When someone gives you advice, listen without judgment, try to find value in what you’re hearing, and say “Thank you”．This wise advice is easy to understand yet hard to practice．I’ll give you an example from my life when I totally blew it in terms of practicing what I teach．

In my work I travel constantly．I always put off going to the airport until the last second．My wife, Lynda, was sitting next to me in the front seat．I was racing along and not paying much attention．Lynda cried out, “Look out! There is a red light up ahead．”

Being a trained behavioral science professional --- who teaches others the value of encouraging advice --- I naturally screamed at her, “I know there is a red light up ahead! Don’t you think I can see?” When we arrived at the airport, Lynda didn’t speak to me．I wondered why she seemed mad at me．

During the flight to New York, I did a cost-benefit analysis．I asked myself, “What was the cost of just listening when Lynda called out the warning? Zero．” I then reasoned, “What was the potential benefit? What could have been saved?” Several potential benefits came to mind, including her life, my life, and the lives of other people．

I landed in New York feeling ashamed of myself．I immediately called Lynda and told her my cost-benefit story．I convinced her, “The next time you help me with my driving, I am just going to say, ‘Thank you．’”

A few months passed, and I had long forgotten the incident．Again, I was racing off to the airport, when Lynda cried out, “Look out for the red light!” I was embarrassed, and then shouted, “Thank you!”

I’m a long way from perfect, but I’m getting better．My suggestion is that you get in the habit of asking the important people in your life how you can do things better．And be ready for an answer．Some people may tell you things like “Look out for the red light．” When this happens, remember that there is possibly some potential benefit．Then just say, “Thank you．”

1.What do we know about the author?

A．He is expert at behavioral science．

B．He is gifted in cost-benefit analysis．

C．He always takes his wife’s advice．

D．He often runs the red traffic light．

2.The underlined part “blew it” in Paragraph 1 probably means “__________”．

A．lost personal judgment	B．forgot the practical method
C．became annoyed with the adviser	D．failed to say “Thank you”

3.It can be inferred from the passage that people __________．

A．should give their opinions patiently

B．tend to be defensive when given advice

C．had better study behavioral science

D．intend to follow others’ suggestions

4.The purpose of the passage is to advise people to __________．

A．do a cost-benefit analysis in daily life

B．discover potential benefits

C．learn from the author’s experiences

D．treasure others’ suggestions

 

If you are planning to learn a foreign language, here are some suggestions about language learning. I hope these suggestions can help improve your learning of a foreign language

Try to set aside some time every day for your study when your brain is at the most time for receiving information. It’s better to study for 30 minutes every day than for 3 hours once a week. If you can spare two or three hours a day, break them up into some periods to avoid brain getting tired.

Go over each lesson several times, perhaps once in the morning, once in the evening and once several days later. Give your brain time to understand the material, but the break between periods of study shouldn’t be too long, or you will forget most of what you’ve learned.

Make sure you’re comfortable with the bases of the language before learning the more advanced knowledge. Without full understanding of basic knowledge such as words pronunciation and spelling, you’ll find it very difficult to learn more.

Setting proper targets is a good way to encourage yourself. You could set yourself a time limit or aim for a certain level.

Once you have mastered the bases of the language, learn to apply them to the things that you’re interested in. In this way you are more likely to remember the words, phrases and grammatical constructions you meet.

You will find that at times you’re making rapid progress, while sometimes you seem to stand still or even go backwards. This is normal when learning a language, so don’t be discouraged.

Making mistakes in a foreign language is nothing to worry about. What matters is getting your message across, not whether you use all the right words, tenses, cases, etc. If you cannot think of the exact words, try using other ones.

1.What is the best time plan for studying a foreign language ?

A．A long period every day.                  B．Several short periods every day.

C．A long period once a week.                D．Several short periods a week.

2.The break between periods of study shouldn’t be too long, because ___________.

A．you will be unable to go over a lesson for several times

B．you will be too tired to continue your study

C．you will waste a lot of time for study

D．you will forget what you are trying to learn easily

3.If you don’t fully understand the basic knowledge, you will ____________.

A．be unable to go on with your study          B．be uncomfortable with yourself

C．feel it very difficult to learn more           D．stop learning more in a short time

4.According to the author, which of the following is NOT true ?

A．Setting a goal can help you make rapid progress.

B．you should use what you’ve learned frequently to remember them.

C．Sometimes you may not make any progress.

D．Mistakes are quite normal in learning a language.

5.The purpose of this passage is ____________.

A．to give some advice on foreign language learning

B．to help students get high marks in foreign language exam

C．to encourage more people to learn foreign languages

D．to comfort those who don’t learn foreign languages well

 

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Tips on Building Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is a key skill for every goal you want to accomplish Self-confidence means that you know who you are and what you' re good at and that you can handle stress and generally perform under pressure．If you feel like you don't have enough self-confidence, you probably don' t, so you should always try to increase your confidence by following a few day-to-day tips．
1．Exercise．
Exercise regularly, between three and five times a week．This boosts your self-confidence in a variety of ways． 1 __ Second, the endorphins（内啡呔） you release while exercising make you feel better about yourself．Finally, setting exercise goals and achieving those goals improves your self-confidence by showing yourself exactly what your body is capable of doing．
2．2 _
You can boost your self-confidence by achieving more．So whenever you have a project, presentation or any other event that will showcase your skills, put a lot of effort into preparing for it．Rather than telling yourself how good you are, show yourself through your actions．
3．Self Focus．
3  If someone says something unkind to you, choose not to let it affect you．This gives you power over yourself rather than giving it to other people, and it boosts your self-confidence．It may be difficult at first, but once you realize that other peoples’ words and opinions are meaningless, you start to feel more self-confident．4 
4．Fake It．Act confident．
This can be tricky, especially if you have very low self-confidence.  5  It doesn’t have to be a lone conversation．Once you realize that the stranger is likely to forget about you within 10 minutes, your self-confidence starts to develop．

A．Preparation．

B．Don't be afraid of failures．

C．Try talking to one stranger every

D．Focus on yourself rather than other people．

E．For one, you' II feel better about the way you look．
F．Again, this is a matter of showing rather than telling．
G．Self-confidence is an important key to success in any walk of life,

Fred Michel is one of 7.2 million Americans who moonlight. Once a week, after his day job as medical director of a mental health center, the 40-year-old psychiatrist heads to a part-time job at a treatment center for young people. Twice a month, he travels three hours to another teenage treatment center.

Last year, 5.4 percent of the American workforce held second jobs, according to the US Labor Department, and that looks set to increase this year.

Many workers like the safety that moonlighting provides, says Carl Hausman , the writer of “Moonlighting: 148 Great Ways to Make Money to the Side”.

The information from the US Labor Department shows that 40 percent of US moonlighters take a second job to meet household expenses or pay off debts. Others save money or buy some special things.

People also take second jobs with an eye to the future -- wanting to try out a new field or gain experience.

Michel started moonlighting when medical systems were unstable. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t tied to one system that ended up failing.

Just as the purposes for moonlighting vary, the moonlighters cross all ages and racial groups. And they work in a variety of industries -- no longer just service, office and sales jobs.

“Technology just affects your ability to make money,” Hausman says. “That makes a frequent change in moonlighting.”

As its name means, moonlighting still occurs mostly at night. And that results in some pressures. Chief among them is time.

Full-time employers could misunderstand, too. Some companies do not allow after-hour work because they fear it will affect their employees’ 9-to-5 performance.

“The primary employer is saying, ‘Wait, I’m paying you for the sharp, fresh, energetic you,’” says Tom Gimbel, president and founder of LaSalle Staffing in Chicago. “If you’re burning yourself at both ends, it’s going to show.”

Still, the good done to the moonlighters can be great. Besides extra income, moonlighters enjoy variety, freedom and chance to do something new. They may also find their part-time jobs strengthen what they do full time.

Besides, “it’s fun,” Michel says. Not only do his part-time jobs offer a chance to network, stretch his professional skills and make more money, but they also give him the variety he wouldn’t find just in a full-time job.

“It’s a way of pulling from the spice cabinet,” he says, “and offering a little variety throughout the day.”

1.The reason why Fred Michel began to moonlight is that ________.

    A. he found it exciting to do a part-time job

    B. he needed to make ends meet with more money

    C. he feared he would lose his present job one day

    D. he felt more and more pressure from his employer

2.Some companies don’t allow their workers to moonlight because they are afraid ________.

A. their workers cannot do extra-hour work for them

    B. their workers will be too tired to try their best at work

    C. their workers will one day turn to some other different jobs

    D. their workers will not get to work and be off work on time 

3.The underlined sentence “It’s a way of pulling from the spice cabinet.” in the last paragraph means ________.

    A. moonlighting gets you away from the job you don’t enjoy

    B. moonlighting offers you freedom to make extra money

    C. moonlighting strengthens your professional skills

    D. moonlighting brings you chances to do something different

4.What is the article mainly about?

    A. The ways of moonlighting.           B. The reasons for moonlighting.

C. The problems with moonlighting.      D. The kinds of people who moonlight.

 

 

The aims of the Illustrators’(插图画家的) Exhibition, staged as part of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, organized by BolognaFiere and held from 23 to 26 December 2012, are to bring illustrators and publishers together and to promote illustrators and their works among publishers.

QUALIFICATIONS

? Individual illustrators or groups of illustrators of any nationality, if they were born before 31st December 1992, whose artwork is intended for use in children’s books, are qualified to enter the Exhibition, either directly or through publishing houses or schools.

? Please state in the application form whether you are entering work for the Fiction or Nonfiction Category. Illustrators may only enter one category.

? Artwork previously presented to the Exhibition may not be re-entered.

? The confirmation(确认) form must be filled in and a photograph attached, then presented together with illustrations no later than 15 October 2012.

SHIPMENT

Entries may be delivered by post, express delivery service or by hand. From abroad, please use the following forms: Form “A” for registered mail or post by air; Form “B” if using an international forwarding agent or airline.

To avoid delays, material should not be sent by normal post. Material should be sent “carriage(运费) paid”, including any customs and delivery costs.

BolognaFiere may not be held responsible for the non-arrival or late arrival of artwork. All published works must be accompanied by a declaration bearing the ISBN number, publisher’s name and address.

REQUIREMENTS

The illustrations (i.e. the size of the sheet) must not exceed(超过) the following dimensions:

Fiction:

32 × 42 cm (or 42 × 32 cm)

Non-fiction:

50 × 70 cm (or 70 × 50 cm)

Illustrations in larger formats will not be considered, nor will they be returned by BolognaFiere. The illustrations must be on paper or flexible board, maximum thickness 2 mm (for scanner separation purposes).

SELECTION PROCESS

All artwork received by the stated deadline and meeting the specified requirements will be examined and selected by an international group (whose decision is final), including five members (from publishing house and art schools) appointed each year by BolognaFiere.

EXHIBITIONS ABROAD

After the Bologna event, the Illustrators Exhibition will travel to Japan under the supervision of JBBY. The Illustrators Exhibition may afterwards be transferred to other venues(场馆) in other countries. The exhibitions of illustrations held abroad follow the same rules and regulations as the Illustrators Exhibition, and the provisions(条款) of the regulations are extended to the organizers of the exhibitions held abroad.

RETURN OF ARTWORK

All the works will be returned to their owners by BolognaFiere or directly by the organizers of the exhibitions and held abroad by the end of July 2013.

1.Which of the following of the Illustrators’ Exhibition is TRUE?

A．It will last five days in all in July every other year.

B．It is intended for college students who are good at painting.

C．It is held by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in BolognaFiere.

D．It can strengthen the relationship between illustrators and publishers.

2.The illustrators of the Illustrators’ Exhibition ______.

A．should be at least 16 and no more than 25

B．may re-enter their artwork after it is returned

C．should state the category of their artwork clearly

D．may choose to attach a photo to the application form

3.Which of the following is unacceptable for delivering entries?

A．Normal post.       B．Airline post.        C．Registered mail.     D．Express delivery.

4.What is BolognaFiere responsible for?

A．Paying for the delivery costs.

B．Late arrival of artwork.

C．Confirmation of ISBN number.

D．Returning the illustrators’ works.

5.The illustrators’ works will not be considered if they ______.

A．are received after the day of 15 October 2012

B．are smaller than the required size

C．have already been published abroad before

D．don’t meet the demands of the international experts