Dog Translation Products Coming to U. S.

A Japanese toy maker declares that they have developed a gadget that translates dog barks into human language and plans to begin selling the gadget——under the name of Bowlingual——in U. S. pet stores and gift shops this summer.

Tokyo-based Takara Co. Ltd. says about 300, 000 of the dog translator gadgets have been sold since it was on sale in Japan late last year. It is forecasting far bigger sales once an English language translation for dogs comes to America in August. The United States is home to about 67 million dogs, more than six times the number in Japan.

"We know that the Americans love their dogs so much, so we don't think they will mind spending $ 120 on this product," the Takara marketing manager said during an interview at a recent pet products conference in Atlanta.

Regarded as one of the coolest inventions of 2002 by Time magazine, Bowlingual is made up of a 3 - inch long wireless microphone that is fastened to a dog collar and sends out sounds to a small console (控制台) that is connected to a database (数据库). The console divides each bark into six emotional types——happiness, sadness, disappointment, anger, threat and desire——and shows common phrases, such as "You're ticking me off," that fit the dog's emotional state.

Takara says it has spent millions of dollars developing the gadget in cooperation with famous sound experts and animal behaviorists.

One thing that does appear certain is that the markets for animal translation products will likely remain a dog's world since Takara has no plans to develop a similar gadget for cats. "They are too unpredictable (反复无常) , " the marketing manager said.

1.This passage mainly tells us that Bowlingual ___________.

A. was invented in Japan 　　　　　　　 B. has developed quickly

C. will be sold in America 　　　　　　 D. sells well for its price

2.The underlined word "they" in the last paragraph refers to ___________.

A. markets 　　　B. products 　　　 C. plans 　　 　　D. cats

3.When was this passage most probably published?

A. In the winter of 2002. 　　　　　　B. In the spring of 2003.

C. In the summer of 2002. 　　　　　 D. In the autumn of 2003.

4.From the passage, we can see that Takara Co. Ltd. is ___________ the sale of its new product.

A. proud of 　　　　　 　　　　　　B. satisfied with

C. confident of 　　　　　　　　　　D. worried about

Apologizing is both an Art and a Science. The Art lies in the manner in which the apology is delivered while the Science is the recipe that forms the apology itself. A proper apology should always include several ingredients. Now let’s take a closer look at these ingredients.

Give a detailed account of the offense, and make sure both you and the other person are talking about the same thing. Whether you make it in secret or public doesn’t matter, but your apology should be focused on the particular event.

Next, by acknowledging the hurt or damage done, you are making the recipient (接受者) begin to sense that you understand the situation. It is important to rebuild your relationship because it makes them feel their anger is understandable.

Don’t try to defend yourself by offering any excuses, which is important to let them know that you understand the event and you actions do cause them harm. The apology is all about THEM and how they feel. It doesn’t matter if the actions were intentional or not, the end result is the same and that is what needs to be focused on when learning how to say, “I’m sorry”.

Give a sincere statement of regret such as “I apologize” or “I’m sorry”. Above all, tell them it won’t happen again. After all, there is no value in apologizing for something that you will do again and again.

Finally, asking for forgiveness at the end of the apology gives the power back to the recipient. It tells them, that you have done all that you can do by apologizing and providing whatever form of restitution(补偿)you can. The next move is up to them.

By including all these ingredients and applying them to your situation, you will know exactly how to say “I’m sorry” next time you need to.

1.The passage mainly tells readers ____.

A. the importance of apologizing

B. the process of apologizing

C. how to apologize effectively

D. how to repair a broken friendship

2.How will the recipient react when you admit hurting them?

A. They will be sorry for being angry with you.

B. They will treat you differently right away.

C. They will understand the situation better.

D. They will think their former reaction normal.

3.When you make an apology, you should concentrate on ____.

A. finding out better excuses

B. taking responsibility for the event

C. defending yourself from more harm

D. understanding the current situation

4.What is the key to any apology?

A. A sincere statement of regret.

B. Giving the recipient more power.

C. A promise that you won’t repeat your wrongdoings.

D. Giving the recipient a detailed account of the event.

  If you are in charge of a project, the key to success is getting everyone to want to help you. As a director, I point, I suggest. I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go. In the 1986 movie“Nothing in Common”, Jackie Gleason’s character, Max Basner, gets fired from his job as a clothing salesman. The scene, shot on a boat, shows Max’s despair about being out of work. I was looking for some gesture that would allow Max to show his feelings.
Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened. What could I possibly tell “The Great One” about acting? Finally I decided to direct by suggestion, and sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene. “So Max is sad, right?” I said.Gleason nodded.“And he’s probably still carrying his pens with name on them—the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?”Gleason nodded.“So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?”He was silent for a moment. “Why don’t I throw them overboard?”I stood up and turned up and turned toward the crew. “Hey, everybody, Jackie has a wonderful idea. Let’s shoot it.”
After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and said with a smile. “Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?”
You and your team can discover the answers to problems together. When there are no prizes or gold stars for who gets the solution first, you’ll all benefit when everything turns out right.
【小题1】According to the writer, to succeed in a project you are in charge of , you     should______.

Frankly，I appreciate myself very much.Yes，I admit I’m in many aspects not as good as other people，but I don’t think I’m always not good.When I find what I’ve done or written is okay，I’ll remain pleased with myself for quite a few days，and if I receive praise for it，I’ll even become so excited as to add a few words to reward myself.

True，I’m not modest at all.People may call me conceited(自负的)．But I think otherwise.

I appreciate other people.I appreciate anything good.Isn’t it unfair to forget appreciating myself while appreciating others?

We Chinese generally tend to be modest，and we take pride in being so.For example，a Chinese man will call his own wife zhuojing，meaning “my humble wife”，and his own writings zhuozuo，meaning “my poor writings”．But if you call his wife a “rustic(乡村的)woman”or his writings “trash”，he would，I’m sure，declare he would make a clean break with you angrily.As a matter of fact，there is probably no difference at all between what is said by him and you.

I don’t think it’s wrong of you to freely praise yourself if you’re really worthy of praise.As we know，there is an old Chinese saying disparaging(蔑视) a melon seller，named Lao Wang，who keeps praising his own goods.Well，why can’t he praise his melons if they are really sweet and juicy?

Lao Wang sells melons for a living.How could he carry on business if he，by imitating the affectations(装模作样)of us intellectuals，were to show false modesty about his melons？He would sure enough die of starvation.

Self?appreciation is therefore a key to professional dedication and enjoyment of work.Needless to say，the same is true of those who make a living with their pen.One will lose confidence in writing when he stops admiring his own essays.

1．We know from the first three paragraphs that the author________.

A．is modest in some way

B．is pleased to be a good writer

C．is too conceited

D．thinks it unfair to appreciate others

2．What do we know about the author’s attitude towards Chinese modesty according to Paragraph 4?

A．Supportive.　　　　　　　B．Negative.

C．Neutral.　 　　　　　　 D．Careless.

3．The author mentions the example of Lao Wang to prove that ________.

A．Lao Wang is very proud of himself

B．melon sellers should praise their goods

C．reasonable self?appreciation is good

D．writers should learn from Lao Wang

4．The purpose of the passage is to encourage readers to be________.

A．modest 　　　　　　　B．considerate

C．respectful 　　　　　 D．confident

  If you are in charge of a project, the key to success is getting everyone to want to help you. As a director, I point, I suggest. I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go. In the 1986 movie“Nothing in Common”, Jackie Gleason’s character, Max Basner, gets fired from his job as a clothing salesman. The scene, shot on a boat, shows Max’s despair about being out of work. I was looking for some gesture that would allow Max to show his feelings.

Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened. What could I possibly tell “The Great One” about acting? Finally I decided to direct by suggestion, and sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene. “So Max is sad, right?” I said.Gleason nodded.“And he’s probably still carrying his pens with name on them—the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?”Gleason nodded.“So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?”He was silent for a moment. “Why don’t I throw them overboard?”I stood up and turned up and turned toward the crew. “Hey, everybody, Jackie has a wonderful idea. Let’s shoot it.”

After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and said with a smile. “Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?”

You and your team can discover the answers to problems together. When there are no prizes or gold stars for who gets the solution first, you’ll all benefit when everything turns out right.

1.According to the writer, to succeed in a project you are in charge of , you     should______.

    A. make everyone work for you           B. get everyone willing to help 

   C. let people know you have the idea        D. keep talking to them

2. “The Great One” in Paragraph 2 refers to______.

   A. Gleason     B. the director himself    C. Max    D. Max’s boss

3. After filming the scene, Gleason called the director over and smiled at him. That’s  because Gleason________.

   A. thought the director gave him a good idea 

   B. formed the habit of thinking of ideas while talking

   C. was not confident about his acting

   D. appreciated the director’s directing skill

4.The most suitable title for the passage is “_______”.

   A. Directing a Film                  B. The Key to Success

   C. A Wonderful Experience            D. Working with Film