A woman from Japan was telling a friend about her trip to the United States.The woman had visited major businesses and investment companies in New York City and Chicago.
“I studied English before I left home,”she said.“But I still was not sure that people were speaking English.”
Her problem is easy to understand.Americans in business are like people who are in business anywhere.They have a language of their own.Some of the words and expressions deal with the special areas of their work.Other expressions are borrowed from different kinds of work such as the theater and movie industry.
One such saying is “get your act together”.
When things go wrong in a business,an employer may get angry.He may shout,“Stop making mistakes.Get your act together.”
Or,if the employer is calmer,he may say,“Let us get our act together.”
Either way,the meaning is the same.Getting your act together is getting organized.In business,it usually means to develop a calm and orderly plan of action.
It is difficult to tell exactly where the saying began.But,it is probable that it was in the theater or movie industry.Perhaps one of the actors was nervous and made a lot of mistakes.The director may have said,“Calm down,now.Get your act together.”
Word expert James Rogers says the expression was common by the late 1970s.Mister Rogers says the Manchester Guardian newspaper used it in 1978.The newspaper said a reform policy required that the British government get its act together.
Now,this expression is heard often when officials of a company meet.One company even called its yearly report,“Getting Our Act Together.”
The Japanese visitor was confused by another expression used by American business people.It is cut to the chase.
She heard that expression when she attended an important meeting of one company.One official was giving a very long report.It was not very interesting.In fact,some people at the meeting were falling asleep.
Finally,the president of the company said,“Cut to the chase.”
Cut to the chase means to stop spending so much time on details or unimportant material.Hurry and get to the good part.
Naturally,this saying was started by people who make movies.Hollywood movie producers believe that most Americans want to see action movies.Many of their movies show scenes in which the actors chase each other in cars,or in airplanes or on foot.
Cut is the director’s word for stop.The director means to stop filming,leave out some material,and get to the chase scene now.
So,if your employer tells you to cut to the chase,be sure to get to the main point of your story quickly.
1.After the woman visited the United States she might feel that ________.
A.her English was poor
B.it’s easy to master English
C.it’s difficult to make money
D.people there weren’t very friendly
2.In which situation could the words “get your act together” be used?
A.A task is completed successfully.
B.Players perform badly in a match.
C.Audience is satisfied with the actor’s performance in a movie.
D.Visitors make a tiresome and unpleasant trip to someplace.
3.According to the text,the expression “get one’s act together” ________.
A.was first used by a Japanese businesswoman
B.was forbidden to be used in the government policy
C.originally came from a yearly report of a company
D.was commonly read by readers in a newspaper in 1978
4.What do the sayings “get your act together” and “cut to the chase” have in common?
A.Their use. B.Their meaning.
C.Their origin. D.Their popularity.
The concept of solitude(独处) in the digital world is almost nonexistent.In the world of digital technology,email,social networking and online video games,information is meant to be ___.Solitude can be hard to discover____it has been given up.In this respect,new technologies have___our culture.
The desire to be connected has brought solitude to a(n)____as we’ve known it.People have become so____in the world of networks and connections that one can often be contacted____they’d rather not be.Today we can talk,text,email,chat and blog(写博客),not only from our____,but from our mobile phones as well.
Most developed nations have become ____on digital technology simply because they’ve grown accustomed to it,and at this point not____it would make them an outsider.____,many jobs and careers require people to be____.From this point of view,technology has changed the culture of work.Being reachable might feel like a___to those who may not want to be able to be contacted at all times.
I suppose the positive side is that solitude is still possible for anyone who____wants it.Computers can be shut____and mobile phones can be turned off.The ability to be “connected” and “on” has many____,as well as disadvantages.Travelers have ended up____on mountains,and mobile phones have saved countless lives.They can also make people feel ____and forced to answer unwanted calls or____to unwanted texts.
Attitudes towards our connectedness as a society____across generations.Some find today’s technology a gift.Others consider it a curse.Regardless of anyone’s view on the subject,it’s hard to imagine what life would be like____daily advancements in technology.(2012·江苏)
1.A.updated B.received
C.shared D.collected
2.A.though B.until
C.once D.before
3.A.respected B.shaped
C.ignored D.preserved
4.A.edge B.stage
C.end D.balance
5.A.sensitive B.intelligent
C.considerate D.reachable
6.A.even if B.only if
C.as if D.if only
7.A.media B.computers
C.databases D.monitors
8.A.bent B.hard
C.keen D.dependent
9.A.finding B.using
C.protecting D.changing
10.A.Also B.Instead
C.Otherwise D.Somehow
11.A.connected B.trained
C.recommended D.interested
12.A.pleasure B.benefit
C.burden D.disappointment
13.A.slightly B.hardly
C.merely D.really
14.A.out B.down
C.up D.in
15.A.aspects B.weaknesses
C.advantages D.exceptions
16.A.hidden B.lost
C.relaxed D.deserted
17.A.trapped B.excited
C.confused D.amused
18.A.turn B.submit
C.object D.reply
19.A.vary B.arise
C.spread D.exist
20.A.beyond B.within
C.despite D.without
An accident happened at________crossroads a few meters away from________bank.
A./;a B.a;a
C./;the D.the;/
The film company has given up________idea of acting________play of Shakespeare.
A.the;the B.the;a
C.an;a D.an;the
—Really?Who will give________lecture?
—Mr. Wang,________famous professor from Nanjing University.
A.the;/ B.a;the
C.the;a D.a;a
Our graduation party was________success.We sang and danced until it came to________end at ten o’clock.
A.a;that B.a;an
C.the;an D./;/