Do you know that shortly after hearing something，most of us can recall only 50% of the original message．Within two to eight weeks，we can recall only 25% or less of the original message．Our mental attitudes reduce our ability to retain what we hear．

    Some suggestions to being a good listener are mentioned below．

    First of all，stop tailing----you can’t listen while you are tailing．

    Ask questions when you don’t understand，when you need further clarification，when you want them to like you and when you want to show that you are listening．

    Don't interrupt----give them time to say what they have to say.

    Concentrate on what they are saying----actively focus your attention on their words，their ideas and their feelings as they relate to the subject.

    Look at the speakers----by looking，it gives them confidence that you are, in fact，listening. It helps you to concentrate too.

    __________----try to forget your own worries and problems. Leave them outside of the meeting room. They will prevent you from listening well.

    Understand the main points----concentrate on the main ideas and not the illustrative material.

    Use the difference in rate----you can listen faster than you can talk. So use this rate difference to your advantage by staying on the right track，anticipating what they are going to say，thinking back over what they have just said and evaluating the development of their argument. You speak at about 100 to 150 words per minute，but you think at 250 to 500.

    Learn to listen and you will achieve a great success in your life.

1．What is the passage mainly about? （No more than 10 words）

2．Fill in the blank with proper words. （No more than 5 words）

3．Which sentence can best replace “guessing what the talk will be about”?

4．When should we ask questions?

（1）______________________________________________________

（2）______________________________________________________

（3）______________________________________________________

5．Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.

Too many people want others to be their friends，but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendships don’t last long. To have a friend，you must learn to be one. You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be a good friend means learning three rules：be honest；be generous；be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you do not tell the truth，people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest，you may lose the friend’s trust. Good friends always count_ on one another to speak and act honestly.
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes .Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very valuable to a friend. They tell your friend what is important to you. By sharing them，you help your friend know better.
Sooner or later every one needs understanding and helping with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be the first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand. You must try to put yourself in your friend’s place so you can understand the problem better.
No two friendships are ever exactly alike .But all true friendships have three things in common. If you plan to keep your friends，you must practice honesty，generosity and understanding.
【小題1】Some friendships don’t last very long because ________.

Too many people want others to be their friends，but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendships don’t last long. To have a friend，you must learn to be one. You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be a good friend means learning three rules：be honest；be generous；be understanding.

Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you do not tell the truth，people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest，you may lose the friend’s trust. Good friends always count_ on one another to speak and act honestly.

Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes .Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very valuable to a friend. They tell your friend what is important to you. By sharing them，you help your friend know better.

Sooner or later every one needs understanding and helping with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be the first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand. You must try to put yourself in your friend’s place so you can understand the problem better.

No two friendships are ever exactly alike .But all true friendships have three things in common. If you plan to keep your friends，you must practice honesty，generosity and understanding.

1.Some friendships don’t last very long because ________.

2.According to the passage，honesty is________.

3.The best title of this passage is ________.

4.What’s the meaning of “count on” in this passage?

　 No one is perfect．We all mess up（搞砸）now and then．It can　 36 a little bit to remember that most people have been in the　 37　 you’re in—hurting several people’s feelings．What makes the difference is what you do next． 38 can go along way toward healing(治愈) hurt or angry feelings．It takes 39　 to step up and admit what you did was　 40 ．Try saying，“What I said the other day was　 4l insensitive of me．I shouldn’t have said that．I just want to say I’m sorry．”

　 When we say sorry, we　 42 to be sincere to show we feel sorry about how hurt another person may be．If an apology is more about 43 and how we can benefit，it might not seem true．

Another element of saying sorry is to let the person know you’re not going to let it　 44 again．You could tell your friends，“I’m going to be more aware of what I 45 and say about people in the future．I’ll make an effort(努力) to be 　46 and more positive about people，and not to 47 behind their backs—especially when it’s my friends．”

If you can’t bring yourself to have a 48 in person，write a note．Whichever way you　 49　 to communicate, be sure that you’d feel comfortable if anything you say is 50 with other friends，too．

Hopefully，your friends can stop being angry with you．But don’t be 51 if it doesn’t happen instantly．Some people are quick to 52 ．Others may have to think about what you said and need 53 to get over hurt feelings or anger , or to regain trust．Do your best with the part that’s up to you．The rest is up to them．

Stop being angry with yourself，too．You can learn from your 54 ．Being too self-critical can’t help you．Move forward．Focus your energies on trying to make things right　 55　 working on your good intentions!

36．A．give　 B．help　 　 　　C．explain 　　　　　　　 D．get

37．A．World　 　　 B．house　 　　 C．surrounding　 　 D．situation

38．A．Apologies 　 B．Friendships C．Words　 　　 D．Experiences

39．A．money　 　 B．knowledge C．courage　 　　　　 D．patience

40．A．wrong　 　　 B．unusual 　　　 C．different　　 　　　 D．dangerous

41．A．probably 　　 B．usually 　　　　 C．really 　　　　 　　D．finally

42．A．1eam　 　　 B．need 　　　　　 C．promise 　　D．hope

43．A．others　 　　 B．themselves　 　　 C．humans　 　　　　 D．ourselves

44．A．continue 　　　　　　 B．happen 　　　　 C．change 　　　　　　　 D．work

45．A．want 　　　　　 B．know 　　　　　 C．think 　　　　　　　　 D．hear

46．A．cleverer 　　　　　　 B．stronger 　　　 C．faster 　　　　 　　D．kinder

47．A．talk　 　　　　 B．follow 　　　　 C．a(chǎn)ct　 　　　　　　　　 D．shout

48．A．party　 　　　　　　 B．1esson 　　　 C．meeting 　D．conversation

49．A．dare　 　　　 B．decide 　　　 C．claim 　　　　　　　　 D．dream

50．A．shared　 　 B．compared　 　　　 C．connected　 　　 D．treated

51．A．surprised　 　　　 B．interested 　 C．discouraged　 　 D．frightened

52．A．forgive　 　 B．understand　 　　 C．a(chǎn)gree　 　　　　　　 D．a(chǎn)ppear

53．A．energy　 　 B．time　 　　　　 C．confidence　 　　 D．support

54．A．skills　　 　　 B．friends 　　　　 C．plans 　　　　　　　　 D．mistakes

55．A．for　 　　　　　 B．a(chǎn)nd　 　　　　 C．but　 　　　　　　　　 D．or

Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.

By putting thoughts into words，you are telling yourself the logic(邏輯)behind what you think，feel，or only partly understand. Often，explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words，you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power”．

Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll increase your brain power，even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything，and create an explanation. For example，start with “I’ll learn chess，” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprised how often this becomes a workable plan，and if you actually do this，you’ll have a better  understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now.

Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many，if not most，highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head，but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project，you’ll probably have more success.

Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example，but if you are learning something new，write a letter to a friend about it，and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem，why you want to solve it，and why it is worth solving，and you’re half-way there.

Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often，they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.

1.What would be the best title for the text?

2.According to the text，writing can help you a lot in the following ways EXCEPT ________.

3.The underlined sentence “you’re half-way there” in Paragraph 5 implies that ________.

4.What’s the main purpose of the writer writing the text?