Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. But you should not be upset (难受的) if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you!
Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m., and end at about 11. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift.
Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks(小吃). Do you want to be more polite? Say how much you like the room, or the picture on the wall. But remember—it is not polite to ask how much things cost.
In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert, followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.
Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short thank you letter. British and American people like to say “ Thank you, thank you, thank you.” all the time!If you are going to attend a dinner party,____ .
| A．you’d better bring a certain present with you |
| B．you must leave home for it at 7 p.m. |
| C．you should ask your host when you should leave |
| D．you must arrive at it before 8 p.m. |
In which order will you eat or drink the following things at the meal?
| A．Snacks, vegetables, meat and coffee. |
| B．Coffee, drinks, soup, fish, vegetables and dessert. |
| C．Soup, meat with vegetables, dessert and coffee. |
| D．Drinks, soup, something small, fish and vegetables. |
Which is the correct way in which you express your enjoyment of the evening?
| A．Before leaving for home, you should say, “Thank you for inviting me.” |
| B．When you shake hands with your host, you should say, “I did enjoy the evening.” |
| C．You can write a thank you letter to your host after that. |
| D．You should finish everything on your plate and take more if you want it. |
If you're networking (建立人际关系) and nothing is happening, you might need to evaluate how you're doing it. Maybe you show up at each event and still feel challenged by the process. You aggressively talk to people, give out your cards, call endlessly to schedule an appointment but have no real success from your efforts. To help you gain a different future, here are ten habits you should avoid.
Ineffective networkers：
1. Lack patience. They expect immediate results and want business now, not tomorrow.
2. Constantly “selling” something. They see dollar signs every time they shake hands with someone.
3. Too many choices. If they offer a variety of products, they might try too hard to tell about all of them. Offering too much information sends a confusing message making it difficult for people to send referral (指点). Opportunities are all around us but when you're networking, only focus on one.
4. Change positions too often. If they move from company to company or do something totally different, it might be difficult for people to keep up with them.
5. Lack manners and respect. They interrupt others, talk with food in their mouth, aren't very polite and appear unprofessional. They call people during dinner or on the weekends without thinking whether the occasion is suitable.
6. Distribute too many cards and sales literature. They come while loading with brochures, flyers (传单), catalogues and samples.
7. Focus on themselves. Too much self promotion can leave the other person to feel unappreciated. Every sentence begins with “I” and is all about their business.
8. “Talking” instead of “giving”. They don't realize what other people sense when they are being very selfish. Others may think that they are being taken advantage of.
9. Lack authenticity (可靠性) and personal values. They may create unrealistic expectations and not deliver on their promises. Sometimes doing things without integrity (诚实) possibly twists the truth.
10. Poor communication and interpersonal skills. They have trouble speaking effectively, building relationships and following up.
Networking is a process that is an investment of time and money. If you find you're doing any of these habits, consider learning how to improve on these and maximize your results while networking. You'll start to get better at connecting with people and obtain more referrals.This passage is meant for people who ______.
| A．want to do more businesses |
| B．often take instead of giving |
| C．have poor communication and interpersonal skills |
| D．want to improve their interpersonal relationship |
According to the second habit, we shouldn't ______ when we are networking.
| A．sell things | B．talk about dollars |
| C．pay attention to money only | D．shake hands with everyone |
When talking with others, you should ______.
| A．give out your cards and brochures every now and then |
| B．talk about the quality of your product as much as possible |
| C．interrupt others when they make a mistake |
| D．let other people express themselves completely |
Which of the following is NOT correct about a salesman's behavior?
| A．He offers too much selfpromotion during the conversation. |
| B．He considers carefully when he can get what he expects. |
| C．He only focuses on one opportunity when networking. |
| D．He keeps his promises and doesn't expect too much from others. |
It's a name that needs no address.Everyone knows Santa Claus lives at the North Pole.
So letters sent to Santa Claus find their way to the small town of the North Pole deep in Alaska，including those simply sent to Santa. Last year，120,000 letters arrived from 26 countries，not including the thousands with no return addresses.
Those who have return addresses usually get a reply and a North Pole postmark（邮戳） that has delighted children all over the world for many years. They feel happy to receive Santa's reply.
Letters arrive all the year around in the town of 1,600，where streets have names such as Santa Claus Lane and Kris Kringle Drive. Around Thanksgiving，they start getting there by the thousands each day as Christmas comes. Even letters without stamps get through，an exception（例外）for the U．S. Postal Service.
“This is special because it has Santa's name on it，”said Debra Cornelius，an officer at the main post office in nearby Fairbanks，where the letters are kept during the holiday.
Gabby Gaborik is among several dozen volunteers who are busy sending off replies to children who sent return addresses.
In his 10 years as a volunteer，Gaborik has seen every kind of wish. There are children who want the latest toys they see on TV. There are children who ask for miracles（奇迹），some wanting their mother back for Christmas or their father back from Iraq，even though he died there.
Replies get a North Pole postmark，including a halfmoon drawing of Santa's face. Even late letters get a reply，Gaborik said，“It says something like ‘Thanks for writing. Santa's been really busy，’anything the children might want to hear，”he said.Letters written to Santa Claus without an address can arrive at the North Pole because ______.
| A．all letters without an address are sent there |
| B．people believe that Santa Claus lives there |
| C．this kind of letter is sent with a special postmark |
| D．streets named Santa Claus Lane can be found there |
The underlined word “delighted” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by “______”.
| A．excited | B．amazed | C．confused | D．disappointed |
We can know from the text that ______.
| A．letters written to Santa Claus are sent free |
| B．Santa Claus' replies to children always arrive at Christmas |
| C．many people write to children for Santa Claus asking for no pay |
| D．there're thousands of letters sent to Santa Claus every month |
What's the best title for the text?
| A．Letters written to parents |
| B．All kinds of wishes from children |
| C．Letters to Santa Claus rush into Alaska |
| D．North Pole，Alaska，a beautiful place |
Dear Mayor,
I would like to draw your attention to the depressing state of the environment in our city. Increased vehicles have made the air polluted. Citizens find it difficult to breathe. Dumping toxic chemicals into the river has polluted the drinking water and ground water.
All of us, as concerned citizens, have discussed these problems in various meetings. We have come up with the following proposals（提议）.
The green roads are no longer green. Many trees and bushes have been cut. We propose restricting the movement of vehicles. Besides, we should make it compulsory（强制性的）to use anti-pollution devices on all vehicles. We should also plant more plants and trees along roads.
The Bada Nadi River has become a dumping ground of toxic chemicals from some factories. These toxic chemicals have killed nearly all the life in the river and polluted our drinking water and ground water. We propose that the Bada Nadi River be declared a protected water body. All the dumping should be banned and heavy fine should be imposed on the offenders（违法者）. To tackle the problem of managing toxic waste, we propose setting up a water treatment plant so that only clean water is discharged into the river. Cleaning up the river and introducing various fishes and plants to the river will bring it back to life.
Lastly, the noise pollution caused by honking（鸣）horns and blaring loudspeakers has caused distress to one and all. Many people have suffered from noise-related illnesses. We propose a blanket ban on the use of loudspeakers. And“no horn zones”should also be declared in residential hospitals and school areas.
I would request you to seriously consider our proposals and act accordingly.
Thank you!
Sincerely yours,
A kind-hearted citizenThe author wrote this letter in order to ______.
| A．express his/her thanks to the mayor |
| B．complain about the environment |
| C．share his/her opinions about city life |
| D．make his/her suggestions on managing toxic waste |
In order to protect the Bada Nadi River, the author suggests _______.
| A．anti-pollution devices should be used on vehicles |
| B．planting more trees and bushes along roads |
| C．restricting the movement of vehicles |
| D．banning dumping dangerous chemicals into the river |
The underlined word “tackle”in the fourth paragraph means“_______”.
| A．put off | B．deal with |
| C．set up | D．turn down |
Kodak’s decision to file for bankruptcy (破产) protection is a sad, though not unexpected, turning point for a leading American corporation that pioneered consumer photography and dominated the film market for decades, but ultimately failed to adapt to the digital revolution.
Although many attribute Kodak’s downfall to “complacency (自满) ,” that explanation doesn’t acknowledge the lengths to which the company went to reinvent itself. Decades ago, Kodak predicted that digital photography would overtake film (胶片) — and in fact, Kodak invented the first digital camera in 1975 — but in a fateful decision, the company chose to shelf its new discovery to focus on its traditional film business.
“It wasn’t that Kodak was blind to the future”, said Rebecca Henderson, a professor at Harvard Business School, but rather that it failed to execute on a strategy to confront it. By the time the company realized its mistake, it was too late.
Kodak is an example of a firm that was very much aware that they had to adapt, and spent a lot of money trying to do so, but ultimately failed. Large companies have a difficult time switching into new markets because there is a temptation to put existing assets (资产) into the new businesses.
Although Kodak predicted the unavoidable rise of digital photography, its corporate (企业的) culture was too rooted in the successes of the past for it to make the clean break necessary to fully embrace the future. They were a company stuck in time. Their history was so important to them. Now their history has become a liability.
Kodak’s downfall over the last several decades was dramatic. In 1976, the company commanded 90% of the market for photographic film and 85% of the market for cameras. But the 1980s brought new competition from Japanese film company Fuji Photo, which undermined Kodak by offering lower prices for film and photo supplies. Kodak’s decision not to pursue the role of official film for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was a major miscalculation. The bid went instead to Fuji, which exploited its sponsorship to win a permanent foothold in the marketplace. What do we learn about Kodak?
| A．It went bankrupt all of a sudden. |
| B．It is approaching its downfall. |
| C．It initiated the digital revolution in the film industry. |
| D．It is playing a dominant role in the film market. |
Why does the author mention Kodak’s invention of the first digital camera?
| A．To show its early attempt to reinvent itself. |
| B．To show its effort to overcome complacency. |
| C．To show its quick adaptation to the digital revolution. |
| D．To show its will to compete with Japan’s Fuji photo. |
Why do large companies have difficulty switching to new markets?
| A．They find it costly to give up their existing assets. |
| B．They tend to be slow in confronting new challenges. |
| C．They are unwilling to invest in new technology. |
| D．They are deeply stuck in their glorious past. |
What does the author say Kodak’s history has become?
| A．A burden. | B．A mirror. | C．A joke. | D．A challenge. |
People who multitask all the time may be the worst at doing two things at once, a new research suggests. The findings, based on performances and self-evaluation by about 275 college students, indicate that many people multitask not out of a desire to increase productivity, but because they are easily distracted and can’t focus on one activity. And “those people turn out to be the worst at handling different things,” said David Sanbonmatsu, a psychologist at the University of Utah.
Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues gave the students a set of tests and asked them to report how often they multitasked, how good they thought they were at it, and how sensation-seeking (寻求刺激) or imperative (冲动) they were. They then evaluated the participants’ multitasking ability with a tricky mental task that required the students to do simple mathematical calculations while remembering a set of letters.
Not surprisingly, the scientists said, most people thought they were better than average at multitasking, and those who thought they were better at it were more likely to report using a cellphone while driving or viewing multiple kinds of media at once. But those who frequently deal with many things at the same time were found to perform the worst at the actual multitasking test. They also were more likely to admit to sensation-seeking and impulsive behavior, which connects with how easily people get bored and distracted.
“People multitask not because it’s going to lead to greater productivity, but because they’re distractible, and they get sucked into things that are not as important.” Sanbonmatsu said.
Adam Gazzaley, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not a member of the research group, said one limitation of the study was that it couldn’t find out whether people who start out less focused tend toward multitasking or whether people’s recognizing and understanding abilities change as a result of multitasking.
The findings do suggest, however, why the sensation-seeker who multitask the most may enjoy risky distracted driving. “People who are multitasking are generally less sensitive to risky situations.” said Paul Atchley, another researcher not in the group. “This may partly explain why people go in for these situations even though they’re dangerous.”The research led by Sanbonmatsu indicates that people who multitask __________.
| A．seek high productivity constantly |
| B．prefer handling different things when getting bored |
| C．are more focused when doing many things at a time |
| D．have the poorest results in doing various things at the same time |
When Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues conducted their research, they __________.
| A．assessed the multitasking ability of the students |
| B．evaluated the academic achievements of the students |
| C．analyzed the effects of the participants’ tricky mental tasks |
| D．measured the changes of the students’ understanding ability |
According to Sanbonmatsu, people multitask because of their __________.
| A．limited power in calculation |
| B．interests in doing things differently |
| C．inability to concentrate on one task |
| D．impulsive desire to try new things |
From the last paragraph, we can learn that multitaskers usually __________.
| A．drive very skillfully |
| B．go in for different tasks |
| C．fail to react quickly to potential dangers |
| D．refuse to explain the reasons for their behavior |