1 . To promote employees’ creativity, managers should consider offering a set of rewards for them to choose from, according to a new study by management experts at Rice University.

The study, co-authored by Jing Zhou, Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Management and Psychology at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is the first to systematically examine the effects of reward choice in a field experiment, which was conducted in the context of an organization-wide suggestion program.

“Organizations spend a lot of resources and make a great deal of effort in designing incentive (激励的) plans that reward the employees who exhibit creativity at work,” Zhou said. “Our results showed that the effort may be a bit misplaced. Instead of discovering one reward type that is particularly effective at promoting creativity, what is more effective is to provide the employees with the opportunity to choose from several reward types, if they submit one or more ideas that are among the top 20% most creative ones.”

Workers in the study were given a range of options: a financial reward for the individual employee or their team, a self-discretionary (自己自由决定的) reward such as getting priority to select days off, or a donation the company made to a charity selected by the employee. Those choices had positive, significant effects on the number of creative ideas employees thought up and the creativity level of those ideas.

The studies also found that rewards aimed at helping others, such as making a donation to a charity, might be especially powerful. But for less-creative employees, alternative rewards that benefit those in need might actually lower creativity and should be avoided.

The researchers also found that the choice of rewards developed creativity by raising the employees’ belief in their ability to be creative. Alternative rewards also had a powerful impact on promoting the creativity of employees who earlier had scored high on an assessment of creative personality characteristics.

1. Why was the study conducted?

A．To promote employees’ creativity.

B．To discover and reward creative employees.

C．To set an example to other organizations.

D．To examine the effects of different reward choices.

2. Which statement would Professor Zhou agree with?

A．It’s ambitious to examine the effects of reward choice.

B．It’s necessary to confirm which reward is the most effective.

C．It’s advisable to let employees choose their own favorite reward types.

D．It’s inappropriate to choose from the top 20% most creative employees.

3. What reward would be least beneficial to less-creative employees?

A．Financial reward.	B．Assessment priority.
C．Occupation promotion.	D．Charity donation.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Choice of rewards promotes creativity

B．Financial rewards can motivate employees

C．Use resources effectively to promote creativity

D．Effects of rewards on employees can’t be ignored

2 . Generation Z is different. As a whole, Americans born between the late 1990s and early 2000s are less likely to have work or look for it: their labour- force-participation rate is 71%, compared with 75% for millennials (born between 1980 and the late 1990s) and 78% for Generation X (born in the decade or so to 1980) when each came of age. As a result, they make up a smaller share of the workforce. With graduation ceremonies behind them, the latest group of diploma-holders are entering the job market. What they want from employers is also not quite the same as in generations past.

Although Gen-Z employees felt more lonely and isolated than their older colleagues at the start of the pandemic, the ability to work remotely has brought new possibilities. The benefits go beyond working in your pyjamas. Many are taking calls from beach chairs and hammocks (吊床) in more comfortable places or fleeing big cities in search for cheaper or larger homes.

This has big implications. Industries with jobs that cannot be done from home are falling out of favour with recent graduates. A study by ManpowerGroup, an employment company, suggests an inverse relationship (反比关系) between talent shortages and flexible working policies. The sectors which are either less able to offer remote work or have been slower to embrace it- including construction, finance and manufacturing-have faced some of the biggest skills gaps for all types of job.

That in turn has accelerated a pre-existing trend of young employees trading Wall Street for Silicon Valley. Now technology bosses are more willing than their opposite numbers in finance to let employees work from home (or anywhere else). Annual rankings of employer desirability by Universum, a graduate-staffing consultancy, bear this out. In 2008 the list of best employers graded by American graduates was dominated by big banks and the Big Four consulting firms. By 2021 seven of the ten highest spots were occupied by tech and media giants.

1. What does the underlined word “diploma-holders" in the first paragraph refer to?

A．Employees.	B．Students.
C．Graduates.	D．Shareholders.

2. Why do Gen-Z employees prefer work remotely?

A．They want more holidays on the beach.

B．They love wearing pyjamas while working.

C．They want to work in a more flexible way.

D．They can’t afford the residents in big cities.

3. What does the study by ManpowerGroup suggest?

A．All walks of life are facing some of the biggest skills gaps.

B．Construction, finance and manufacturing can’t offer remote work.

C．Industries with flexible working policies may suffer talent shortages.

D．Industries with jobs that cannot be done from home are less popular.

4. Why does the author mention Wall Street and Silicon Valley?

A．To weigh up the pros and cons of the two industries.

B．To prove industries in technology are more appealing.

C．To predict the change of preference among employees.

D．To show Silicon Valley is a better place to settle down.

3 . Job Posting

Welcome to our school! We are excited that you are thinking about opportunities to work with us. See below for a quick glance at what the job is like and the impact you could have on the children.

Job Posting Title: Assistant to Summer School Staff	Job Type: Part- time/Full-time
Working Conditions: Elementary school campus	Weekly Scheduled Hours: Full-time 40 Part-time 20
Earliest Start Date : Immediately	Position Duration: Expected to continue until Aug 31, 2022
Salary: Part-time $ 15 hourly Full-time $ 20 hourly	Working Hours:9:00 a.m.— 5:00 p.m.
Responsibilities * Watch over and care for children in 5—12 years range. * Assist in implementing lesson plans, preparation and clean-up of materials, and watching over children both indoors and outdoors. * Maintain a healthy and safe environment for children that obeys child licensing, health requirements and guidelines for quality care. * Other related functions as assigned.
Application Requirements * Resume (简历). * High school certificate or above. * Mailing your application form to us by Jun 10, 2022. * Minimum of six months of experience working with children aged 5 — 12 years. * Three professional reference letters required; at least one from a teacher.

1. What is an assistant required to do?

A．Design lesson plans.	B．Safeguard children.
C．Work the night shift.	D．Teach academic lessons.

2. Which of following will result in disqualification?

A．Preparing a personal resume.	B．Having work experience.
C．Submitting one recommendation letter.	D．Being an undergraduate student.

3. What’s the weekly income of a full-time assistant?

A．$300.

B．$400.

C．$600.

D．$800.

5 . It came as no surprise that being interrupted by other people can have negative effects, like lowered productivity. But a new study shows an upside to these interruptions at work: increased feelings of belonging.

Researchers led by Harshad Puranik at the University of Illinois at Chicago looked at this common workplace phenomenon from two aspects. First, interruptions get in the way of completing assignments and require employees to repeatedly switch attention between tasks. That's where the negative effects of interruptions happen. However, beyond the task-based aspect, the group found that being interrupted by others has a social component to it — social interaction with the interrupter that can have a positive effect on the interrupted employees. "If the past year of social distancing and separation has shown us anything, it is that humans are social beings who have an inherent (内在的) need for interacting with others," said Puranik.

Building on previous research on work interruptions, the researchers surveyed 111 full-time employees twice a day once at lunch and once at the end of their workday for three weeks. While there were downsides to interruptions al work, like raising levels of stress and lowering people’s energy, there was an upside, the researchers found. Employees felt more like they belonged, which eventually allowed them to get more pleasure from their work routines.

The study found something else on top of this. The social aspect of work interruptions also weakened the negative impact that the switching of tasks during interruptions had on employees job satisfaction. This means that, intend of the negative experience, being interrupted at work can be "a net positive for the well-being of employees, "according to Puranik. Therefore, the researchers urge managers to better manage rather than completely prohibit work interruptions.

1. Why does the author mention Puranik's words in Paragraph 2?

A．To introduce a new argument.	B．To make his points more persuasive.
C．To summarize the whole paragraph.	D．To provide some advice for the readers.

2. What did researchers find about work interruptions in social aspect?

A．They caused more anxiety.	B．They improved work-life balance.
C．They lowered labor productivity.	D．They led to higher job satisfaction.

3. Who is the text intended for?

A．Employers.

B．Employees.

C．Job seekers.

D．Interviewers.

4. What's the best title of the text?

A．Scientific Management Counts	B．Ways of Staying Focused at Work
C．Interruptions at Work Bring Positive Sides	D．Reasons for Avoiding Interruptions at Work

8 . Ice cream season is here! Let’s hope you have enough money for your favorite flavors. But have you ever thought about getting paid to eat ice cream?

The idea isn’t pie in the sky. It’s how American Derek Spors, 32, makes his living. Although he simply calls himself a product developer at Ben and Jerry’s, an ice-cream company based in Vermont. His job is something delicious.

So how did he become an ice-cream expert in the first place? Spors received a degree in food science from the University of Wisconsin. However, some research and development staff in the company come from culinary (厨师的) backgrounds.

This makes for a good mix. People with a food science background and those with a culinary background both know a lot about food, but the things they know are different. “In studying food science, you learn about food functionality, but you don’t really learn how to make it taste good.” Spors said. “To the consumer, it’s all about the taste.”

Great tastes are exactly what Spors spends his days inventing and perfecting.

So how is a new product developed? According to Spors, the process has to begin with a new idea for a flavor. Next comes the formulation (配方) of “base” mixes. This lays the foundation (基础) for new flavors, which involves complex science. On top of all these chemical experiments, the mix has to taste good.

Being an ice-cream inventor does have its own rewards-who wouldn’t want a chance to create a new ice cream flavor? For Spors, it’s terrific to know his work makes others happy when he goes to the grocery store and sees someone buy ice cream he developed.

1. Which of the following is closest in meaning to “pie in the sky” in Paragraph 2?

A．Unlikely.

B．Simple.

C．Unusual.

D．Decent.

2. What is Spors’s job?

A．Developing new markets.

B．Inventing good tastes.

C．Making phone calls.

D．Eating delicious food.

3. What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A．How to make ice cream taste good.

B．What helps make a good mix.

C．What Spors learned at university.

D．How others’ work helps Spors.

4. How does Spors feel about his job?

A．It’s terrible.

B．It’s awesome.

C．It’s tiring.

D．It’s well-paid.

9 . Have you ever gone to a museum or a show and been completely blown away by a piece? If you haven’t, go out and get cultured. I’m a student at the College of Visual and Performing Arts where we create all kinds of art every day.     1     But I don’t think those people truly know the difficulties and struggles in the process of making art.

First of all, we need to be inspired. You may think that’s easy. In fact, anything can serve as a concept of a work of art.     2     Sometimes we will need people, volunteers, bodies to do so and finding willing people to work is hard. Other times we have a clear idea of what we want but we don’t know how to make other people fully understand what we’re trying to get at.

    3     We need a space to be able to be creative and that can be tricky to acquire. Sometimes we need art supplies or certain equipment and costumes and that can cost money. Even if we do acquire what we need, visions change and mistakes happen so we might not end up using the resources.

The process can take weeks, months, and even years to be fully realized. Once completed, we need to share it and find an audience and provide an environment to display our work.     4     What if nobody likes what we created? What if our vision isn’t what we thought though completed?

Creating art is an art in itself. It is really not as easy as many people think.     5     It’s how we express ourselves and how we communicate with the rest of the world.

A．Outsiders think our jobs easy.

B．We should be quiet and creative.

C．We might choose other fields as well.

D．Resources are also a huge factor in making art.

E．The hard part comes when we put our ideas into reality.

F．And the negative thoughts love to overpower our minds.

G．It takes time, patience and space when things don’t go as expected.

10 . The growing ice cream franchise(特许经营权) is the brainchild of Tom Landis, a restauranteur(餐馆老板), who wanted to create a safe space for people with special needs to work in the food industry, plus the flavors are great!

At the Dallas-based restaurant, employees serve large scoops of ice cream handed over with love. Tom Landis has hired people with special needs for many years. But he couldn't always provide a job for everyone who came to his fast-paced sandwich shops and pizza joints looking for work. Determined to create a business where friendliness   mattered and kitchens were safe, he landed on ice cream.

In 2015, he opened the first ice cream shop; there are now seven franchises in cities including Asheville, El Paso, Indianapolis and Denver. Each shop creates 15 jobs in a safe environment for people with special needs. He said two more franchises were opening soon.   “Our relentless mission is to employ all,”   he said while interviewed by the local media.

Employees are behind some of the best ideas at the ice cream shops, which boast(有) fun flavors like top-selling Dr Pepper Chocolate Chip, and other favorites like Cold Brew &Cookies and Strawberry Milkshake. In-store sampling events are leading to deal with some grocery stores in the coming months.

When Landis talked about the varieties of ice cream in his shops, he said,   “It just works. We sell out every time.”   In the sunny and brightly colored shops, employees spread kindness and happiness to their customers as they dish out extra ice cream and free sprinkles.

“That's what ice cream is,”   said Landis with joy. His employees are heroes. “They lead me,”   he added.

1. What does Landis intend to provide for people with special needs?

A．A kind boss.	B．Huge salaries.
C．A room to live.	D．Safe working places.

2. What do we know about Landis' sandwich shops?

A．They didn't suit all job hunters.

B．The customers there had special needs.

C．The food there was made in factories.

D．They had a novel space for customers.

3. What does the author mainly want to convey in paragraph 4?

A．The diversity of ice cream.

B．The employees’ creativity.

C．The popularity of ice cream.

D．The friendship between employees.

4. Which of the following can best describe Landis?

A．Mean but energetic.

B．Successful and determined.

C．Modest and responsible.

D．Conservative but practical.