1 . This Is the Way Learning Center
The staff, parents and children enrolled (招收) at This Is the Way Learning Center are one big family. We take the health and safety of our family very seriously. This Is the Way Learning Center is committed to maintaining a safe environment for your children. We are following all safety rules. Should you have any questions regarding the processes in place please call our center. We will be happy to answer your questions.
This Is the Way Learning Center cares for and educates children aged 6 weeks and up. We are enrolling for all programs (Preschool and Nursery School) in addition to basic childcare. There will be no enrollment fees and registration fees. We are devoted to the future of your child and creating a lifetime love of learning at every age and stage. What can be more precious or important than the early developmental and learning years of our children?
This Is the Way Learning Center is located across the street from Henry Barnard School at 18 Shaker Road. It is conveniently located just minutes from 91 North and South, in the town of Enfield.
Hours:
• 6:30 am through 5:30 pm
• Monday through Friday
• Closed only on major holidays.
Ages:
• Children through kindergarten
• School age
Features:
• All-day, all-year daycare
• Homelike setting
• Age-appropriate play areas
• Child-friendly curriculum
• Computer education
• Trained and experienced teachers
You may email us at requests@thisisthewaylc.com or call us at 860-253-0010 to ask your questions and request a free brochure.
1. What is This Is the Way Learning Center?| A．It’s a big family. | B．It’s a training center. |
| C．It’s a safety center. | D．It’s a local program. |
| A．Everyone enrolled at it. | B．Age-appropriate coaches. |
| C．Computer education teachers. | D．Trained and experienced teachers. |
| A．Parents. | B．Visitors. | C．Students. | D．Professors. |
2 . There are hundreds of non-profits welcoming students under the age of 18 as volunteers. In these activities, students can develop important life skills, cultural awareness and a lifelong passion for service.
Union Station Homeless Services
Whether you volunteer in our kitchens to prepare meals or in our offices to help with administrative projects, you will be a valuable member of our family. We do our best to match volunteers with a position that suits their interests and skills.
Minimum Age: 12
Call: 626-240-4550
Northeast Animal Shelter
The Northeast Animal Shelter, established in 1976, is one of New England’s largest non-profit shelters where the pets can be taken good care of. We have placed thousands of dogs and cats since we opened our doors. As soon as a dog or cat arrives, our staff begin searching for the perfect host for them. While waiting for a warm home, the dogs and cats receive the best of care.
Minimum Age: 16
Call: 745-988-8305
Needham Community Farm
The mission of Needham Community Farm is to deepen our community’s connection to nature and the food system by providing farm-based education, increasing access to healthy produce and encouraging environmental protection.
Minimum Age: 13
Call: 781-449-5300
Arlington Public Library
Serving more than 1.5 million people a year, Arlington Public Library holds more than 600,000 items, from books, eBooks, and DVDs, to digital photo collections and provides funded kits for parents and teachers. We only accept the volunteers with community service experience.
Minimum Age: 14
Call: 817-459-6900
1. Which non-profit cares for people in need?| A．Arlington Public Library. |
| B．Northeast Animal Shelter. |
| C．Needham Community Farm. |
| D．Union Station Homeless Services. |
| A．Cook healthy meals. |
| B．Build perfect homes. |
| C．Find adoptive families. |
| D．Search for their owners. |
| A．They are skillful at sorting out items. |
| B．They ought to be at least 12 years old. |
| C．They have experience in community service. |
| D．They should be capable of taking digital photos. |
3 . “We work four-day weeks because it makes our staff more motivated,” says Joe Munns, CEO and founder of Bakedin, which makes home baking kits and cake mixes.
Joe has put his 40 workers on a four-day week since he started the firm in 2013, when he was working for the computer giant IBM.
Because there is still some business to do on Fridays, such as dealing with customer enquiries, some of Bakedin's office workers volunteer to work on Fridays.
Bakedin staff put in nine-and-a-half-hours on the four days they are at work.
Many firms and countries. have started experimenting with four-day, rather than five-day weeks.
| A．He figured it was his business. |
| B．He ran the company as a weekend passion. |
| C．There are other benefits of putting staff on a four-day week. |
| D．It is a big selling point when they first advertise for workers. |
| E．They take their third day off at some other point in the week. |
| F．They get more done this way than if they were at work five days a week |
| G．It reduces the risk of staff “burning out” and improves their work-life balance. |
4 . The term "organizational culture" refers to the norms and values of an organization, which together make the personality of the company.
Another good way is to analyze the existing culture and compare it with the expectations of your employees. Organize discussions with your team members and talk about matters related to the current culture of the organization.
Conflicts are an unavoidable part of any organization and have direct bearing on the health of its culture.
Since the organization is a collection of people, cooperation matters to attain the objectives.
| A．Then bring changes accordingly. |
| B．Team building is vital in this respect. |
| C．Thus a productive environment will be created. |
| D．How they are handled is an indicator of the common organizational culture. |
| E．These values and norms are shared by people working throughout the organization. |
| F．The management must show the willingness or intention to involve employees in this process. |
| G．Training your employees in the right way is an important step towards a better organizational culture . |
5 . The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) continues to bleed red ink. It reported a net loss of $5.6 billion for fiscal 2016, the 10th straight year its expenses have exceeded revenue. Meanwhile, it has more than $120 billion in unfunded liabilities, mostly for employee health and retirement costs. There are many bankruptcies. Fundamentally, the USPS is in a historic squeeze between technological change that has permanently decreased demand for its bread-and-butter product, first-class mail, and a regulatory structure that denies management in the flexibility to adjust its operations to the new reality.
And interest groups ranging from postal unions to greeting-card makers exert self-interested pressure on the USPS’s ultimate overseer-Congress-insisting that whatever else happens to the Postal Service, aspects of the status quo they depend on get protected. This is why repeated attempts at reform legislation have failed in recent years, leaving the Postal Service unable to pay its bills except by deferring vital modernization.
Now comes word that everyone involved—Democrats, Republicans, the Postal Service, the unions and the system’s heaviest users—has finally agreed on a plan to fix the system. Legislation is moving through the House that would save USPS an estimated $28.6 billion over five years, which could help pay for new vehicles, among other survival measures. Most of the money would come from a penny-per-letter permanent rate increase and from shifting postal retirees into Medicare. The latter step would largely offset the financial burden of annually pre-funding retiree health care, thus addressing a long-standing complaint by the USPS and its union.
If it clears the House, this measure would still have to get through the Senate—where someone is bound to point out that it amounts to the bare, bare minimum necessary to keep the Postal Service afloat, not comprehensive reform. There’s no change to collective bargaining at the USPS, a major omission considering that personnel accounts for 80 percent of the agency’s costs. Also missing is any discussion of eliminating Saturday letter delivery. That common-sense change enjoys wide public support and would save the USPS $2 billion per year. But postal special-interest groups seem to have killed it, at least in the House. The emerging consensus around the bill is a sign that legislators are getting frightened about a politically embarrassing short-term collapse at the USPS. It is not, however, a sign that they’re getting serious about transforming the postal system for the 21st century.
1. The financial problem with the USPS is caused partly by __________.| A．its unbalanced budget | B．its rigid management |
| C．the cost for technical upgrading | D．the withdrawal of bank support |
| A．removing its burden of retiree health care |
| B．making more investment in new vehicles |
| C．adopting a new rate-increase mechanism |
| D．attracting more first-class mail users |
| A．respect | B．tolerance | C．discontent | D．gratitude |
| A．The USPS Starts to Miss Its Good Old Days. |
| B．The Postal Service: Keep Away from My Cheese. |
| C．The USPS: Chronic Illness Requires a Quick Cure. |
| D．The Postal Service Needs More than a Band-Aid. |
6 . In 1944, 730 representatives from 44 allied (同盟) nations met in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, just as World War Ⅱ was ending. They were attending an important conference. This mostly forgotten event shaped our modern world because the Bretton Woods Conference agreed on the establishment of an international banking system.
To make sure that all nations would be successful, the United States and other allied nations set rules for a postwar international economy. The Bretton Woods system created the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF was founded as a kind of global central bank from which member countries could borrow money. The countries needed money to pay for their war costs. Today, the IMF promotes international trade by guaranteeing the stability of the international currency and financial system.
The Bretton Woods system also set up the World Bank. Although the World Bank shares similarities with IMF, the two institutes remain distinct. While the IMF keeps an orderly system of payments and receipts between nations, the World Bank is mainly a development institution. The World Bank initially gave loans to European countries ruined by World War Ⅱ, and today it lends money and technical assistance specifically to economic projects in developing countries. Its goal is to “bridge the economic divide between poor and rich countries.”
These two specific accomplishments of the Bretton Woods Conference were major. However, the Bretton Woods system particularly benefited the United States and it placed the U.S. dollar as the global currency. A global currency is one that countries worldwide accept for all trade, or international transactions (交易) of buying and selling. Because only the U.S. could print dollars, the United States became the primary power behind the IMF and the World Bank. Today, global currencies include the U.S. dollar, the euro (European Union countries), and yen (Japan).
The years after Bretton Woods have been considered the golden age of the U.S. dollar. More importantly, the conference deeply shaped foreign trade for decades to come.
1. For what purpose was the Bretton Woods Conference held?| A．To shape our modern world. | B．To set up IMF and the World Bank. |
| C．To help allied nations to pay for their war costs. | D．To guarantee the success of all allied nations. |
| A．Their accomplishments. | B．Their functions. |
| C．Their founders. | D．Their influence. |
| A．The foundation of IMF and the World Bank. | B．The international currency and financial system. |
| C．Currency cooperation and financial stability. | D．Developing countries and the entire word. |
| A．Bretton Woods increased U.S. economic influence around the world |
| B．the IMF and the World Bank work closely together to guarantee success |
| C．the conclusion of World War Ⅱ had little influence on events at Bretton Woods |
| D．the conference organizers recognized the need for markets to function in-dependently |
7 . The China International Search and Rescue Team(CISAR) was formed in 2001 and is now made up of several hundred rescue workers and about 20 police dogs. The team brings help and hope to those whose lives are changed by a storm, flood, earthquake, or any other natural disasters.
After long and careful training, the team went on its first international rescue tasks in 2003. That year, the Chinese team helped save lives after earthquakes in Algeria and Iran. It was the first time that a Chinese team had worked outside China whose members won high praise for bravery and skill.
Since then, the CISAR has completed many tasks. The list of people to whom help has been given is long. The team treated more than 3,000 people who were wounded in the 2006 earthquake in Indonesia, helped 2,500 wounded people after the earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010, and spent several months giving aid to over 25,000 people suffering from the 2010 floods in Pakistan. On April 26, 2015, a group of 62 people from CISAR went to Nepal after the 8.1 magnitude earthquake that happened there.
Rescue workers are trained to find people, treat wounds, and hand out food, water, and other supplies. They have to be able to do work that is difficult under conditions which can be very dangerous. After a disaster, there is usually no electricity or water, and there may be diseases and other dangers. Rescue workers get to save lives, but they must also bury the dead. That means they have to be strong in both body and mind.
Rescue workers must have big hearts, too. It takes a lot of love and courage to risk one’s own life to save someone else’s. The members of the CISAR have plenty of both and are always ready to go wherever help is needed.
1. What is the function of the numbers in Paragraph 3?| A．To advertise for the CISAR. |
| B．To add some basic information. |
| C．To praise Recue Workers’ contributions. |
| D．To stress the dangers Rescue Workers face. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Respectful. |
| C．Curious. | D．Supportive. |
| A．The duty rescue workers must perform. |
| B．The qualities rescue workers must own. |
| C．The difficulties rescue workers must go through. |
| D．The willingness rescue workers should require. |
| A．China to the Rescue | B．How to train CISAR |
| C．Welcome to CISAR | D．Rescue on request |
8 . The new year is the moment when people vow to improve their fitness. They join gyms, swear off alcohol and adopt healthier diets. These resolutions usually do not last beyond January.
But some employers try to help their workers stick to their goals by offering “wellness” programmes. One of the longest-running examples began in 1979 at Johnson& Johnson (j & j), an American health-care company. The plan promotes weight loss, smoking quitting and efforts to reduce blood pressure.
The firm claims it reduced medical costs by $400 an employee per year, and resulted in fewer workers suffering from heart disease or high blood pressure.Yet an examination of the data by Martin Cherniack of the University of Connecticut found that in 2005-08, a sharp jump in alcohol use, depression and stress among j & j employees occurred. This was in line with a period when the firm had a target of lifting productivity by 9% a year. So the employees may have been fitter, but it is possible that workplace pressure to produce more meant greater stress.
All this suggests that employee well-being is a rather more complex topic than can be tackled by a programme devoted to exercise and healthy living. A study by Rand Europe, a research institute, found that obvious bad habits such as smoking and high alcohol use were in fact not associated with lower productive, while obese workers were no more likely to take time off than anyone else. The biggest productivity problems were associated with lack of sleep, financial concerns and mental-health issues-factors that may well be directly linked to work-related stress.
It seems reasonable for companies to expect some level of economic return from any wellness programme that they provide. But the trade-off should not be too blatant. Making employees fitter so you can work them a lot harder seems rather like drilling your infantry on a course before sending them to face the machine guns. A better impact on morale (and thus productivity) might occur if workers felt that their managers had a genuine interest in their welfare.
1. What can we learn from the example of Johnson & Johnson?| A．A wellness program contributes to higher productivity. |
| B．A wellness program alone can't achieve the desired effect. |
| C．Many companies show much concern about their employee's health. |
| D．A health program may result in bad consequences. |
| A．Good living habits help improve motivation. |
| B．Work-related pressure plays a vital role in low productivity. |
| C．Financial concerns have nothing to do with productivity. |
| D．Obesity is associated with lower attendance in the workplace. |
| A．Obvious. | B．Effective. | C．Challenging. | D．Flexible. |
| A．To compare various factors affecting productivity. |
| B．To introduce a new way of increasing productivity. |
| C．To appeal to employers to improve their health care program. |
| D．To question some seemingly effective practice in business management. |
9 . Four Interesting Science Museums
Polytechnic Museum, Russia
For many guests of the capital, some of the most vivid childhood memories are associated with this museum. A variety of technical fields are presented in 65 halls-Mining, Space, Energy, and Transportation, etc. And the exposition（博览会）is the only museum project in Russia about the history of the bike. The interactive division "Technoplay" is open, where you not only can but also need touch most of the exhibits with your hands. In addition to self-experimentation, for personal requests the museum's experts will show many entertaining experiments.
Eureka, England
The Eureka educational center is a huge complex where modern science and technology are becoming clear, even to kids. The main exhibition is devoted to the human body, the laws of physics and natural things. Visitors can obtain energy or create paper with their own hands. On the area of the Eureka educational park there is a botanical garden and a collection of minerals from the rock types of Finland is presented there.
Deutsches Museum, Germany
In this museum you can see more than 100 thousand different items from windmills（风车）to medical equipment. All aspects of industrial production appear before the eyes. Several museum rooms are arranged especially for children-there are exhibits that entertain kids starting from three.
NEMO, the Netherlands
The largest Dutch research centre stands ready to share its secrets with everyone. This immersion（沉浸）in the world of science and technology will not be dull. All significant information is presented in the form of exciting games. All exhibits are interactive; visitors are allowed to touch, pull and press on anything. The museum is for children from 6 to 16, as well as for their parents-it will be interesting to all.
1. What can visitors do at Polytechnic Museum?| A．Learn how the bike developed. | B．Touch all of the exhibits. |
| C．Watch entertaining movies. | D．Show entertaining experiments. |
| A．Polytechnic Museum. | B．Eureka. |
| C．Deutsches Museum. | D．NEMO. |
| A．It is specially designed for children. |
| B．It is the largest museum in the world. |
| C．It shows information of exhibits in games. |
| D．Some exhibits can be touched or pressed. |
10 . Since 2008, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China—the BRIC countries—have met every year to discuss topics of global importance. At their third summit (峰会) in China in 2011, the leaders invited South Africa to join, thus becoming the BRICS. The four foreign ministers met on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly in the fall of 2016. Their leaders’ first meeting was held in Sapporo on the eve of the G8 Toyako-Hokkaido Summit in 2008, and their first standalone (单独的) summit was the following year in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Since then, the BRICS ministers responsible for foreign affairs, finance and the economy, trade, agriculture and health have met. At the official’s level, there have been meetings held to discuss science and technology, national security, competition and statistics.
While the concept “BRICS” was first created by Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs to refer to the investment opportunities of the rising economies, the leaders’ meetings transcend the financial topics to involve many different summit-level topics relating to global governance, such as development, peace and security, energy and climate change and social topics.
The mission of the BRICS Information Center is to serve as a leading independent source of information and analysis on the BRICS interaction and institutions. Documentation from the BRICS and research and reports will be published on this website as they become useable.
Special attention will be paid to the interaction (合作) and each other’s influence of the BRICS with the world, and including the BRICS relationship with the Group of Eight (G8), Group of Twenty (G20), and other different summit institutions and broadly many-sided organizations.
1. We can learn about BRICS from the passage that _______________| A．South Africa refused to join it in 2008. |
| B．It was first called the Group of Eight in 2008. |
| C．Its leaders held the first standalone summit in 2009. |
| D．Its ministers have met every year since 2008. |
| A．pay attention to | B．go beyond | C．turn to | D．replace |
| A．can deal with all kinds of information |
| B．is an independent organization |
| C．doesn’t have its own website |
| D．has a lot of researchers |
| A．BRICS has specially stressed the interaction. |
| B．BRICS has built good relationship with other organizations. |
| C．BRICS will build closer relationship with G20. |
| D．BRICS will make much difference to the world. |
