1 . 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. |
2 . Bill Johnson was walking along the banks of the Niagara River, trying to find a good place to take a photo. Finally, he found the
Tired and gasping for breath, he paddled his hands, trying to stay afloat. Finally, he found himself being
| A．poor | B．perfect | C．unique | D．wet |
| A．beyond | B．into | C．from | D．over |
| A．blew | B．landed | C．flew | D．stressed |
| A．site | B．distance | C．reach | D．measure |
| A．stretched | B．jumped | C．ran | D．went |
| A．strong | B．weak | C．light | D．heavy |
| A．Automatically | B．Casually | C．Properly | D．Desperately |
| A．put out | B．swept away | C．driven away | D．pulled over |
| A．drawing | B．dropping | C．leaving | D．climbing |
| A．fell | B．lasted | C．got | D．stood |
| A．pouring | B．crying | C．moving | D．turning |
| A．part | B．machine | C．way | D．hand |
| A．puzzled | B．embarrassed | C．realised | D．sacrificed |
| A．risked | B．struggled | C．relieved | D．frustrated |
| A．waste | B．hold | C．lose | D．shorten |
| A．bringing up | B．shooting up | C．cutting up | D．breaking up |
| A．lifted | B．followed | C．pushed | D．ranked |
| A．washed | B．wound | C．trapped | D．wrapped |
| A．humble | B．reliable | C．capable | D．panicked |
| A．column | B．advertisement | C．headline | D．journalist |
Advertising is all around us and it seems to have become an unavoidable part of our life. Digital marketing experts estimate that most Americans may be exposed to around 4, 000 to 10, 000 advertisements a day.
You may think you will never fall for an ad and be persuaded to buy something, but read the article first before you decide!
While direct hard-sell ads might be easy to detect — such as those for products endorsed (宣传) by celebrities — soft-sell ads may be more difficult to spot. One such method advertisers use is to make customers believe there is an immediate need to buy the product using words or phrases such as hurry, act now, last chance, now or never.
These are not the only methods, of course. Other methods include giving away samples and sponsorship of events, In fact, there are many methods which work for different products in different places. Gillian Greene, Creative Director of Cheesy Bee, an advertising agency in London, confirms this, stating their adverts are tailor-made (特制的) according to the situation.
Not all ads are directed towards the end customer. Advertising agencies will make adverts with the investors (投资人) and shop owners in mind. An impressive and expensive ad may signal to the investors that the ad agency is successful and they may then be encouraged to invest in it. Similarly, shop owners are more likely to stock (囤积) well-advertised products because they know customers are more likely to buy them. In this way, ads can help sell products even when they are not directed at the customer. Ads work in all stages of a business and, perhaps, that is the success of advertising.
1. What is the author’s purpose in using two sets of numbers in Para. 1? (No more than 15words)2. What is the meaning of the underlined words in Para. 2? (no more than 3 words)
3. How does a soft-sell advertising work according to Para. 3? (No more than 15 words)
4. What is the article mainly about? (No more than 10 words)
5. Do you think advertising is necessary? And why? (No more than 20 words)
4 . In 1910, the Los Angeles Times ran a story about a boy who was charged with opening a valve (阀门) on a water pump powered by a steam engine to release the built-up pressure. His whole job consisted of staring at these machines all day, which was incredibly boring. The “ lazy ” boy then invented a release for the pump to run just as it should and won his freedom. The first automatic steam engine was born.
This story may be fictional, but the boy’s behavior reflects a deeper truth. When we are feeling lazy, we often search for an easier way, trying to update the process and save time and effort. In other words, laziness can drive innovation.
In recent years, some psychologists and business leaders have wised up to this insight, changing our perspective of what laziness really means. Both Bill Gates and Walter Chrysler have been credited with a quote: “ I always choose a lazy person to do a hard job because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it. ”
Our brains are born for laziness. Compared with our ancestors who had to conserve energy to compete for food, flee from predators, and fight, we now don’t take survival as a daily issue. It seems natural that we would choose to be “lazier” , but the opposite has occurred. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans sleep less and work more than we used to; productivity per worker has gone up 400 percent since 1950. Our culture teaches us that our worth depends on how industrious we are, so we work even harder to produce even more.
But there’s one big paradox (悖论), sad but true: The harder we work, the less productive we are. When demand increases, we tend to push harder. Yet the trouble is that, without any refresh and recharge, we are less efficient, make more mistakes, and get less engaged with what we’re doing.
Therefore, how can we make our labor more meaningful and our lives more fulfilling? Current research in psychology and neuroscience points to a new understanding of the value of the wandering mind. Taking breaks and allowing your thoughts to drift can help your brain retain information, refocus, and gain fresh perspective.
Here’s the core problem: When the time finally comes to put our feet up, we often don’t know how. We have little training in how to be idle. But at least give it a shot. Maybe this week, notice some downtime in your day, some white space in your calendar. Instead of filling the space with more work, just sit in the sofa, and be, in the words of poet Mary Oliver, “ idle and blessed. ”
1. The author tells the story in paragraph 1 to prove ______.| A．the kid needs punishing | B．boredom enhances productivity |
| C．creativity contributes to laziness | D．laziness inspires new ideas |
| A．By listing some numbers of being lazy. |
| B．By quoting some great figures’ words. |
| C．By making a comparison between two great figures. |
| D．By giving examples of how to be creative. |
| A．People nowadays don’t have to face poverty. | B．Modern society honors creativity. |
| C．Americans lives a poorer life than before. | D．Ancestors consider industry as a value. |
| A．Working 24 -7 with a tight schedule. |
| B．Taking three part-time jobs to fill weekends. |
| C．Watching a stand-up comedy after a busy weekday. |
| D．Attending a formal dinner with business purpose. |
| A．compare the previous understanding of idleness to the new |
| B．persuade people to give up the value of hard work |
| C．criticize the irresponsible attitude towards life |
| D．encourage people to keep refreshed for better work and life |
5 . It is an ancient Chinese tradition to cherish grain. In ancient China, farming promoted the development of civilization so people regarded grain as a God. The ancient people firmly believed that “food is the most important thing for the people”. The earth God “She” and the grain God “Ji” were the earliest gods worshipped by our ancestors and the country was called “Sheji”.
Chinese believe in food conservation. Scholars have strongly advocated that “every single grain is fruit of hard work” and nothing should be wasted. Strong daily practices are associated with “respecting” the grain. Families that run out of rice never leave their container completely empty. There is always a little rice left in it. Parts of the poultry (家禽) and livestock that are unsuitable to be the main dishes are always deliciously cooked.
Food also helps bring people together. In Chinese culture, “Ju” (get together)is a very particular word. There are many ways to get together, but the word “Can” is usually added to it in case of festivals, birthday celebrations, moving to new houses, weddings and funeral. “Ju Can”(get together and have dinner)is an important way for Chinese families to bond.
But these ordinarily frugal (节俭的) people often end up wasting food during “Ju Can”. Some reports show that the annual waste of grain in China is close to 6% of the total grain output, of which, the waste rate of a large party is as high as 38%. The food waste is driven by people’s flamboyant nature-they think the plates must be full and taking away packed food from a party is “disgraceful”. The dishes at a dinner party have become a symbol of a person’s wealth and having too many dishes at the menu has become fashionable, thus promoting waste.
Small to a person, a family, big to a country, the whole human race, to survive, to develop, we have to be frugal. Being frugal does not mean being mean, it simply means one is wise enough not to waste food. If the culture of diligence and frugality is more widespread in all countries, it would provide for a stronger foundation for national security and family happiness.
1. Why does the author mention “Sheji” in Paragraph 1?| A．To prove China enjoys a long history. |
| B．To explain Chinese tradition of cherishing food. |
| C．To show farming promoted Chinese civilization. |
| D．To clarify who is the earliest god in China. |
| A．Chinese cuisine is diverse. |
| B．Chinese don’t waste food. |
| C．The ancient Chinese lived a difficult life. |
| D．Chinese are skillful at cooking delicious food. |
| A．The disgraceful behaviour in “Ju Can”. |
| B．The human nature revealed in food waste. |
| C．How much food Chinese people waste in “Ju Can”. |
| D．The food waste in “Ju Can” and the reason behind it. |
| A．showy | B．generous | C．unique | D．hardworking |
| A．Farming is crucial to China’s development. |
| B．Food plays a vital role in bringing people together. |
| C．We should cherish food and form the habit of frugality. |
| D．We mustn’t leave the container completely empty in case of tunning out of food. |
6 . One of the aspects that requires more research when planning your journey to learn English in the United States is your accommodation choice. After all, this will be the place where you will rest after school hours and after having fun in your host city, as well as where you will relax, study, eat, shower... And be sure of something choosing the right accommodation can even help you improve your English language skills!
TALK English Schools offers different accommodation options so you can choose the best alternative according to your personality and preferences, the time you plan to spend studying in the United States and, most importantly, the one that best fits your budget.
Homestay
Homestay is one of the most popular and economic options for international students. You will occupy a bedroom in an American family home, having a real cultural experience and practicing English outside the classroom. Families participating in the TALK Homestay Program are selected, for their convenience of access from home to school via public transportation. In exchange for your accommodation in a safe and comfortable environment, you will participate in family activities, contribute to house chores (家务活) and get involved with the local community.
Different meal plan options are available. It is such a rich experience that it's very common for students to keep a good relationship with their host families even after returning to their home country.
Student Residence
Gaining or securing your independence and sharing your experiences with other students of different nationalities are some of the advantages of student residences. These accommodations are usually closer to schools, eventually within walking distance, and you can share your room with one or two people-sharing expenses will help you save for more fun times during your stay!
Other great advantages of residences are comfort and practicality. Some offer furnished(带家具的) studio apartments with kitchen, TV and the possibility of enjoying the amenities (便利设施) of common spaces such as laundry, pools, bike racks.
1. Who is the passage mainly intended for?| A．International students in the USA. |
| B．TALK English Schools' staff. |
| C．English learners in the USA. |
| D．Foreign students who want to study at TALK English Schools. |
| A．Their personality and preferences. |
| B．Their ability to pay. |
| C．The length of time in the USA. |
| D．Conditions of residence. |
| A．Homestay students will share bedrooms with host families. |
| B．Homestay families will provide pick-up service. |
| C．Homestay students must take part in daily activities of the host family. |
| D．Homestay is cheaper than Student Residence. |
| A．A kitchen and a laptop. |
| B．A swimming pool and a washing machine. |
| C．A bicycle and a TV set. |
| D．A cupboard and a suitcase. |
| A．A technical instruction book. |
| B．A university newspaper. |
| C．A residency contract. |
| D．A language school website. |
7 . Why are so many people unhappy in their jobs? There are two primary reasons. First, some people are convinced that earning a living is wasting time that they could spend enjoying themselves or uncovering their true talents.
If this is the case with you, recall your last long vacation. Was it two weeks of complete enjoyment? More likely it was a week and a half of fun in the sun, with another half a week of “Boy, I can’t wait to get back to work.”If you didn’t feel such vacation blues, then imagine taking a leave of absence. You could use it to work on a novel, attend classes or just sit around watching TV. At the end of three months, in all likelihood, your self-respect would be at an all-time low. While all work and no play are not good, all play and no work are disastrous. We need to feel we are accomplishing something. We also need some form of order in our lives.
The second and perhaps more common reason for people not to like their work is that they feel trapped. Once you’ve been at a company for five years and get married, have a mortgage(抵押贷款)and a child, you often feel you have very little choice about jumping ship if things aren’t turning out as you’d planned. A steady paycheck can be the biggest restrict of all. People hate having to do something because they have no other choice.
If you find yourself hating your job, your option takes the form of an up-to-date resume(简历). You might also take a weekly glance through the help-wanted section, and make some visits to industry functions where low-key networking can take place. You’re not giving up on your current job. Rather, you are providing yourself with an option. If things get unbearable at work, you could jump ship.
At the core of adopting a positive attitude to your workplace is, above all, assuming responsibility for your own situation. Most people feel controlled by their environment, but they really aren’t. They have to learn to manage that environment so they can get from it what they need.
1. Why do some people believe that working is wasting time?| A．They think it can’t make them happy and display their natural abilities. |
| B．They think it prevents them from accompanying their families. |
| C．It can’t guarantee they can get the payoff satisfying their needs. |
| D．It makes them have no time to do their private things at will. |
| A．they have been working in a company for too long | B．they have no other way out but to keep working |
| C．they have to work to pay off their debts | D．they are not permitted to change a job |
| A．you have made a decision on your own |
| B．you have done wonders in your current job |
| C．you have chance to choose between two alternatives |
| D．you have chance to glance through the help-wanted section |
| A．thinks holding an “up-to-date resume” is the best way to remove the unhappiness in one’s job |
| B．can hardly tolerate one’s complete enjoyment of life |
| C．believes that one cannot change his/her environment |
| D．will support the idea that one should make a balance between working and enjoying life |
| A．Cautious. | B．Negative. | C．Supportive. | D．Unconcerned. |
8 . China-chic is a term that describes the trend of China-centric design. It demonstrates the rise of Chinese brands. Before we discuss whether or not the term is accurate, and reasons thereof, it is important to first figure out who are the main consumers of these Chinese brands.
Generation Z, the young consumers born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s, have been raised on the Internet and social media. They are gradually moving toward maturity. They have naturally become the main force that drives China’s consumer market.
Most young people earn their own incomes. Even if they don’t, their parents and family members will support them financially. So their purchasing power is stronger than prior generations of youth.
Besides, today’s young people have had access to various domestic and foreign brands since they were born. For them, global brands such as KFC. McDonald’s, L’Oreal and Nike are just everyday consumer goods. Unlike the previous generations in China, they do not look up to global brands with admiration.
As members of Generation Z are taking the center stage in the consumer market, full of confidence, personalities and awareness of investing in themselves, they almost determine its present and the future. This factor plays a key role in the global economy. That is to say, whichever brand, domestic or global, that pays attention to Generation Z first and satisfies the group’s needs will get a head start.
It is the Chinese companies more than others that truly respect the uniqueness of Generation Z’s demands. A typical example is Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning. Although the domestic sportswear market is still dominated by global brands like Nike and Adidas, Li-Ning has succeeded in using “China-chic” as a way to show self-confidence of the Chinese young people. By wearing Li-Ning’s products, a consumer is telling others: “I’m different from you. I have my own personality traits.”
Inspired by Li-Ning, other Chinese brands including Anta and Feiyue also launched products to satisfy the demands of the new generation of consumers.
1. In writing Paragraph 1, the author aims to ______.| A．introduce the topic | B．present an argument |
| C．reach a conclusion | D．propose a definition |
| A．Generation Z make money all by themselves. |
| B．Generation Z have more buying power than their parents. |
| C．Generation Z treat brands at home and abroad equally. |
| D．Generation Z consume global brands every day. |
| A．dominate Chinese sportswear market | B．meet the needs of Generation Z |
| C．learn from Generation Z | D．determine their own future |
| A．It’s a typical Chinese company. |
| B．It is confident of success. |
| C．Chinese brands are starting to respect the unusual needs of Generation Z’s. |
| D．Chinese brands have ruled the domestic sportswear market. |
| A．Why do Chinese brands impress Generation Z? | B．The uniqueness of Generation Z. |
| C．The choice of Generation Z. | D．Sportswear brands and their future. |
My mother made me what I am. She gave me the greatest gift a mother can give — the desire to excel (超越). She taught me to read before I was four. She also encouraged me to write. When I was 10, I wrote a story and she sent it to a children’s magazine. They accepted it and paid me some money. So I started earning money by writing at a young age.
I also learned a lot from my father. He’d say, “Stand tall, be independent and keep your eyes open.” For what, I don’t know! He was quite good at telling stories, and I think I inherited my gift for storytelling from him. But he could be pretty strict. If I went out with a boy, he had to pick me up from home so my father could question him inside out.
My father was 6 feet tall and good-looking, with great charm. He lost a leg m the war while serving in the Royal Navy, but never let it hold him back. When he was in hospital, ready to have his leg amputated, he said, not depressed, “Well, half a loaf is better than none.” After his death, I returned his artificial leg to the hospital, but walked away in tears. It felt as if I was giving part of him away.
My parents had a son, Vivian, who died before I was born, so my mother put all her love into me. She also gave me an. education I couldn’t get at school. She took me to the pictures every week, to the theatre to see the Russian ballet whenever it came to Leeds, where we lived.
At 20, I moved to London to become fashion editor of Woman’s Own and later a columnist on the London Evening News. The day I left home, my mother wrote in her diary that all the sunshine had gone out of her life when her daughter left home.
根据短文内容完成下列小题。
1. Why does the author mention her parents?(no more than 10 words)
2. What is the author good at according to the second paragraph?(no more than 5 words)
3. What does the underlined word “amputated” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?(no more than 5 words)
4. What was the author’s childhood like according to the last two paragraphs?(no more than 10 words)
5. What can you learn from the author’s father?(no more than 25 words)
