When you are at odds with someone close to you, the One-Minute Drill can show you how to express your feelings effectively – and how to listen more skillfully. All it requires is two individuals who are committed to improving their relationship.

  Set aside at least ten minutes, and then sit facing each other. Decide who will be the Talker and who will be the Listener. It makes no difference, because later you will change roles.

How to perform the One-Minute Drill

  For approximately 30 seconds, the Talker can say anything he or she wants. Your job will be to express your thoughts and feelings. You can discuss problems you've had a hard time talking about. Remember to limit yourself to about 30 seconds. When the Talker finishes, the Listener will summarize what the Talker just said, as well as how the Talker was feeling inside, as accurately as possible.

  The Talker now gives the Listener a grade between 0 and 100 per cent to indicate how accurate the summary was. If the rating is 95 per cent or more, you can change roles; the new Talker can continue with the same topic or move on to something entirely new.

  However, if the grade is below 95 per cent, the Talker should point out what the Listener missed or got wrong, and repeat the process until the overall rating is 95 per cent or more. Then you can change roles and repeat the exercise for as long as you both like.

How it works

  Thirty seconds of emotionally charged information is sufficiently challenging for anyone. Express your feelings in strong, clear, direct language, but as your partner will be listening attentively, you won't need to shout, exaggerate or put your partner down.

  The Listener should sit and listen respectfully without interrupting. Look into your partner's eyes, but avoid using negative body language. If you like, take a few notes.

  So the Talker might say: "When I come home from work, I feel tired and I need some quiet time. But you tell me I'm supposed to spend time with the kids. This makes me feel frustrated. I work hard and I'm exhausted at the end of the day. I feel like I deserve a little time to relax, not listen to more demands."

  In response, the Listener might summarize like this: "You just told me that you feel exhausted when you come home at night because you've been working hard all day. When I tell you I want you to spend time with the kids, you feel frustrated and ticked off because you're tired and you need time to relax. You see me as very demanding, and you're probably feeling like I don't appreciate you."

  The first time you attempt the One-Minute Drill, you may get a low score. Don't worry, because you'll get up to speed quickly. Once you've tried this exercise a few times, you'll find that you can nearly always get ratings of 95 per cent or better on the first or second try.

Who is the One-Minute Drill intended for?

A. Those who are to act some roles in a certain play for the first time in their life.

B. Those who are preparing for the interview in order to make a good first impression.

C. Those who have difficulty communicating with their colleagues or family members.

D. Those who have troubled relationships with their friends or family members and try to improve them.

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. In the One-Minute Drill, the Talker and the Listener change roles in the process.

B. The Talker should talk about his / her thoughts and feelings in a brief way.

C. The Listener should listen carefully, respectfully and later summarize accurately.

D. After the Talker finishes talking, the Listener is to give him / her a grade.

From the example given in “How it works,” we can guess that the talk might be between _____.

A. husband and wife   B. father and son   C. mother and daughter   D. sister and brother

What does the underlined part “ticked off” probably mean in this reading?

A. fast asleep                           B. very angry

C. burst into tears                   D. marked with a symbol

Zoe Chambers was a successful PR (Public Relations) consultant and life was going well — she had a great job, a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through." she said. "After everything I'd done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn't feel like looking for another job. I hated everything about the city and my life."
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later, she is still on the farm.
"The moment I arrived at Kathy's farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay." said Zoe. "Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless."
Zoe has been working on the farm since then and says she has no regrets. "It's a hard life, physically very tiring." she says. "In London 1 was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and  Kathy's wonderful dinners."
Zoe has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. She has learned how to ride a horse and drive a tractor. She has been helping with the lambing. "Watching a lamb being born is one of the most moving experiences for me. I could never go back to city life now," she says.
【小题1】When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a ______ life.

Roslyn Hing School on long Island recently started a pilot program using iPads in some classrooms.

A growing number of schools across the U.S.are multimedia,history through gamse and math with step-by -step animation(动画）of complex problems.

As part of a pilot program,Roslyn High School handed out 47 iPads on Dec.20,2010 to the students and teachers in two humanities(人文学科）classes. The school district hopes to provide iPads eventually to all 1,100 of its students.

The iPads are to be used in class and at hom during the school year to replace texbooks,allow students to correspond with teachers and tum in papers and homework tasks,and preserve a rocord of student work in digital files.

“It allows us to extend the classes beyond these four walls.”said larry Reiff,an English teacher at Roslyn who now posts all his course mateials online.

But educators are still divided over whether practices to give every student a laptop have made a difference academically.

“Thre is very little evidence that kids learn more,faster of better by using these machines,”said Larry Cuban,a retried professor of eduction at Staford University.“IPads are excellent tools to attract kids,but then the fieshness wears off and you eget int hard-core problems of teaching and learning.”

But school leaders say the iPad is not just a cool new toy but rather a powerful and multifunctional tool with a number of applications,including thousands with educational uses.

“If there isn't an application that does something I need ,there will be sooner or later,”said Mr.Reiff,who said he now used an application that includes all of Shakespare's plays.

1.The program of using iPads in class is            .

2.The underlined part “these four walls”in paragraph 5 refers to    .

3.We can use iPads to do the following at school except     .

4.The school leaders tink highly of the iPad mainly because it is       .

5.We can infer from the passage that     .

Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes-khaki pants and sports shirt-to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”

More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” of “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.

Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”

1. David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because _______.

A. he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt

B. he couldn’t stand a clean appearance

C. he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time

D. he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes

2. David Smith wears casual clothes now, because _______.

A. they make him feel at ease when working

    B. he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes

    C. he looks handsome in casual clothes

    D. he no longer works for any company

3. According to this passage, which of the following statements is false?

    A. Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code.

    B. Comfortable clothes make employees more productive.

    C. A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees.

    D. All the employers in the U. S. are for casual office wear.

4. According to this passage, which of the following statements is true?

    A. Company workers started to dress down about twenty years ago.

    B. Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 1990s.

    C. “Dress-down Friday” was first given as a favor from employers.

    D. Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people.

5. In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned in the passage except _______.

    A. saving employees’ money

    B. making employees more attractive

    C. improving employees’ motivation

    D. making employees happier

Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes---khaki pants and sports shirt---to the office. He hardly ever wears necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday (but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday.” “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing,” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productive. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”
【小题1】David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict” because_______.