So often we find ourselves on autopilot—waking up in the same home, putting on the same clothes and taking the same transportation to the same-old job.
There is no exception to a man aged 53.
| A．Then came the opportunity. |
| B．The thought filled him with anxiety. |
| C．That was exactly what Brian needed. |
| D．Even our New Year’s decisions to change hardly make it. |
| E．With the support of his family, he took a job in the local cafe. |
| F．Several weeks after consideration, he decided to have a change. |
| G．Brian Mockenhaupt got laid off from a senior management position. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】For high school leavers starting out in the working world, it is very important to learn particular skills and practice how to behave in an interview or how to find all internship(实习). In some countries, schools have programs to help students onto the path to work. In the United States, however, such programs are still few and far between.
Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses, students are likely to get higher earnings in later years. In Germany, students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships. German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employment.
But in America, education reform (改革) programs focus on how well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world. Harvard Education school professor Robert Schwartz has criticized education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track. Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the country’s most vulnerable(易受影响的) kids with no jobs and no skills.
Schwartz believed that the best career programs encourage kids to go for higher education while also teaching them valuable practical skills at high school. James Madison High School in New York, for example, encourages students to choose classes on career-based courses. The school then helps them gain on-the-job experience in those fields while they’re still at high school.
However, even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work, the job market is daunting. In the US, unemployment rates for 16-to 19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row. “The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the summer job experience, they become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job,” said Michael, a researcher in the US.
1. What’s the main idea of the text?| A．Arguments about recent US education reform. |
| B．Tips on finding jobs for high school leavers. |
| C．The lack of career-based courses in US high schools. |
| D．Advice for American high school leavers. |
| A．there is no need for kids to go for higher education in the US |
| B．teenagers in the US can’t miss out on the summer job experience |
| C．education reform should focus on students’ performance in exams |
| D．students should get contact with the working world at high school |
| A．discouraging | B．interesting |
| C．creative | D．unbearable |
| A．High school leavers with no practical skills can’t find a job at all. |
| B．Unemployment rates for US teenagers remain high at the moment. |
| C．Students with career-based courses never have problems finding a job. |
| D．US companies work with schools to prepare young people for future employment. |
【推荐2】Gymnastics Instructor Wanted
About us
PCYC (Police Citizens Youth Club) Queensland is a not-for-profit organization established in 1948, aiming to build safer and healthier communities. We focus on young peopled personal and leadership development by offering state-wide programs, services and facilities through 54 branches, two leadership development centers and two activity centers.
About the position
PCYC Burdekin currently wants gymnastics instructors, who will assist in the development and delivery of the gymnastics programs to PCYC clients.
•Casual work (approximately 20-30 hours per week)
•$28-$31 per hour (depending on previous experience and qualification)
•To be employed, you must be qualified to get a Working with Children Check or Blue Card and be willing to undertake a National Police Check.
•Applicants with intermediate accreditation (认证) from Gymnastics Queensland will be considered firstly.
What we can offer
•Free parking and free access to PC 24/7 gyms
•Flexible work environment and working hours •Opportunity to work in an established branch with a great team
Key responsibilities include
•Deliver a broad range of fun group gymnastics programs for all ages, in accordance with safety and industry-approved practice requirements.
•Contribute towards creative marketing and promotion of the gymnastics programs to maintain current participants and attract new participants.
Deadline
Applications close on 8 September, 2022. Interested? Click here to apply.
1. What is PCYC Queensland’s goal?| A．To provide the youth with advice on personal emotions. |
| B．To make a fortune through state-wide programs. |
| C．To build more branches outside Queensland. |
| D．To improve community security and health. |
| A．Show the intermediate gymnastics qualification. |
| B．Present the experiences in dealing with children. |
| C．Explain the urgent need for a full-time job. |
| D．Express the desire to work for National Police Agency. |
| A．A Queensland’s local paper. | B．A job-hunting mobile app. |
| C．A popular science website. | D．A notice-board in a gym. |
【推荐3】Catfish effect is the effect that a strong competitor has in causing the weak to better themselves. Actions done to actively apply this effect in an organization are termed catfish management.
In Norway, live sardines are several times more expensive than frozen ones, and are valued for better texture and flavor. It was said that only one ship could bring live sardines home, and the shipmaster kept his method a secret. After he died, people found that there was one catfish in the tank. The catfish keeps swimming, and the sardines try to avoid this predator (捕食者). This increased level of activity keeps the sardines active, thus, increasing their survival rate greatly.
Catfish effect has been one of the hottest topics in human resources management. Therefore, I will keep the explanation short and sweet. When an outsider joins a well-established team as a competitor, he causes the weak to better their performance. This method is meant to motivate each of the teammates to feel the competition in order to keep up the competitiveness level of the whole team.
However, adding a catfish in the team can also bring in the downside in the group’s dynamics.
The team would go back to the storming stage. Under-performers would become more negative about the change that the catfish tried to implement (实施) because they would see it as a threat. The failed attempt of implementation of changing will create under-performance in the team as a whole, which will lead to a greater management challenge.
The key employee or backbone employee will feel demotivated because the opportunity to get a more senior job has decreased. If there are too many catfish in the company, this would generate a stressful work environment. The employee would constantly worry if they are being “preyed” by the catfish. The mental burden would create a harmful corporate culture and increase the distrust between employees.
A high standard is required on the catfish. The catfish would eventually turn into a leading role in the team. Lack in leadership skill from the catfish would lead to a bigger chaos in the workplace. Worst situation would be setting up a bad leadership role model to further an unhealthy competitive environment.
1. What is paragraph 2 of the text mainly about?| A．The magic trick of catching sardines. | B．The underlying logic of the effect. |
| C．The exact origin of the legend. | D．The great wisdom of a catfish. |
| A．Unfair corporate culture. | B．Violent work environment. |
| C．Great management challenge. | D．Reduced promotion chance. |
| A．Qualifying a catfish for a leading role. | B．Setting up a harmonious relationship. |
| C．Creating a less competitive workplace. | D．Stopping a catfish entering a company. |
| A．Subjective. | B．Pessimistic. | C．Objective. | D．Doubtful. |
【推荐1】The boy sat on his chair, with hands above the keyboard. He thought about what to write.
He recalled (回忆) that the competition deadline was merely a few days away. But he still had not even started. He looked at the brochure again. WRITING COMPETITION! His mom had encouraged him to give it a try, but now he was willing to do it for a meaningful holiday.
As the boy reflected on his previous writing efforts, he realized how hopeless to win. Every story he ever wrote was based on other stories. He had little imagination, and unfortunately, imagination was the key to writing.
Suddenly, he had a brainwave. This time, he came up with an imaginative story. The words shot towards him like a storm of leaves. Words were coming easily, flowing through him, faster than he could type. He typed faster than he ever had before. He continued to type, feeling easy to write it. The boy could not stop writing. He looked at the word count and saw the number “248” staring right back at him. He was not even halfway yet.
Then he heard the call of his mother saying time for bed. He continued writing the piece, ignoring her. He kept writing and writing. Finally, he finished.
“Perfect,” he thought. He knew this was the story that would win. He went onto Google and searched for the competition. He found the page but there was no “Enter” button. Confused, he then read the page again. It read COMPETITION CLOSED.
1. What made the boy join in the competition?| A．The school’s task. | B．His own choice |
| C．The prize money. | D．His mom’s force. |
| A．He copied others’ ideas. | B．He imagined it wildly. |
| C．He cooperated with his friends. | D．He got assistance from his mom. |
| A．250. | B．300. | C．400. | D．500. |
| A．The boy missed the competition. | B．The boy wrote a great story and won. |
| C．The boy failed to complete his composition. | D．The boy finished his writing before the deadline. |
【推荐2】During Rick’s birth in 1962, his brain was damaged for lack of oxygen. The doctors told Dick Hoyt that there was no hope of his son being anything more than a “vegetable”. Yet Dick and his wife were determined to raise him at home.
At age 13, Rick told his father he wanted to participate in a five-mile benefit run for the disabled. Dick was not a runner, but he agreed to push Rick through the race course in his wheelchair. That was when a surprising thing happened. During the run, Rick felt as though he wasn’t disabled anymore—he was simply one of the runners. This experience deeply affected Dick, and he committed himself to running an increasing number of events with his son so that Rick could have this feeling as often as possible.
At first, other competitors often treated them as outsiders and even avoided them. But gradually, what began as a way for Rick Hoyt to experience inclusion and equality served its purpose. Running together became a way to send out a message that, as Rick said, everybody should be included in everyday life. The pair’s first Boston Marathon in 1981 finished in the top quarter of the field, and shortly thereafter, attitudes began to change. Many athletes would come up to them before the race to wish them luck.
The 2013 Boston Marathon was the 31st time the Hoyts had run the race, and it was also their last race. Dick has run thousands of miles to be with and support his son. Their athletic pursuits have enriched Rick’s life and had practical benefits for Dick’s life as well: After a heart attack, Dick’s doctor told him he might have died 15 years earlier if he weren’t in such good shape.
1. What inspired Dick to keep running with his son?| A．Rick felt as if he was a healthy person when running. |
| B．Rick could raise money by taking part in running. |
| C．Rick’s wish was to be an excellent runner one day. |
| D．Rick could rebuild his brain by running. |
| A．Everyone is a part of the world. | B．No pain, no gain. |
| C．Where there’s a will there’s a way. | D．Good things come to those who wait. |
| A．Their talent for running. | B．Their purpose of running. |
| C．Their donations to runners. | D．Their achievement in running. |
| A．For 31 years. | B．For 39 years. | C．For 32 years. | D．For 53 years. |
Taken by a British diver who was following the sperm whale(抹香鲸) calf, they show the minute the baby - who had lost track of its mum - found her again in the sea off the Azores.
Soaring 30ft across the waves, the newborn slammed（猛力推）its body onto the water with joy after becoming separated from its family group in the chilly（寒冷的）waters.
But the whale calf was doing more than just jumping for joy.
British biologist and dive guide Justin Hart, 44, who took the pictures, says that young whales communicate with older ones in the ocean by creating a slamming sound which travels through the water to the ears of the adults deep below.
By leaping out of the water and slamming its 12ft long body onto the surface of the sea up to 30 times, the baby whale is telling its relatives where it is so they can regroup.
He said: “We had been following the sperm whale calf for most of the day. Sperm whales, of all the whales and dolphins, are the species that dive the deepest and for the longest time.”
“The calves have to follow what’s going on below them from the surface as best they can probably listening to the echo location（回声定位）clicks of the adults.”
“However, sometimes the adults re-surface far out of sight of the calf, and in this situation the whales often leap out of the water causing a large bang as their bodies hit the surface. In this way, the whale family could regroup.”
He added: “When I took the photo, two adults’ females had just resurfaced and the calf quite literally began jumping for joy.”
Mr. Hart captured the rare image four miles from the port of Lajes do Pico while he was working as a crewman on an underwater documentary with special license to film sperm whales in the area.
Sperm whales live in nearly all the world’s oceans in groups of about 15 to 20 animals and they practice communal(集体的) childcare. The calves do not have to follow their mother too closely as sperm whales can take milk from any milk-producing female in its social group.
1. The underlined word “they” in paragraph 2 probably refers to _____.
| A．the whales | B．the divers |
| C．the photos | D．the mothers |
| A．found its family with his help |
| B．suffered a lot in the cold waters |
| C．lost contact with its family for days |
| D．slammed as a means of communication |
| A．The young are independent. |
| B．They are highly social animals. |
| C．They tend to live in warm sea waters. |
| D．Females take turns to care for babies. |
| A．Baby whales perform slamming with joy |
| B．Sperm whales ---fairly intelligent animals |
| C．Lost sperm whale baby reunited with its family |
| D．Slamming--- a way of communication among whales |
