Pup a group of strangers in a room together, and they'll probably start a conversation. "Hot today, isn't it?" one might say. "You said it." another replies.
    Why do we talk so much about the weather? When we meet new people, we don't begin by telling them our life story. We start with small talk, a polite conversation about something like traffic or weather.
    Research suggests that small talk can build new friendships. When we begin conversations with new people, we want to feel comfortable, and so do they. We use small talk to find common interests. Once we have a common interest, a friendship can begin.
    Small talk even helps people get hired. In order to impress at a job interview, you need to bond with the interviewer right away. Proper small talk can make that first impression get you the job.
    So, how can you make small talk lead to a new friendship or job? First off, find common ground. Select something around you that you share with the other person.
    Next, keep the conversation going. Compliment (赞美) the other person to make him or her feel comfortable, and ask questions to show interest.
    Third, keep eye contact (接触). When you look people in the eye, they feel you appreciate what they are saying. It makes you appear honest and builds trust.
    Naturally, shy people might not have enough confidence to start up conversations with strangers. Talking to someone you don't know is not the easiest thing to do! Some experts say with more practice, small talk does get easier.
    Some people avoid small talk because they dislike discussing things like traffic or weather. For them, they are just too small. However, when you think about it, small talk is anything but small. In fact, it is actually a very big deal!

Title	Small Talk: A Big (1) ______
Introduction	We are likely to make small talk when we (2) ______ meet people.
(3) ______	❖ Small talk can help people form (4) ______ friendships.
	❖ Small talk can also help people get a (5) ______
Advice	❖ Find some topics (6) ______ with the other person.
	❖ Keep the talk going by making compliments and (7) ______ questions. ❖ Keep eye contact in conversation to build (8) ______
	❖ (9) ______ more in order to make small talk easier.
Conclusion	Small talk really (10) ______ a lot to us.

    In the 1960s, Douglas McGregor, one of the key thinkers in the art of management, developed the mow famous Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X is the idea that people instinctively (1) ______ work and will do anything to avoid it. Theory Y is the view that everyone has the potential to find satisfaction in work.
    In any case, despite so much evidence to the (2) ______ , many managers still agree to Theory X. They believe, (3) ______ , that their employees need constant supervision if they are to work effectively, or that decisions must be imposed from (4) ______ without consultation. This, of course, makes for authoritarian (专制的) managers.
    Different cultures have different ways of (5) ______ people. Unlike authoritarian management, some cultures, particularly in Asia, are well known for the consultative nature of decision-making—all members of the department or work group are asked to (6) ______ to this process. This is management by the collective opinion. Many western companies have tried to imitate such Asian ways of doing things, which are based on general (7) ______ . Some experts say that women will become more effective managers than men because they have the power to reach common goals in a way that traditional (8) ______ managers cannot.
    A recent trend has been to encourage employees to use their own initiative, to make decisions on their own without (9) ______ managers first. This empowerment (授权) has been part of the trend towards downsizing: (10) ______ the number of management layers in companies. After de-layering in this way, a company may be (11) ______ with just a top level of senior managers, front-line managers and employees with direct contact with the public. Empowerment takes the idea of delegation (委托) much further than has (12) ______ been the case. Empowerment and delegation mean new forms of management control to (13) ______ that the overall business plan is being followed, and that operations become more profitable under the new organization, rather than less.
Another trend is off-site or (14) ______ management, where teams of people linked by e-mail and the Internet work on projects from their own houses. Project managers evaluate the (15) ______ of the team members in terms of what they produce for projects, rather than the amount of time they spend on them.

    El Nifio, a Spanish term for “the Christ child”, was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nifio sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
    The weather effects, both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nifio, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nifio in 1997-98 helped American’s economy grow by $15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvests, farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural in rich countries is greater than the fall in poor ones.
    But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought (干旱）in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters.
    The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
    Simple improvements to infrastructure (基础设施）can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers (下水道）make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.

What’s On?

    Electric Underground
    7.30pm－1.00am   Free at the Cyclops Theatre
    Do you know who’s playing in your area? We’re bringing you an exciting evening of live rock and pop music from the best local bands. Are you interested in becoming a musician and getting a recording contract(合同)? If so, come early to the talk at 7.30pm by Jules Skye, a successful record producer. He’s going to talk about how you can find the right person to produce your music.

    Gee Whizz
    8.30pm-10.30pm   Comedy at Kaleidoscope
    Come and see Gee Whizz perform. He’s the funniest stand-up comedian on the comedy scene. This joyful show will please everyone, from the youngest to the oldest. Gee Whizz really knows how to make you laugh! Our bar is open from 7.00pm for drinks and snacks(快餐).

    Simon’s Workshop
    5.00pm-7.30pm    Wednesdays at Victoria Stage
    This is a good chance for anyone who wants to learn how to do comedy. The workshop looks at every kind of comedy, and practices many different ways of making people laugh. Simon is a comedian and actor who has 10 years’ experience of teaching comedy. His workshops are exciting and fun. An evening with Simon will give you the confidence to be funny.

    Charlotte Stone
    8.00pm-11.00pm     Pizza World
    Fine food with beautiful jazz music; this is a great evening out. Charlotte Stone will perform songs from her new best-selling CD, with James Pickering on the piano. The menu is Italian, with excellent meat and fresh fish, pizzas and pasta(面食). Book early to get a table. Our bar is open all day, and serves cocktails, coffee, beer, and white wine.

    假如你是李华，计划和同学去敬老院(nursing home)陪老人们过重阳节(the Double Ninth Festival)。请给外教露西写封邮件，邀她一同前往，
内容包括：
(1) 出发及返回时间；
(2) 活动：包饺子、表演节目等。
注意：
(1) 词数100左右；
(2) 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
(3) 结语已为你写好。

Yours,

Li Hua

    假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。作文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏子符号（∧）并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：
(1) 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
(2) 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

    When I was a child, I hoped to live in the city. I think I would be happy there. Now I am living in a city ,but I miss my home in countryside. There the air is clean or the mountains are green. Unfortunately, on the development of industrialization, the environment has been polluted. Lots of studies have been shown that global warming has already become a very seriously problem. The airs we breathe in is getting dirtier and dirtier. Much rare animals are dying out. We must found ways to protect your environment. If we fail to do so , we’ll live to regret it.