How did your friendships begin? Most start with a short conversation on a random day. Asking about a homework assignment in class or complaining about your painful legs after playing in a soccer game, you found your best pal by accident.

“Small talk is where all your relationships begin,” Forbes magazine summed up.

The following is a five-step guide to making small talk from Bernardo J. Carducci, the director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast, US. Let’s have a look.

Getting started

Begin by talking about the setting, such as the weather outside or the room you are in (“It’s cold in here, isn’t it?”). The purpose of talking about the setting is to show the other person that you are willing to make a conversation.

②The personal introduction

You should mention something about yourself, such as your name. A good personal introduction helps move the conversation forward.

③Looking for topics

At this point, you and your conversation partner need to find common ground. This is a good time to ask questions or to refer back to things you’ve said or heard earlier. Don’t worry if it gets quiet. The other person is probably just thinking of something to say.

④Expanding the topic

The goal is to keep the conversation going. At every stage, you should be careful not to talk too much. But don’t let the other person dominate the conversation either. If that starts to happen, mention something about yourself when he or she takes a breath.

⑤A polite ending

When ending a conversation, let the person know you’ll be leaving soon, express gratitude for the conversation and set the stage for a future conversation. For example, you could say, “I really must be going soon, but I had a great time chatting with you. I really liked hearing your opinion about that new movie. Here’s my phone number. Call or text me if you know of any other movies you think I might enjoy.”

1.According to the article, starting by talking about the setting is meant to ________.

A. find common ground                          B. impress the other person

C. make a conversation                         D. make the room warmer

2.What does the underlined word “dominate” mean in Tip④?

A. interrupt                   B. control                  C. adapt          D. simplify 

3.When ending a conversation, you’d better ________.

A. talk about how much you want to keep talking

B. show that you’ve not enjoyed the talk

C. mention a specific movie that you love          

D. give your opinion about the other person’s earlier comments

4.The main purpose of the article is to ________.

A. encourage students to make more friends

B. give students tips on making small talk

C. introduce popular topics for students  

D. teach students how to create friendships

As a senior high school student, my future is always on my mind. To be exact,thoughts of the future have kept me up countless nights and made me worry enough to do poorly on more than one test. Because of this, words of wisdom are a source of comfort.Steve Jobs gave a speech to Stanford's graduating class in 2005 and his words resound repeatedly in my mind whenever I think about my future.
It started when l became a junior, when college came into view.  It's the first big step to making your life your own. So when Jobs discussed his life as a student, some fears were eased. He, too, felt the need to attend college to make something of himself. He faced what many are extremely afraid of: uncertainty. His lack of understanding caused him to stop attending college and focus on what he felt was important. His story had a happy ending, of course, since he certainly turned out well.
This doesn't mean that students shouldn't attend college, but rather that they shouldn't worry so much.  You'll get where you need to go, even if your path is a bit morewinding(蜿蜒的)than you'd like.
Jobs talked about the hardships in his work.  His love of his work helped him carry on and he got where he was meant to be, which restates the point: don't panic.One particular part of his speech stayed with me.  Steve Jobs quoted(引用)thc saying"Stay hungry, stay foolisll" and it has become my motto. Staying foolish is realizing thatyou are still a fool, no matter how much you've learned or experienced.  There is always more to explore. Staying hungry is wanting to find those things about which you are still uneducated.
Steve Jobs' level of success is possible to achieve, and I aim to prove that. With the will power to go into the world living every day like it's my last and allowing the future to take care of itself, I will do great things.  In the last moments of my life, I'll be proud of what I have done and hope to have all the wisdom a person could wish for.
【小题1】The author felt worried when_____.

　　In the United States, it is important to be on time, or punctual, for an appointment, a class, a meeting, etc. However, this may not be true in all countries. An American professor discovered this difference while teaching a class in a Brazilian university. The two-hour class was scheduled (制定) to begin at 10 a. m and end at 12 a. m. On the first day, when the professor arrived on time, no one was in the classroom Many students came after 10 a. m. Several arrived after 10:30 a. m. Two students came after 11 a. m. Although all the students greeted the professor as they arrived, few apologized for their lateness. Were these students being rude? He decided to study the students' behavior.

　　The professor talked to American and Brazilian students about lateness in both an informal and a formal situation: lunch with a friend and in a university class, respectively. He gave them an example and asked them how they would react. If they had a lunch appointment with a friend, the average American student defined (定义) lateness as 19 minutes after the agreed time. On the other hand, the average Brazilian student felt the friend was late after 33 minutes.

　　In an American university, students are expected to arrive at the appointed hour. In contrast, in Brazil, neither the teacher nor the students always arrive at the appointed hour. Classes not only begin at the scheduled time in the United States, but they also end at the scheduled time. In the Brazilian class, only a few students leave the class at noon; many remain past 12:30 to discuss the class and ask more questions. While arriving late may not be very important in Brazil, neither is staying late.

　　The explanation for these differences isn't simple. People from Brazilian and North American cultures have different feelings about lateness. In Brazil, the students believe that a person who usually arrives late is probably more successful than a person who is always on time. In fact, Brazilians expect a person with high social position to arrive late, while in the United States lateness is usually considered to be disrespectful and unacceptable. As a result, if a Brazilian is late for an appointment with a North American, the American may misread the reason for the lateness and become angry.

　　As a result of his study, the professor learned that the Brazilian students were not being disrespectful to him. Instead, they were simply behaving in the appropriate (合适的) way for a Brazilian student in Brazil. In the end, the professor was able to change his own behavior so that he could feel comfortable in the new culture.

(1) What is the main idea of the passage?

[　　]

A．Lateness is a way of disrespect.

B．It is important to be on time for class.

C．The importance of being on time differs among cultures.

D．People should learn the importance of time when they are children.

(2) Why did the professor study the Brazilian students' behavior?

[　　]

A．To make the students polite.

B．To make the students come to class on time.

C．To understand why the students came late.

D．To change his own behavior.

(3) Which of the following is right according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Most North Americans think a person who is late is disrespectful.

B．Few American students leave immediately after the class is finished.

C．In a Brazilian class, the students leave immediately after the class is finished.

D．As a result of the study, the professor changed the Brazilian students' behavior.

(4) What do you think will happen according to the passage?

[　　]

A．An American host will feel unhappy if a guest arrives at the party 20 minutes late.

B．An American student will think he is more successful if he is late for class.

C．A Brazilian guest will say sorry to the host if he is 20 minutes late.

D．A Brazilian teacher will go on with his class after the ending time.

As a senior, my future is always on my mind. To be exact, thoughts of the future have kept me up countless nights and made me worry enough to do poorly on more than one test. Because of this, words of wisdom are a source of comfort. Steve Jobs gave a speech to Stanford’s graduating class in 2005 and his words resound repeatedly in my mind whenever I think about my future.

     It wasn’t always like that, though. It started when I became a junior, when college came into view. It’s the first big step to making your life your own. So when Jobs discussed his life as a student, some fears were eased. He, too, felt the need to attend college to make something of himself. He faced what many are extremely afraid of: uncertainty. His lack of understanding caused him to stop attending college and focus on what he felt was important. His story had a happy ending, of course, since he certainly turned out well.

This doesn’t mean that students shouldn’t attend college, but rather that they shouldn’t worry so much. You’ll get where you need to go, even if your path is a bit more winding than you’d like.

     Jobs talked about the hardships in his work. His love of his work helped him carry on and he got where he was meant to be, which restates the point: don’t panic.

    One particular part of his speech stayed with me. Steve Jobs quoted the saying “Stay hungry, stay foolish” and it has become my motto. Staying foolish is realizing that you are still a fool, no matter how much you’ve learned or experienced. There is always more to explore. Staying hungry is wanting to find those things about which you are still uneducated.

    Steve Jobs’s level of success is attainable, and I aim to prove that. With the will power to go into the world living every day like it’s my last and allowing the future to take care of itself, I will do great things. In the last moments of my life, I’ll be proud of what I have done and hope to have all the wisdom a person could wish for.

1.The author felt worried when _________.

A. he had to take tests at school          B. he thought about his future

C. he had lots of sleepless nights         D. he searched for words of wisdom

2.What did the author gain from Jobs’s speech?

A. Courage to drop out of school.         B. Confidence in defeating Jobs.

C. Interest in computer industry.          D. Bravery to face uncertainties.

3.What did NOT Steve Jobs encourage students to do in his speech?

A. Have the desire to learn more.         B. Be content with what they know.

C. Stay calm in the face of hardships.      D. Be modest so as to learn more.

Too Much Happiness was written by Alice Munro，winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature，one of our greatest contemporary writers of fiction and the owner of the Man Booker Price for Fiction．Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker，The Atlantic Monthly，and other publications，and her collections have been translated into thirteen languages．

? The main character is Sophia Kovalevsky，a great Russian mathematician，writer and advocator拥护者）of women’s rights in the late nineteenth century. After visiting her lover Maxsim Kovalevsky in Riviera，she travels in Europe，ending up in Sweden，where she teaches at the only university in Europe willing to employ a female mathematician．The book writes about her journey from Riviera to Sweden．

??? The story tells the typical struggle of an intellectual（知识分子）woman to achieve success and happiness．However，when she is going to die，Sophia says“too much happiness”．I think it’s irony（讽*11的）．As reading the story，she has too many mental problems·First，as a woman mathematician，she was born in a wrong time ．She was married to Vladimir Kovalevsky without love，called“a white marriage”．She explained that“no a young Russian woman who was unmarried could leave the country．”She satisfied her marriage to seek her career．

??? Furthermore，when she sees a man look like Maxsim in the station，she says to herself，“of course，it would not be Maxsim，what could he be doing in Paris？”She doesn’t want to face the fact because she doesn’t want to lose her hope．She believes they will marry in spring．And in her letter to Julia she says：“it is to be happiness after all，happiness after all．Happiness．”She is cheating herself. In fact，the man does not want to marry her，and the happiness she expected doesn’t take place at all．

??? Finally, I conclude that the end must be a tragedy（悲剧）．From the very first pages the atmosphere is gloomy黯淡的）and threatening.“One of us will die this year.”“Because we have gone walking in a graveyard（墓地）on the first day of the New Year.”Some pages further，“a black cat across their path”all reflect it will be a bad ending．Not because she had some problems with her lung，but because her life does not bring her happiness，and because of these disharmony things that happen in her life．

1.We can infer from the passage that＿＿·

A．Sophia was born in a wrong time and was mentally ill

B．women were not fairly treated in Europe in Sophia’s time

C．Sophia loved travelling around Europe to meet `different people

D．unmarried women were forbidden to learn mathematics at that time

2.The underlined phrase“the fact”in Paragraph 4 most probably refers to the fact that

A．her husband refuses to divorce B．she can’t teach in university

C．she falls in love with Maxsim D．Maxsim doesn’t want to marry her

3.Why does the author name this book Too Much Happiness？

A．It is used to suggest that the story must be a comedy．

B．It’s a phrase repeatedly used by Sophia herself to her friend．

C．It’s used in an ironic way to show that Sophia isn’t happy at all．

D．It’s to show Sophia is very happy to achieve success in her career．

4.What can we conclude from Sophia’s experience？

A．It’s hard for an educated woman to achieve success in Europe at that time．

B．Russian women were not allowed to go abroad without a white marriage．

C．Married women could travel freely across Europe in the late nineteenth century．

D．Seeing a black cat across the path would bring people to death in the end．

5.In a newspaper，this passage is most probably in the section of____．

A. Entertainment B. Travel C．Career D. Culture