1 . One of the key tasks for leaders at GE (General Electric) is to look after the company’s resources. We watch how money is spent and protect the company’s assets(资产) .We make efficiencies(效率) and fight to find funding for new ideas. We care about the health and welfare of our employees,and work to keep them safe all over the world.

Where we sometimes fall short-I am sure this is true of most organizations-is with time.I don’t think we manage time as well as we could. We have meetings that include too many participants,some of whom don’t need (or want) to be there. Too much time is spent at the start of meetings passing around information that could be shared in advance. Some meetings go on longer than they need to, and don’t always result in real actions, or decisions.

Leaders make personal decisions about how to distribute their own time,and this affects how others and particularly their teams have to spend their time. I’ve asked people in my organization to think ahead-what can be done individually or beforehand. We need to think about the impact every time we occupy time, or create work, for others.

Wasting time contributes to a competitive disadvantage. It keeps us from doing things that matter and meeting deadlines. One solution we’re working on at GE is adopting a “FastWorks” mindset. This is a lean start-up concept we developed to better understand pain points, quickly test product or service hypotheses(假设) and to understand if a proposed solution is right. We used this approach to develop our GuardEon circuit breaker in less than half the time it would previously have taken and went to market 3 years sooner.

If you are like me, you have your best days when you accomplish things. The worst days are when we spend time doing things without results, and you come away feeling you have wasted time. We don’t mind working hard, but we want to get things done. The old saying went something like “time is money,”In today’s world, it’s more like “time is speed and focus, and speed and focus is money.”We are more successful if we are focused and spend our time doing the things that matter.

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To stress the importance of finding funds.

B．To show the company’s care for employees.

C．To call for the employees to treasure their career.

D．To lay the base for the viewpoint being presented.

2. How can a leader in a company make wise use of the meeting time?

A．By inviting more participants to a meeting.

B．By sharing more information at the meeting.

C．By attaching importance to individual tasks.

D．By focusing more on what requires teamwork.

3. What is the benefit of a“FastWorks” mindset in Paragraph 4?

A．It can greatly increase efficiency.

B．It can lead to advances in technology.

C．It can help workers find more solutions.

D．It can persuade people to work harder.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．GE leaders manage time well

B．There is no point in wasting time

C．Meeting the deadline makes sense

D．Applying technology to life matters

2 . Coffee shops are cool, but in Wilmington, Bitty & Beau’s Coffee enjoys a good reputation for its warmth.

At the heart of the shop’s popularity is its _________ staff: Almost everyone has an intellectual(智力的)or developmental disability.

The coffee shop was opened in 2016 by Amy Wright and her husband,   ___________ by two of her four children Beau and Bitty, who have Down syndrome(唐氏症).

When the couple discovered that most people with intellectual and developmental disabilities could never find an employer who would even give them a(n)   ___________ , they decided to do something about it.

“It _________ me like a flash of lightning: a coffee shop!” Wright said. “It would be the perfect environment for bringing people together. Seeing the staff ___________ customers at the door, preparing food, serving orders and cleaning tables, people would realize how   ___________ they are.”

When the shop opened, it immediately had ___________ out the door. National press attention ___________, and six months later, it had to move to a   _____________   space.

Today, the store employs 40 people with disabilities, who are really good at their jobs.

What makes Amy most proud is the ____________ it has built in the community. “Every day, people say, ‘You’ve made my day. Thank you.’ That’s a feeling of happiness most people don’t get elsewhere, and it's what ____________ people back here,” she said. “This is a place where people can ____________   with those with disabilities and realize how much more alike we are than different. It’s   ____________ a cup of coffee. It's a human rights movement. It's given our employees the respect and a sense of being ____________ that they deserve. For many employees, it's their first job, and their ____________ fills the air.”

1.

A．unique

B．professional

C．active

D．brave

2.

A．impressed

B．controlled

C．inspired

D．responded

3.

A．interview

B．invitation

C．appointment

D．reason

4.

A．moved

B．struck

C．encouraged

D．affected

5.

A．finding

B．observing

C．greeting

D．gathering

6.

A．capable

B．generous

C．considerate

D．reliable

7.

A．lines

B．waiters

C．listeners

D．guards

8.

A．agreed

B．continued

C．followed

D．left

9.

A．farther

B．larger

C．quieter

D．nearer

10.

A．background

B．balance

C．tradition

D．bridge

11.

A．holds

B．draws

C．calls

D．forces

12.

A．interact

B．play

C．work

D．discuss

13.

A．nothing but

B．far from

C．after all

D．more than

14.

A．helped

B．valued

C．separated

D．protected

15.

A．ambition

B．humor

C．joy

D．patience

3 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Chinese Consulate General(中国领事馆) in New York     1    （introduce）mobile payments for its service charges on Wednesday, becoming the first Chinese delegation in the United States    2    (adopt) this form of payment.

Besides traditional cash and credit card payments, WeChat pay and Alipay are now available for customers, which is expected to greatly    3    (short) the payment time. The payments can be made in Chinese Yuan only and there will be no other    4    (addition) charges .

According to Huang Ping, the Chinese consul-general in New York, there are over 1.2 million overseas Chinese in the 10 states on the U.S. East Coast    5    belong to his consular(领事的) district, and most of their mobile phones are equipped    6     WeChat pay or Alipay thanks to the rapid growth and ever-increasing    7    (popular) of mobile payments back in China over the recent years.

"We should keep pace with the times, provide more convenience for these potential customers, and make our services    8    (efficient)," said Huang. In the past year, the Chinese Consulate General in New York     9    (launch)a series of measures to    10    (it) services, including online passport renewal application, reduced processing times, lower charges, and simplified application requirements, according to Consul-general Huang.

4 . Gregory Talley used to sleep in a park or under a bridge. The 50-year-old has been homeless for more than 10 years.

“It is hard. It’s hard to live homeless. You filled every day trying to find cut where you are going to get something to eat. If I hadn’t found wonderful Fairfax County Kennedy Shelter, I wouldn’t know where I would be by now. I might be dead,” Talley said.

The Kennedy Shelter is one of the facilities New Hope Housing provides for homeless people.

Pam Micheli has devoted her life to making the lives of this vulnerable（易受伤的）population better as executive director of the non-profit organization.

“I went to Africa in 1985. And I saw a huge amount of poverty, but I saw so much hope. And I decided that I should try to do something that would bring hope to people,” Michell said.

When Michell began working with New Hope Housing 25 years ago, its three shelters had about 80 beds. Now, it has 350 beds and serves about 1,500 homeless people every year. She has expanded the program beyond just providing beds for the night.

“We do outreach（拓展）, we do prevention, we do permanent housing. We do transitional housing. We have an education program with all sorts of different things to move people to end their homelessness,” she said, “Our Out of Poverty program is not just about money. It’s about you could be spiritually poor, you could be relationship poor ... you could be educationally poor. So it is focusing on how you get out of this poverty that has brought you to being homeless. The program tries to teach the shelter residents self-reliance（自立）and work values, and includes courses on planning and personal responsibility.

“I learned I still have opportunities to change it and I can change it,” said shelter resident Lewis Webster. “It is just about going forth in doing necessary work to do it. I mean if you really want better, you would do better and that’s the frame of mind of me now.”

1. Gregory Talley’s story is told at the beginning of the text to         .

A．tell readers the situation for the poor in the US is getting worse

B．introduce a non-profit organization that is trying to help the poor in the US

C．disclose the truth that more and more homeless people are dying from hunger

D．remind readers that the homeless people in the US have no trouble getting food

2. According to Paragraph 6, Pam Michell started to bring hope to the homeless by         .

A．providing dothes for them

B．offering food for them

C．building new houses for them

D．offering them shelters for the night

3. What is the final purpose of the education program?

A．To tell the homeless people the ways to make money.

B．To help the homeless people find the causes of their poverty.

C．To encourage the homeless to work and rely on themselves.

D．To teach the poor how to live a better life in the shelters.

4. What may be the best title for the text?

A．Comfort in the Kennedy Shelter

B．Ways to Achieve Success

C．An Opportunity to Fight Homelessness

D．An Organization to End Homelessness

5 . Best Companies

Shine United(Madison，Wisconsin)

In the past five years，this Wisconsin­based advertising agency has shared more than$500,000 in profits with its employees through the company's ShineShares program.The agency partnered with the University of Wisconsin's oncology department to develop the Ride，a biking event that benefits cancer research.Employees also get snacks every day，“Beer Thirty”on Thursdays，and Summer Fridays，a program that lets employees leave at noon.

GroundFloor Media(Denver，Colorado)

The key for workers at this midsize public relations firm in Denver is that employees work anytime，anywhere.Headquarters are in a former warehouse downtown，near Coors Field.The offices are spread around the central space that doubles as a wet bar every Thursday when the company's   “beer club” brings in a new brew.

Ergodyne(St.Paul，Minnesota)

The St.Paul­based company has grown to operate out of a retired storehouse with plenty of natural light.Rules about dressing？“Wear something.” Its purpose? To create cool，comfortable, and tough safety workwear for those who need it to get the job done.Ergodyne has around 50 employees, who enjoy hot­dish cook­offs, tickets to sporting events, and at least one happy hour every quarter.

Southwest Michigan First(Kalamazoo，Michigan)

It's family first at this Michigan economic development advising agency.CEO Ron Kitchens says that in the past year，the company has made a push to go green，initially started by the millennial employees who make up half the agency's workforce.A new staff position was created for the purpose of making sure every employee is able to balance working and cheering at their kids' sporting events or going fishing.

1. What's the purpose of the ShineShares program?

A．To raise money for a research.

B．To let employees leave earlier.

C．To share the company's benefits.

D．To partner with a local university.

2. What does Southwest Michigan First encourage their employees to do?

A．To accompany their families.

B．To create new staff positions.

C．To join in cooking competitions.

D．To enjoy themselves in sporting events.

3. Which company allows its staff a flexible working time?

A．Shine United.

B．GroundFloor Media.

C．Southwest Michigan First.

D．Ergodyne.

4. What can we know about the companies mentioned in the text?

A．They offer employees financial support.

B．They care about employees' happiness.

C．They have strict rules about dressing.

D．They have training programs.

6 . How cool can libraries be in an era of iPods and Kindles? More than you think. Only if you know where to go.

Central Library: Seattle, Washington, United States

The Central Library in Seattle is modern and fashionable and has tourists from around the world paying visits and taking tours. It was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and American designer Joshua Ramus. Tours began in 2006, two years after its opening. The library holds various art exhibitions, book signings and other events, while visitors can stop by the Chocolate cart for a coffee and scan through the gift shop anytime.

Trinity College Library: Dublin, Ireland

The Trinity College Library in Dublin is the oldest library in Ireland, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I. It is the largest single library in the world, also known as the Long Room, which contains more than 200,000 of the library's oldest books. The Long Room houses one of the oldest harps (竖琴) in Ireland. Dating to the 15th century, the old harp is the model for the symbol foreland.

Geisel Library, University of California: San Diego, United States

At first glance, it looks like a spaceship. Architect William Pereira, who helped design actual space launch facilities at Cape Canaveral in Houston, Texas, designed the library in 1970. It has been featured in sci-fi films, short stories and novels. The library hosts “Dinner in the Library”,   which invites readers for cocktails, and also a special speech from distinguished authors.

TU Delft Library: The Netherlands

The library at the Delft University of Technology was constructed in 1997 and has more than 862,000 books, 16,000 magazine subscriptions and its own museum. The building itself exists beneath the ground, so you can’t really see the actual Library. What makes it interesting is the roof, which is a grassy hill. The roof covers 5,500 square meters. And it has become one of the most striking and greenest structures in the area.

1. Which of the four libraries has the longest history?

A．Central Library	B．Trinity College Library
C．Geisel Library	D．TU Delft Library

2. What makes Geisel Library different from the others is that ________.

A．Queen Elizabeth I founded the library

B．it has a roof of grassy hill

C．famous writers often deliver speeches there

D．it is the largest single library in the world

3. In Central Library, you can ________.

A．drink cocktails	B．buy souvenirs
C．enjoy sci-fi films	D．see the old harp

7 . The Coalition for the Homeless is an organization that seeks to address the needs of the homeless population in the United States. It is a network of offices, some of which provide food and houses for the homeless population, and some of which fight for the passing of laws that of over two hundred million people living in the United States,up to three million are homeless—and the number is still growing. Since the late 1970s,fast rising house prices,large cuts in government supported housing programs, and economic recession(经济衰退)have made it impossbile for many Americans to meet housing costs. Sadly, this has resulted in a number of persons being forced to leave their homes and/or unable to find new affordable homes. According to another research,families with children appear to be the fastest-growing part of the homeless population, making up 39% of it.The old idea of a homeless person,that of the single man who gets drunk all the time,is no longer true. A much lager part of the population now finds itself homeless. Even worse, once a person becomes homeless, he often finds it impossible to find a job,since most employers require anyone who wants a job from them to provide a home address on a job application.
1. The word “address” in the first line probably means        .

A．talk about

B．deal with

C．fight for

D．write to

2. How many people are homeless in the U.S. according to the Coalition studies?

A．39% of the population.	B．200 million people.
C．About 3 million people.	D．About one-fifth of the population.

3. Homeless people often have difficulty finding a job because________.

A．they have no home addresses

B．they mostly have a drinking problem

C．they aren't supported by government programs

D．they often don't have enough work experience

4. What is the main cause of the rising number of the homeless in the U.S.?

A．The passing of new housing laws.

B．The fast growth of family size.

C．The slow construction of houses.

D．The ever-rising price of housing.