1 . Much discussed and rarely achieved in full, work-life balance is an elusive prize in modern professional culture. While it can depend greatly on the priorities and values of an individual and their manager, some jobs provide strong opportunities for those looking to combine a fulfilling career with a thriving personal life.
“Work-life balance is not a situation anymore where you’re at work and then you’re at home, it’s more this balancing between the two,” said Lauren Griffin, senior vice president of Adecco Staffing U.S.
Topping the list of jobs that provide strong work-life balance is data scientist. According to IBM, “A data scientist represents an evolution from the business or data analyst role.” IBM notes that while the formal training in computer science and applications, modeling, statistics, analytics and math for these jobs is similar, “What sets the data scientist apart is strong business acumen, coupled with the ability to communicate findings to both business and IT leaders in a way that can influence how an organization approaches a business challenge.”
Stan Ahalt, director of the Renaissance Computing Institute at UNC Chapel Hill, said that the strong demand for data scientists, coupled with the anemic supply of these professionals currently available in talent pipelines, is likely creating a situation where companies will go above and beyond to attract the right talent.
“The demand for people who are able to analyze massive amounts of data and extract actionable decisions has really blossomed,” said Ahalt. “The people who are being hired are being highly sought-after, so I suspect they’re getting relatively good offers, and offers that include flexibility in their hours and locations simply because there are many more jobs than there are people.”
The list is also diverse and representative of a broad spectrum of occupations, with part-time and seasonal jobs like lifeguard and substitute teacher holding spots, as well as corporate jobs and skilled trades.
And for job-seekers or those planning a career change who want to prioritize work-life balance in their next role, Griffin said the most important step is identifying your greatest personal commitment so you can target a job that’s accommodating by nature, or an employer that will work with you to reach a solution.
“You need to define what’s non-negotiable for you,” said Griffin. “What’s that specific thing that you know you need some balance for, is it dropping your kids off, or taking your mother to a doctor’s appointment twice a month? What are those key points for you? Because then you can have a more open conversation with your employer.”
1. A job of work-life balance is suitable for those ____.| A．who gain a prize in professional culture |
| B．whose managers care about their priorities and values |
| C．who expect satisfaction from both career and personal life |
| D．who prefer to work anytime and anywhere at their wills |
| A．in the list which provide strong life-work balance |
| B．of the data scientists, the business analyst and the data analyst |
| C．that require strong business sense and communication skills |
| D．that influence new business challenge of an organization |
| A．are professionals likely to create a new situation in talent pipelines |
| B．can analyze massive amounts of data and extra actionable decisions |
| C．have relatively good offers including flexibility in their hours and locations |
| D．are more demanded than part-time lifeguards and substitute teachers |
| A．must be very committed to the targeted job personally |
| B．have to support employers decisions without negotiation |
| C．should first decide what the balance is needed for |
| D．should drop kids off on time and take care of mothers |
2 . On March 16th I left the offices of The Economist to head home. That was the last day when all editorial staff assembled in our London office. And, at the time of writing, no date for a return to the office is in
It is remarkable how quickly we have adapted. The newspaper has been written, edited and produced from couches and kitchen tables. January and February seem like an ancient era — the BC (before coronavirus) to the new AD (after
The shift may
Not only that, it has made remote work seem both normal and acceptable. In the past employees who stayed home had to overcome the
Things are
Yet
Another aspect of the AD era may be the disappearance of the five-day working week. Even before the pandemic many workers became used to taking phone calls or answering emails at the weekend. In the AD era, the
In future employees may work and take breaks when they please, with the company video call the only
| A．doubt | B．sight | C．mind | D．hope |
| A．domestication | B．transition | C．isolation | D．pandemic |
| A．affect | B．shape | C．arouse | D．rival |
| A．on | B．off | C．over | D．down |
| A．suspicion | B．difficulty | C．prejudice | D．disadvantage |
| A．advancing | B．reversing | C．interfering | D．missing |
| A．remote | B．intense | C．casual | D．novel |
| A．now that | B．in case | C．even though | D．as long as |
| A．Commuters | B．Legislators | C．Executives | D．Employers |
| A．in demand | B．beyond reach | C．at issue | D．on top |
| A．balance | B．barrier | C．connection | D．conflict |
| A．fixture | B．engagement | C．priority | D．interaction |
| A．perspectives | B．routines | C．regulations | D．equivalents |
| A．better | B．harder | C．more | D．fewer |
| A．access | B．progress | C．return | D．contrast |
1. What is the woman doing?
| A．Having her bicycle repaired. |
| B．Hosting an evening TV program. |
| C．Doing a market survey. |
| A．He repaired bicycles. |
| B．He coached in a racing club. |
| C．He worked as a salesman. |
| A．He wanted to be his own boss. |
| B．He didn’t want to get up early. |
| C．He wanted to earn more money. |
| A．They are all the man’s friends. |
| B．They work five days a week. |
| C．They are paid by the hour. |
4 . I had not yet had the opportunity to do work experience． Therefore， I was
My first
During my work
I would advise anyone
I have thoroughly
In conclusion， I would
| A．eager | B．confident | C．patient | D．scared |
| A．after all | B．at first | C．more or less | D．now and then |
| A．frequently | B．eventually | C．immediately | D．occasionally |
| A．plan | B．dream | C．task | D．attempt |
| A．correct | B．elegant | C．smooth | D．steady |
| A．turned over | B．given away | C．passed on | D．sent out |
| A．absence | B．interview | C．application | D．experience |
| A．help | B．cheer | C．accuse | D．scold |
| A．regularly | B．effectively | C．comfortably | D．quickly |
| A．satisfied | B．popular | C．familiar | D．reasonable |
| A．analyzing | B．dressing | C．designing | D．trading |
| A．affording | B．wishing | C．bothering | D．happening |
| A．equipment | B．building | C．decoration | D．environment |
| A．curious | B．concerned | C．nervous | D．crazy |
| A．once | B．before | C．since | D．as |
| A．team | B．country | C．job | D．family |
| A．ignored | B．enjoyed | C．forgotten | D．started |
| A．awful | B．energetic | C．awkward | D．welcome |
| A．order | B．force | C．demand | D．recommend |
| A．learn | B．require | C．acquire | D．master |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写上该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写上修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
My uncle had been dreaming owning his own restaurant. At 40 year old, he had trouble decide if he should leave his job at a design company and follow his dream, until one day he ran into a young man he'd worked with before. The young man had three children and was finding it difficulty to support the family, because he had been out of the work for several months. My uncle knew how to do to help him. The next morning, he told the manager about his decision to leaving his job. He then gave the manager the name of the young man. Clear, it was the best decision for him because he not only found the courage to follow his dream and also helped the young man. That young father had been working there ever since.
6 . Being a young boy, I began to learn what people said was not always what they really meant or felt. And I knew it was possible to get others to do what I wanted if I read their real feelings and responded suitably to their needs. At the age of eleven, I sold rubber door-to-door after school and quickly worked out how to tell if someone was likely to buy from me. When I knocked on a door, if someone told me to go away but their hands were open and they showed their palms (the inside surfaces of their hands), I knew it was safe to continue because they weren't angry although they may have a dismissive(不屑的) attitude. If someone told me to go away in a soft voice but used a pointed finger or closed hand, I knew it was time to leave.
As a teenager, I became a salesperson, and my ability to read people earned me enough money to buy my first house. Selling gave me the chance to meet people and study them close and to know whether they would buy or not.
I joined the life insurance(保险)business at the age of twenty. And I went on to break several sales records for my company, becoming the youngest person to sell over a million dollars’ worth of business in my first year. This achievement allowed me to become a member of the well-known Million Dollar Round Table(MDRT), which recognizes the world’s top achievers in life insurance. I was lucky that the skills I’d learned as a boy in watching body language while selling could be used in this new area, and were directly related to the success I could have in any business closely connected with people.
1. Which of the following meant the author must give up the rubber sale?| A．A customer’s gentle voice. | B．A customer’s open palms. |
| C．A customer’s finger shape. | D．A customer’s sign of anger. |
| A．To prove the magic of his studying body language |
| B．To show off his unusual insurance-selling achievements |
| C．To attract more people to buy his life insurance |
| D．To simply let readers know about his good luck |
①He bought his first house
②He got the chance to meet people and watch body language
③He became a member of MDRT
④He broke the first sales record for the insurance company
| A．①②④③ | B．②①④③ | C．①④②③ | D．①④③② |
| A．The study of selling products. | B．The life insurance business.. |
| C．The research of body language. | D．The work for the MDRT |
| A．intelligent but overconfident | B．open-minded and determined |
| C．thinking and sharp-eyed | D．grateful and gentle |
7 . Criticism of Big Tech is intensifying. At Congressional hearings last week, politicians from across the aisle gave a rough ride to executives of some of the world's most valuable companies. Amid the hubbub(喧哗), the resignation of Google's Meredith Whittaker was less noticed, but significant. Ms Whittaker, a Google artificial intelligence researcher, was a leader of protests insider the company last year. In an internal note to fellow employees, she warned that developers have a “short window in which to act" to stop increasingly dangerous uses of artificial intelligence.
Ms Whittaker' s resignation reflects a growing tendency for tech companies' own staff to try to serve as the moral compass and conscience of their businesses. In companies whose value relies so much on human and intellectual capital ---and in being able to attract the sharpest minds ---employees have considerable potential impact, especially collectively.
The Google Walkouts of which Ms Whittaker was a leader began in response to the search group's treatment of sexual harassment complaints. They snowballed to include broader issues around the company’s technologies. Ms Whittaker’s decision now to resign suggests many Big Tech companies are still not doing enough to attend to employees' concerns over corporate culture. Yet responding to internal calls to action should be an obvious choice. Threats of strikes or resignations by the talented staff who build systems risk undermining technology companies' competitiveness. Employee action can act to strengthen measures by regulators who are increasingly proactive in dealing with the excesses of Big Tech.
The rise of collective action for social good is encouraging. Traditional labour focuses ----such as workers' rights around pay and hours ----- remain important in a sector which still also makes heavy uses of cheap and poorly-skilled workers. Attempts to pressure companies into behaving ethically have more often been driven by single employees. Avenues are needed to ensure that workers can discuss potentially unethical practices without risking revenge.
Ms Whittaker’s proposal for unionisation is part of a broader chorus demanding greater employee oversight. Alphabet, Google’s parent, has already faced calls from union-sponsored pension funds to add a non-executive employee representative to its board. While not successful this year, the move showed that stakeholders such as investors are pressing for culture change within Big Tech companies.
Workers outside the tech sector, too, are forcing companies to try to solve international problems. A global climate strike is planned for September，encouraging workers to join the thousands of school students who have protested over the past year. In the advertising industry, workers at over 20 agencies refused to work on fossil fuel briefs in solidarity, inspired by the Extinction Rebellion protests. Big Tech, facing ever more open criticism should see the message is clear. To regain trust, it will have to engage not just with regulators, but with its own employees and stakeholders.
1. We can learn from the first paragraph that Ms Whittaker _________| A．drew much criticism from politicians. |
| B．opposed Google's risky uses of AL. |
| C．disagreed with her colleagues on the future of AI. |
| D．resigned because her talent in AI was not recognized. |
| A．can serve as the moral models for traditional labour. |
| B．should keep sharpening their minds. |
| C．can pressure companies into behaving ethically. |
| D．should improve internal collaboration. |
| A．damage a company's reputation. |
| B．threaten a company's competitiveness. |
| C．impair a company' s corporate culture. |
| D．strengthen a company 's management system. |
| A．Employees Can Help to Make Big Tech Moral |
| B．Big Tech Staff Are Different from Traditional Labour |
| C．The Tech Sector Is Facing Ever More Criticism |
| D．The Tech Sector Is in a Wave of Resignations |
8 . As new technology is introduced, there are many who worry about its influence on our current and future lifestyles－particularly when it comes to jobs. It is a current belief that with the rise of automation and artificial intelligence (AI), many people’s jobs, and therefore their livelihoods, are likely to be lost.
Automation in the workplace is nothing new. Machines have been performing dull tasks on our behalf for years, allowing us to escape many repetitive jobs. A recent report from the McKinsey Global Institute states that nearly two thirds of all jobs could have at least 30% of their activities automated by 2030. However, McKinsey also believes that this new technology will also ‘create new occupations that do not exist today, much as technologies in the past have done.’ As the horse gave way to the car, hostlers (马夫) became mechanics and mechanised fields drove up wages and created more long-term roles than it destroyed.
“It’s an evolution of work,” says Ian Barkin, a robotic process automation specialist. As low-skilled jobs are taken on by AI, people will need to learn new skills. “This calls on us to focus on up-skilling. Technology can lead to job reductions but it doesn’t have to,” says Barkin.
Whether or not robots and AI will leave us all jobless remains to be seen. Current views on the subject are mixed. Increased automation could indeed lead to a loss of some jobs, but at the same time is likely to create many more as new skills are required. Will they balance out?
1. How do many people feel about the influence of AI?| A．Quite delighted. | B．Quite surprised. |
| C．A sense of fear. | D．A sense of pride. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Negative. |
| C．Critical. | D．Approving. |
| A．Taking risks. | B．Improving ourselves. |
| C．Adapting to the world. | D．Thinking positively. |
| A．Every coin has two sides. |
| B．Where there is life, there is hope. |
| C．It’s better to do well than to say well. |
| D．A bad workman quarrels with his tools. |
1. What do we know about Jack?
| A．He is a sports lover. | B．He is a man of action. | C．He is a skilled organizer. |
| A．The competitive pay. |
| B．The positive impact on society. |
| C．The pleasant work environment. |
| A．A coach. | B．An editor. | C．A journalist. |
| A．Qualified. | B．Honest. | C．Experienced. |
10 . I’ve spent two decades observing what makes people lucky and trying to help people increase their luck. I teach entrepreneurship (社会学). We know many new enterprises fail, and innovators (创业者)need luck.
With my students, I spend much time encouraging them to get out of their comfort zone and take some risks. I do this myself all the time. About a dozen years ago, during a flight, I decided to take a little risk. I started a conversation with the man sitting next to me. I introduced myself, and I learned that he was a publisher. I learned all about the future of the publishing industry and we exchanged contact (联系) information. So about three quarters through the night, I decided to take another risk. I showed him a book plan I was doing in my class. Although he was very polite, he said it wasn’t right for us.
A couple of months later, I told him I was doing a project on transforming the book, the future of publishing and invited him to come to my class. So he gladly came to my class. We had a great experience. A few months later, I wrote to him again, sending a bunch of video clips (剪辑) from another project my students had made. He was so stricken by one of them that he thought there was a book in it. I was a little bit hurt, but it was all right. So I invited him and his colleagues to have lunch together. Later, one of his editors asked me if I had considered writing a book. And I pulled out the exact same plan I had showed his boss a year earlier. Within two years, my book had sold over a million copies.
1. We can infer from the author’s experience on the plane that .| A．the publisher was stricken by his book |
| B．that was his first experience by plane |
| C．the first risk during the night didn’t work out |
| D．the experience made him transform his book |
| A．To have their book published. | B．To help to increase his luck. |
| C．To assess their writing skills. | D．To help them see their strength. |
| A．Take the Lead | B．Everything is Possible |
| C．Win in Danger | D．Luck and Risk |
| A．Publishing books. | B．A series of small risks. |
| C．Being turned down frequently. | D．Meeting with the stranger on the plane. |
