Reader: For six years, I’ve run an office that has two employees: me and my boss. He used to be so appreciative that I didn’t mind doing a little extra, but about two months ago, he started being rude and demanding. Now he even yells when I don’t have time to bring his favorite wine to his home after work.
This change started when we met a wealthy new customer, who is a huge jerk (古怪的人) -- my boss’s new behavior is just like his.
My boss is a good man; he and his family have treated me like a little sister. Is there a good way to discuss this with him?
Karla: Sounds like your new customer has set a bad example to your boss. You need to remind your boss that you’re in his corner-- but you’re not his slave. My suggestions are as follows.
Start with a simple question in a calm moment: “Is everything okay?”
State the truth: “Until recently, I’ve felt like a valued teammate. But our relationship has become tense. Your expectations of me seem to have changed. Although I used to do occasional personal businesses for you as a favor, now it seems expected.”
Draw your lines: “If you think my job description needs to change or my performance is not good enough, let’s discuss that. Otherwise, I need you to stop yelling at me and to respect my personal time.”
Ideally, you’ll get an apology and a promise to do better. After that, it’s a matter of reinforcement (加强) . If he starts yelling, look at him with a calm expression. After he cools down, restate his request and add, “Is that correct?” For the unreasonable request, such as fetching his favorite wine after work: “I’m afraid I can’t take care of that for you.” If he keeps acting like a jerk, there are bosses out there who will better respect your time and talent.
Karla L. Miller is ready to hear your work dramas. Send your questions to wpmagazine@washpost.com.
1.We can infer that the reader’s boss used to be ____.
A. grateful and friendly B. rich but strange
C. proud and hard-working D. honest but self-centered
2.What does the underlined word “demanding” mean in the first paragraph?
A. appreciating too much B. scolding too much
C. apologizing too much D. expecting too much
3.When the reader’s boss asks her to do something unreasonable next time, she is advised to ___________.
A. quit her job B. look at her boss calmly
C. refuse the request D. discuss the job description
4.What sort of problem can be solved by Karla L. Miller?
A. How do I make a friend?
B. How do I kill my personal time?
C. How can I get along well with my workmates?
D. How can I get rid of wine?
One advantage of the Internet is shopping conveniently online for clothes; one disadvantage of the Internet is also shopping conveniently online for clothes.
“Nothing fits,” said Lam Yuk Wong, a senior in electrical and computer engineering at Rice University. “Everyone says this. They order clothes and they don’t fit. People get very unhappy.”
Wong and her design partner, Xuaner “Cecilia” Zhang, are Team White Mirror, creators of what they call a “virtual (虚拟)fitting room”. Their goal is simple and consumer-friendly: to let online clothing shoppers have a perfect fit and a perfect look when shopping every time. Both women are from China, Wong from Hong Ko ng and Zhang from Beijing. They both order most of their clothing online. They got the idea from their own experience as consumers and from listening to the complaints of friends and relatives. “They say, ‘The color is wrong’ or ‘I got the right size but it still does not fit.’ We want to make it like you’re in the store trying on the clothes,” Zhang said.
Using a Kinect developed by Microsoft for use with its Xbox 360 video game player, Zhang scans Wong and turns her image into, in effect, a virtual model, keeping Wong’s dimensions (尺寸), and even her skin and hair color. “We put the clothes on the shopper’s 3-D body models and show how they look when they are dressed,” Wong said. So far, Wong and Zhang have adapted the software to show dresses and shirts, and they are now working on shorts.
Asked if she thought men as well as women might be interested in using their virtual fitting room, Wong said, “I think their wives will care about this, so it will also be important to men.”
1.Why is shopping conveniently online for clothes a disadvantage?
A. Students may easily get addicted to it.
B. Clothes bought online may not fit.
C. It attracts more online clothing shoppers.
D. It causes shoppers to waste too much money.
2.Wong and Zhang got the idea to design a virtual fitting room from ____.
A. their shopping experiences B. a program at their university
C. some shop-owners’ complaints D. the Xbox 360 video game player
3.Which of the following shows the process of using the virtual fitting room?
A. scanning -- trying on clothes -- getting images
B. trying on clothes -- getting models -- scanning
C. scanning -- getting models --trying on clothes
D. trying on clothes -- getting images -- scanning
4.What did Wong think of her virtual fitting room?
A. It is perfectly developed. B. It will have its market share.
C. It is limited to women shoppers. D. It is like a kind of video game player.
While CCTV’s educational show Animal World is well known, few big screen wildlife documentaries have been made by China’s film industry.
But Born in China, which came out on Aug 2, may be important for Chinese filmmakers who want to get into nature -themed films. The movie, directed by Chinese filmmaker Lu Chuan, was shot in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and shows the animals’ lives during different seasons.
Born in China not only brings to audiences the lives of animals that are rarely seen in the wild—giant pandas, snow leopards, and golden monkeys, but also shows Chinese traditional culture.
A symbol of China, the giant panda is both black and white. Its body is thought to show yin and yang, which ancient Chinese ideas were based on. The panda’s gentle nature shows how yin and yang lead to peace. It can be seen in the film when a panda mother guides her baby to look for independence and explore the world.
Unlike the shy pandas, monkeys always have strong personalities. The Monkey King in China’s most famous novel Journey to the West has many conflicting traits(特点). It stands for not only impatience but also cleverness and energy. Born in China follows a 2-year- old golden monkey who leaves his family, but then returns and understands the meaning of responsibility.
Just as the golden monkey, a mother snow leopard also faces difficulty in raising her babies in the wild. The leopards, known for their rapid attacks and quick footwork(脚步), have inspired a form of pictographic(象形拳) in Shaolin martial arts(武术).
“Born in China is a means to show off Chinese traditional culture,” director Lu told the reporter. “Chinese people have learned a lot from wild animals since ancient times. This is why I shot this nature -themed documentary.”
1.How is Born in China special according to the article?
A. It shows Chinese traditional culture through the lives of animals.
B. It’s considered the best nature-themed film to come out of China.
C. It’s the first big screen wildlife documentary ever made in China.
D. It shows audiences the lives of rare animals.
2.We can learn from the article that in Born in China, _______.
A. the story of the giant pandas shows the importance of exploring the world
B. the story of the golden monkeys was inspired by the Monkey King
C. the stories show how animals grow up to be independent
D. the story about snow leopards shows what people can learn from animals
3.What may be the best title for the text?
A. The stories of 3 animal families B. Symbols of China
C. Wildlife born in China D. Nature shows culture
假定你是某学校的学生会主席。最近，你发现有些学生经常以零食代替正餐。请你代表学生会用英语写一封倡议书，呼吁同学们养成健康的饮食习惯。
注意：
1、词数100左右；
2、开头和结尾已给出，但不计人总词数。
Dear friends
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Student Union
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（﹨）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Have you ever had a headache during a test? Have you ever been too worried about something that you have a headache or even can’t sleep at night? If so, then you know that stress is.
Not all stress is bad for you. Some kinds of stress can help you g
et things do better, like when you are running towards the finishing line or when you are being asked to give a speech to your class. Stress sometimes can help push you to make full preparation for a test. However, too much stress can result in anger, depression and other related problems, which we need to take serious.
There are many things in our life what might cause stress ------ having too much homework, taking a difficult test, and having economic problems.
It’s impossible to live in a life completely free of stress, so you should learn to deal with stress. The best way reduce stress is to have a balance life. If you get enough sleep, eat properly, take more exercise and have enough fun time, you’ll probably feel less stressed.
I have a friend named Monty who owns a horse ranch (牧场). One day, he told me a story.
“There was a young man who was the son of a horse ______. His father had to go from their house to ranch, training horses.”
“One day, the boy*s teacher asked the students to ______ a paper about what they wanted to be and do when they grew up. That night the boy finished a, seven-page paper ______ his dream of owning a horse ranch. He even drew a ______ of a 4, 000-square-foot house. But he ______ got a red F on the first page. The boy with the dream asked his teacher, ‘Why did I receive an F?’ The teacher said. This is a (n) ______ dream for a young boy like you. Owning a horse ranch needs a lot of ______. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher ______, ‘If you rewrite this paper with a more realistic dream, I will give you a more realistic ______.”’
“The boy went home and asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make your own ______.”’
“Finally, the boy ______ the same paper, making no change at all. He said, ‘You ______ keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”’
Monty then looked at me and said, “I tell you this story ______ you are sitting in ray 4, 000- square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch.” He continued, “Two summers ago, the ______ teacher brought 30 kids to camp out on ray ranch for a week. When the teacher was leaving, he said, ‘Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was a dream ______. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. ______ you had not given yours up.’’’
Don’t let anyone steal your dream.______ your heart, no matter what. You can achieve ______ you want in life if you have the ______ to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the ______ to see that plan through to the end.
1.A. keeper B. farmer C. driver D. trainer
2.A. copy B. write C. check D. recite
3.A. describing B. spreading C. realizing D. predicting
4.A. conclusion B. line C. circle D. picture
5.A. also B. just C. really D. still
6.A. unrealistic B. strange C. funny D. common
7.A. knowledge B. practice C. money D. creation
8.A. requested B. warned C. repeated D. added
9.A. opinion B. grade C. impression D. suggestion
10.A. decision B. promise C. standard D. living
11.A. set down B. gave out C. handed in D. tore up
12.A. must B. can C. should D. dare
13.A. when B. although C. until D. because
14.A. particular B. devoted C. experienced D. same
15.A. stealer B. maker C. holder D. leader
16.A. Hopefully B. Fortunately C. Surprisingly D. Sadly
17.A. Follow B. Search C. Take D. Feel
18.A. nothing B. however C. anything D. wherever
19.A. energy B. patience C. wisdom D. courage
20.A. lime B. will C. skill D. chance
