38. The letter aims to remind editors that they should ________. A. keep their best reporters at all costs B. give more freedom to their reporters
C. be aware of their reporters’ professional development D. appreciate their reporters’ working styles and attitudes
C
Pacing and Pausing
Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve’s new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say. While Sara felt Betty didn’t hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk. The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.
Conversation is a turn-taking game. When our habits are similar, there’s no problem. But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I’m finished or fail to take your turn when I’m finished. That’s what was happening with Betty and Sara.
It may not be coincidental （巧合）that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American. Betty often felt interrupted by Sara. But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland. And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel.
The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities. These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping （思维定式）. And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences. For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel. When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in – and never found it. Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring. When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up.
That’s why slight differences in conversational style-tiny little things like microseconds of pause – can have a great effect on one’s life. The result in this case was a judgment of psychological problems – even in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.
39. What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her? A. Betty was talkative.
B. Betty was an interrupter. C. Betty did not take her turn. D. Betty paid no attention to Sara.
40. According to the passage, who are likely to expect the shortest pauses between turns? A. Americans. C. The British.
B. Israelis. D. The Finns.
41. We can learn from the passage that ________.
A. communication breakdown results from short pauses and fast pacing B. women are unfavorably stereotyped in eastern cities of the US C. one’s inability to speak up is culturally determined sometimes D. one should receive training to build up one’s confidence
42. The underlined word “assertiveness”in the last paragraph probably means ________. A. being willing to speak one’s mind B. being able to increase one’s power C. being ready to make one’s own judgment D. being quick to express one’s ideas confidently
D
When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say, “Well, it’s so-and-so’s fault.” or “I know I’m late, but it’s not my fault; the car broke down.” It is probably not your fault, but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t rely on the person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about-creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no
matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “whose fault it is.”Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success.
43. According to the passage, winners _________. A. deal with problems rather than blame others B. meet with fewer difficulties in their lives C. have responsible and able colleagues D. blame themselves rather that others
44. When your colleague brings about a problem, you should ________. A. find a better way to handle the problem B. blame him for his lack of responsibility C. tell him to find the cause of the problem D. ask a more able colleague for help
45. When problems occur, winners take them as ________. A. excuses for their failures B. barriers to greater power C. challenges to their colleagues D. chances for self-development
46. Which of the following is the best title for the passage? A. A Winner’s Secret.
B. A Winner’s Problem D. A Winner’s Achievement.
E
When it comes to friends, I desire those who will share my happiness, who possess wings of their own and who will fly with me. I seek friends whose qualities illuminate （照亮）me and train me up for love. It is for these people that I reserve the glowing hours, too good not to share.
When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and “too serious” about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors. We said little as school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say, “Let’s start with a train whistle today.” We would sit quietly together and write separate poems or stories that grew out of a train
C. A Winner’s Opportunity.