I suppose that the most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention. And especially if it’s given from the heart. When people are talking, there’s no need to do anything but receive them. Listen to what they’re saying. Care about it. Most times caring about it is even more important than understanding it. Most of us don’t value ourselves or our love enough to know this. It has taken me a long time to believe in the power of simple saying “I’m so sorry,” when someone is in pain.

One of my patients told me that when she tried to tell her story people often interrupted to tell her that they once had something just like that happening to them. Her pain became a story about them. Eventually, she stopped talking to most people. We connect through listening. When we interrupt what someone is saying to let them know that we understand, we move the focus of attention to ourselves. When we listen, they know we care.

I have even learned to respond to someone crying by just listening. In the old days I used to reach for the handkerchiefs, until I realized that passing a person a handkerchief may be just another way to shut him down, to take them out of their experience of sadness. Now I just listen. When they have cried all they need to cry, they find me there with them.

This simple thing has not been that easy to learn. It certainly went against everything I had been taught since I was very young. I thought people listened only because they were too shy to speak or did not know the answer. But now I know that a loving silence often has far more power to heal than the kindest words.

1.What does the author value most in the communication with each other?

A．Deep understanding                     B．Saying “I’m Sorry”.

C．Attention from heart.                    D．Doing nothing.

2.The woman patient stopped telling her story to most people because ______.

A．She didn’t get enough respect from others

B．she was discouraged by being often interrupted

C．people often told her their own opinions

D．people couldn’t understand her sad situation

3. If you hand a handkerchief to someone crying, you may ______.

A．hurt his feelings                        B．make him embarrassed

C．encourage him to continue to cry           D．stop him from letting out his sorrow

4. It can be inferred from the passage that while communicating, ______.

A．listening is a perfect way to respond to others

B．people keep silent because they don’t know the answer

C．keeping silent means being too shy to speak

D．it is easy to form the habit of listening silently

I suppose that the most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention. And especially if it’s given from the heart. When people are talking, there’s no need to do anything but receive them. Listen to what they’re saying. Care about it. Most times caring about it is even more important than understanding it. Most of us don’t value ourselves or our love enough to know this. It has taken me a long time to believe in the power of simple saying “I’m so sorry,” when someone is in pain.

One of my patients told me that when she tried to tell her story people often interrupted to tell her that they once had something just like that happening to them. Her pain became a story about them. Eventually, she stopped talking to most people. We connect through listening. When we interrupt what someone is saying to let them know that we understand, we move the focus of attention to ourselves. When we listen, they know we care.

I have even learned to respond to someone crying by just listening. In the old days I used to reach for the handkerchiefs, until I realized that passing a person a handkerchief may be just another way to shut him down, to take them out of their experience of sadness. Now I just listen. When they have cried all they need to cry, they find me there with them.

This simple thing has not been that easy to learn. It certainly went against everything I had been taught since I was very young. I thought people listened only because they were too shy to speak or did not know the answer. But now I know that a loving silence often has far more power to heal than the kindest words.

56. What does the author value most in the communication with each other?

A. Deep understanding        B. Saying “I’m Sorry”.

C. Attention from heart.        D. Doing nothing.

57. The woman patient stopped telling her story to most people because ______.

A. She didn’t get enough respect from others

B. she was discouraged by being often interrupted

C. people often told her their own opinions

D. people couldn’t understand her sad situation

58. If you hand a handkerchief to someone crying, you may ______.

A. hurt his feelings                  B. make him embarrassed

C. encourage him to continue to cry     D. stop him from letting out his sorrow

59. It can be inferred from the passage that while communicating, ______.

A. listening is a perfect way to respond to others

B. people keep silent because they don’t know the answer

C. keeping silent means being too shy to speak

D. it is easy to form the habit of listening silently

Too often we accuse others of not listening, pretending that we ourselves are faultless, yet in our hearts we know that many of the mistakes we make come about because we haven’t listened carefully enough. We get things wrong because we haven’t listened carefully enough. We get things wrong because we haven’t quite understood what someone meant when they were talking to us. Anyone who has ever taken the minutes of a long meeting will know how hard it is to remember-- despite the benefit of notes-- exactly what everyone said. But success depends on getting things right--and that means listening.

Listening is not the same thing as hearing; it is not an effort actively. It demands attention and concentration. It may mean quizzing the speaker for additional information or for clarification------ it is always better to ask than to continue regardless and get things wrong. However, if you allow your mind to wander onto something else, even for a few minutes, you’ll miss what the speaker is saying------ probably at the very moment when he or she is saying something critical. And not having heard, you won’t know you’ve missed anything until it’s too late.

The most common bad habit we have is to start thinking of what we are going to say about the subject long before the other speaker has finished. We then stop listening. Even worse, this often adds rudeness to inattentiveness, as once you have decided what to say there is a fair chance you will interrupt to say it. Good listeners don’t interrupt. In fact it is often worth explaining the main idea of what you have just been told before going on to make your own points. Nobody is offended by this and it shows that you have listened well.

Above all be patient and accept that many people are not very good communicators. It’s helpful to remember that the ways people move and position themselves while they are speaking can reveal a great deal about what they are saying. Equally important you should put yourself in the other person’s place, both intellectually and emotionally; it will help you to understand what they are getting at and form a response. But don’t be too clever. Faced with a know-all, many people keep quiet because they see no point in continuing.

36. Which is the best title for this passage?

A. Don’t be too clever                         B. Be a good listener.

C. Don’t miss anything critical             D. Think of the speaker

37. In the last paragraph, “…… what they are getting at ……” means________ .

A. what they imply                             B. what they like

C. what they attack                                   D. what they achieve

38. What is the writer’s opinion?

A. If you want to be a good listener, you should be very clever and emotional.

B. Speakers won’t continue talking when their listeners explain what they’ve heard.

C. If you don’t want to get things wrong, it’s important to be a good listener,

D. It’s hard to be a good listener because listening tests you on your intelligence.

39. What is the lesson we can learn from this passage?

A. Don’t accuse others of not listening while talking with them.

B. Don’t get anything wrong if you miss what the speaker is saying.

C. Listening inattentively may cost you the loss of your success.

D. Think carefully of what you’re going to say before the speaker finishes.

Too often we accuse others of not listening, pretending that we ourselves are faultless, yet in our hearts we know that many of the mistakes we make come about because we haven’t listened carefully enough.  We get things wrong because we haven’t listened carefully enough.  We get things wrong because we haven’t quite understood what someone meant when they were talking to us.  Anyone who has ever taken the minutes of a long meeting will know how hard it is to remember-- despite the benefit of notes-- exactly what everyone said.  But success depends on getting things right--and that means listening.

Listening is not the same thing as hearing; it is not an effort actively.  It demands attention and concentration.  It may mean quizzing the speaker for additional information or for clarification------ it is always better to ask than to continue regardless and get things wrong.  However, if you allow your mind to wander onto something else, even for a few minutes, you’ll miss what the speaker is saying------ probably at the very moment when he or she is saying something critical.  And not having heard, you won’t know you’ve missed anything until it’s too late.

The most common bad habit we have is to start thinking of what we are going to say about the subject long before the other speaker has finished.  We then stop listening.  Even worse, this often adds rudeness to inattentiveness, as once you have decided what to say there is a fair chance you will interrupt to say it.  Good listeners don’t interrupt.  In fact it is often worth explaining the main idea of what you have just been told before going on to make your own points.  Nobody is offended by this and it shows that you have listened well.

Above all be patient and accept that many people are not very good communicators.  It’s helpful to remember that the ways people move and position themselves while they are speaking can reveal a great deal about what they are saying.  Equally important you should put yourself in the other person’s place, both intellectually and emotionally; it will help you to understand what they are getting at and form a response.  But don’t be too clever.  Faced with a know-all, many people keep quiet because they see no point in continuing.

36.  Which is the best title for this passage?

A.  Don’t be too clever                      B.  Be a good listener.

C.  Don’t miss anything critical          D.  Think of the speaker

37.  In the last paragraph, “…… what they are getting at ……” means________ .

A.  what they imply                                  B.  what they like

C.  what they attack                                 D.  what they achieve

38.  What is the writer’s opinion?

A.  If you want to be a good listener, you should be very clever and emotional.

B.  Speakers won’t continue talking when their listeners explain what they’ve heard.

C.  If you don’t want to get things wrong, it’s important to be a good listener,

D.  It’s hard to be a good listener because listening tests you on your intelligence.

39.  What is the lesson we can learn from this passage?

A.  Don’t accuse others of not listening while talking with them.

B.  Don’t get anything wrong if you miss what the speaker is saying.

C.  Listening inattentively may cost you the loss of your success.

D.  Think carefully of what you’re going to say before the speaker finishes.

Too often we accuse others of not listening, pretending that we ourselves are faultless, yet in our hearts we know that many of the mistakes we make come about because we haven’t listened carefully enough. We get things wrong because we haven’t listened carefully enough. We get things wrong because we haven’t quite understood what someone meant when they were talking to us. Anyone who has ever taken the minutes of a long meeting will know how hard it is to remember-- despite the benefit of notes-- exactly what everyone said. But success depends on getting things right--and that means listening.

Listening is not the same thing as hearing; it is not an effort actively. It demands attention and concentration. It may mean quizzing the speaker for additional information or for clarification------ it is always better to ask than to continue regardless and get things wrong. However, if you allow your mind to wander onto something else, even for a few minutes, you’ll miss what the speaker is saying------ probably at the very moment when he or she is saying something critical. And not having heard, you won’t know you’ve missed anything until it’s too late.

The most common bad habit we have is to start thinking of what we are going to say about the subject long before the other speaker has finished. We then stop listening. Even worse, this often adds rudeness to inattentiveness, as once you have decided what to say there is a fair chance you will interrupt to say it. Good listeners don’t interrupt. In fact it is often worth explaining the main idea of what you have just been told before going on to make your own points. Nobody is offended by this and it shows that you have listened well.

Above all be patient and accept that many people are not very good communicators. It’s helpful to remember that the ways people move and position themselves while they are speaking can reveal a great deal about what they are saying. Equally important you should put yourself in the other person’s place, both intellectually and emotionally; it will help you to understand what they are getting at and form a response. But don’t be too clever. Faced with a know-all, many people keep quiet because they see no point in continuing.

56. Which is the best title for this passage?

A. Don’t be too clever                  B. Be a good listener.

C. Don’t miss anything critical            D. Think of the speaker

57. In the last paragraph, “…… what they are getting at ……” means________ .

A. what they imply                             B. what they like

C. what they attack                             D. what they achieve

58. What is the writer’s opinion?

A. If you want to be a good listener, you should be very clever and emotional.

B. Speakers won’t continue talking when their listeners explain what they’ve heard.

C. If you don’t want to get things wrong, it’s important to be a good listener,

D. It’s hard to be a good listener because listening tests you on your intelligence.

59. What is the lesson we can learn from this passage?

A. Don’t accuse others of not listening while talking with them.

B. Don’t get anything wrong if you miss what the speaker is saying.

C. Listening inattentively may cost you the loss of your success.

D. Think carefully of what you’re going to say before the speaker finishes.