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 Lastener．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 percent to indicate how accurate the summary was．If the rating is 95 percent 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 percent，the Talker should point out what the Listener missed or got wrong，and repeat the process until the overall rating is 95 percent 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 l tell you l 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 percent or better on the first or second try．
【小题1】Who is the One-Minute Drill intended for？

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

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

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

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

【小题2】Which of the following is NOT true？

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

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

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

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

【小题3】From the example given in“How it works”，we can guess that the talk might be between      ．

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

【小题4】What does the underlined part“ticked off”probably mean in this reading？

A．very angry	B．burst into tears
C．marked with a symbol	D．fast asleep

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 Lastener．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 percent to indicate how accurate the summary was．If the rating is 95 percent 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 percent，the Talker should point out what the Listener missed or got wrong，and repeat the process until the overall rating is 95 percent 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 l tell you l 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 percent or better on the first or second try．

1.Who is the One-Minute Drill intended for？

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

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

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

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

2.Which of the following is NOT true？

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

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

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

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

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

   A．father and son                   B．mother and daughter

   C．sister and brother                                 D．husband and wife

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

    A．very angry                       B．burst into tears    

    C．marked with a symbol     D．fast asleep

 

Do you play a musical instrument? Would you like to share a stage with world class famous composer（作曲家）？ Do you dream of becoming the next Lang Lang? Now is your chance to make it big in the classical music world, thanks to a video-sharing we can see.

    In collaboration with（与合作）orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and several others, the video-sharing site has launched the “You Tube Symphony Orchestra Project”.

    Billed as the world’s first collaborative online orchestra．the site wants users to submit videos sharing their musical talent.

    Beijing Olympics theme music composer Tan Dun has written the audition（试听）piece．He told me BBC his latest composition was inspired by walking around the streets of New York and hearing the sounds of mechanics．

“The Internet is all invisible Silk Road，joining people across the world．Anyone can download a score of my Internet Symphony No．1’Eroica’，pick any part of it and play it with any instrument or object，in any style，”he said．

In addition to Tan Dun’s piece．users will also have to perform a famous classical piece of their choice showing their musical and technical abilities．A team of experts will then whittle（减少）the field down to a shortlist of semi—finalists who will then be voted on by You Tube viewers．

    The competition hopes to inspire musicians from all over the world．“music means so much to different people，in different countries．It’s not just about the note of music，it’s about discovery，”said the music director of the San Francisco Symphony，Michael Tilson Thomas，

    With just three months till the competition deadline in February next year，anyone hoping to perform on the world stage and be part of musical history must act quickly．

    As New York Carnegie Hall’s director Clive Gilinson puts it．“This will be a one-of-a-kind moment in classical music，bringing musicians together in a totally new, modern and unique way”．

1．What is the best tide for this passage?

    A．Online Orchestra．                          B．Collaboration with orchestras．

    C．Video-sharing．                            D．Talent show．

2．What does the underlined phrase“to make it big’’in paragraph 1 mean?

    A．To become successful．                   B．To talk big．

    C．To be positive．                          D．To show off．

3．We can know from the passage that the video-sharing site               

      A．owns many famous orchestras working together

      B．is said to be the first collaborative online orchestra

      C．has sponsored many performances around the world

      D．has discovered many talented persons in music

4．How did Tang Dun compose his latest music according to his own words?

      A．The invisible Silk Road affected him greatly．

      B．The Internet joins people across the world，which helped him a lot．

      C．The sounds of mechanics around New York streets gave him an inspiration．

      D．The video-sharing website encouraged him．

5．What is true about the competition?

      A．The online competition deadline is in January 2009．

      B．The final winners will be chosen by some experts．

      C．The competition hopes to pick out the top composers from the whole world．

      D．Users are encouraged to submit videos of themselves playing music instruments．

　　　 Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the 　21 tuition (学费) for my brother and me. They don’t 　22 in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. My father has a bad temper; it’s easy for him to lose his temper.

One day, my mother was sewing a quilt (缝被子). I 23 sat down beside her and looked at her.

“Is there any love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very 　24 voice.

My mother stopped her work and raised her head with 　25 in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt. 　26 at last I heard my mother say the following words:

“Susan,” she said 27 . “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of time it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable (耐用的). If life is a quilt, then love should be a 　28 . It can 　29 be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there. Love is 　30 .”

I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next 　31 . At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. After they were 　32 , every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk 　33 on the country road. My father had never been so 　34 . Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun softly shone through the leaves. All of these 　35 the most beautiful picture in the world. The doctor had said my father would 　36 in two months. But after two months he still couldn’t walk alone. We were all worried.

“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.

“Susan,” he said kindly. “To tell you the truth, I just like 　37 with your mom. I like this kind of life.” 　38 his eyes, I knew he loved my mother deeply.

Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this 　39 , I understand that love is just a 　40 in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm..

21．A. expensive　　　　 B. low　　　　　　　　　 C. cheap　　　　　　　 D. high

22．A. play　　　　　　　　 B. talk　　　　　　　　　 C. act　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. perform

23．A. silently　　　　　　 B. carefully　　 C. certainly　　　　　 D. happily

24．A. anxious　　　　　　 B. low　　　　　　　　　 C. eager　　　　　　　 D. curious

25．A. surprise　　　　　　 B. pride　　　　 C. disappointment　 D. satisfaction

26．A. So　　 　　　　　　 B. But　　　　　　　　　 C. And　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. For

27．A. sadly　　　　　　　　 B. excitedly　　 C. regretfully　　　　 D. thoughtfully

28．A. trouble　　　　　　 B. pleasure　　　　　　 C. thread　　　　　　　 D. cloth

29．A. hardly　　　　　　　 B. often　　　　 C. always　　　　　　　　　　 D. ever

30．A. valuable　　　　　　 B. inside　　　　 C. true　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. priceless

31．A. winter　　　　　　　 B. autumn　　　　　　 C. summer　　　　　 　 D. spring

32．A. free　　　　　　　　 B. back　　　　 C. fine　　　　　　　　　 　 D. ready

33．A. continuously　　 B. worriedly　 C. constantly 　 D. slowly

34．A. gentle　　　　　　　 B. perfect　　　　　　 C. pleased　　　　　　 　 D. thankful

35．A. put up　　　　　　　 B. took up　　　　　　 C. made up　　 　 D. set up

36．A. run　　　　　　　　　 B. recover　　　　　　 C. stand　　　　　　　 D. work

37．A. walking　　　　　　 B. living　　　　 C. sitting　　　　　　　 D. chatting

38．A. Examining 　　　 B. Seeing　　　 C. Noticing　　　　　 D. Reading

39．A. practice　　　　　　 B. observation C. experience　　　　 D. activity

40．A. thread　　　　　　　 B. treasure　　　　　　 C. jewel　　　　　　　　 D. light