Celebrate the arts at Harvard ARTS FIRST: April 28-May l, 2012 Experience non-stop art! Over 200 performances, exhibitions, films, and multimedia presentations Highlighting student and faculty creativity at Harvard. Schedule of events: www.ofa.fas.harvard.edu/arts, or call 617 495 8676 to request a program guide. Join us in honoring Susan Meiselas, winner of the 2012 Harvard Arts Medal Photographer Susan Meiselas will be awarded the Arts Medal by President Drew Gilpin Faust and will take part in a conversation organized by John Lithgow. Friday, April 29, 4 pm New College Theatre, 10-12 Holyoke St., Cambridge Admission free: tickets required. Those who receive this announcement may request up to two tickets by emailing www.ofa.fas.harvard.edu/arts or calling 617 495 8676. Please indicate one or two tickets, and reply by April 25. What do you know about the event at New College Theatre? A) People must buy tickets for it. B) Everyone can go to it. C) It begins at 10 am on April 29. D) One can get two tickets at most.
D
After a fight and before forgiveness often comes an apology. But saying "I'm sorry" comes more easily for some people than doing that for others. A new study suggests that specific personality traits offer clues about whether a person is likely to offer a sincere apology. Psychologist Andrew Howell and his colleagues at Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton designed a questionnaire to measure a person's willingness to beg someone's pardon. They asked participants to indicate their level of agreement with a series of statements, such as "My continued anger often gets in the way of me apologizing" or "If I think no one will know what I have done, I am not likely to apologize." The researchers then used the answers to determine every participant's "proclivity to apologize," and they cross-referenced these scores with results from a variety of personality assessments. From the beginning, Howell was confident that people with high marks on compassion and agreeability would be willing apologizers -- and the study results confirmed his hypothesis . But the experiment also turned up some surprising traits of the unrepentant . People with low self-esteem, for example, were less inclined to apologize, even though they probably feel bad after a conflict. Unlike people who experience guilt about a specific action and feel sorry for the person they have wronged, individuals who experience generalized shame may actually be feeling sorry for themselves. In contrast, "people who are sure of themselves have the capacity to confess to wrongdoing and admit it," Howell suggests. But just the right amount of self-esteem is the key. The study also found that narcissists -- people who, in Howell's words, "are very egocentric, with an overly grand view of themselves" -- were reluctant to offer an apology. The researchers were most surprised to find that a strong sense of justice was negatively correlated with a willingness to apologize, perhaps suggesting that contrition and an "eye for an eye" philosophy are incompatible .... The study done by Andrew Howell and his colleagues reveals_. A) what influences one to be a willing apologizer B) when people might apologize willingly C) what a willing apologizer is all about D) how to become a willing apologizer
A
Q: In the world of fairy tales, great and powerful men are often helped to victory by the small and weak. But in the prefix = st1 /USit has happened for real. Nine - year - old Noah McCullough from Texas, has taken on the role of speaking to the public in support of President George W. Bush's social security reforms. On February 25 he signed an agreement with the American Congress to work for the White House as a volunteer. "What I want to tell people about social security is not to be afraid of the new plan," Noah said. "It may be a change, but it's a good change." Besides this task, he already has a higher goal. He plans to run for the White House in 2032. So far, Noah seems to have a very bright future. Despite his age, Noah already has his firm opinion on running the US. "I firmly believe that the combination of large business and small governments creates a peaceful and present society because industry can stimulate economic growth," he said. Noah's politics do not come from his parents. "He is very patriotic and very republican," said Noah's mother, Donna McCullough. "It's the way he was born." Noah's interest began after a mock election in the kindergarten when he was five years old. Now he has read more than 3,000 books on presidential history. He can recite the names of all 43 American presidents. He can also describe the achievements and events that took place during a president's term of office. His unusual experiences in the presidential campaign last year made him a famous figure. He was a member of Bush's presidential campaign team. He gave speeches at the Republican convention and followed Bush around on his tour of 27 states. President Bush thinks highly of the boy, saying that he is "the miracle kid of the White House". We can infer from the passage that _ . A) Noah can surely succeed in the 2032 presidential campaign B) Noah's polities are deeply affected by his parents C) Bush had known Noah well before the presidential campaign began D) Noah would develop industry and reduce government officials if he were elected President of the USA
A: D
People are being lured onto Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service without realizing they're paying for it by giving up large amounts of personal information. Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages. Most Facebook users don't realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they're paying for Facebook because people don't really know what their personal data is worth. The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules. Early on, you keep everything private. That was the great thing about facebook--you could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things-- your city, your photo, your friends' names--were set, by default to be shared with everyone on the Internet. According to Facebook's vice-president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don't share information, they have a "less satisfying experience". Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed. Who wants to look at ads when they're online connecting with their friends? The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April. Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Federal Trade Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites."I think the senator rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them," Schrage admits. I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy, it's only the beginning, which is why I'm considering deactivating my account. Facebook is a handy site, but I'm upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don't know.... What does the author say about most Facebook users? A) They are reluctant to give up their personal information. B) They don't know their personal data enriches Facebook. C) They don't identify themselves when using the website. D) They care very little about their personal information.
B