A is for always getting to work on time.

B is for being extremely busy.

C is for the conscientious(勤勤恳恳的) way you do your job.

You may be all these things at the office, and more. But when it comes to getting ahead, experts say, the ABCs of business should include a P, for politics, as in office politics.

Dale Carnegie suggested as much more than 50 years ago: Hard work alone doesn’t ensure career advancement. You have to be able to sell yourself and your ideas, both publicly and behind the scenes. Yet, despite the obvious rewards of engaging in office politics—a better job, a raise, praise—many people are still unable or unwilling—to “play the game”.

“People assume that office politics involves some manipulative(工于心计的) behavior,” says Deborah Comer, an assistant professor of management at Hofstra University. “But politics derives from the word ‘polite’. It can mean lobbying(游说) and forming associations. It can mean being kind and helpful, or even trying, to please your superior, and then expecting something in return.”

In fact, today, experts define office politics as proper behavior used to pursue one’s own self-interest in the workplace. In many cases, this involves some form of socializing within the office environment—not just in large companies, but in small workplaces as well.

“The first thing people are usually judged on is their ability to perform well on a consistent basis,” says Neil P. Lewis, a management psychologist. “But if two or three candidates are up for a promotion, each of whom has reasonably similar ability, a manager is going to promote the person he or she likes best. It’s simple human nature.”

Yet, psychologists say, many employees and employers have trouble with the concept of politics in the office. Some people, they say, have an idealistic vision of work and what it takes to succeed. Still others associate politics with flattery(奉承), fearful that, if they speak up for themselves, they may appear to be flattering their boss for favors.

Experts suggest altering this negative picture by recognizing the need for some self-promotion.

“Office politics” is used in the passage to refer to________.

A. the political views and beliefs of office workers

B. the interpersonal relationships within a company

C. the various qualities required for a successful career

D.  the code of behavior for company staff

To get promoted, one must not only be competent but________.

A. avoid being too outstanding

B. get along well with his colleagues

C. honest and loyal to his company

D. give his boss a good impression

The author considers office politics to be________.

A. unwelcome at the workplace

B. bad for interpersonal relationships

C. an important factor for personal advancement

D. indispensable to the development of company culture

It is the author’s view that________.

A. self-promotion does not necessarily mean flattery

B. hard work contributes very little to one’s promotion

C. many employees fail to recognize the need of flattery

D. speaking up for oneself is part of human nature

A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting，and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year，maybe two，and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

It was a very important event in the computerization of life—a sign that the informal. Friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters，and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.

As a child visiting my father’s office，1 was pleased to recognize，in little notes on the desks of his staff，the same handwriting 1 would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW”.

All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting，a book by Florey. Sire shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well，but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.

I don’t buy it.

I don’t want to see anyone cut off from the expressive，personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer，part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand—as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However，they have worked in many school systems.

51. Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.

B. His colleague’s handwriting was SO beautiful.

C. His colleague’s handwriting was SO terrible.

D. He still had a 1ot of Work to do.

52. People working together in an office used to ____________.

A. talk more about handwriting

B. take more notes on workdays

C. know better one another's handwriting

D. communicate better with one another

53. The author’s father wrote notes in pen _________.

A. to both his family and his staff

B. to his family in small letters

C. to his family on the fridge

D. to his staff on the desk

54. According to the author，handwritten notes _______.

A. are harder to teach in schools

B. attract more attention

C. are used only between friends

D. carry more message

55. We can learn from the passage that the author __________.

A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

B. does not want to lose handwriting

C. puts the blame on the computer

D. does not agree with Florey

A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

  I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting, and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year, maybe two, and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

  It was a very important event in the computerization of life---a sign that the informal, friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters and we recognized one another’s handwriting the way we know voices or faces.

As a child, visiting my father’s office, I was pleased to recognize, in little notes on the desk of his staff, the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge---except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW’.

  All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The rise and Fall of Handwriting, a book by Florey. She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well, but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.

  I don’t buy it.

  I don’t want to see anyone cut off from expressive, personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer, part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

  What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16^th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand---as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However, they have worked in many school systems.

Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.

B. His colleague’s handwriting was so beautiful.

C. His colleague’s handwriting was so terrible.

D. He still had a lot of work to do.

People working together in an office used to __________.

A. talk more about handwriting

B. take more notes on workdays

C. know better one another’s handwriting

D. communicate better with one another

According to the author, handwritten notes ___________.

A. are harder to teach in schools       B. attract more attention

C. are used only between friends      D. carry more message

We can learn from the passage that the author _____________.

A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

B. does not want to lose handwriting

C. does not agree with Florey

D. puts the blame on the computer

    A few years ago I had an“aha!”moment regarding handwriting．

    I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task．It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting，and then I realized whose it must be．I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year，maybe two，and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point．

    It was a very important event in the computerization of life―a sign that the informal．friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails．There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters，and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces．

    As a child visiting my father’s office，I was pleased to recognize，in little notes on the desks of his staff，the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge― except that those notes were signed“dad”instead of“RFW”．

    All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting，a book by Florey．She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well，but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen．

    I don’t buy it．

    I don’t want to see anyone cut off from the expressive，personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does．For many a biographer，part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting．

    What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th―century Italy．That may sound impossibly grand―as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings．However，they have worked in many school systems．

51．Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

    A．He had worked with his colleague long enough．

    B．His colleague’s handwriting was so beautiful．

    C．His colleague’s handwriting was so terrible．

    D．He still had a lot of work to do．

52．People working together in an office used to ____________．

    A．talk more about handwriting

    B．take more notes on workdays

    C．know better one another's handwriting

    D．communicate better with one another

53．The author’s father wrote notes in pen _________．

    A．to both his family and his staff

    B．to his family in small letters

    C．to his family on the fridge

    D．to his staff on the desk

54．According to the author，handwritten notes _______．

    A．are harder to teach in schools

    B．attract more attention

    C．are used only between friends

    D．carry more message

55．We can learn from the passage that the author __________．

    A．thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

    B．does not want to lose handwriting

    C．puts the blame on the computer

    D．does not agree with Florey

A car that runs on coffee is unveiled（shown to the public for the first time）today but at between 25 and 50 times the cost of running a car on petrol, the invention won’t please any motor industry accountants．
Nicknamed the Car-puccino, it has been created using a 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco bought for £400 and it was chosen because it looked like the time-traveling DeLorean in the movie Back To The Future．The car will be driven the 210 miles between Manchester and London powered only by roasted coffee granules （颗粒）．It has been built by a team from the BBC1 science programme Bang Goes The Theory and will go on display at the Big Bang science fair in Manchester to show how fuels other than traditional petrol can power vehicles．
The team calculates the Car-puccino will do three miles per kilo of ground coffee （咖啡粉） — about 56 cups of espressos （浓咖啡） per mile．The journey will use about 70 kilos of ground coffee which, at supermarket prices of between £13 and £26 a kilo depending on brand and quality, will cost between £910 and £1,820, or between 25 and 50 times the £36 cost of petrol for the journey．In total, the trip will cost 11,760 espressos, and the team will have to take ‘coffee breaks’ roughly every 30 to 45 miles to pour in more granules．They will also have to stop about every 60 miles to clean out the ‘coffee filters’ to rid them of the soot and tar which is also generated by the process．So despite a top speed of 60mph, the many stops mean the going will be slow, with the journey taking around ten hours．
Sadly, the inventors will still have to pay duty on their coffee fuel---even though tax collectors at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom haven’t yet worked out how much．
Nick Watson, producer of Bang Goes The Theory, said, “Coffee, like wood or coal, has some carbon content so you can use it as a fuel．The coffee needs to be very dry and in granules to allow the air to move through the pile of coffee as it burns．The brand doesn’t matter．” He said the same technology could be used to power a car on other unusual fuels, such as woodchips or nut shells, construction or agricultural waste．
【小题1】Which is the right way to choose the coffee used as fuels to run the Car-puccino?