Gallows humor（黑色幽默）seem like a mistake, or at least in poor taste. But psychologists say that gallows humor can be an important way to relieve stress. “Humor makes you feel in control and it can give you that feeling that everything is okay even when it's not,” says James M. Jones, a psychology professor at the University of Delaware.
Psychologists say that just because you're laughing doesn't mean you’re wasting time. Occasional teasing among colleagues, particularly if it revolves around things associated with the job, can boost creativity, departmental cohesiveness（凝聚力）and performance.
“There are a lot of stressors out there,” says Ed Dunkelblau, a psychologist with the Institute for Emotionally Intelligent Learning in Chicago. “But gallows humor is a way of making difficult things a little less difficult.”
This is true as long as the humor is used for the right purpose. The main point of it should be inspiring people --- not laughing at them. “Anything that would lift morale（士气）in terms of the company would be good humor,” says Thierry Guedj, a professor of business and psychology at Boston University. “Before you say or do anything, think about, ‘How is this helping my employees’ morale?’”
You want to give your employees and co-workers a sense of belonging, so don’t make observations that are aggressive. Most obviously, Dr Guedj says, don’t make comments about people’s physical appearance, or faith. If you have any doubt, it's appropriate, don't go through with it.
Or you can take aim at the one person you know won't be offended（冒犯）:Yourself. “If there's going to be a joke or story, it should be you,” Mr. Dunkelblau says. For example, if you're a marketing manager reviewing a failed campaign that you led, begin with a line like, “The guy who gave permission to this deal might just be looking for work next week.”
“People with the ability to laugh at themselves can give other people permission to laugh at themselves too,” Mr. Jones says. “And if you can laugh at yourself, you feel better about yourself.”
1.According to the text, gallows humor has the following functions EXCEPT ________.
A. reducing pressure
B. improving performance
C. making people more creative
D. leading to a big mistake
2.What is Ed Dunkelblau’s attitude towards gallows humor?
A. Positive. B. Negative.
C. Neutral. D. Uncertain.
3.Which of the following would Dr. Guedj most probably agree with?
A. Gallows humor is the basic source of morale.
B. Gallows humor allows people to laugh at others.
C. Gallows humor may sometimes be used for the wrong purpose.
D. Anything that may lift morale can be called gallows humor.
4.When people use gallows humor, they should ________.
A. observe who is aggressive
B. show a sense of belonging
C. doubt about the result of humors
D. try to avoid irritating others
5.What can we infer from the text?
A. People tend to laugh at others rather than themselves.
B. Laughing at ourselves can help relieve the stress of others.
C. People can’t avoid offending others with gallows humor.
D. People who laugh at themselves are hard to be friends with.
China's "Little People's Kingdom" is a theme park, where little people dance and sing in fairytale costumes, drawing both curious groups and criticism. The theme park, near Kunming City in Yunnan Province, employs 108 dwarfs from across the country, who gather on an artificial hillside twice a day to dance and sing for tourists. And all pretend to live in a tiny hilltop village.
The guests can watch shows like comedies, group dance and acrobatics. The show's centerpiece, a funny performance of Swan Lake, sees performers dressed in special pink costumes and pretending to be little swans.” The first time I performed it (Swan Lake)I felt a bit embarrassed. I had never worn a skirt like that before. But later, once I got used to it, I found I could do it very well,” said Chen Ruan, 21 ,from Hunan Province who joined the park when it opened.
For many of the employees, the park offers a rare opportunity to find work. As unlikely as it seems for men and women doing daily funny performances of Swan Lake, they think that it feels good to live in dormitories that look like caves while living with people with similar experiences. In addition, the life facilities in the park are made according to their special needs. Besides, performers in the park earn 2,000 yuan a month, around twice the salary of a high school graduate.
The founder of the park, Chen Ming, made his fortune by producing electronics and investing, but said he had always wanted to help the disadvantaged groups in the community. People, like human right activists for the disabled, think that such a park only encourages the discrimination against little people. The only requirement for participants to be employed at the theme park is to be shorter than 51 inches and be able to take care of themselves in daily life. The youngest employee is 18,and the oldest 48.
1.According to Chen Ming, he founded the park to _____.
A. do good for society
B. invest money and increase his fortune
C. create a ballet show of Swan Lake
D. let people know more about the dwarfs
2.After living in the "Little People's Kingdom" for some time, many employees feel _____.
A. discriminated B. boring
C. embarrassed D. satisfied
3.Which qualifications should the employees in the theme park meet?
a．Having the ability to look after themselves.
b．No taller than 51 inches.
c．Aged between 18 and 48.
d．Being a high school graduate.
A. a,b. B. a,c.
C. b,d. D. c,d.
4.What can be learned from the text?
A. The employees perform for tourists in nature.
B. The employees perform twice a day.
C. The 108 employees come from all over the world.
D. The park lies in the city of Kunming.
5.What is the author's attitude towards the park?
A. Positive. B. Negative.
C. Objective. D. Doubtful
Body language is quiet, secret and most powerful language of all.
In fact, non-verbal communication takes up about fifty percent of what we usually mean. And body language is especially important, when we try to communicate across cultures.
Indeed, what is called body language is so much a part of us that it’s actually often unnoticed. And misunderstandings happen as a result of it. For example, different cultures treat the distance between people differently. Northern Europeans usually do not like having bodily contact, even with friends. And certainly not with strangers. People from the Latin American countries, on the other hand, touch each other quite a lot. So it’s possible that in conversation it may look like a Latino is following a Norwegian (挪威人)all over the room. The Latino, trying to express friendship, will keep moving closer. The Norwegian, very probably seeing this as rude behavior, will keep backing away, which the Latino will in return regarded as coldness.
Obviously, a great deal is going on when people talk. And only a part of it is in the words themselves. And when parties are from different cultures, there’s a strong possibility of misunderstanding. But whatever the situation is, the best advice is to obey the golden rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated.
1.You may find the passage in _____.
A. a science magazine B. a guide book
C. a sports newspaper D. a story book
2.The underlined word “this” in paragraph 3 refers to _____.
A. the Norwegian keeps moving closer
B. the Latino follows the Norwegian
C. the Norwegian keeps backing away
D. the Latino’s way of expressing friendship
3.Misunderstanding of body languages always happens because of the _____.
A. languages B. friends
C. cultures D. countries
4.Which of the following is true?
A. People around the world have the same body languages.
B. Body language takes up about 50% of our communication.
C. Body language is the most important in our communication.
D. Body language is important when trying to communicate across cultures
5.If a foreign friend gives a hug to you, you should_____.
A. shake hands with him B. give him a hug
C. refuse him D. kiss him
请阅读下面图文信息，并按照要求用英语写一篇120词左右的文章。
CCTV曾播出过这则公益广告：一位母亲每天晚上下班以后先给婆婆洗脚，然后……
【写作内容】
1.简要描述图文中的内容：
2.分析父母的言行对孩子产生的影响；
3.联系实际，谈谈你该如何回报父母？
【写作要求】
1.文章开头已写好，不计入总词数；
2.作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3.不必写标题。
【参考词汇】
1.婆婆mother-in-law n.
2.盆basin n.
【评分标准】
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
CCTV has broadcasted such a public service advertisement.
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The German company said 5,000 of the "Futurecraft 4D" shoes will be available at retail stores in the fall arid winter.As it is pressed for time,it still plans to start mass producing them next year and expects to have made more than 100,000 pairs by the end of 2018.The company would not disclose where the shoes will be manufactured.
Adidas cooperated with Silicon Valley-based start up Carbon to create the shoe,which uses a new technology called digital light synthesis（合成）.
Although the common 3D printed materials are often rigid（僵硬的）,the new materials are flexible with Silicon Valley-based start up Carbon's technology.
The technology works by using UV lasers to project a pattern for a midsole（鞋底夹层）liquid.It tums the liquid into a solid and the result is a flexible,but more durable midsole.
The technology could make the most of the time and money to produce the shoes in large quantities which may be loved by humans in the future.
"We can produce up to 100 times faster than 3D printing and additive manufacturing processes,"an Adidas spokesperson told CNNTech.
Title: Adidas just debuted its newest shoe | |
Passage outline | Supporting details |
Plans of the German company | ●The shoes will come into the1.in the fall and winter. ●The company intends to start mass producing them next year,2.to have made more than 100,000 pairs by the end of 2018. |
Creation of the "Futurecraft 4D" shoes | ●Adidas cooperates with Silicon Valley-based startup Carbon to create the shoe. ●Rigid3.the common 3D printed materials are,the new materials are flexible. |
4.of the technology | ●With the technology,the new midsole is more durable. ●The technology could male full5.of time and money to produce shoes which perhaps are liked by human beings. |
1.这项活动旨在增强人们的环保意识。(mean to)
The campaign was_______people's awareness of environmental protection.
2.政府呼吁每个人注意即将到来的沙尘暴。(appeal to)
The government is_______pay attention to the coming sandstorm.
3.当你爸爸回来的时候，请把这封信转交给他。(pass...on)
Please_______to your father when he comes back.
4.我们明天是否去观光旅行将取决于天气。(sightseeing)
Whether we will_______tomorrow will depend on the weather.
5.会员的支持对于这个社团来说是非常重要的。(importance)
The support of our members is,_______the Association.
