What to Say to A Rude Person
Recently, as the British doctor Lord Robert Winston took a train from London to Manchester, he found himself (become) steadily enraged. A woman had picked up her phone and begun a loud conversation, would last an unbelievable hour. Furious, Winston began to tweet about the woman. He took her picture and sent it to his more than 40, 000 followers.
When the train arrived at its destination, Winston quickly got off for he (have) enough of the woman's rudeness. But the press was now waiting for her on the platform. And when they gleefully showed her the lord's messages, she used just one word to describe Winston's actions: rude.
Winston's tale is something of a microcosm of our age of increasing rudeness, (fuel) by social media (and, often, politics). What can we do to fix this?
Studies have shown that rudeness spreads quickly and virally, almost like the common cold. Just witnessing makes it far more likely that we in turn, will be rude later on. Once infected, we are more aggressive, (creative) and worse at our jobs. The only way to end a strain is to make a conscious decision to do so. We must have the guts to call it out, face to face. We must say, "Just stop. " For Winston, that have meant approaching the woman, telling her that her conversation was frustrating other passengers and politely asking her to speak more quietly or make the call at another time.
The rage and injustice we feel at the rude behavior of a stranger can drive us to do odd things. In my own research, surveying 2, 000 adults, I discovered that the acts of revenge people had taken ranged from the ridiculous ("I rubbed fries on their wind—shield") to the disturbing ("I sabotaged them at work"). Winston shine a spotlight on the woman's behavior — but from afar, in a way that shamed her.
We must instead combat rudeness head on. When we see it occur in a store, we must step up and say something. If it happens to a colleague, we must point it out. We must defend strangers in the same way we'd defend our best friends. But we can do it with grace, and by handling it a trace of aggression and rudeness. Because once rude people can see their actions through the eyes of others, they are far more likely to end that strain. this ride of rudeness rises, civilization needs civility.
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A. extended B. tasty C. reserve D. resistant E. pause F. consume G. slows H. supplies I. associated J. properties K. tapping |
Extreme conditions produce extremely tough plants. The big difference between "drought—tolerant" plants and these tough plants: metabolism. Many different kinds of plants have developed tactics to weather dry spells. Some plants of water to see them through a drought; others send roots deep down to subsurface water supplies. But once these plants use up their stored water or tap out the underground supply, they cease growing and start to die. They may be able to handle a drought of some length, and many people use the term "drought tolerant" to describe such plants, but they never actually stop needing to water, so Farrant prefers to call them drought .
Resurrection plants, defined as those capable of recovering from holding less than 0. 1 grams of water per gram of dry mass, are different. They lack water—storing structures, and their existence on rock faces prevents them from groundwater, so they instead developed the ability to change their metabolism. When they detect a/an dry period, they change their metabolisms, producing sugars and certain stress— proteins and other materials in their tissues. As the plant dries, these resources take on first the of honey, then rubber, and finally enter a glass—like state that is "the most stable state that the plant can maintain, " Farrant says. That the plant's metabolism and protects its dried—out tissues. The plants also change shape, shrinking to minimize the surface area through which their remaining water might evaporate. They can recover from months and years without water, depending on the species.
What else can do this dry—out—and—revive trick? Seeds—almost all of them. At the start of her career, Farrant studied seeds such as avocados(牛油果) , coffee and lychee(荔枝). Though , such seeds are delicate — they cannot bud and grow if they dry out. Most seeds can wait out the dry, unwelcoming seasons until conditions are right and they sprout. Yet once they start growing, such plants seem not to retain the ability to hit the button on metabolism in their stems or leaves.
The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. I am filled with wonder when I consider the immeasurable contrasts between the two lives which it connects. It was the third of March, 1887, three months before I was seven years old.
On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, dumb, 1. I guessed vaguely from my mother's signs and from the hurrying to and from in the house that something unusual was about to happen, so I went to the door and waited on the steps. The afternoon sun penetrated the mass of honeysuckle that covered the porch, and fell on my upturned face. My fingers lingered almost 2 on the familiar leaves and blossoms which had just 3 to greet the sweet southern spring. I did not know what the future held of 4 or surprise for me. Anger and bitterness had preyed upon me continually for weeks and a deep languor(倦怠)had 5 this passionate struggle.
Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in, and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet(铅锤) and sounding—line(测深索), and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that 6 before my education began, only I was without 7 or sounding—line, and had no way of knowing how near the 8 was. "Light! Give me light!" was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour.
I felt approaching footsteps. I stretched out my hand as I would to my mother. Someone 9 it, and I was caught up and held close in the arms of her who had come to 10 all things to me, and more than all things else, to love me.
The morning after my teacher came she led me into her room and gave me a doll. The little blind children at the Perkins Institution had sent it and Laura Bridgman had dressed it; but I did not know this until 11. When I had played with it a little while, Miss Sullivan slowly spelled into my hand the word "d—o—l—l. " I was at once interested in this finger play and tried to 12 it. When I finally succeeded in making the letters correctly I 13 with childish pleasure and pride. Running downstairs to my mother I held up my hand and made the letters for doll. I did not know that I was spelling a word or even that words existed; I was simply making my fingers go in monkey—like imitation. In the days that followed I learned to spell in this 14 way a great many words, among them pin, hat, cup and a few verbs like sit, stand and walk. But my teacher had been with me several weeks before I understood that everything has a 15.
In the villages of the English countryside there are still people who remember the good old days when no one bothered to lock their doors. There simply wasn't any crime to worry about.
Amazingly, these happy times appear still to be with us in the world's biggest community. Anew study by Dan Farmer, a gifted programmer, using an automated investigative program of his own called SATAN, shows that the owners of well over half of all World Wide Web sites have setup home without fitting locks to their doors.
SATAN can try out a variety of well—known hacking tricks on an Internet site without actually breaking in. Farmer has made program publicly available, amid much criticism. A person with evil intent could use it to hunt down sites that are easy to burgle.
But Farmer is very concerned about the need to alert the public to poor security and, so far, events have proved him right. SATAN has done more to alert people to the risks than cause new disorder.
So is the Net becoming more secure? Far from it. In the early days, when you visited a Website your browser simply looked at the content. Now the web is full of tiny programs that automatically download when you look at a Web page, and run on your own machine. These programs could, if their authors wished, do all kinds of nasty things to your computer.
At the same time, the Net is increasingly populated with spiders, worms, agents, and other types of automated beasts designed to penetrate the sites and seek out and classify information. All these make wonderful tools for antisocial people who want to invade weak sites and cause damage.
But let's look on the bright side. Given the lack of locks, the Internet is surely the world's biggest (almost) crime—free society. Maybe that is because hackers are fundamentally honest. Or that there currently isn't much to steal. Or because vandalism(蓄意破坏) isn't much fun unless you have a peculiar dislike for someone.
Whatever the reason, let's enjoy it while we can. But expect it all to change, and security to become the number one issue, when the most influential inhabitants of the Net are selling services they want to be paid for.
The global energy crisis is approaching. What can we do? Here are some steps you can take.
Cooling puts the greatest stress on your summer energy bill and the power grid. Just as a tune-up for your car can improve your gas mileage, a yearly tune-up of your heating and cooling system can improve efficiency and comfort. Clean or replace filter monthly or as needed.
For central air conditioning systems and room air conditioners, look for the ENERGY STAR, the federal government's symbol for energy efficiency. For central air, purchase the system with the highest possible Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. (SEER)
Use energy efficient ceiling fans either alone or with air conditioning. Ceiling fans do a great job of circulating air. When used with air conditioning, fans allow you to raise the thermostat and cut costs. Ceiling fans cool people, not rooms, so before you leave, turn off the ceiling fan.
Let a programmable thermostat “remember for you” to automatically adjust the indoor climate with your daily and weekend patterns to reduce cooling bills by up to 10 percent. You can come home to a comfortable house without wasting energy and creating pollution all day while you are at work.
Try to make your home airtight enough to increase your comfort, make your home quieter and cleaner and reduce your cooling costs up to 20 percent.
Cut your air conditioning load, and reduce pollution by planting leafy trees around your home and fixing reflective bricks on your roof.
Close blinds or shades on south-and west-facing windows during the day, or fix shading equipment to avoid heat build-up.
Turn off everything not in use: lights, TVs, computers. And use fluorescent bulbs, which provide bright, warm light while using at least two-thirds less energy, producing 70 percent less heat and lasting up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
Drive the car that gets better gas mileage whenever possible if you own more than one vehicle. If you drive 12, 500 miles a year, switching 10 percent of your trips from a car that gets 20 miles per gallon to one that gets 30 mpg will save you more than £65 per year.
Carpool. The average U. S. commuter could save about £260 a year by sharing cars twice a week with two other people in a car that gets 20. 1 mpg-assuming the three passengers share the cost of gas.
Discoveries in science and technology are thought by "untaught minds" to come in blinding flashes or as the result of dramatic accidents. Sir Alexander Fleming did not, as legend would have it, look at the mold (霉) on a piece of cheese and get the idea for penicillin there and then. He experimented with antibacterial substances for nine years before he made his discovery. Inventions and innovations almost always come out of tough trial and error. Innovation is like soccer; even the best players miss the goal and have their shots blocked much more frequently than they score.
The point is that the players who score most are the ones who take most shots at the goal—and so it goes with innovation in any field of activity. The prime difference between innovation and others is one of approach. Everybody gets ideas, but innovators work consciously on theirs, and they follow them through until they prove practicable or otherwise. What ordinary people see as fanciful abstractions, professional innovators see as solid possibilities.
"Creative thinking may mean simply the realization that there's no particular goodness in doing things the way they have always been done." Wrote Rudolph Flesch, a language authority. This accounts for our reaction to seemingly simple innovations like plastic garbage bags and suitcases on wheels that make life more convenient: "How come nobody thought of that before?"
The creative approach begins with the proposal that nothing be as it appears. Innovators will not accept that there is only one way to do anything. Faced with getting from A to B, the average person will automatically set out on the best-known and apparently simplest route. The innovator will search for alternate courses, which may prove easier in the long run and are sure to be more interesting and challenging even if they lead to dead ends. Highly creative individuals really do march to a different drummer.
Although many companies offer tuition reimbursement(偿付) , most companies reimburse employees only for classes that are relevant to their positions. A company that reimburses employees for all college credit courses — whether job related or not —offers a service not only to the employees, but to the entire company.
One good reason for giving employees unconditional tuition reimbursement is that it shows the company's dedication to its employees and it is important for a company to demonstrate to its employees that it cares. The best way to do this is to make investments in them.
A company that puts out funds to pay for the education of its employees will get its money back by having employees stay with the company longer. It will reduce employ turnover, because even employees who don't take advantage of tuition reimbursement programs will be more devoted to their company, just knowing that their company cares enough to pay for their education.
Although companies do indeed run the risk of losing money on employees, who go on to another job in a different company as soon as they get their degree, more often than not, the employees will stay with the company. Thus, throughout those years. the employer will have a more sophisticated, more intelligent, and therefore more valuable and productive employee. And, if the employee stays, that education will doubly benefit the company: Not only is the employee more educated, but now that employee can be promoted so the company doesn't have to full a high—level vacancy from the outside.
Though unconditional tuition reimbursement requires a significant investment on the employer's part, it is perhaps one of the wisest investments a company can make.
A. In this way, companies will have more productive employees.
B. In today's economy, job security is a thing of the past and employees feel more and more expendable.
C. In return, this dedication to the betterment of employees will create greater loyalty.
D. This is indeed a very limiting policy.
E. Even if employees do leave, it generally takes several years to complete any degree program.
F. Open positions can be assigned to people who already know the company well.
Are your children getting on your last nerve? Did a coworker's comment rub you the wrong way? There's no need to plug the steam coming out of your ears. In fact, science now gives you full permission to release those emotions; you might actually be happier for it. If that seems counter—intuitive(违反直觉的), hear us out. A new study suggests that people tend to be happier if they can feel and express emotions as they want. That goes for unpleasant emotions like anger and hatred, too.
An international team of researchers recruited 2, 300 university students from the United States, Brazil, China, Germany, Ghana, Israel, Poland, and Singapore. They then asked the participants to tell them which emotions they desired and which ones they actually felt, and then compared those responses to how the participants rated their overall happiness or life satisfaction.
The results showed an interesting trend. While participants wanted to experience more pleasant emotions, they reported higher life satisfaction if the emotions they experienced matched those they desired. More surprising still, 11 percent of people wanted to feel less of positive emotions, such as love and empathy, and 10 percent of people wanted to feel more negative emotions, such as hatred and anger.
At first glance, these result might seem confusing. But there's a simple explanation, according to the study's authors. Happiness is "more than simply feeling pleasure and avoiding pain," they write. It is also learning to release negative emotions when you feel them, instead of ignoring them or bottling them up.
"If you feel emotions you want to feel, even if they're unpleasant, then you're better off," lead researcher Dr Maya Tamir from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem told the BBC News website.
你是明启中学高三学生李华，你校门口一家老字号面馆（time-honored noodle restaurant）因上涨的租金和周边快餐店的竞争，面临关门的窘境。该面馆登报求助。请给该面馆写读者回信，信中必须包括：
1）阐述保护中华老字号（time-honored Chinese brands）的意义；
2）向该面馆提出改进的建议。
（信中不得出现考生姓名，学校等真实信息）
