In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh(法老)treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news, his head was cut off.
Shades of that spirit spread over today’s conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out the door, picnic basket in hand, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, ”O(jiān)h boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.”I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his while
Several months ago I was racing to catch  a him As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Grey hound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile ,”O(jiān)h that bus left five minutes ago.”Dreams of head-cutting!
It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way. A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling of the receiver.
Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this. When you’re tired from a long flight, has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn’t ready yet? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter mainly told you that he just served the last piece? It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.
Had my neighbor told me of the upcoming rainstorm with sympathy, I would have appreciated his warming .Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left, I probably would have said, ” Oh, that’s all right I’ll catch the next one.” Big winners, when they bear bad news ,deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded(被轟炸的)person is sure to have.
小題1:In Paragraph 1,the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to ____.
A.make a comparisonB.introduce a topic
C.describe a sceneD.offer an argument
小題2:In the writer’s opinion, his neighbor was ___.
A.friendlyB.warm-heartedC.not considerateD.not helpful
小題3:From “Dreams of head-cutting!”(Paragraph3),we learn that the writer___.
A.was mad at the sales agent
B.was reminded of the cruel pharaoh
C.wished that the sales agent would have had dreams
D.dreamed of cutting the sales agent’s head that night.
小題4:What is the main idea of the text?
A.Delivering bad news properly is important in communication.
B.Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.
C.Receiving bad news requires great courage.
D.Learning ancient traditions can be useful.

小題1:B
小題2:C
小題3:A
小題4:A

小題1:作者態(tài)度、目的題。把握整體文意,本文主要圍繞"好消息使人高興,壞消息令人氣憤"來(lái)論述,所以第一段應(yīng)該是本文作者用于引入主題的段子,選B。
小題2:推理理解題。 由"I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches not for his stupid weather report for his smile"可知C。
小題3:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。第三段意思是“作者趕車時(shí)的不幸經(jīng)歷”,“當(dāng)售票員告訴他不幸消息,所以他會(huì)很惱怒,幾乎要發(fā)瘋了”,選A。
小題4:主旨大意題。整體把握文意,文中多次提到人們對(duì)帶給自己壞消息的人經(jīng)常心生怨恨,找準(zhǔn)關(guān)鍵詞"deliver bad news",選A。
練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


The space shuttle Columbia flared and broke up in the skies over Texas on Saturday, February 1,2003, killing the seven astronauts on board in what NASA and President Bush called a tragedy for the entire nation. NASA launched an investigation into the disaster and began searching for the astronauts' remains. It said that although there had been some data failures it was too early to nail down a precise cause. The break-up, 16 minutes before the shuttle was due to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spread possibly toxic debris(有毒的殘骸) over a wide swath of Texas and neighboring states.
Dramatic television images of the shuttle's descent clearly showed several white trails(痕跡) streaking through blue skies after the shuttle suddenly fell apart. It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.
Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission. In 42 years of US' human space flight, there had never been an accident in the descent to Earth or landing. Challenger exploded just after take-off.
Rescue teams scrambled to search for the remains of the crew, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, former combat pilot Col. Ilan Ramon. There were warnings that parts of a vast 120-mile-long corridor of debris could be toxic because of poisonous rocket propellant(推進(jìn)器).
"We are not ready to confirm that we have found any human remains," Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerrs said. He added that among the roughly 1,000 calls reporting debris, some people said they found remains of crew members.
"The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors, …Their mission was almost complete and we lost them so close to home. … America's space program will go on," said a grim-faced Bush in a message broadcast on television, which included condolences to the families of the dead astronauts.
1. The word “descent” in the passage means ________.
A. taking off   B. landing      C. orbiting     D. walking down
2. Which is true of the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon?
A. He was the first Israeli astronaut to fly on the shuttle.
B. He was the first foreign astronaut to fly on the American shuttle.
C. He used to be a passenger plane pilot.
D. He was the only survivor in the Columbia disaster.
3. The Columbia disaster and the Challenger disaster were similar in that ________.
A. there were seven astronauts killed on board
B. both the shuttles exploded when they took off
C. Both the shuttles exploded when they were about to land
D. no human remains were found
4. Which of the following is wrong according to the news?
A. The U.S.A. will give up the space program because of the accident.
B. NASA hasn’t found the cause of the Columbia disaster.
C. Before the Columbia disaster, no shuttles had exploded in the course of landing.
D. Take-off and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere are the most dangerous parts of a space mission.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

When in 1789,George Washington became the first president of the United States,there was no permanent(永久的)capital in which to house the government.During the Revolutionary War seven different cities had served as the national capital.In addition,members of congress(國(guó)會(huì))could not agree as to where this permanent capital should be located.Some officials wanted it in the north,others wanted it in the south.Each of the states hoped that the capital might lie within its own state lines.At last it was decided that the capital should occupy a section(區(qū)域)by itself,separate from any of the states.The place chosen was situated on the Potomas River.The land belonged originally(原先地) to the state of Maryland,but Maryland agreed to the national government.The section was named the District of Columbia after Christopher Columbus.The city itself was named Washington,after George Washington.Work was begun on the new capital in 1791.In the year 1799 Congress occupied the new capital building at the same time the White House was opened as the home of all future presidents.
小題1:Before the year 1800,the capital of America had been located in_________.
A.MarylandB.WashingtonC.New YorkD.several cities
小題2:Why was it decided that the capital should be separated from any of the states?Because_________.
A.the District of Columbia was on the borders(邊境) of several states
B.the District of Columbia was in the center of America
C.Maryland insisted that the capital lie in its own state
D.each of the states wanted the capital might lie within its own state
小題3:Presidents of the United States live in_________.
A.the capital building           C.Maryland           C.New York           D.the White House
小題4:Which of the following statements is true?
A.Capital is the place for presidents to live in.
B.Capital should be the largest city in the country.
C.It took nine years to build the capital of Washington.
D.Since 1791,Washington has been the capital of the United States.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Nearly two thousand years have passed since a census decreed by Caesar Augustus become part of the greatest story ever told. Many things have changed in the intervening years. The hotel industry worries more about overbuilding than overcrowding, and if they had to meet an unexpected influx, few inns would have a manager to accommodate the weary guests. Now it is the census taker that does the traveling in the fond hope that a highly mobile population will stay long enough to get a good sampling. Methods of gathering, recording, and evaluating information have presumably been improved a great deal. And where then it was the modest purpose of Rome to obtain a simple head count as an adequate basis for levying taxes, now batteries of complicated statistical series furnished by governmental agencies and private organizations are eagerly scanned and interpreted by sages and seers to get a clue to future events. The Bible does not tell us how the Roman census takers made out, and as regards our more immediate concern, the reliability of present day economic forecasting, there are considerable differences of opinion. They were aired at the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the American Statistical Association. There was the thought that business forecasting might well be on its way from an art to a science, and some speakers talked about newfangled computers and high-falutin mathematical system in terms of excitement and endearment which we, at least in our younger years when these things mattered, would have associated more readily with the description of a fair maiden. But others pointed to the deplorable record of highly esteemed forecasts and forecasters with a batting average below that of the Mets, and the President-elect of the Association cautioned that “high powered statistical methods are usually in order where the facts are crude and inadequate, the exact contrary of what crude and inadequate statisticians assume.” We left his birthday party somewhere between hope and despair and with the conviction, not really newly acquired, that proper statistical methods applied to ascertainable facts have their merits in economic forecasting as long as neither forecaster nor public is deluded into mistaking the delineation of probabilities and trends for a prediction of certainties of mathematical exactitude.
小題1: Taxation in Roman days apparently was based on
[A]. wealth. [B]. mobility. [C]. population. [D]. census takers.
小題2:The American Statistical Association
[A]. is converting statistical study from an art to a science.
[B]. has an excellent record in business forecasting.
[C]. is neither hopeful nor pessimistic.
[D]. speaks with mathematical exactitude.
小題3: The message the author wishes the reader to get is
[A]. statisticians have not advanced since the days of the Roman.
[B]. statistics is not as yet a science.
[C]. statisticians love their machine.
[D].computer is hopeful.
小題4:The “greatest story ever told” referred to in the passage is the story of
[A]. Christmas. [B]. The Mets.
[C]. Moses. [D]. Roman Census Takers.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

If we are asked exactly what we were doing a year ago, we might have to say that we could not remember. But if we had kept a book and written in it an account (陳述) of what we did each day, we should be able to give an answer to the question.
It is the same in history. Many things have been forgotten because we do not have any written account of them. Sometimes men did keep a record of the important happenings in their country, but often it was destroyed by fire or in a war. Sometimes there was never any written record at all because the people of that time and place did not know how to write. For example, we know a great deal about the people who lived in china 4,000 years ago, because they could write and leave written records for whose who lived after them. But we know almost nothing about the people who lived even 200 years ago in central Africa, because they had not learned go write.
Sometimes, of course, even if the people cannot write, they may know something of the past. They have heard about it from older people, and often songs and dances and stories have been made about the most important happenings, and those have been sung and acted and told for many generations, for most people are proud to tell what their fathers did in the past. This we may call ‘remembered history’. Some of it has now been written history, because words are much more easily changed when used again and again in speech than when copied in writing. But where there are no written records, such spoken stories are often very helpful.  
小題1: Which of the following ideas is NOT talked about in the passage above?
A.“Remembered history” is less reliable than written history.
B.Written records of the past played a most important in our learning of the human history.
C.A written account of our daily activities helps us to remember what we have done
D.Where there are no written records, there is no history.
小題2:Remembered history”refers to          .
A.history based on a person’s imagination
B.stories of important happenings passed down from mouth to mouth
C.history written down in books
D.what we have learned and remembered in history lessons
小題3:“Remembered history”is regarded as valuable only when       .
A.it is written downB.there is no written account
C.is proves downD.people are interested in it
小題4: It can be inferred from the passage that we could have learned much more about our past than we do now if our ancestors had      .
A.kept a written record of every past event
B.not fought against one another in wars
C.told exact stories of the most important happenings
D.produced and taught more songs and dances

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Women are friendly. But men are more competitive. Why? Researchers have found it's all down to the hormone oxytocin (荷爾蒙催生素). Although known as the love hormone, it affects the sexes differently.
"Women tend to be social in their behavior. They often share with others. But men lend to be competitive. They are trying to improve their social status," said Professor Ryan.
Generally, people believe that the hormone oxytocin is let out in our body in various social situations and
our body creates a large amount of it during positive social interactions (互動(dòng)) such as falling in love or giving birth.
But in a previous experiment Professor Ryan found that the hormone is also let out in our body during negative social interactions such as envy.
Further researches showed that in men the hormone oxytocin improves the ability to recognize competitive relationships, but in women it raises the ability to recognize friendship. Professor Ryan's recent experiment used 62 men and women aged 20 to 37. Half of the participants(參與者)received oxytocin. The other half received placebo (安慰劑).
After a week, the two groups switched with participants. They went tlirough the same procedure with the other material.
Following each treatment, they were shown some video pictures with different social interactions. Then they were asked to analyze the relationships by answering some questions. The questions were about telling friendship from competition. And their answers should be based on gestures, body language and facial expressions.
The results indicated that, after treatment with oxytocin, men's ability to correctly recognize competitive relationships improved, but in women it was the ability to correctly recognize friendship that got better.
Professor Ryan thus concluded: "Our experiment proves that the hormone oxytocin can raise people's abilities to better distinguish different social interactions. And the behavior differences between men and women are caused by biological factors (因素) that are mainly hormonal."
小題1:What causes men and women to behave differently according to the text?
A.Placebo.B.Oxytocin.
C.The gesture. D.The social status.
小題2:What can we learn from Professor Ryan's previous experiment?
A.Oxytocin affects our behavior in a different way.
B.Our body lets out oxytocin when we are deep in love.
C.Our body produces oxytocin when we feel unhappy about others' success.
D.Oxytocin improves our abilities to understand people's behavior differences.
小題3:Why did Professor Ryan conduct the recent experiment?
A.To test the effect of oxytocin on the ability to recognize social interactions.
B.To know the differences between friendship and competition.
C.To know people's different abilities to answer questions.
D.To test people's understanding of body language.
小題4:The author develops the text by______.
A.explaining people's behaviors
B.describing his own experiences
C.distinguishing sexual differences
D.discussing research experiments

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


The Japanese have a genius for dreaming up small, useful and fun machines. You must have used or at least heard of Sony’s walkman, Nintendo or Sega’s video games, and Bandai’s Tamagotchi. And how about karaoke, invented by Daisuke Inoue?
Daisuke, who? Not many people have heard of him, and he never made much money from his invention. But anyone who has ever experienced the thrill of singing karaoke in front of a crowd has Mr.Inoue to thank…
Daisuke Inoue is an easygoing man with a quick smile. He was born in the suburbs of Osaka in 1940. At Osaka Technical High School he took up the drums, because he says, “All you have to do is hit them.” Before long he was making money as a drummer in a Hawaiian band that played in the old dance-halls left behind by American soldiers.
By 1970, he and six partners were playing in the clubs of nearby Kobe, accompanying middle-aged businessmen who wanted to sing traditional Japanese country and even army songs. His friends, Inous says, could all read music and so they could pick up the latest tunes (曲調(diào)). He, on the other hand, had to rely on memory and play by following the lips of the singer as they moved. “Out of 108 club musicians in Kobe,” he says. “I was the worst! And the clients (顧客) in my club were the worst singers!”
One client, president of a small steel company, was especially fond of Inoue’s slow, follow-along style. It made the president’s bad, out-of–time singing sound much better. One evening he wanted Inoue to play for him on a trip to a hot spring resort (勝地). The boss wanted to sing Frank Nagai’s Leaving Haneda Airport on a 7:50 Flight for his friends. But Inoue was unable to leave his job.
To help out his most loyal client, he decided to provide him with a tape. Inoue wouldn’t be there, but the singer would still have his accompaniment. Karaoke was born. 
1. Daisuke Inoue took up the drums at high school because _______.
A. they were his favorite musical instruments
B. he knew they would help him make money
C. he thought they were easy to learn
D. it was easy for a drummer to find a job
2. What does the underlined word “they” stand for?
A. His partner      B. His friends    C. The latest tunes    D. The singer’s lips
3. From this passage we know Daisuke Inoue was ______.
A. an outstanding musician            B. not quite good at music
C. a good singer and dancer           D. good at inventing things
4. Why did the president like Inoue’s playing so much?
A. Because Inoue followed his singing.
B. Because Inoue played very well.
C. Because he had got used to Inoue’s fast, exciting style.
D. Because Inoue was an easy-going man with a quick smile.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

With the growth of the European Union and increased globalisation, English is increasingly the lingua franc a(通用語(yǔ)) in European businesses, and those who speak it have become the elite (精英)of the workforce.
In the past, only a few specialists in a company were needed to communicate with foreign businesses.However, in these days of multinational companies, where workers are required to communicate with other employees from several countries, a common language is essential and English has become the logical choice.
Nowadays, even blue-collar workers in many companies are required to speak English.For example, just over three years ago, a Dutch company.United Pan-European Communications (UPC), was contracted to build a TV studio in Amsterdam.The job involved many electricians—more than the company could find in the Netherlands.There were plenty of qualified electricians in nearby France and Belgium, but the American and Dutch executives of UPC wanted everyone on the job to speak and understand the same language.So, the UPC hired British electricians and flew them to Amsterdam every Monday, accommodating them in hotels all over the city, and flying them home on Friday evenings.
Increasingly, workers who can speak English earn salaries 25-35% higher than those who can' t.They are also eligible (有條件被選中的) for a wider range of high-level jobs.
The problem is that, while the ability to speak English is fast becoming essential for getting a good job, there is a shortage of people who can speak it.According to a recent European Commission report, only about 41% of continental Europeans can speak English, and only 29% speak it well enough to carry on a conversation.Many companies are solving this problem by setting up English language schools within the workplace.English language schools all over Europe are expanding at a huge rate, and governments are looking at ways to improve English tuition in schools.
One result of this modem urge to learn English is that a generation gap is appearing. According to a European Union study, 67% of Europeans between 15 and 24 say they can speak English while only 18% of those over 55 say they can.Increasingly, all over Europe, it is the children who are leading the parents.
小題1:In European companies, workers who speak English ________.
A.find it easy to carry on a conversationB.have an advantage over other workers
C.must be white-collar workersD.travel to many different countries
小題2:Why did the UPC hire the British electricians?
A.There were not enough electricians in nearby France and Belgium.
B.British electricians were more qualified than those in the Netherlands.
C.The UPC wanted all the employees to speak English.
D.The UPC meant to show they were rich enough to accommodate and fly them.
小題3:What can you learn from the passage about European people?
A.More young people can speak English well than older people.
B.67% Europeans can speak English very well.
C.18% of the people over 55 can't speak English.
D.Over half the people can speak English.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

In the year 480 BC the Greek allies (聯(lián)軍) faced invasion by the King of Persia, Xerxes, who commanded a huge army of about half a million men. When the Persian army marched into northern Greece, the Greek states, led by Athens and Sparta, were ill equipped to deal with the threat. The Persians were well supplied with food and weapons. Their army included infantry, cavalry, and a large navy. It seemed that they would easily defeat the Greeks.
The Greek allies decided to send 10,000 men northwards to slow down the Persians, while the rest prepared to defend their homelands. A group of 300 best Spartan soldiers were chosen to lead the force going north, with Leonidas in command. Leonidas realized that the only hope of slowing the Persians would be to block the narrow passage of land at Thermopylae. The Pass of
Thermopylae was the route between the mountains and the sea, and was so narrow that only a few men could get through at a time.
When the Persian army arrived at Thermopylae, they found Leonidas' tiny army opposing them. The Persians attacked, but could not get through. They attacked again and again, but each time they were driven back by the Greeks, led by the fearless Spartans. Leonidas' plan worked well until a Greek traitor called Ephialtes went m Xerxes. He told the Persian king about a goat's path in the mountains that would take the Persian army past Thermopylae. When Leonidas saw the enemy crossing the mountains, he realized that he could no longer hold Thermopylae. He sent all the Greek soldiers except the 300 Spartans back to their homelands.
The Spartans waited for the 500,000 Persians at the goat’s path. Although hopelessly outnumbered, the Spartans fought bravely. They all died, but the other Greeks were able to get home to strengthen the defenses.
61. Compared with the Persian army, the Greek allies were very________.
A. powerful        B. wise           C. weak          D. foolish
62. The Pass of Thermopylae was very important for the Greeks because __
A. it was easy to hold but hard to attack
B. only very small boats could get through it
C, it was a secret pass unknown to the Persians
D. a huge number of soldiers could be stationed there
63. Why did Leonidas send most of his soldiers back to their homelands?
A. Because their homelands were under attack.
B. Because he found they were not brave enough.
C. Because the Persians gave up attacking Thermopylae.
D. Because he found it impossible to hold Thermopylae.
64. Which of the following is NOT ture according to the passage?
A. Leonidas was a great commander.
B. The Persians failed to pass Thermopylae.
C. Ephialtes betrayed his own country.
D. The 300 Spatans would be regarded as heroes by the Greeks.
65. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. The Greek Allies  B. The Goat’s Path  C. The King of Persia  D. Xerxes and Ephialtes

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案