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You may not pay much attention to your daily lift ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, the US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Lift Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette(礼仪) is sort of odd(奇怪的),” Gray told the BBC. “They (Lifts) are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want—it's your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally(对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person, it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple—look down, or look at their phones.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don't have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people, we have about an arm's length of distance between us. And that's not possible in most lifts.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed(解释) as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,”she said.
The main purpose of the article is to ________.

A.remind us to enjoy ourselves in the lift
B.tell us some unwritten rules of lift etiquette
C.share an interesting but awkward lift ride
D.analyze what makes people feel awkward in a lift

According to Gray, when people enter a lift, they usually ________.

A.turn around and greet one another
B.look around or examine their phones
C.make eye contact with those in the lift
D.try to keep a distance from other people

Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in a lift? (The point in the chart refers to one person)

科目 英语   题型 阅读理解   难度 中等
知识点: 日常生活类阅读
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相关试题

A student is learning to speak British English. He wonders: Can I communicate with Americans? Can they understand me? Learners of English often ask: What are the differences between British and American English? How important are these differences?
Certainly, there are some differences between British and American English. There are a few differences in grammar. For example, speakers of British English say “in hospital” and "Have you a pen?” , Americans say “in the hospital” and ‘Do you have a pen?’.Pronunciation is sometimes different. Americans usually sound theirs in words like “bird” and “hurt”. Speakers of British English do not sound theirs in these words. There are differences between British and American English in spelling and vocabulary. For example, “colour” and “honour” are British, “color” and “honor” are American.
These differences in grammar, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary are not important, however. For the most part, British and American English are the same language.
According to this passage, a student who is learning to speak American English might be afraid that __________.

A.British people cannot understand him B.American people cannot understand him
C.the grammar is too hard for him D.the spelling is too hard for him

American English and British English are different in __________.

A.spelling B.pronunciation C.grammar D.all of the above

What is NOT mentioned(提及) in the passage?

A.Whether there are differences between British English and American English.
B.Whether British English and American English are one language or two.
C.How the differences between British English and American English came about.
D.How important the differences are.

Most __________ say “Do you have a watch?”

A.British people    B.Americans C.children D.teachers

According to this passage, British people and Americans have __________ difficulty in understanding each other.

A.little B.much C.some D.great

While success is surely sweeter than failure, it seems failure is a far better teacher, and organizations that fail spectacularly often flourish more in the long run, according to a new study by Vinit Desai, assistant professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Researchers have found that people missing their goals perform much better in the long run. That is because they gain more knowledge from their failures than their successes and the lessons are more likely to stay longer in their minds.
“We found that the knowledge gained from success was often fleeting while knowledge from failure stuck around for years,” said professor Desai, who led the study. “But companies often ignore failure. Managers may fire people or turn over the whole workforce while they should treat the failure as a learning opportunity.”
Prof Desai compared the flights of the space shuttle Atlantis and the Challenger. During the 2002 Atlantis flight, a piece of insulation (绝缘体) broke off and damaged the left solid rocket booster (助推火箭) but didn’t influence the program. There was little investigation. The Challenger was launched next and another piece of insulation broke off. This time the shuttle and its seven–person crew were destroyed. The disaster led to a major investigation resulting in 29 changes to prevent future disasters.
The difference in response in the two cases came down to this: Atlantis was considered a success and the Challenger a failure.
“Despite crowded skies, airlines are extremely reliable,” he said. “The number of failures is extremely small. And past researches have shown that older airlines, those with more experience in failure, have a lower number of accidents.”
Prof Desai doesn’t recommend finding out failure in order to learn. Instead, he advises organizations to analyze small failures to collect useful information rather than wait for major failures.
Why did experts pay little attention to the problem of Atlantis?

A.Because it worked perfectly.
B.Because the right booster was still OK.
C.Because nothing serious happened then.
D.Because fewer people died in the flight.

Fewer accidents happen to older airlines in that _____.

A.their planes couldn’t fly high in the sky
B.they gained much from experience in failure
C.their planes were often checked by the experts
D.they were unpopular among passengers

The passage is written mainly to _____.

A.show failure is a better teacher than success
B.explain why Challenger failed
C.introduce something about Prof Desai
D.tell managers how to achieve success

Which writing strategy is NOT used in developing the passage?

A.Giving definitions. B.Making comparisons.
C.Analyzing causes. D.Providing different examples.

When many people see birds cleaning their feathers, they attribute it to vanity on the part of the bird. But, in reality, what they are doing is maintaining their wings, the instruments that they depend on for safe flight. If a bird’s wings are not in perfect condition, the bird either won’t be able to fly or won’t be able to control its flight. That is why after a long flight and even throughout the day, you will see them cleaning their feathers.
Most birds, if they get a chance, will take a bath at least once a day. They do this to get rid of the dust that has accumulated in their feathers throughout their flight s during the day. In dry or desert areas, birds will not always be able to find water in which to bath, but they still need to clean their feathers. What many birds will do is to take dust baths. They will roll around in dust until it covers their feathers. They will stand up, shaking the dust out, and then clean their feathers with their beaks (鸟嘴) as usual.
Baths are important for another reason. During the course of the day and night, many parasites (寄生虫) are attracted to birds. Bugs, mites, fleas and so on will try to reach birds and suck from their blood. Daily baths help to keep the parasites to a minimum.
Some birds, especially those that spend a lot of time in or around water, have skin glands (皮肤腺) that produce oil. After bathing, these birds will squeeze the glands to spread the oil over their wings to keep them free of water.
If you are a bird lover and have bird houses in your yard, it can be good to go to the extra step, providing a bird bath. Once the birds in your neighborhood discover it, you will be surprised at how popular it becomes as they periodically stop by to take their daily bath.
What’s the passage mainly about?

A.How birds clean themselves. B.What birds enjoy doing.
C.Why baths matter so much to birds. D.What bird lovers should do.

What does the underlined part in Para 1 probably mean?

A.Most people think it good for birds to clean their feathers.
B.Most people show much interest in how birds clean themselves.
C.Most people believe that birds’ keeping themselves clean is necessary.
D.Most people think birds’ cleaning their feathers of no practical significance.

According to Para 3, birds’ feather cleaning _____.

A.helps keep them healthy B.keeps them free of any parasite
C.makes them more attractive D.helps them relax enough

In the last paragraph, the author further reminds us that _____ .

A.we should love birds as much as possible
B.birds enjoy cleaning themselves by bathing
C.we can be good bird lovers by bathing birds
D.birds like to come close to the people in a yard

Have you ever wanted to feel like you were in a western film? Or maybe you wanted to feel like you were a pioneer traveling the west? It is possible to experience such things during a Wild West vacation! Here are four of the best Wild West vacation locations available:
Walk the Lewis and Clark Trail
Walk some or all of the 3,700 miles trail that was traversed by Mariwether Lewis and William Clark, two of the world’s greatest explorers. Though not all the trails are marked, there are various stops that have been preserved by various historic societies. There is also a coach (长途客车) that makes a 16-day trek following the trail. This begins in St. Louis, Missouri, and ends in Astoria, Oregon.
Venture Route 66
Take a tour or go to see it yourself — ride on the famous Route 66. The road is nearly 2,500 miles long. Harley Davidson offers motorcycle tours that last two weeks. Route 66 will provide an experience that may only be found on the open road. The historic road is still well taken care of.
Visit the Grand Canyon
Visit the greatest canyon in the world, located in Northern Arizona. Raft down the Colorado River, or hike the various trails that run throughout the canyon. If walking is not your thing, there are donkey and horse riding adventures available. In addition, there are motorized boats that float down through the canyon in a week’s time.
Visit Deadwood
Located in South Dakota, Deadwood is a historic landmark. It is the kind of town that comes to mind when one thinks of an old western film. Actors who act as gunslingers (杀手) will often be seen in the streets playing their roles. Winter activities are popular in this old town, and there is always something to do.
The underlined word “trek” (Para 2) can be replaced by .

A.beautiful scenery B.traveling information
C.pleasant holiday D.long and hard journey

Which of following riding adventures can tourists take on Route 66?

A.A horse riding adventure. B.A coach riding adventure.
C.A motorcycle riding adventure. D.A donkey riding adventure.

If you want to hike various trails you are advised to .

A.visit the Grand Canyon B.visit Deadwood
C.venture Route 66 D.walk the Lewis and Clark Trail

What do we know from the passage?

A.A number of historic stops aren’t protected well.
B.William Clark was a pioneer who explored the west.
C.Western films are the most popular among Americans.
D.None of the trails in the west are marked.

Without any hesitation, he said, “I’d be better off dead.” Hearing those words come out of my best friend’s mouth tore my heart apart. He has repeated that phrase more than once, and my mind continually plays it over like a voice recording.
I met my best friend about three years ago. After knowing me for six months, he told me about his struggles with depression. Sadness was not the only emotion that came over me; I was shocked. He seemed so outgoing and happy all the time. I soon learnt that he was physically and emotionally abused as a young child, causing him to have suicidal (自杀的) thoughts.
He refuses to talk to others about his depression because he now distrusts adults, especially those in his family. In spite of this, he feels as if I understand him and that I know the right words to say. Thus, when it comes to helping him, convenience is not in my vocabulary. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I am doing, for he takes priority. Sometimes he just needs the assurance of my voice telling him that everything is going to be okay and that I will not let him down.
Many students at his school laugh at him when they notice the scars on his arms from cutting. It seems that other kids have every right to make fun of him and to look down on him. But no one holds such a right, so I encourage him to ignore the heartless kids who treat him badly. When he feels the weight of judging eyes or hateful voices, I always remind him that I care about him unconditionally. Just hearing me say I will always be his best friend seems to give him the security he needs to keep on going.
My best friend once told me that if he hadn’t had me, he wouldn’t be alive. He said that my encouraging words convinced him not to take his life. Our friendship has taught me that a single word can impact on someone’s life. With the fragility of life as it is, I believe in the necessity of encouragement.
The author’s friend got into depression mainly because _____ .

A.he lived without his parents B.he had poor health
C.he received little care at school D.he had a bitter childhood

We know from the passage that the author’s friend_____.

A.was better off three years ago B.thought little of others’ judging eyes
C.appreciates the author’s help D.wants to communicate with his parents

What is the best title for the passage?

A.I believe in encouragement. B.I enjoy friendship.
C.My friend and I. D.The story of my friend.

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