2 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Much time and effort has been devoted to researching the mental health benefits of flexible work environments, but can the ability to leave work early to watch your son’s soccer game, or arrive at the office a bit later in the morning in order to see to some personal matters, have physical health benefits besides making you feel a bit relaxed?

According to new research published in the Cochrane Library Database of Systematic Reviews, it seems so. In a review of 10 previous studies examining the health effects of unfixed work conditions for more than 16,000 people, researchers from the U.K.. Durham University and University of Newcastle, as well as the University of Montreal, found that flexible work schedules, for instance, when employees can shift their starting times, were associated with improvements in a person’s overall health. In addition, perhaps, unsurprisingly, in all of the studies included in the review, researchers found no evidence for negative effects of more flexible work schedules.

This initial analysis was intended to throw light on the potential health benefits of flexible work options, which are increasingly popular throughout Scandinavia, and have recently gained some ground in the U.K. For example, last April, the British government implemented a policy that allowed parents of children aged six and under to request flexible work arrangements to include parents of children aged 16 and younger. In the U.S., the phenomenon is a bit slower to catch on. Yet, the economic slowdown of recent years may have contributed to growth in workplace flexibility—as companies unable to reward employees with bonuses or raises may turn to other forms of compensation, Reuters reported early last year.

Original analysis too, of course, indicated the benefits of flexible work environments toward positive mental health outcomes. And while these latest findings are promising, the researchers stress that more study is vital to understanding the detailed relationship between flexible work and improved health outcomes. To truly grasp the benefits of flexible working conditions, the researchers say, additional study analyzing health outcomes among a wide range of workers—from high-ranking executives to hourly employees – is critical, which helps to gain a deeper understanding of the issue, and to shape future workplace policy.

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3 . 假定你是李华，上周你学校邀请了几位专家来校做职业生涯规划的讲座，你作为学校英文报的记者写了一篇报道，内容包括：讲座的目的、主要内容和同学的体会。
注意:
1．词数100左右。
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3．报道题目已给出，不计入总词数。

Set sail on career planning!

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4 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

People choose to become entrepreneurs( 创 业 者 ） for a wide variety of reasons. One important reason is, of course, financial reward. If you own your own business and it becomes successful, you can reap huge financial rewards. And as an entrepreneur, dependent on how much your boss decides to give you; ifs limited only by the success of your business. And speaking of bosses,   not   having   a   supervisor   is   another   major   advantage   of   becoming   an        entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs are often independent thinkers who want to be in charge of projects, rather than having others tell them what to do. They often have big dreams that that they want to pursue rather than making someone else’s dream come true. For many entrepreneurs, starting a business is a way of solving a problem or helping people receive something they need. It’s a way to change the world for the better.

Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy, however, nor is it always fun. Entrepreneurs often have to work long hours, especially early on when they’re trying to get their businesses off the ground. that’s the reason entrepreneurs need to have a strong work ethic( 伦 理 ).Employees can work 40 hours a week and then stop, but for an entrepreneur, there’s no end in sight.

That’s why another feature of successful entrepreneurs is passion; they have to be excited about what they’re doing to be willing to work hard for it. Entrepreneurs also need good communication skills to pass on that passion to others. That’s important for finding investors, getting people to buy products and attracting employees.

Entrepreneurs also need to be creative people who are able to find solutions to problems they encounter. This is important from the very beginning, when the entrepreneur comes up with an initial concept of a business. But even after that initial step, creative thinking is continually necessary to adapt to changing situations and to solve problems that come up.

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5 . A true reality of retirement planning is that your future is riding on the quality of your assumptions. Humble ______ can be dangerous.

For example, eight years into this bull market, expecting stocks to deliver as strong returns over the next decade is an uncertain proposition many are nonetheless ______.

Another potential ______ assumption is that you will be able to keep working past 65. Yet the recently released 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that more than half of workers say they expect to still be on the clock past age 65. ______, less than 15 percent of today's retirees kept working that long.

"If you plan on working longer as a way to get by in retirement, you are going to be in trouble," says Craig Copeland, senior research associate at EBRI. "It should be a ______ to a solid savings and spending plan, not the foundation."

It's simply too ______ to assume you will indeed be able to work longer. A survey by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that nearly two-thirds of retirees left the workforce earlier than expected because they were laid off, reorganized out of a position, or due to general unhappiness with a job. Only 16 percent of retirees who ______ the work force earlier than they expected did so because they felt they could ______ afford to.

______, a new report from Prudential puts a dollar value on why your current employer may not be inclined (倾向于) to do back flips to keep an older you happy and engaged. The estimated one-year cost to a firm when an employee ______ retirement: $50,000.

Prudential estimates that on a company-wide level, delayed retirement can ______   overall workforce costs by 1 percent to 1.5 percent. That's not nothing. And it goes a long way in explaining why employers may be more inclined to focus on "financial wellness" strategies to get workers ready to retire ______ than programs to help workers delay retirement.

Fewer than one-third of employees surveyed by TCRS report their employer has some sort of "transition" program such as flexible work schedules, reduced hours or ______ to a different role.

"Workers' vision of retirement is changing faster than employers' business ______," said Catherine Collinson, president of TCRS. That makes it ever more crucial for pre-retirees to take the steps today that will increase the ______ they can continue to work longer, if that's part of the plan.

1.

A．pessimism

B．optimism

C．concern

D．consideration

2.

A．relying on

B．holding back

C．accounting for

D．turning down

3.

A．reliable

B．possible

C．flawed

D．firm

4.

A．As a result

B．In addition

C．Needless to say

D．By comparison

5.

A．complement

B．composition

C．compliment

D．comprehension

6.

A．ridiculous

B．sensible

C．risky

D．logical

7.

A．extended

B．exited

C．existed

D．remained

8.

A．economically

B．mentally

C．financially

D．physically

9.

A．However

B．Therefore

C．Instead

D．Moreover

10.

A．delays

B．expects

C．gets

D．decides

11.

A．influence

B．decrease

C．increase

D．transform

12.

A．later

B．sooner

C．faster

D．slower

13.

A．shifting

B．altering

C．ranging

D．functioning

14.

A．deals

B．practices

C．customs

D．operations

15.

A．prospect

B．capabilities

C．odds

D．outputs

6 . Migrant workers

In the past twenty years, there has been an increasing tendency for workers to move from one country to another. While some newly independent countries have ____ most jobs to local people, others have attracted and welcomed migrant workers. This is particularly the ____ in the Middle East, where increased oil incomes have enabled many countries to ____ outsiders to improve local facilities. Thus the Middle East has attracted oil-workers from the USA and Europe. It has brought in construction workers and technicians from many countries, including South Korea and Japan.

In view of the ____ living and working conditions in the Middle East, surprising it is not that the pay is high to attract suitable workers. Many engineers and technicians can earn at least twice as much money in the Middle East as they can in their own country, and this is a ____ attraction. An allied (联合的) benefit is the low ____ or a complete lack of it. This ____ the amount of pay received by visiting workers and is very popular with them.

Sometimes a disadvantage has a compensating (补偿的) advantage. ____, the difficult living conditions often lead to increased friendship when workers have to depend on each other for safety and comfort. ____, many migrant workers can save large sum of money partly because of the lack of entertainment facilities. The work is often complex and full of problems but this merely presents greater ____ to engineers who prefer to find solutions to problems rather than do ____ work in their home country.

One major problem which affects migrant workers in the Middle East is that their jobs are ____ ones. They are nearly always on contract, so it is not easy for them to plan ahead with great confidence. This is to be ____ since no country welcomes a large number of foreign workers as permanent residents. In any case, migrant workers accept this ____, along with others, because of the ____ financial benefits which they receive.

1.

A．presented

B．devoted

C．adapted

D．restricted

2.

A．style

B．evidence

C．case

D．hint

3.

A．call in

B．bring up

C．turn down

D．help out

4.

A．excellent

B．difficult

C．fair

D．stable

5.

A．casual

B．familiar

C．major

D．final

6.

A．consumption

B．pressure

C．competition

D．taxation

7.

A．occupies

B．increases

C．blocks

D．protects

8.

A．For example

B．In particular

C．By comparison

D．In other words

9.

A．Therefore

B．Likewise

C．Consequently

D．However

10.

A．agreement

B．outcome

C．prediction

D．challenge

11.

A．skillful

B．vivid

C．routine

D．potential

12.

A．temporary

B．ordinary

C．voluntary

D．revolutionary

13.

A．claimed

B．criticized

C．considered

D．expected

14.

A．sacrifice

B．reminder

C．disadvantage

D．appreciation

15.

A．limited

B．considerable

C．reasonable

D．potential

7 . Security guard, truck driver, salesperson—year after year, these jobs appear on lists of the unhappiest careers. Although many factors can make a job _________ —unusual hours, low pay, no chance for advancement—these three jobs _________ for another reason: a lack of small talk.

Psychologists have long said that connecting with others is central to our well-being, but just how much conversation we require is under _________ . In one study, researchers overheard undergraduates for four days and then _________ each conversations either “small talk” (“What do you have there? Pop corn? Yummy!”) or “serious” (“Did they break up soon after?”). They found that the second type is connected with happiness—the happiest students had roughly twice as many “serious” talks as the unhappiest ones. Small talk, meanwhile, _________ only ten percent of their conversation, versus almost 30 percent of conversation among the unhappiest students.

However, don’t just consider small talk _________ yet. Scientists believe that small talk could promote bonding. Chatting with strangers could _________ our morning. In a series of experiments, psychologists found that those who chatted with other train passengers reported a more pleasant journey than those who didn’t.

Small talk can also help us feel connected to our _________ . People who smiled at, made eye contact with and _________ spoke with their Starbucks baristas (咖啡师) reported a greater sense of __________ than those who rushed through the transaction (交易). __________ , when volunteers broke the silence of the art gallery to chat with gallery-goers, the visitors felt happier and more connected to the exhibit than those who were not __________.

Of course, some of us are better than others at turning small talk into something bigger. In one study, people who were rated “less curious” by researchers had trouble getting a conversation __________ on their own. People who were considered “curious”, meanwhile, needed no help   __________ conversations about ordinary things like favorite holidays into friendly exchanges. A “curious mindset,” the researchers concluded, can lead to “positive social __________.”

Therefore, go ahead—small talk needn’t be idle, and nosiness isn’t all bad.

1.

A．rewarding

B．depressing

C．exhausting

D．challenging

2.

A．stand out

B．turn up

C．give off

D．put forward

3.

A．negotiation

B．construction

C．investigation

D．examination

4.

A．divided

B．entitled

C．imposed

D．cataloged

5.

A．figured out

B．made up

C．look over

D．added to

6.

A．worthless

B．essential

C．boring

D．ridiculous

7.

A．occupy

B．satisfy

C．brighten

D．spoil

8.

A．emotions

B．heart

C．customers

D．surroundings

9.

A．purposefully

B．briefly

C．continuously

D．generally

10.

A．responsibility

B．security

C．belonging

D．achievement

11.

A．Consequently

B．Oppositely

C．Unexpectedly

D．Similarly

12.

A．approached

B．attached

C．addressed

D．attended

13.

A．breaking

B．pausing

C．rolling

D．stopping

14.

A．evolving

B．substituting

C．adapting

D．transforming

15.

A．interaction

B．standard

C．impact

D．involvement