1 . The World Trade Organization (WTO) was formed in January of 1995. It deals with the regulation of international trade.
Here we will focus on two of those aspects: doing business internationally and raising living standards worldwide. Before the WTO, countries relied on independent partnerships to accomplish trade. Doing trade was often expensive, as tariffs were high. With one place for all of these countries to meet, and discuss new trade deals together, it is easier for them to make trade deals that are advantageous for all parties.
How does the WTO raise the standard of living globally? In modern life, we rely heavily on trade to have the things we need and want. For example, China exports a lot of manufactured items to many countries. These frequent international transactions can also raise living standards by introducing new jobs to different countries. Without international business and trade, there would be far fewer jobs in all countries.
There are many benefits of being in the WTO. However, sometimes it leads to international disputes.
| A．It is similar to having an office to accomplish work. |
| B．With jobs, citizens are able to earn income and have a better life. |
| C．The WTO also seeks to increase awareness of unity and cooperation. |
| D．It currently has over 160 participating members. |
| E．The functions of the WTO are constantly changing and developing. |
| F．Some have accused the WTO of promoting too much globalization. |
2 . Is there any evidence to show that the standard of English as a foreign language has improved in the years since the Second World War? Naturally, as it is the world language, more and more people are taught it and use it. But do they speak it or write it or understand it better than their parents’ or grandparents’ generation?
There seems to be no objective way of answering this question. Tests of the traditional sort—compositions, summary writing, and so on—have always been subjective, so they cannot be used to judge whether people have got a better command of English or not over the years. But so-called objectives tests are useless as a measure of progress too. They have not been used consistently (一贯地) in the same “concentration” over the period they have been in use, so there is no way of comparing exams “now” and “then”. Moreover, usually in the form of multiple choice questions, they do not test the things that really count in mastering a language. Even comprehension is a partly “creative” activity in real life, as we have to think of possible meanings for ourselves rather than have them suggested for us from outside. And people can be trained in the techniques of multiple choice, while others fail the tests because they have been led astray (离开正道) by their “suggestive” nature, so they are not really objective at all. We are left with only personal impression to go on.
My own view is that, if anything, standards have declined in the last thirty or forty years, despite all the new theories, tools and techniques that have been developed. I am not alone in this judgement. In Sweden, for instance, Professors Johannes Hedberg and Gustav Korlen, two of the most experienced workers in the field, have drawn attention to the lack of progress in the teaching of foreign languages since the late fifties. Yet Sweden is a sophisticated (先进的) society with extremely high educational and academic standards, and very concerned not to be cut off from the rest of the world. If such a country cannot achieve advances in the study of foreign languages, it is unlikely that many others have done so.
Japan is another community where little progress has been made in the learning of English. It is probably as important for Japan as for Sweden to master that language, and there is much academic effort put into linguistic research of various kinds. Yet the average standard of language learning is terribly low, particularly for such a highly educated society. This is no doubt in part the result of a vicious circle (恶性循环) : Many of the professors of English at Japanese universities are themselves unable to speak or write or even understand the language well.
1. Which of the following is true according to the author?| A．Multiple choice questions are objective as people cannot be trained in response techniques. |
| B．Sweden emphasizes the teaching of English without paying attention to other countries. |
| C．We have to depend on our own impression to judge the English standards. |
| D．Compositions are more useful to test one’s English ability than multiple choice questions. |
| A．the people who design the tests are always changing |
| B．they don’t always test what is important in language learning |
| C．the way of scoring is not scientific |
| D．they contain too many reading comprehension questions |
| A．positive | B．casual | C．objective | D．negative |
| A．What the most objective way is to set up English standards. |
| B．How to improve the present low level of English learning. |
| C．Why English plays a key role in language learning worldwide. |
| D．What the benefits are if Japanese people can learn English well. |
3 . Working on holidays has always been something of a class divide. From the 1870s through the 1920s, upper-middle-class Americans often lived with “the help”—mostly women of color whose job was to cook and clean and care for others, day and night. While shows like Downton Abbey seek to give life to servants, they also sanitize (粉饰) what was a cruel existence. It was common for a housemaid (女仆)’s day to begin well before the family rose and extend until after they retired for the evening. They did so seven days a week; working more than 80 hours a week — more than the 65 hours most factory workers worked at the time. While we often imagine that these women were young and single, Evelyn Nakano Glenn’s research on such care providers has shown that over 30% of them were married, many with children. As they worked very hard for families not of their own, they left their children, parents, brothers and sisters, and husbands behind. November and December was no doubt one of the hardest times of the year, and their own families felt their absence.
The labor movement was central to changing this sorry situation (though labor laws almost never cover domestic workers). Unions raised salaries, lowered hours, had a minimum salary and secured holidays off for workers. Those who did have to work on national holidays were guaranteed (保证的) overtime pay. When unions were strong, such benefits even extended to non-unionized workers. But as unions have declined, part-time work has increased. And this has meant lower salaries and greater uncertainty. For most part-time workers, that’s one of the better jobs. And still, it’s a job without health insurance, or a retirement plan, with changes that make it hard to take additional employment. Most of these workers wish they could work more, but employers would rather hire other part-timers. So when the boss says, “Can you work Thanksgiving?”, workers have no real choice but to be “willing”.
Today, working on holidays carries no guarantee of extra pay in the United States, and not working can mean losing one’s job. That is the irony (讽刺的) to the trend of stores opening on Thanksgiving. On the same day that we give thanks for all we have, why must we also rush out to buy more? Someone might say, “It’s just the law of the market!” But the law of the market is not some mysterious process. It is the result of the decisions that we make.
1. According to the author, what do shows like Downton Abbey sanitize?| A．The workload of domestic servants was very heavy. |
| B．Most of the house helpers should be of color. |
| C．Housemaids were usually married women, many with children. |
| D．The class divide was not that obvious in real life. |
| A．housemaids could also have the holidays off |
| B．even non-unionized workers enjoyed more benefits |
| C．people were given higher wages on the same position |
| D．most workers worked for fewer hours every week |
| A．part-time workers’ salaries are lower and they wish to earn more |
| B．part-time work itself means a lot of changes |
| C．they want to take any additional employment when possible |
| D．they may otherwise be replaced by other willing part-timers |
| A．It is dangerous because a lot of workers will stop working. |
| B．It is a kind of protection to help those poor part-time workers. |
| C．It is against the true holiday spirits, especially Thanksgiving. |
| D．It is ironic because the law of the market decides what we do. |
4 . If you find yourself unable to go more than 15 minutes without reaching into your pocket, pulling out your smartphone and checking your e-mail or microblog, don’t worry. You are hardly alone.
A recent survey in the scientific journal Personal and Ubiquitous Computing shows that smartphone users have developed what the researchers call “checking habit”—repetitive checks of e-mail and other applications.
The checks typically lasted less than 30 seconds and were often done within 10 minutes of each other. On average, the study subjects check their phones 34 times a day. And the surprising part is that they don’t even realize they are doing it. “I hadn’t told my hand to reach out for the phone. It seemed to be doing it all on its own,” wrote Elizabeth Cohen, a medical journalist for CNN who watched her right hand going away from her side to grab her phone sitting on the table at dinner with friends.
Loren Frank, a scientist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), explains that checking smartphones is rewarding in some way. “Each time you get an e-mail, it’s a positive feedback that you’re an important person,” Frank told CNN. “Once the brain becomes accustomed to this positive feedback, reaching out for the phone becomes an automatic action you don’t even think about consciously,” said Frank.
Professor Clifford Nass of Standford University added that constantly consulting your smartphone is also “an attempt to not have to think hard but feel like you are doing something”.
However, this habit can cause problems. Studies show that whenever you take a break from what you are doing to check your smartphone, it is hard to go back to your original task, according to Adam Gazzaley, a neurologist at UCSF.
That’s not the worst. A survey shows that smartphones are killing close relationship. About half of the people in the survey said they had had fights with their boyfriend or girlfriend because of smartphones.
1. Which of the following is true about the recent survey in Personal and Ubiquitous Computing?| A．Participants of the survey tend to pull out their smartphone every 15 minutes. |
| B．Smartphone users have developed a “checking habit”. |
| C．To check one’s email and microblog takes no less than 10 minutes. |
| D．On average, people check their phones 34 times a day. |
| A．she doesn’t really enjoy having dinner with friends |
| B．she has a serious problem with her right hand |
| C．people really can’t get away from their phones |
| D．people don’t even realize their checking habit |
| A．Because checking phones brings them real life rewards. |
| B．Because owing smartphones makes them important people. |
| C．Because getting something like e-mail brings a positive feeling. |
| D．Because checking a phone makes them feel like doing something. |
| A．incapability to concentrate on the task |
| B．neurological problems hard to deal with |
| C．damage done to close relationship |
| D．a lot of efforts to fight the habit |
5 . US author Henry Rollins once wrote: “Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.” Indeed, in the eyes of artists, loneliness never seems to go out of style. There are paintings that portray loneliness, songs that are inspired by loneliness, and many works of literature that center around this theme.
In the eyes of UK economist Rachel Reeves, however, loneliness is far from romantic (浪漫的). Instead, it’s a “giant evil” that’s become a serious problem in the country.
So just how serious is it? On Jan 17, UK Prime Minister Theresa May appointed politician Tracey Crouch as the country’s very first “Minister for Loneliness”. Her job is to tackle (处理) the loneliness that the country’s been feeling – a problem which, according to UK government research, is affecting more than 9 million people in the country, and is more harmful to one’s physical and mental health than smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
And the problem hasn’t just appeared recently. Back in 2014, the UK was given the title of the “loneliness capital of Europe” by The Telegraph. A survey carried out by the newspaper found that British people were less likely to get to know their neighbors or build strong relationships with people than those from other European countries.
“There is something British about wanting to deal with problems yourself,” Christian Guy, director of the Centre for Social Justice think-tank (智囊团), told The Telegraph.
But this doesn’t mean that the problem only affects Britons. In fact, we’re all suffering from loneliness now more than ever, in spite of most of the world now having access to the internet, which has enabled us to be more connected than ever.
What we need, according to Kim Leadbetter, sister of the late UK politician Jo Cox, is to have “proper human connections”. “Our lives nowadays are so busy. We spend the vast majority of our time on our phones, on our laptops. We need to press pause on that and actually sit down and speak to human beings,” Leadbetter said at an event last year.
But the first steps toward fighting this problem are to accept its existence and not be ashamed or intimidated (吓倒) by it. After all, without loneliness, many beautiful paintings, songs, and literary works wouldn’t even exist. And “evil” or not, being lonely is simply part of the experience of being human.
1. What can we learn about the UK’s loneliness problem?| A．The UK became the loneliest country in the world in 2014. |
| B．More than half of British people suffer from loneliness. |
| C．The government is working to solve the problem. |
| D．British people communicate less with their neighbors than ever. |
| A．has become a problem worldwide |
| B．didn’t attract the public’s attention until recently |
| C．is mainly caused by the wide use of the internet |
| D．does more harm mentally than physically |
| A．Making more phone calls to our friends. |
| B．Stopping the use of electronic products. |
| C．Interacting with the people around us face to face more often. |
| D．Accepting its existence calmly. |
| A．Loneliness is a giant evil of society. |
| B．Only artists can appreciate the beauty of loneliness. |
| C．It is hard to find a solution to social loneliness. |
| D．Loneliness is just a normal part of our life. |
Most people look forward to retirement as a time when they can finally take up activities that they never had the time or energy to pursue before.
Led by Hugo Westerlund, a professor of psychology at Stockholm University, the study of more than 14,000 workers found lower rates of depression and fatigue in people after they got retired than while they were still employed.
“The economic or financial situation in retirement is very important,” Westerlund says. “We don’t know if the decrease in fatigue and depressive symptoms is because of the removal of something bad while in work or the addition of something good while in retirement. But no matter the reason, if life in retirement is not comfortable, then we won’t see the improvements we did.”
| A．But some recent studies on people in their golden years are disturbing. |
| B．However, in European nations like France, governments are considering changes to pension plans, which may affect retirees’ health after they leave their jobs. |
| C．Clearly, said Westerlund, much of the decrease in physical and mental fatigue can be traced back to relief from the stresses of work. |
| D．Those who don’t have good social networks may not be able to get assistance if they become ill. |
| E．The scientists followed the employees of the French national gas and electric company for 14 years. |
| F．But for many, retirement means a sudden loss of many work-related social ties and a drastic decrease in activity levels. |
