1 . How many bosses could rely on their employees threatening to quit in mass if they were abruptly forced out? Sam Altman received such a show of support from more than 700 staff after he was fired from Open AI that he was swiftly restored to his position by the board. But this level of loyalty is not typical and may not always be a good thing.
Management experts say staff who are loyal to their employer are inclined to invest more time and effort in their jobs, helping to create an engaged and higher performing workplace. In turn they receive pro notions and pay rises. They have a greater sense of belonging and potentially a longer career at the same organisation. But it is not all rosy. People who are too loyal are more likely to take actions that are deemed wrong to keep their jobs and protect their employer, according to a 2021 academic paper. They might overlook wrongdoing and be less likely to expose corruption. Loyalty is sometimes seen as such a force for good that it can be used to justify bad behavior.
Often companies and senior bosses are the real winner a of employee loyalty. Research led by Matthew Stanley at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business published this year, found that managers were more likely to exploit loyal individuals. Stanley recruited almost 1,400 managers to read about a fictional 29-year-old employee called John, who worked for a company that was trying to keep costs down. They had to decide how willing they would be to ask John to work longer hours and take on more work without more pay. Researchers created various situations including labelling John as loyal versus other traits such as honest and fair. Managers were more willing to ask loyal John to take on the burden of unpaid work.
However, Consultancy Gallup’s latest state of the workplace report showed that half of the 122, 416 employees who took part in a global survey were looking out for new work. “You can’t guarantee anyone will stick around these days,” says a consultant who advises boards. This is particularly true of younger generations. They trust their bosses less and are not as patient when it comes to career progression, seeing little benefit in keeping their heads down and following orders if they do not see results quickly.
1. What does the author want to say by mentioning Sam Altman in Paragraph 1?A.Open AI’s staff loyalty is quite high. |
B.Staff loyalty’s rosy side in the work. |
C.Sam Altman could count on his employees. |
D.This level of loyalty is not always good. |
A.Through global surveys concerning a fictional employee named John. |
B.By creating different situations to ask John ta take on more unpaid work. |
C.By asking managers to make decisions about work arrangements of John. |
D.By recruiting managers to read fiction about work traits like loyal and honest. |
A.Loyalty can be used by management to exploit employees. |
B.Younger generations are more patient towards their employers. |
C.Employees who are loyal are more likely to report wrongdoing. |
D.Loyalty to an employer always leads to a positive work environment. |
A.How Job Loyalty Affects the Work Environment? |
B.Why Staff Loyalty is Not Always a Good Thing? |
C.Are Loyal Employees More Likely to be Promoted? |
D.Does Work Loyalty Help Career Progress More Quickly? |
2 . Julia Jarman’s family was upset when she was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer. But soon, her grandson Vigil made a plan to fill Jarman’s last days with an unforgettable
When Vigil’s high school prom (舞会) was
As other teenagers walked into the prom with girls of their
The DJ played Jarman’s favorite song. Vigil recalled the
Vigil’s mother felt proud of him for making a(n)
“That night was wonderful.” Jarman revealed
1.A.dream | B.memory | C.adventure | D.convenience |
A.attacking | B.performing | C.approaching | D.identifying |
A.suggestion | B.comment | C.decision | D.encouragement |
A.never | B.frequently | C.sometimes | D.once |
A.habit | B.purpose | C.order | D.rule |
A.begged | B.contacted | C.enabled | D.thanked |
A.information | B.permission | C.composition | D.explanation |
A.organize | B.reserve | C.observe | D.attend |
A.refused | B.considered | C.accepted | D.expected |
A.age | B.height | C.class | D.family |
A.agree | B.adapt | C.react | D.stick |
A.puzzled | B.discouraged | C.ashamed | D.relieved |
A.hopeful | B.generous | C.touching | D.proud |
A.money | B.effort | C.belief | D.trouble |
A.special | B.tough | C.regular | D.familiar |
3 . Songs that make our hearts happy can make them stronger too, US researchers reported on Tuesday.
They found that when people listened to their favorite music, their blood vessels (血管) dilated in much the same way as when they are laughing, or taking blood medications (药物治疗).
“We have a pretty impressive effect,” said Dr Michael Miller, director of preventive cardiology (心脏病学) at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
“Blood vessel diameter (直径) improved,” he said. “The vessel opened up pretty significantly. You can see the vessels opening up with other activities such as exercise.” A similar effect is seen with drugs such as statins (抑制素).
When blood vessels open up more, blood flows more smoothly and is less likely to form the clots (凝块) that cause heart attacks and strokes. “We are not saying to stop your statins or not to exercise but rather to add this to an overall program of heart health,” said Miller.
Miller’s team tested 10 healthy, non-smoking men and women, who were told to bring their favorite music. They spent half an hour listening to the recordings and half an hour listening to music they said made them feel anxious while the researchers did ultrasound (超声波) tests designed to show blood vessel function.
Compared to their normal baseline measurements, blood vessel diameter increased 26% on average when the volunteers heard their joyful music. Listening to music they disliked — in most cases in this group heavy metal-blood vessels narrowed by 6%, Miller said.
Miller said he came up with the idea after discovering that laughter caused blood to flow more smoothly. “I asked myself what other things make us feel good, besides calories from dark chocolate of course. Music came to mind. It makes me feel really good.” he said.
Most of the volunteers chose country music but Miller said the style is not so important as what pleases each individual.
1. The underlined word “dilate” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “________”.A.widen | B.move | C.change | D.increase |
A.Taking exercise. | B.Listening to unpleasant music. |
C.Bursting into laughter. | D.Taking drugs like statins. |
A.blood clots are caused by heart attacks and strokes |
B.music is better than chocolate for your health |
C.different music has different effects on different people |
D.a person’s overall health is more influenced by how much exercise he gets |
A.A travel journal. | B.A school textbook. |
C.A medical brochure. | D.A local newspaper. |
4 . When Capt. Greg Galeazzi joined the Army seven years ago, he was well aware of the risks of injuries or even death he would face. In 2011, the risks became Galeazzi’s reality — he got terribly injured in an explosion where he lost his double legs. “I was a shell of a man,” he said. “Who I was, was gone.”
Before his injury, playing the guitar had been a special pastime for Galeazzi. Music had always been important to him. He felt deep sadness because he thought he’d lost his ability to play music.
However, everything changed when Galeazzi joined MusiCorps, a music rehabilitation (康复) program for severely wounded soldiers who are recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. “We match the injured troops with professional musicians,” said Arthur Bloom, who founded the program in 2007. “They help wounded soldiers play music and recover their lives.”
Bloom, a graduate of the Yale School of Music, offers his services to patients at Walter Reed who have an interest in playing an instrument. Program participants practice technique, write and record music. Or they may just get together for a jam session (即兴演奏会).
The journey to recovery for many soldiers is a long one. It can require dozens of operations and many years spent in hospitals. There’s so much downtime at Walter Reed, and that’s what they fill up with music.
Since 2007, Bloom and his group have helped hundreds of wounded soldiers. For Galeazzi, joining MusiCorps has helped restore his confidence and made him more optimistic about his future. “Something survived that horrible injury in Afghanistan,” Galeazzi said. “Arthur and his program changed my outlook on what is possible.”
“I’ve seen guys going through such a hard time with their injuries that they are very withdrawn,” Bloom said. “The music becomes their new way of communicating. It can be just as powerful as the spoken word. By injecting music into this space, we can inject life.”
1. Which of the following is NOT true about Greg Galeazzi?A.He clearly knew the risks he would take of being a soldier. |
B.He was at one time in total depression about losing his legs. |
C.Joining MusiCorps started up his enthusiasm in playing music again. |
D.It was music that played a key role in healing his soul. |
A.To offer the participants professional help on how to produce music. |
B.To reduce the pain in the participants’ medical treatment. |
C.To organize music performances by the participants. |
D.To help the injured soldiers regain confidence in life through music. |
A.negative | B.positive | C.indifferent | D.neutral |
A.Music heals the wounded | B.Confidence rebuilds one in hopelessness |
C.He who loses faith, loses all | D.Music knows no borders |
5 . In 1835, William Talbot finally succeeded in producing a photograph of his country house. He declared that his was the first house ever known to have drawn its own picture. The drawing was formed “by the action of light upon sensitive paper. ” Photography offered nature a “pencil” to paint herself through optical (光学的) and chemical means alone.
By the mid-nineteenth century, people no longer needed to hire a draftsman to draw detailed images because the process could be completed instantly with a camera. Advocates for the technology stated that not only was it more precise than the human hand-it was faster and cheaper.
The removal of human fallibility in the creating process was one of photography’s biggest selling points, but this also started debates about the new medium’s implications for visual culture. Could images made largely by a machine be considered art? If so, where did human creativity fit in this process?
As the twenty-first century becomes increasingly automated (自动化的), more and more people attempt to identify where human agency exists in the technologically driven world. Images generated with artificial intelligence by companies like OpenAI are stimulating questions like those that emerged with the coming of the photograph. By typing a sentence, users can generate “new” images composed from images collected across the internet. The result has been a flood of AI-generated images in places that are previously unique to human authors. Painting competitions, commercial graphic design and the fashion of portraiture (肖像) have all since collided with the technology in troubling ways.
The fine arts were thought to be a final hold-out of human creativity, but the surprisingly high quality of AI-generated images is producing deeper questions about the nature of originality. If the history of photography tells us anything, it’s that the debate won’t be settled quickly, straightforwardly or by the institutions we typically associate with cultural gatekeeping.
1. Why did Talbot declare that his house had drawn its own picture?A.To downplay human factors in the creation. | B.To investigate a supernatural phenomenon. |
C.To show his advanced knowledge in science. | D.To demonstrate the beauty of his country house. |
A.The photo of Talbot’s house. | B.The image by a draftsman. |
C.The technology of a camera. | D.The paper sensitive to light. |
A.They improve the taste of beauty. | B.They advocate fashion designs. |
C.They challenge human agency. | D.They produce original images. |
A.Cultural gatekeepers will solve the issue as they did. |
B.AI-generated images will go through a similar debate. |
C.The nature of originality will be held in human hands. |
D.The fine arts will include photography and AI images. |
6 . As my son entered adolescence, we spent most of our time in separate rooms. I know it’s
I saw him
Travelling meant we were more like
A.interesting | B.natural | C.Strange | D.legal |
A.pick | B.keep | C.draw | D.talk |
A.Driven | B.Burdened | C.Touched | D.Improved |
A.dropped by | B.got through | C.looked up | D.headed to |
A.lucky | B.tidy | C.sleepy | D.busy |
A.friends | B.plans | C.mood | D.chance |
A.fighting | B.stopping | C.begging | D.hunting |
A.space | B.news | C.value | D.money |
A.assistant | B.passenger | C.resident | D.guide |
A.maintain | B.fix | C.observe | D.hire |
A.differently | B.immediately | C.accurately | D.traditionally |
A.stand | B.gather | C.freeze | D.hold |
A.impact | B.strike | C.negotiate | D.progress |
A.streams | B.tourists | C.actors | D.equals |
A.dream | B.child | C.male | D.future |
7 . In order to meet growing food production and energy needs in low-and middle-income countries, solar-powered groundwater irrigation (灌溉) is rapidly gaining ground. More than 500,000 solar pumps (泵) have been set up in south Asia over the last few years and a major expansion is planned across sub-Saharan Africa.
Dustin Garrick, professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, along with an international team, examined the trend toward solar pumps as a clear opportunity for boosting agricultural yields and reducing poverty, but the opportunity comes with risks.
While replacing electric or gas pumps with solar-powered irrigation holds the promise of reducing carbon emissions (排放), it is not guaranteed. Farmers who have access to these pumps may expand production of crops or diversify into other activities, which are not emissions neutral. Solar pumps will increase groundwater pumping efficiency, which may be desirable in regions that support such increases, but this could worsen groundwater lessening in regions that are already stressed. The cheap clean energy of solar pumps may lead to increased groundwater development, without necessarily decreasing overall emissions.
Despite these challenges, the clean-energy boost can serve as a stimulus for positive change in water and energy management but will require enhanced regulation and planning in both low-and high-income settings. Garrick and his team advocate for improved data collection initiatives, with a shift from separated to integrated approaches. They suggest using technology to measure water pumping and collecting remotely sensed data to monitor land use changes. As well, regulatory improvements are crucial, with mounting limits for carbon emissions and groundwater lessening established at various levels.
With groundwater management already a difficult challenge, we must act fast to understand the implications of the clean energy boost and poverty reduction acts to avoid these gains being won away by wells running dry. The rapid adoption of solar irrigation intensifies the urgency, demanding adaptation from governments and institutions to sail through these complexities.
1. According to paragraph 3, there is a conflict between ________.A.poor farmers and solar-powered irrigation | B.human consumption and clean energy limits |
C.crop diversity and crop production expansion | D.pumping efficiency and groundwater exhaustion |
A.Integrating data collection and regulation. | B.Improving carbon emission monitoring. |
C.Separating data for land use changes. | D.Establishing groundwater levels. |
A.Perform as the authorities suggest. | B.Act based on further understanding. |
C.Quicken the adoption of solar irrigation. | D.Challenge the groundwater management. |
A.The Complexities of Adopting Solar Pumps |
B.Solar-Powered Irrigation: Farmers’ New Future |
C.The Promise and Risks of Solar-Powered Irrigation |
D.Balancing Clean Energy Boost and Poverty Reduction |
8 . What’s the truth of joy? I was obsessed with this question when I was young. However,ever since I started my own family, this quest has been buried under my workloads and daily chores.
In 2008, Memorial Day weekend promised to deliver beautiful weather—not always the case at that time of year, so I decided to spend that Saturday shopping and do one big cleaning, starting with the garage. Our two-car garage, as always, was full of stuff. Boxes piled one on top of another, bikes crossed together. A garden hose (软水管) sat in a corner. We had to turn sideways when getting in and out. I planned to pull everything out on the driveway, hose down the entire garage, and after it was dry, put everything back more organized.
With the morning moving along, the possibility to finish the cleaning within the day began to look less and less likely. I recalled how I had been feeling discontented lately while taking care of our stuff. Here was yet another time!Then my neighbor June, who was working in her yard, heard my sigh and said jokingly, “The joy of home ownership, huh? That’s why my daughter keeps telling me I don’t need to own all this stuff.”
I don’t need to own all this stuff.
As I turned to look at the fruits of my morning labor, I began to recognize the source of my feelings for the first time. It was piled up in my driveway. As I surveyed the pile I made, the answer to the obsolete (被遗忘的) question came to light: There is more joy to be found in possessing less than we can ever find possessing more.
I ran inside the house and found my wife upstairs cleaning the bathtub. Still trying to catch my breath, tI said, “Kim, you’ll never guess what just happened. June said we don’t need to own all this stuff!”
And in that moment, a minimalist family was born.
1. Which of the following best describes the to-be-cleaned garage?A.Spacious and well-lit. | B.Neatly labeled and sorted. |
C.Disordered and jam-packed. | D.Narrow and weather-beaten. |
A.He went through unaccountable frustration. | B.He figured out his disinterest in cleaning. |
C.He initiated it and enjoyed the process. | D.He lost patience and rushed to the end. |
A.The pleasure of possessing a home. | B.The significance of owning a family. |
C.The convenience of having a garage. | D.The demands of maintaining a house. |
A.He favored living with a handful of people. | B.He wanted to quit being a slave of stuff. |
C.He considered cleaning a waste of time. | D.He figured out the joy of ownership. |
9 . What is China? China is very diverse. It not only has skyscrapers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, but also has vast rural fields and the rural society. In September 2017, we started a social enterprise, Beyond the City, which connects urban and rural areas: hoping to help urban children expand their rural horizons and help rural children learn more about career possibilities.
We created the Rural Filed Study Project and brought 1000 children from more than 30 cities to the Tibetan area of Ganzi plateau, the terraces of the Red River in Yunnan, as well as the ancient hunting tribe of Aoluguya. Instead of traveling of teaching as volunteers, we lived in the locals’ homes and took courses in social research, opera performances, architectural design, etc.
Also, we initiated the City Career Planning Project and brought more than 100 rural children from deep within the mountains of Liangshan to Shanghai to study courses about career planning and development. so as to help them to understand all walks of life and get to know a real city life. We try our best to help them avoid the fate of dropping out when they still have the chance to choose.
Additionally, we established the Career Connection Workshop, attempting to bring quality education and career courses in first-tier cities to children in towns and small cities, connecting textbook knowledge with future careers and offline classes with online resources. Evolving from this platform, we are now embarking on the path to launch the Digital Skills Exchange Workshops within the next two years.
Beyond the City is committed to build mutual trust and connection between urban and rural areas, addressing inequalities and laying the foundations for a more equal world.
1. What did the city children do in the Rural Filed Study Project?A.They learned hunting. | B.They travelled in Yunnan. |
C.They volunteered to teach. | D.They took various courses. |
A.The Rural Filed Study Project. | B.The City Career Planning Project. |
C.The Career Connection Workshop. | D.The Digital Skills Exchange Workshops. |
A.To observe inequalities in education. | B.To offer children more job opportunities. |
C.To expose children to their local cultures. | D.To bridge the gap between cities and villages. |
10 . Technology seems to discourage slow, immersive reading. Reading on a screen tires your eyes and makes it harder for you to keep your place. Online writing tends to be more skimmable than print. The cognitive neuroscientist Mary Walt argued recently that this “new norm” of skim reading is producing “an invisible, game-changing transformation” in how readers process words. The neuronal circuit (回路) that sustains the brain’s capacity to read now favors the rapid absorption of information.
We shouldn’t exaggerate this danger. All readers skim. From about the age of nine, our eyes start to bounce around the page, reading only about a quarter of the words properly, and filling in the gaps by inference. So far, the anxieties have proved to be false alarms. “Quite a few critics have been worried about attention spans lately and see very short stories as signs of cultural decline,” the American author Selvin Brown wrote. “No one ever said that poems were evidence of short attention spans.”
And yet the Internet has certainly changed the way we read. For a start, it means that there is more to read, because more people than ever are writing. And digital writing is meant for rapid release and response. This mode of writing and reading can be interactive and fun. But often it treats other people’s words as something to be quickly harvested as fodder (素材) to say something else. Everyone talks over the top of everyone else, desperate to be heard.
Perhaps we should slow down. Reading is constantly promoted as a social good and source of personal achievement. To a slow reader, a piece of writing can only be fully understood by immersing oneself in the words. and their slow comprehension of a line of thought,
The human need for this kind of deep reading is too tenacious for any new technology to destroy. We often assume that technological change can’t be stopped and happens in one direction, so that older media like “dead-tree” books are kicked out by newer, more virtual forms. In practice, older technologies can coexist with new ones. The Kindle has not killed off the printed book any more than the car killed off the bicycle. We still want to enjoy slowly formed ideas and carefully-chosen words. Even in a fast-moving age, there is time for slow reading.
1. What would Selvin Brown probably agree?A.The culture is on the decline. | B.Online writing ruins immersive reading. |
C.Worries of attention spans are unnecessary. | D.Reading poems is important to attention spans. |
A.It lays the foundation for fast reading. |
B.It counts on regular interaction with the readers. |
C.It requires writers to give up traditional writing modes. |
D.It causes too much talking and inadequate deep reflection. |
A.Slowly-changed. | B.Fast-advanced. | C.Deep-rooted. | D.Rarely-noticed. |
A.Slow Reading: Here to Stay | B.Immersive Reading: So Wonderful |
C.Reading Habits: Constantly Changing | D.Digital vs Print: A Life-and-Death Struggle |