选择知识点

(Q = Question; A = Answer)

Situation I

Q: If someone sits right next to me in an empty movie theater, is it rude to move?

A: Maybe, but nobody will fault you for it. Chances are that the close sitter doesn’t realize he disturbs you, so he may miss your annoyance. You undoubtedly aren’t the first person he’s met who needs enough room. Forgive his bad judgment, move quietly and enjoy the show.

Situation II

Q: If I use the bathroom at a store, do I need to buy something?

A: Consider frequency and urgency. Is this a one-time thing or an emergency? If so, you don’t have to buy anything, but it would be kind if you did. However, if you regularly use the bathroom at this place, then you are a customer, and you should act like one.

Situation III

Q: If someone is talking loudly on the bus, is there a nice way to ask him to keep it down?

A: No. Try other means: 1) Stare at him until he gets aware of it and quiets down. 2) Lift your finger in a silence motion(动作) and smile. 3) Put on earphones and ignore him.

Situation IV

Q: If I remember my friend’s birthday a day late, should I apologize or just wish her a happy birthday like nothing happened?

A: This is the reason why the word belated was invented. “Happy belated birthday!” is short for: “Well, I know I forgot, but then I remembered. Forgive me and happy birthday.”

Situation V

Q: Can I lie about seeing a text because I was loo busy or lazy to respond to it?

A: Don’t lie. Receiving a text does not mean you need to respond(回复) to it. Why waste a perfectly good lie when the truth will serve? “Yes,” you can say if ever asked, “I saw it.” No explanation is needed as to why you don’t respond.

I have a love/hate relationship with Halloween.Firstly, the costume hunting is tiring. When my daughter was 2 years old, she wanted to be Terri and Terry. Terri and Terry is the two-headed monster from MonstersUniversity. I searched everywhere for the consume for a week. Finally I convinced her to go as Mike Wazowski.

The costume hunting is also terrifying. This year, I brought my kids into an actual Halloween store to buy their costumes. I felt like we had stepped into a horror movie. My poor 4-year-old daughter stood still suddenly. I was not sure whether it was the mechanical witch talking to her when she walked through the door, or possibly the bleeding gore（血块）hanging from the walls. I finally had to ask the salesgirl to turn off every special effect and sound to get her out of the door. That night, I lost some sleep with frightened screams coming from her room.

Sometimes, the costume malfunctions（出故障）. When my daughter was 3 years old, she wanted to be Rapunzel. We both thought her costume was incredibly attractive… until she tripped and fell going up the stairs to each house. That day, while I was handing out candies, our door was thrown open and in walked my daughter. She was sobbing with lots of safety pins（饰针）holding up her dress and long hair.

What’s worse, the kids want to eat ALL of their candy. Every year, after Halloween is over, my kids want to dig into their candy. From the moment they wake up, they want candy. I try to explain that this is their one candy for the day and that once it’s gone, they won’t get another until the next day. Although they say they understand, sure enough by the evening they are trying to explain that they don’t like that one they have had earlier, and they desperately need another. It’s a constant battle.

In her new book, “The Smartest Kids in the World,” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, tells the story of Tom, a high-school student from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who decides to spend his senior year in Warsaw, Poland. Poland is a surprising educational success story: in the past decade, the country raised students’ test scores from significantly below average to well above it. Polish kids have now outscored(超过……分数) American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does. One of the most striking differences between the high school Tom attended in Gettysburg and the one he ends up at in Warsaw is that the latter has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.

Those American High Schools lavish more time and money on sports than on math is an old complaint. This is not a matter of how any given student who plays sports does in school, but of the culture and its priorities. This December, when the latest Program for International Student Assessment(PISA) results are announced, it’s safe to predict that American high-school students will once again display their limited skills in math and reading, outscored not just by students in Poland but also by students in places like South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Singapore, and Japan. Meanwhile, they will have played some very exciting football games, which will have been breathlessly written up in their hometown papers.

Why does this situation continue? Well, for one thing, kids like it. And for another, according to Ripley, parents seem to like the arrangement, too. She describes a tour she took of a school in Washington D. C. , which costs thirty thousand dollars a year. The tour leader—a mother with three children in the school—was asked about the school’s flaws(暇疵). When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned. “Really?” one of them asked worriedly, “What do you mean?”

One of the ironies (讽刺) of the situation is that sports reveal what is possible. American kids’ performance on the field shows just how well they can do when expectations are high. It’s too bad that their test scores show the same thing.

“Blogging is helping students to think and write more critically(批评地),”says an Australian researcher, “and can help draw out people who would otherwise not engage in debate.”

These are the preliminary findings of PHD research by Anne Bartlett-Bragg, a lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney, who has been using weblogs or blogs in her own teaching since 2001.

“The students are thinking more critically.” she says, “They are learning to be responsible and they’re communicating outside the boundaries of the classroom and the institution, and they like that. “Bartlett-Bragg says in conventional teaching, students often rely on the lecturer as the main source of ideas and critique (评论)for their work. “I’m a bit over listening to my students giving me back in an essay what I’ve told them in class.” she says. “I want them to think for themselves and get different perspectives.”

“What makes blogs useful is their interactive nature.” she says. These web-based forums(论坛)for discussing ideas, experiences or opinions allow students to discuss publicly what they are studying with other students and experts outside their own university. “I really encourage them to put their personal opinion in there, provided they are informed and backed up with evidence.” Bartlett-Bragg says because a lot of academics in her field of electronic or e-learning now have their own blogs, students can engage directly with them.

She says one of the most powerful facilities in weblogs is pinging, which involves a person positing a comment about someone else’s work on their own blog. They use the “Trackback” tool to notify the author when they have published the comment, basically inviting them to discuss it.

“They get such a buzz when they make a comment on another person outside the boundaries of the institution and that person responds, or even gives them some further reading.” she says. “They are getting new perspectives that I can’t give them in a normal lecture.”

  I log (登录)onto a computer at the doctor's office to say I have arrived and then wait until a voice calls me into the examination room.      

There, a robotic nurse directs me onto a device and then takes my blood pressure. Some time later, in steps the doctor, who is also a robot. He notes down my symptoms and gives me a prescription (处方). I pay for my visit using a credit card machine and return home without having met another human being.     

When I call my dentist's office and actually get a human being on the line, I am thrilled. And when I see the introduction of yet more self-service checkout stations at the grocery store, I feel like shouting, "When it comes to cashiers, make mine human, please!"    

After all, human cashiers sometimes give you a store coupon (优惠券) for items you are buying. Even more than that, real-life cashiers often take an interest in particularly cute children, which can brighten a young mother's day. A cashier may also show compassion (同情)for an elderly person struggling to get that last penny out of her purse. 

What technological device would do any of this? I don't want to go back to the Stone Age, but I'm also worried about a world run by machines. Sometimes when you're chatting with someone, you discover things you need to know. Maybe a receptionist needs prayers said for a sick child. Maybe a salesperson can offer a bit of encouragement to a customer who is feeling tired.       

Machines can be efficient and cost-effective and they often get the job done just fine. But they lack an element so important to everyday life.      

Call it the spirit, the soul or the heart. It is something no machine will ever have. It is being human that prompts us to smile at others, which may be what they need at that moment.  

D

     Conventional wisdom is a major barrier to innovation that threatens the survival of companies everywhere. It’s based on the        assumption that old ideas will always work, so they shouldn’t be challenged. While this may be a valid assumption in situations that don’t change, it’s unlikely to hold true in a changing situation. In today’s rapid changing global environment, old methods often don't work, and stubbornly using them can lead to major problems.

     Most people seem to agree with conventional wisdom because it gives one a false sense of security. If everyone else believes it,     then it must be true. Individuals who use conventional wisdom are certain that they are right, and being right is good. They want to continue using old ideas rather than take risks with changes that might not work. In 1977, Ken Olsen, co-founder and CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), stated “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” Despite being a dominant leader in the computer industry, DEC no longer exists.

    People seem to forget that since innovation is a change, there can be no innovation without change. Unfortunately, conventional  wisdom prevents leaders, followers and companies from changing and therefore innovating. If companies don’t innovate, but their competitors do, the future is likely to be problematic. Breaking from conventional wisdom has led to many of the most innovative companies and products in history across many industries, so it has a powerful effect on business success.

    Ted Turner (founder of CNN) knew little, if anything, about the news business, but he knew it was inconvenient to watch news only at the dinner hour, as was common before CNN. Turner’s solution was to create a cable channel dedicated to news 24 hours a day. The news establishment reflected conventional wisdom at the time, and predicted his idea would fail because no one wanted to watch the news all day. However, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that viewers don’t have to watch the news all day for the CNN to work. Viewers just have to watch when they want to get information. Due to conventional thinking, the critics failed to recognize the opportunity that was clear to Ted. They assumed that only what was familiar to them could work in the future.

    Conventional wisdom prevents creativity, flexibility and risk-taking, so unconventional leaders enthusiastically break from it. To       survive, thrive and maintain competitive advantage, companies must be flexible when reacting to change.

Long History, Unclear Future for “Golden Rice”

White rice is the world’s most popular form rice. But it goes through a milling(研磨) process that removes many nutrients(营养物质). As a result, people who eat poor diet based on white rice may not get enough vitamin A.

Each year about two hundred fifty thousand to half a million children go blind from vitamin A deficiency(缺乏). The World Health Organization says half of them die within a year of losing their sight. Vitamin A deficiency is a problem especially in Africa and Southeast Asia.

So scientists thought of an answer. They combined white rice with plant compounds(复合物) whose body can change into vitamin A. The rice contains carotenoids(类胡萝卜素) which give the rice a golden color.

But the rice cannot be made using traditional methods to raise the plants. Scientists worked for years to develop the technology to add genes to rice and yet more years to get the genes they wanted into the seeds. Golden Rice is currently being tested in the Philippines. It is still not available for general use.

Go-inventor Ingo Potrykus says the rice with two added genes, one from corn and the other from a soil bacterium(细菌), will be available soon.

Mr. Potrykus, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, says Golden Rice has never been shown to be unsafe for the environment or people. Many agricultural organizations support the project.

But there are also critics(批评者), including researchers from the environmental group Greenpeace. Several months ago they questioned whether Golden Rice could do much for vitamin A deficiency(缺乏). They said releasing genetically modified rice in Asia could permanently(永久地)change traditional rice varieties.

In our old neighborhood, neighbors chatted over fences. Newcomers were welcomed with chocolate and bread. It had been easy to find friends there. Our new community was different. It seemed that family roots grew deep, deep as the Mississippi River that flowed past the tiny river town.

   We'd moved to decrease my husband's distance to work. Only thirty miles.

   After living there for six months, I was ready to move back home. I was lonely without a friend. My three boys were lonely. My husband, Lonny, seemed okay, but he spent his days at work.

   Lonny noticed my sinking disposition.

   "Shawnelle, you look unapproachable," he said. He and I were sitting in lawn chairs. Samuel, our three-year-old son, sat in his own little chair.

   "What do you mean?"

   "Body language. You placed our chairs fifteen yards away from everyone else. "

   "It doesn't matter. I'm not going to have friends here." Just then Samuel looked up. "Mom's right, Dad. And we just want to go home."

   That's when I knew that I needed an adjustment. I didn't want my boys to learn that the way to work through a tough time was to use a wounded and bitter attitude.

   Over the next few months I smiled when I didn't feel like it. We signed up for reading programs at the library and often visited parks and the bike path along the river.

   One afternoon Samuel and I climbed up the stairs to the library activity room. A woman who I hadn't seen before sat at a long table with a tiny boy.

   "Hi," she said. "I'm Tammy. Do you need a seat? There's one right here."

   I sat down next to Tammy. Soon class was over, and we still had a lot to say. "Why don't you come over later?" Tammy asked. "I live on a farm. There's plenty of room for the kids to run. "We went. And since that day, we've been back a million times.

   When I look back, I'm grateful for that tough time. I learned to persevere. I'm glad I didn't give up.

   And as for my boys, they learned a lesson too. "Keep moving forward" is what I tell them and "Your heart will follow."

Coffee at a friend's! We sat trying to make conversation while her three children grappled (扭打) with one another on the floor. Suddenly I remembered that I had brought some glass marbles (玩具子弹) with me—a whole bag full. I spilled them out on the floor, in the hope that the little angels would play with them in peace. Far from it: a heated argument broke out. I didn't understand what was happening until I looked more closely. Among the countless marbles there was just one blue one, and the children fought for it. All the marbles were exactly the same size and shiny and bright. But the blue one had an advantage over the others—it was one of a kind. I had to laugh at how childish children are!

   Rata sunt cara, said the Romans. Rare is valuable. In fact, the scarcity error is as old as mankind. My friend with the three children is a part-time real-estate (房地产) agent. Whenever she has an interested buyer who cannot decide, she calls and says "A doctor from London saw the plot of land yesterday. He liked it a lot. What about you? Are you still interested?"The doctor from London—sometimes it's a professor or a banker—is, of course, not true. The effect is very real, though: it causes prospects to see the opportunity disappearing before their eyes, so they act and close the deal. Why? This is the potential shortage of supply. Objectively, this situation is incomprehensible: either the prospect wants the land for the set price or he does not—regardless of any doctors from London.

   In one study, students were asked to arrange ten posters in order of attractiveness—with the agreement that afterward they could keep one poster as a reward for their participation. Five minutes later, they were told that the poster with the third highest rating was no longer available. Then they were asked to judge all ten once again. The poster that was no longer available was suddenly classified as the most beautiful. In psychology, this phenomenon is called reactance: when we are deprived (剥夺) of an option, we suddenly consider it more attractive. It is also known as the Romeo and Juliet effect: because the love between the tragic Shakespearean teenagers is forbidden, it knows no bounds (难以自己).

   In conclusion: the typical response to scarcity is failure in clear thinking. Assess products and services solely on the basis of their price and benefits. It should be of no importance if an item is disappearing fast, nor if any doctors from London take an interest.