1 . What My Year Abroad Taught Me About Cultural Differences

Imagine going to study abroad. You walk into the local shop and bam!, Golliwogs (黑面木偶) everywhere. I’m talking salespeople dressed as Golliwogs. Surprised, you go to the junk food section as that’s the only thing that will give your body the sugar rush it needs to shock your body out of the state of bewilderment (困惑). And there they were: Golliwog cookies.

I’m using the word “Golliwogs” because to a British person abroad that’s what they are. But in the Netherlands and Belgium the image is known as Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). There has been much discussion about whether or not it’s racist.     1     Zwarte Piet is understood by most in the Netherlands to be Santa’s helper whose black face was due to his delivering presents through the chimney.

Working as a trainee with the European Commission, I met people from all over the world, not just Europe. Working alongside my German, Spanish and Italian colleagues, I learned some valuable lessons.     2     You shouldn’t wait to say “excuse me,” or wait for a gap in the conversation to give your opinion, because you’ll walk out at the end of the meeting wondering how three hours have passed without you managing to say anything. I learned how to stop my colleagues and interject (插话) my thoughts.

Another lesson was the value of the coffee break. Coffee breaks in Brussels were not just time to get coffee. It was a chance to develop new ideas with colleagues in a more informal setting. At first I declined the invitation to attend, but after a while I began to notice that almost everyone went on these trips to the coffee machine and decided to join them.     3    

Graduates and students who have worked abroad gain an understanding of what it means to be truly European and how this can benefit you at work. Not only do you bring home experiences, skills and practices from other countries, but you also seek to take your work further afield (向远方).

    4     Remember the Golliwog cookies? All I really wanted were some Mr. Kipling’s cakes but they’re nearly impossible to find abroad. When I finished my trainee ship with the Commission, I came home and started a business called Packed Munches, a service sending boxes of British snacks to Britons all over the world. And to think, it all started with Zwarte Pict.

A．You might be amazed by the quantity of work and innovative concepts that can emerge during informal coffee breaks.

B．This marked my initial experience in comprehending diverse cultures.

C．As British people, we need to stay low-profile in what we do.

D．So, how did I apply these acquired abilities?

E．As individuals from Britain, we must produce more influence in our pursuits.

F．This was my first lesson in understanding British cultures.

2 . In 1919, in the aftermath of war, the International Labour Organization used its first convention to limit working hours to eight a day and 48 a week. The Depression later prompted employers to __________ a five-day week.

The latest crisis is dealing a __________ shock to how jobs are designed. The pandemic (疫情) forced many employers to implement remote working. It accelerated the use of technology to help them stay productive. As well as struggling with the challenges of hybrid work, some businesses are now __________ paying staff the same salary for a four-day working week, once as weird a concept as an eight-hour day.

Promised __________ include improved wellbeing, better focus, fairer sharing of childcare between men and women, and even a lighter carbon footprint. Fear of missing out on the latest trend must not, __________, blind companies to important obstacles and drawbacks.

Offsetting the cost of a four-day week at a national level looks ___________to achieve. As economic historian Robert Skidelsky pointed out in 2019, in a report for the UK Labour party, “__________ working hours nationwide, like France’s 35-hour working week, is not realistic or even desirable, because any cap needs to be adapted to the needs of different sectors (行业)”.

The Wellcome Trust, the science research foundation, decided in 2019 that even a trial would be __________, partly because its staff performed a mix of roles. Some jobs were hard to confine to four days. Other employees preferred to spread their work over five days. __________ already on a four-day week feared they might lose out.

Lockdowns exposed the gap between flexible homeworking professionals and front-line “__________” staff. A four-day week might __________ it.

Some staff want or need to work extra hours. To the risks of a two-tier workforce and reduced freedom of choice add the danger of __________. The approach fails if improved productivity does not cover the potential increased cost. If leaders’ determination to hit the same targets forces staff to work four 10-hour days, to shift their workload back into their __________ weekends, to rush jobs that require more time, or to hire additional hands to plug gaps, some of the benefits of offering workers more free time will quickly disappear.

For each of these __________, advocates have an answer. One is that companies just need to organise staff more efficiently. In itself, better __________ would improve productivity. Another is to cut working hours, rather than days, allowing greater flexibility.

1.

A．cancel

B．restore

C．back

D．deny

2.

A．similar

B．mild

C．psychological

D．distinct

3.

A．stopping

B．considering

C．continuing

D．forbidding

4.

A．features

B．awards

C．challenges

D．benefits

5.

A．therefore

B．however

C．besides

D．otherwise

6.

A．optimistic

B．essential

C．hard

D．instant

7.

A．capping

B．eliminating

C．revising

D．promoting

8.

A．effective

B．troublesome

C．consequential

D．apparent

9.

A．Professionals

B．Full-timers

C．Amateurs

D．Part-timers

10.

A．industrious

B．goal-driven

C．always-on

D．decisive

11.

A．widen

B．bridge

C．fill

D．leave

12.

A．boredom

B．invasion

C．distraction

D．overload

13.

A．short

B．long

C．early

D．late

14.

A．distinctions

B．impacts

C．objections

D．suggestions

15.

A．judgment

B．standard

C．management

D．method

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

The Impact of Visual Cues on Behavior

During the energy crisis in the 1970s, Dutch researchers began to pay close attention to the country’s energy usage. In one suburb near Amsterdam, they found that some homeowners used 30 percent less energy than their neighbors     1     the homes being of similar size and getting electricity for the same price.

It turned out that the houses in this neighborhood were nearly identical except for one feature: the location of the electrical meter. Some had one in the basement.     2     had the electrical meter upstairs in the main hallway.     3     you may guess, the homes with the meters located in the main hallway used less electricity. When their energy use was obvious and easy to track, people changed their behavior.

Every habit     4     (initiate) by a cue, and we are more likely to notice cues that stand out. Unfortunately, the environments where we live and work often make it easy not to do certain actions     5    there is no obvious cue to trigger the behavior. When the cues that spark a habit are subtle or hidden, they are easy     6     (ignore).

By comparison, creating obvious visual cues can draw your attention toward a    7     (desire) habit. I’ve experienced the power of obvious cues in my own life. I used to buy apples from the store, put them in the crisper (储藏格) in the bottom of the refrigerator, and forget all about them. By the time I remembered, the apples     8     (go) bad. I never saw them, so I never ate them.

Eventually, I took my own advice and redesigned my environment. I bought a large display bowl and placed it in the middle of the kitchen counter. The next time I bought apples, that was     9     they went. Almost like magic, I began eating a few apples each day simply because they were obvious,     10     (facilitate) the formation of a healthy eating habit rather than keeping them out of sight.

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。1.

A．Open.

B．Selfish.

C．Friendly.

D．Reserved.

2.

A．They stay quiet.

B．They read a book.

C．They talk about the weather.

D．They chat with fellow passengers.

3.

A．She was always treated as a foreigner.

B．She was eager to visit an English castle.

C．She was never invited to a colleague’s home.

D．She was unwilling to make friends with workmates.

4.

A．Houses are much quieter.

B．Houses provide more privacy.

C．They want to have more space.

D．They want a garden of their own.

5 . Despite some opposing opinions, the committee insists that the volunteers ________an excellent job in community service and that the prize ________to these warm-hearted men and women.

A．should do; be awarded	B．have done; will be awarded
C．should do; will be awarded	D．have done; be awarded

6 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. adulthood     B. betting     C. alternative     D. direct     E. drown     F. opting G. place     H. tearing     I. engage     J. sense     K. state

The post millennial generation best known as Gen Z — individuals now in their teens and early 20s — looked on as their parents lost jobs during the Great Recession. They’ve seen older millennial siblings     1     in student debt. Since they could eat solid food, they’ve watched on promising techonology displace another, and, along with older generations, have questioned everything from the gig economy to the     2     of democracy. Now they’re entering     3     with a willingness to experiment.

“The old systems we used to rely on aren’t working anymore, but new systems haven’t necessarily been put in     4    ,” says Melissa Lavigne-Delville, founder of the trends and research firm Culture Co-op, which specializes in generational attitudes. “Parents aren’t even sure about how to     5     their children, because too much is up in the air.”

According to a survey by her firm, 78% of Gen Z-ers say getting a four-year degree no longer makes economic     6    , and hundreds of programs, from apprenticeships to boot camps, have cropped up to offer a(n)     7     path. New types of work are possible too. Research has found that teenagers are getting their driver’s licenses later and doing less traditional work-for-pay than previous generations. But while they might not be     8     tickets at the local cineplex, they may be starting a popular YouTube channel from their bedroom. Culture Co-op found that nearly 60% of Gen Z-ers, ages 13 to 22, say they are doing some form of freelancing. Dew, for one, didn’t have a job in high school but did teach himself to code and is building websites on the side while he attends MissionU.

Jumping into the freelance economy means taking an uncertain path, as is     9     one’s future earnings on an educational program no one has tried before. Almost $2 billion has been invested in “last mile training” efforts like MissionU, but many young people are still     10     for college.

7 . 我喜欢罗马这座古城，它给我提供了很多令人着迷的景点和杰作，让我难以移开我的视线。(which) (汉译英)

8 . 直到大学毕业，找到第一份工作，我才发现自己对上海周一早高峰时段的高架路过敏。(Not until) (汉译英)

9 . 尽管成千上万双眼睛盯着她，她仍然不看笔记就发表了一篇关于保护濒危物种免遭灭绝的精彩演讲。(fix; refer) (汉译英)

10 . 在一个快乐往往与消费紧密结合的世界里，人们很难不对物件产生过度的依恋。(integrate; attachment) (汉译英)