figuring things out by myself. If my solutions don’t work as well as I’d like, I take these as signs that it’s time to begin asking others what they think. I try to become a conscious listener, actively listening for differences.
There are many ways to listen for differences. Lately, I’ve been listening for what surprises me. This isn’t easy — I’m accustomed to sitting there, nodding my head as someone voices his opinions. But when I notice what surprises me, I’m able to see my own views more clearly, including my assumptions.
If you’re willing to be disturbed and confused, I recommend you begin a conversation with someone who thinks differently from you. Listen for what’s different and what surprises you. Try to stop the voice of judgment or opinion and just listen. At the end, notice whether you’ve learned something new.
We have the opportunity many times a day to be the one who listens to others and the one who is curious rather than certain. When we listen with fewer judgments, we always develop better relationships with each other. It’s not differences that divide us. It’s our judgments that do. Curiosity and good listening bring us back together.
As I consider partnering with confusion and uncertainty, I’m learning that we don’t have to agree with each other in order to think well together. There is no need for us to be joined at the head. We are already joined by our hearts.
1. According to the passage, when communicating with others, most of us try to behave____.
A. hesitantly and confusedly
B. honestly and harmoniously
C. responsibly and actively
D. confidently and convincingly
2.According to the author, in order to cope with our changing world, we should ______.
A. reconsider traditional beliefs before accepting them.
B. learn to interpret other people’s behavior.
C. become more curious about other people’s opinions.
D. try to develop more harmonious relationships with others.
3.What does the passage advise you to do when you hear different ideas?
A. We should let go of our beliefs.
B. We should admit that we are not succeeding in figuring out things.
C. We should be accustomed to sitting there and listening.
D. We should listen and find out the valuable points
4.What do the underlined sentences in the passage imply?
A. We should listen more and judge less.
B. We should make decisions based on sound judgment.
C. Differences among people separate them.
D. It is important to seek common ground and reserve differences.
5.Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude to uncertainty and confusion?
A. Favorable. B. Resistant.
C. Curious. D. Doubtful.
When we’re little, our mother is the center of our attention, and we are the center of hers.
So our mother’ characteristics leave an indelible(持久的)impression, and we are forever after attracted to people with her facial features, body type, personality, even sense of humor. If our mother is warm and giving, as adults we tend to be attracted to people who are warm and giving. If our mother is strong and even-tempered, we are going to be attracted to a fair-minded strength in our mates(伴侣).
The mother has an additional influence on her sons: she not only gives them clues to what they will find attractive in a mate, but also affects how they feel about women in general. So if she is warm and nice, her sons are going to think that’s the way women are. They will probably grow up to be warm and responsive lovers and also be cooperative around the house.
Conversely(相反的), a mother who has a depressive personality, and is sometimes friendly but then suddenly turns cold and rejecting, may raise a man who becomes a “dance-away lover”. Because he’s been so scared about love from his mother, he’s afraid of commitment and may pull away from a girlfriend for this reason.
While the mother determines in large part what qualities attract us in a mate, it’s the father—the first male in our lives—who influences how we relate to the opposite sex. Fathers have an enormous effect on their children’s personalities and chances of marital(婚姻的) happiness.
Just as mothers influence their son’s general feelings toward women, fathers influence their daughter’s general feelings about men. If a father lavishes praise on his daughter and demonstrates that she is a worthwhile person, she’ll feel very good about herself in relation to men. But if the father is cold, critical or absent, the daughter will tend to feel she’s not very lovable or attractive.
In addition, most of us grow up with people of similar social circumstances. We hang around with people in the same town; our friends have about the same educational backgrounds and career goals. We tend to be most comfortable with these people, and therefore we tend to link up with others whose families are often much like our own.
1.Why do our mother’s characteristics leave us an indelible impression?
A. Because we are likely to be attached to people with her characteristics.
B. Because mother and her child are the centers of each other when her child is very young.
C. Because our mother is better than our dad.
D. Because our mother is a woman who is kind to us.
2.What can we know from Paragraphs 2 and 3?
A. The mother only influences her sons.
B. The sons always think women are warm and nice.
C. A mother who has a depressive personality is sure to raise a dance-away lover.
D. The mother has an additional influence on her sons.
3.Which of the following is NOT true?
A. If our mother is warm and giving, we love to be together with warm and generous people.
B. If our mother is strong and even-tempered, we are going to be attracted to a fair-minded strength in our mates.
C. Mother not only gives her children clues to what they will find attractive in a mate, but also affects how they feel about women in general.
D. Fathers influence their daughter’s general feelings about men.
4.What does the underlined word “lavishes” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?
A. Uses much. B. Uses little.
C. Never uses. D. Seldom uses.
5.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. Mothers’ influence on their sons.
B. Parents’ influence on their children.
C. Parents’ impression on their children.
D. Fathers’ influence on their daughters.
I once had a friend that was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the news that he might only live up to six months was a great shock to him, his family, and his friends．However, in spite of the serious illness, he was initially determined to look into all available treatments that might cure or extend his life. I think that when you find yourself in such situations, you tend to look up every possible way for hope of saving your life.
As months went on and his health grew worse, I noticed an unexpected change in attitude that came over him．He had also been a happy person with a cheerful personality, but rather than give in to discouragement and self-pity, he took comfort in God and humanity. His talks focused on others rather than himself, and he spoke of the afterlife as something he was prepared for, believing that his concerned ancestors, including his mother and father, were there waiting for him.
During the last few months, weeks, and days of his life, he was kindly cared for by family, friends, his loving wife, who looked after both his physical and emotional needs, and workers from a local hospice （安养院） came to the home to regulate his medication and provide any other needed support. He didn't complain about his fate, and he willingly allowed others to serve him.
Indeed, one might think why God allows death and suffering in our world, but for me, such experiences taught me to value family more and kindness for others. You often can't learn these important attributes(属性) in the lap of luxury(优裕舒适的环境), and perhaps, such an experience is the greatest and final gift the illness can give those left behind.
1.Which word can best describe the man's initial reaction as soon as he was diagnosed with cancer?
A. Satisfied B. Surprised
C. Terrified D. Confused
2.What did the man do after he first learned of his illness?
A. He was operated on immediately
B. He retired from his job
C. He researched cancer treatments
D. He felt sad, doing nothing
3.What was the man's main source of comfort after several months with the disease?
A. His family and friends
B. The care from others
C. His doctors’ encouragement
D. His belief in humanity
4.What did the author learn from his friend’s story?
A. Giving more respect to the family and friends
B. Extending life as possible
C. Caring for yourself and enjoying luxury
D. Getting comfort from God
5.What does the author mainly want to tell?
A. All people will face death, and thus, we must prepare for it spiritually
B. Our characters can be strengthened by such an unpleasant situation
C. Families provide the best support system during such a crisis
D. People should help those who have got serious illness
While you are online there are plenty of perfectly legal sites where you can listen to music for free. This gives you the chance to listen to music before buying it, discover new music, and create great online playlists that you can share with others.
The Sixty One
The Sixty One is devoted to showcasing obscure or unknown artists of all genres. There’s a range of musical styles from classical to rock and roll, folk to jazz, and everything in between. Don’t expect to find big name musicians on here; you’re more likely to find the musicians playing at local coffee shops than bands you hear on the radio. You can find fantastic music that you never would have heard of otherwise.
Pow Wow
Pow Wows are the Native American people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships, and making new ones. This is a time method to renew Native American culture and preserve the rich heritage of American Indians. PowWows.com has 2 online radio stations that play Native American Music 24/7 free! Here you can listen to your favorite artists and drum groups on your computer or mobile device and add your music to our station.
Playlist
Playlist has an enormous library, so you can create playlists with almost any musician you can think of. They have both some lesser known artists and big names, so you have a really good selection. The worst part: Due to licensing laws, many of the songs on Playlist are now restricted to certain countries. So unless you live inside the US, it is likely that you might not be able to find all of your favorite songs.
Pandora
Pandora is an intelligent Internet radio site. Basically, as you listen, you can give each song a thumbs up or thumbs down. You can create your own radio station that only plays music you like. The best part: It listens to your opinion, so that after a while it’s only playing music you like, but the list is always changing and expanding.
My Space
Combine a major social networking site with thousands of artists around the world. Each musician has their own page, which normally has a playlist of several of their songs. But it has a huge range of musicians ranging from huge stars to the up-and-coming, and you can listen to the music and interact with the rest of the page.
1. If you enjoy listening to some new music, you can pay a visit to ______.
A. Pow Wow B. Playlist
C. The Sixty One D. Pandora
2.You can’t listen to some music on Playlist possibly because ______.
A. it is only open to those who are in the United States
B. you are not one of the members of the website
C. you don’t have any playlist
D. the music is played only by the local people
3.Pandora is different from the other websites of music in that ____.
A. listening to music is free of charge
B. the website keeps changing and expanding
C. it is built according to your suggestions
D. you can always enjoy your favorite music
4.Which of the following is true of My Space
A. Thousands of artists visit it every day.
B. It is unnecessary to create your own playlist.
C. There are only huge stars’ songs.
D. It is possible to meet the stars around the world.
5.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Best Free Music Websites.
B. All Kinds of Music Online.
C. Create Your Own Playlist.
D. Listen to Music for free.
完形填空
I’d like to tell you a story my grandmother told me when I was six or seven years old. We had to go to her home for Thanksgiving dinner and the _______ was rather a long one. I had filled the time with making a _______of all the things that I wanted for Christmas that year.
Later I showed the list to my grandmother. After she read it, she said, “That _______is a long list!” Then she told me this story:
“Once there was a little girl who came to live in an orphanage(孤儿院). As Christmas time _______ , all of the other children began _______the little girl about the beautiful Christmas tree that would appear in the huge downstairs _______ on Christmas morning. Each child would be given their one and only Christmas gift, a small, single _______ .”
“The headmaster of the orphanage was very _______ , so when he caught the little girl climbing down the stairs to look at the Christmas tree in the hall, he sharply _______ that the little girl would not _______ her Christmas orange because she had been to _______ as to disobey the rules. The little girl ran back to her room_______ and crying. The next morning as the other children were going down to breakfast, the little girl stayed in her bed. She couldn’t stand the _______ of seeing the others receive their gift when there would be _______ for her. Later, as the children came back, the little girl was _______5 to be handed a napkin(面巾纸). As she carefully _______ it, there to her disbelief was an orange all peeled and sectioned. “It was then that she imagined _______ each child had taken one section from their orange and given it to her so that she, too, would have a Christmas orange.”
How I _______ this story! I would ask my grandmother to tell it to me over and over as I _______. How I wish the world, as a whole world display that same kind of _______ for others, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year.
1.A. story B. drive C. moment D. holiday
2.A. choice B. order C. list D. joke
3.A. hardly B. usually C. specially D. really
4.A. moved B. approached C. linked D. took
5.A. telling B. informing C. warning D. sending
6.A. hall B. kitchen C. bedroom D. reading-room
7.A. apple B. star C. orange D. flower
8.A. serious B. caring C. humorous D. strict
9.A. required B. announced C. asked D. insisted
10.A. deliver B. make C. receive D. reach
11.A. curious B. outgoing C. frightened D. disappointed
12.A. delighted B. blank-minded C. seared D. broken-hearted
13.A. possession B. attraction C. thought D. effect
14.A. few B. none C. everything D. something
15.A. surprised B. happy C. willing D. pleased
16.A. touched B. felt C. smelt D. opened
17.A. whether B. when C. how D. what
18.A. wrote B. loved C. told D. understood
19.A. grew up B. dropped in C. turned up D. hung out
20.A. help B. thankfulness C. happiness D. concern
He is working as a teacher of English in our school and he _______ in Jiangxi Normal University for four years.
A. has studied B.had studied
C. studied D. would study
