You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd (奇怪的),” Gray told the BBC. “They (elevators) are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed (理解) as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.
【小题1】The main purpose of the article is to _____.| A．remind us to enjoy ourselves in the elevator |
| B．tell us some unwritten rules of elevator etiquette |
| C．share an interesting but awkward elevator ride |
| D．analyze what makes people feel awkward in an elevator |
| A．turn around and greet one another |
| B．look around or examine their phone |
| C．make eye contact with those in the elevator |
| D．try to keep a distance from other people |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．judge | B．ignore | C．put up with | D．make the best of |
| Welcome to my Message Board! | |
| Subject Slimming down classics? | |
| Mr. Handsome  2007-5-12&24 AM | Orion Books,which decides there is a market in creating cut-down classics(经典著作)，is slimming down some novels by such great writers as L.Tolstoy,M.Mitchell and C.Bronte.Now,each of them has been whittled down to about 400 pages by cutting 30 to |
| Mr. Edwards  2007-5-12 9:40 AM | Well,I’m publisher of Orion Group.Thanks for your attention,Mr.Handsome. I must say,the idea developed from a game of “shame”in my office.Each of us was required to confess(承认)to the most embarrassing blanks in his or her reading.I admitted that I had never read Anna Karenina and tried but failed to get through Gone with the Wind several times.One of my colleagues acknowledged skipping(跳读)Jane Eyre.We realised that life is too short to read all the books you want to and we never were going to read these ones. As a leading publishing house,we are trying to make classics convenient for readers but it’s not as if we’re withdrawing the original versions.They are still there if you want to read them. |
Ms.Weir 2007-5-12 11:35 AM | I’m director of the online bookclub www.lovereading.co.uk Mr.Edwards,I think your shortened editions is a breath of fresh air.I’m guilty of never having read Anna Karenina,because it’s just so long.I’d much rather read two 300-page books than one 600-page book.I am looking forward to more shortened classics! |
| Mr. Crockatt  2007-5-124:38 PM | I’m from the London independent bookshop Crockatt & Powell. In my opinion,the practice is completely ridiculous.How can you edit the classics?I’m afraid reading some of these books is hard work,and that is why you have to develop as a reader.If people don’t have time to read Anna Karenina,then fine.But don’t read a shortened version and kid yourself it’s the real thing. |
【小题1】According to the message board,Orinon Books_______.
| A．opposes the reading of original classics |
| B．is embarrassed for cutting down classics |
| C．thinks cut-down classics have a bright future |
| D．is cautious in its decision to cut down classics |
| A．make them easier to read |
| B．meet a large demand in the market |
| C．increase the sales of literary books |
| D．compete with their original versions |
| A．speaks highly of the cut-down classics |
| B．shows gailty of the original classics |
| C．feels guilty of not reading the classics |
| D．disapproves of shortening the classics |
| A．reading the classic works is a confusing attempt |
| B．shortening the classics does harm to the original |
| C．publishing the cub-down classics is a difficult job |
| D．editing the classic works satisfies children’s needs |
We often close ourselves off when unfortunate events happen in our lives; instead of letting the world soften us, we let it drive us deeper into ourselves. We try to deflect the hurt and pain by pretending it doesn’t exist, but although we can try this all we want, in the end, we can’t hide from ourselves. We need to learn to open our hearts
to the potentials of life and let the world soften us.
Whenever we start to let our fears and seriousness get the best of us, we should take a step back and re-evaluate our behavior. The items listed below are ways you can open your heart more fully and completely.
Breathe into pain
Whenever a painful situation arises in your life, try to embrace it instead of running away or trying to mask the hurt. When the sadness strikes, take a deep breath and lean into it. When we run away from sadness that’s unfolding in our lives, it gets stronger and more real. We take an emotion that’s fleeting and make it a solid event, instead of something that passes through us.
By utilizing our breath we soften our experiences. If we dam them up, our lives will stagnate, but when we keep them flowing, we allow more newness and greater experiences to blossom.
Embrace the uncomfortable
We all know what that twinge(刺痛) of anxiety feels like. We know how fear feels in our bodies: the tension in our necks, the tightness in our stomachs, etc. We can practice leaning into these feelings of discomfort and let them show us where we need to go.
The initial impulse is to run away — to try and suppress these feelings by not acknowledging them. When we do this, we close ourselves off to the parts of our lives that we need to experience most. The next time you have this feeling of being truly uncomfortable, do yourself a favor and lean into the feeling. Act in spite of the fear.
Ask your heart what it wants
We’re often confused at the next step to take, making pros and cons lists until our eyes bleed and our brains are sore. Instead of always taking this approach, what if we engaged a new part of ourselves that isn’t usually involved in the decision making process?
I know we’ve all felt decisions or actions that we had to take simply due to our “gut” impulses: when asked, we can’t explain the reasons behind doing so — just a deep knowing that it had to get done. This instinct is the part of ourselves we’re approaching for answers.
To start this process, take few deep breaths then ask, “Heart, what decision should I make here? What action feels the most right?”
See what comes up, then engage and evaluate the outcome.
| Title: Open Our Hearts | ||
Background information | ★Unfortunate events often ★We can’t hide ourselves ★We should take a step back and re-evaluate our behavior whenever fears and seriousness | |
| ★Breathe into pain | ★Try to embrace it instead of running away or trying to ★Utilize our breath and we can | |
| ★Embrace the uncomfortable | ★We can practice leaning into the feelings of discomfort and ★Running away only | |
| ★Ask your heart what it wants | ★To treat the process of decision making from a different ★See what | |
Near lunchtime, everything quieted down.Mr.Robert stood by his desk with his hands full of letters. Suddenly through the open window came a smell of flowers,like the thin breath of spring.Mr.Robert stood still. This was Miss Angelia’s smell, her own and only hers.The world of the stock market disappeared. And Miss Angelia was in the next room--only twenty steps away.
“I’ll do it now,” said Mr.Robert softly. “I’ll ask her now.Why didn’t I do it long ago?”
He ran into her office. She looked up at him with a smile. Her face turned a soft pink.
“Miss Angelia,”he said, hurriedly, “I only have a moment to talk.I want to say something important to you,Will you be my wife?I haven’t had time to show you, but I really do love you.”
“Why ...what are you talking about?” cried the young lady.She stood up and looked at him strangely. “Don’t you understand?” Mr. Robert asked quickly. “I want you to marry me now.”
Miss Angelia acted very strangely. At first she seemed surprised. Then she began to cry. But then she smiled through her tears like the sun through rain. She put her arms around his neck. “But don’t you remember, darling?” she said .”We were married yesterday evening at 8:00, in the little church around the corner.”
【小题1】What can we know from the first paragraph?
| A．Mr. Robert didn’t love Miss Angelia. |
| B．Mr. Robert was too happy to enjoy nature. |
| C．Mr.Robert was busy in working diligently |
| D．Mr. Robert didn’t make much money at all |
| A．think of a lot of letters |
| B．work harder and faster |
| C．enjoy the breath of spring |
| D．think of nothing but Miss Angeli |
| A．Miss Angelia felt happy in her heart. |
| B．Mr.Robert always acted strangely |
| C．Miss Angelia was angry at his words |
| D．Mr.Robert pretended to marry her actually |
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