【推荐1】People across the world use Airnbn to offer their homes to travelers usually for a nightly fee. The home-sharing service provides some people a way to make extra money while they work other jobs.

The company announced recently that one of its most popular professions among American Airbnb hosts is teaching. The information came from an Airbnb study to find out what industries its American hosts work in. the study found that almost 10 percent of U.S. Airbnb hosts in 2017 identified themselves as teachers or in the field of education. The home-sharing service estimated it has about 45,000 active teacher hosts in America. In addition, the study says there are an estimated 75,000 other hosts living in households with a teacher.

American teacher hosts earned more than $160 million dollars from Airbnb in 2017, the company said. That includes about $54 million earned during the summer alone. The average amount earned by teacher hosts individually was $6,500 in 2017. The study did not provide data from hosts about why they choose to become part of Airbnb. But the company noted that many teachers in America face difficult economic situations. Airbnb says additional earnings from hosting can help.

The U.S. Department of Education reported this year that 94 percent of public school teachers said they had spent their own money on some classroom supplies in the 2015-2016 school year. It also reported that the average pay for public school teachers in 2015-2016 was lower than in the 1990-1991 school year when the inflation rate was considered. Some states had even higher rates of teacher hosts than Airbnb’s estimated national average.

Airbnb spokesman Christopher Nulty told The Atlantic magazine that the home-sharing industry was not a total solution for the current problems facing many teachers. But he said he thought Airbnb could be an “important tool” to help teachers make extra money and give them “the respect and dignity” they had earned.

The report on the number of teacher hosts comes as Airbnb continues to face opposition by activists and officials in some areas. U.S. critics of the company say the service is driving up rental market prices in several cities. Elected officials in some areas have proposed or approved rules to limit the influence of the service. Hotel companies have also protested that the business presents unfair competition.

1. Teachers choose to become part of Airbnb because of _____.

A．their economic difficulty	B．respect and dignity
C．the lack of classroom supplies	D．the high rental price

2. Airbnb is opposed by some people or organizations except _____.

A．officials	B．the Department of Education
C．activists	D．hotel companies

3. We can learn from the passage that Airbnb _____.

A．can solve teachers’ economic problems.

B．drives up rental market prices in most cities

C．helps teachers find a new job

D．might be an “important tool” for teachers to make money

4. The writer’s attitude towards Airbnb is ______.

A．approved	B．indifferent
C．neutral	D．opposed

【推荐3】A Virginia Burger King employee is going viral for her act of kindness. Nineteen－year－old Alexis Easter, who works at the fast－food chain in Mechanicsville, was photographed escorting an elderly customer to his car.

The man, known to Easter as Mr. John, is a regular at the restaurant.

“When he's done, I help him to the car because he has a terrible back. When we get to his car, we talk and I make sure he's safe，” the employee told WTVR.

Easter's simple act caught the attention of a passer－by, who snapped a photo of the young woman and her customer, which she shared on social media.

“Shout out to the cashier at the Mechanicsville Burger King, making this world a little brighter，” Elizabeth Chandler wrote on Facebook.

Chandler said she was so impressed by what Easter was doing for the man.

“Seeing her help this gentleman was so heart－warming. It's so seldom to see people going out of their way for others and expecting nothing in return. Since posting this I learned that Alexis is only 19 and does this on a regular basis for any customer in need，” Chandler told Yahoo.

Easter always tries to do what she can to provide the best customer service.

“Always go out of your way to help others，” she told WTVR.

Chandler, who also frequents this Burger King, said Easter isn't the only employee who goes above and beyond their job description.

“That's the culture at that Burger King. Every employee I have ever seen goes so far out of their way for everyone. Another employee named Monica hands out plaques(徽章) to those going through hard times, including my grandmother when she was going through treatment for cancer，” she told WTVR.

1. Who brought so much attention to Alexi Easter?

A．Her colleagues.

B．The reporters from WTVR.

C．The marketing manager.

D．A passer－by.

2. Easter's act of kindness is impressive because________．

A．it's her duty to help the elderly customers

B．she interrupted her own business to help others

C．she seldom helps regulars for free

D．it's widely reported

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Easter was bothered by the Facebook post.

B．Elizabeth Chandler works for Yahoo.

C．Easter is deeply influenced by Burger King's culture.

D．Elizabeth Chandler earned good reputation.

4. Why is Monica mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．To prove values advocated by the Mechanicsville Burger King.

B．To show Elizabeth Chandler's appreciation.

C．To indicate Easter's behavior is not worth mentioning.

D．To stress the significance of helping others.

【推荐2】In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.

I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied (依赖) on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.

However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve (缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.

1. What does this passage mainly talk about?

A．Competition helps to set up self-respect.

B．Opinions about competition are different among people.

C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development.

D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition.

2. Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?

A．It pushes society forward.

B．It builds up a sense of duty.

C．It improves personal abilities.

D．It encourages individual efforts.

3. The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.

A．those who try their best to win

B．those who value competition most highly

C．those who are against competition most strongly

D．those who rely on others most for success

4. What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?

A．One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others.

B．One’s success in competition needs great efforts.

C．One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills.

D．One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.

【推荐3】It often happens that a number of applicants (申请人) with almost the same qualifications and experience all apply for the same position. In their educational background, special skills and work experience, there is little, if anything, to choose between half a dozen candidates. How then does the employer make a choice? Usually on the basis of an interview.

There are many arguments for and against the interview as a way of selection. The main argument against it is that it results in a wholly subjective decision. As often as not, employers do not choose the best candidate. They choose the candidate who makes a good first impression on them. Some employers, of course, reply to this argument by saying that they have become so experienced in interviewing staff that they are able to make a good assessment of each candidate’s likely performance. The main argument in favor of the interview is that an employer is concerned not only with a candidate’s ability, but with his or her suitable personality for the particular work situation. Many employers, for example, will overlook occasional mistakes from their secretary if she has a pleasant personality.

It is perhaps true to say therefore, that the real purpose of an interview is not to assess the assessable aspects of each candidate but to make a guess at the things that are hard to measure, such as personality, character and social ability. Unfortunately, both for the employers and applicants for jobs, there are many people of great ability who simply do not interview well. There are also, of course, people who interview extremely well, but are later found to be very unsatisfactory employees. Candidates who interview well tend to be quietly confident, but never boastful (自夸的) direct and straightforward in their questions and answers; cheerful and friendly, but never over-familiar; and sincerely enthusiastic and optimistic. Candidates who interview badly tend to be either very shy or over-confident. They either talk too little or never stop talking. They are either over-polite or a bit rude.

1. People argue over the interview mainly because they have ________.

A．different purposes in the interview	B．different experiences in interviews
C．different standards of selection	D．different ways of selection

2. The underlined word “subjective” means “based on one’s ________ rather than facts”.

A．personality

B．character

C．opinion

D．ability

3. The purpose of the last paragraph is to indicate ________.

A．a link between success in interview and personality

B．connections between work abilities and personality

C．differences in interview experience

D．differences in personal behavior

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the interview?

A．He thinks it is a good way of selection.	B．He doesn’t quite agree with it.
C．He is neither for nor against it.	D．It is not clear.