A decade ago, secondary and higher education was 
listed above all else. Apprenticeships(学徒工作) were considered as a choice for dropouts(辍学者) rather than a brave career choice. Some young men and women didn’t fit into the school system, but preferred to find new starts, so they were allowed to leave school to focus their attention on making a living in the business world.
Now there’re no birds of this year in last year’s nests. Young people are being encouraged to think carefully about whether what they are learning in school is right for them—this trend has been caused by rising university fees and a global shortage of many skills that were ignored in schools in recent years, ranging from web development to sales.
Young people are required to stay in education or training until they are 18, but now learning takes place in different forms. The Government also has its own way to help interested youths find an apprenticeship that suits their skills and ambitions.
Tom Hartley now owns a large business in Derbyshire, who founded his first company at just 12 years old. “I had no school education,” he says. “Running business was how I learned everything. I call it the Hartley University of Life.
His business, 43 years on, turns over £ 200 million, and sells cars to customers all over the world. Many years ago, Hartley was asked to explain why he had chosen to be self-educated and why he had supported his son’s decision to leave school and join the family business.
“I got heavy suspect at the time,” he explains. “you can’t teach gut feelings(直觉) on a blackboard. School is fine if you want to be a doctor or fly a rocket to the moon, but it is not true about experience in business.”
1. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Education is no more important nowadays. |
| B．The situation above has changed. |
| C．Things change for the worse for dropouts. |
| D．University fees are becoming higher and higher. |
| A．He attaches more value to experience than to education. |
| B．He was supported in founding his first company. |
| C．He is well-educated and far-sighted. |
| D．He is brave and open-minded. |
| A．By giving an example. | B．By making a comparison. |
| C．By analyzing causes. | D．By listing figures. |
| A．Education is the only way to success. |
| B．Education systems vary from country to country. |
| C．School dropouts could be future business stars. |
| D．School dropouts were common among youngsters. |
相似题推荐
Carl Waller was my piano teacher．During one of my lessons he asked how much practice I was doing．I said three or four hours a day．
"Do you often practice so long at a time?" asked my teacher．
"I try to," I answered．
Well, don' t," he said． “When you grow up, time won' t come in long periods．Practice in minutes whenever you can find them, five or ten before school, after lunch, or between household tasks．Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life．"
When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading and committee meetings filled my days and evenings．For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time．Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said．
During the next week I conducted an experiment．Whenever I had five minutes to spare, I would sit down and write a hundred words or so．To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript （手稿） ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same means．
Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, every day there were free moments which could be caught and put to use．I even took up piano-playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided enough time for both writing and piano practice．
There is an important trick in this time-using formula; you must get into your work quickly．If you have only five minutes for writing, you can't afford to waste four minutes chewing your pencil．You must make your mental preparations ahead of time, and focus on your task almost immediately when the time comes．Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize．
I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes．But life can be
1. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．Concentrate on Your Work | B．A Little at a Time |
| C．How I Became a Writer | D．My Teacher' s Advice |
| A．The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long periods． |
| B．Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer' s life since he became a student． |
| C．The writer didn't take the teacher' s words to heart at first． |
| D．Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine． |
| A．enriched | B．concentrated |
| C．valued | D．expected |
| A．has new books published each year however busy his teaching is |
| B．is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy |
| C．has got into the bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels |
| D．is devoted to work immediately because he can find enough time for preparations |
【推荐2】Blue sheep,native to the Himalayas,lends its name to a small handicraft(手工艺）shop in downtown Chengdu.Rachael Pinniger from the U.K.opened the store,which offers a wide range of handmade items,in 2013.All of them were made by people with disabilities or serious diseases in remote areas in China.
The 75-year-old woman was formerly a medical practitioner(执业医师）。Before settling down in Chengdu 10 years ago,Rachael had spent more than 40 years working in 15 different countries in Asia and Africa,providing medical services and training local physicians.While living in the Tibet Autonomous Region,she found that many patients were too poor to have their illnesses treated.While many of them were skilled in making traditional crafts,they had no market for their handmade items.
＂For these people,the most important thing is to help them integrate(融入）into society,"
Rachael thought."That's not necessarily something the government can do.It's up to all of us to give them a sense of confidence and self-respect."
That inspired Rachael to open a store to help these disadvantaged people bring their crafts to the market so that they could make money and receive effective treatment.She spent nearly all of her life savings collecting items from them and making other necessary preparations.
More than 700 people have benefited from Rachael's initiative(融入），although she has to battle for years to make ends meet with the very limited market,which remains her biggest challenge.Despite financial pressures,she has continued to expand her market by encouraging her overseas friends to buy the products as home decorations or gifts.She collects feedback from customers and gives the craftsmen suggestions on how to improve their items.To help them pick up professional skills,Rachael also invites them to participate in training courses.
As a world traveler,Rachael has no plans for her next destination.At the moment,she will continue to try her best to keep the shop afloat to help more people get through their hard times.
“Mother Teresa's words,'I cannot change the world,but I can change the world of one person,'have always been my motto.Anytime we can help one person;it makes life worthwhile,even if it is not the world,”she said.
1. Which of the following statements about Rachael Pinniger is TRUE?| A．She left her home country in her twenties. |
| B．She had to borrow money to open Blue Sheep. |
| C．She had settled down in China before retirement. |
| D．She always dreamed of running her own business in China. |
| A．It was co-founded by seriously ill patients. |
| B．It provides effective treatment for the disabled. |
| C．It sells products made by the disadvantaged. |
| D．It provides customers with craft-making training. |
| A．expand into the overseas market |
| B．balance the budget for Blue Sheep |
| C．involve more craftsmen in her initiative |
| D．obtain immediate feedback from customers |
| A．preserves Chinese traditional handicrafts |
| B．calls on people to respect the disadvantaged |
| C．provides help for people in need of social integration |
| D．removes the need for government aid to the disadvantaged |
【推荐3】On March 2, at the meeting held ahead of the yearly session of the CPPCC National Committee(全国政协大会), interpreter(口译员) Yao Mengyao caught the attention of many with her “quick reaction and correct translation, ”Xinhua noted.
Yao began her studies in English in primary school where she would listen to English tapes.
She often spoke to her teacher about English-related topics that were not limited to the ones in her textbooks, “They were always very professional uncommon topics, ”said Yao’s senior school teacher Shen Yingzi.
Like Yao, Zhang Lu is a regular interpreter for China's top leaders, including Premier Li Keqing and former Premier Wen Jiabao. Her effortless but on-point translations of ancient poems mentioned by former Premier Wen won praise.
So how do interpreters reach their top positions?
The reason for their success is largely hard work. Other than when they go out on visits with Chinese leaders, the interpreters follow a very strict schedule. Zhang called this schedule“an unshakable plan”. They listen to foreign media such as BBC, VOA or CNN through TV or radio for their training.
It is reported that a month before the two sessions(两会), the interpreters get notice of the spokesperson they are going to interpret for. They then make full use of this month to prepare themselves. They try to predict the questions that might be asked and consider the sayings the spokesperson might use when they answer the questions.
In truth, there is no secret to their success: It’s all a matter of skill and hard work.
1. What can be inferred from the second paragraph?| A．Yao tried to make a speech in English. | B．The textbooks didn't interest yao at all. |
| C．Yao showed a strong interest in English. | D．The teacher got tired of Yao's endless questions. |
| A．Serious. | B．Ordinary. | C．Organized. | D．Frequent. |
| A．Make a schedule for foreign visits. | B．Predict the questions to be asked. |
| C．Go out on visits with Chinese leaders. | D．Discuss with their teammates. |
| A．By working hard. | B．By travelling abroad. |
| C．By making a strict schedule. | D．By following the leaders. |
