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Decision-making can be extremely difficult. Decision-making styles are significantly different in different cultures.
In any approach to a problem and in any negotiations, the Western world turns to the“I to you” approach while Japan，the “you to you” approach. The former means both sides present their arguments openly from their own point of view. Naturally, often comes a confrontation(冲突) situation, which Westerners are very skillful in dealing with. The latter is based on each side trying to understand the other person’s point of view. Thus, the direction of the meeting is a mutual(相互的) attempt to reduce confrontation and achieve harmony.
Besides, Western decision-making goes mostly from top management(管理人员) and often does not consult middle management or the worker. However, in Japan great consideration is given to the thoughts and opinions of everyone at all levels. Based on “bottom-up direction”, ideas can be created at the lowest levels, travel upward through an organization and have an effect on the final decision.
Difference in decision-making also comes from different communication styles. The Japanese business person works to achieve harmony, even if the deal falls through, and will spend whatever time is necessary to determine a “you to you” approach, communicating personal views only indirectly. They put a thorough job above the Western deadline approach. So the Japanese are thorough in their meetings. Thus Americans are often annoyed by the many meetings in many Japanese businesses. But where the American is pressing for a specific decision, the Japanese is trying to think up a rather broad direction.
On the other hand, once a given agreement is made, it is the Japanese who sometimes wonder at the slow pace in which Westerners carry out the decision. The Japanese are eager to move forward and Westerners, perhaps, lag(落后) behind as they take the time for in-depth planning.
1. The text mainly tells us that Japan and the Western world ________.
A. face great difficulty in making decisions
B. are different in decision-making styles
C. have all members contribute to a decision
D. have two approaches: “I to you” and “you to I”
2.Which of the following is TRUE of the Westerners?
A. They carry out the decision once it is made.
B. There are many meetings in their businesses.
C. They work to achieve harmony in doing business.
D. They are good at handling confrontation situation.
3.The author’s attitude towards Japanese decision-making is ________.
A. positive B. critical C. negative D. casual(无所谓的）
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Two worlds come together
Imagine landing in a foreign country where you cannot speak the language, understand the culture and don’t know anybody. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a friend who could help you out?
John Smith, an English explorer who landed in America in 1607, found the best friend ever. She was a Native American named Pocahontas (1595-1617). And she did more than teach Smith the language: she saved his life, twice.
Smith was captured(捕获) by members of Pocahontas’s tribe (部落) and was going to be killed. But for some reason, the Chief’s daughter, Pocahontas, felt sorry for Smith (who was probably the first white man she had ever seen) and threw her body over his to protect him. Smith returned safely to the small village he was living in.
During the winter the English settlers did not know how to get food from nature. Pocahontas often brought food for Smith and his friends.
A year later Pocahontas’s father tried to kill Smith again because the Native Americans were very scared the English would try to take over their land. Pocahontas warned him and he was able to escape.
Later she became a Christian and eventually married an Englishman named John Rolfe.
She spent the last year of her life in London.
Pocahontas has become an American legend. Her life story has been re-created in many books and films, including Disney’s 1995 film, Pocahontas.
One of the reasons she is so popular is that many Europeans look at Pocahontas as an excellent example of how a minority can adjust into the majority. Pocahontas is also respected because of her selfless love. She proved that people can be kind and loving even to people of a different race or culture. John Smith was very different from Pocahontas but she could see he was a good man and that was all that mattered. No race or country owns goodness, love and loyalty.
1. What difficulties might early European settlers meet in America EXCEPT ________?
A. the fierce conflict with Native Americans B. bad-tempered natives who enjoyed killing
C. unfamiliarity with a foreign land D. lack of food in winter
2. Pocahontas saved John Smith twice because ______.
A. he was the first white man she had ever seen in her life
B. she wanted to become a Christian and marry an Englishman
C. she believed in general kindness even to people of a different race
D. she was on the settlers’ side and against her cruel father
3. According to the text, Europeans think Pocahontas _____.
A. was brave to break away from her own tribe
B. set a good example for other natives to accept the white settlers
C. was a selfless Christian who can love her enemy
D. was open to a more advanced culture
4. What can we infer from the passage?
A. The battles between early settlers and Native Americans resulted from their fighting for land.
B. The Europeans think the early settlers should have learned to adjust to the local cultures.
C. The creation of America is based on the settlers’ victory over the Native Americans.
D. People from different cultures can never really get along well with each other.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater, the younger people learn a second language.
A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density(密度)in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.______
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible(灵活的),”he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and 34. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.
1.In the second paragraph, the writer mentions “exercise” in order to_____________.
A. say language is also a kind of physical labor
B. prove that one needs more practice when he (she) is learning a language
C. to show the importance of using the language when you learn the language
D. make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well
2. The underlined word “bilingual” probably means_____________.
A. a researcher on language learning B. a second language learner
C. a person who can speak two languages D. an active language learner
3.We may know from the scientific findings that_____________.
A. the earlier you start to learn a second language the higher the grey matter density is
B. there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn't know a second language
C. the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people's brain
D. the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time
4.In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that_____________.
A. learning a second language is the same as studying maths
B. early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in study other subjects
C. Italian is the best choice for you as a second language
D. you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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At a primary school in a small town in the east of South Carolina, second-grade teachers Garneau and Lynne are convinced that separating elementary-age boys and girls produces immediate academic improvement in both genders(性别).
David Chadwell, South Carolina’s coordinator of single gender education says, “Boys and girls learn, hear and respond to their surroundings differently. We can teach boys and girls based on what we now know.”
Male and female eyes are not organized in the same way, he explains. The composition of the male eye makes it sensitive to motion and direction. “Boys interpret the world as objects moving through space,” he says.
The male eye is also drawn to cooler colors like silver and black. It’s no accident boys tend to create pictures of moving objects instead of drawing the happy colorful family, like girls do in their class.
The female eye, on the other hand, is drawn to warmer colors like red, yellow and orange. To attract girls, Chadwell says, the teacher doesn’t need to move as much as in boy’s class. Using descriptive phrases and lots of colors in presentations or on the blackboard gets their attention.
Boys and girls also hear differently. “When someone speaks in a loud tone, girls interpret it as yelling,” Chadwell says. “They think you’re mad and can shut down.” Girls are more sensitive to sounds. He advises girls’ teachers to watch the tone of their voices. Boys’ teachers should sound more forceful, even excited.
A boy’s nervous system causes him to be more cautious when he is standing, moving, and the room temperature is around 69 degrees Fahrenheit. Stress in boys, he says, tends to increase blood flow to their brains, a process that helps them stay focused. Girls are more focused when seated in a warmer room around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Girls also respond to stress differently. When exposed to threat and conflict, blood goes to their guts(肠道), leaving them feeling nervous or anxious.
These differences can be applied in the classroom, Chadwell adds. “Single gender programs are about maximizing the learning.”
1.What is David Chadwell’s attitude toward separating elementary-age boys and girls
while learning?
A. Supportive B. Worried C. Concerned D. Uninterested
2. To engage boy in a class, the teacher ______.
A. must have a moving object in this hand B. needs to wear clothes in warm color
C. has to speak politely D. had better move constantly while teaching
3. Which of the following shows the organization of the passage?
(= Paragraph 1 ‚= Paragraph 2 ƒ= Paragraph 3 ….. ˆ= Paragraph 8)
4. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Ways of teaching boys and ways of teaching girls
B. Boys and girls should be separated
C. How boys and girls learn differently
D. How to teach more effectively
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
