I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence (吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.
At the first home, the son of the deceased (已故的) woman said to me, “If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow , she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”
You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out badly, they believe that the opposite course — keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation — would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?
There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.
The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.
A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to its tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.The author had to hold the two women’s funerals probably because .
| A．he wanted to comfort the two families | B．he was an official from the community |
| C．he had great pity for the deceased | D．he was priest of the local church |
People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because .
| A．they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow |
| B．they believe that they were responsible |
| C．they had neglected the natural course of events |
| D．they didn’t know things often turn out in the opposite direction |
According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that .
| A．everything in the world is predetermined |
| B．the world can be interpreted in different ways |
| C．there’s an explanation for everything in the world |
| D．we have to be sensible in order to understand the world |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Life and death is an unsolved mystery. |
| B．Every story should have a happy ending. |
| C．Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault. |
| D．In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away . |
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个
最恰当的单词。
注意：每个空格只填1个单词。[
Interviewing someone for a job is not as easy as it looks. First, as the interviewer, you're tasked with finding the person who will not only do the job well but also fit in well with the other employees.
You have to make an evaluation of abstract qualities that can't be found on a résumé. Because you have to repeat the process for every potential employee, you end up asking question after question, applicant after applicant.
Still, interviewers need to be told something，“What is your biggest weakness？” is not a good question. It just isn't.
Now, job seekers have to understand t
hat interviewers want to find some way to know what makes an applicant different from others. Asking questions that are seemingly impossible to answer is one way to see who can think creatively. Then what may be a proper way to respond to such a question?
Honesty, with a twist(新手法)
“‘What are your three strengths and three weaknesses？’ is a classic, but not too many people know how to answer this，” says Kenneth C. Wisnefski, founder and CEO of WebiMax, an online marketing company.
“As an interviewer, we want to hear strengths that describe initiative(主动性), motivation and dedication. The best way to respond is to include these qualities into specific ‘personal statements’．”
“Similarly, weaknesses should be positioned as a strength that can benefit the employer.”
“I like to hear applicants state an exaggerated strength, and put an interesting twist on it. An example of this is, ‘My initiative is so strong, that sometimes I take on too many projects at a time.’”
This answer leads with a strength that employers want—initiative—and still acknowledges that you're not perfect.
Although you might consider this acknowledgement too honest, it works because it proves you're being honest.
Honesty, with progress
When you consider what your weaknesses are, think about how you have attempted to overcome them. No one is perfect, so pretending that you are a perfectionist will come across as insincere.
Debra Davenport, author of “Career Shuffle”， believes citing(引用) examples are the best approach.
“My preferred response for this question is to tell the truth without damaging the applicant's image.” Davenport explains.
“A better response might be, ‘I've had some challenges with worklife balance in the past and I realize that a life out of balance isn't good for me, my family or my employer. I've taken the time to learn better time and project management, and I'm also committed to my overall wellness.’”
The answer adds some dimension to the question, and proves you're thought beyond the answer. You've actually changed your behavior to address the situation, even if you haven't completely overcome the weakness.
Put yourself in the interviewer's shoes
However you decide to answer, Debra Yergen, author of “Creating Job Security Resource Guide”， recommends job seekers imagine themselves sitting on the other side of the desk.
“If you were doing the hiring, what would you be looking for? What would be your motivation for asking certain questions? Who whould you be trying to weed out? If you can empathize(共鸣) with the interviewer, you can better understand what they want and need, and then frame your qualifications to meet their needs for the position you seek.”
Once you consider what the goal of the question is and figure out what your honest answer is, you'll be able to give the best possible answer to a tricky question.
| Job Interviews |
|
| Tasks for a job interviewer |
☆ Find the person both doing the job well and (71)________ along well with other employees. ☆ (72)________ abstract qualities of applicants by asking one question after another. |
| (73)________ to interviewees for replying to a tricky question |
☆ Understand that the interviewers want to (74)________ between applicants and that asking a question seemingly impossible to answer is one way to see an applicant's (75)________． ☆ Be (76)________ and inventive when asked about your weaknesses, and respond properly. ☆ Never (77)________ you are perfect, which may be believed to be insincere. ☆ Try to show that you've changed a lot (78)________ you haven't completely get rid of your weaknesses. ☆ Put yourself in the interviewer's shoes and have a better (79)________ of their needs for the job. |
| Conclusion |
☆ With the goal of the question (80)________ into account and the honest answer in your mind, you will be able to give the best possible answer. |
[l] Imagine waking up to a world where China is the world's leading superpower, astronauts are busy walking on Mars and 
a brand new political party is ruling the UK? Well, this could be die reality in 14 years if some of the predictions of 100,000 Britons are correct．
[2]The survey asked the people of the UK how they pictured the world in 2025．
[3] Nearly half believe Prince William will be crowned King of England instead of Prince Charles although one in six think the monarchy （君主制度） will have been abolished．A quarter of those surveyed believe a new party will form the government in 2025 although the same number of people think t
hat Labor will be back in power．
[4]On the world stage 60 per cent think China is set to become the world's leading superpower, while a third of us think Great Britain will be made up of four self- governed countries．
[5] Meanwhile technology will have come on in leaps and bounds．Four percent are optimistic that there will be a permanent human base on Mars while one in ten expect a colony of humans to be living in space．More than half questioned in the MSN study predict people will watch all their favorite shows via TV sets hooked up to the Intern
et．Two - thirds believe cosmetic surgery（整容手术） will have become
common place and one in six think we will look after our own health using computers rather than.
[6]But at least we can amuse ourselves with the daily comings and goings of pop singers and reality stars, as more than half thinks that “celebrity（明星）”will be a registered profession.What is the main idea of the text?(less than 10 words)
According to the passage, finish the following sentence, （less than 4 words）
The majority of people questioned in the survey believed that China would play___________in the world in 14 years．Fill in the blank in Paragraph 5 with proper words, （less than 6 words）
What did more than 30 percent of the people surveyed think about the UK? （less than 10 words）
What does the underlined word in the third paragraph refer to? （less than 8 words）
In the old days of publishing, getting your manuscript into the hands of an editor often meant mailing the unsolicited finished product to the offices of literary agents or editors, where it would receive a cursory look from an editorial assistant — or none at all.
A modern version of the slush pile is the online “writing community,” a Web site where aspiring novelists can post their ideas, writing samples or manuscripts and open them to comments and reviews from strangers. On Tuesday Penguin Group USA, the publisher of Tom Clancy, Kathryn Stockett and Nora Roberts, will unveil its own venture, Book Country, a Web site for writers of genre fiction. In its initial phase Book Country will allow writers to post their own work — whether it’s an o
pening chapter or a full manuscript — and receive critiques from other users, who can comment on points like character development, pacing and dialogue. Later this summer the site will generate revenue by allowing users to self-publish their books for a fee by ordering printed copies. (The books will bear the stamp of Book Country
, not Penguin, and the site is considered a separate operation from Penguin.) The site will also explain the business of finding an agent, marketing and promoting a book, using social media and handling digital and subsidiary rights.
Penguin hopes the site will attract agents, editors and publishers scouting for new talent, and allow writers to produce work with more polish and direction than they could otherwise. The project has been spearheaded by Molly Barton, the director of business development for Penguin and the president of Book Country. “One of the things I remember really clearly from my early editorial experiences was this feeling of guilt,” Ms. Barton said in an interview. “I would read submissions and not be able to help the writer because we couldn’t find a place for them on the list that I was acquiring for. And I kept feeling that there was something we could do on the Internet to really help writers each other.” How did an author send unsolicited finished products to editors in the old days of publishing? _______________________________________________
The online “writing community” is where aspiring novelists post their ideas and ___________________________________________________________________________
The site uses social media and
digital and subsidiary rights to _______________________.[来What’s the real purpose of Penguin creating the web site? _______________________________________________
| A. Using expensive testing equipment B. Staffing a modern hospital C. Testing becoming a great help D. Cost of medical accidents E. Cost of training medical workers F. Measures of reducing medical costs |
_____________________
Physicians’ fees are only one reason for rising health costs in the United States. Medical research has produced many tests to diagnose, or discover, patients’ illness. Physicians usually feel obliged to order enough tests to rule out all likely causes of a patient’s symptoms. A routine laboratory bill for blood tests can easily be more than $100. _____________________
Sophisticated new machines have been developed to enable physicians to scan body organs with a clarity never before possible. One technique involves the use of ultrasound – sound waves beyond the frequencies that human beings can hear – to produce images. Others use computers to capture and analyze images produced by X-rays or magnetic fields. These machines are extremely expensive: The price of a single machine can exceed one million dollars._____________________
New technologies also mean new personnel. Physicians, nurses and orderlies can no longer staff a hospital alone. Hospitals now require a bewildering number of technical specialists to adminis
ter new tests and operate advanced medical equipment._____________________
Physicians and hospitals also must buy malpractice insurance to protect themselves should they be sued for negligence by patients who feel they have been mistreated or have r
eceived inadequate care. The rates for this insurance have been raised very steeply in the last ten years, as patients have become more medically knowledgeable, and as juries sometimes awarded very large amounts of money to injured patients. _____________________
As a result, hospital costs and physicians’ fees rose steadily through the 1990s. Government agencies became convinced that it was necessary to limit rising medical costs. One approach is to require hospitals to prove that a need exists for new buildings and services. Hospitals also have faced pressure to run their operations more efficiently, and to decrease the duration of hospital stays for patients receiving routine treatment or minor surgery.
F. found G. campaigns H. involved J. properly I. notion |
What’s in a name? Letters offer clues to one’s future decisions, apparently. Previous studies have suggested that maybe a person’s monogram __1__ his life choices — where he works, whom he marries or where he lives — because of “implied self-esteem (自负),” or the temptation of positive self-associations. For instance, a person named Fred might be attracted to the __2__ of living in Fresno, working for Forever 21 or driving a Ford F-150.
Now a new study by professor Uri takes another look at the so-called name-letter effect and __3__ other explanations for the phenomenon. He analyzed records of political donations in the U.S. during the 2004 campaign — which included donors’ names and employers — and found that the name of a person’s workplace more closely related to the first three letters of a person’s name than with just the first letter. But he suggests that the reason for the association isn’t implied self-esteem, but perhaps something __4__ the opposite.
Duyck, one of the researchers whose previous work __5__ the name-letter effect, isn’t so quick to abandon the implied self-esteem theory. He pointed out that the sample group Uri studied may have biased the results: Uri analyzed the name-letter effect in a sample of people who donated money to political __6__. Still, Duyck notes that Uri’s theories are credible, and that even while some people may __7__ the same name of companies, employees may be tending to those companies because they start with the same letter as their names. In the end, whatever the explanation for the name-letter effect, no one really disputes that self-esteem is __8__ on some level. But the true importance of the effect is up for debate. “I can’t imagine people don’t like their own letter more than other letters,” says Uri, “but the differences it makes in really __9__ decisions are probably slim.”