Here at the New York magazine offices, not far from where I sit, is a very long walkway. When you see someone at the other end of it whom you barely know, you may feel quite awkward, at least if you’re an awkward person (which I am). For the next 15-20 seconds, you know you’ll be walking toward this person. Do you nod? Smile? Ignore? Some combination of the above? It’s strangely, deeply unpleasant.
This isn’t a problem unique to our office. I’m sure at some point you have been walking down the street, noticed an acquaintance—that is, someone you’re not going to stop and chat with—and then dealt with the awkwardness of walking toward the person but having no idea exactly how to handle the approach. Eye contact is the worst part of these situations. Basic etiquette(礼节)says we should make eye contact with others when we notice them, but basic etiquette, not to mention common sense, also says that maintaining eye contact with someone you’re not engaged in a conversation with is unpleasant.
Can anything be done about this? I emailed a couple of eye-contact experts to find out. It’s useful to realize that this isn’t as big a problem everywhere as it is here in New York. Ronald Riggio, a professor at Claremont McKenna College, pointed out that cultural factors may worsen the horrordor(horror corridor走廊眼神交流恐惧). “New York culture is different from my Californian culture, and in New York the cultural norm is to not make eye contact on the street, ” says Ronald Riggio. “ But in California people usually make firm eye contact and smile warmly.”
Cultural or not, this is a problem for many of us. Jeremy Nicholson, a psychologist from Yale University, says preparation is part of the battle against eye-contact awkwardness. “Before entering a long hallway, or walking on the street, take a moment to center yourself,” says Jeremy Nicholson. “Take a breath and be mindful of the world around you ( not just the thoughts in your head or the things in your pocket).” He also suggests trying to scowl(怒视) less in general before any hallway or street encounters( This is a piece of advice that might be a challenge for New Yorkers). “Develop the habit of softening your eyes and keeping a smile on your face in public,” says Jeremy Nicholson. “Most of us stare intently at screens most of the day and scowl, which becomes our typical expression. But human interaction is easier with a more positive expression.”
So what should you do when you’re actually walking toward someone? “ It seems dishonest to avoid any eye contact if you know someone,” says Ronald Riggio. He offers what is a pretty straightforward system: “Make eye contact at 30 ft., and then break eye contact. Next, make brief eye contact again at 10 ft., and then look straight ahead.”
This approach makes a certain sort of sense: You acknowledge the person when you first notice him. Then you break off eye contact, so the situation doesn’t become awkward. And then you make eye contact again when you’re passing the person, because to pass the person without another acknowledgement would also feel strange.
Jeremy Nicholson suggests that getting better at these sorts of encounters could bring other benefits as well—not just the avoidance of awkwardness. “In fact, some of those interactions may end up being pleasant coincidences, promotion opportunities, or reunions with old friends,” says Jeremy Nicholson. “So, breaking the habits of hiding in our phones and tuning the world out with music may be the best thing we can do for both our social lives and professional careers.”
1.What is the author afraid of in the workplace?
A. Greeting his colleagues on the walkway.
B. Communicating while working in his office.
C. Coming across acquaintances and reacting badly.
D. Pretending to be friendly towards everyone at work.
2.The awkwardness of horrordor mainly lies in ________.
A. what topic to speak on B. how to make eye contact
C. what expression to put on D. how to avoid other’s attention
3.What does Jeremy Nicholson mean by saying “take a moment to center yourself”?
A. Have your attention concentrated. B. Try to be self-centered for a while.
C. Make yourself the center of the crowd. D. Regard yourself as the most important.
4.What does the author think of Ronald Riggio’s straightforward system?
A. Absolutely ideal. B. Highly complex. C. Hardly practical. D. Reasonable enough.
5.What does Jeremy Nicholson suggest doing to deal with horrordor?
A. Always wearing a happy smile. B. Taking every chance to avoid it.
C. Improving communication skills. D. Being open to your surroundings.
Kayaking is an activity enjoyed by many people of all ages. It requires little or no experience and nearly anyone of any skill level can participate. It’s most popular as a summertime sport, but it is also a great activity during the winter. Kayaking also seems relatively friendly to the environment; more so than speed boating or water skiing. Because a kayak doesn’t create large or frequent waves, require fuel, or let off polluted air, it is indeed a fairly safe activity for humans and wildlife alike.
Kayaking on freshwater lakes and streams creates little turbulence and therefore does not disturb fish or other aquatic life. Actually, the gentle paddling and movement of the kayak helps to bring seaweed to the surface, making for convenient snacking to the fish. However, there is a drawback to the all-you-can-buffet for your fishy friends. In addition to bringing food to the surface, kayaking also stirs up litter that’s been hiding beneath the waters. Some aquatic animals will mistake it for food. This could cause the animals to choke on the indigestible litter, leading to death. As hazardous as this sounds, it isn’t very likely for such an event to take place. Most litter in lakes and streams is found along the shoreline and settles in the sand and dirt, and isn’t likely to drift away to the main body of water. . And because kayaks do not have a motor, fish have no risk of getting caught underneath the boat.
One potential hazard that results from kayaking is human waste. This depends solely on where you plan to kayak, and if there are resources available (such as campsites) along the shoreline. When there are no facilities in sight, you’re paddling in the middle of a lake, and nature calls, then often you are given no choice but to expel your waste in the middle of the water. While human waste is considered biodegradable, it can be harmful when swallowed by fish. The only preventative measure is to avoid using the water as a restroom. Some public lakes and streams have taken steps to preserve the quality of the water by requiring permits for kayaking. This won’t ease a human waste problem, but does help regulate entry into the lake and prevent it from becoming overcrowded.
As an important factor to remember when kayaking is that you are a guest in someone else’s home. You may not be greeted by anyone or be able to kick up your feet and watch TV, but the water is home to many aquatic animals and wildlife. Just as you would not throw trash on the floor or destroy the home of another, you shouldn’t do it outdoors either. Keep all trash with you in your kayak and properly dispose of it after you return to shore. By doing your part, you will help doing your part, you will help keep kayaking a safe and enjoyable activity for yourself and the environment.
1.Which of the following statements is True about Kayaking according to the passage?
A. Young people’s enjoyment of kayaking exceeds that of other people.
B. Water skiing has more negative effects on the environment than Kayaking.
C. Usually, kayaking is only practiced in the summer.
D. Whether you can kayak depends on resources available along the shoreline.
2.What does “this” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A. Providing aquatic animals with an all-you-can-buffet.
B. Stirring up litter to the surface of the water.
C. That aquatic animals choke to death because of eating the litter.
D. That most litter in lakes and streams is found along the shoreline and settles.
3.Which sentence can be put in the blank in paragraph 3?
A. Because of their adaptability, kayaks can be useful for other outdoor activities such as diving, fishing, and search and rescue during floods.
B. Unlike boats operated by motor and fuel, kayaks pose little or no harm to the fish swimming beneath.
C. Contrary to what people may assume, there are a number of unique styles of kayaking based on the type and speed of water involved.
D. Sea kayaking is a potentially hazardous pursuit, partly because of the nature of the environment in which we operate.
4.Which is the best title of the passage?
A. The environmental impacts of kayaking—is it dangerous?
B. The most popular water sports—kayaking
C. Advantages and disadvantages of kayaking
D. How to keep kayaking a safe and enjoyable activity?
5.Which word or expression is closest in meaning to “biodegradable”?
A. Recycled. B. Environmentally harmless. C. Poisonous. D. Sustainable.
In Weapons of Math Destruction, data scientist Cathy O’Neil explains how big data exists everywhere in our lives, and that we hardly even notice it until it affects us directly. One application that has become particularly common is the use of algorithms (算法) to evaluate job performance.
She tells the story of Sarah Wysocki, a teacher who, despite being widely respected by her students, their parents and her colleagues, was fired because she performed poorly according to an algorithm. When an algorithm rates you poorly, you are immediately branded as an underperformer and there is rarely an opportunity to appeal against those judgments. In many cases, methods are considered secrets and no details are shared. And data often seems convincing.
As a matter of fact, the belief that school performance in America is declining is based on a data mistake. A Nation at Risk is the report that rang the initial alarm bells about declining SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) scores. Yet if they had taken a closer look, they would have noticed that the scores in each smaller group were increasing. The reason for the decline in the average score was that more disadvantaged kids were taking the test. However, due to the data mistake, teachers as a whole were judged to be failing.
Wall Street is famous for its mathematicians who build complex models to predict market movements and develop business plans. These are really smart people. Even so, it is not at all uncommon for their models to fail. The key difference between those models and many of the ones being used these days is that Wall Street traders lose money when their data models go wrong. However, as O’Neil points out in her book, the effects of widely-used machine-driven judgments are often not borne by those who design the algorithms, but by everyone else.
As we increasingly rely on machines to make decisions, we need to ask these questions: What assumptions are there in your model? What hasn’t been taken into account? How are we going to test the effectiveness of the conclusions? Clearly, something has gone terribly wrong. When machines replace humans to make a judgment, we should hold them to a high standard. We should know how the data was collected. And when numbers lie, we should stop listening to them.
1.What does the example of Sarah Wysocki mainly show?
A. The drawback of big data. B. The popularity of big data.
C. The new challenge teachers face. D. The misunderstanding about algorithms.
2.Widely-used machine-driven judgments ________.
A. never make any economic loss
B. can lead to many innocent victims
C. are more complicated than Wall Street’s data models
D. can go wrong more easily than Wall Street’s data models
3.What does the author suggest in the last paragraph?
A. Making decisions without machines. B. Making sure that the data are reliable.
C. Making the algorithms more effective. D. Making the data and algorithms public.
The New Old Age
October 4, 2017
New York City
Age discrimination (歧视) may be the last prejudice to still be tolerated in mainstream American culture. Older people are usually kept out of TV screens, advertising billboards and other popular-culture areas. Yet aging athletes, scientists, musicians and many more have proven time and time again that you can age and still do great things. What will it take for the rest of society to catch up with this reality? The Atlantic’s New Old Age Forum will invite top experts on aging for a full discussion of age discrimination and they will explore relevant issues ranging from aging in place to long life and work.
10:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
New York Academy of Sciences
7 World Trade Center
250 Greenwich Street, 40th floor
New York, NY 10007
For more information, please contact Grace Harvey at gharvey@theatlantic.com.
Presented by
Atlantic LIVE
Speakers
James Hamblin, senior editor, The Atlantic
Ellen Cole, professor of psychology, The Sage Colleges; co-author, Women Thriving in their 8th Decade
Susan Donley, publisher and managing director, Next Avenue
Joyce Jed, founder and president, Good Neighbors of Park Slope
Kathryn Lawler, executive director, Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement
Elizabeth White, author, Fifty-Five, Unemployed, and Faking Normal
Alison Stewart, contributing editor, The Atlantic
1.Age discrimination in mainstream American culture mainly refers to ________.
A. old people’s being abused B. old people’s negative image
C. old people’s being overlooked D. old people’s unemployment
2.What do we know about the New Old Age Forum?
A. The discussion is between old people. B. There are many lectures by scientists.
C. The speakers work for The Atlantic. D. It is held indoors in New York.
“Mom, I don’t want to go!” In Inchon Airport, people were ______ moving as always. But when the girl cried out, people stopped and turned towards the ______. Her mother ______ the girl’s hands that tightly held her sleeve, but everyone could see the mother’s eyes holding tears. That girl ______ to leave was me. As I ______ let go of my mother’s sleeve, I also let go of my 15 years’ being a little girl, _________ under my mother’s skirt in Korea.
After a 13-hour flight, I arrived at the Culver Academies, where I spent the last four of my _______ years. After unpacking my luggage, I sat on my bed and had a good ______ until sunset. I felt myself fading in the ______ In America, there was nobody doing my laundry, ______ me when I returned from school. I didn’t understand the Greek mythology Mr. Davies spoke about. There was only me in America.
One day after school, on my way back to my ______, I saw a lonely duck stuck between rocks, fluttering his wings. I stopped and ______ that duck, sure he wouldn’t make any ______, and would stay between the rocks forever. Surprisingly, that duck got himself out of that _______, despite the chance of getting hurt, and flew away to the sky. I sat on the ground and smiled widely ______ I saw myself flapping my wings and struggling to get out of the broken rocks. It was me bravely _______, energetically going forward to my dream, not ______ to be hurt.
I went back to my dorm as always. Girls were ______ and chatting as always. But that day, I didn’t drop my ______; I didn’t miss the chance to say hello to strangers.
“Hi, I’m Min-Kyung, a ________ girl from Korea.”
The sky was high, the wind was warm, trees were green, and I flew.
1.A. carefully B. happily C. steadily D. busily
2.A. argument B. stage C. scene D. plane
3.A. left off B. shook off C. held out D. threw up
4.A. brave B. unwilling C. free D. able
5.A. eventually B. frequently C. similarly D. occasionally
6.A. ordering B. waiting C. struggling D. hiding
7.A. hard B. common C. teenage D. old
8.A. memory B. cry C. meal D. game
9.A. noise B. world C. darkness D. picture
10.A. greeting B. introducing C. visiting D. protecting
11.A. bedroom B. dorm C. workplace D. home
12.A. encouraged B. saved C. treated D. observed
13.A. trouble B. decision C. difference D. attempt
14.A. ground B. box C. base D. break
15.A. because B. so C. or D. though
16.A. escaping B. digging C. guiding D. helping
17.A. preparing B. fearing C. pretending D. admitting
18.A. taught B. served C. requested D. gathered
19.A. food B. note C. head D. book
20.A. new B. wise C. kind D. skillful
—You’re rather energetic today. What’s going on?
—Oh, ________. I think I’ve had a few too many coffees.
A. nothing really B. no end C. no problem D. nothing serious
