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, “Oh boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.” I wanted to strike him on the race with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his smile.

Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter,  the sales agent said with a broad smile, “Oh that bus left rive minutes ago.” Dreams of head-cutting!

It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad mews from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation dose 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.

 Unfortumately, 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 ye? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter merrily 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 warning. 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 (被轰炸的) person is sure to have .

53. In Paragraph 1, the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to        .

   A. make a comparison    B. introduce a topic   C. describe a scene    D. offer an argument

54. In the writer’s opinion, his neighbor was _____________.

    A. friendly    B. warm-hearted    C. not considerate     D. not helpful

55. From “Dreams of head-cutting!”(Paragraph 3), 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.

56. 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.

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, “Oh boy, bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it’s going to rain.” I wanted to strike him on the race with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report, for his smile.

Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter, the sales agent said with a broad smile, “Oh that bus left rive minutes ago.” Dreams of head-cutting!

It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsympathetic attitude with which it’s delivered. Everyone must give bad mews from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A. doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation dose 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 ye? When you had your heart set on the toast beef, has your waiter merrily 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 warning. 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 （被轰炸的） person is sure to have .

1.In Paragraph 1, the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to    .

A. make a comparison B. introduce a topic  C. describe a scene  D. offer an argument

2.In the writer’s opinion, his neighbor was _____________.

A. friendly  B. warm-hearted  C. not considerate   D. not helpful

3.From “Dreams of head-cutting!”（Paragraph 3）, 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.

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.

   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。选项中有两项是多余选项。

Hospital emergency rooms treat injured fingers all the time．  Without treatment, a bad cut can lead to  permanent damage．But how should a person know when a bleeding cut is serious enough to require medical attention?

Here are some tips from Dr． Martin Brown, chairman of the department of emergency at Inova Alexandria Hospital in Virginia．

1． Laceration （裂口）

The medical term for a cut or tear in the skin is a laceration．71   A long cut on a finger can likely be treated without a visit to a doctor if the wound is not very deep．  However, if you have a short but deep laceration, you will need professional attention．

2． Fingertips cut off

Some injuries, like a fingertip that gets cut off, might even need surgery to repair．72  More often, cutting down the bone is what is done because reattaching a fingertip is often not successful．

3． Bleeding

73    Small cuts usually produce what is known as venous （静脉的） bleeding．  This means the blood flows steadily from the injury． The bleeding will often stop when pressure is put on the wound．  In most cases holding direct pressure with a clean cloth for four to rive minutes would do．But if a cut appears to be pumping blood out with some force, this may be a sign of arterial （动脉的）bleeding． 74

Finally, always keep this in mind: even a cut that does not require medical attention must be kept clean to prevent infection．  Small cuts should be cleaned gently with clean water．   75   Then cover it with a clean, dry bandage．

A．  How a wound bleeds can be a sign of how serious it is．

B． That requires a specialist to either cut down the bone or reattach the fingertip

C．This kind of injury should be treated by a medical professional as soon as possible．

D．The first signs of this disease include difficulty in opening the mouth．

E．Use a washcloth to clean the area if the wound is dirty．

F．With a cut finger, holding the hand above the heart can reduce the loss of blood．

G．The length-is usually not as important as the depth．