1 How easy is it for you to make friends with a total stranger? Do you think that interpersonal skills are very important at school and at work? Please explain.

2 Have you ever encountered a very impolite person? If so, share your experience with your group members.

3 How can we build good relationships with people we’re familiar with, such as our peers and our family?

4 What do you think are some of the common causes of misunderstanding between people and what do you think we should do to clear up misunderstanding? 

Text A

• Section A  Discovering the Main Ideas

Exercise 1  Answer the following questions with the information contained in Text A.

(1) What went wrong with the author and his family at Christmas time last year? 

(2) What did the author think of the restaurant they went into?

(3) What do you think the mood of most people in the restaurant was like at the beginning? How do you know?

(4) In what ways was the American sailor different from the other people in the restaurant?

(5) Describe in your own words the scene at the restaurant at the end of the story. What made everybody so happy? 

Key Words and Expressions for Text A

on one’s way to 

in the process of coming, going, or traveling to  去…的途中   

e.g.  1. I’ll buy some bread on my way home.

2. We were already on the way to the airport when we realized we’d forgotten our passports.

我们已经在去机场途中了，突然意识到忘记带护照了。

 Usage: phrases with “way”

go wrong  

1. experience problems or difficulties 不如意，不对头；遇到麻烦

e.g.  1. The party was going well until my parents arrived; then everything went wrong.

2. Their marriage started to go wrong when he got a job abroad. 

他得到一份在国外的工作, 他们的婚姻就在那时开始出现问题。

 2. make mistakes at a particular stage in a process 犯错

   e.g. Check your work again and see if you can spot where you went wrong.

trap n.  

a plan for deceiving and tricking a person （人的）计谋，策略，陷阱

e.g.  1. His pleasant conversation was just a trap to make her say more than she should.

     他愉快的谈话不过是个策略，诱使她多说些她本不该说的话。  

2. It is easy to fall into the trap of taking out a loan you cannot afford.

很容易就钻进陷阱，背上你偿还不起的贷款。

collocations:

lay/set a trap  be/get caught in a trap    fall into/walk into a trap

rent vt.

    esp. AmE pay money for the use of (a car, boat, etc.) for a short time 〖尤美〗租用（汽车、船只等） 

e.g. 1. Hong Kong is one of the most expensive cities in the world to rent space in.

2. Will you rent a car while you’re in Spain?

你在西班牙期间会租辆车吗？

word choice: rent, hire, lease
租房子用rent，如: We rented an apartment together.
在美式英语里，租车,租电器产品也可以用rent，如: The TV is rented.
而在英式英语里，虽然也可以说rent a car， 但是经常说的是hire a car，如: You can hire a car at the airport.
长时间地租房子，租车或租设备，尤其是用于商业目的，可以用lease，如: If you upgrade computers regularly, it may work out cheaper to lease them.

break down 

1. (esp. of machinery) stop working; fail （机器）停止运转；坏掉

e.g.  1. We’re sorry to arrive late, but the bus broke down soon after we set off.

2. The telephone system has broken down.

电话系统失灵了。

2. fail; collapse 失败；崩溃；瓦解；垮

e.g. Negotiations between the two sides have broken down.

双方谈判已经破裂。

3. (of sb’s health) become very bad; collapse （指某人健康状况）变得恶劣；垮

 e.g. Her health broke down under the pressure of work.

工作的压力把她的身体弄垮了。

4. lose control of one’s feelings 感情失去控制

e.g. He broke down and wept when he heard the news.

他听到这个消息时不禁痛哭起来。

irritable a.  

tending to get angry at small things; easily annoyed 易怒的，急躁的

e.g.  1. The long drive home from work left him feeling tired and irritable.

下班回家长长的车程让他感到又累又急。

2. He had been waiting for over an hour and was beginning to feel irritable.

已经等了一个多小时他开始急了。

occupy vt.

use a place 占用  

e.g.  1. Many patients who are occupying hospital beds could be transferred to other places.

许多现在正占用床位的病人可以转到其他地方。

2. The bathroom’s occupied. I think John’s in there.

厕所有人。我想约翰正在里面。

 (all) by oneself 

alone, without help 单独地，独自地

e.g.  1. He was sitting by himself, looking very sad.

2. David spent Christmas all by himself.

戴维一个人过的圣诞节。

miserable a.  

very unhappy 极不愉快的，痛苦的  

e.g.  1. The child is cold, hungry, and tired; of course he’s feeling miserable.

2. I spent a miserable weekend alone at home.

单独一个人呆在家里，我过了一个很不开心的周末。

scold vt.  

old-fash speak angrily and complainingly to (someone who has done something wrong) 〖过时〗责骂；斥责（做错事的人） 

e.g.  1. Later she scolded her daughter for having talked to her father like that.

2. He never raised his voice or scolded me unfairly.

他从来不提高嗓门或不分青红皂白地责骂我。

defend vt.  

use arguments to support, protect, or show the rightness of 为…辩护

e.g. 1. How can you defend the killing of animals for scientific research?

2. Students should be ready to explain and defend their views.

学生应该勇于解释自己的观点并为之辩护。

minor a. 

lesser or smaller in degree, size, number, or importance when compared with others 较少（小）的；低级的，次要的

e.g.  1. He left most of his money to his sons; his daughter received only a minor share of

his wealth.

2. There may be some minor changes to the schedule.

时间表可能有些小的改动。

antonym: major

interrupt vt.

 break the flow of speech or action of (someone) by saying or doing something 打断（某人的）讲话；中断（某人的）行动；打扰

e.g.  1. She’s studying for an exam tomorrow, so you’d better not interrupt her.

2. Will you stop interrupting me when I’m talking!

我说话的时候请不要打断我！

straighten up  

get up from a bent-over position 直起身来，挺起身来

e.g.  1. He straightens up, combs his hair, and walks into the meeting.

2. Straighten up slowly, then repeat the exercise ten times. 

慢慢直起身，然后重复这个练习10次。

permission n.  

[U] an esp. formal text of allowing, written or spoken agreement 许可，准许；批准

e.g.  1. They can not leave the country without permission.

2. You must ask permission before taking any photographs inside the church.

你必须取得同意才能在教堂里拍照。

collocations:

ask/request/apply for permission
give/grant permission
get/obtain/receive permission
have permission (to do something)
refuse/deny (somebody) permission
with/without (somebody’s) permission
special/written permission
注意:  
不能说a permission或者the permission。

depart vi.  

fml or lit leave; go away, esp. when starting a journey〖正式或文〗离开

e.g.  1. The 12.15 train to Atlanta will depart from Platform 16. 

       12点15分去亚特兰大的列车在16号站台乘车。

2. The ship was due to depart at any moment. 

船随时都会出发的。

lean vi.   (leant /lent/, leant or leaned, leaned)

slope or bend from an upright position 倾斜；弯斜，屈身

e.g.  1. Last summer vacation I went to Italy and visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

2. A man was leaning out of the window.

一个男的把身子探出窗外。

ancient a.

 1. usu. humor (of people or objects) very old; in or of times long ago〖一般幽〗老掉牙的；古代的

e.g.  1. I look rather ancient in this photo.

2. I feel pretty ancient when I see how the younger generation behaves.

看到年轻一代的举止行为, 我觉得我太老了。

2. belonging to times long past 古代的；远古的

e.g. Rome is famous for its ancient monuments such as the Coliseum.

    罗马因其古老的建筑物而闻名，如斗兽场。

enthusiasm n.  

a strong active feeling of interest and admiration 巨大的兴趣，热情，热心，热忱

e.g.  1. The play he watched last night aroused his enthusiasm for acting.

2. Employers showed little enthusiasm for the new regulations.

用人单位对新规定没有多大热情。

collocations:

with enthusiasm

great/much/considerable/enormous enthusiasm
little enthusiasm
lack of enthusiasm
full of enthusiasm
show (great/considerable/little) enthusiasm
lose enthusiasm
share somebody’s enthusiasm
fire somebody with enthusiasm  
generate enthusiasm
dampen somebody’s enthusiasm
boundless/unbounded enthusiasm

deliver vt.  

1. take (goods, letters, etc.) to people’s houses or places of work 递送，传送

e.g.  1. Letters are delivered to the small town every other day.

2. Unfortunately the package was delivered to the wrong address.

不幸的是，包裹投递错了地方。

2. give (a lecture, sermon, speech, etc) 授（课）; 讲（道）; 讲（话）

e.g. She delivered a talk on philosophy to the society.

她给学会作了一次有关哲学的讲话。

release vt. 

1. express a feeling that one has been trying not to show  释放，放出

e.g.  1. He punched the pillow in an effort to release his anger.

       他击打枕头来发泄怒火。

2. Physical exercise is a good way of releasing stress.

体育锻炼是一种很好的释放压力的方式。

2. make sth. available to the public 发布（新闻等）；发行（影片等）

e.g. 1. The latest developments have just been released to the media.

最新的进展情况已向大众传播媒介发表。

2. The new model has now been released for sale to export markets.

新型号的产品现已向出口市场出售。