In 1926, US automaker Henry Ford shortened its employees' workweek from six eight-hour days to five, with no pay cuts. It's something workers and labor unions had been calling for. Ford wasn't responding to worker demands； he was being a businessman. He expected increased productivity and knew workers with more time and money would buy and use the products they were making. It was a way of encouraging consumerism and productivity to increase profits, and it succeeded.
Since standardization of the 40-hour workweek in the mid-20th century, everything has changed but the hours. If anything, many people are working even longer hours, especially in North America. This has a severe influence on human health and well-being, as well as the environment. Until the Second World War, it was common for one person in a family, usually the oldest male, to work full-time. Now, women make up 42 percent of the world's full-time workforce. Technology has made a lot of work unnecessary, with computers and robots doing many tasks previously performed by humans.
Well into the 21st century, we continue to work the same long hours as 20th century laborers, using up ever more of Earth's supply to produce more goods that we must keep working to buy, use and replace in a seemingly endless cycle of hard work and consumption. It's time to pause and consider better ways to live like shifting from fossil-fueled lifestyles with which our consumer-based workweeks are connected.
The UK think tank, New Economics （经济学）Foundation, argues that a standard 21-hour workweek would address a number of interconnected problems： "overwork, unemployment, over-consumption, high carbon emissions, low well-being, and the lack of time to live sustainably, to care for each other, and simply to enjoy life".
Economic systems that require constant growth on a finite （有限的）planet don't make sense. It's time for a change in our economic thinking.
1. Why did Ford decide to shorten the workweek?| A．To cut workers' pay. |
| B．To make more profits. |
| C．To respond to worker demands. |
| D．To meet labor unions, requirements. |
| A．More women worked full-time. |
| B．The number of laborers decreased. |
| C．Technology enabled people to work shorter hours. |
| D．It was unnecessary for a family's oldest male to work. |
| A．Longer working hours means better consumption ability. |
| B．The 21st century sees the longest working hours in history. |
| C．The cycle of hard work and consumption should be changed. |
| D．Pausing our way of living can change the present workweek. |
| A．increase unemployment |
| B．cause various problems |
| C．encourage people to enjoy life |
| D．challenge the economic growth |
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【推荐1】When I was growing up, 16 was always a magical age, a symbol of maturity, responsibility and of course more independence and freedom. I sat through the hours of Driver’s Ed classes eager to get out on the road. I couldn’t wait to get my driver’s license.
But it’s a different story for today’s teens. In November 2021 the U.S. Department Transportation released data that showed only 30.7 percent of U.S. teens got their license at age 16. Twenty years before, that number was almost 45 percent.
There are numbers of reasons for the decline. The growing responsibilities like paying for insurance and high gas prices discourage teens from getting behind the wheel. Plus, many teens today are so busy with homework, endless hours of activities and part-time jobs, that finding the time for Driver’s Ed classes may be more difficult than ever.
In addition, many states have raised the driving age, or restricted when teens can drive and who they can have in the car. Parents may also be making their own personal restrictions until they feel their teens are responsible enough to drive safely.
Driving is part of the American culture, but it’s not the central focus like it was 30 years ago. They have so many other things to do now. One of the more interesting factors delaying teens driving might be the change of their social life. Today, teens need to look no further than Facebook or other social networking sites to connect with their friends. There is simply less need, maybe less desire to be able to grab the keys and go.
Michelle Wei got her license as a senior in high school because her digital social life made it easy not to drive. “If I couldn’t get a ride to see my friend who lives a town over,” the 19-year-old said, “I could talk on IM or Skype.”
Research has shown that these online relationships can lead to higher quality friendships, so it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, it’s important to find a balance. If old face-to-face friendships are good, why not drive to find them?
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．16 was considered an age when one could get his driver’s license. |
| B．Getting a driving license at 16 was a must for American teens. |
| C．Driver’s Ed classes allowed teens to know what maturity was. |
| D．Teens could drive on the road without taking Driver’s Ed classes. |
| A．The cost of insurance and gas. |
| B．Pursuit of more freedom and independence. |
| C．Too many school courses and activities. |
| D．Restrictions from families and states. |
| A．why American teens are crazy about digital social life |
| B．what social networking websites are bringing to American teens |
| C．what the Internet does to help teens to get a driving license |
| D．to what degree the Internet is affecting the American car culture |
| A．the Internet has a bad effect on the teen’s social life |
| B．teens should keep a balance in choosing their lifestyle |
| C．actual contacts can be replaced by talking on line |
| D．face-to-face friendship is always the best choice |
| A．Getting a license costs much more than ever before. |
| B．Social networking sites are changing the life of American teens. |
| C．Desire to drive on the road declines among American teens. |
| D．American teens are becoming more responsible than ever. |
【推荐2】"Your husband, wife, or sweetheart probably doesn't come to work with you every day," says Brittany Solomon. But his or her influence clearly does.
Solomon, a Ph. D. candidate in psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, recently led a study analyzing the careers and personalities of about 5,000 married people, aged 19 to 89, over a five-year period. About 75% were in two-career couples.
The conclusion: Employees of both sexes who scored highest on three measures of occupational success — salary increases, promotions, and job satisfaction — all went home at night to mates with the personality type known as "conscientious." These are people who are reliable, consistent, detail-oriented, and organized. The study result will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science.
Note to singles: If you're aiming high at work, you might want to settle down with someone conscientious. Psychologists often sort out people according to four other broad measures: openness, outgoingness, agreeableness, and neuroticism (神经质). Although previous studies show that "people tend to look for a potential mate with a high degree of agreeableness and low neuroticism, our findings suggest that anyone with ambitious career goals would be better off looking for a supportive partner with a highly conscientious personality," Solomon notes.
A mate's conscientiousness boosts career success in three ways, the study found. First is what the researchers call "outsourcing," which means it's a lot easier to concentrate on your next brilliant idea at work if someone else can be counted on to make sure the dog has all his shots, the car gets inspected on time, and the kids are fed. Also, the ability to depend on a significant other cuts down on overall stress and makes work-life balance easier to manage, for men and women alike.
But beyond the day-to-day being practical, a conscientious partner can have a subtler, more pervasive influence. "Conscientious people tend to be resilient in the face of setbacks, and they're thorough. They finish what they start," says Solomon. Over time, those features can rub off on a spouse. People often unconsciously try to equal those they live with — and the qualities we associate with 'conscientious' types are the same ones that lead to success in a career.
1. Which of the following qualities is what you can't find on a conscientious person?| A．Trustworthy. | B．Orderly. | C．Careful. | D．Neurotic. |
| A．To give examples of what a conscientious mate should be like. |
| B．To explain how one's mate's conscientiousness promotes one's career. |
| C．To describe what qualities can make a conscientious mate. |
| D．To stress the reliability of the final conclusion drawn from this study. |
| A．Erase off. | B．Wipe out. | C．Get influence. | D．Have effect. |
| A．conscientiousness is a must for career success |
| B．one's mate's personality influences one's career success |
| C．one's mate's personality promotes one's occupational success |
| D．conscientious persons are more suitable for ambitious ones |
【推荐3】People living in New York City are fearful after facing the worst of COVID-19 health crisis（危机）. This fear is bringing about a sudden increase in home sales and rentals around the small towns and wooded hills to the city’s north.
Anil and Joyce Lilly won’t be staying in their Bronx apartment much longer. They just bought a house north of New York in the Hudson Valley. It takes about an hour to reach from the city.
“We were more elbow rooms. We were locked into the apartment for three months, three full months,” Joyce Lilly explained their move to Washingtonville, New York. “I feel like I’m getting out of prison and I want to run as far away as possible. ”
House sellers describe an active market recently, with many house hunters able to work from home. Steven Domber said plenty of the home buyers are coming from Manhattan, in the heart of the city. Many of them are experiencing “cabin fever （幽居病）, which is wanting to get out of an apartment and having some land if there’s a lock down again,” he said. House agents say sales and rental activities are far above normal. Domber said his June sales were up about 30 percent compared to the same month last year. Home builder Chuck said he took eight orders in one month, compared to his usual one and a half each month.
But New York City is in no danger of losing a lot of people any time soon. The movement looks more like a trickle （细流） in a city of 8.3 million. With new homes in the area running from under $200, 000 to more than $l million, it is an escape many people cannot afford. But the increase in sales and long-term rentals suggests many New Yorkers see the city as less livable.
1. Why did Anil and Joyce Lilly buy a house in the Hudson Valley?| A．To get rid of COVID-19. |
| B．To work from home. |
| C．To change their living environment. |
| D．To get away from Washingtonville. |
| A．Strange. | B．Busy. | C．Normal. | D．Complex. |
| A．The effect of the movement is limited, |
| B．Everything will recover in no time. |
| C．It’s dangerous to remain in the city. |
| D．It’s easy to afford a new home. |
| A．Fear Affecting People’s Health |
| B．House Agents Happy with Orders |
| C．New Yorkers Crazy about Selling Land |
| D．New Yorkers Leaving City for More Living Space |
【推荐1】Ever since Donald Trump was elected the President of the US, the entire Trump family has been put under the microscope. In China, the spotlight(聚光灯) has been mainly focused on Trump and his daughter Ivanka. She is described on WeChat as an extremely influential role model with stunning beauty, a successful career, and a happy family. She leads a dream life that a million girls would kill for. Yes, she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. But she got where she is by herself.
There are always articles that say people born into wealthy families are better-looking and have a better-family background than you, but these people do work harder than you. Are you a loser if you are raised in an ordinary family? Should you feel guilty at sleeping eight hours a day because Ivanka sleeps five?
If you just want to keep a stable nine-to-five job, does it mean you are not ambitious? What if you don't work out or eat healthily? Does that mean you will not find your Mr or Miss Right? There is a tendency in the media nowadays to encourage elitism（精英主义）.They are trying to brainwash young people into thinking that they should put a huge amount of time and money in bodybuilding and appearance enhancement(提升) so as to improve the quality of their life and join the elite. But what's the disadvantage of being of average quality? Do you really need to go to the gym five days a week unless you are gym maniac（狂人）？ Do you really need to break your neck to earn your first pot of gold only to worry constantly about how to be accepted into high society later?
Don't let the idea of elitism get to you. Everybody has a right to live the life they want. Human beings should not be judged a success or failure on whether they are a part of the elite or not. As long as you lead a happy and comfortable life, why bother to chase after other people's shadows? Choose your own life path and go for it.
1. What does Paragraph 1 serve as ?| A．a lead-in | B．a background |
| C．an argument | D．a summary |
| A．Feel dissatisfied with out of envy. | B．Show a strong dislike for. |
| C．Have a burning desire for. | D．Attempt to escape from in reality. |
| A．negative | B．doubtful |
| C．indifferent | D．supportive |
| A．Follow your own path and let people talk. |
| B．Every man is the architect of his own fortune. |
| C．Laziness in youth spells regret in old age. |
| D．He who does not advance loses his advantage. |
【推荐2】There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. It becomes a part of who we are. Many associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our family often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress.
On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture. It also operates as an expression of culture identity. Immigrants(移民)bring it wherever they go, and it is a symbol of pride in their culture and means of coping with homesickness.
Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional cuisine. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some ingredients needed to make traditional cuisine may not be readily available, so the taste and flavor can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell cuisine to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries. Therefore, they have to make small changes to the original cuisine to cater to a wider range of customers. Those changes can create new flavors that still keep the cultural significance of the cuisine.
We should not only embrace our heritage through our culture’s food but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a window into culture, and it should be treated as such.
1. What’s the function of the traditional food?| A．It helps motivate homesickness. |
| B．It shows culture identity. |
| C．It reflects a country’s history. |
| D．It shows a community’s superiority. |
| A．To attach cultural importance to their dishes. |
| B．To announce the beginning of their life on foreign soil. |
| C．To make the dishes popular among customers. |
| D．To present their own food culture in a new way. |
| A．Negative. | B．Balanced. | C．Unfair. | D．Unchangeable. |
| A．Space | B．Science | C．Food | D．Entertainment |
【推荐3】I have spent my entire life either at the schoolhouse, on the way to the schoolhouse, or talking about what happens in the schoolhouse. Both my parents and my grandparents were educators. For the past 40 years I’ve done the same thing. Needless to say, over those years I’ve had a chance to look at education reform from a lot of aspects. And we know why kids drop out. We know why kids don’t learn. It’s either poverty, low attendance or negative peer influences. But one of the things that we never discuss or we barely discuss is the value—the importance of human connection and relationships.
James Comer says that no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship and all learning is understanding relationships. Everyone has been affected by a teacher or an adult. I have looked at the best and I’ve looked at some of the worst.
A colleague said to me once, “My duty isn’t to like the kids, but to teach a lesson. The kids should learn it. I should teach it. This is the case.” Well, I said to her, “You know, kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.”
I have had classes that were so low that I cried. I wondered, how was I going to take this group in nine months from where they were to where they needed to be? And it was awfully hard. How did I raise the self-confidence of a child and his academic achievement at the same time?
One year I came up with a bright idea. I told all my students, “You were chosen to be in my class because I am the best teacher and you are the best students. They put us all together so we could show everybody else how to do it.” And I gave them a saying: “I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I’ll be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful , and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here.”
Teaching and learning should bring joy. How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think, and who had a champion! Every child deserves a champion. An adult who will never give up on them, and who understands the power of connection, insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.
1. Why do kids drop out of school?| A．They have a bad association with teachers. |
| B．They may come from low-income families. |
| C．They aren’t enthusiastic about school subjects. |
| D．They are influenced in an optimistic way by peers. |
| A．Teachers should lay stress on the personal traits. |
| B．Students might learn a lot from teachers’ varied advice. |
| C．Understanding relationships leads to successful learning. |
| D．Education plays an important role in the kids’ childhood. |
| A．He motivated them to build self-confidence. |
| B．He trained them to be committed and focused. |
| C．He awarded them many prizes during his class. |
| D．He was devoted to improving their self-discipline. |
| A．Every Kid Needs a Champion |
| B．True Love for My Own Career |
| C．How to Deal With Bad Students |
| D．My Joy of Being a Teacher |
【推荐1】I’ve worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer since I graduated from high school. But making the transition between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier. For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be uncivilized, getting to a factory by 6 o'clock each morning is torture. My friends never seem to understand why I’m so relieved to be back at school or that my summer vacation has been anything but a vacation.
There are few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world. People of my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. In fact, all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant, which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.
The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear overnight. Issues like downsizing and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers told me that the unit I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour.
After working 12-hour shifts in a factory, the other options have become only too clear. When I’m back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale now ring true.
These lessons I’m learning, however precious, are always tinged (带有) with a sense of guilt. Many people pass their lives in the places I briefly work, spending 30 years where I spend only two months at a time. “This job pays well, but it’s hell on the body,” said one co-worker. “Study hard and keep reading,” she added.
My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.
1. How did the author look back on his summer days while at college?| A．They brought him nothing but torture. |
| B．They were no holiday for him at all. |
| C．They were a relief from his hard work at school. |
| D．They offered him a chance to know more people. |
| A．Misery. | B．Fortune. | C．Anxiety. | D．Availability. |
| A．They expect too much from the real world. |
| B．They have little interest in blue-collar life. |
| C．They think too highly of themselves. |
| D．They are confident of their future. |
| A．They do not get decent pay. |
| B．They do not have job security. |
| C．They have to work 12-hour shifts. |
| D．They have to move from place to place. |
| A．He learned to be more practical. |
| B．He acquired a sense of urgency. |
| C．He came to respect blue-collar workers. |
| D．He came to appreciate his college education |
| A．He realizes there is a great divide between his life and that of blue-collar workers. |
| B．He looks down upon the mechanical work at the assembly line. |
| C．He has not done much to help his co-workers at the factory. |
| D．He has stayed at school just for the purpose of escaping from the real world. |
【推荐2】Breathing dirty air can cost someone's life span(寿命) months—even years, a new study finds.Worldwide, air pollution lowers average life spans by a year. Scientists shared their new findings in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
Air pollution has been linked to many health problems.Most earlier studies has looked at how tiny air pollutants affected rates of illness or death. But now an environmental scientist, Joshua Apte, is going even further. He works at the University of Texas, Austin. He together with his team is looking at life expectancy, hoping to make the threat easier to understand.
PM 2.5 is what scientists call tiny particles of pollution in the air. Higher levels of PM 2. 5 can cause health problems and cut months, if not years, from the average life span. This analysis show show pollution affects life expectancy in different parts of the world.
The World Health Organization(WHO) recommends limiting PM 2.5 to 10 micrograms(微克) per cubic (立方)meter of air. Apte's group used data to try to find how this low level would help people. But meeting the WHO standard won't get rid of health damage from dirty air.That's because even below 10 micrograms per cubic meter pollution still causes huge risks.
Reducing air pollution could increase life expectancy. The scientists also compared how other threats shorten life spans across the globe. These risk factors included smoking and cancer.
These results show that in poor countries, cleaning up dirty air could greatly increase life spans. It could have as big an effect as cleaning up drinking water, or curing lung cancer. However, in wealthier countries air pollution shortens life expectancy by less than half a year. All forms of cancer, in fact, shorten the average life expectancy by more than 3.5 years.“Knowing this can really help people, or policymakers, decide where to spend their money,” says Kirk Smith.
1. What is Joshua Apte's team trying to do?| A．Let people understand air pollution better. | B．Know how small air pollutants are. |
| C．Study the life expectancy of different people. | D．Study many different healthy problems. |
| A．Its people will live a healthy life. | B．Its air is very clean. |
| C．It will get a prize from WHO. | D．It still has pollution risks. |
| A．Cancer is the leading killer in all kinds of diseases. |
| B．It's very hard to clean up dirty air in a short time. |
| C．The study will help different countries take different policies. |
| D．Reducing air pollution can increase all people's lifespans much. |
| A．The Effect of Cancer Is Worse than Dirty Air |
| B．Air Pollution Is Shortening Lives Worldwide |
| C．Many Factors Are Affecting People's Health |
| D．Governments Are Trying to Make Life Span Long |
【推荐3】We now are in a “golden age” of space-sample retrieval (取回) and exploration. Space agencies around the world are busy collecting, or planning to collect, samples from celestial bodies (天体) like asteroids (小行星), moons and planets.
China’s Chang’e 5 mission is the most recent sample-return mission that has been successfully completed. On Dec 17, the Chang’e 5 lunar probe (探测器) returned home and landed in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region after weeks of space travel, China Daily reported. This was the world’s first lunar sample-return mission since 1976. The mission retrieved an incredible 1,713 grams of samples of rocks and dust with the help of a drill (钻孔机) and a mechanical (机械的) arm.
Another space sample-return mission was completed on Dec 6. Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe returned a capsule to Earth containing valuable samples from the asteroid Ryugu. This was the second time asteroid samples have ever been collected and brought back to Earth. The first asteroid samples were collected by the original Hayabusa spacecraft back in 2010.
There will be more such missions in the near future. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which collected samples from the asteroid Bennu in October, is expected to return to Earth in 2023. Russia’s Lunar-25 mission is scheduled to launch to the moon in 2021 to collect lunar samples.
Collecting these samples from different celestial bodies is important because they can help to answer questions that have puzzled scientists for years, such as how life first came about or how water appeared on our planet.
“I cannot emphasize enough how valuable return samples are for increasing our understanding of the origin and evolution of our solar system and our place in the universe, and how we came to be,” said Ann Nguyen, a NASA planetary scientist.
Once the space samples are delivered to Earth, they are then analyzed with high-powered tools. These tools can help to reveal more detailed information than just photos or robotic rovers (探测车) alone.
As for the Chang’e 5 lunar samples, scientists will conduct various analyses, tests and experiments to determine the composition (构成), structure and physical characteristics of the samples. This information will help to deepen our knowledge about the history of the moon, as well as our solar system as a whole.
We have only just begun to scratch (抓) the surface of such celestial bodies, both literally and figuratively (象征性地). However, we have already learned so much and have a lot left to discover.
1. What do we know about the Chang’e 5 lunar probe?| A．It was launched on Dec 17. |
| B．It collected the world’s first lunar sample. |
| C．It brought back 1,713 grams of lunar samples. |
| D．It completed the most successful mission recently. |
| A．Hayabusa. | B．Hayabusa 2. | C．OSIRIS-REx. | D．Russia’s Lunar-25. |
| A．The origin of life. | B．Structure of the solar system. |
| C．Which celestial bodies have water. | D．How water first appeared on the moon. |
| A．Analyze them and conduct experiments. | B．Determine their sources. |
| C．Compare them with space photos. | D．Scratch their surfaces. |
【推荐1】The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms More than 2000 years ago, ancient Chinese people created this overall framework to mark the annual passage of time based on observations of the sun's motion. In the international meteorological field (国际气象界) the 24 solar terms are honored as “the fifth great invention of China”.
The 24 solar terms begins with Start of Spring followed by Rain Water, Insects Awaken...and ends up with Minor Cold and Major Cold. Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice are two days of the year with the longest and shortest amount of daylight respectively, while Spring Equinox and Autumn Equinox are days with the most balanced amount of daytime and nighttime. Through these four parts, a year is divided into four part: Spring Summer, Autumn and Winter.
In ancient times this system not only guided agricultural production, instructing farmers to expect the changes in temperature, spring planting and autumn harvest but also directed Chinese folk customs. For example, Winter Solstice was the first one set among 24 terms and later developed into a festival to worship Heaven and ancestors. Every year at Winter Solstice, emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties would go to the temple of Heaven to hold a ceremony to worship Heaven, for good weather for their crop, and peace and prosperity for the country.
Nowadays, the 24 solar terms could not only be applied to farming but also guide Chinese everyday life. They remind people to adapt to the changes in the seasons through suitable food and cultural rituals (文化仪式). Seasonal customs are sill the rage such as eating spring pancakes at Start of Spring, sweeping ancestors' tombs at Qing Ming, gaining weight to keep warm at Start of Autumn and eating nutritious food to store energy at Start of Winter. They have actually became important rituals in Chinese life.
The 24 solar terms is a common cognitive system among Chinese. It reflects the emotional bond, the wisdom and creativity of Chinese, who respect and live in harmony with nature.
1. How were the 24 solar terms created in ancient China?| A．They were the results of leaning from each other. |
| B．They were set based on the movements of the sun. |
| C．They were created according to the change of the weather. |
| D．They were gradually developed from the practical experience. |
| A．They both have the same amount of day and night. |
| B．They were set only for guiding agricultural activities. |
| C．They both play the role in dividing a day into day and night |
| D．They are the days on which the length of a day is longer than night. |
| A．Cheer | B．Honor. | C．Appreciation. | D．Fashion. |
| A．The reasons for the recognition of the 24 solar terms. |
| B．The invention of the 24 solar terms in ancient China. |
| C．The origin and influence of the 24 solar terms in China |
| D．The ways to handle the relationship between human and nature. |
All employees are entitled to a minimum of two weeks paid vacation time annually. The actual days to be used as vacation are subject to approval by the individual employee’s supervisor.
Insurance
All employees are qualified for any of the health insurance plans offered by the college. Information on the various plans is available from Human Resources. This benefit is extended to members of the employee’s immediate family. Part-time employees may apply for this benefit but will pay a higher percentage of the premium.
Use of College Facilities
All employees, full and part time, may use any of the college facilities, including the library, gym, swimming pool, and tennis courts, free of charge. A faculty or staff ID card must be shown when requesting access to these facilities. Immediate family members also have the right to enjoy this benefit, but must obtain an ID card from Human Resources before using college facilities.
Parking
Free parking is available on campus for all college employees; however, a parking sticker must be obtained from Human Resources. The sticker must be displayed on the windshield at all times when parked on campus. The sticker is valid for parking in specially designated employee parking areas as well as in any parking space marked “Visitor.” Student parking areas are reserved for student parking only.
Taking Classes
Employees may take classes in any department at the college. Show your faculty or staff ID when registering for the class. Employees may enroll in up to three classes per year free of charge. Any additional classes beyond that must be paid for at the full tuition rate. In addition, any employee wishing to pursue a degree must apply for and be accepted into the program of his or her choice before being considered a degree candidate. In this case, student service fees will apply.
1. Who is qualified for health insurance benefits?| A．Full-time employees only. |
| B．All employees, but not their family members. |
| C．All employees and their immediate family. |
| D．Part-time employees and their immediate family. |
| A．In the employee parking areas only. |
| B．In both employee and visitor parking areas. |
| C．Anywhere on campus. |
| D．In both employee and student parking areas. |
| A．Permission of their supervisors. |
| B．Student service fees and the full tuition rate. |
| C．Payment of full tuition. |
| D．Application for admission into a program. |
【推荐3】The Federal Reserve System， also simply known as the Fed， is the central banking system of the USA． It is different from the usual central banks． The Fed performs the functions of the central bank but it isn't a slave to the federal government． This unique banking system was so designed just to prevent the risk that the federal government might take advantage of the central bank to stop the normal financial activities．
The Fed was established in 1913． It is composed of the Federal Reserve Banks located around the United States． It's governed by seven executive members whose term is as long as 1﹣years． They are appointed by the president， but the president doesn't have the right to dismiss them． To alleviate the president's influence upon the Fed， the president is only allowed to appoint two of the committee members in his four﹣year term．
Federal Reserve Banks are non﹣profit private hanks． They're organizations to carry out money policies． Their responsibilities are to issue money， manage the state treasury， adjust the currency circulation， see the operation of commercial banks and settle bills． Commercial hanks must hold stock in Federal Reserve Banks and keep some amount of money as reserve in one of the Federal Reserve Banks just to prevent the sponsors run away with all the bank savings．
The Federal Open Market Committee is its core managing organization． It's made up of twelve members， including seven executive members of the Fed． Chairman of New York Federal Bank and other four chairman of the Ⅱ Federal Reserve Banks in turn． Their voting result determines the policy trend．
The Federal Open Market Committee holds 8 meetings every year． If the economy is heated the Federal Open Market Committee decides to sell national debt and get in the dollars． In this way the loan interest rate will go up． Otherwise， it chooses to buy in national debt and release more dollars onto the market．
1. Why was the Fed designed to be independent of the federal government？| A．Just to give support to the government． |
| B．Just to cooperate with the government． |
| C．Just to limit the government's power． |
| D．Just to stop financial crisis in advance． |
| A．Promote． |
| B．Reduce． |
| C．Present． |
| D．Emphasize． |
| A．Conducting monetary policies． |
| B．Keeping money for depositors． |
| C．Lending money to target users． |
| D．Monitoring the Fed's operation． |
| A．To increase interest rates． |
| B．To buy in the national debt． |
| C．To raise the rate of reserve． |
| D．To sell more national debt． |
