In ancient Egypt，the pharaoh（法老）treated the poor message runner like a prince when he arrived at the palace, if he brought good news. However，if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring the pharaoh unhappy news，his head was cut off.
Shades of that spirit spread over today's conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches for an outing. As we walked light-heartedly out of the door，picnic basket in hand，a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said，Oh boy，bad day for a picnic. The weatherman says it's going to rain. I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report，for his smile.
Several months ago I was racing to catch a bus. As I breathlessly put my handful of cash across the Greyhound counter，the sales agent said with a broad smile，Oh that bus left five minutes ago. Dreams of head-cutting！
It’s not the news that makes someone angry. It’s the unsym pathetic attitude with which it’s delivered(递送). Everyone must give bad news from time to time, and winning professionals do it with the proper attitude. A doctor advising a patient that she needs an operation does it in a caring way . A boss informing an employee he didn’t get the job takes on a sympathetic tone. Big winners know, when delivering any bad news, they should share the feeling fo the receiver.
Unfortunately，many people are not aware of this. When you're tired from a long flight，has a hotel clerk cheerfully said that your room isn't ready yet？When you had your heart set on the toast beef，has your waiter merrily told you that he just served the last piece？It makes you as traveler or diner want to land your fist right on their unsympathetic faces.
Had my neighbor told me of the uping rainstorm with sympathy（同情），I would have appreciated his warning. Had the Greyhound salesclerk sympathetically informed me that my bus had already left，I probably would have said，Oh，that's all right I'll catch the next one. Big winners，when they bear bad news，deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded（被轰炸的）person is sure to have.
【小题1】In Paragraph 1，the writer tells the story of the pharaoh to . A．make a parisonB．introduce a topicC．describe a sceneD．offer an argument【小题2】In the writer's opinion，his neighbor was . A．friendlyB．warm-heartedC．not considerateD．not helpful【小题3】From Dreams of head-cutting！（Paragraph3），we learn that the writer . A．was mad at the sales agentB．was reminded of the cruel pharaohC．wished that the sales agent would have had dreamsD．dreamed of cutting the sales agent's head that night.【小题4】What is the main idea of the text？ A．Delivering bad news properly is important in munication.B．Helping others sincerely is the key to business success.C．Receiving bad news requires great courage.D．Learning ancient traditions can be useful.B
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(答案→)B
解析：文章介绍了在给别人传递坏的消息的时候，要注意方式的准确和得体。
【小题1】推理题：本文主要围绕好消息使人高兴，坏消息令人气愤来论述，所以第一段应该是本文作者用于引入主题的段子。故选B。
【小题2】推理题：根据文章第二段中“ I wanted to strike him on the face with the peanut butter and sandwiches. Not for his stupid weather report，for his smile”我想把花生酱和三明治拍到他的脸上。不是因为他愚蠢的天气预报，而是因为他的微笑。由此可知作者认为邻居不为别人考虑，没有同情心。故选C。
【小题3】推理题：由于售票员是大笑着说，有幸灾乐祸的样子，所以作者很是恼火生气，但并非真的要砍她的头。故选A。
【小题4】主旨题：通读全文可以知道作者要给我们讲的是在给别人传递坏的消息的时候，要注意方式的准确和得体的重要性。故选A。