【推荐2】If you've started thinking about your career(职业), you'll probably have noticed that there are certain jobs you're just not supposed to do if you're a girl. However, a lot is happening today to get women into male—dominated(男性主导的)areas of work. This International Women's Day, we look at three areas of work where things are tough for women right now-but where change is happening.

Science and research

The situation today

Have you heard of STEM? STEM means science, technology, engineering and maths. It covers a whole range of jobs, from scientists who research cures for diseases, to engineers who design things like buildings, roads and bridges. These jobs are highly skilled. But of every eight people in a STEM job, only one is a woman.

Why we need more women in science

The lack of women in STEM jobs is becoming a national problem. The government is worried there simply won't be enough scientists and engineers in the future. This could affect the whole economy because, as a country, we can sell our technology and skills to other countries. STEM jobs also create more work further down the line, such as for construction workers who build roads and bridge.

The police

The situation today

In March 2015, the percentage of female police officers stood at 28%. This compares with 22% nine years earlier in 2006. And the percentage has not always risen over this period. In fact, it peaked(顶峰)in 2010 before falling, before flatlining over the next three years.

Why we need more women in the police force

The police are there for the whole community and that includes women! Because crime is often to do with sex, or violence by men against women, a woman police officer might be more understanding or more approachable. Studies also suggest that women tend to trust other women more than men. Women can also be more understanding. Often, when a person comes forward to report an incident, such as a problem at home or with neighbours, women are often better at listening and at understanding other people's problems, while men are more likely to be dismissive.

1. What do we learn about women in Paragraph 1?

A．They are hard to find jobs.	B．They have a wider choice of jobs.
C．They change jobs at times.	D．They act better in doing man's jobs.

2. What could be the consequence of the lack of women in science?

A．It creates more jobs.

B．It leads to national chaos.

C．It influences the economic development.

D．It brings about the technological revolution.

3. What can be inferred from the studies on female police?

A．Male police are not so trustworthy as female police.

B．Female police hardly care about common incidents.

C．Female police officers are easier to communicate with.

D．The percentage of female police is always on the increase.

4. What is most likely to be discussed following the last paragraph?

A．Occupation guidance.	B．Women's advantages.
C．Man-dominated careers.	D．Another area of work.

【推荐3】Directions: Complete the following passage by using the sentences given below. Each sentences can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

The Benefits of a Summer Job

Have you ever had a summer job? For many young people, summer is an exciting period where education stops and fun begins.     1     And the very group who have the time to benefit from the fun summer has to offer may not have the funds to do so. The solution? A summer job.

The concept of students and younger members of society being gainfully employed over the summer period is not a new one. And there are opportunities out there for those who want to earn.     2     In many cases, the jobs only pay minimum wages, which may only help you out. But the money is not the only thing that’s gained.

    3     Indeed, when talking about their experiences of summer jobs, people said they got “invaluable training” and learnt skills such as punctuality, tolerance, and the importance of hard work. These opportunities are thought to be so important that the UK government has placed 20,000 summer job vacancies on its Find a Job website.

    4     The percentage of young people working while studying has more than halved since 1997, falling from 42% to 18% in 2014. Those are the findings of a UK government report on the death of the Saturday job. Ester McVey believes this is because young people are choosing to focus more on education rather than earning extra money.

A．Summer and Saturday jobs prepare young people for successful careers in later life, teaching vital soft skills.

B．Students take summer jobs mainly to cover their tuition and this practice is highly appreciated by their parents.

C．That said, holidays, festivals and time spent with friends cost money.

D．This move comes at a time of apparent need.

E．Soft skills are so essential to students’ future career that they have to take summer jobs to acquire them.

F．Vacancies can range from roles as boring as fry cook, to seasonal work at a theme park.

【推荐1】根据短文内容，从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。 EmpathyLast year, researchers from the University of Michigan reported that empathy, the ability to understand other people, among college students had dropped sharply over the past 10 years.    1    Today, people spend more time alone and are less likely to join groups and clubs.Jennifer Freed, a co-director of a teen program, has another explanation. Turn on the TV, and you’re showered with news and reality shows full of people fighting, competing, and generally treating one another with no respect.    2    There are good reasons not to follow those bad examples. Humans are socially related by nature.    3    Researchers have also found that empathetic teenagers are more likely to have high self-respect. Besides, empathy can be a cure for loneliness, sadness, anxiety, and fear.Empathy is also an indication of a good leader. In fact, Freed says, many top companies report that empathy is one of the most important things they look for in new managers.    4    “Academics are important. But if you don’t have emotional (情感的) intelligence, you won’t be as successful in work or in your love life,” she says.What’s the best way to up your EQ (情商）? For starters, let down your guard and really listen to others.    5    To really develop empathy, you’d better volunteer at a nursing home or a hospital, join a club or a team that has a diverse membership, have a “sharing circle” with your family, or spend time caring for pets at an animal shelter.

A．Everyone is different, and levels of empathy differ from person to person.

B．That could be because so many people have replaced face time with screen time, the researchers said.

C．“One doesn’t develop empathy by having a lot of opinions and doing a lot of talking,” Freed says.

D．Humans learn by example—and most of the examples on it are anything but empathetic.

E．Empathy is a matter of learning how to understand someone else—both what they think and how they feel.

F．Good social skills—including empathy—are a kind of “emotional intelligence” that will help you succeed in many areas of life.

G．Having relationships with other people is an important part of being human—and having empathy is decisive to those relationships.

【推荐2】Despite being used by 1.34 billion people each year, traveling on the Tube in London can actually be quite lonely. An unwritten rule encouraging silence, mixed with classic British reserve, means that even though you’re packed into an enclosed space with hundreds of other people, the morning commute (上下班的路程) can leave you feeling somewhat disconnected.

An American living in London, however, is trying to change this. “You get on the Tube here and it’s completely silent and it feels a bit strange,” says Jonathan Dunne, 42, who has started a worldwide dialogue after giving out badges (证章；徽章) with the words “Tube chat?” last month, encouraging commuters in London to get talking to one another.

“I handed out 500 badges during rush hours in a city of 8 million, expecting most of them to be thrown away, but after about 24 hours it completely snowballed,” he says.

Dunne and his “Tube chat” campaign have been covered by media across the world since then, seeing TV interviews in Sweden, Brail and the UK, as well as a lot of website, newspaper and magazine appearances. Although Dunne says he’s received mostly positive feedback, not everyone agrees with his opinion. Londoner Brian Wilson started a campaign of his own, handing out 500 badges with the words “Don’t even think about it” on them. “I can’t stand the idea of having to talk to strangers on the Tube on my way to work,” he told the BBC. Michael Robinson, 24, a student from London, agrees. “Being on the Tube is the only place and quietness some people get on their journeys to and from work. Personally, I don’t want to be troubled by people coming up and chatting to you,” he says.

While London does not appear to be social, not everywhere lacks a sense of community. In Melbourne, Australia, commuters have set up a private Facebook group used to warn one another when ticket inspectors (售票员) board the city’s trams (有轨电车). Most Western cities’ tram stops have no barriers, which makes it possible for some travelers to ride them without buying tickets. Though the group comes with a disclaimer (免费申明), its purpose is actually to warn fare paying members that tickets inspectors are on so that they can ready their smiles and most importantly, their tickets.

Does Dunne hope that some of this community spirit will be mirrored in the UK following his campaign? “People believed that I just walk up and talk to strangers, which I don’t, but it’s been a great way to meet people you would never have normally spoken to,” he says. “On Monday, the curator (馆长) of the London Transport Museum had me over for tea.” So if you ever end up using public transport in the West, why not say hello to the person next to you? Just make sure to check for a badge first.

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To blame the loneliness on London Tube.

B．To show the selfishness of Londoners.

C．To express the upset of the Tube riders.

D．To introduce the background of the campaign.

2. Which of the following is TRUE about Dunne’s campaign?

A．It encourages people to avoid chatting on the Tube.

B．It doesn’t win everyone’s support in London.

C．It’s known only to a small number of Londoners.

D．It gives out badges with “Don’t even think about it.”

3. What can be inferred from the underlined sentences?

A．They prefer drinking tea to chatting on the Tube.

B．Dunne didn’t expected to meet the curator on the Tube.

C．Dunne never walks up and talks to strangers on the Tube.

D．It is possible to make friends with a stranger on the Tube.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards Dunne’s campaign?

A．Doubtful	B．Worried
C．Supportive	D．Amazed

【推荐1】My favorite novel is Albert Camus's The Plague(鼠疫). It was published in 1947, after Word WarⅡ.

On the surface, it's a story about an Algerian coastal town threatened by a mysterious plague. But the symbolic idea works on the concrete presentation of a metaphysical(形而上学的) problem, which is the cruel fact of suffering. Like the plague, it's just a thing that happens in the world whether we want it to or not. Camus's novel asks if we can think of suffering not as an individual burden but as a shared experience—and maybe turn it into something positive.

The key is to recognize the universality of suffering. A plague is an extraordinary event and the horror it results in is extraordinary, too. But suffering is anything but extraordinary. Every day you leave the house, something terrible could happen. The same is true for all. All of us are subject to forces over which we have no control.

A pandemic(大流行病) forces us to think about our responsibilities to the people around us. The hero of The Plague is a committed doctor named Rieux. From the very beginning, Rieux devotes himself to resisting the plague that united its victims. Each character in the story is defined(刻画) by what they do when the plague comes. No one escapes it, but those who reduce the suffering of others are the most fulfilled. The only villains are those who cannot see beyond themselves. The plague, for these people, is either an excuse to flee or an opportunity to make profits. Because they can't see that their condition is shared, a spirit of unity is completely foreign to them. And that blindness makes community impossible.

At the very end of The Plague, Camus stated his philosophy that the struggle against suffering is never over for good. The plague will return, and so will everything else that upsets humans. But the point of the book is that a shared struggle is what makes community possible in the first place.

A pandemic, terrible though it is, highlights our mutual interdependence in a way that only tragedy can. The beauty of The Plague is that it asks the reader to map the lessons of the pandemic onto everyday life. The principles that drive the hero, Rieux, are the same principles that make every society worthwhile—understanding, love and unity.

If we learn these lessons, in a moment of crisis, we'll all be better off on the other side of it.

1. What is the symbolic idea of The Plague?

A．An individual burden.	B．A positive experience.
C．A universal suffering.	D．An extraordinary event.

2. What does the underlined word mean?

A．The blind.	B．Businessmen.
C．Foreign victims.	D．Wrongdoers.

3. According to the author, what can we learn from The Plague?

A．We should think of unity more than individual calculation.

B．The pandemic cannot be defeated as it will make a comeback.

C．Understanding, love and unity rid the society of struggle.

D．We'll be better off in a moment of crisis if listening to a doctor.

4. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To introduce a book.

B．To solve a social problem.

C．To remember a writer.

D．To express an opinion.