【推荐1】A survey of 1,000 people showed that an incredible 60 percent of workers ate at their desks every day while two thirds take 30 minutes or less for lunch. This means they are working an extra 180 hours a year—equal to 16 eight-hour days. Even when staffs do manage to leave their desks, they are usually on business with nearly a quarter admitting to regularly using the time to catch up with professional contacts.

An academic expert in the science of workplaces said employees were putting their health at risk by refusing to take a lunch break. Dr Tissington, Associate Dean of Business Partnerships at Aston University, said people feel “under pressure” at work, with many spending long hours at their desks, “tapping away at keyboards, staring at screens and sitting with bad posture in awkward positions.”

He said it was important for workers to take regular breaks, get up, move and walk around a bit. “Resting, or taking a break in the middle of the day helps to clear out the mind and prepares us for a productive afternoon,” he said. “The feeling of guilt for taking lunch breaks is a subject that is concerning and probably requires proper investigation,” he added.

Dr. Tissington mentioned he makes sure to get away from his desk at lunchtime and deliberately chooses to get lunch from different places—changing his route to get there. “This has the added benefit of exercise,” he explained,” and, working in a large organization, it gives me the opportunity to meet different colleagues along the way.”

Office workers had admitted to sacrificing their lunch breaks to further their careers. PR assistant Tammy Phillips, 24, said he hadn’t taken a lunch break since past two years. “The way I view it is that I can get on with work when it’s quieter at lunch time and it never hurts your career for the bosses to see you at your desk when your colleagues swan out for a sandwich,” he said.

“The competition for jobs now is so fierce that I’ve known friends who have quit smoking because they don’t want to be seen to go out for a cigarette during the day.”

1. We can learn from the first paragraph that ________.

A．workers want to escape from their work

B．many workers do not take a full lunch break

C．different workers have different lunch breaks

D．most workers are not permitted to have a full lunch break

2. Which of the following is true about Dr. Tissington?

A．He enjoys physical exercise.

B．He feels guilty at taking lunch breaks.

C．He likes to stay away from his colleagues.

D．He takes different routes to have lunch purposely.

3. What is probably the best title for the text?

A．Time for Having a Lunch Break

B．An Increasingly Popular Working Style

C．Lunch Skippers Work Extra 16 Days Yearly

D．Giving up a Lunch Break: Risk Your Health

【推荐2】We think of hospitals as peaceful and safe places.     1    . A study that came out in 2017 showed that one in four doctors in China has suffered from physical violence, with some even losing their lives.

To prevent such things from happening, the government worked out a draft law. It says that the safety of medical staff is protected by law and that no one is allowed to hurt medical workers.

In most cases, the attackers were relatives of patients who were not satisfied with their treatment.     2    . But of course, not every illness can be cured.     3    . Giving doctors cash bribes (贿赂) to get good treatment has long been an unwritten rule. Some people believe that they were not well treated because they didn’t bribe their doctors. In some cases, their anger in this situation turns into violence. Another problem is a lack of doctors.     4    , seeing as many as 60 or more patients in just half a day. It’s difficult for them to provide enough care for each patient.

    5    . For example, many hospitals have set up offices to hear and handle patients’ complaints.

“When arguments happen, patients should ask for mediation (调解仲裁) or seek legal advice instead of turning to violence,” the State Council said.

A．Doctors need to take measures to protect themselves

B．Most people have high expectations for their doctors

C．Hospitals are trying to find ways to solve this problem

D．Doctors in large public hospitals often have to overwork

E．A general lack of trust in doctors has also made things worse

F．It’s difficult to solve the problems between doctors and patients

G．But doctors and nurses in Chinese public hospitals are often attacked

【推荐3】In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.

The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.

It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.

Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.

People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Jonses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.

1. Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

A．want to be as rich as their neighbors	B．want others to know or to think that they are rich
C．don’t want others to know they are rich	D．want to be happy

2. It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ______.

A．live outside New York City	B．live in New York city
C．live in apartments	D．have many neighbors

3. Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because “Jones” is ______.

A．an important name	B．a popular name in the United States
C．his neighbor’s name	D．not a good name

4. What’s the author’s attitude to keeping up with the Joneses？

A．Negative.	B．Positive.
C．Supportive.	D．Objective.

【推荐2】Researchers from France and Italy discovered that Canadian parents are less strict with their children than mothers and fathers in France and Italy.
“Our most important finding was the difference between Canadians and the others,” said Professor Michel Claes, the lead author of the study. “Canadians focus on independence and negotiation. On the other hand, Italians, for example, exercise more control. We found Canadians seem to focus on negotiation in case of a conflict.”
Claes said Canada, France and Italy were selected for the study because they share important cultural and social factors. “We chose French­Canadians because they share the same language as France, and originally came from France and share certain values. Italy was included because it was considered to have similar, strong and important family values,” he explained.
The researchers examined the emotional ties between parents and their children by questioning 1,256 students aged 11 to 19 years old.
Canadian students reported less control and more free actions, according to the study. Italian parents were stricter and French parents were somewhere in the middle.
Claes explains that the differences lie in education in Canada, France and Italy.
“North America has its own educational values, which promote individualization. Tolerance and comprehension are encouraged. Italy, on the other hand, promotes respect of authority, control, and the need for permission.” he said.
Children from all three countries described their mothers as warm and communicative. Italian and Canadian children had similar feelings about their fathers, and reported high levels of emotional ties. But French fathers were generally thought by their children to be more distant and cold.
“We were surprised by this,” Claes admitted.“It seems as though the relationships between French mothers and their children were becoming closer over time, while fathers maintain a form of distance and coldness, which is more of a source of conflict in France than in the other countries.”
1. Professor Michel Claes believes that Canada, France and Italy ________.

A．have the same family spirit

B．have some similar cultural traditions

C．have experienced some similar social changes

D．have experienced similar cultural developments

2. How did the researchers carry out the study?

A．By collecting answers of parents from Canada, France and Italy.

B．By collecting answers of children from Canada, France and Italy.

C．By questioning parents and their children from Italian Canadian families.

D．By questioning children from French­Canadian families.

3. According to Michel Claes, what mainly leads to the differences in parent­children relationships among Canada, France and Italy?

A．Educational opportunities.

B．Traditional ideas.

C．Educational values.

D．Historical events.

4. Which of the following is NOT a finding of the study?

A．French children have troubled relationships with their parents.

B．Canadian children have close relationships with their parents.

C．Italian children have good relationships with their parents.

D．Kids from Canada, France and Italy have closer ties with their moms.

【推荐3】A large number of India’s urban (城区的) poor kids receive little or no education. Even if they enter a formal school, their dropout rates are very high. Door Step School (DSS) aims to bridge the huge gap between these kids and education.

True to its name, Door Step School sets up a school right at the doorstep of kids who can’t get formal education due to a variety of reasons.

The team at DSS follows a direct model—they set up a classroom in any area, a footpath, construction site, or underpass, where they foresee the greatest need. They look for proper locations, and after making sure that enough resources are in place, they accept students in the area. DSS provides lessons of different levels. The organization even tries to provide classes in the local language, or whatever the students choose.

Another interesting project of DSS is a school on wheels. It uses a bus that has been changed into a classroom, which holds about 25 kids at a time.

Since it was started in 1988, Door Step School has spread from Mumbai to the neighbouring city of Pune in Maharashtra, covering a larger area and number of kids. Now DSS has a team of more than 1,000 volunteers and teachers who change more than 70,000 lives each year.

DSS doesn’t end at kids. The organisation educates parents on the importance of sending their kids to school. Its efforts have brought education to thousands of students in the last two decades. Their belief in education for all has not only changed children’s lives but also continued the fight against one of the biggest problems India faces. All children have the right to an education, and DSS is providing just that.

1. Why is the organization named “Door Step School”?

A．It is different from formal schools.

B．It is usually built near students’ houses.

C．It sets up schools in areas with large populations.

D．It provides education wherever children can easily go.

2. What can we learn about the lessons provided by “Door Step School”?

A．They are better than formal school lessons.

B．They include whatever a school can provide.

C．They suit children at different levels.

D．They are easy for kids to learn by themselves.

3. What is paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The development of Door Step School.

B．The foundation of Door Step School.

C．The management of Door Step School.

D．The future of Door Step School.