The word proactivity is fairly common in management literature, but you won’t find it in the dictionary. It means that as a human being you take responsibility for your own life.
Look at the word responsibility: ability to choose your response, response-ability. Effective people are proactive because they take responsibility. Their behavior is a product of their own decisions, based on values, rather than being a product of their own conditions, based on feelings. For instance, you are planning a picnic with your family. You’re excited. You have all the preparations. You’ve decided where to go, and then it becomes stormy, killing your plan. Proactive people carry weather within them. They realize what their purpose really was, and they creatively have a picnic elsewhere even if it’s in their own basement with some special games, and make the best of that situation. The opposite of being proactive is to be reactive. Reactive people would say, “What’s the use?” “We can’t do anything.” “Oh, this is so upsetting after all of our preparations and arrangements.” They try to persuade the people around them and usually the picnic will be cancelled.
Being proactive is really just being true to your human nature. Your basic nature is to act, and not to be acted upon. That’s true, despite widely accepted theories of determinism (宿命论) used to explain human nature. Determinism says that you don’t really choose anything and that what you call choices are nothing more than automatic responses to outside conditions.
The language of reactive people is like: “I can’t.” “Don’t have time.” “I have to.” “I must.” The whole spirit of that language is the transfer of responsibility. They think things are determined by their environment, or by their conditions or their genetic (基因的) makeup. Psychologically, people who believe they are determined will produce the evidence to support the belief, and they increasingly feel victimized and out of control. They’re not in charge of their life at all.
On the contrary, a proactive person exercises free will, the freedom to choose the response that best applies to his values. In that way, he gains control over the circumstances, rather than being controlled by them.According to the passage, a proactive person’s behavior can result from ______.
| A．the environment | B．an inner belief |
| C．the genetic makeup | D．a temporary feeling |
When a picnic plan is threatened by a sudden storm, reactive people will probably ______.
| A．have the picnic as planned |
| B．make the best of the picnic |
| C．complain and give up the picnic |
| D．find somewhere else for the picnic |
What does “carry weather within them” in the second paragraph probably mean?
| A．Manage to improve the weather. |
| B．Give in to the weather passively. |
| C．Stress the influence of the weather. |
| D．Find a solution to the weather problem. |
The characteristics which can describe what a proactive person is like could be ______.
| A．independent, cautious, flexible |
| B．flexible, confident, sensitive |
| C．independent, active, confident |
| D．generous, responsible, determined |
It can be concluded from the passage that determinists ______.
| A．accept things passively |
| B．are in charge of themselves |
| C．are similar to proactive people |
| D．respond to outside conditions actively |
When I first got an email account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends, and colleagues. Now it seems that every time I check my e-mail, I have an endless series of advertisement and other correspondence that do not interest the at all. If we want e-mail to continue to be useful, we need special laws that make spamming(发送垃圾邮件) a crime.
If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse. Computer programs allow spammers to spend hundreds of millions of e-mails almost instantly. As more and more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products, individual e-mail boxes are often flooded with spam e-mails. Would people continue to use e-mail if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each time?
This problem is troubling for individuals and companies as well. Many spam emails contain computer viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company. Companies rely on e-mail on for their employees to communicate with each other. Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks, and their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively. Such a situation results in a loss of productivity and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks. These computer problems raise production costs of companies, which are, in the end, passed on to the consumer.
For these reasons, I believe that lawmakers need to legislate (立法) against spam. Spammers should be fined, and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people. E-mail is a tool which helps people all over the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience.What does the underlined word “correspondence” in the Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．messages | B．ideas | C．connections | D．programs |
According to the text, what is the major cause of the flooding spam?
| A．Companies rely on e-mail for communications. |
| B．More people in the world communicate by e-mail. |
| C．Many computer viruses contain spam e-mail. |
| D．More advertisers begin to promote sales through spam. |
According to Paragraph 3,who is the final victim of spam?
| A．The business | B．The advertiser |
| C．The employee | D．The consumer |
What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To inform | B．To educate | C．To persuade | D．To instruct |
Many cities have subways and underground public transportation to take locals and tourists alike rapidly around the city．However, there’s something different about riding a London subway．It may not look different, but the historical value of one of England’s most popular forms of transportation is enough to make riding the subway a must when visiting London．With a little under 300 different stations, the subway can take you almost anywhere you need to go．
Riding a London subway, a person from other countries will notice one major difference: in London, people do not look at each other．In fact, eye contact is avoided at all times．That’s not rudeness―people are just too busy to bother looking．
Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they’re certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet thinking．Nor are they reading a book．New technology has replaced quiet habits．Today the only acceptable form of book on the London underground is an e-book．
Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters（使用月票上下班者）．Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40,000―yes, that’s 40,000 “apps” have been designed．
Commuters love them because they are the perfect time-fillers．One “app”, called iShoot, is a game that features tanks．Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination．iSteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone．You can then write in the “steam” on your phone screen．
For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be the distraction（消遣）of choice．It’s not just teenagers who “plug in” to their music－iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages．
And if games, e-books and music aren’t enough to keep you occupied, then perhaps you would prefer a film? The development of palm DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV shows or films on the way to work．With all these distractions, it’s amazing that people still remember to get off the train．Those who want to save time to reach where they go can download ______ to their iPhones．
| A．iShoot | B．iPod | C．iSteam | D．Tube Exits |
People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because ______．
| A．they are going to work and have no time to communicate with each other |
| B．they are busy playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching film |
| C．they feel sleepy because of getting up early |
| D．they love reading books and do not want to be disturbed |
The underlined word “apps” in the fourth paragraph means ______．
| A．computers |
| B．fortune from London commuters |
| C．computer companies |
| D．programs downloaded for the iPhone |
Which word best describes the writer’s attitude towards commuters’ behaviors ?
| A．for | B．neutral | C．against | D．hateful |
The main idea of the passage is that ______．
| A．London commuters are unfriendly to strangers |
| B．technology is changing how London commuters spend their traveling time |
| C．Apple has earned a lot of money from selling 40,000 apps |
| D．riding a London subway is a must when visiting London |
Susan Sontag (1933 ------ 2004) was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything----- to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s, publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review, she appeared as the symbol of American culture life, trying hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. With great effort and serious judgment, Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong watchwords (格言), but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poorly-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasure of pop culture. In Notes Camp, the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. Notes on Camp, she wrote, represents “a victory of ‘form’ over ‘content’, ‘beauty’ over ‘morals’”.
By conviction she was a sensualist (感觉论者), but by nature she was a moralist, and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s, it was the latter side of her that came forward. In Illness as Metaphor ------published in 1978, after she suffered cancer ------ she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed (被压抑的) personalities, a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.
In America, her story of a 19th century Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000. But it was as a tireless, all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame.
“Sometimes,” she once said, “I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending… is the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.” And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.It is implied but not stated in the first paragraph that Sontag _________.
| A．was a symbol of American cultural life |
| B．developed world literature, film and art |
| C．published many essays about world culture |
| D．kept pace with the newest development of world culture |
She first won her name through _________.
| A．publishing essays in magazines like Partisan Review |
| B．her story of a Polish actress |
| C．her explanation of a set of difficult understandings |
| D．her book Illness as Metaphor |
From the works Susan published in the 1970s and 1980s, we can learn that ________.
| A．she was more of a moralist than a sensualist |
| B．she was more of a sensualist than a moralist |
| C．she believed repressed personalities mainly led to illness |
| D．she would like to re-examine old positions |
According to the passage, Susan Sontag would agree to the ideas except _________.
| A．We should try hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. |
| B．Cancer can be defeated because it is a special problem of repressed personalities. |
| C．‘Form’ should be over ‘content’, ‘beauty’ should be over ‘morals. |
| D．We should defend the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．A lifelong watchword: seriousness |
| B．Susan Sontag is the symbol of American culture |
| C．How Susan Sontag became famous |
| D．An introduction to Susan Sontag and her watchword |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families. Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily. Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably. For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage must be ______.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese | C．a professor | D．a student |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport |
| B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home |
| D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
| A．strict with time | B．serious with time |
| C．careful with time | D．willing to spend time |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
| A．Friendships between Chinese |
| B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’ hospitality |
| D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships |
I found out one time that doing a favor for someone could get you into a lot of trouble. I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test. During the test, the girl sitting next to me whispered something, but I didn’t understand. So I leaned over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen. She showed me that hers was out of ink and would not write. I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk.
Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed. As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up; she talked about how important it was to stand on your own two feet and be responsible (负责任) for your own acts. For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really cheating themselves. She made me promise that I would think seriously about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave. I walked out of the room wondering why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things.
Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test. When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as if I was copying answers from the girl’s test paper. I tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed very very strange to her that I hadn’t talked of anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test. Even if I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor by letting her use my pen, I am sure she continued to believe that I had cheated on the test.The story took place exactly ____ .
| A．in the teacher’s office | B．in an exam room |
| C．in the school | D．in the language lab |
The girl wanted to borrow a pen, because ____ .
| A．she had not brought a pen with her |
| B．she had lost her own on her way to school |
| C．there was something wrong with her pen |
| D．her own had been taken away by someone |
The teacher saw all this, so she asked the boy ____ .
| A．to go on writing his paper |
| B．to stop whispering |
| C．to leave the room immediately |
| D．to stay behind after the exam |
The thing(s) emphasized in the teacher’s talk was (were) ____ .
| A．honesty | B．sense of duty |
| C．seriousness | D．all of the above |
The boy knew everything ____ .
| A．the moment he was asked to stay behind |
| B．when the teacher started talking about honesty |
| C．only some time later |
| D．when he was walking out of the room |