大学英语自主学习综合训练教程:上:阅读语法训练分册

　　No matter whether people agree or disagree with George W.Bush's political positions they typically admire his self-deprecating humor.At one of the Washington correspondent's dinners， that ability to poke fun at himself seemed to be the primary tlung the media responded to favorably.Bush said at the lectern，"I always enjoy these events.But why couldn't I have dinner with the 36 percent of the people who like me?" At one such event， Bush even brought along his "double" comedian Steve Bridges， to make fun of his frequent mispronunciations.The double modeled for him one of his most difficult words to pronounce correctly， "Nu-cle-ar proliferation...nu-cle-ar proliferation.Nu-cle-ar proliferation." Then Bush tried it， "Nu-cle-ar pro-boblieration."The crowd went wild.　　Self-deprecating humor can open hearts and minds to make people receptive to ideas in ways words alone cannot.　　Show humility　　Power can be seductive.Praise pushes people's buttons， elevating peer pressure to feel important.And just as suddenly as lightning strikes， an act of arrogance can destroy an otherwise credible communicator.For example： refusing to acknowledge people when they speak to you.Failure to respond to people's suggestions.Haughty body language.An amused smirkin response to an idea expressed in a meeting An upward roll of the eyes meant to discredit someone's comment in the hallway.A talkjam-packed with jargon meant to confuse rather than clarify.Insistence that things must be said one way and one way only.　　……