【推荐1】Spring is coming, and it is time for those about to graduate to look for jobs. Competition is tough, so job seekers must carefully consider their personal choices. Whatever we are wearing, our family and friends may accept us, but the workplace may not.

A high school newspaper editor said it is unfair for companies to discourage visible tattoos (纹身), nose rings, or certain dress styles. It is true you can’t judge a book by its cover, yet people do “cover” themselves in order to convey certain messages. What we wear, including tattoos and nose rings, is an expression of who we are. Just as people convey messages about themselves with their appearances, so do companies. Dress standards exist in the business world for a number of reasons, but the main concern is often about what customers accept.

Others may say how to dress is a matter of personal freedom, but for businesses it is more about whether to make or lose money. Most employers do care about the personal appearances of their employees, because those people represent the companies to their customers.

As a hiring manager I am paid to choose the people who would make the best impression on our customers. There are plenty of well-qualified candidates, so it is not wrong to reject someone who might disappoint my customers. Even though I am open-minded, I can’t expect all our customers are.

There is nobody to blame but yourself if your set of choices does not match that of your preferred employer. No company should have to change to satisfy a candidate simply because he or she is unwilling to respect its standards, as long as its standards are legal.

1. Which of the following is the newspaper editor’s opinion according to Paragraph 2?

A．People’s appearances carry message about themselves.

B．Customers’ choices influence dress standards in companies.

C．Candidates with tattoos or nose rings should be fairly-treated.

D．Strange dress styles should not be encouraged in the workplace.

2. What can be inferred from the text?

A．Candidates have to wear what companies prefer for an interview.

B．What to wear is not a matter of personal choice for companies.

C．Companies sometimes have to change to respect their candidates.

D．Hiring managers make the best impression on their candidates.

3. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．Employees Matter	B．Personal Choices Matter
C．Appearances Matter	D．Hiring Managers Matter

4. The author’s attitude towards strange dress styles in the workplace may best be described as       .

A．enthusiastic	B．negative
C．positive	D．sympathetic

【推荐2】With so many investments required of us to succeed - time, resources, talents, responsibilities, even finances for our retirement - it’s easy to lose sight of the most difficult investment of all to commit to : ourselves.

Getting to the point where you’re ready to start upgrading to you 2.0 isn’t easy. But it doesn’t mean dropping the ball everywhere else. It’s not about omissions, but admissions. Come clean with yourself to kick-start your personal growth.

Unstuck starts with “u”

No one purposely chooses to stop learning and growing again, it just kind of happens in a lot of daily responsibilities and life. And if it were easy to just kick it into gear（ 档 位 ）again, you would have already done it. But the truth is inescapable. If you want to get off that place to higher ground, it’s up to you and only you. No one will just hand you a steady stream of opportunities for growth.

You’ve been working in your life, not on it

Activity is often confused with acceleration（忙碌）. I was guilty of this for years in working place - staying always busy but not admitting I was bored. I was lost in activity and not steeping back to take time to question what I wanted my life to be. Once I began working on my life - quitting corporate, becoming an entrepreneur, restructuring to my life - I started growing once again. And I’ve never been happier.

Things aren’t happening to you, they’re happening for you

A victim mentality（心态）is the enemy of personal growth. Lamenting over everything that has gone wrong in your life only wastes energy from working to make more things go right. If you want to kick-start growth, you must view setbacks as having a purpose, and then put them in their place. The past shouldn’t run or define you - only fuel you.

The perfect time to start doesn’t exist

I had so many things that had to be just right before I could make my long-planned leap from corporate. I’d tell myself, “I’d love to go for it right now, but practically speaking.” Well, guess what? Practicality is poison. It’s the convenient excuse stopping you from what you’re meant to become.

It’s time to unplug others’ opinions

Grow where you want to grow. Learn what you want to learn. Wherever you are on the scale of hat you want to learn next - be it beginner or near - expert own it, be proud of it. Pretenses are for pretenders. You’re just trying to become a better version of your genuine self.

1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．If you want to succeed, you have to invest yourself first.

B．Upgrading yourself is hard, but you still need to continue.

C．Giving up upgrading yourself is just like dropping the ball.

D．It’s a kind of responsibility to go on learning though it’s hard.

2. The word lament in the last but 4 paragraphs most probably means ______.

A．to express sadness and feeling sorry about something

B．to repeat what happens to you in the past of your life

C．to show some regretful feeling or thought for our past

D．to recognize something that has gone wrong in the past

3. According to the passage, we can infer that _____.

A．the busier you are, the happier and better you will be

B．what happened shouldn’t prevent you, but protect you

C．whoever you are, just grow where you want to grow

D．how well you grow is actually decided by yourself

4. How many aspects does the writer illustrate his idea on personal growth?

A．3

B．7

C．5

D．6

【推荐1】Students perform less well in end-of-term exams if they are allowed access to an electronic device, such as a phone or tablet, for non-academic purposes in lectures, a new study in Educational Psychology finds. Students who don’t use such devices themselves but attend lectures where their use is permitted also do worse, suggesting that phone or tablet use damages the group learning environment.

Researchers from Rutgers University in the US performed an in-class experiment to test whether dividing attention between electronic devices and the lecturer during the class affected students’ performance in within-lecture tests and an end-of-term exam. 118 students at Rutgers University participated in the experiment during one term of their course. Laptops, phones and tablets were banned in half of the lectures and permitted in the other half. When devices were allowed, students were asked to record whether they had used them for non-academic purposes during the lecture.

The study found that having a device didn’t lower students’ scores in comprehension tests within lectures, but it did lower scores in the end-of-term exam by at least 5%, or half a grade. This finding shows for the first time that the main effect of divided attention in the classroom is on long-term retention(保持), with fewer targets of a study task later remembered. In addition, when the use of electronic devices was allowed in class, performance was also poorer for students who did not use devices as well as for those who did.

The study’s lead author, Professor Arnold Glass, added: "These findings should alert the many dedicated students and instructors that dividing attention is having an insidious effect that is lowering their exam performance and final grade. To help manage the use of devices in the classroom, teachers should explain to students the damaging effect of distractions on retention — not only for themselves, but for the whole class."

This is the first-ever study in an actual classroom showing a causal(因果) relationship between distraction from an electronic device and later exam performance.

1. What effect do electronic devices have on students?

A．Increasing their learning cost.

B．Improving their interest in lectures.

C．Lowering their learning achievement.

D．Falling behind the ones not using devices.

2. What can we infer about the research method?

A．Literature.	B．Comparison.
C．Questionnaire.	D．Argumentation.

3. What does the author intend to do according to Paragraph 3?

A．Summarize the research results.

B．Add some background information.

C．Provide some advice for the readers.

D．Introduce a new topic for discussion.

4. What does Arnold Glass suggest teachers do?

A．Stopping using electronic devices in classes.

B．Reminding students to use devices properly.

C．Banning students from using electronic devices.

D．Driving out the students using electronic devices.

【推荐2】Around the world COVID-19 has messed up children’s education. They began to be shut out of classrooms. Even in countries where schools have stayed open, lessons and tests have been interrupted. Some countries pressed ahead with national exams this year. A few others, including Britain, France and Ireland, cancelled them all. They came up with new ways of awarding grades instead. The fact that big exams have proved so vulnerable to interruption has led to new questions about their usefulness. Are there better ways of measuring what children have learned?

Exams have plenty of problems. They are often unreliable; a study in Israel found that test-takers’ performance can be affected by smog. Many children find them stressful. Plenty of places run them badly. Poorly written test papers in developing countries lead to wild swings in pass rates. Countries, including Algeria and Ethiopia, have shut down the Internet at exam time to prevent cheating.

Yet most of the world’s best-performing school systems keep some kind of important tests, and for good reason. Other kinds of assessments are rarely better and many are worse. For example, if teachers are responsible for assessing their pupils, they may strengthen their own biases. Studies have caught them giving lower grades to students from ethnic minority or those who are fat. Giving up exams does not always ease pupils’ anxiety. Some would rather be tested at the end of their course than have their work constantly assessed. Coursework can waste students’ efforts by encouraging them to make slight changes to a few projects endlessly. That leaves less time for other kinds of learning.

Governments may need to adjust next year’s tests. That could mean cutting the amount of material to be tested. Exam boards may also have to increase the grades of pupils who have spent the most time out of the classroom. Many pupils have studied harder throughout this difficult year. They should have the chance to sit exams to earn the grades they deserve.

1. What effect has COVID-19 had on exams?

A．People are questioning the existence of the exams.

B．Different approaches have been taken to the exams.

C．All kinds of exams have to be cancelled in European countries.

D．Children themselves have to decide whether to take exams or not.

2. Which of the following is the problem with exams?

A．They encourage cheating with the Internet.

B．They are always affected by weather conditions.

C．They may not show children’s real academic performance.

D．They can’t be passed because the written test papers are poorly made.

3. Which of the following is mentioned as an alternative to exams?

A．Self-assessment.	B．Group assessment.
C．Parents’ assessment.	D．Coursework assessment.

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

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Doubtful.	D．Cautious.

【推荐3】“Children start putting their fingers in their noses as infants,” says Sarah Springer, MD, of Kids Plus Pediatrics in Pittsburgh. “As soon as they have motor control of their fingers, they’ll find holes where their fingers can fit. It’s not a worry—just a normal part of how they explore and learn.”

In order to help your child to stop engaging in the behavior it’s important to understand why they may start the habit in the first place, according to the University of Michigan Health System. Nose-picking can be a result of boredom, sleepiness, falling asleep, relaxation or coping. In most instances, nose-picking is likely just a phase(阶段) and the child will eventually quit it.

There isn’t much parents can do to stop the behavior of nose-picking, as it’s a normal part of being a kid, Dr. Springer says. Parents are advised to ignore the behavior and not show frustration’s this won’t help encourage your child to stop picking their nose. Instead, Dr. Springer says to help your child learn to blow their nose once they are four or five years old and talk to your child about keeping their hands clean to avoid spreading germs.

Take note of the season or climate, too, as dry air or cold can increase the occurrence of nose-picking. Parents should use a humidifier(增湿器) in these conditions to help nasal secretions(鼻分泌物) stay moist. Putting petroleum jelly(凡士林) a few times a day inside the nose can help with irritation and minimize picking.

Once your child enters school, it’s inevitable for them to see and pick up bad habits, Dr. Springer said. Nose-picking is a common habit, even among adults and as children age most will realize it’s not an acceptable behavior.

“Nose picking is a normal part of childhood,” Dr. Springer says. “Most kids will become conscious of the social stigma（羞耻）associated with it, and will eventually stop picking, at least in public.”

1. What does Sarah Springer think of kids’ picking their nose?

A．Discouraging.	B．Embarrassing.
C．Common but disgusting.	D．Usual and ordinary.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in Para. 2 refer to?

A．The result.	B．Nose-picking.
C．The instance.	D．The phase.

3. What’s Para. 3 mainly about?

A．What boredom can lead to.

B．The occurrence of nose-picking.

C．How kids avoid spreading diseases.

D．How to deal with a child’s picking his/her nose.

4. Who are the target readers of the passage?

A．Parents.	B．Children.
C．Educators.	D．Doctors.

【推荐1】Commencement (毕业典礼)is a time for idealism.

But economic reality is cruel everywhere; especially for new college graduates. They have been told repeatedly that a college degree is an open sesame (芝麻) to the global economy. But that’s not necessarily so, according to new research by two economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank Levy and Peter Temin.

It is true that people with college degrees make more money than people without degrees. The gap has narrowed somewhat in recent years, which is disturbing. But the earning power of college graduates still far outpaces that of less-educated workers.

The bad news, though, is that a college degree does not ensure a bigger share of the economic pie for many graduates. In recent decades Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin show, only college-educated women have seen their income grow in line with economy wide gains in productivity. The earnings of male college graduates have failed to keep pace with productivity gains.

Instead, a huge share of productivity growth, which expands the nation’s total income, is going to Americans on the top of the income scale. In 2005, the latest year with available data, the top 1 percent of Americans--whose average annual income was $1.1 million--took in 21.8 percent of the nation’s income, their largest share since 1929.

Administration officials, and other politicians and economists, often, believe that income inequality reflects an education gap. But Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin show that in the case of men, the average bachelor’s degree is not enough to catch the rising tide of the global economy.

They argue that the real reason that inequality is worsening is the lack of strong policies that broadly distribute economic gains. In the past, for example, a more progressive income tax and unions promote equality. Positive measures have also helped and probably accounts, in part, for the pay growth of college-educated women. But such measures have been eroding and new ones have not yet emerged, making the income gap even greater.

Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin conclude that only a new government policy can restore general prosperity. That’s a challenge to the nation’s leaders and today’s graduates. America needs them to contribute to the development of the nation in a global economy.

1. The passage is mainly about that ________.

A．there is a big income gap between female and male college graduates in America

B．college graduates find it hard to find an idea job after graduation in America

C．college degrees are losing value in America

D．research shows that American government should take measures to ensure income equality for college graduates

2. What is the main idea of Paragraph 5?

A．Much of the total income of America has been gained by a few very rich people.

B．The whole nation has enjoyed a big income growth with the growth of productivity.

C．A small part of people in America can have income increase.

D．Upper class Americans contribute most to productivity growth.

3. The underlined word “eroding” in Paragraph 7 probably means ________.

A．being gradually destroyed by wind or rain	B．gradually not suitable
C．gradually disappearing	D．gradually reducing power

4. We can infer from the passage that _____.

A．female college graduates have higher income than male ones

B．income tax can guarantee income equality

C．female college graduates have benefited from some governmental measures to ensure their income growth

D．new measures and policies have been taken to promote income equality

5. From the passage, some economists believe that the worsening income inequality is caused by ______.

A．lack of proper governmental policies	B．lower college degree of college graduates
C．gender discrimination	D．underdevelopment of economy and productivity

【推荐1】Most squirrels don’t hibernate(冬眠). Instead, they store food for the cold season and spend the winter in their nests. But the 13-lined ground squirrel, one species of squirrel in the U.S. Midwest, is not the case. For up to 8 months, the tiny mammals won’t eat or drink anything at all and the heart rate, metabolism(新陈代谢), and body temperature dramatically drop during their long rest, which is similar to bears and other hibernating animals.

To find out how the hibernating squirrels hold back their thirst, a powerful force that could potentially wake them up, and researchers measured the blood fluid of dozens of squirrels. Generally, a high blood concentration(血液浓度) makes animals, including humans, feel thirty. The sleeping squirrels' blood concentration was low, preventing them from waking up for a drink. Even when researchers woke up the torpid squirrels, they wouldn’t drink a drop until the team artificially increased the concentration of their blood serum.

Next, the researchers wanted to know how the squirrels’ blood concentration dropped so low. Perhaps the squirrels drank a lot of water before hibernation to dilute(稀释) their blood, the researchers thought. But when they filmed squirrels preparing for their winter snooze, they found the animals actually drank less water than they normally did.

Instead, chemical tests revealed the squirrels regulate their blood concentration by getting rid of electrolytes(电解质)like sodium and other chemicals like glucose and urea and storing them elsewhere in the body (possibly in the bladder), the researchers reported last month in Current Biology. The finding could also explain how other hibernating animals stay containing water.

This new knowledge might one day help humans with conditions such as diabetes(糖尿病), or astronauts who have launched on long space flights. Unfortunately, even if people can figure out how to drop their blood concentration, it’s unlikely they’ll ever be as cute as sleeping squirrels.

1. What do we know about the 13-lined ground squirrels?

A．They don’t hibernate like many other squirrels.

B．They are endangered species in the U. S. Midwest.

C．They can live for months without water during hibernation.

D．Their heart rule and body temperature are extremely abnormal.

2. The hibernating squirrels don' feel thirsty because of their___________.

A．high blood concentration	B．low blood concentration
C．low body temperature	D．high heart rate

3. Hibernating squirrels adjust their blood concentrations by_____________.

A．Drinking much water before hibernation

B．Not eating anything during hibernation

C．Drinking less water than they normally do

D．Removing certain chemicals and storing them somewhere

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the new findings?

A．Objective	B．Positive
C．Disappointing	D．Uncaring

【推荐2】Your first big-screen experience is likely to have been Disney productions --- whether we are talking about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or Frozen --- that have long been considered safe, healthy choices for kids, and pictures that parents can feel they don’t need to screen in advance.

When you are a big person, a movie seen in a theatre is much larger than life; when you're a little person, it can be like a new entry opening in the universe. Those experiences matter, and Disney knows the power --- and the profit potential --- of what's in its values, which helps explain the studio's ongoing strategy of remaking its most popular animated films, often in live-action versions.

How do you feel about director's interpretation of these movies, a combination of live-action filmmaking techniques, virtual-reality methods and computer-generated imaginary, depends largely on how you feel about the original. The stories, even with a gently updated script, are roughly the same. If you've seen the original, you know how the rest of them go.

In the following years, we'll also watch other Disney’s remakes such as Mulan. Any children raised by Disney films would think that this is a great time to be alive. Right?

But judging by critics’ ratings of some live-action movies, it seems that the powerful studio has been unable to wow audiences.

So why more live actions?

The money

Let's face it: Walt Disney Pictures is all about generating more revenue. Even though it did not manage to capture critics, it still managed to catch the audience's hearts. And that is more than enough. After all, films are not made to entertain critics; it's all about creating an ultimate cinematic experience for casual moviegoers. And as long as they're entertained with new interpretations of beloved stories, why stop making live-action films?

Inclusion

When you spend your entire childhood dancing and singing along to these characters, it's beyond magical to see them again when you’re an adult and are the same age as them. That's one of the few magical effects of movies. Not to mention, Aladdin's South Asian cast is also a strong statement for the world. Perhaps this is also the reason why Disney wants Mulan to have an all Asian cast. Let's hope they're not the only ones and Disney is bringing more diverse stories to be told.

Nostalgia (怀旧)

All of these Disney remakes are designed to fuel the nostalgia of boomers, Gen X-ers and millennials, and many of the moviegoers who grew up with these movies, in particular, now have young kids of their own. Little wonder the studio is seeing big dollar signs in them.

1. Disney productions are parents' first choice for kids because they _______.

A．promote children's overall health

B．don't need booking in advance

C．don't need a screen to enjoy them

D．have been enjoying a good reputation

2. Your feeling about the live-action films remade mainly relies on _______.

A．the film-making technology

B．the popularity of the films

C．the familiarity with the story line

D．the computer-generated imaginary

3. In the author's opinion, what could be the main reason for Disney's more live actions?

A．It's trying its best to satisfy both critics and audience.

B．It's sparing no efforts to earn as much revenue as possible.

C．It's seeking and adding global elements to make diverse stories.

D．It's bringing back those sweet memories to its loyal aging fans.

【推荐3】Chef Bruno Abate owns one of the best pizzerias in Chicago. His restaurant makes thin pizzas, heated in an oven with a wood-burning fire. They come with fillings like mushrooms, onions, olives, tomatoes and Italian meats. Each pizza sells for between $12 and $18 at Abate’s restaurant, Tocco. But do you know you can get a similar pizza for half the price at the Cook County Jail (监狱) in Chicago?

Abate leads a cooking school at the jail. He shows prisoners how to make pizza, pasta, and Italian ice cream, called gelato. The cooking school is called “Recipe for Change.” There, behind the jail’s barbed wires and security barriers, a number of students, including Shaquille Slater, are making pizzas. “I like everything I do,” he says.

Slater makes pizza dough (面团), and then adds fillings to the dough. He makes sure the pizza and its fillings look just right before they come out of the oven. He says working with food makes him forget about being in jail. “It brings up memories of days when you were free and when you were having a good time,” he says.

Workers at the cooking school make about 200 pizzas every week. The pizzas are sold to other prisoners in the jail for about $7 each.

Abate says he is teaching cooking skills to the prisoners, and how to use good, fresh in-gredients (佐料). When they finish the class, the Students have skills they can use to find jobs when they are released from prison.

Abate says his program teaches more than how to make food. He helps the students learn that they need to have a plan for their future so they do not return to prison once they leave the prison. “Through food, I try to teach, you know, how to change in life,” Abate says.

1. What would Slater think of when making pizzas?

A．More chances to find a job in the future.

B．His free time before going to prison.

C．His bright life after being set free.

D．Pride in his wonderful pizzas.

2. Where do the pizzas from Cook County Jail go?

A．They are on sale in the prison.

B．They are sold in big supermarkets.

C．They are donated to other prisoners.

D．They are eaten by the students themselves.

3. What is the main goal of Abate’s making pizza program?

A．To help prisoners forget their past.

B．To deliver his skill of making food.

C．To advertise the food in his restaurant.

D．To prepare the prisoners for a new life.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Where Can You Buy Cheap Pizza?

B．Prisoners Can Eat Pizza for Half Price

C．Prisoners Learn to Make Pizza in Chicago

D．How about Running Pizza Restaurant in Prison?