Much meaning can be conveyed clearly with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}In a bus you may look at a stranger, but not for too long. And if he sensed that you are staring at him, he may feel uncomfortable.

    The same is true in our daily life. If you are stared at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down to see if there is anything wrong with you. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Eyes do speak, right？

    Looking too long at someone may seem to be rude and aggressive.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. If a man stares at a woman for more than 10 seconds and refuses to look away from her, his intentions are obvious. He wishes to attract her attention, and let her know that he is admiring her.

    However, when two persons are engaged in a conversation, the speaker will only look into the listener's eyes from time to time to make sure that the listener does pay attention to what the former is speaking.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking as if he trying to control you, you will feel awkward. A poor liar usually exposes himself by looking too long at the victim. He wrongly believes that looking straight in the eye is a sign of honest communication. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Actually, eye contact should be made based on specific relationship and situation.

A. On the contrary, it will give him away.

B. Do you have such a kind of experience?

C. That's what normal eye contact is all about.

D. Actually, continuous eye contact is limited to lovers only.

E. After all, everybody likes to be stared at for quite a long time.

F. But things are different when it comes to staring at the opposite sex.

G. If nothing goes wrong, you will feel annoyed at being stared at that way.

    I was ten when I first sat with my grandmother behind the cashier (收银台) in her general store. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} I quickly learned the importance of treating customers politely and saying "thank you. "

    At first I was paid in candy. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} I worked every day after school, and during the summer and on weekends and holidays from 8 a. m. to 7 p. m. My father helped me set up a bank account. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    By the time I was 12, my grandmother thought I had done such a good job that she promoted me to selling cosmetics (化妆品). I developed the ability to look customers directly in the eye. Even though I was just a kid, women would ask me such things as "What color do you think I should wear?" I took a real interest in their questions and was able to translate what they wanted into makeup (化妆) ideas. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    The job taught me a valuable lesson: to be a successful salesperson, you didn't need to be a Rocket scientist—you needed to be a great listener. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Expect they are no longer women purchasing cosmetics from me; instead, they are kids who tell me which toys they would like to see designed and developed.

A. Later I received 50 cents an hour.

B. Before long, she let me sit there by myself.

C. I ended my selling a record amount of cosmetics.

D. Today I still carry that lesson with me: I listen to customers.

E. My grandma's trust taught me how to handle responsibility.

F. Soon I found myself looking more beautiful than ever before.

G. Watching my money grow was more rewarding than anything I could have bought.

    Exploring somewhere new can bring us adventurous experiences. With the proper technology, we can make full use of our time on the road. Google Maps is just this kind that helps make trips easier. People most commonly use Google Maps for directions from one place to another. It offers many other kinds of travel tools. And, how do Google Maps work? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Project and share a road trip route.

    When we are traveling on a road trip, we do not have to plan each part of the trip separately with Google Maps.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Besides, we can share our journey with others. After we have planned our route, click share or open the menu and click” share or insert map “to share our route with others.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    When we are traveling, we may not always have access to the Internet, or we may not want to pay international charges for using our phone in other countries. The good news is that we can still use Google Maps even without the Internet. We can download a map from Google Maps to our phone.

    Find the best places in town.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}We can ask Google Maps for recommendations. After we search for a city in Google Maps, click” Nearby” to find the top- rated restaurants, hotels, pubs, coffee shops, and more.

Share our current position with friends.

    Thanks to a recent Google Maps update, we can now share our position with our friends. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}For example, using Google Maps for a lonely place, we can share our route with friends so that they can locate a general position where we stay and join us.

A. Is there any place to explore?

B. Want to know the best local places?

C. Here are 4 top tips for using Google Maps.

D. Save our maps for off-line use.

E. Google Maps can offer us all kinds of conveniences.

F. We can search for the whole trip in order to plan our route more efficiently.

G. During exploring a totally strange area, there is no need to worry about losing way.

    The Qingming Festival is celebrated with a three-day national holiday, whose name originates from the saying "Plants start to revive and prosper at Qingming in a clean and bright way. Thus, the festival is called Qingming, "which means clean and bright. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Tomb sweeping aims to commemorate family ancestors while going on a spring outing allows everyone the chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery and enjoy the season.

    Traditional customs

    Tomb sweeping. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} On this day, the whole family gathers in front of their ancestral tombs. They offer fruit and wine to their ancestors and clean the weeds from around the tomb. Finally, they kowtow and pray, hoping for their ancestors' blessing for the rest of the year.

    Spring outing. The time around the Qingming Festival is one of the most suitable seasons for a spring outing, as plants are thriving and flowers are blooming. People can have a great time outdoors with their friends and family. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Traditional food

    Qingtuan, a green rice ball tiny enough to fit into your hand, is also called Qingmingguo or Aiguo. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It is a mixture of sticky rice powder and green vegetable juice, stuffed with sweetened bean paste, Qingtuan tastes sweet with the fresh fragrance of Aicao, a green spring vegetable, In celebration of Qingming, people from Shaanxi make steamed buns, known as Huamo, made into different shapes. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Some are for peaceful family life while others represent the wish for health.

    For many people, bicycling is not just a convenient way of getting around town but also an exciting sport. Serious cyclists often arrange to take part in races.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Each racer leaves the starting line at a different time and heads hard for the finish line. The cyclist who covers the distance in the shortest amount of time wins the race. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, because the bicycles are spread out and are not likely to run into each other.

    Another kind of race is more difficult. A few city blocks are closed for competition. Then all the racers line up in a tight pack and begin racing at the same time. They cover many laps, going around and around the city blocks.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}. It also requires skillful handling of the bicycle as it runs at full speed around other bicycles. The racer who completes all the laps first is the winner.

    Road races are usually the longest cycling contests.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}. The race course may be a straight stretch of road or a long series of roads across the country. The prize goes to the first person who crosses the finish line.

    Between races cyclists stay in condition by doing exercise that builds their strength so that they can keep riding for long periods of time. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}, they often join bicycling groups and become licensed racers. So they can enter professional races. Just keep practicing. Any cyclist could become a star.

A. One kind of race is the time trial

B. The race requires more than speed

C. As cyclists become more experienced

D. A time trial is a very safe race for beginners

E. Most people will seize possible chances to get around town

F. Racers have to cover anywhere from 35 miles to almost 3,000 miles

G. When cyclists still need to build themselves up for those special races

The secrets of successful listening

"When people talk, listen completely." Those words of Ernest Hemingway might be a pretty good guiding principle for many managers, as might the saying by Zeno of Citium, a Greek philosopher, "We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say." {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Some firms use a technique known as a "listening circle". {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In such a circle, only one person can talk about the issues they face at a time and there is no interruption. A study cited in the Harvard Business Review found that employees who had taken part in a listening circle then suffered less social anxiety and had fewer worries about work-related matters than those who did not.

Listening has been critical to the career of Richard Mullender, who was a hostage (人质) negotiator, dealing with everything from suicide (自杀) prevention to international crimes. He defines listening as "the identification, selection and comprehension of the key words". {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Plenty of people think that good listening is about nodding your head or keeping eye contact. But that is not really listening, Mr Mullender argues.

A good listener is always looking for facts, emotions and indications of the speaker's values. Another important point to bear in mind is that, when you talk, you are not listening. The listener's focus should be on analysis.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} One approach is to make an assessment of what the other person is telling you and then check it with them ("It seems to me that what you want is X"). {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The fundamental aim is to build up a relationship so the other person likes you and trusts you, Mr Mullender says.

A. It is vital to all effective communication.

B. However, a listener needs to speak occasionally.

C. For people like listening to others.

D. That gives the other party a sense that they are being understood.

E. Therefore, a listener shouldn't just listen.

F. In it participants are encouraged to talk openly and honestly.

G. For people like being listened to.