1 . If you dream about working and meanwhile travelling in different countries, we’ve made a list of jobs that allow you to tour around the globe while earning some money!
A Travel NurseIf you’re in the medical field, becoming a travel nurse is a good option. A travel nurse in worldwide demand is well paid, so medical professionals can wear uniforms on any continent. The nursing assignments vary in the length of working time. You can enjoy accommodation payment and insurance benefits, but you have to work in the high-stress environment.
A WaiterA waiter abroad is a popular choice for young travelers because some restaurants don’t require much precious experience or qualifications, but they do not have access to high health insurance. Many people do service work for a while to earn enough money to travel abroad for the rest of the year. It’s OK for those without family to deal with customers at night, but they can’t get high wages.
An English TeacherEnglish is one of the world’s most spoken languages, so there is always a demand for people who can teach it. Being an English teacher abroad often requires a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification. There are some popular destinations for prospective teachers. However, as teachers abroad, especially part-time teachers, their salaries are not high.
An Oil Industry WorkerOil industry is one of the highest paying fields for both skilled and unskilled workers, with plenty of opportunities to travel whether they fulfill a position in exploration or production. You can be a researcher or an engineer on deep sea drilling rigs (钻塔). The job is well paid, and you can help companies do less harm to the sea.
1. What should travel nurses do?A.Assign nursing tasks. | B.Get a TEFL certification. |
C.Pay for their own accommodation. | D.Develop a good anti-pressure ability. |
A.The low pay. | B.The prospective career growth. |
C.Large health insurance benefits. | D.Professional training opportunities. |
A.A travel nurse. | B.A waiter. |
C.An English teacher. | D.An oil industry worker. |
2 . It is a general belief among academics that the humanities(人文学科) are in crisis. According to Harvard historian James Hankins, part of the problem is the dominance of “critical” reading over “primary” reading. Primary reading takes a text at face value and simply tries to understand what the author intended to say. Critical reading assumes an author’s statements can never be taken at face value. Instead, they must be “seen through” to expose the text’s real meaning, which is determined in line with this or that fashionable theory.
Mr. Hankins says primary reading “must be recovered” for higher education in the humanities to be effective. I would go further. Primary reading isn’t important only for the humanities, but for education more generally. The restoration of primary reading could be a crucial weapon in fighting the “idle talk” that troubles American society.
Idle talk was philosopher Martin Heidegger’s term for inauthentic discourse(话语). It involves adopting and circulating others’ opinions about something without ever personally engaging that thing for yourself. People engaged in idle talk speak in line with expectations for their particular role. They hold and express the opinions a person in their role is expected to hold.
Idle talk can be harmless. Each year my mother forms strong opinions about which films should win Academy Awards without seeing any of them, after reading articles by critics she favors. But idle talk can also be dangerous. Consider journalism. The norm nowadays is for one reporter to break a story, followed by dozens or hundreds of journalists recycling that content. They may add a little spin of their own but rarely look into the issue for themselves—even when this would require but a few clicks. Some journalists even just search social media for the story of the day and rewrite it in their own words.
It could be argued that social media has contributed to the popularization of idle talk. Authentic discourse requires time, effort and good-faith engagement, but social media tends to encourage the opposite. Social media raises this voice, pushing it into user feeds 24/7. We hear about everything, and we can’t hear about anything without also being told what opinion we should have about it. Opinions before facts; know what to think about something before actually looking into it for yourself. And really, why even bother with that?
Primary reading isn’t only something the humanities need. Our entire culture needs its value to be recognized and restored.
1. What do we know from the first two paragraphs?A.Critical reading leads to the crisis in the humanities. |
B.Critical reading is generally dominated nowadays. |
C.Primary reading fails to expose the real meaning. |
D.Primary reading isn’t important for the humanities. |
A.Interpretation. | B.Intervention. | C.Interaction. | D.Investigation. |
A.It tends to encourage high engagement. | B.It promotes the spread of idle talk |
C.It offers people facts instead of opinions. | D.It advocates independent thinking ability. |
A.To focus more on facts. | B.To get off social media. |
C.To gain an insight into idle talk. | D.To read original texts exclusively. |
3 . There are close to 7,000 languages spoken on Earth. However, it’s estimated that by the end of this century, up to 50% of them may be lost.
It’s commonly thought that majority languages tend to be valued for being useful and for promoting progress, while minority languages are seen as barriers to progress, and the value placed on them is seen mainly as sentimental. But is sentimentality really the only motivation for preserving language diversity?
Speakers of endangered languages often live in remote areas with unique landform. It is quite common for these languages to distinguish between hundreds more types of plants and animals than those known to modern science. For example, in Southeast Asia, some tribes have discovered the medicinal properties of over sixty-five hundred plant species. This has led to many of landmark achievements in medicine.
It was once believed that the limits of one’s language defined the limits of one’s thought. This theory, called the Sapir-Wharf hypothesis (假说), has been largely rejected in favor of the improved version, which assumes that the language we speak does not set the limits of our thoughts, but it does direct our focus in certain ways. For example, English is a tense-based language. It’s nearly impossible: to talk about doing something without specifying the time — i. e. I went to the party(past), I’m going to the party(present), or I’ll go to the party(future). This differs from Chinese, where it’s perfectly reasonable to say, “I go to the party” without defining the “when”. Thus, part of the richness of language is that it allows us to organize the world in ‘so many unique ways.
Some languages categorize the world in ways so different from our own that they are difficult to conceptualize (概念化). The United States employed native Navajo speakers to create a system of message coding during the Second World War. The Japanese were never able to break it, and the “code talkers” are often cited today as having helped decide the outcome of the war.
As we’ve already seen, minority languages are valuable for many practical reasons. In conclusion, I’d say the short answer is yes — dying languages are certainly worth saving!
1. Why does the author list the numbers in the first paragraph?A.To alarm people. | B.To offer background information. |
C.To reveal the topic. | D.To arouse the readers’ interest. |
A.Emotional. | B.Reliable. | C.Reasonable. | D.Experimental. |
A.Helping us discover drugs in more ways. |
B.Saving us the trouble of distinguishing different medicines. |
C.Making it possible for us to acquire a broader knowledge of nature. |
D.Inspiring us to learn more as to how to protect plants and animals. |
A.To explain ways of saving some languages. | B.To correct the Sapir-Wharf hypothesis. |
C.To show how languages categorize the world. | D.To prove the value of minority languages. |
4 . I often read of incidents of misunderstanding or conflict. I’m left
I was growing up in Kuala Lumpur in the early 1960s, when children from different races and religions played and studied together
One spring afternoon in 1983, I stopped a taxi in Kuala Lumpur. When I
If we can allow our children to be themselves without prejudice, they’ll build friendships with people
A.fascinated | B.curious | C.frustrated | D.puzzled |
A.parties | B.nationalities | C.regions | D.races |
A.at random | B.in harmony | C.on occasion | D.by turns |
A.cast | B.drop | C.flight | D.roll |
A.embraced | B.removed | C.sought | D.defended |
A.paid | B.preserved | C.meant | D.treated |
A.get through | B.come across | C.deal with | D.run into |
A.absence | B.choice | C.effort | D.company |
A.stated | B.traced | C.decided | D.ordered |
A.instructions | B.attempts | C.intentions | D.arrangements |
A.similarly | B.strangely | C.familiarly | D.dramatically |
A.departures | B.decades | C.years | D.months |
A.infection | B.affection | C.motivation | D.homesickness |
A.let alone | B.according to | C.rather than | D.regardless of |
A.from | B.with | C.by | D.against |
5 . Even when you have confidence in yourself, your goals will sometimes seem out of reach. When that happens, get hold of the people who
When I was younger, I
Early in my
Even now, I
A.refer to | B.depend on | C.learn from | D.believe in |
A.quit | B.struggled | C.regretted | D.argued |
A.responsibilities | B.dreams | C.opportunities | D.doubts |
A.stopped | B.admitted | C.allowed | D.considered |
A.tracked | B.recommended | C.accompanied | D.encouraged |
A.serious | B.possible | C.hard | D.necessary |
A.request | B.unwillingness | C.inability | D.attempt |
A.difficulties | B.options | C.aims | D.standards |
A.career | B.experiment | C.business | D.recovery |
A.foolishly | B.simply | C.wisely | D.bravely |
A.original | B.familiar | C.typical | D.positive |
A.looking into | B.taking down | C.dealing with | D.pointing out |
A.introduce | B.remind | C.guarantee | D.warn |
A.experience | B.describe | C.compare | D.limit |
A.probably | B.fortunately | C.obviously | D.importantly |
6 . Welcome to American United Travel Company. We’ll help you spend a perfect holiday. For over 6 years, we have been organizing value for money summer holidays, whether it’s a late holiday deal or your main summer holiday. Whether you’re looking for a romantic getaway, a luxury 5-star holiday, or you just want to relax and soak up the sun, we’ve got access to the very best flight and hotel deals throughout the world. We are proud to offer you various services unlike other tour companies where we offer one-stop shop for complete tourism.
Our Services Include
Tours. Meet & Assist Services. Airport Transfer. MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conferences, Exhibitions) private Jets. Ground handling (24 hours) VIP services on arrival & departure. Adventure Tour.
Means of Transportation Reservations
We operate for all means of transportation available in the country, starting with buses for groups to car rental to individuals.
Guidance
We have the most qualified guides who speak French, English, German, Italian, and Spanish. We bank on their communication skills as well as their knowledge in various fields.
Fancy Dinners
We prepare outdoor dinners in particular places such as castles, beaches, old and traditional houses, etc. Usually, these dinners are arranged according to the clients’ choices.
Luggage Concierge
Don’t worry about luggage size and weight when travelling. Give your bags to Luggage Concierge in advance and they will be waiting for you at your destination when you arrive.
Call one of our experienced travel consultants on 18884700610 to secure one of these fantastic deals.
1. What is special about United Travel company?A.It provides one-stop complete tourism. | B.It supplies the best flight and hotels. |
C.It offers transfer service. | D.Its guides speak various languages. |
A.Send it to your destination directly. | B.Carry it by yourself. |
C.Keep it as light as possible. | D.Hand it to Luggage Concierge. |
A.To diversify the economy. | B.To attract tourists. |
C.To conserve the environment. | D.To entertain readers. |
7 . Parrots are prey animals, which means that other predators (捕食者) in the wild, such as hawks or snakes, are looking to make them into a meal. This one factor influences parrots’ behavior in your house more than any other.
Parrots are most easily hurt when feeding on the ground. Membership in a group plays an important function in ensuring their safety and improving their chances of survival from attacks by predators. The most common predators of parrots include hawks, snakes, cats, monkeys, and bats. Some predators make attacks only during the day while others hunt in the night.
As prey animals, parrots are constantly watching out for danger and they instinctively (本能地) react to risks. Their first choice is to take flight. However, if this is not possible, they will fight with their powerful beaks to defend themselves.
Because their biggest enemy is the hawk, parrots are especially reactive to quick movements from above and behind. For this reason, it is wise to avoid quick, sudden movements near your bird. This is a built-in reaction not subject to logic or reason. Simple and relatively harmless household objects can draw extreme fear responses from a bird. For example, a balloon may represent a hawk or a vacuum hose (吸尘器软管) may be the same as a snake in your bird’s mind.
As prey animals, parrots are often frightened by exposure to new household items or strangers. It is important to expose your bird to safe experiences and changes starting at a very young age to build flexibility and improve their adaptability. Variety in diet and toys, travel, and exposure to new people and places all help to make your bird more flexible and adaptable to change.
1. What is important for parrots to better survive from attacks in the wild?A.Living in a group. | B.Growing beautiful feathers. |
C.Feeding on the ground. | D.Avoiding coming out at night. |
A.To attack back. | B.To get away. |
C.To protect the young. | D.To play dead. |
A.It may explode suddenly. | B.It may be in a strange shape. |
C.It may have a strong color. | D.It may move around quickly. |
A.To explain wild parrots’ behavior. | B.To give advice on raising a parrot. |
C.To call for action to protect animals. | D.To introduce a study on bird ecology. |
8 . Wouldn’t it be wonderful to travel to a foreign country without having to worry about the headache of communicating in a different language?
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, technology policy expert Alec Ross argued that, within ten years or so, we would be able to communicate with one another through small earpieces with built-in microphones. That’s because technological progress is extremely fast. It’s only a matter of time. Such is the belief among certain parents that the technology is imminent and they’re wondering if their kids should learn a second language.
It’s true that an increase in the quantity and accuracy of the data loaded into computers will make them cleverer at translating “Noes Bueno dormer mucho” into “It’s not good to sleep too much”. Replacing a word with its equivalent (对等词) in the target language is actually the easy part of a translator’s job. But even this seems to be a difficult job for computers.
It’s so hard for computers because translation doesn’t — or shouldn’t — involve simply translating words, sentences or paragraphs. Rather, it’s about translating meaning. And in order to infer meaning from a specific expression, people need to understand a lot of information all at once. Think about all the related clues that help us understand what someone is trying to say: volume, gesture, situations, and even your culture. All are likely to convey as much meaning as the words you use.
Therefore, we should doubt a machine that can’t understand our world like we do. If people from different cultures can upset each other without realizing it, how can we expect a machine to do better? Unless engineers actually find a way to breathe a soul into a computer, undoubtedly when it comes to conveying and interpreting meaning using a natural language, a machine will never fully take our place.
1. What does the underlined word “imminent” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?A.Ready. | B.Confusing. | C.Unpractical. | D.Coming. |
A.The real meaning of words can vary. |
B.Their data is not rich enough. |
C.Their accuracy needs big improvement. |
D.A man’s soul hasn’t been breathed in them. |
A.Proper translation can be difficult for computers. |
B.Slight differences doesn’t matter in translation. |
C.Machines will translate our world properly. |
D.Cultures need more attention than words used. |
A.An Expert’s Prediction. | B.Travel without Headache. |
C.The Pleasure of Translation. | D.Will the Language Barrier (障碍) Actually Fall? |
9 . Discover polar adventure and exploration on your doorstep. From penguins to paintings, Inuit art to explorers’ diaries and sleeping bags – come find out about exploration, science and survival at the extreme ends of Earth.
Collection Highlights
- Fossil ferns (化石蕨类) from about 140 million years ago.
- Snow goggles (护目镜) used by Ernest Shackleton on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914-16 (Endurance) - given to him by Harald Nilsen.
- An unopened tin of pemmican (干肉饼) taken from the hut (小屋) of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907-09 (Nimrod).
- A folding camera, created by A.E. Staley & Co. and used by Robert
Falcon Scott at the South Pole, 1912, on the British Antarctic
Expedition 1910-13 (Terra Nova).
Free Entry
Contact Us
Website: www.spri.cam.ac.uk/museum Call: 01223 336540
Email: museum@spri.cam.ac.uk
Family Visits
Visiting with a baby carriage
Baby carriages are welcome, but cannot be left unattended. Please contact the museum before your visit with any questions.
Activities
Audio guides are available at the information desk, with one tour aimed at adults and one at younger visitors. A small charge applies.
Gallery routes: Discover the polar regions with a pack-a-polar suitcase route, an explorer route and other activities for children.
Research Inquiries and Image Approval
Researchers wishing to learn about the museum’s collections should email museum@spri.cam.ac.uk to make an appointment.
To request approval to use images of the museum’s collection, please contact the Picture Library at the Scott Polar Research Institute.
1. What collection can visitors see in the museum?A.Fossil ferns from about 1.4 billion years ago. |
B.Snow goggles used by Harald Nilsen on an expedition. |
C.A tin of pemmican left over a century ago. |
D.A folding camera used at the North Pole in 1912. |
A.It aims to promote polar tours. |
B.It has baby carriages for rent. |
C.It offers free audio guides to adults. |
D.It prepares various themed routes for visitors. |
A.By calling 01223 336540. |
B.By contacting the Picture Library. |
C.By emailing museum@spri.cam.ac.uk. |
D.By visiting www.spri.cam.ac.uk/museum. |
10 . Today, many people spend a lot of time reading online. Whether reading news or e-books, people are spending more time eyeballing (盯住) screens. While online reading opens up a great deal of knowledge to people, there are some disadvantages too, such as eyestrain, headaches, as well as difficulty in focusing on the text. Now a new reading system, Bionic Reading, developed by Swiss typographic designer Renato Casutt, can help people overcome these issues, and most importantly, it aims to help people read faster online and develop a more in-depth understanding of written content.
The reading system improve the reading process by guiding the eyes through text with artificial fixation points. To make it short: some parts of the words are displayed in bold (粗体). As a result, the reader only focuses on the highlighted letters and lets the brain center complete the rest. Your brain can “read” faster than your eyes, so by essentially reducing the number of letters your eye needs to look at, you can read faster while still preserving the full context.
Cassult discovered the system by accident. He was working on designing a book in a foreign language and realized he could read it if he sectioned it off. He worked for six years to develop Bionic Reading and is still working to adjust it.
A preliminary (初步的) study was conducted by the Swiss Institute InnoSuisee, but more research is needed before it can be definitively shown that the system improves reading. Some people with ADHD (多动症) prove that Bionic Reading helped them focus and comprehend what they are reading. Other people don’t seem to notice a big difference compared to regular text. There’s also no evidence to suggest Bionic Reading is any better than regular text. The best way to know if the Bionic Reader helps you read better online is to try it yourself.
1. What is the main purpose of Bionic Reading?A.To point out people’s reading problems. |
B.To teach people necessary reading skills. |
C.To reduce readers’ screen time and eye stress. |
D.To improve people’s reading speed and comprehension. |
A.Words displayed in capital letters. | B.Useful expressions. |
C.Difficult sentences in the text. | D.Bold letters. |
A.It is complex. | B.It can be beneficial. |
C.It needs to be improved. | D.It has little effect on them. |
A.A reading project for ADHD. | B.A research on language learning. |
C.A system to help with online reading. | D.A tool for treating reading disability |