When I was quite young, I discovered that somewhere inside the telephone lived an amazing
person - "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know.
One day while my mother was out, I hit my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but
there was no one home to give me any sympathy. I walked around the house, finally arriving at the telephone! Quickly, I called “Information Please" and told her what happened. She told me to open the icebox and hold a little piece of ice to my finger.
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. When my pet bird died, I told
"Information Please" the sad story. She tried to comfort me, she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone, “How do you spell ‘grateful’? ". All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was 9, we moved to Boston.
A few years later, on my way to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an
hour or so between planes. Without thinking, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information, please."
Surprisingly, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information." I hadn't planned on
this but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell ‘grateful’?"
There was a long pause. Then came the soft-spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have
healed by now." I laughed. "So it's really still you," I said, "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time." I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again. "Please do," she said, "Just ask for Sally."
Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered me. I was told that Sally
passed away five weeks before.
Before I could hang up she told me that Sally left a message for me—“Tell him I still say
there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.” I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched
today?
59. What does “Information, Please” refer to in the passage?
A. An amazing girl.
B. A special kind of telephone.
C. A communication system.
D. A service that helps telephone users.
60. What happened to the little boy one day when he was at home alone?
A. He was amused by the telephone.
B. He hurt his finger with a hammer.
C. He found an amazing telephone.
D. He got a piece of ice from an icebox.
61. What did “Information, Please” give the little boy whenever he was in trouble?
A. Information and conversation.
B. Good memories and happiness.
C. Sympathy and information.
D. Friendship and cheers.
62. When did the author get in touch with “Information, Please” again after he moved to
Boston?
A. When he was in trouble on his way to college.
B. When his plane stopped in Seattle for half an hour.
C. When he went back to Seattle to visit his sister.
D. Three months later after he moved to Boston.
When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But what are these really, and how do they operate?
Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things. If this is even possible, it is short-term. If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they must, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term. They will also experience fear.
Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function(功能) at his or her best. If they connect you with this emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively. Fear has no place in leadership.
The way we affect people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day, or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation(积极性). Today’s work place is all about relationships.
Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they’re recognized and valued as a human being as well as a worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like. Leaders understand the way things work. They know money is not the only most motivating factor in the work life of most people.
The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of Emotional Intelligence — knowing your own emotions, and how to deal with them, and those of others. Developing your emotional intelligence is the best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills.An employee may have a feeling of fear in the work place when ______.
A.he is forced to do things | B.he cannot work at his best |
C.he feels his brain shut down | D.he thinks of his work as too heavy |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.People like to connect leadership with fear. |
B.Working conditions affect people’s physical health. |
C.Good relationship is the key to business success. |
D.Smart people are more functional in the work place. |
To positively affect employees, a leader should first of all ______.
A.provide better suggestions | B.develop his own personality |
C.give his employees a pay raise | D.hide his own emotion of fear |
Good leadership is mainly seen in a leader’s ability to ______.
A.provide a variety of projects for employees |
B.help raise employees’ living standards |
C.give employees specific instructions |
D.deal wisely with employees’ emotions |
CBC is a famous air company which has over twenty planes carrying passengers and goods, flying along 12 fixed lines all over the world. Its service is very good but some passengers are still not satisfied with it and that is why in 2008 and 2009 the company received letters of complaints from consumers or passengers who pointed out over a dozen kinds of problems which are divided in groups in the following table. Those about passengers’ things carried by the plane are Baggage problems. Consumer service refers to service work which passengers are not satisfied with. Over sales of seats are about the fact that more seats are sold and as a result the plane is too crowded to be safe. Refund(退票)problems appear when passengers fail to receive the money paid back to them because of what they have lost. Fares are problems about the price of tickets.
Consumer Complaints Received by the CBC
Category |
2008 |
2009 |
Flight problems |
20.2% |
22.1% |
Baggage |
18.3% |
21.8% |
Customer service |
3.1% |
11.3% |
Over sales of seats |
10.5% |
11.8% |
Refund problems |
10.1% |
8.1% |
Fares |
6.4% |
6.0% |
Reservation & Ticketing |
5.8% |
5.6% |
Tours |
3.3% |
2.3% |
Smoking |
3.2% |
2.9% |
Advertising |
1.2% |
1.01% |
Credit |
1.0% |
0.8% |
Special passengers |
0.9% |
0.9% |
Others |
6.0% |
5.3% |
Total Number of Complaints |
2,998 |
1,792 |
By about what percent did the total number of complaints decrease from 2008 to 2009?
A.40% | B.60% | C.75% | D.100% |
If the circle graphs below show total consumer complaints for 2008, which graph shows a dark part that is about Flight problems and Refund problems together?
A. | B. | C. | D.![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
From the passage we can know that _____.
A.customers are not satisfied with CBC |
B.sometimes CBC sells more tickets than its plane’s most desirable seats |
C.CBC has more than twenty planes which fly to all the capital cities of the world |
D.customers can only buy tickets with ready money |
Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer (扫盲志愿者). The training I received, though excellent, didn't tell me how it was to work with a real student, however. When I began to discover what other people’s lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading.
My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three children. In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn't know which bus to take. When I told her I would get her a bus schedule, she told me it would not help because she couldn't read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket because she couldn't always remember what she needed. Also, she could only recognize items by sight, so if the product had a different label, she would not recognize it as the product she wanted.
As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie’s self-confidence. She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket. After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt. At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son, Tony, a shy first grader, with his reading. I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before.
As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did.What did the writer do last summer?
A.She worked in the supermarket. |
B.She helped someone to learn to read. |
C.She helped some single mothers. |
D.She was trained by a literacy volunteer. |
Why didn't Marie go to the supermarket by bus at first?
A.Because she liked to walk to the supermarket. |
B.Because she didn't have a bus schedule. |
C.Because she couldn't afford the bus ticket. |
D.Because she couldn't find the right bus. |
How did Marie use to find the goods she wanted in the supermarket?
A.She knew where the goods were in the supermarket. |
B.She asked others to take her to the right place. |
C.She managed to find the goods by their looks. |
D.She remembered the names of the goods. |
Which of the statements is TRUE about Marie?
A.She could do many things she had not been able to before. |
B.She was able to read stories with the help of her son. |
C.She decided to continue her studies in school. |
D.She helped to build up my self-confidence. |
Traditional surgical procedures require surgeons to make large incisions(伤口) in a patient’s body in order to gain access to the internal organs. It was once common for heart surgeons, who perform highly specialized and complex procedures, to make long incisions in a patient’s chest and then split the breastbone to reach the heart. Patients who undergo surgery are often at the risk of infection, as bacteria can infect the cut in the skin. In addition, there is often a lengthy recovery period.
A surgical technique known as “keyhole surgery” has become more common in recent years. In general, the surgeon will make a couple of small incisions around the area where the operation is going to be performed. Tubes are pushed into the holes, and a tiny camera, which is called an endoscope, is put into the body. The camera is attached to a large monitor screen that is positioned so that the doctor can see it while he performs the operation. In addition to the camera, doctors also push their tiny surgical instruments through the tubes. The awkward part of keyhole surgery is that it is counterintuitive; that is to say, if a surgeon wants to move the tool to the left, he or she must push it to the right.
Other advancements in technology are also being used today in the OR (operation room). A new machine called the “da Vinci Surgical System” has been tested in hospitals in the U.S.. Unlike keyhole surgery, the da Vinci’s robot’s moving parts are designed to imitate the natural hand and wrist movement of a surgeon, thus providing better control and sensitivity. The system is controlled by a surgeon from a console(控制台). Sitting at a console a few feet from the patient, the surgeon can perform an operation by holding and moving highly sensitive pads that enable him or her to control the instruments. The area of the body on which the surgeon is working is enlarged on a screen, which is attached to the console. This gives surgeons a realistic three-dimensional view of the area — similar to what they would see during a traditional surgical procedure.
Although the da Vinci Surgical System is undergoing some trials for some procedures, it has been welcomed as revolutionary by many surgeons. Patients with serious illnesses must still undergo major surgery, but the smaller incisions and less invasive procedures typically mean that a shorter recovery time is needed. In some cases, the patient’s stay in the hospital has been cut in half when the da Vinci Surgical System was used. On the downside, some operations have taken up to fifty minutes longer because surgeons are inexperienced at using the new technology. As surgeons become more familiar with the machines, the time needed for surgical procedures is likely to decrease.What can be learned about the traditional surgery according to the passage?
A.The cost of the traditional surgery is very high. |
B.It often leaves a large wound in a person’s body. |
C.Long incisions are made in a patient’s chest. |
D.The incision is often infected after the operation. |
Which of the following is one DISADVANTAGE of keyhole surgery?
A.It requires the use of long, thin tools and a tiny camera. |
B.The doctor can not view the inside of the patient’s body clearly. |
C.The direction in which a doctor moves the surgical tools is reversed. |
D.An endoscope has to be inserted into the patient’s body in advance. |
The da Vinci Surgical System differs from keyhole surgery in that _______.
A.requires that a surgeon make more small incisions on a patient |
B.reduces the amount of time it takes to perform a surgical procedure |
C.allows the surgeon to use the surgical instruments more sensitively |
D.eliminates the need for surgeons to make large incisions on patients |
The passage mainly tells the reader ________.
A.the challenges brought about by new technology |
B.the benefits and drawbacks of the da Vinci Surgical System |
C.the reflections on the development in medical science |
D.the application of new technologies in modern surgery |
The Campus Bookstore
Bookie’s, the campus bookstore is located at the Campus Activity Centre, main floor.
Bookie’s is the only place in Kamloops to buy your course textbooks. There is a booklist in the bookstore listing the books required for each course. If you need help in finding your course textbooks, ask any of the staff in the bookstore.
There are more than just textbooks at bookie’s. They carry a wide variety of stationary, art supplies and gift items. You can also buy telephone cards, postage stamps and bus passes. You must show your student card to get a discount for the bus passes.
TEXTBOOK RETURNS
1) Do I need my receipt to return books?
Yes.
2) How long do I have to return books?
Books purchased must be returned within ten working days of the date of the purchase.
3) What if I wrote my name in the book?
Unfortunately, we can not give you a full refund for books not in mint condition as publishers will not accept this for credit.
4) What happens if I miss the last day for return?
We may purchase the text book as “used” in accordance with our Buyback program.
5)What if I discover that my book has missing pages half way through the semester?
We will replace the defective books, new or used, for a like copy of that title. Cash refunds are not given for defective books returned outside the normal return dates. BUYBACKS
1) What books do you buy back?
We buy back all current edition textbooks. If we do not use them at UCC, we buy them back according to the value established in the North American marketplace.
2) How much do I get for my books?
If bookie’s is buying the book for use at UCC, you will receive 50% of the current new retail price. In order to receive optimum buyback price, discs and supplements must accompany the book.
3) What happens to the books that I sell?
Books for bookie’s are processed by our staff and sold to students at 75% of the new retail price.
4) What condition do my books need to be in?
Books should be in good condition, meaning that the cover is still attached and all pages intact. Highlighting, notes and markings on the pages are perfectly fine. Workbooks and study guides are generally not purchased back unless they are free of all markings. No sales receipt is required for these books.
Bookstore Hours
Monday–Thursday 9:00am–6:00pm
Friday 9:00am–5:00pm
Saturday and Sunday Closed The intended readers of this passage are _______.
A.Book dealers | B.University students | C.Publishers | D.Campus staff |
The underlined word “defective” can best be replaced by ________.
A.latest | B.adapted | C.new | D.faulty |
Bookie’s will not buy back your used textbook if _______.
A.the cover of the book is missing | B.there are markings and notes on the pages |
C.you have lost the sales receipt | D.you miss the last day for return |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A.Bookie’s is a place for students to buy their course textbooks. |
B.Student cards are needed to get a discount for the textbooks. |
C.Books bought in bookie’s can be returned within ten working days. |
D.Books bought back are processed by the staff and sold to students. |