1 . In a recent meeting, the word “culture” came up 27 times in 90 minutes. Business leaders all believe a strong organizational culture is
How does culture drive performance? After analyzing 50 major companies, we conclude:
What is culture worth? While it is
What elements in an organization
A great culture is not easy to build. Leaders have to treat culture building as an engineering project, not a
| A．efficient | B．essential | C．permanent | D．practical |
| A．science | B．nature | C．tradition | D．instinct |
| A．how | B．when | C．why | D．whether |
| A．encourage | B．assess | C．distinguish | D．hurt |
| A．display | B．reward | C．mystery | D．wisdom |
| A．care about | B．make sense | C．set aside | D．put up |
| A．potential | B．technique | C．culture | D．reform |
| A．vital | B．difficult | C．rough | D．effective |
| A．functions | B．varies | C．decreases | D．grows |
| A．resembled | B．justified | C．predicted | D．explored |
| A．By contrast | B．In the end | C．As usual | D．In other words |
| A．protest | B．affect | C．lose | D．substitute |
| A．identify | B．consist | C．tremble | D．interact |
| A．customers | B．employees | C．engineers | D．spectators |
| A．common | B．delicate | C．magical | D．precise |
2 . Libraries
Britain’s First Public Library
The first public library in Britain opened in Manchester in 1852. Its first librarian was a man called Edward Edwards. Edwards attended the library’s opening ceremony and two famous writers called Charles Dickens and William Thackeray were there too.
How to Join a Library
To join a library, go to your local library and fill in a form. You’ll receive a library card which is needed when using library services.
Library Services
Modern public libraries have something for everyone. Most of them have audio books, CDs, newspapers and DVDs as well as books to borrow.
All Aboard the Library!
A school in London didn’t have space for a library inside the building. However, everybody agreed that it was still important to have a school library. So, the head of the school, Graham Blake, decided to park an old bus in the school parking area and change it into a library. Pupils helped to paint the bus, and after eight months, the new library was ready.
1. Who was the first librarian of the first public library in Britain?| A．Charles Dickens. | B．William Thackeray. |
| C．Edward Edwards. | D．Graham Blake. |
| A．Playing DVDs. | B．Listening to audio books. |
| C．Borrowing books. | D．Selling books. |
| A．Because parents offered the school an old bus. |
| B．Because pupils thought it was fun to read on a bus. |
| C．Because the school didn’t have enough money to buy books. |
| D．Because the school didn’t have enough space inside the building. |
1. Why does the speaker deliver the speech?
| A．To attract more students to join the English club. |
| B．To inform freshmen to choose their favorite club. |
| C．To introduce freshmen to all the clubs in the school. |
| A．Those who are fascinated by physical activities. |
| B．Those who want to improve their oral English. |
| C．Those who long to make friends with foreigners. |
| A．English Corner discussions. |
| B．Singing competitions. |
| C．English performances. |
| A．Registering online. |
| B．Contacting Alice Lee. |
| C．Writing application letters. |
1. 俱乐部的主要活动内容；2. 参加俱乐部的好处；3. 注意事项；4. 报名截止时间和方式。
注意：1. 词数 100 词左右。2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文流畅。
5 . Lego is considering a brick rental plan in an attempt to cut down on plastic waste. The Danish toymaker has promised to make all its bricks from sustainable sources by 2030 and is investing significant resources into finding alternatives.
Tim Brooks, vice-president responsible for sustainability, said the company was “totally open” to the idea of a product rental plan but admitted that lost pieces could produce a significant problem. He said the rental scheme was "possible" but admitted there were some "technical barriers", one of which is the complexity of some Lego sets, many of which contain thousands of pieces. "What are the chances of giving them to an eight-year-old child and getting them all back again?" Mr Brooks added.
Lego has come under increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint among growing international alarm about the impact of plastic waste on the environment. Lego reportedly gives off around a million tons of carbon dioxide each year, with about three-quarters coming from raw materials that go into factories. It produces 19 billion pieces per year—36,000 a minute—that are made of plastic and much of the inner packaging is also plastic.
So far, the only breakthrough has been the development of a line of bricks made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane. The green trees, plants and flowers were first included in Lego sets late last year but account for only one-two percent of the total amount of plastic elements produced.
Henrik Ostergaard Nielson, a production administrator in Lego's factory, told the New York Times last year, “We need to learn again how to do this. The company has invested more than €100, 000,000 and hired 100 people to research non-plastic alternatives. It is aiming to keep all of its packaging reusable by 2025.”
1. What is the aim of Lego’s brick rental plan?| A．To cut down on its costs. | B．To reduce plastic waste. |
| C．To seek alternative resources. | D．To deal with technical barriers. |
| A．Negative. | B．Confident. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Objective. |
| A．Listing figures | B．Making comparisons | C．Giving examples | D．Giving definition |
| A．Lego will not make new products after 2025. | B．Lego has already bought non-plastic alternatives. |
| C．Lego is making efforts for eco-friendly products | D．Lego's green technology is relatively backward. |
6 . While markets suffered recession, a number of groups enjoyed record growth.Here we list some of the top 100 company winners in a bad year.
1.Xiaomi Corporation
Sector: Technology HQ: Beijing, China
Huawei’s horrible year has been a windfall (意外之财) for China’s other big smartphone makers.With Washington’s Huawei sanctions (制裁) forcing Android users to turn to Xiaomi’s devices, it has risen above Apple to take third place in global smartphone market share.Its stock was added to Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and it crossed the $100bn market cap mark last month.
2.Pinduoduo
Sector: E-commerce HQ: Shanghai, China
The e-commerce group’s rise was accelerated by the pandemic as hundreds of millions of Chinese shoppers turned to their smartphones rather than malls.The economic downturn raised demand for Pinduoduo’s extremely cheap goods with sales up 70 percent in the first nine months of the year.It also came closer to profitability as it set strict rules in discounts, and an antitrust investigation into its chief competitor Alibaba also helped.
3.Meituan
Sector: E-commerce HQ: Beijing, China
China’s “everything app” was hit hard by lockdown, as authorities closed restaurants and consumers shied away from food delivery.But Meituan bounced back in the second half of 2020 with growth at its food delivery business making up for declining travel sales.Investors are betting better days lie ahead — it now boasts 477m annual users.
4.Tesla
Sector: Automotive HQ: Palo Alto, US
Some thought Tesla’s $75bn valuation (估价) at the start of 2020 was looking impossible.By the time it entered the S&P 500 in December, it was almost nine times higher — more than the next seven car-makers combined.Tesla is expected to have produced about 500,000 cars over the year.But the industry shift to electric vehicles is unquestioned and investors believe its technology is years ahead of the competition.
1. What was Xiaomi’s original rank in global smartphone market share?| A．2nd | B．3rd | C．4th | D．5th |
| A．The economic downturn | B．Alibaba’s being investigated |
| C．Its strict rules in discounts | D．People’s avoidance of food delivery |
| A．core technology | B．economical products |
| C．the creativity | D．cooperation with others |
1. What kind of paint does the company want to produce?
| A．One that will never fade. |
| B．One that smells of flowers. |
| C．One that dries quickly and smells pleasant. |
| A．Unpleasant. | B．Relaxing. | C．Great. |
| A．Using computers. | B．Writing novels. | C．Telling stories. |
| A．By fax. | B．By telephone. | C．By email. |
8 . Contributing to climate change efforts and biodiversity conservation have been the priority of the ongoing work for global beverage leader the Coca-Cola Co. in China, as it has operated more than 50 water stewardship programs in the country.
Since 2007, Coca-Cola has been working with the WWF, UNDP and other partners to protect the freshwater resources of the Yangtze River, in which rare species such as pandas, snow leopards, white cranes, porpoises and Chinese dragonflies were bred. Coca-Cola’s actions over a decade have effectively contributed to the protection of more than 200, 000 hectares of high-ecological value areas, as part of the efforts to conserve the biodiversity and communities of 2 million hectares of wetland ecosystems in the basin.
Coca-Cola China has also been working on responsible agriculture. Since 2012, together with the UNDP, Coca-Cola China has helped double the production of sugar cane in Chongzuo, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, by establishing an irrigation system for the first time, which uses wastewater byproducts to irrigate the fields.
“The water coming from the sugar processing facility needed to be treated, but once it’s treated it can be used,” Goltzman said. “You don’t have to withdraw from the ecosystem to water those crops.”
The Coca-Cola Company used a smart “golden triangle” model in all sustainability proposals. The innovative (创新的)model gives full play to the advantages and expertise of governments, businesses, nongovernmental organizations and all sectors of society, to meet the increasingly serious environmental challenges, and protect water and biological diversity.
Zhang said, “We act in ways to create a more sustainable and better shared future. Sustainability remains core to what we do.”
1. Which of the following can best describe the Coca-Cola Co.?| A．Peace -conscious. | B．Earth-friendly. |
| C．Fully-equipped. | D．Recently-built. |
| A．The ecosystem has been improved. | B．The sugar processing facility is set up. |
| C．The irrigation system has been changed. | D．Treated wastewater byproducts are used. |
| A．It consists of new conservation proposals. |
| B．It is created by nongovernmental organizations. |
| C．It makes the most of social resources to help nature. |
| D．It is employed to solve the problem of water shortage. |
| A．In an essay. | B．In a newspaper. |
| C．In a fashion magazine. | D．In a biology book. |
9 . The Red Cross is known for performing some of the most heroic acts in the world. There are Red Cross societies in 190 countries all over the world. Their task is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of sudden serious situations by organizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of those who want to donate(捐献).
In 1860, Swiss businessman and social activist, Jean Henri Dunant, saw the effects of war, and countries not prepared or able to deal with the suffering of those who had been injured in the Battle of Solferino during the second War of Italian Independence. Dunant organized a group of volunteers to help bring water and food to the injured, to help with medical treatment, or to write letters to the families of those who were dying. After that moment, he knew that more had to be done, and he wrote the book, A Memory of Solferino, which encouraged the public to create an organization which would help the wounded. His writing encouraged more people to support him in creating the International Federation of the Red Cross. And in 1863, International Committee of the Red Cross was founded.
The modern-day Red Cross does more than nursing soldiers during wartime. The group began to devote itself largely to disaster relief(灾难救援) and epidemic(流行病) treatment. It has achieved even greater service in humanitarian(人道主义的) programs that serve continuously in both peace and war.
One of the easiest ways you can help the Red Cross is to make sure you are able to donate blood and make an appointment at the Red Cross website. But, donating blood isn’t the only way you can help out—the Red Cross also encourages you to donate your time if you can, along with other things the modern-day Red Cross wants you to know.
1. What does the underlined word “alleviate” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Lighten. | B．Report. | C．Express. | D．Find. |
| A．To make more people know the Red Cross. |
| B．To ask more people to help the wounded. |
| C．To let people see the cruelty of wars. |
| D．To call on people to stop wars. |
| A．In Paragraph 1. | B．In Paragraph 2. | C．In Paragraph 3. | D．In Paragraph 4. |
| A．To introduce the Red Cross website. |
| B．To explain the Red Cross’s future work. |
| C．To show how the Red Cross helps needy people. |
| D．To encourage people to offer help in the Red Cross |
Formed in 2002, the China International Search and Rescue Team (CISAR) brings help and hope to those
The team carried out
Rescue workers are trained to find people, treat injuries, and hand out food, water, and other supplies. There is
