1 . If you are a recent social science graduate who has had to listen to jokes about unemployment from your computer major classmates, you may have had the last laugh. There are many advantages for the social science major because this high-tech “Information Age” demands people who are flexible and who have good communication skills.
There are many social science majors in large companies who fill important positions. For example, a number of research studies found that social science majors had achieved greater managerial success than those who had technical training or pre-professional courses. Studies show that social science majors are most suited for change, which is the leading feature of the kind of high speed, high-pressure, high-tech world we now live in.
Social science majors are not only experiencing success in their long-term company jobs, but they are also finding jobs more easily. A study showed that many companies had filled a large percentage of their entry-level positions with social science graduates. The study also showed that the most sought-after quality in a person who was looking for a job was communication skills, noted as “very important” by 92 percent of the companies. Social science majors have these skills, often without knowing how important they are. It is probably due to these skills that they have been offered a wide variety of positions.
Finally, although some social science majors may still find it more difficult than their technically trained classmates to land the first job, recent graduates report that they don’t regret their choice of study.
1. Compared with graduates of other subjects, social science graduates _____.| A．are ready to change when situations change |
| B．are better able to deal with difficulties |
| C．are equally good at computer skills |
| D．are likely to give others pressure |
| A．Willingness to take low-paid jobs. | B．Readiness to gain high-tech knowledge. |
| C．Skills in expressing themselves. | D．Part-time work experience. |
| A．keep for some time | B．successfully get |
| C．immediately start | D．lose regretfully |
2 . Freelance is a kind of work that goes back to medieval times when it was used to describe soldiers who sold their skills to those prepared to pay their market rate. Today it's an increasingly common way of working for people in a range of occupations and appeals to many who feel constrained by corporate culture.
What you gain is freedom of movement; what you can lose is a sense of belonging. You can end up feeling isolated from normal support networks, because suddenly you are responsible for your own welfare, training, safety, career development, equipment, professional updating and a thousand other things,it is easy to remain unaware of these things in the relatively spoiled existence of full-time employment. So before you leap up into this exciting and potentially rewarding way of working,stand back and take a look at the risks.
Freelancing has always been a common way of working for writers,artists and performers,but the range of occupations with a substantial number of freelancers is growing steadily. Anyone with a marketable skill can choose to do it alone. Websites offer a free directory listing for those with skills to sell. Their categories include accountants,healthcare consultants,landscape architects and computer trainers. Areas of work that have problem recruiting staff are always keen to employ freelancers.
Being a freelancer is different from other forms of self-employment-you still work for an employer or several employers but have to develop a completely different set of relationships with them. Employers are now your customers,you are their supplier. You have to become indispensable(不可缺少的)to them,providing solutions to their problems,some of which they may not even realize they had. In many ways you have to behave like their dreamed employee,being more willing and available than you may have got used to while in a “proper job”.
You also have to be aware of,and sensitive to,the fact that you can be seen as a threat by your customer's conventional employees,who may regard you as taking work they could do. Successful freelancing relies on the cooperation of everyone you come into contact with. Work that brings you into conflict with an existing workforce can be more troublesome than it's worth.
1. The first freelancers originated in medieval times were_____.| A．soldiers | B．writers | C．artists | D．performers |
| A．shocked | B．charmed | C．chained | D．elevated |
| A．They can enjoy greater freedom than full-time employees. |
| B．They need to work for no employer but themselves only. |
| C．They have to shoulder full responsibilities for themselves. |
| D．They may feel isolated because they belong to no corporate culture. |
| A．have professional skills to sell to different employers |
| B．be well aware of the challenges of freelancing |
| C．be able to work both independently and cooperatively |
| D．compete with conventional employees to have an edge over them |
3 . The African elephant will disappear within two decades if urgent action is not taken to save one of the world's most iconic animal species, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has warned in a new campaign fundraiser.
The population of these elephants—the largest animal currently walking the earth—has declined by 70 percent in the last 40 years, in large part because of the illegal ivory trade, which is the biggest driver of elephant poaching, according to the non-profit.
In fact, 20,000 elephants are killed every year to feed this trade—which is equivalent to one death every 26 minutes.
Once an elephant is killed, poachers harvest the ivory to meet a growing demand for products made from this material. Ivory can be turned into ornaments and decorations, as well as being used in traditional Asian medicine for its intended therapeutic value. Elephants are also sometimes killed to provide a source of meat.
This poaching takes place despite a global ban on ivory sales under the CITES multilateral treaty (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) which was introduced in 1990. Above the poachers are powerful organized criminal networks which commonly engage in corruption, money laundering and assassinations.
Part of the issue in policing the problem is that the governments of nations where Africans elephants live often lack sufficient resources to protect and monitor elephant herds, which often reside in remote and inaccessible habitats. When the animals are killed, they often suffer a brutal death.
African elephants are found in 37 countries across the continent and are categorized as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with a remaining population of around 415,000 in the wild, according to WWF.
These animals play a crucial role in the ecosystem, helping to maintain healthy habitats for many other species. This is because African elephants help to disperse seeds.
The population of African elephants—which are split into two subspecies—once numbered between three and five million during the last century. However, this figure has fallen dramatically as a result of poaching and other factors, such as habitat fragmentation or loss.
1. The word “poaching” (paragraph 2) probably means ________.| A．desperate desire | B．severe damage |
| C．illegal hunting | D．cruel killing |
| A．They were hunted by other animals. |
| B．They failed to survive the natural disasters. |
| C．There is no suitable living environment. |
| D．They were illegally traded for ivory. |
| A．Absence of bans or regulations on ivory sales is the biggest driver of elephant poaching. |
| B．Elephants living in remote habitats are less vulnerable than those living in nations with adequate resources. |
| C．If the African elephant disappear, the ecosystem there is likely to be ruined. |
| D．African elephant herbs usually migrated in large population. |
| A．African Elephants Will Be Gone in The Future |
| B．African Elephants, Leading Role in Ecosystem |
| C．The Population of African Elephants |
| D．Different Types of African Elephants |
4 . World heritage is a tricky thing to protect. Even when something makes it onto UNESCO's list, other factors can still put it at risk of being damaged. The environment, climate change, tourists and development-all these can affect world heritage sites.
Recently, the National Geographic listed the best-and worst-protected heritage items in the world.
The Kathmandu Valley in Nepal scored last because the ancient temples there are surrounded by modern construction and dense air pollution.
Sometimes it is difficult to protect a world heritage site because the factors that threaten it, like climate, are hard to control. The Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Australia;for example, is suffering because of ultraviolet(紫外线的)sun rays coming through the hole in the ozone layer(臭氧层).
These rays affect the coral(珊瑚)there and kill off smaller ecosystems. There are things that can be done to preserve the life in the reef and help it survive, but repairing the hole in the ozone layer itself-the root cause of the problem-would be a difficult task.
Often the biggest damage is done by people. The Amazon Rainforest, for example, is threatened by companies wanting to chop down its trees, some of which have been there for centuries. Mining companies want to dig deep into the Amazon basin to reach the valuable resources there.
The cost of all these human actions is enormous. It's not just that whole species of animals are disappearing, or that natural beauty is being destroyed. Scientists have not had the chance to study all the plants in the Amazon, and believe some could hold potential cures for diseases.
The area is now called the Central Amazon Conservation Complex and there are rules banning or limiting destructive practices. But people-often ignore them and the destruction goes on
However, many UNESCO sites are success stories of how world heritage can be protected. The Alhambra Palace in Spain and Te Wahipounamu in New Zealand are great examples of how UNESCO and the local community can work together to save priceless landmarks. Both gained top spots on the National Geographic list as the best-protected heritage sites in the world. “Local people are all active protectors. All tourists need reminding that they are entering an exceptional place, that it is a privilege to be there, “ commented the magazine.
1. What is the biggest problem facing the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal?| A．The sharp deerease in the number of ancient temples. |
| B．Serious air pollution and modernization. |
| C．Ultraviolet sun rays coming through the hole in the ozone layer. |
| D．The stream of tourists threatening ancient temples there. |
| A．little can-be done to preserve the life in the reef |
| B．the root cause of the problem is still unknown |
| C．the factor threatening it is almost beyond control |
| D．the ecosystems there have been badly destroyed. |
| A．Climate change is a major threat to the Amazon Rainforest. |
| B．The measures taken to protect the Amazon Rainforest have turned out to be highly effective. |
| C．Local people living around the Amazon Rainforest are all active protectors. |
| D．It's expected that the medical value of some unknown plants in the Amazon Rainforest will be discovered. |
| A．special advantage | B．clear signal |
| C．total failure | D．dramatic change |
5 . "When I was 16 years old, I was diving in Greece, but I was disappointed because I saw more plastic bags than fish.” These are the words of Boyan Slat, an engineer who designed the world's first ocean plastic cleanup system.
Every year, more than 8 million tons of plastics end up in our oceans, according to the UN Environment Programme. It is predicted that the weight of ocean plastics will match the weight of all the fish in our oceans by 2050. To prevent this from happening, in 2013 Slat created the Ocean Cleanup, an environmental non¬governmental organization, and put his plan for an ocean cleanup device into action.
After years of research and develop¬ment in the Netherlands, a device called System 001/B successfully started gathering plastics on October 2, 2019. The device uses a 600-meter-long C-shaped tube to gather all the floating rubbish. Unlike other cleanup methods, the system floats freely according to the direction of the waves, which allows waste to flow into and stay within the device. A sea anchor is attached to either end. This slows down the system as it floats through the water and allows the faster-moving rubbish, carried by the waves, to flow into its mouth. System 001/B can also collect waste below the surface using a 3-meter-deep skirt（挡板）attached to the end. After being gathered, the trash will be dragged back to shore by boat and recycled.
Right now, the system operates in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area that is 3 times the size of France. Once operational, the Ocean Cleanup expects a full fleet to be able to clear 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years.
"It remains to be seen whether this dream will become a reality, but it is undeniable that humanity must work together to reduce our plastic use and repair the damage our waste has caused," Slat said. "We are starting to see a young generation that gets it and is excited about a sustainable （可持续的）future, but the question still comes down to: Are we going fast enough, and how much damage will have been done before we get there?"
1. The underlined word “match” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_________”.| A．compare | B．equal |
| C．measure | D．cover |
| A．To collect ocean plastic waste. |
| B．To help to invent System 001/B. |
| C．To protect the living environment of fish. |
| D．To do research on the ocean environment. |
| A．It can collect and recycle garbage at the same time. |
| B．It can only gather ocean waste which floats on the water. |
| C．It aims to clear up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years. |
| D．It is an ocean-cleaning device which has already been put to use. |
| A．Young generations care less about the environment. |
| B．The future ecology of the oceans is deeply worrying. |
| C．People should work hard to decrease plastic pollution. |
| D．It's quite difficult to repair the damage to the environment. |
6 . For high school leavers starting out in the working world, it is very important to learn particular skills and practice how to behave in an interview or how to find all internship (实习). In some countries, schools have programs to help students onto the path to work. In the Unites States, however, such programs are still few and far between.
Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses, students are likely to get higher earnings in later years. The students are more likely to stay in school graduate and go on to higher education.
In Germany, students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships. German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employer.
But in America, education reform programs focus on how well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world. Harvard Education School Professor Robert Schwartz has criticized education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track.
Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the country’s most vulnerable (易受影响的) kids with no jobs and no skills. Schwartz believed that the best career programs encourage kids to go for higher education while also teaching them valuable practical skills at high school. James Madison High School in New York, for example, encourages students to choose classes on career-based courses. The school then helps them gain on-the-job experience in those fields while they’re still at high school.
However, even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work, the job market is daunting. In the US, unemployment rates for 16 to 19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row.
“The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the summer job experience, they become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job,” said Michael, a researcher in the US.
1. According to Robert Schwartz, _______.| A．there is no need for kids to go for higher education in the US |
| B．students should get contact with the working world at high school |
| C．education reform should focus on students’ performance in exams |
| D．teenagers in the US can’t miss out on the summer job experience |
| A．Unemployment rates for US teenagers remain high at the moment. |
| B．Students with career-based courses never have problems finding a job. |
| C．US companies work with schools to prepare young people for future employment. |
| D．High school leavers with no practical skills can’t find a job absolutely. |
| A．Arguments about recent US education reform. |
| B．Tips on finding jobs for high school leavers. |
| C．The lack of career-based courses in US high schools. |
| D．Advice for American high school leavers. |
| A．discouraging | B．interesting | C．creative | D．bearable |
7 . Most of the guests who come on our trips have never been to Egypt before. We want to make everyone comfortable and at ease, but we do always get the same questions in advance of the trip. So here I will give you some travel tips.
What should I wear?
If you're lucky enough to visit Egypt between November and February, pack a sweater. You’ll need it - the desert gets rather cold at night. During the day, the temperature will be agreeable and comfortable. Any other time, pack as if you're going to Phoenix of Vegas in August. For the ladies, bathing suits are normal if there's a pool where you are going, but leave the string bikini at home it is a Muslim country, after all. Last, if you are planning on visiting any mosques (清真寺) or certain parts of upper Egypt, ladies will need to plan on bringing something that comes at least to the elbow(肘部), and no shorts for men or women in those areas.
What special things do I need to pack?
One of my favorite things in the world to bring to Egypt is an Evian water, a sprayer with a fine mist of Evian water. You may be able to find it in your local drug store. Spray a little on your face or head, and your body temperature will feel like it's dropped 10 or15 degrees. Other items include your camera, sun block and extra batteries .
What medical preparation do I need?
In a word: none!. The one thing you may come down with in Egypt is politely called ''Pharoah's Revenge''. The thing that gets rid of Pharoah's Revenge is a regionally produced medicine, and is available at every drugstore for $1 a box. Don't drink local water. Do drink bottled water, avoid the skins of fresh vegetables, and you’ll be fine.
1. What clothing is proper for ladies visiting a mosque?| A．String bikinis. | B．Bathing suits | C．Long-sleeve clothes | D．Shorts |
| A．To relieve your thirst | B．To cool yourself down. |
| C．To prevent sunburns | D．To drive away insects |
| A．a battle | B．a tale | C．a disease | D．a plant |
| A．describe a journey to Egypt to the tourist | B．offer some practical tips on traveling in Egypt |
| C．warn readers of the poisonous insects in Egypt | D．attract more tourists to Egypt |
8 . It has been said by some experts that to understand Poland you must understand the composer Frederic Chopin.
The creative genius, one of the most original of the 19th Century, was born outside Warsaw in 1810 to a French father and Polish mother and in a proud nation suffering under partition (seperation) and divided among occupying Russians, Prussians and Austrians.
Frederic Chopin moved with his family to Warsaw as a newborn and lived there until he was 20 when he left his homeland for good. Although he spent almost half of his life in Paris, traditional Polish music permeates (渗入) his compositions and he always considered Warsaw his hometown.
And the city never ceased (stopped) being proud of him either. The $28 million interactive Fryderyk Chopin Museum opened last March to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth.
Visitors are given a plastic ticket which, once swiped past the blue light readers at the entrance, can be used to access information on touch screens in eight languages.
The museum covers the history and works of Chopin. Among the 7,000 items in the museum's collection are a lock of Chopin's hair and a gold pocket watch the Italian soprano Angelica Catalani gave the nine- year- old prodigy after one of his concerts.
Just up the road from the museum on the Royal Way is an apartment where Chopin, together with his family, lived for the last three years of his life in Warsaw.
From Warsaw's historic Old Town down Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street, along the Royal Way to Lazienki Park, you can walk down the same streets young Chopin strolled, past palaces and churches in which he gave performances. If you visit the Lazienki Park during summer, you can attend the free open air concerts on Sundays given by pianists from all over the world. It is the perfect place to hear Chopin’s music, the power and beauty of which was once described by his contemporary composer, Robert Schumann, as ''cannon buried in flowers''.
1. Which of the following statements about Frederic Chopin is NOT true?| A．He was of French-Polish parentage. |
| B．He was greatly influenced by traditional Polish music. |
| C．He spent most of his life in his hometown -Warsaw. |
| D．He was born in Poland, which was partitioned at that time. |
| A．was built in memory of Chopin and his contemporaries. |
| B．was located in Paris, where he received his musical education. |
| C．was accessible to the public for free. |
| D．was devoted to the history and works of Chopin. |
| A．genius. | B．actor. | C．inventor. | D．critic. |
| A．some of Chopin's contemporaries envied his talent. |
| B．Warsaw is rich in places closely connected with Chopin's life and music. |
| C．Chopin made a living by giving performances in palaces and churches. |
| D．concerts are given in the Lazienki Park throughout the year. |
9 . A strict vegetarian is a person who never in his life eats anything derived from animals. The main objection to vegetarianism on a long-term basis is the difficulty of getting enough protein, the body building elements in food. If you have ever been without meat or animal foods for some days or weeds (say, for religious reasons) you will have noticed that you tend to get physically rather weak. You are glad when the fast is over and you get your reward of a succulent meat meal.
Proteins are built up from approximately twenty food elements called “amino-acids”, which are found more abundantly in animal protein than in vegetable protein. This means you have to eat a great deal more vegetable than animal food in order to get enough of these amino-acids. A great deal of the vegetable food goes to waste in this process and from the physiological point of view there is not much to be said in favor of life-long vegetarianism.
The economic side of the question, though, must be considered. Vegetable food is much cheaper than animal food. However, since only a small proportion of tae vegetable protein is useful for body-building purposes, a consistent vegetarian, if he is to gain the necessary 70 grams of protein a day, has to consume a greater bulk of food than his digestive organs can comfortably deal with. In fairness, though, it must be pointed out that vegetarians claim they need far less than 70 grams of protein a day.
Whether or not vegetarianism should be advocated for adults, it is definitely unsatisfactory for growing children, who need more protein than they can get from vegetable sources.
A lacto-vegetarian diet, which includes milk and milk products such as cheese, can, however, be satisfactory as long as enough milk and milk products are consumed.
Meat and cheese are the best sources of usable digestible and next come milk, fish and eggs. Slow and careful cooking of meat makes it more digestible and assists in the breaking down of the protein content by the body. When cooking vegetables, however, the vitamins, and in particular the water-soluble vitamin C, should be lost through overcooking.
1. A vegetarian is a person who _____.| A．eats the meat of animals only | B．eats the vegetable only |
| C．drinks milk only | D．eat nothing at all |
| A．more proteins | B．more nutrients |
| C．more minerals | D．more amino-acids |
| A．Johnny ran off as fast as his legs could carry him. |
| B．Gandhi drank some orange juice to break his three-week fast. |
| C．I always keep my watch 15 minutes fast. |
| D．The rainforests are being chopped down at an alarmingly fast rate. |
| A．to gain enough protein, one must consume much more vegetable food than animal food |
| B．cooking vegetables for long time makes it more digestible |
| C．milk is the best source of usable animal protein |
| D．the most common deficiencies in Western diets are those of vitamins |
| A．Vegetarianism is not good for one’s health. |
| B．Vegetarianism should be advocated for adults. |
| C．A lacto-vegetarian diet is the best as it provides adequate nutrition. |
| D．One should have a well-balanced diet containing elements of all foods. |
10 . When I travel the country speaking to high school and college students about exactly what they need to do to become financially successful in life, I always begin my presentation by asking three questions:
“How many want to be financially successful in life?”
“How many think they will be financially successful in life?”
Almost every time I ask the first two questions every hand rises in the air. Then I ask the magic third question:
“How many have taken a course in school on how to be financially successful in life?”
Not one hand rises in the air, ever. Clearly every student wants to be successful and thinks they will be successful but none have been taught by their parents or their school system how to be financially successful in life. Not only are there no courses on basic financial success principles but there are no structured courses teaching basic financial literacy. We are raising our children to be financially illiterate and to fail in life. Is it any wonder that most Americans live paycheck to paycheck? That most Americans accumulate more debt than assets? That many Americans lose their homes when they lose their job? Is it any wonder that most Americans cannot afford college for their children and that student loan debt is now the largest type of consumer debt?
What's worse is what our children are being taught by their parents, the school system, politicians and the media. They are teaching our children that the wealthy are corrupt, greedy, have too much wealth and that this wealth needs to be redistributed. What kind of a message do you think that sends to America's future generation? It is teaching them that seeking financial success by pursuing the American Dreams is a bad thing.
The statistics from my five-year study on the daily habits that separate the wealthy from the poor illustrate the fact that the poor are poor because they have too many Poverty Habits and too few Rich Habits. Poor parents teach their children the Poverty Habits and wealthy parents teach their children the Rich Habits. We don't have a wealth gap in this country, we have a parent gap. We don't have income inequality, we have parent inequality.
Parents and our schools need to work together to instill good daily success habits as follows:
•Limit T. V., social media and cell phone use to no more than one hour a day.
• Require that children read one to two educational books a month.
• Require that children set monthly, annual and 5-year goals.
• Require that children save at least 25% of their earnings or gifts they receive.
• Teach children the importance of relationship building by requiring them to call friends, family, teachers, coaches etc. on their birthdays and to send thank you cards for gifts or help they received from anyone.
• Reassure children that mistakes are good not bad.
• Children need to learn how to manage money.
• Teach children how to manage their time.
1. What's the writer's purpose of raising the three questions at the beginning of the presentation?| A．To show children's ambition to lead a successful life. |
| B．To attach importance to financial success. |
| C．To blame parents, teachers, and the media for the lack of courses about money management. |
| D．To emphasize the association between financial success and financial literacy. |
| A．Get used to. | B．Increase. | C．Pay back. | D．Borrow. |
| A．Parents open up a checking account or savings account for children and force them to use their savings to buy the things they want. |
| B．Children understand that the very foundation of success in life is built on learning from parents' mistakes. |
| C．Children spend no more than 1 hour per day on Internet use. |
| D．Children are required to create daily “to do” lists and these lists are monitored by parents. |
