1 . Digital technology -email and smart phones especially - have vastly improved workers’ ability to be productive outside of a traditional office. Even so, most white-collar work still happens in an office. One reason is that, according to findings of a new survey of office workers conducted by Wakefield Research for the IT company Citrix, most bosses are doubtful about remote working. Half of the workers say their boss doesn’t accept it and only 35 percent say it’s tolerated.
Skeptical bosses will likely have their doubts reinforced by the same survey, which shows that 43 percent of workers say they’ve watched TV or a movie while “working” remotely, while 35 percent have done housework, and 28 percent have cooked dinner.
It is true, however, that working at home makes people much more efficient(高效的), because it allows workers to take care of annoying housework while still getting their jobs done. It’s much faster, for example, to shop for groceries at a quarter to three than to stand in line during the after-work rush.
The fact that such practices remain officially unaccepted reflects how far we haven’t come as a society from the days when we expected every full-time worker to be supported by a full-time homemaker.
More broadly the Wakefield survey suggests that employers may be missing a low-cost way to give workers something of value. Sixty-four percent of those survey participants who haven’t worked remotely would rather give up some bonus in order to get even one day a week working from home. Under such circumstances, smart firms need to find ways to let their employees have enough flexibility to manage their time efficiently.
1. Why do some employers hesitate to allow remote working?| A．They fear losing control of their workers. |
| B．They want to stick to their routine practice. |
| C．They have little trust in modern technology. |
| D．They are used to face-to-face communication. |
| A．take care of the annoying children |
| B．watch TV or a film while working |
| C．save a lot of time to get their job done |
| D．enjoy the long wait in the after-work rush |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Reserved | D．Disapproving |
| A．Shorten their office hours. | B．Adopt flexible work patterns. |
| C．Give employees a pay raise. | D．Reduce their staff’s workload. |
2 . It’s hard to find Alice Munro in the media. Even after she won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Canadian writer just appeared for a quick interview and then dropped out of sight. On Dec 29th, she still didn’t seek the spotlight when she was named one of the five Women of the Year by the Financial Times.
In Munro’s eyes, ordinary lives always hide larger dramas. So she records what we casually think of as the everyday actions of normal people. She often focuses on life in her hometown, a small village in Ontario which she is most familiar with. She writes about the ordinary things in the village —trees in the Ontario wilderness, poor country schools and long last illnesses. Above all, she talks about girls and women who have seemingly ordinary lives but struggle against daily misfortune.
She has a special talent for uncovering the extraordinary in the ordinary. These are ordinary people, ordinary stories, but she has the magic. Her precise language, depth of detail and the logic of her storytelling have made her stories inviting.
Runaway, one of Munro’s representative works, is a good example of her writing style. One of the stories centers on the life of an ordinary woman Carla, who lives in a small Canadian town with her husband Clark. The story slowly forms a picture of Carla, trapped in a bad marriage, her unhappiness building into desperation until she decides to flee. The story of Carla is a story of the power and betrayals of love. It is about lost children and lost chances that we can all find in life. There is pain beneath the surface, like a needle in the heart.
Since she published her first collection of short stories in 1968, Munro has won many awards, with the Nobel Prize being her biggest honor. On Oct 10th, 2013, the Nobel Prize committee named Munro the “master of the contemporary short story”.
1. We learn from Paragraph 1 that Alice Munro ________.| A．didn’t get on well with the media | B．was surprised at winning the Nobel Prize |
| C．didn’t value the title of Women of the Year | D．remained modest though very successful |
| A．center on the happy life of country women |
| B．are about betrayals of love and violence |
| C．focus on everyday life of ordinary people |
| D．are romantic stories setting in her hometown |
| A．The complicated plots. | B．Her rich imagination. |
| C．The humorous language. | D．Her writing techniques. |
| A．tries to run away from her husband | B．is a faithful wife to her husband |
| C．leads a happy life with Clark | D．loses all hopes for a better life |
| A．Alice Munro and her hometown. | B．Alice Munro and her writing style. |
| C．Alice Munro’s representative works. | D．The awards Alice Munro won. |
3 . Acting & Musical Theater
The Summer Acting & Musical Theater program, which starts on Friday, July 3 and ends on Thursday, July 23, is created for talented students who have been inspired by musical theater.
The program develops the abilities of experienced performers who are serious about the field and eager to work hard. Our goal is to help you grow creatively through full-time, college-level theatre training under the direction of popular professional performers and teachers.
The students can improve their performance skills and can get the knowledge about the history of theater, the style of theater and so on. Students will complete the program with improved audition(试演) skills.
Classes aim to improve your command of body, mind and voice. Students will take a trip to see at least one professional production with program teachers. An exhibition of the students’ class work will be presented at the conclusion of the program to family, friends, students from other Summer College programs, and the University community.
Program Costs:
Accommodation: $3, 359: Traffic: $2, 234
Audition requirements:
Auditions should include the following video materials:
●Two different songs;
●One age-suitable monologue(独白);
●One short dance part;
●A personal statement regarding your background and training, experience in performances, and personal goals in theater;
●Each part of the audition should be about one minute in length;
●You should be the only person shown in the audition;
●The audition is given online with your application.
Typical day:
9: 00 am to noon classes focus on musical theater, including acting, voice, movement, dance and scene study.
1: 00 to 4: 00 pm classes involve additional work in acting, movement, and voice, along with rehearsals(排练) for public performances.
1. What do you know about the program?| A．Students can have chances to audition in films. |
| B．The program helps students grow healthily. |
| C．The program will last for three weeks. |
| D．The program provides accommodation for free. |
| A．writing | B．performance | C．conference | D．guidance |
| A．seldom attend classes in the morning | B．cannot be taught by well-known actors |
| C．will get some information about theater | D．will usually perform for college students |
| A．a performance with your partner | B．a short dance part in one minute |
| C．an online introduction of yourself | D．a suitable monologue in one minute |
| A．To tell us how to hold a musical theater program successfully. |
| B．To call on more and more students to pay attention to theater. |
| C．To introduce the development of the Summer Acting program. |
| D．To attract more students loving performances to attend the program. |
4 . Thirteen can be a challenging age. Not only did I have to
When we moved, my beloved
Cowboy was without a doubt the
And then I realized that my only chance to
My turn
| A．worry about | B．adapt to | C．control | D．stretch |
| A．upsetting | B．exciting | C．smooth | D．wrong |
| A．leader | B．idol | C．companion | D．follower |
| A．borrowed | B．donated | C．drew | D．purchased |
| A．shortest | B．ugliest | C．strongest | D．sweetest |
| A．point out | B．hold back | C．look into | D．care about |
| A．faced | B．made | C．discussed | D．explained |
| A．improving | B．breaking | C．racing | D．failing |
| A．where | B．which | C．when | D．what |
| A．rarely | B．temporarily | C．smoothly | D．quickly |
| A．rewarding | B．similar | C．pleasant | D．bitter |
| A．compete | B．learn | C．doubt | D．withdraw |
| A．waited | B．rested | C．farmed | D．practiced |
| A．gradually | B．slowly | C．finally | D．secretly |
| A．knocked | B．rounded | C．carried | D．escaped |
| A．starting | B．finishing | C．central | D．straight |
| A．smiles | B．applause | C．silence | D．tears |
| A．audience | B．announcer | C．competitors | D．guests |
| A．In fact | B．After all | C．As a result | D．On the contrary |
| A．dreamer | B．supporter | C．winner | D．partner |
5 . The Right and Left Brain
It is common today to identify, in some way, with one side of the brain. You may think, for example, that you are more “right brain” than “left”. When we make such statements, we are referring to the fact that the two halves of the human brain deal with information from the senses, and hence the world, in different ways. In general, the left hemisphere(半球)is responsible for our processing of language and logic and the right deals with aspects of thought like emotions and spatial(空间的)relationships. The hemispheres also control our movements, though the left hemisphere controls the right side of our bodies, and vice versa.
The fact that the two hemispheres of the brain work in different ways on different tasks is a relatively new discovery. That discovery was made by a psychobiologist(精神生物学家)named Roger Sperry and it won him a Nobel Prize in 1981. Sperry uncovered the inner workings of normal brains by studying the brain function of people who had a certain kind of brain damage. In most brains, the nerves, which serves as a “bridge” of sorts between the two hemispheres; allowing them to communicate with each other. The people Sperry studied had had their corpus callosa cut, and because of this, their left and right brains couldn’t exchange information.
In a famous experiment, Sperry showed one such subject two pictures. The subject saw a picture of a knife with his right eye(controlled by the left brain)and a picture of a spoon with his left(controlled by the right). When asked to name what he saw, the subject said knife, because it is the left brain that deals with language and the naming of things. However, when asked to reach over with his left hand to a nearby table on which was placed both a knife and a spoon, and choose, without looking, the object he saw, the subject chose the spoon. This is because his left eye (controlled by the right brain)saw the spoon and his left hand(also controlled by the right brain)chose this rather than the knife. The subject himself was not at all conscious of the fact that he was seeing and choosing two different objects.
Until recently, it was thought that there was a strict division of labour. Today, however, we are aware that, for example, while the left brain is responsible for most of the language functions, the right brain plays a role in some language functions like following a story and interpreting humour. Tasks such as face recognition require both halves in different ways. Unfamiliar faces are interpreted and processed by the right hemisphere while familiar faces are processed and recognized by the left. Similarly, non-musicians will interpret a melody with their right brain, but musicians will process music with their left.
1. The right hemisphere of the human brain is responsible for ______.| A．language | B．emotions |
| C．sense of touch | D．the right side of the body |
| A．the connection between vision and touch |
| B．people with damaged brains |
| C．people with normal brains |
| D．the corpus callosum |
| A．only found in abnormal human brains |
| B．found between the two hemispheres |
| C．part of the left hemisphere. |
| D．where memory is stored |
| A．one half of the brain processes language and the other processes touch |
| B．people are not conscious of the left and right halves of their brain |
| C．the two hemispheres of the brain function in different ways |
| D．people see differently with each eye |
| A．thought the spoon was a knife |
| B．was not aware that he was seeing two images |
| C．was unable to process visual information accurately |
| D．could not tell the difference between a spoon and a knife. |
| A．the left side of the brain processes music more efficiently |
| B．the left side of the brain deals with familiar material |
| C．listening to music requires both halves of the brain |
| D．musicians are born with more developed left brains |
Moderator(主持人)
Today marks the last day of the Social Media Detox, Brenton High’s fundraising campaign for new sports equipment. At the start of the detox, over 100 students had been persuaded to stop using social media, in ANY form, for seven days. This meant no messaging friends, no posting photos, no blogging - nothing. They had been promised money by family and friends for each day spent without using social media. They were excited. They were nervous. But could they do it?
With the detox finished, they’ve switched on their devices and they’re back online. I bet you’re as eager as I am to find out just how many have been motivated enough to last the full seven days! And what, if anything, have been learnt from the experience?
Anna 17
I lasted two days. The detox was more difficult to tolerate than I had expected. I felt like I had lost an arm! Not eating for two days would have been easier! But on reflection, I can see how much of my time had been occupied with checking my phone. I’m now trying to spend less time online and more time picking up my hobbies.
Devon 16
I lasted four days. On Monday, our classmate and I spoke about what we did at the weekend — it felt strange not to already know what he had done. We would have posted pictures and updated our profiles. Doing the detox meant we had to talk and explain what we were doing and thinking! It made me realise the value of real contact that I had forgotten.
Cindy 18
I managed the whole week! At first, I really felt I was missing out. Then, instead of messaging my friend, I went around to her house. Without our phones, we had a proper conversation for over two hours. Without being distracted by messages from other people, it felt so good! Then I decided to visit a different friend every day. By the fifth day, I wondered – was I really missing out by not constantly checking my phone to see what everyone else was up to?
George 16
I did all seven days, too! To be honest, I didn’t find the detox too difficult, but I did give my phone to my father to avoid giving in! My brother thought I should make full use of the time without my phone; so he took me to check out our local sports centre. An hour’s sport each day left me tired out and sent me early to bed. The detox made me healthier!
Max 17
I’m embarrassed to say that I threw in the towel on the first day! I knew there was a party happening that evening, but I without access to social media I couldn’t remember where it was! In the end, I turn on my phone to check, but couldn’t resist having a quick look at my social media accounts. What’s worse, I then spent so much time catching up on news, I almost missed the party.
Moderator(主持人)
The detox raised a total of $1,632.82 for. new school sports equipment! Well done, everyone who took part! After, reading the posts on this forum, it seems that something rather than money has also been raised through the detox. Awareness of just how much we rely on social media can help us step away from it and communicate with each other better.
1. What was Devon’s reflection on the Social Media Detox?| A．He realised the value of real contact. |
| B．He felt healthier because of the detox. |
| C．He found it more difficult to tolerate than expected. |
| D．He thought too much of his time had been occupied by the phone. |
| A．Critical. | B．Irresponsible. | C．Positive. | D．Unwilling. |
| A．Max. | B．George. | C．Devon. | D．Anna. |
| A．Strengthening family relationships. |
| B．Raising money for new sports equipment. |
| C．Sharpening students’ communication skills. |
| D．Reducing students’ reliance on social media. |
| A．Phones. | B．Picking up hobbies. |
| C．Sports equipment. | D．Putting up posts. |
7 . There is an old Chinese proverb that states “One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.” and this is how it should be with mothers and daughters. The relationship between a mother and a daughter is sometimes confusing. The relationship can be similar to friendship. However, the mother and daughter relationship has unique characteristics that distinguish it from a friendship. These characteristics include a hierarchy(等级)of responsibilities and unconditional love, which preclude mothers and daughters from being best friends.
Marina, 27 years old, said, “I love spending time with my mom, but I wouldn’t consider her my best friend. Best friends don’t pay for your wedding. Best friends don’t remind you how they carried you in their body and gave you life! Best friends don’t tell you how wise they are because they have been living at least 20 years longer than you.”
This doesn’t mean that the mother and daughter relationship can’t be very close and satisfying. This generation of mothers and adult daughters has a lot in common, which increases the likelihood of shared companionship. Mothers and daughter shave always shared the common experience of being homemakers, responsible for maintaining and passing on family values and traditions. Today contemporary mothers and daughters also share the experience of work and technology, which may bring them even closer together.
Best friends may or may not continue to be best friends, but for better or worse, the mother and daughter relationship is permanent, even if for some unfortunate reason they aren’t speaking. Sometimes this is not an equal relationship. Daughters don’t always feel responsible for their mother’s emotional well-being. But mothers never stop being mothers, which includes frequently wanting to protect their daughters and often feeling responsible for their happiness. The mother and daughter relationship is a relationship that is not replaceable by any other. Mothers always “trump” friends.
1. What does the underlined word “preclude” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Differ. | B．Benefit. | C．Prevent. | D．Change. |
| A．Her mother is anything but her best friend. |
| B．Best friends will not remind her of important issues in life. |
| C．Her mother is wiser on account of her age. |
| D．Best friends will not spend money on her wedding. |
| A．Because they share advanced technology with each other. |
| B．Because they work together to support the whole family. |
| C．Because they experience the same values and traditions. |
| D．Because they have common experience in life and work. |
| A．A mother-daughter relationship can be replaced by friendship. |
| B．A mother’s love brings her and her daughter a close friendship. |
| C．It’s impossible for Marina to develop relationship with her mother. |
| D．A mother-daughter relationship goes beyond best friendship. |
| A．How to Be a Good Mother and Daughter |
| B．Generation Gap between Mother and Daughter |
| C．Can a Mother Be a Daughter’s Best Friend? |
| D．Daughters Be Independent from Mothers |
8 . At a farm off Narrow Lane near Lexington, Kentucky, US, old-fashioned houses look over the little red barn (畜棚). The farm is mostly empty now because Jim Mahan and his family, who lived there for generations, have
But during the summer, the barn is
The dozen or so children who take care of their goats and sheep at the little red barn must take a six-hour class
Mahan lets the group use the barn for free, and the kids
There are valuable
| A．returned | B．moved | C．arrived | D．got |
| A．mixed with | B．dealt with | C．filled with | D．satisfied with |
| A．owners | B．characters | C．trainers | D．members |
| A．parents | B．kids | C．families | D．citizens |
| A．before | B．after | C．when | D．unless |
| A．it | B．those | C．them | D．one |
| A．spend | B．ignore | C．limit | D．waste |
| A．So | B．For | C．But | D．And |
| A．certain | B．horrible | C．limited | D．special |
| A．which | B．who | C．whom | D．what |
| A．feed | B．play | C．run | D．seek |
| A．approaches | B．methods | C．lessons | D．choices |
| A．loudly | B．slowly | C．highly | D．carelessly |
| A．humor | B．responsibility | C．achievement | D．belonging |
| A．learning from | B．taking up | C．looking over | D．caring for |
9 . Sitting back in my seat, I can’t quite believe that I’m about to travel along the railway that many foreign experts claimed was “impossible”. The train has been racing along steadily since it left Xining. All this time, the song “Sky Railway” has been
I was one of the people who came from all parts of China to work on this railway.
The first
To prevent
The journey has been flying by, and before I know it, we have reached Tanggula Station.
As we pass Cuona Lake, I feel a sense of pride and achievement. Using thousands and thousands of sandbags, we built a twenty-kilometre wall along the lake to protect it from construction waste. Cuona Lake is so close to the railway that I want to
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has been attracting people’s admiration for centuries. Now, thanks to our efforts, passengers from all over the country have been enjoying these magical landscapes. I am proud that we built our “impossible” railway, and did so with the care that the environment
| A．playing | B．expressing | C．viewing | D．singing |
| A．legal | B．cute | C．vivid | D．formal |
| A．Spending | B．Taking | C．Investing | D．Wasting |
| A．create | B．determine | C．suffer | D．overcome |
| A．protect | B．destroy | C．ignore | D．mix |
| A．entrance | B．landmark | C．impression | D．event |
| A．leisure | B．request | C．risk | D．expense |
| A．condition | B．habitat | C．state | D．common |
| A．bridges | B．railways | C．mountains | D．passages |
| A．grateful | B．guilty | C．unaware | D．happy |
| A．spread | B．infection | C．damage | D．panic |
| A．a long history of | B．a large area of | C．a high cost of | D．a total length of |
| A．Located | B．Started | C．Ended | D．Instructed |
| A．strongest | B．fastest | C．newest | D．highest |
| A．mild | B．warm | C．changeable | D．stable |
| A．challenge | B．talent | C．limit | D．opportunity |
| A．quiet | B．healthy | C．calm | D．open |
| A．commercial | B．regular | C．formal | D．casual |
| A．blow away | B．pay off | C．reach out | D．give in |
| A．influences | B．provides | C．collects | D．deserves |
10 . Spring lifts our spirits. It’s a time for Nature to bring us back to life after a cold season. I live not far from the Kairaku Park, which is one of the largest gardens in Japan, and famous for its near 10,000 plum trees. I am fortunate to have them all outside my backyard, and take advantage of the walking paths daily.
I see the same trees and swans every day, but that day was different. At the edge of the small lake, I saw some new-born black swans. They were pretty and cute. They stayed with their mom. While taking a few photos of the sunset, I was interrupted by a high sound going on for some time. So I turned around and saw one little swan was stuck by two stones. Its mother was trying to make it out but failed. I tried to get near but the mother was ever so angry! She wouldn’t allow me to get close, so I turned to an old man sitting on the bench and said, “Excuse me, the swan baby can’t move and I want to help it, but the mother is extremely angry! Could you please do me a favor?”
After hearing my words, the man smiled at me first and then agreed to help me. He drove the mother away with great efforts, and for several times, he was almost hurt by the mother. Thanks to him, I was able to get there and push the little swan out of the gap finally. Oh, I really hoped it wasn’t injured, but at least it was alive and swimming!
In spring, I become more physically active. Things around don’t make us, but Nature does, and it keeps us going. I am positive that all of us have a little piece of nature in our own neighborhoods. Somewhere we will be reminded why natural life is so important because we grow with it! Personally, I am happy that baby birds can put a smile on my face! I struggle for having a small number of “things” in life, and being filled with simple reality — at one with Nature.
1. What can we know about the author from Paragraph 1?| A．Her favorite season is spring. |
| B．She enjoys doing outdoor sports. |
| C．Her backyard is filled with plum trees. |
| D．She is satisfied with her living environment. |
| A．She took a few photos of the sunset. |
| B．She made a little swan’s mother angry. |
| C．She met some swans and helped one of them. |
| D．She met an old man and made friends with him. |
| A．Patient. | B．Warm-hearted. | C．Selfish. | D．Outgoing. |
| A．Nature. | B．The neighborhood. |
| C．The garden. | D．The things around. |
| A．is really a nature lover |
| B．is short of some life skills |
| C．calls on people to help the weak |
| D．transforms her plan into reality |
