题型:任务型阅读 题类:常考题 难易度:普通
上海市北虹高级中学2018-2019学年高二下学期英语期末考试试卷
Reading the world in 195 books
In 2012, I set myself the challenge of trying to read a book from every country of all 195 UN-recognized states in a year. . I created a blog called A Year of Reading the World and put out an appeal for suggestions of titles that I could read in English.
The response was amazing. Before I knew it, people all over the planet were getting in touch with ideas and offers of help. Some posted me books. Others did hours of research on my behalf. . Even with such an extraordinary team behind me, however, sourcing books was no easy task.
But the effort was worth it. As I made my way through the planet's literary landscapes, extraordinary things started to happen. Far from simply armchair travelling, I found I was inhabiting the mental space of the storytellers. I discovered, bookpacking offered something that a physical traveller could hope to experience only rarely: it took me inside the thoughts of individuals living far away and showed me the world through their eyes. More powerful than a thousand news reports, these stories not only opened my mind to basic information of life in other places, but opened my heart to the way people there might feel. . Through reading the stories shared with me by bookish strangers around the globe, I realized I was not an isolated person, but part of a network that stretched all over the planet.
One by one, the country names on the list that had begun as an intellectual exercise transformed into places filled with laughter, love, anger, hope and fear. . At its best, I learned, fiction makes the world real.
A. Lands that had once seemed foreign and remote became close and familiar to me. B. And that in turn changed my thinking. C. With no idea how to find publications, I decided to ask the planet's readers for help. D. No matter how long your life is, you will be able to read only a few of all the books that have been written. E. You'll find yourself enlightened by the thoughts and observations of the most gifted writers in history. F. In addition, several writers, like Turkmenistan's Ak Welsapar, sent me unpublished translations of their novels. |
Put a group of strangers in a room together, and they'll probably start a conversation. "Hot today, isn't it?"one might say. "You said it." another replies.
Why do we talk so much about the weather? When we meet new people, we don't begin by telling them our life story. We start with small talk, a polite conversation about something like traffic or weather.
Research suggests that small talk can build new friendships. When we begin conversations with new people, we want to feel comfortable, and so do they. We use small talk to find common interests. Once we have a common interest, a friendship can begin.
Small talk even helps people get hired. In order to impress at a job interview, you need to bond with the interviewer right away. Proper small talk can make that first impression get you the job.
So, how can you make small talk lead to a new friendship or job? First off, find common ground. Select something around you that you share with the other person.
Next, keep the conversation going. Compliment (赞美) the other person to make himor her feel comfortable, and ask questions to show interest.
Third, keep eye contact (接触). When you look people in the eye, they feel you appreciate what they are saying. It makes you appear honest and builds trust.
Naturally, shy people might not have enough confidence to start up conversations with strangers. Talking to someone you don't know is not the easiest thing to do! Some experts say with more practice, small talk does get easier.
Some people avoid small talk because they dislike discussing things like traffic or weather. For them, they are just too small. However, when you think about it, small talk is anything but small. In fact, it is actually a very big deal!
Title | Small Talk: A Big {#blank#}1{#/blank#} |
Introduction | We are likely to make small talk when we{#blank#}2{#/blank#} meet people. |
{#blank#}3{#/blank#} | ❖ Small talk can help people form {#blank#}4{#/blank#}friendships. |
❖Small talk can also help people get a {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . | |
Advice | ❖Find some topics {#blank#}6{#/blank#} with the other person. |
❖Keep the talk going by making compliments and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} questions. ❖Keep eye contact in conversation to build {#blank#}8{#/blank#}. | |
❖{#blank#}9{#/blank#} more in order to make small talk easier. | |
Conclusion | Small talk really{#blank#}10{#/blank#} a lot to us. |
Questions you should ask yourself when you fail
The more new things we try the more failure we are likely to have.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Experiencing failure can be a learning experience and an opportunity for a fresh start. A good way to begin this process is by asking yourself some tough questions.
⑴What can I learn from this?
Take responsibility for what went wrong. OK, so it was not all your fault—but some of it was. Successful people don't make excuses or blame others. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} So you should look at the experience objectively(客观地).
⑵Do I need to acquire or improve some skills?
Did the problem reveal some lack of skill on your part? How could you learn or improve those skills? Perhaps there are books or courses or people you could turn to. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}
⑶Who can I learn from?
Is there someone to whom you can turn for advice? Did a boss, colleague or friend see what happened? {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Most people do not ask for help because they believe it to be a sign of weakness rather than strength. It's not. It shows that you are ready to learn and change.
⑷What will I do next?
Now draw up an action plan. Will you try something similar or something different? Revisit your goals. Failure doesn't mean you have to give up; maybe you just need to change it in another way. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}
A. You can now reset your sights on your destination and plan a new course. B. Make them step stones to future success. C. They take responsibility for the failure. D. In fact the only way to avoid failure is to do nothing new. E. The important thing is how we deal with failure. F. Make a self-development plan to acquire the skills and experience you need. G. If they are constructive and supportive then ask them for some feedback (反馈) and guidance. |
When was the last time you read a book or a magazine article? Do your everyday reading habits centre around updates on the Internet? In case you are one of countless individuals who don't make a habit of reading you may be passing up a great chance: Reading has a number of advantages and only a couple of advantages of reading are recorded below.
Everything you read fills your head with new bits of information and you never know when it might be useful to you. The more knowledge you have, the better-equipped you are to overcome any challenge you'll ever face. Besides, here's a bit of food for thought:Should you ever find yourself in a terrible situation, remember that although you might lose everything else — your job, your possessions, your money, even your health — knowledge can never be taken from you.
At the same time, the more you read, the more words you gain, and they'll surely make their way into your everyday vocabulary. Being able to express your ideas clearly in words is of great help and knowing that you can speak to higher-ranking people with self-confidence can be a great encouragement to your self-esteem(自尊). Reading books is also important for learning new languages, as non-native speakers gain exposure to words used in context, which will improve their own speaking and writing fluency.
When you read a book, you have to remember a lot of characters, their backgrounds, ambitions, history as well as the various plots(各种各样的情节) through every story. That's a fair bit to remember, but brains are wonderful things and can remember these things with ease. Amazingly enough, whenever you remember something new, new synapses(神经元的突触) are formed and existing ones are strengthened. How cool that is!
No matter how much stress you have at work, in your personal relationships, or countless other issues faced in daily life, it all just slips away when you lose yourself in a great story. A well-written novel can transport you to other fields while an interesting article will distract(使分心) you and keep you in the present moment, letting stress away and allowing you to relax.
You Should Read Every Day | |
Knowledge Accumulation (积累) | ◆ The more you read, the more adequately it {#blank#}1{#/blank#}you for different troubles in life. ◆ Knowledge is what will stay with you {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. |
{#blank#}3{#/blank#}expansion | ◆ You can enlarge your vocabulary by reading, which may help you in your job and make you {#blank#}4{#/blank#}when you talk with your leaders. ◆ Words in context will help a foreign language learner use the language {#blank#}5{#/blank#} |
{#blank#}6{#/blank#}improvement | ◆ You will try to {#blank#}7{#/blank#}in mind the contents of a book while reading and that is somewhat {#blank#}8{#/blank#}for your brain. ◆ The more you try to remember, the{#blank#}9{#/blank#}you will be at remembering. |
Stress reduction | ◆ An interesting writing will transfer your attention to its plot so that you feel {#blank#}10{#/blank#}and forget about your worries. |
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