【推荐1】GOING TO UNIVERSITY is supposed to be a mind-broadening experience. That statement is probably made in comparison to training for work straight after school, which might not be so encouraging. But is it actually true? Jessika Golle of the University of Tübingen, in Germany, thought she would try to find out. Her result, however, is not quite what might be expected. As she reports in Psychological Science this week, she found that those who have been to university do indeed seem to leave with broader and more inquiring minds than those who have spent their immediate post-school years in vocational (职业的) training for work. However, it was not the case that university broadened minds. Rather, work seemed to narrow them.

Dr. Golle came to this conclusion after she and a team of colleagues studied the early careers of 2,095 German youngsters. The team used two standardized tests to assess their volunteers. One was of personality traits, including openness, conscientiousness（认真）and so on. The other was of attitudes, such as realistic, investigative and enterprising. They administered both tests twice—once towards the end of each volunteer’s time at school, and then again six years later. Of the original group, 382 were on the intermediate track, from which there was a choice between the academic and vocational routes, and it was on these that the researchers focused. University beckoned for 212 of them. The remaining 170 chose vocational training and a job.

When it came to the second round of tests, Dr. Golle found that the personalities of those who had gone to university had not changed significantly. Those who had undergone vocational training and then got jobs were not that much changed in personality, either—except in one crucial respect. They had become more conscientious.

That sounds like a good thing, certainly compared with the common public image of undergraduates as a bunch of lazybones. But changes in attitude that the researchers recorded were rather worrying. In the university group, again, none were detectable. But those who had chosen the vocational route showed marked drops in interest in tasks that are investigative and enterprising in nature. And that might restrict their choice of careers.

Some investigative and enterprising jobs, such as scientific research, are, indeed beyond the degreeless. But many, particularly in Germany, with its tradition of vocational training, are not. The researchers mention, for example, computer programmers and finance-sector workers as careers requiring these traits. If Dr. Golle is correct, and changes in attitude brought about by the very training Germany prides itself on are narrowing people’s choices, that is indeed a matter worthy of serious consideration.

1. Which of the following can best replace “beckoned for” in Paragraph 2?

A．Examined.	B．Attracted.
C．Organized.	D．Recognized.

2. What can we learn from the research?

A．The degreeless have not changed in personalities.

B．Going to university is a mind-broadening experience.

C．Working straight after school narrows people’s minds.

D．College students pride themselves on their education.

3. According to the last two paragraphs,          .

A．college students enjoy a very good public image

B．the undergraduates have changed significantly in attitude

C．the degreeless are much better at dealing with challenging tasks

D．people show less interest in investigative jobs due to vocational training

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

A．Concerned.	B．Optimistic.
C．Unclear.	D．Sceptical.

【推荐3】Tired of underpaid jobs and inconvenient hours, three entrepreneurial (富于企业家精神的) McLean teens decided to start their own company.

Their new company, TeenServ, aims to solve teenage unemployment with a platform that matches students and community members who need short-term assistance with various tasks. Through TeenServ, residents sign up to post jobs they need done. Teens signed up to work can choose to accept a job depending on their schedules and work preferences. Website users can pick up shifts wherever and whenever they want, making it convenient for hectic schedules.

A year ago, Jack Lannin, Quin Frew and Ben Jeannot worked as lifeguards at a local pool. Lannin told Tysons Reporter that they were upset when a pay change “almost cut their salary in half,” and they wanted to find another job but there were few options. Then they came up with the idea for TeenServ. “Aside from getting a real job, refereeing (担任裁判) sports or yard work, there isn’t really a good way to make money,” Lannin said, adding that even becoming a referee requires a significant start-up cost for teens — around $70 — to pay for training and a uniform.

They started out by going door to door and asking community members if they would pay teens fair wages for short-term yard work. Soon enough, they began gathering opportunities. With help from an entrepreneurship class at McLean High School and feedback from teens, the students were able to turn their idea into a reality. So far, the website has employed more than 200 teens, according to Lannin. TeenServ pays students up to $18 per hour-well above Virginia’s minimum wage of $7.25.

The business is focused on mostly McLean for now, but TeenServ’s owners hope to expand around Fairfax County. That involves building up a base of teen workers before allowing residents to post jobs elsewhere in the county. After all, if residents need time-specific jobs done, they can’t be the ones waiting.

1. What is TeenServ’s goal?

A．To increase the number of teen workers.

B．To help teens decide on their future career.

C．To encourage teens to start their own business.

D．To connect community employers to local teens.

2. What does the underlined word “hectic” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Regular.

B．Flexible.

C．Traditional.

D．Busy.

3. What problem did the three founders come across last year?

A．They failed to find a part-time job.

B．They received a significant pay cut.

C．They obtained little funding for their start-up.

D．They lost a game due to a referee’s unfair decision.

4. What do the three owners plan to do?

A．Create more time-specific jobs.	B．Raise Virginia’s minimum wage.
C．Grow their business outside of McLean.	D．Allow McLean residents to post jobs elsewhere.

【推荐1】New rules for middle school students came out in March. Middle schools are going to use a new way to decide who the top students are.     1     The following are some of the new rules.

◆ Tell the truth. Have you ever cheated in an exam?    2    That’s not something honest students should do.

◆ Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird-loving Month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate it? You should join!    3    

◆ Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought people could live on the moon? Maybe you’ll find another earth in space in the future.    4    

◆ Protect yourself. Has a thief ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don’t let it happen to you. If you have to go back home late, you should let your parents know.

◆ Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your study.     5     But some things on the Internet aren’t for children, so try to look at the good web pages.

A．Don’t do it again!

B．Everyone’s new ideas are important

C．Students must only work and play alone.

D．Students should not disagree with the teachers.

E．The best students won’t only have high marks.

F．You can use the web pages for fun or homework.

G．In that way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them.

【推荐2】Five Ways to Manage Your Classroom

Establishing a safe and productive learning environment is a key element in providing quality education. The aims of classroom management are to maintain order, to develop a positive learning environment and to establish rules and routines. Here are some tips on how to manage your classroom.

Reduce distractions.     1     Seat students with attention difficulties in the middle of the classroom, sur-rounded by students who are able to focus on the work. The focused students will act as buffers (起缓冲作用的人) between the easily distracted students and the high- traffic areas.

Develop classroom rules. Work with the students to develop a list of rules for behavior within the classroom. Ask them, as a group, what things they should not do in the classroom and create a list of these.

    2    

Encourage appropriate behavior. Make stickers (贴纸) with praise such as “good listener,, “great focus” and “well-done” and hand these out to students when you notice appropriate behavior.     3    

    4     Walk into the class and be ready to teach immediately. Organize your lesson plans in order and have your materials ready for each lesson. Write the agenda for the class or day on the board so that the students know what to expect. Know what you are going to be doing at each part of the day.

Be aware. In the classroom, stand where you can see all the students at all times. Walk around the class-room while you teach or when the students are doing individual work. Be aware of what each student is doing —listening, understanding, daydreaming, or misbehaving.     5    

A．Be prepared.

B．Learn all the materials that you need.

C．Build time for discussions and questions.

D．The students can decorate their workbooks with the stickers.

E．Discuss how to create rules so that these behavior do not occur.

F．Let the students know that you are always aware of what is going on in the classroom.

G．Limit the distractions within the classroom to allow the children to focus on the task at hand.

【推荐2】The spiders have long, scary legs. Some spiders even bite. But Spider-Man is another story. He might help people see spiders less negatively, a new study finds.

After Menachem Ben-Ezra, a proud fan of the Marvel (漫威公司) films and also a psychologist, saw the movie Ant-Man and the Wasp (黄蜂), he walked out with a sudden scientific idea that he should measure people before they went into the theater, and afterwards to see if the fear of ants would be reduced or changed.

Ben-Ezra and his colleagues asked 424 people questions, about one-quarter of them about spiders, such as “Did you find them scary?”   “Did seeing one make your hearts race and palms sweat?”   A second group received similar questions, this time about ants. The last two groups got the same questions about other insects. Afterward, everyone watched videos. Group one got a Spider-Man movie. Group two saw Ant-Man and the Wasp. Groups three and four watched unrelated video — wheat waving peacefully in the breeze.

After viewing the movie, Ben-Ezra again asked the participants how they felt about spiders, ants or other insects in general—and found the ant and spider exposures seemed to make people insensitive and less afraid. Between 3.5 and 6.1 percent of people experience such a phobia (恐惧症) of spiders. Phobias can stop people from traveling, working and enjoying their lives.

Ben-Ezra hopes that their movie research might help people with phobias. But they caution that people with phobias shouldn’t just run out and watch movies and expect their fear to go away.   “What we did is only the first step in a very long road,” Ben-Ezra says. “We didn’t say you'll be cured. We don’t have evidence for that.”   But eventually, presenting people’s fears in a positive context — such as a superhero movie — might help people surmount their fear or disgust. After all, if spiders produce Spider-Man, maybe they’re not so bad.

1. What method did Ben-Ezra use in his study?

A．By giving examples.	B．By asking questions.
C．By analyzing causes.	D．By making assumptions.

2. What does the underlined word “surmount” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Overcome.

B．Discount.

C．Intervene.

D．Delete

3. What did Ben-Ezra advise people to do with phobias?

A．They should travel, work and enjoy their lives

B．They should keep their phobias of insects a secret.

C．They should adopt a positive attitude to their fear.

D．They should watch more super-hero Marvel movies.

4. What is the best title for this passage?

A．The Insect Phobia Cured With Wasp	B．The Positive Energy of Superheroes
C．Spider-Man's Spider Fear	D．Fighting Spider Fear with Spider-Man

【推荐3】Road rage is commonly seen or often happens in our daily lives. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. While drunk driving remains a critical problem, the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance, last year alone, 41, 907 people died on the highways. Of those deaths, it’s estimated that about two-thirds were caused at last in part by aggressive driving behavior.
Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now? Experts have several theories, and all are probably partially correct. One suggestion is sheer overcrowding. In the last decade, the number of cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent, and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent. However, the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent. That means more cars in the same amount of space; and the problem is magnified in urban areas.
Also, people have less time and more things to do. With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day, stress levels have never been higher. Stress creates anxiety, which leads to short tempers. These factors, when combined in certain stations, can spell Road Rage.
You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively, but you might be surprised. For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a lower driver, sounded the born long and hard at another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing? If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, watch out!
Whether you are getting angry at other drivers, or another driver is visibly upset with you, there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict. If you are easily influenced by road rage, the key is to discharge your emotion in a healthy way. If you are the target of another driver’s rage, do everything possible to get away from the other driver safely, including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way.
1. Last year on the highways, .

A．approximately two thirds of drivers were killed by road rages

B．road rage remained the No. 1 killer and took 41,907 people’s lives

C．more people were killed by aggressive driving than by drunk driving.

D．drunk driving was a problem more serious than aggressive driving.

2. As a cause of aggressive driving, which of the following is not included?

A．Drivers’ stress and anxiety.

B．Rush hour traffic.

C．Increasing number of cars.

D．Overcrowded roads.

3. Which of the following shows the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．The bad results of road rage

B．How to discharge your emotion properly.

C．The practical ways to escape any fight on roads

D．People easily influenced by road rage