1 . Back in 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that with technological change and improvements in productivity, we’d be working only 15 hours a week in the near future. But while working hours have declined by 26%, most of us still work 42.5 hours a week on average, according to Eurostat figures.
One of the things Keynes underestimated is our desire to compete with our peers — a drive that makes us work more than we need to. “We don’t measure productivity by how many acres we’ve harvested, so the amount of working time becomes an indicator.” says Alex Soojung-Kim Pang.
Due to computerization and globalization in the 1980s, managers could demand more of employees under the threat that jobs could be given to someone else, so the pressure increased. And we took it, overwhelmed with the pressure while shouldering the burden all the same at the cost of our health. Psychologist Barbara Killinger writes such a phenomenon in Workaholics: The Respectable Addicts.
But far from delivering productivity, value, or personal fulfillment, overwork has been proven to lead to burnout, stress, poor health, etc. Nevertheless, we persisted — until the fourth Industrial Revolution came along.
The fourth Industrial Revolution has accelerated the move towards automation and AI, especially for jobs with high physical proximity (接近). Economist Dr. Carl Frey predicts that at least 40% of current jobs will be lost to automation by 2050.
There are exceptions. Jobs that involve complex social interactions are beyond current robot skills, such as teaching, cleaning jobs, and jobs that rely on creativity, according to Frey and Osborne.
According to McKinsey, those whose work falls outside the caring, cleaning and creative fields will still work in the future, just differently. In about 60% of occupations, it’s estimated that a third of the tasks can be automated, meaning substantial changes to the way we work. A large-scale study carried out by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted that over the next 20 years, although 7 million jobs will be lost to AI, 7.2 million new ones will be created as a result. So we will work in the future: we just don’t know what we’ll be doing yet.
1. What do the figures in Paragraph 1 mainly indicate?| A．Our working time failed to decrease as much as predicted. |
| B．Technology keeps changing with the development of society. |
| C．Keynes’ prediction mainly focused on productivity improvement. |
| D．Overwork will result in fierce competition between employees. |
| A．People’s false sense of time. |
| B．People’s awareness of peer competition. |
| C．People’s ignoring the quality of their jobs. |
| D．People’s pressure to increase productivity. |
| A．They argued for fairness. |
| B．They devoted more to their work. |
| C．They tried to escape shouldering the burden. |
| D．They emphasized the importance of their health. |
| A．Counseling service will be paid less attention to. |
| B．More and more cleaners become unemployed in cities. |
| C．A majority of teachers will be replaced by robots. |
| D．The types of jobs with high physical proximity will be transformed. |
| A．Worried. | B．Hopeful. | C．Objective. | D．Indifferent. |
2 . To save the environment, we must all join in — and nobody knows this better than 70-year-old grandmother Pat Smith who spent 2018 cleaning up litter from 52 beaches in Cornwall on the United Kingdom’s south coast.
Smith set out in January, 2018 to carry out her New Year’s resolution of making her community a better and cleaner place. The ambitious goal came to her after she watched a documentary on plastic pollution the previous year, and she knew she couldn’t just sit by.
Often, volunteers would join her in her efforts, including her grandchildren, or she would join hands with other campaigners such as Wayne Dixon, who is walking around the UK coast as an ambassador for Keep Britain Tidy.
During her beach cleans, Smith was sometimes mistaken for doing community service! She said, “People don’t understand I’ve been doing this voluntarily. We should all take responsibility for picking up the litter as well as ensuring we don’t drop litter in the first place.
Even before her beach cleanups, Smith had begun her first environmental campaign to eliminate plastic straws (吸管) in her city of Cornwall . To date, she has encouraged 600 local companies to stop using unnecessary plastic. In an effort to make her hometown an example for the plastic-free movement in the United Kingdom, she founded The Final Straw Cornwall in the summer of 2017. “I founded the Final Straw to try and raise awareness of the disastrous damage we are doing to our oceans from our casual consumption of single-use plastics. I feel I have a responsibility to my children and grandchildren to do something about it.” She said.
Her resolution year may be over but this environmentally conscious grandma continues her quest (追求). “A lot of the rubbish I’ve picked up consists of everyday items,” said Smith. “These things are used by all of us and it is shocking to find them polluting our beautiful beaches. Please let’s try to be more thoughtful in this coming year. I’m driven to try and protect our living planet for my children and grandchildren and I will continue to do everything in my power to achieve that.”
1. What led to Smith’s New Year’s resolution of cleaning her community?| A．Community service. |
| B．A film or television program. |
| C．Various ocean protection campaigns. |
| D．Serious pollution in her community. |
| A．She was forced to do that. |
| B．She just pretended to be caring. |
| C．She actually did only a little work. |
| D．She wouldn’t stick to the work for long. |
| A．set an example to other aged people |
| B．stop her local companies from producing plastic straws |
| C．keep her promise to her children and grandchildren |
| D．make people conscious of the plastic-related environmental problem |
| A．It’s everyone’s duty. |
| B．It’s as hard as people think. |
| C．Prevention is more important than protection. |
| D．The younger generation don’t care about it enough. |
| A．Proud. | B．Happy. | C．Stressed. | D．Determined. |
3 . Every spring, in regions at high altitudes around the world, one of Earth’s tiniest migrations takes place. The migrants are single-celled green algae (海藻); they are relatives to plants growing in the sea, but instead of living in the sea they live in snow. They spend the winter deep in the snow. In the spring, they wake and swim up through flowing streams of melted snow to the surface, dividing and photosynthesizing (进行光合作用) as they go. Then, at the top, they turn red. This creates what scientists call pink snow.
The color comes from astaxanthin (虾青素), a substance that gives some living things their reddish color. The algae produce astaxanthin as a form of sun protection; it absorbs UV light, thereby warming the organisms and thus melting the surrounding snow. “The melting helps them a lot,” said Roman Dial, a biologist at Alaska Pacific University. “The moment there is liquid water on the snow, the algae start growing.”
Pink snow is a perfectly natural phenomenon, but in an age of disappearing glaciers (冰川), it is also problematic. Last year, scientists discovered that the algae turned the snow surface dark, reducing the amount of sunlight reflected by some glaciers in Scandinavia—and increasing the amount of sunlight absorbed—by 30%. The result, as Dial and his colleagues demonstrated in this month’s issue of Nature Geoscience, is faster melting. As in other parts of the warming planet—particularly the Arctic, where scientists fear that melting permafrost (永冻土层) may lead to further climatic changes. Ice sheets are already being darkened by dust and ash, which makes the process of melting faster and provides nutrients for algae growth. As the organisms multiply, they melt even more snow, which allows them to increase in their population again. “It spreads more rapidly than people realize, once it gets established,” Dial said.
Snow algae need snow; when that’s gone, which seems to be the direction of things, the snow algae will go, too. Before the snow algae disappear, though, and while there’s still some glacier left, it’s entirely possible that the last snow we’ll see on Earth will be pink or even red, a wound on Earth.
1. What causes the color of pink snow?| A．The migration that involves the algae and other plants. |
| B．The flowing streams that the algae travel through. |
| C．The algae that turn red at the snow’s surface. |
| D．The sunlight that directly reflects on the algae. |
| A．It absorbs UV light to cool down the algae. | B．It prevents the algae from photosynthesizing. |
| C．It colors the algae for the purpose of decoration. | D．It helps protect the algae from the sun. |
| A．It increases the reflection of sunlight. | B．It speeds up the melting of glaciers. |
| C．It leads to a decrease in algae populations. | D．It reduces the amount of liquid water available. |
| A．The rapid melting of glaciers may lead to an increase in permafrost. |
| B．The darkening of ice sheets may slow down the process of melting. |
| C．The warming climate may result in the extinction of algae in the region. |
| D．Darkening ice sheets and multiplied algae may worsen climate change. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Indifferent. | C．Neutral. | D．Optimistic. |
4 . Welcome to the library, new students! The library will play a big part in your experience while you’re at the University of York. There’s a lot to take in if you’re new.
Buildings
We have several library sites, including a main library on Campus West and two other libraries in the City Centre. Our main library is made up of three connected buildings: the Morrell, the Fairhurst and the Burton. You enter all three buildings through the Morrell.
Resources
Our library has lots of books and journal articles that will help with your studies and research. We also provide videos, slides and interactive tutorials (学习指南) to help you develop your information skills, learn to code (编码), work with data and get creative with digital technologies. We’ll show you how to follow good academic practice and develop your digital skills for effective reading, note-making, essay writing and problem solving.
Checking out
Always bring Library Card with you as you will need it to enter the library and borrow items. You can borrow books and access the electronic resources provided by the library for free. There’s no need to request books that are available. This means you will need to go to the shelves yourself to find the books you need. You can borrow up to 75 items at once, and you’ll need to check your emails to find out when to bring them back.
Opening Hours
The library is usually open from 8 am to midnight. The exceptions to this are days over the Christmas period when the library closes early or is closed all day, and the exam period at the end of each semester when the library opens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
1. The entrance of the main library is in ______.| A．the Morrell | B．the Fairhurst | C．the Burton | D．the City Centre |
| A．Effective reading and public speaking. | B．Video editing and slide making. |
| C．Note-making and problem solving. | D．Information coding and tutorial making. |
| A．You need make a request in advance. |
| B．You should pay the deposit with your Library Card. |
| C．You can directly take them from the shelves on your own. |
| D．You can borrow 75 books at once and return them anytime you want. |
| A．On December 25th. | B．On the day before the final exam. |
| C．On weekend. | D．On the first day of a new semester. |
| A．An education journal. | B．A travel brochure. | C．A local newspaper. | D．A student guide. |
5 . Team-building exercises have become popular for managers trying to increase organizational and team harmony and productivity. Unfortunately, many employees are angry about compulsory bonding and often regard these exercises as a nuisance (烦事).
A paper published this week by University of Sydney researchers in Social Networks has reported participants' feelings about team-building intervention (干预), revealing ethical implications in forcing employees to take part.
“Many people see team building activities as a waste of time, so we decided to look in more depth at what's behind this,” said the paper's lead researcher, Dr Peter Matous.
“Teams are formed, combined and restructured. Staff are relocated and office spaces redesigned. All this is done with the aim of improving workplace efficiency, collaboration and cohesion. But does any of this work?” said Dr Matous.
The study found that team-building exercises which focused on the sharing of and intervening into personal attitudes and relationships between team members were considered too rude and nosy (爱打听), although the researchers say some degree of openness and vulnerability (脆弱) is often necessary to make deep, effective connections with colleagues.
"Some participants were against team-building exercises because they were indirectly compulsory. They didn't welcome management's interest in their lives beyond their direct work performance," said Matous. "Many people don't want to be forced into having fun or making friends, especially not on top of their busy jobs. They feel management is being too nosy or trying to control their lives too much."
In this study the researchers recommended a self-disclosure (表露) approach where participants were guided through a series of questions that allowed them to increasingly disclose personal information and values. The method is well-tested and has been shown to increase interpersonal closeness. However, to be successful it must be voluntary.
The researchers said there are numerous schools of thought that propose differing psychological methods for strengthening relationships. “With caution, many relational methods to improve teams and organizations can be borrowed from other fields. The question is how to apply them effectively to strengthen an entire collective, which is more than just the sum of individual relationships,” said Dr Matous.
1. Why are many employees opposed to team-building exercises?| A．They consider such exercises annoying. |
| B．They deem these exercises counter-productive. |
| C．They see such exercises as harmful to harmony. |
| D．They find these exercises too demanding. |
| A．They relocated team leaders and their offices. |
| B．They rearranged the staff and office spaces. |
| C．They redesigned the staffs work schedules. |
| D．They reintroduced some cohesive activities. |
| A．They were intended to share personal attitudes and relationships. |
| B．They indirectly added to the vulnerability of team members. |
| C．They always strengthened connections among colleagues. |
| D．They were regarded as a violation of employees' privacy. |
| A．By allowing participants freedom to express themselves. |
| B．By applying it to employees who volunteer to participate. |
| C．By arranging in proper order the questions participants face. |
| D．By guiding employees through a series of steps in team building. |
| A．They must be used in combination for an entire collective. |
| B．They prioritize some psychological aspects over others. |
| C．They place too much stress on individual relationships. |
| D．They have to be applied cautiously to be effective. |
| A．preserves | B．prevents | C．acquires | D．declares |
—________. I believe you will be getting promotion.
| A．Never mind | B．Help yourself |
| C．Forget it | D．Keep it up |
8 . Having a rival (对手) can keep you committed to achieving your goals and enhance your overall performance. But before you go out and find an entrepreneur (创业者) to outcompete(胜出), it’s important to understand and avoid the traps that often come with rivalry. After all, competitive rivalry can also make it difficult for you to make a decision and increase your willingness to take risks, behaviors that can ultimately hurt your venture’s (风险项目) success.
Finding someone you’re committed to outcompeting can be a great way to stay focused on your goals and push your venture to the next level. But when you’re intently focused on outperforming your rivals, you may begin to develop a “win-at-all-costs” mentality (心态) that causes you to ignore how you achieve success. One group of researchers, for example, examined the link between rivalry and unethical(不道德的) behavior. They found that when people compete against their rivals, they are more willing to behave unethically to win. But such behavior may damage your reputation and strain(使……紧张) relationships important to your success. One way to avoid this trap is to stop and reflect on what’s important. While outperforming your rivals may provide short-term benefits, the loss of your integrity(正直) will have long-term consequences.
One reason having a rival can enhance your venture’s performance is that it creates a level of excitement that drives you to work harder. But this eagerness to win may also hurt your venture’s success, particularly when it causes you to make impulsive, insensible decisions. But it’s possible to avoid such costly mistakes by making a habit of engaging in critical thinking, such as considering opposing viewpoints and conducting cost-benefit analyses, especially for those decisions that are complex and can determine the future of your venture.
The sense of eagerness that comes with having a rival can not only cause you to make poorer decisions, but it can also lead you to take greater risks that put your venture in great dangers. One way you can overcome the risk-inducing (诱发) effects of rivalry that stand to endanger your venture’s success is to remain attentive to your emotional state and actively monitor how such feelings are affecting your decision-making.
1. How can competitive rivalry benefit entrepreneurs according to the passage?| A．By enabling them to outcompete other entrepreneurs. |
| B．By enabling them to make their venture a success. |
| C．By helping them to reach long-term goals. |
| D．By helping them to stay goal-oriented. |
| A．They may adopt strategies that are bound to ruin their venture. |
| B．They may depend on unethical means to outperform their rivals. |
| C．They may be too eager to succeed while ignoring the huge labor cost. |
| D．They may be intently focused on winning at the current market level. |
| A．Think very carefully about what really matters. |
| B．Prioritize obtaining immediate benefits. |
| C．Estimate the long-term consequences. |
| D．Reflect on what successes are achievable. |
| A．By engaging themselves in critical reasoning. |
| B．By developing a habit of keeping their integrity. |
| C．By criticizing themselves for previous poor performances. |
| D．By stopping themselves from being too excited about their successes. |
| A．By paying close attention to their current performance. |
| B．By taking steps that stand to endanger their rivals’ success. |
| C．By monitoring how their decision-making impacts their mentality. |
| D．By keeping their emotions in check to avoid making poor decisions. |
| A．Being celebrated | B．Celebrating |
| C．Celebrated | D．Having celebrated |
（1）邀请他的原因以及访谈的时间和地点；
（2）该期访谈节目的介绍（访谈话题、访谈目的等）；
（3）希望他对同学们如何学好英语提出一些建议。
注意：（1）词数不少于100；
（2）可适当加入细节，使内容充实、行文连贯。
参考词汇：微信视频号：WeChat Video Channel
Dear Chris,
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Yours,
Li Jin
