I never thought I would have a life-changing experience at Wal-Mart. Although my thoughts were only on speed, the checkout line I was standing in wasn't moving as quickly as I wanted, and I glanced toward the cashier. There stood a man in his seventies, wearing glasses and a nice smile. I thought, well, he's an old guy! For the next few minutes I watched him. He greeted every customer before scanning the items. Sure, his words were the usual, "How's it going?" But he did something different--he actually listened to people. Then he would respond to what they had said and engage them in brief conversation. I thought it was odd. I has grown accustomed to people asking me how I was doing simply out of robotic conversational habit. After a while, you don't give any thought to the question and just mumble something back. I could say, "I just found out I have six months to live," and someone would reply, "Have a great day!" But that wasn't the end. He gave them the change, walked around the counter, and extended his right hand in an act of friendship. He looked the customers in the eyes. "I sure want to thank you for shopping here today," he told them. "You have a great day. Bye-bye." The looks on the faces of the customers were priceless. There were smiles and some sheepish grins. All had been touched by his simple gesture--and in a place they never expected. They would gather their things and walk out, smiling. Of course, he did the same to me and I got to know his name--Marty. Who was that guy? It was as if Sam Walton had come back from the dead and invaded this old guy's body. I had never walked away from that shop feeling like that. According to the writer, when common people ask you "How's it going?" A) they are just practicing their conversation ability B) they are inquiring about your private information C) they don't expect to hear any negative answers D) they don't really care what you may answer
D
Comfort is comforting, but it might narrow our experience at work -- and beyond. In our modern world, discomfort is considered a terrible thing. If not terrible, at least a thing of the past. Dishwashers, washing machines, computers, remote controls--yes, they add convenience, but also a level of comfort our forefathers did not enjoy. As pain of any kind discourages happiness, we tend to reason, anything that compromises our ability to feel good must be bad. And that's also particularly true for our careers. Success makes us feel great, not terrible. Such a view, however, is a matter of personal opinion. And it may blind us to hidden opportunities. Artists throughout history have tried to experience suffering, instinctively if not consciously, to produce works that explore the darker hidden sides of the human condition. This was done, in part, because pain is a reality of life for everybody in some form at some time. Pain is something everybody can relate to. And pain makes a person very present. For such artists, to relieve or to deny pain would be to block the creative thinking, which drives them to explore and express. In fact, Germans have a term for this melancholia, " _ ", which means "suffering from the world." Writers, from Lord Byron to Kurt Vonnegut, have used the term to describe the psychological pain encountered along life's roller-coaster journey. It was not to be avoided; it was to be understood, investigated and employed. So I propose that discomfort is good for us. Or, put another way, it tells us that something needs to be addressed. It stretches us by forcing us to view our circumstances through a wholly different lens. Because we're drawn to safety and security, we do our best to create pleasant comfort zones for ourselves and our loved ones through the cars we drive, the homes we live in, and the places we work. But by resisting discomfort, we deny ourselves an important opportunity: the chance to shake ourselves out of our predictable perspectives and allow ourselves to make... By writing this passage, the author tries to _ . A) criticize a world full of comfort B) explain why discomfort is good for us C) persuade people to lead a life full of discomfort D) blame those who enjoy an easy life
B
(Q).
Spanish explorers called them Las Encantadas, the Enchanted Isles, and Charles Darwin used his studies of the islands as the foundation for his theory of natural selection. The Galapagos are among the world's most important scientific treasures, a group of volcanic islands surrounded by deserted beaches and inhabited by unique varieties of giant tortoise, lizards, and birds. Yet life on this United Nations world heritage site has turned sour. Battles have broken out between fishermen and conservationists. Ecuador, which owns the islands, has sent a naval patrol to put down disturbances. The controversial director of the Galapagos National Park--which controls 97 percent of Galapagos land and the reserve extending to 40 miles offshore--has been fired, while an air of uneasy tension hangs over the islands, as the islanders prepare for election when they pick their representatives in Ecuador's national assembly. "It's a very tense situation," said Leonor Stjepic, director of the London-based Galapagos Conservation Trust, which raises money to help projects on the islands. "We are watching it with concern." The violence has been triggered by an alarming growth in the islands' population. Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz island, housed just 45 inhabitants in the 50s. Today there are more than 10,000, while the islands' total population is more than 19,000 and growing by 6 percent a year, despite recently introduced a law to limit waves of immigrants fleeing the poor areas of Ecuador for a life "in paradise ". On top of _ , more than 100,000 tourists visit the islands every year. Such numbers have put the islands, special ecology under intense pressure. Conservationists backed by the Ecuador government, have replied by exercising strict controls to protect the islands* iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and giant tortoises. These moves have angered many local people, however. They want to exploit the islands' waters and catch its protected species of sharks, lobsters and sea cucumbers, which can fetch high prices in... We can learn from the passage that _ . A) the projects of Galapagos Conservation Trust on the islands are profitable B) conservationists get angry when fishermen are killing a goose C) politicians from the mainland government play football on the islands D) the government is trying to ease the tension
(A).
D