第四篇 The First Four Minutes(2015年职称英语补全短文译文)

The First Four Minutes

When do people decide whether or not they want to become friends? During their first four minutes together, according to a book by Dr. Leonard Zunin. In his book, ”Contact：The first four minutes" ’ he offers this advice to anyone interested in starting new friendships：“ (1) A lot of people's whole lives would change if they did just that. ”

You may have noticed that the average person does not give his undivided attention to someone he has just met. (2) If anyone has ever done this to you, you probably did not like him very much.

When we are introduced to new people, the author suggests, we should try to appear fiiendly and self-c onfident. In general, he says, “People like people who like themselves1. ”

On the other hand, we should not make the other person think we are too sure of ourselves. It is important to appear interested and sympathetic，realizing that the other person has his own needs，fears, and hopes.

Hearing such advice, one might say, "But I'm not a fiiendly, self-confident person. That's not my nature. It would be dishonest for me to act that way. ”

(3) We can become accustomed to any changes we choose to make in our

personality. “It is like getting used to a new car. It may be unfamiliar at first, but it goes much better than the old one. ”

But isn't it dishonest to give the appearance of friendly self-confidence when we don't actually feel t hat way? Perhaps, but according to Dr. Zunin, "total honesty" is not always good for social relationships2 ’ especially during the first few minutes of contact. There is a time for everything, and a certain amount of play-acting may be best for the first few minutes of contact with a stranger3 . That is not the time to complain about one's health or to mention faults one finds in other people. It is not the time to tell the whole truth about one's opinions and impressions.

(4) For a husband and wife or a parent and child, problems often arise

during their first four minutes together after they have been apart. Dr. Zunin suggests that these first few minutes together be treated with care. If there are unpleasant matters to be discussed, they should be dealt with later.

The author says that interpersonal relations should be taught as a required course5 in every school, along with reading, writing, and mathematics. (5) That is at least as important as how much we know.

练习：

A In reply, Dr. Zunin would claim that a little practice can help us feel comfortable about changing our social habits.

B Much of what has been said about strangers also applies to4 relationships with family members and friends.

C In his opinion, success in life depends mainly on how we get along with other people.

D Every time you meet someone in a social situation, give him your undivided attention for four minutes.

E He keeps looking over the other person's shoulder, as if hoping to find someone more interesting in another part of the room.

F He is eager to make friends with everyone.

答案与题解：

D本文主要讲与人初次见面最初四分钟对于人际交往的重要性。文章开头以自问自答的形式提出主题,然后说Leonard Zunin博士在书中向任何想交新朋友的人提出一条建议。什么建议呢？比较一下只有把D放在这里最合适，因为人们常用祈使句向别人提建议，D是一个祈使句，它的意思是：“每次你在社交场合遇到什么人时，全神贯注地注意他四分钟。”和上下文意思连贯。

E承接上一段。作者在本段第一句话告诉我们有人并不按他建议的那样做。那么这些人怎么做呢？E 说:“他不停地往其他人身后看，好像要在屋里其他地方找到更有趣的人似的。”显然此处选E最合适。A文章第三、第四段建议当被引见给陌生人时,态度应当友好而自信，还应掌握好分寸。对此有人会说友好和自信非我本性，如果硬要装出如此态度就是不诚实。这是一种反驳意见，我们期待作者的

回答。A说:“作为回答，Zunin博士说只要我们稍加练习就可以帮助我们改变社交习惯。”下文是对此的进一步解释。

B到此为止作者主要谈与陌生人相处要注意最初四分钟。从其他句子来看，本段谈的是家庭成员之间在交往中也应注意在一起的最初四分钟，那么选项B是最合适的了^

C本段强调人际关系的重要性，C说:“在他看来，成功主要依赖于如何与他人友好相处。” 这句话的意思符合本段主题，后一句的主语this指的就是与人友好相处这件事。

最初四分钟

人们什么时候决定他们是否愿意成为朋友？按列奥纳多?祖尼博士的书中所说是在他们相处的最初四分钟。在他的书《接触：最初四分钟》里，他向所有对开始新的友谊感兴趣的人们提出了这样的建议：“每次你在社交场合遇到什么人时，全神贯注地注意他四分钟。许多人如果这样做了的话，他们的生活就会完全不同。”

你可能已经注意到了，一般人都不会全神贯注地注意一个他刚认识的人。他不停地往其他人身后看，好像要在屋里其他地方找到更趣的人似的。如果有人对你这样，你大概不会很喜欢他。

作者建议，当我们被介绍给新认识的人时，我们应该尽力显得友好和自信。一般讲，他说: “人们喜欢那些有自信心的人。”

另一方面我们不能让别人觉得我们太自以为是。表现出感兴趣、、有同情心，能意识到别人有他们自己的需要、担心和希望是很重要的。

听到这样的建议，有人或许会说：“但是我不是一个友好的、自信的人。那不是我的天性。我如果那样做将是不诚实的。”

作为回答，祖尼博士说只要我们稍加练习就可以帮助我们改变社交习惯。对我们选择的个性上的改变我们会慢慢习惯。“这就像适应一辆新车^ 一开始会觉得陌生，但它比旧车好开。”

但是当我们不觉得友好且自信的时候却给人那样的表象，这是诚实吗？可能是，但是祖尼博士认为在社会关系上“绝对的诚实”并非总是好的，尤其是在接触的最初四分钟里。任何事情都有时间限制。在和陌生人接触的头几分钟i适当演一点儿戏是最合适不过的了。那种时候不适于抱怨健康状况或谈论别人的缺点，也不适于全盘托出某人的观点和印象。

以上有关陌生人的建议有很多也适合于家庭成员和朋友间的关系。对于丈夫和妻子或父母与孩子来说，久别重逢的前几分钟最容易出问题。祖尼博士建议认真对待离别重逢的最初四分钟。如果有不愉快的事情需要讨论，也应该稍后再说。

作者说每个学校都应该把人与人之间的关系作为必修课，和阅读、写作、数学等一起上。他认为一生中的成功主要看我们如何与别人相处。至少这和我们拥有的知识一样重要。

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M Climate Change Poses Major Risks for Unprepared Cities A new examination of urban policies has been carried out recently by Patricia Romero Lankao. She is a sociologist specializing in climate change and urban development. She warns that many of the world’s fast -growing urban areas, especially in developing countries, will likely1 suffer from the impacts of changing climate. Her work also concludes that most cities are failing to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. These gases are known to affect the atmosphere. “Climate change is a deeply local issue and poses profound threats to the growing cities of the world,” says Romero Lankao. “But too few cities are developing effective strategies to protect their residents. ” Cities are major sources of greenhouse gases. And urban populations are likely to be among those most severely affected by future climate change. Lankao’s findings3 highlight ways in which city-residents are particularly vulnerable, and suggest policy interventions that could offer immediate and longer-term benefits The locations and dense construction patterns of cities often place their populations at greater risk for natural disasters. Potential threats associated with climate include storm surges and prolonged hot weather. Storm surges can flood coastal areas and prolonged hot weather can heat heavily paved cities more than surrounding areas. The impacts of such natural events can be more serious in an urban environment. For example, a prolonged heat wave can increase existing levels of air pollution, causing widespread health problems. Poorer neighborhoods that may lack basic facilities such as drinking water or a dependable network of roads, are especially vulnerable to natural disasters. Many residents in poorer countries live in substandard housing without access to reliable drinking water, roads and basic services. Local governments,therefore,should take measures to protect their residents. “Unfortunately, they tend to move towards rhetoric rather than meaningful responses,” Romero Lankao writes. “They don’t impose construction standards that could reduce heating and air conditioning needs. They don’t emphasize mass transit and reduce automobile, use. In fact, many local governments are taking a hands-off approach.” Thus, she urges them to change their idle policies and to take strong steps to prevent the harmful effects of’ climate change on cities. Free Statins With Fast Food Could Neutralize Heart Risk Fast food outlets could provide statin drugs free of charge so that customers can reduce the heart disease dangers of fatty food, researchers at Imperial College London suggest in a new study. Statins reduce the amount of unhealthy “LDL ” cholesterol in the blood. A wealth of trial data4 has proven them to be highly effective at lowering a person ’s heart attack risk In a paper published in the American Journal of Cardiology, Dr Darrel Francis and colleagues calculate that the reduction in heart attack risk offered by a statin is enough to offset the increase in heart attack risk from eating a cheeseburger and drinking a milkshake. Dr Francis, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, who is the senior author of the study, said: “Statins don ’t cut out all of the unhealthy effects of cheeseburgers and French fries. It ’s better to avoid fatty food altogeth er. But we’ve worked out that in terms of your possibility of having a heart attack, taking a statin can reduce your risk to more or less the same degree as a fast food meal increases it. ” It ’s ironic that people are free to take as many unhealthy condiments in fast food outlets as they like, but statins, which are beneficial to heart health, have to be prescribed. It makes sense to make risk-reducing statins available just as easily as the unhealthy condiments that are provided free of charge. It would cost less than 5 pence per customer —— not much different to a sachet of sugar, “ Dr Francis said. When people engage in risky behaviours like driving or smoking, they ’re encouraged to take measures that lower their risk, like wearing a seatbelt or choosing cigarettes with filters. Taking a stain is a rational way of lowering some of the risks of eating a fatty meal. Better Solar Energy Systems: More Heat, More Light Solar photovoltaic thermal energy systems, or PVTs, generate both heat and electricity, but until now they haven’t been very good at the heat-generating part compared to a stand-alone solar thermal collector. That’s because they operate at low temperatures to cool crystalline silicon solar cells, which lets the silicon generate more electricity but isn’t a very efficient way to gather heat. That ’s a problem of economics. Good solar hot-water systems can harvest much more energy than a solar-electric system at a substantially lower cost. And it ，s also a space problem ：photovoltaic cells can take up all the space on the roof, leaving little room for thermal applications. In a pair of studies, Joshua Pearce, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, has devised a solution in the form of a better PVT made with a different kind of silicon. His research collaborators are Kunal Girotra from ThinSilicon in California and Michael Pathak and Stephen Harrison from Queen’s Universi ty, Canada." Most solar panels are made with crystalline silicon ， but you can also make solar cells out of amorphous silicon,commonly known as thin-film silicon. They don ’t create as much electricity, but they are lighter, flexible, and cheaper. And, because they require much less silicon, they have a greener footprint. Unfortunately ，thin-film silicon solar cells are vulnerable to some bad-news physics in the form of the Staebler-Wronski effect.

2015年职称英语考试综合类B级试题及参考答案

2015年职称英语考试综合类B 级试题及参考答案

2015职称英语综合类B级真题答案(词汇选项) 第1部分词汇选项(第1~15题，每题1分，共15分) 下面每个句子中均有1个词或短语划有底横线，请为每处划线部分确定一个意义最为接近的选项。 1. The organization was bold enough to face the press. A. pleased B. powerful C. brave D .sensible 2. I will not tolerate that sort of behavior in my class. A. accept B. control C. observe D. regulate 3. I realized to my horror that I had forgotten the present. A limit B. fear C. power D. fool 4. Most people find rejection hard to accept. A. excuse B. client C. destiny D. refusal 5. She's extremely competent and industrious. A. hardworking B. honest C. objective D. independent 6. The doctors did not reveal the truth to him. A. hide B .handle C. disclose D. establish 7. He tried to assemble his thoughts. A. clear B. share C. gather D. spare 8. The law carries a penalty of up to three years in prison. A. message B. punishment C. guilt D. obligation 9. Prisoners were kept in the most appalling conditions. A. flexible B. terrible C. reasonable D. serious

2015年职称英语考试综合类A级教材字典版

https://www.sodocs.net/doc/c215972564.html,/ .375. School Lunch Research has shown that over half the children in Britain who take their own lunches to school do not eat properly in the middle of the day.In Britain schools have to provide meals at lunchtime.Children can choose to bring their own food or have lunch at the school canteen. One shocking finding of this research is that school meals are much healthier than lunches prepared by parents.There are strict standards for the preparation of school meals,which have to include one portion of fruit and one of vegetables,as well as meat,a dairy item and starchy food like bread or pasta.Lunchboxes examined by researchers contained sweet drinks,crisps and chocolate bars.Children consume twice as much sugar as they should at lunch time. The research will provide a better understanding of why the percentage of overweight students in Britain has increased in the last decade.Unfortunately,the government cannot criticise parents,but it can remind them of the nutritional value of milk,fruit and vegetables.Small changes in their children’s diet can_affect their future health.Children can easily develop bad eating_habits at this age,and parents are the only ones who can prevent it.A Powerful Influence There can be no doubt at all that the Internet has made a huge difference1to our lives.Parents are worried that children spend too much time playing on the Internet,hardly ever doing anything else in their spare time.Naturally,parents are curious to find out why the Internet is so attractive,and they want to know if it can be harmful for their children.Should parents worry if their children are spending that much time staring at their computers? Obviously,if children are bent over their computers for hours,absorbed in some game,instead of doing their homework,then something is wrong.Parents and children could decide how much use the child should_make of the Internet,and the child should give his or her word that it won’t interfere with homework.If the child is not holding to this arrangement,the parent can take more drastic steps dealing with a child’s use of the Internet is not much different from negotiating any other sort of bargain about behaviour.Any parent who is_seriously alarmed about a child’s behaviour should make an appointment to discuss the matter with a teacher.Spending time in front of the screen does not necessarily affect a child’s performance at school.Even if a child is absolutely crazy about using the Internet,he or she is probably just going through a phase,and in a few months there will be something else to worry about!The Old Gate In the Middle Ages the vast majority of European cities had walls around them.This was partly for defensive reasons but another factor was the need to keep out anyone regarded as undesirable,like people with contagious diseases.The Old City of London gates were all demolished by the end of the 18th century.The last of London’s gates was removed a century ago,but by a stroke of luck,it was never destroyed. This gate is,in actual fact,not called a gate at all;its name is Temple Bar,and it marked the boundary between the Old City of London and Westminster.In 1878the Council of London took the Bar down,numbered the stones and put the gate in storage because its design was unfashionable it was expensive to maintain and it was blocking the traffic. The Temple Bar Trust was set up in the 1970’s with the intention of returning the gate home.The aim of the Trust is the preservation of the nation’s architectural heritage.Transporting the gate will mean physically pulling it down,stone by stone,removing and rebuilding it near St Paul’s Cathedral.Most of the facade of the gate will probably be replaced,though there is a good chance that the basic structure will be sound.The hardest job of all,however,will be to recreate the statues of the monarchs that once stood on top of the gate.Family History In an age when technology is developing faster than ever before,many people are being attracted to the idea of looking back into the past.One way they can do this is by investigating their own family history.They can try to find out more about where their families came from and what they did.This is now a fast-growing hobby,especially in countries with a fairly short history,like Australia and the United States. It is one thing to spend some time going through a book on family history and to take the decision to investigate your own family’s past.It is quite another to carry out the research work successfully.It is easy to set about it in a disorganized way and_cause yourself many problems which could have been avoided with a little forward planning. If your own family stories tell you that you are connected with a famous character,whether hero or criminal,do not let this idea take over your research.Just treat it as an interesting possibility.A simple system for collecting and storing your information will be adequate to start with;a more complex one may only get in your way.The most important thing,though,is to get started.Who knows what you might find? Helen and Martin With a thoughtful sigh,Helen turned away from the window and walked back to her favourite armchair.Would her brother never arrive?For a brief moment,she wondered if she really cared that much. Over the years Helen had given up waiting for Martin to take an interest in her.Her feelings for him had gradually weakened until now,as she sat waiting for him,she experienced no more than a sister’s curiosity to see what had become of her brother. Almost without warning,Martin had lost his job with a busy publishing company after spending the last eight years in New York as a key figure in the US office.Somehow the two of them hadn’t bothered to keep in touch and,left alone,Helen had slowly found