“Experience may possibly be the best teacher, but it is not a particularly good teacher.” You might think that Winston Churchill or perhaps Mark Twain spoke those words, but they actually come from James March, a professor at Stanford University and a pioneer in the field of organization decision making. For years March( possibly be wisest philosopher of management) has studied how humans think and act, and he continues to do so in his new book The Ambiguities of Experience.
He begins by reminding us of just how firmly we have been sticking to the idea of experiential learning :“Experience is respected；experience is sought；experience is explained.” The problem is that learning from experience involves（涉及）serious complications（复杂化），ones that are part of the nature of experience itself and which March discusses in the body of this book.
In one interesting part of book，for example，he turns a double eye toward the use of stories as the most effective way of experiential learning. He says “The more accurately（精确的）reality is presented，the less understandable the story，and the more understandable the story, the less realistic it is.”
Besides being a broadly knowledgeable researcher. March is also a poet, and his gift shines though in the depth of views he offers and the simple language he uses. Though the book is short, it is demanding；Don’t pick it up looking for quick, easy lessons. Rather, be ready to think deeply about learning from experience in work and life.According to the text, James March is ____________.
| A．a poet who uses experience in his writing |
| B．a teacher who teachers story writing in university |
| C．a researcher who studies the way humans think and act |
| D．a professor who helps organizations make important decisions |
According to James March, experience ______________.
| A．is overvalued |
| B．is easy to explain |
| C．should be actively sought |
| D．should be inactively sought |
What can we learn from Paragraph 3?
| A．Experience makes stories more accurate. |
| B．Stories made interesting fail to fully present the truth. |
| C．The use of stories is the best way of experiential learning. |
| D．Stories are easier to understand when reality is more accurately described. |
What’s the purpose of this text?
| A．To introduce a book. | B．To describe a researcher. |
| C．To explain experiential learning. | D．To discuss organizational decision making. |
Are you a compulsive spender, or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay cash? Your answers to these questions will reflect your personality. According to psychologists, our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values, but can also stem from past problems.
Experts in psychology believe that for many people, money is an important symbol of strength and influence. Husbands who complain about their wives’ spending habits may be afraid that they are losing power in their marriage. Wives, on the other hand, may waste huge amounts of money because they are angry at their husbands. In addition, many people consider money a symbol of love. They spend it on their family and friends to express love, or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love.
People can be addicted to different things — for example, alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television. They are compulsive in their addictions, i.e. they must satisfy these needs to feel comfortable. In the same way, according to psychologists, compulsive spenders must spend money. For people who buy on credit, furthermore, charge accounts are even more exciting than money: in other words, they feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasures in spending enormous amounts are actually greater than those they get from the things they buy.
There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game: when they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason.
It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also business people. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business: they consider people’s needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, etc. in their advertising and sales methods.
Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy(疗法)” to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money: they give them “assignments”. If a person buys something in every store that he enters, for instance, a therapist might teach him self-discipline in this way: on the first day of his therapy, he must go into a store, stay five minutes, and then leave. On the second day, he should stay for ten minutes and try something on. On the third day, he stays for fifteen minutes, asks the salesclerk a question, but does not buy anything. Soon he will learn that nothing bad will happen to him if he doesn’t buy anything, and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying.If you use charge accounts, ____.
| A．you pay in cash | B．you pay with credit card |
| C．you pay less than you should | D．you pay more than you should |
Compulsive bargain hunters buy things for all the following reasons except that ____.
| A．the things they buy are cheap |
| B．they believe they can balance their budgets |
| C．they get psychological satisfaction |
| D．they really need the things they buy |
Behavior therapy in this case aims at____.
| A．helping businessmen to increase their business |
| B．helping compulsive spenders to buy less |
| C．finding out how people will react if they are allowed to buy |
| D．finding out what people will do in front of a bargain |
The underlined word “those” in Paragraph 3 refers to ____.
| A．different things | B．their addictions |
| C．charge accounts | D．their pleasures |
From the passage we can conclude that ____.
| A．how you spend money reveals if you are psychologically healthy |
| B．money is a necessity and will bring you happiness if you have much |
| C．compulsive buying problems can be solved by taking some medicine |
| D．all businessmen understand well the psychology of customers |
Skiping classes violates school rules and a poor attendance record will damage your final mark. But some college students still try every means to escape classes. The number of these rebels may be much bigger than you think. Three students from Anhui Normal University established Itaoke. Com in June. The website quickly attracted 2 000 registered members in three months. On the website, students share their experiences of skipping classes and even post ads to look for someone to stand in for them to attend courses. Its embarrassing for universities to see this shameful behavior discussed:
However，it's good for schools and teachers to know via the website the reasons why students skip classes，according to Professor Xiao Haitao from Shenzhen University: Xao pointed out that some`students skip classes because of laziness.Others play truant because the teaching is truly dissatisfactory,“Universities can seek improvements to give a cure to the class-skipping problem，”said Xiao.
Chen Yang，21，thinks that he is “forced" to skip some courses because of the poor teaching. the senior，majoring in English at Yangtze University, thinks that he's wasting time in the classroom when the teacher reads the textbook word for word or hands him outdated reading materials. He would rather skip classes to study in the library, watch online videos of Harvard or Yale lectures，or sit in on(旁听）other courses he is interested in. Chen draws a clear line between himself and those who skip classes in order to get more sleep or fool around on campus. He emphasized：“I skip classes with a clear goal，which is to probe into areas I'm interested in and broaden my horizons.”
Li Sicen，President of the National Taiwan University，seems to be on Chen's side. Li claimed that he supported those students who skip classes for good reasons.
However，Professor Xiao warns students that Li is not giving permission for students to skip classes. Xiao suggests that Li was just showing his understanding of truancy in a limited number of cases.
In Professor Pan Cuiqiong's opinion，students tend to jump to the conclusion that a certain course is boring and useless. "To clear students' misunderstanding，teachers should use materials closely related to students’lives and adapt interactive teaching methods，”said Pan.
Besides offering teachers more training，schools also need to give students different optional courses and ensure that they can attend the courses they are interested in，according to Professor Xiao. Many Chinese students have the experience of being kicked out of an optional course because its size is limited. They are then forced to choose courses they dislike and are likely to skip them. We may learn from Sydney University in Australia. There aren't any problems with numbers---if a course is popular then there will be more than one class per week.The underlined word“rebels" in Paragraph 1 refers to
| A．students who embarrass their universities |
| B．students who establish websites |
| C．students who skip classes |
| D．students who quarrel with their parents |
Chen Yang Skips some courses because____.
| A．his school is more student-centered |
| B．he wants to get more sleep |
| C．he wants to fool around on campus |
| D．the teaching style needs much improvement |
According to the passage，we learn that Professor Xiao____.
| A．is giving permission for students to skip classes |
| B．thinks it's embarrassing for the three students to establish ltaoke. com |
| C．thinks the website will help to know why students skip classes |
| D．claimed that he supported those students who skip classes for good reasons |
Which of the following measures is NOT mentioned to stop students skipping classes?
| A．Teachers should adopt practical materials and flexible teaching methods. |
| B．Schools should offer teachers more training: |
| C．Schools need to ensure that students can attend various courses they are interested in. |
| D．Students should be punished if they skip classes. |
Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is not large. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
The government has made enough laws to fight pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers’ exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers’ exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.
Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos (袋鼠). After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep. Australia is _______.
| A．the largest country in the world |
| B．as large as Shanghai |
| C．not as large as China |
| D．the largest island in the north of the earth |
The government had made _______.
| A．too enough laws to fight pollution |
| B．so many laws that it can fight pollution |
| C．enough laws that it can hardly fight pollution |
| D．enough laws because the pollution is very serious |
Which of the following is NOT true？
| A．Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. |
| B．Perth is bigger than any other city in Western Australia. |
| C．Perth lies in the west of Australia. |
| D．No other city is larger than Perth in Australia. |
In Perth you may visit a wild flowers’ show in _______.
| A．October | B．January | C．May | D．July |
Which of the following is true？
| A．Australia is famous for its sheep, kangaroos and wild flowers. |
| B．We ran back to the car because we were in the middle of white sheep. |
| C．Three hundred sheep came towards us because they saw us. |
| D．If you go to the countryside in Australia, you will see a large number of white sheep. |
Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves.That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?
We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch .someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.
Fortunately, .some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.
A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbours and had her children deliver it and visit. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.
The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.
Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”
Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.Now in an American family, people can find that ____.
| A．children never live with their parents |
| B．not all working people live with their parents |
| C．aged people are supported by their grandchildren |
| D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents |
The reason why old people are left alone may be that ____.
| A．the old don’t like to live in a big family |
| B．the young can’t get enough money to support the old |
| C．different generations have different lifestyles |
| D．the old are too weak to live with the young |
The fact that the reporter told us shows that ___.
| A．old people in America lead a hard life |
| B．old people in America enjoy banana bread |
| C．she had no time to take care of her children |
| D．old people are easy to get along with |
Seeing a baby, the old people get excited because ____.
| A．they had never seen a baby before |
| B．the baby was clever and beautiful |
| C．the baby brought them the image of life |
| D．the baby’s mother would take care of them |
Why do children not get attention from their parents?
| A．Because they often make trouble and make their parents disappointed. |
| B．Because their parents are too busy to take care of them. |
| C．Because their parents have to take care of their grandparents. |
| D．Because their parents have been out of work for a long time. |
Dear Ana,
In your last letter, you told me that your boss Stephanie was probably looking for a new job and you didn’t know how to tell her that you wanted to take her position if she left. Well, I’d like to tell you that there is no polite way to talk about this situation with your boss. After all, you are not one-hundred-percent sure that she is actually job-hunting. Even if you know for sure that she is, you can’t, because it’s not your business. Still, there are a couple of things that you can do to put yourself in a good position in case your boss does ride out of Dodge in the near future.
First, you can have a general conversation with her about your career plans. Say something like, “You’ve always been supportive of me, Stephanie, and I’d love you to give me some advice on my professional development.” This will let your boss know that you’re ready for a new challenge. Ask her to give you feedback about how she thinks you can improve as a future leader.
Second, ask for your manager’s approval (同意) to talk with the training department about any program the company offers. There may or may not be any training, but making the request will still communicate your desire to get into a people-management role.
Third, you could say to your boss, “If there is anything you need my help with, I’d love it if you let me know. I am very interested in supporting you with anything you want to hand off.”
Taking those three steps will make it clear to Stephanie that you’re ready to be her No. 2.
Best regards,
Liz The underlined part “ride out of Dodge” in the first paragraph probably means “______”.
| A．get fired by the boss | B．go to take a vacation |
| C．change to a new job | D．get a higher position |
We can infer that Ana’s purpose for writing to Liz was to.
| A．tell Liz that her boss is looking for a new job |
| B．ask Liz if she has the ability to take her boss’s position |
| C．ask Liz for advice on how to find a much better job |
| D．seek advice on how to make her boss know she wants her position |
Which of the following didn’t Liz ask Ana to do?
| A．To let her manager know her desire for training. |
| B．To ask her boss if she needs any help from her. |
| C．To ask her boss for advice on her career plans. |
| D．To find out who is also trying to get that position. |
We can learn from Liz’s reply that.
| A．Ana has never talked about her career plans before |
| B．Ana is very sad to see her boss go as she has helped her a lot |
| C．Ana’s boss Stephanie may not be looking for a new job |
| D．there are some training courses in Ana’s company now |
According to Liz, if your boss is leaving for another job, you can.
| A．ask your manager to give the position to you |
| B．write to let him know you want his position |
| C．let him know you want his position indirectly |
| D．write a letter to your best friend for advice |