Pacing and Pausing

Sara tried to befriend her old friend Steve’s new wife, but Betty never seemed to have anything to say. While Sara felt Betty didn’t hold up her end of the conversation, Betty complained to Steve that Sara never gave her a chance to talk. The problem had to do with expectations about pacing and pausing.

Conversation is a turn-taking game. When our habits are similar, there’s no problem. But if our habits are different, you may start to talk before I’m finished or fail to take your turn when I’m finished. That’s what was happening with Betty and Sara.

It may not be coincidental that Betty, who expected relatively longer pauses between turns, is British, and Sara, who expected relatively shorter pauses, is American. Betty often felt interrupted by Sara. But Betty herself became an interrupter and found herself doing most of the talking when she met a visitor from Finland. And Sara had a hard time cutting in on some speakers from Latin America or Israel.

The general phenomenon, then, is that the small conversation techniques, like pacing and pausing, lead people to draw conclusions not about conversational style but about personality and abilities. These habitual differences are often the basis for dangerous stereotyping (思维定势). And these social phenomena can have very personal consequences. For example, a woman from the southwestern part of the US went to live in an eastern city to take up a job in personnel. When the Personnel Department got together for meetings, she kept searching for the right time to break in — and never found it. Although back home she was considered outgoing and confident, in Washington she was viewed as shy and retiring. When she was evaluated at the end of the year, she was told to take a training course because of her inability to speak up.

That’s why slight differences in conversational style — tiny little things like microseconds of pause — can have a great effect on one’s life. The result in this cause was a judgment of psychological problems — even in the mind of the woman herself, who really wondered what was wrong with her and registered for assertiveness training.

1.What did Sara think of Betty when talking with her?

A. Betty was talkative.

B. Betty was an interrupter.

C. Betty did not take her turn.

D. Betty paid no attention to Sara.

2.According to the passage, who are likely to expect the shortest pauses between turns?

A. Americans. B. Israelis.

C. The British. D. The Finns.

3.We can learn from the passage that ________.

A. communication breakdown results from short pauses and fast pacing

B. women are unfavorably stereotyped in eastern cities of the US

C. one’s inability to speak up is culturally determined sometimes

D. one should receive training to build up one’s confidence

4.The underlined word “assertiveness” in the last paragraph probably means ________.

A. being willing to speak one’s mind

B. being able to increase one’s power

C. being ready to make one’s own judgment

D. being quick to express one’s ideas confidently

Black has long been praised for its ability to better women’s figures and suit every occasion. But the color has a side-effect—it ages the face.

While black does give the appearance of a slimmer figure by making the shadows less visible, wearing it next to the face brings out a negative effect. Black clothing can highlight (突出) dark lines under the chin, shadows around the eyes and wrinkles on the face. The effect can be as serious as making women feel exhausted, self-conscious and upset. Wrinkles and sunken areas appear deeper and more pronounced, meaning the effect is more obvious in older women.

Dark scarves, hats and high-collared coats are apparently particularly likely to emphasize aging features of the face. But fear not. The effect can be tempered by a splash of color around the neck—in the form of a scarf or a piece of jewelry—or a low neckline.

Famous actress Joan Collins is among the few who can get away with the side-effect. But those who should consider changing their dresses include many European stars. The majority of women who have what is known as a “warm” skin tone, based on yellow and gold colors, will not look young and healthy with black against their faces. Warm skins do not match well with black against their faces as it takes away all the golden glow that they have as a basic skin tone. Black looks for dark things on the face and highlights them, particularly as women age.

The good news for those who like black dress is that a simple test can help determine whether they can wear black well: Hold the color up against your face, stand in front of the mirror and look for dark lines under the chin, shadows around the eyes or lines on the face that are highlighted. If there are no dark areas or shadows, you can probably wear black close to your face and look great. Otherwise, change your ways.

1.According to the passage, wearing black clothes probably ________________.

A. makes the wearer less energetic

B. gives away the wearer’s age

C. darkens the wearer’s skin tone

D. makes the wearer feel confident

2.The underlined word “tempered” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by _______________.

A. observed B. ignored C. weakened D. measured

3.We can infer from the passage that _______________.

A. high-collared coats are not suitable for warm-skinned women

B. a woman from eastern Asia may not look young with black against her face

C. men with deep wrinkles would look unhealthy in black

D. Joan Collins has a warm skin tone

4.The black dress will be probably suitable for you on condition that there are no ___________.

A. wrinkles on your face

B. dark circles around your eyes

C. sunken areas that are highlighted

D. dark areas or shadows on the face

Analysis of the composition of quicksand shows that there are four key ingredients—sand, obviously water, clay and salt. Together these materials form a structure resembling a house of cards, with large water-filled gaps between the sand particles, which are loosely glued in place by the clay. As long as it’s left alone, the structure remains stable. But as soon as it’s disturbed, by stepping on it, the clay changes from a jelly-like consistency to a runny liquid. The effect is the same as stirring a pot of yoghurt. Liquefying(溶解)the clay makes the quicksand about one million times runnier, and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down, with you inside it.

Very quickly, the sand sinks to the bottom and the water floats to the top. This is where the salt comes in. When there’s enough salt present, as soon as the clay particles liquefy, electrical charges make them begin to stick together to form bigger particles and these also settle with the sand. Quicksand is a mixture which looks like solid, but behaves more like a liquid.

Despite its murderous reputation, quicksand does not such people under and swallow them, although it can hold a person in firm grip. The human body is more buoyant(有浮力) in quicksand than in water, and sooner or later anyone trapped in it will float.

Unlike most liquids, quicksand’s viscosity, or “runniness” can suddenly change if it comes under pressure, for example under a human foot. The surface gives way and the victim quickly sinks in up to the knees, surrounded by an area of dirty things that turns semi-solid around its victim. Escaping from the quicksand’s grip(紧握) requires a large amount of force. Without something solid to pull at, people often find they are stuck fast. Pulling at one leg simply makes the other one sink further.

So how do you escape from quicksand’s control? Stay still and call for help. Staying still stops you sinking any further, until--with luck--help arrives on the scene. If no one appears and you need to draw yourself out, gently lie down on your back until your body is floating on the sand. Next, roll over onto your stomach and pull yourself forwards with your hands, so that you gradually “swim” towards firmer ground. It is a slow and dirty business, but it works.

This technique has one barrier: it goes against a very powerful human nature. Faced with danger in the open, nine out of ten stay on their feet so that they can run away, in which case it can worsen the situation.

1.Which ingredient of the quicksand make someone trapped in it stuck and stuck fast?

A. Sand B. Clay C. Water D. Salt

2.From the passage we can learn that ________

A. as long as you are strong enough, you can pull yourself up from quicksand on your own

B. clay glues sand particles loosely, which makes quicksand stable, unless it is disturbed

C. because anyone trapped in quicksand will float, there is little possibility of him dying

D. looking like solid ground, quicksand is actually liquid

3.If someone is trapped in quicksand, what should he do?

A. Remain calm and wave for help

B. Stand in quicksand and get ready to run away as quickly as possible

C. “Swimming” is one of the best choices he can use to escape

D. Once in quicksand, lie down on his stomach immediately and swim slowly to safety

4. What might be the best title of the passage?

A. A human killer--quicksand

B. How to escape from danger

C. An awful experience in quicksand

D. What to do if trapped in quicksand

完形填空,阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Mr. Jackson was blind from birth. He owned a fruit ____ on a very busy street. ____he was visually disabled, he ran his business pretty handsomely. He could see nothing and he could only ____ the things within his reach. ____, he was able to handle it and was content with everything he had.

One day his son came to him. He told Mr. Jackson in ____ that he read in the newspaper of a __46__ who could operate on his eyes and allow him to see. The father and the son traveled to the doctor and paid for the ____.

After the operation, the doctor asked Mr. Jackson, “What is the first thing you are ____ to see when I take the bandages off?” He replied, “I really want to see my beautiful ____ on my stand!”

The doctor and the son ____Mr. Jackson down to the busy street where his fruit stand had been located for so many years. The doctor ____ unwrapped the bandages ____ he could lay his eyes on the beautiful fruit! Mr. Jackson was so full of ____ that he could finally see his life’s work—taking care of his fruit! After a few hours of ____ his beautiful fruit stand, he looked down the street both ways and saw there were quite a few fruit stands in both directions. He looked ____ the street and saw many other fruit stands. He spent so much time looking at other people’s fruit stands and ____ the competition that soon his own business ____.

From Mr. Jackson’s failure, we should know that everyone is a ___ individual with different fingerprints, DNA and thinking. What we need to do is just be ourselves and ____everyone else to be who they are. Mind our own business and we should never be afraid of ____.

1.A. company B. stand C. store D. centre

2.A. Because B. as C. When D. Although

3.A. feel B. remember C. observe D. describe

4.A. However B. Therefore C. Otherwise D. Besides

5.A. pride B. doubt C. surprise D. excitement

6.A. nurse B. doctor C. chemist D. surprise

7.A. operation B. information C. medicine D. service

8.A. nervous B. lucky C. afraid D. eager

9.A. flowers B. fruit C. vegetable D. clothing

10.A. sent B. followed C. accompanied D. invited

11.A. carefully B. suddenly C. curiously D. firmly

12.A. in case B. so that C. even if D. if only

13.A. regret B. courage C. joy D. relief

14.A. selling B. judging C. enjoying D. making

15.A. above B. across C. within D. through

16.A. preparing for B. focusing on C. taking up D. worrying about

17.A. improved B. appeared C. expanded D. failed

18.A. unique B. reliable C. perfect D. simple

19.A. force B. require C. allow D. persuade

20.A. change B. difference C. competition D. disability

When 47?year?old volunteer Susan Boyle stepped onto the stage of Britain's Got Talent and announced she was unemployed, had never been married and “never been kissed, actually”, few in the audience would have wondered why. This Ms Boyle, looking unfashionable, from a village in Scotland, shocked the three judges and the audience with the song I dreamed a dream on a show of Britain's Got Talent.

She couldn't hide the awkwardness when walking to the center of the stage in a house dress, and everyone — including the judges — seemed laughing at her when she said she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige. As soon as she began singing, however, everyone in the hall fell silent, then rose within seconds to admire her wonderful voice as the celebrity judges sat open?mouthed, and remained standing to the end.

After her performance, one of the judges Piers Morgan said,“Without doubt that was the biggest surprise I've had in three years of this show. When you stood there everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now. That was amazing.” Actress Amanda Holden followed,“I'm so thrilled because I know that we everybody were against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical (愤世嫉俗的) and I think that's the biggest wake?up call ever.”

Susan obviously won over the hearts of millions around the world with success spreading across the Atlantic. Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher, who has nearly 1.5 million followers, speaks highly of her. Kutcher posted a link to the video clip (片段). The Scottish talent made her live American show via satellite connection on CBS's The Early Show, doing an interview and singing live from her room. And she already accepted an invitation from talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey.

Now Boyle has become one of the world's hottest celebrities. The video clip of her performance has been viewed more than 50 million times on Youtube, becoming a hit on the Internet.

1.We learn from the passage that Susan Boyle ________.

A. rose from a low social class

B. had an unhappy marriage

C. lived with a dog alone on a farm

D. won the championship in the Britain's Got Talent show

2.At the beginning of the show, almost everybody ________.

A. looked forward to her wonderful performance

B. was attracted by her beautiful dress

C. looked down upon her

D. placed great hope on her

3. The 4th paragraph is mainly about ________.

A. how Susan Boyle achieved her success

B. the comment made by American actor Ashton Kutcher

C. Susan Boyle's influence in the USA

D. Oprah Winfrey's invitation to Susan Boyle

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