2.I've just got to talk about this problem I'm having with my postman.It all began a year ago,after the birth of his first child.Not wanting to appear rude,I asked him about the baby.The next week,not wanting him to think I had asked out of mere politeness the week before,I asked all about the baby again.Now I can't break the habit.I freeze whenever I see him coming.The words"How's the baby?"come out on their own.It holds me up.It holds him up.So why can't I stop it?The answer is that I want him to like me.Come to think of it,I want everyone to like me.
My sister had the same problem with the caretaker of her block of flats:"All he ever does is complain; he talks at me rather than to me,never listens to a word I say,and yet for some reason I'm always really nice to him.I'm worried in case I have a difficulty one day,and he won't lift a finger to help."
What about at work?Richard Lawton,a management trainer,warns:"Those managers who are actually liked by most of their staff are always those to whom being liked is not the primary goal.The qualities that make managers popular are being honest with staff,treating them as human beings and observing common politeness like saying hello in the morning."To explain the point,Richard mentions the story of the company chairman who desperately wanted to be liked and who,after making one of his managers fired,said with moist (濕潤(rùn)的) eyes that he was so,so sorry the man was leaving.The employee replied:"If you were that sorry,I wouldn't be leaving."The lesson being,therefore,that if you try too hard to be liked,people won't like you.
The experts say it all starts in childhood."If children feel they can only get love from their parents by being good,"says Zelda West-Meads,a marriage guidance consultant,"they develop low self-confidence and become compulsive givers."But is there anything wrong in being a giver,the world not being exactly short of takers?Anne Cousins believes there is."There is a point at which giving becomes unhealthy,"she says."It comes when you do things for others but feel bad about it."
I am now trying hard to say to people"I feel uncomfortable about saying this,but…"and tell myself"Refusal of a request does not mean rejection of a person"and I find I can say almost anything to almost anyone.
51.Why does the author ask the postman about his babyB?
A.He is interested in the baby.
B.He wants to create a good impression.
C.He wants to be always polite to him.
D.It's a way to start a chat with great politeness.
52.What could we find out about the author's sister and the caretakerA?
A.She doesn't want to risk displeasing him.
B.She doesn't pay attention to him.
C.He often refuses to help her.
D.He is impatient of her overreaction.
53.Managers are more likely to be popular if theyD.
A.help the staff with their problems
B.make sure the staff do not lose their jobs
C.encourage the staff to be polite to each other
D.do not make too much effort to be liked
54.The underlined words,"compulsive givers",in the fourth paragraph refer to the people whoC.
A.a(chǎn)re willing to help others
B.couldn't bear to turn down requests
C.a(chǎn)re unconfident of denying demands
D.a(chǎn)re less selfish than takers
55.What is the author's intention of writing this passageC?
A.To show how to let others like you more.
B.To prove how to create a harmonious atmosphere.
C.To encourage people to have more self-confidence.
D.To suggest ways of dealing with difficult people.
分析 本文作者首先通過(guò)列舉自己總想給郵遞員留下好印象以及自己的姐姐也在討好她的公寓管理員的實(shí)例,并陳述了管理培訓(xùn)師Richard Lawton的觀點(diǎn),旨在說(shuō)明拒絕了他人的請(qǐng)求并不意味著拒絕了他人,我們不必為了贏得別人的喜歡而去刻意地討好一個(gè)人;而是應(yīng)通過(guò)建立自信,以人格魅力來(lái)贏得別人的認(rèn)同.
解答 答案:
51.B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題 根據(jù)第一段"The answer is that I want him to like me."可知,作者一見(jiàn)到郵遞員就關(guān)心起他的孩子,主要是想讓他喜歡自己,以給他留下好印象;故選B.
52.A 細(xì)節(jié)理解題 根據(jù)第二段"All he ever does is complain; he talks at me rather than to me,never listens to a word I say,and yet for some reason I'm always really nice to him."盡管作者姐姐的公寓管理員對(duì)她的態(tài)度不好,但是她仍然對(duì)他很好;可知作者的姐姐不愿意惹得她的公寓管理員不愉快;故選A.
53.D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題 根據(jù)第三段"Those managers who are actually liked by most of their staff are always those to whom being liked is not the primary goal."(那些被大多數(shù)員工所喜歡的經(jīng)理不會(huì)總是把被別人喜歡當(dāng)做自己的主要目標(biāo))可知,答案"D.do not make too much effort to be liked不會(huì)過(guò)于費(fèi)力地去討別人的喜歡"符合文意;故選D.
54.C 詞義猜測(cè)題 分析第四段中的"they develop low self-confidence and become compulsive givers"以及根據(jù)最后一段"Refusal of a request does not mean rejection of a person"可知,總想討別人喜歡的人缺乏自信,從而會(huì)導(dǎo)致他們成為強(qiáng)迫性的給予者;故此處指的應(yīng)是那些由于缺乏自信而不會(huì)去拒絕別人請(qǐng)求的人;故選C.
55.C 觀點(diǎn)態(tài)度題 通讀全文可知,本文作者首先通過(guò)列舉自己總想給郵遞員留下好印象以及自己的姐姐也在討好她的公寓管理員的實(shí)例,并通過(guò)陳述管理培訓(xùn)師Richard Lawton的觀點(diǎn),旨在說(shuō)明應(yīng)我們通過(guò)建立自信,以人格魅力來(lái)贏得別人的喜歡;故選C.
點(diǎn)評(píng) 做本題時(shí),首先應(yīng)快速瀏覽全文,把握文章的主旨大意以及作者的態(tài)度;其次,可以通過(guò)對(duì)相關(guān)細(xì)節(jié)的理解,以及通過(guò)內(nèi)容歸納,概括段落大意,從而選出正確的答案.