When you are at odds with someone close to you, the One-Minute Drill can show you how to express your feelings effectively – and how to listen more skillfully. All it requires is two individuals who are committed to improving their relationship.

  Set aside at least ten minutes, and then sit facing each other. Decide who will be the Talker and who will be the Listener. It makes no difference, because later you will change roles.

How to perform the One-Minute Drill

  For approximately 30 seconds, the Talker can say anything he or she wants. Your job will be to express your thoughts and feelings. You can discuss problems you've had a hard time talking about. Remember to limit yourself to about 30 seconds. When the Talker finishes, the Listener will summarize what the Talker just said, as well as how the Talker was feeling inside, as accurately as possible.

  The Talker now gives the Listener a grade between 0 and 100 per cent to indicate how accurate the summary was. If the rating is 95 per cent or more, you can change roles; the new Talker can continue with the same topic or move on to something entirely new.

  However, if the grade is below 95 per cent, the Talker should point out what the Listener missed or got wrong, and repeat the process until the overall rating is 95 per cent or more. Then you can change roles and repeat the exercise for as long as you both like.

How it works

  Thirty seconds of emotionally charged information is sufficiently challenging for anyone. Express your feelings in strong, clear, direct language, but as your partner will be listening attentively, you won't need to shout, exaggerate or put your partner down.

  The Listener should sit and listen respectfully without interrupting. Look into your partner's eyes, but avoid using negative body language. If you like, take a few notes.

  So the Talker might say: "When I come home from work, I feel tired and I need some quiet time. But you tell me I'm supposed to spend time with the kids. This makes me feel frustrated. I work hard and I'm exhausted at the end of the day. I feel like I deserve a little time to relax, not listen to more demands."

  In response, the Listener might summarize like this: "You just told me that you feel exhausted when you come home at night because you've been working hard all day. When I tell you I want you to spend time with the kids, you feel frustrated and ticked off because you're tired and you need time to relax. You see me as very demanding, and you're probably feeling like I don't appreciate you."

  The first time you attempt the One-Minute Drill, you may get a low score. Don't worry, because you'll get up to speed quickly. Once you've tried this exercise a few times, you'll find that you can nearly always get ratings of 95 per cent or better on the first or second try.

Who is the One-Minute Drill intended for?

A. Those who are to act some roles in a certain play for the first time in their life.

B. Those who are preparing for the interview in order to make a good first impression.

C. Those who have difficulty communicating with their colleagues or family members.

D. Those who have troubled relationships with their friends or family members and try to improve them.

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. In the One-Minute Drill, the Talker and the Listener change roles in the process.

B. The Talker should talk about his / her thoughts and feelings in a brief way.

C. The Listener should listen carefully, respectfully and later summarize accurately.

D. After the Talker finishes talking, the Listener is to give him / her a grade.

From the example given in “How it works,” we can guess that the talk might be between _____.

A. husband and wife   B. father and son   C. mother and daughter   D. sister and brother

What does the underlined part “ticked off” probably mean in this reading?

A. fast asleep                           B. very angry

C. burst into tears                   D. marked with a symbol

An amazing teacher
Years ago a John Hopkins professor gave a group of graduate students this task: Go to the slums（贫民窟）. Took 200 boys, between the ages of 12 and 16, and 31  their background and environment, then 32  their chances for the future.
The students, after consulting social statistics, talking to the boys, and collecting much data， concluded that 90 percent of the boys would 33  some time in prison.
Twenty-five years later 34  group of graduate students was given the job of 35  the prediction. They went back to the same area. Some of the boys---by then 36 ---were still there, a few had died, some had moved away, but they got in touch with 180 of the 37 200.They found that only four of the group had ever been sent to 38 .
Why was it that these men, who had lived in a breeding place of crime, had such a surprisingly good record? The researchers were 39  told,“Well, there was a teacher…”
They pressed（追问）further, and found that in 75 percent of the cases it was the same woman. The researchers went to this teacher, now living in a home for retired teachers. How had she had this brilliant 40  on that group of children? Could she give them any reason why these boys should have remembered her?
“No,” she said,“No，I really couldn’t.”And then， thinking back 41  the years, she said musingly（沉思地）,42  to herself than to her questioners,“Ｉloved those boys…”

Toyoda said those changes were being made nearly around the clock，but during three hours of often tense questions and answers he repeated that there was no link to the vehicle’s electronic systems．

Many drivers making complaints against Toyota and the government say their acceleration problems had nothing to do with floor mat interference(油门踏板故障)or sticky gas pedals(刹车)．Outside experts have suggested electronic problems.

House lawmakers expressed serious criticism on Toyoda，the grandson of the company’s founder．

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA)is seeking records on Toyota’s recalls and is conducting its own review on whether electronics were behind the car faults．NHTSA also continues to look into steering complaints from drivers of the popular Corolla model．

Toyota has recalled 8.5 million cars，more than 6 million of them in the United States．

It may be a while before car buyers believe that Toyota really makes safe cars．

Toyota’s January sales already fell 16 percent even as most other automakers jumped back from last year’s bad results．Analyst Koji Endo of Advanced Research Japan in Tokyo said he expects February sales，due out next week，to be down 30 percent to 40. Toyota’s sales problem could continue beyond that． 

It will take some time to feel the full effect of this，he said．

1.The best title for this passage is           ．

A．Toyota is in trouble                      B．Toyota is under hearing

C．Toyota is finished                        D．Toyota is still running

2.What is the purpose of the hearing?

A．America hopes that Toyota apologizes to the US customers．

B．America wants to get Toyota out of the US market．

C．America wants to help Toyota out of difficulty．

D．America hopes that Toyota admits their cars have electronic system problem．

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A．Toyota provides very good post sale service．

B．Toyota’s biggest market is in the United States．

C．Toyota will be closed soon．

D．Toyota’s dealership in the US will all be closed．

4.The last sentence of this passage indicates            .

A．Analyst Koji Endo is fully confident about Toyota

B．Toyota could meet a worse situation

C．Toyota would get out of trouble sooner or later

D．Toyota would build up a better reputation among its customers

There is an English saying :“laughter is best medicine .”Until recently ,few people took the saying seriously .Now however ,doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body .They have found that laughter really can improve people’s health .
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body .People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts ,blood pressure ,breathing and muscles .It was found that laughter had similar effects to physical exercise .It increases blood pressure ,the heart beating and breathing ; it also works several groups of muscles in the face ,the stomach ,and even the feet .If laughter exercises the body ,it must be beneficial .
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body .In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programmes .The group that tolerated(忍耐)the pain for the longest time was the groups which listened to a funny programme .The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemicals in the brain which diminish both stress and pain .
As a result of these discoveries ,some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics ,in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh .They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing ,making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter .
【小题1】Doctors have proved the following EXCEPT that      .

There is an English saying, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter really can improve people’s health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their heart, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people breathe deeper; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programmes. The group that tolerated (忍耐) the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny programme. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain which diminishes both stress and pain.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.
【小题1】According to the passage, which of the following statements is WRONG?