33. People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer _________.

A. in order to save time C. so as to be polite

B. as a test D. for fun

34. What can we infer from the text?

A. It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences. B. It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly. C. People have similar understandings of politeness. D. New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.

B

Open Letter to an Editor

I had an interesting conversation with a reporter recently – one who works for you.

In fact, he’s one of your best reporters. He wants to leave.

Your reporter gave me a copy of his resume （简历）and photocopies of six stories that

he wrote for you. The headlines showed you played them proudly. With great enthusiasm, he talked about how he finds issues （问题）, approaches them, and writes about them, which tells me he is one of your best. I’m sure you would hate to lose him. Surprisingly, your reporter is not unhappy. In fact, he told me he really likes his job. He has a great assignment （分工）, and said you run a great paper. It would be easy for you to keep him, he said. He knows that the paper values him. He appreciates the responsibility you’ve given him, takes ownership of his profession, and enjoys his freedom.

So why is he looking for a way out?

He talked to me because he wants his editors to demand so much more of him. He wants

to be pushed, challenged, coached to new heights.

The reporter believes that good stories spring from good questions, but his editors

usually ask how long the story will be, when it will be in, where it can play, and what the budget is.

He longs for conversations with an editor who will help him turn his good ideas into

great ones. He wants someone to get excited about what he’s doing and to help him turn his story idea upside down and inside out, exploring the best ways to report it. He wants to be more valuable for your paper. That’s what you want for him, too, isn’t it?

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So your reporter has set me thinking.

Our best hope in keeping our best reporters, copy editors, photographers, artists-

everyone- is to work harder to make sure they get the help they are demanding to reach their potential. If we can’t do it, they’ll find someone who can. 35. What does the writer think of the reporter?

A. Optimistic.

B. Imaginative.

C. Ambitious.

D. Proud.

36. What does the reporter want most from his editors in their talks?

A. Finding the news value of his stories. B. Giving him financial support. C. Helping him to find issues. D. Improving his good ideas.

37. Why probably wrote the letter?

A. An editor.

B. An artist.

C. A reporter.

D. A reader.

38. The letter aims to remind editors that they should ________.

A. keep their best reporters at all costs B. give more freedom to their reporters

C. be aware of their reporters’ professional development D. appreciate their reporters’ working styles and attitudes

C

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 （巧合）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

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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 （思维定式）. 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 case 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. 39. 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.

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

A. Americans. C. The British.

B. Israelis. D. The Finns.

41. 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

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

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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

D

When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say, “Well, it’s so-and-so’s

fault.”or “I know I’m late, but it’s not my fault; the car broke down.”It is probably not your fault, but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.

Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your

car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t rely on the person. You should aecept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.

This is what being a winner is all about-creatively using your skills and talents so

that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and apportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “whose fault it is.”Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success. 43. According to the passage, winners _________.

A. deal with problems rather than blame others B. meet with fewer difficulties in their lives C. have responsible and able colleagues

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