1 . When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note — “Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery” — and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically (魔术般) appear.
All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊) . Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
1. Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer to __________.A.show his magical power | B.pay for the delivery |
C.satisfy his curiosity | D.please his mother |
A.He wanted to have tea there. | B.He was a respectable person. |
C.He was treated as a family member. | D.He was fully trusted by the family. |
A.Nobody wants to be a milkman now. | B.It has been driven out of the market. |
C.Its service is getting poor. | D.It is not allowed by law. |
A.He missed the good old days. | B.He wanted to tell interesting stories. |
C.He needed it for his milk bottles. | D.He planted flowers in it. |
2 . According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China’s digital economy has increased by 15.9 percent annually since 2012, reaching 45.5 trillion yuan ($6.32 trillion) last year. Facing the growing digital economy and new vacancies developed in the sector such as deliverymen and livestreaming anchors(主播), young people, especially those born after 2000, are expressing a stronger willingness for flexible work relations with companies, and also wish to become “digital workers” with flexible work locations and schedules.
“The Internet helps me a lot. I check emails from my clients and submit my proposals through WeChat, and then we discuss plans via teleconference. I love working from home actually,” said Mi Lu, a 28-year-old new media operator in Beijing. “We work everywhere, perhaps in a cafe, or on a bullet train or even on the table of a restaurant.”
To cater to young people’s work preferences, more companies have begun to include “flexible working mode” in their recruitment advertisements. Zhaopin, a website, said vacancies with flexible work available make up 15 to 20 percent of total vacancies on its platform, especially for industries in the growing gig economy such as transportation and logistics(物流). According to Zhaopin, the proportion of flexible vacancies in these industries has increased to 25 percent this year, up from 10 percent in 2018.
However, the flexibility may bring risks to workers’ rights protection, according to Zhaopin. It said that though roughly 60 percent of companies posting vacancies on its platform offer insurance, the proportion is decreasing.
Li Qiang, vice-president of Zhaopin, said that the greatest risk to those seeking flexible work is whether the company pays the salary fully and on time. “It’s necessary for job seekers to set up a long-term development plan, rather than be shortsighted.” He added that companies may bear risks that flexible employees can’t deliver high-quality work in a limited time period, which requires the companies to establish a sound work delivery standard to help evaluate employee performance.
1. What factor contributes to flexible work?A.The booming digital economy. | B.The desire for more free time. |
C.The disappearance of some positions. | D.The improvement of working conditions. |
A.They ignore the youth’s requests. | B.They follow the old working mode. |
C.They provide positions accordingly. | D.They reduce working opportunities. |
A.The companies pay higher salary. | B.The job seekers make a detailed plan. |
C.The companies make reasonable rules. | D.The job seekers apply for positions on time. |
A.A new internet-related working model | B.Job seekers more keen on flexible work |
C.The rapidly developing digital economy | D.Companies well prepared for new risks |
3 . Recent research reveals that the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) by companies in the US has a disproportionate impact on women. According to a recent analysis, approximately 79% of the jobs lost to AI were held by women. This difference can be due to several factors.
Women are more likely to work in industries that are highly be influenced by automation, such as retail, hospitality, and administrative support. These sectors often involve repetitive tasks that can be easily automated by AI technologies. Consequently, women employed in these industries face a higher risk of job displacement.
Gender biases in AI algorithms (运算法则) can worsen the situation for women. AI systems are trained on historical data, which may reflect existing gender biases in hiring and promotion practices. This can result in biased decision-making during recruitment and performance evaluations, putting women at a disadvantage in the workplace.
The lack of diversity in the development of AI technologies contributes to the gender difference. The underrepresentation (代表名额不足) of women in the field of AI means that their perspectives and experiences are not adequately considered during the design and development process. As a result, AI systems may not fully understand or cater to the needs of women, continuously leading to gender inequalities.
To address these challenges, it is crucial to prioritize diversity and inclusion in the development and deployment of AI technologies. This involves increasing the representation of women in AI-related fields and ensuring diverse perspectives are considered during the design and testing phases. Additionally, companies should actively work towards eliminating gender biases in AI algorithms and regularly assess their impact on different demographic groups.
In conclusion, although men currently dominate the labor market, women bear a disproportionate burden due to the adoption of generative AI. The combination of industry composition, gender biases in algorithms, and lack of diversity in AI development contribute to this disparity. To relieve these effects, it is essential to prioritize diversity and inclusion in AI development and address gender biases in algorithms. Only through these efforts can we ensure that the benefits of AI are distributed equitably among all individuals, regardless of gender.
1. Why are women in the US workforce more influenced by the adoption of generative AI than men?A.Women are less adaptable to technological changes. |
B.Women have a lower level of education compared to men. |
C.Women are generally less skilled in technology and AI-related fields. |
D.Women are more likely to work in industries that are highly automatable. |
A.Increasing gender proportion in AI development teams. |
B.Providing targeted training and programs for women and giving them more chances in AI-related fields. |
C.Encouraging women to pursue careers in non-automatable industries. |
D.Offering financial supports to companies that prioritize gender diversity in AI programmes. |
A.It ensures equal opportunities for women in the workforce. |
B.It promotes innovation and creativity in AI solutions. |
C.It reduces the risk of biased algorithms that perpetuate gender inequalities. |
D.It improves the overall performance and effectiveness of AI systems. |
A.The impact of AI on job losses in the US. |
B.The role of women in AI-related fields. |
C.Gender biases in AI algorithms and their effects on women. |
D.Solutions to address challenges faced by women due to generative AI. |
4 . 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. |
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. |
A.Financial reward. | B.Assessment priority. |
C.Occupation promotion. | D.Charity donation. |
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 |
5 . As is the fate of anyone running a hotel in Kerala these days, Bijoy George is a man with too much to do. Before pandemic-caused lockdowns began in 2020, he managed 40 employees at the Eighth Bastion Hotel in the charming historic quarter of Kochi, a bustling coastal city. Now that business is back to pre-covid levels he needs the same number of staff again. But he has only 20 workers. His plight is shared with every other hotel, café and bar. It is a result of the state’s hospitality (招待) employees moving all together in large numbers to Qatar, not to watch football but to take up employment tied to the World Cup.
As the start of the competition approaches on November 20th, workers are quitting at a rate Mr. George says he has never seen in his 22 years in the business. Qatar, a country with a population of under 3m, will have welcomed more than 1.5m visitors before the matches conclude on December 18th. That means finding staff to run all the new hotels that have been built along with other venues that have been pressed into service to profit from the sports fans.
Kerala has long been a significant source of hospitality workers for Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries. Its state government provides good schools with English-language instruction but few jobs. More than 2m people, 17% of its working population, already work overseas, largely in the Gulf.
The appeal of Qatar is straightforward. Starting salaries approach $1,000 a month, more than six times the level for similar jobs in Kerala. To replace those who have left, Kerala’s employers have been casting their nets wider. Recruiters have been extending their searches to many other Indian cities. But that means the most common word on name-tags pinned to the breast pockets of workers is “trainee”.
Among the many skills that need to be taught, says Mr. George, is smiling at customers — the failure to do so a result of shyness among those new to the workforce. The danger is that after a week or so when confidence grows, even these employees may slip away to the Gulf.
Most contracts run for three months, concluding at the end of December, not long after the World Cup final. Returning workers will be welcomed back with open arms. Filling the gaps is even more important as Indian tourism and weddings have restarted. The reunions, though, may be short-lived. The game these workers will have learned from the World Cup is how to be paid better. That means leaving India.
1. The underlined sentence in paragraph one implies that __________.A.other hotels, cafes and bars will share Bijoy’s 20 employees |
B.other hotels, cafes and bars will have to lay off some workers |
C.other hotels, cafes and bars also send the workers to Qatar |
D.other hotels, cafes and bars also find it hard to employ enough workers |
A.Millions of tourists have to be served during the World Cup. |
B.Hospitality workers are in high demand with new hotels and venues open for business in Qatar. |
C.Qatar provides good education and English training for potential workers in Kerala. |
D.The salaries of similar jobs in Kerala are much lower than those in Qatar. |
A.Kerala’s employers have to take on new employees in Asian cities. |
B.Many of the new employees will pin their name tags to their breast pockets. |
C.The new employees will not greet the customers as a result of shyness. |
D.The new employees may soon follow the trend of going to the Gulf. |
A.Jobs outside India can provide Indian workers with a more decent life. |
B.It will soon be the off season for Indian tourism and weddings. |
C.Another grand occasion will soon begin in the Gulf. |
D.The workers only sign short-term contracts with the employers in India. |
6 . I was 6 years old when my father told me we were leaving the Big Apple Circus (马戏团). Until that point, I had spent most of my life on the circus lot, playing with the other circus kids. The circus, by its nature, is one that has a loose structure. So the early years after my leaving the circus to sit in a classroom all day felt more like a prison.
But years later, I found areas that interested me. I took the skills I had learned from being onstage and applied them to broadcasting. And so when Boston’s news station WBUR offered me a job out of college, I jumped at the chance. Along the way, I found I really enjoyed the work. I became WBUR’s news reporter. The flexibility and adaptability I’d learned in the circus as a child helped me do my job naturally and easily in a stressful situation — whether it was a destructive tornado outside Boston, or the Boston Marathon bombings of 2013.
But then a serious infectious disease appeared. Suddenly, for the first time in my adult life, I went for a year without doing any shows. But it became clear to me that performing was what I truly wanted. For me, the circus symbolizes who I am. And stages have always been where I’ve felt the most free. Some people get nervous before they go onstage, but by assuming (扮演) the character of Jacques ze Whipper and drawing a stupid moustache on my face, all my social anxiety disappears.
Circus performances go beyond age, socioeconomic status (地位), and even language. It’s the type of performance where you can go anywhere in the world to entertain anyone — help anyone forget their troubles for 5, 10, and even 30 minutes. And most importantly, for me, it means coming home.
1. How did the author feel in the early years of school?A.Curious. | B.Unfree. | C.Loose. | D.Impatient. |
A.He did it for his father. | B.He did it against his will. |
C.He risked his neck doing it. | D.He took to it like a duck to water. |
A.A means of living. | B.A chance to go anywhere. |
C.A part of his identity. | D.A way to forget his troubles. |
A.To express his love for circus performances. |
B.To stress the value of performing. |
C.To share his personal experiences in a circus. |
D.To discuss the problem of choosing a job. |
7 . I decided to be a teacher when I was 10, because I could clearly see some of my teachers had extraordinary powers.
There was an English teacher in fifth grade who could
I know being a teacher isn’t the
I have taught for three decades. Occasionally, I meet my
A.carefully | B.casually | C.deliberately | D.magically |
A.take away | B.pick up | C.hand out | D.leave alone |
A.see | B.bear | C.break | D.cover |
A.missed | B.hated | C.lacked | D.valued |
A.ambiguous | B.foreign | C.urgent | D.unspoken |
A.vividly | B.partly | C.hardly | D.roughly |
A.work | B.task | C.major | D.duty |
A.empathy | B.doubt | C.desire | D.superpower |
A.easiest | B.hardest | C.dullest | D.weakest |
A.errors | B.risks | C.skills | D.stages |
A.voice | B.sight | C.cars | D.legs |
A.sign | B.cause | C.gift | D.reason |
A.cheap | B.private | C.slight | D.emotional |
A.present | B.former | C.patient | D.polite |
A.adventures | B.services | C.memories | D.messages |
8 . Great Reasons to Earn a Psychology (心理学) Degree
Can you guess which college major is one of the most popular among undergraduate students all over the world? The answer: Psychology! A psychology degree not only offers students the opportunity for personal growth, but also opens up a huge range and variety of career opportunities.
Have you ever wondered why people behave in certain ways? Or maybe you've always wanted to learn more about your own mind, emotions, and actions? Earning a degree in psychology is an excellent way to gain a greater understanding of people.
Find a job that’s in demand.
The demand for psychological services in schools, hospitals and social services agencies is expected to fuel a positive job outlook for trained professionals.
Make a difference in people’s lives.
If you've ever dreamed of making a real difference in other people's lives, earning a psychology degree can be an effective way to achieve that goal. Psychologists and community services workers devote their time and energy to helping people overcome difficulties, increase their well-being, and realize their full potential.
Study a topic you love.
The best possible reason to earn a degree in psychology is simply a love for the subject matter.
A.Learn more about yourself and others |
B.Employers highly prize the skill is of psychology |
C.Let’s imagine that you have strong interest in psychology |
D.If you want to work in a job directly related to psychology |
E.If you look forward to going to your psychology courses |
F.While this type of work can be emotionally demanding and stressful at times |
G.Read on for some things that earning a psychology degree will allow you to do |
9 . Recently, I had lunch with a young Chinese student who studies at a college in New York. He is very bright and ambitious and I enjoyed our conversation. Still, I felt upset and useless afterwards because I was not able to provide him with any good news. Graduating at the end of this year, he asked me how he could find a job in this country and fulfill his career dreams.
In recent years, students who found a job here after graduation have had to go through a cruel lottery system to obtain their H-1B working visa. And the success rates have been declining year after year because of the ever growing number of applicants. Last year, there were 233,000 applicants and only 30 percent of them were lucky, about half of the rate in 2013.
And it can only become worse. US former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies in this country have been tightening up and this trend will continue for at least the next few years. In this case, foreign students studying social sciences, a field in which starting salaries are rarely above the required amount, can kiss their visa hopes goodbye.
Compared to the older generation of Chinese students, today’s young people no longer consider the US as the only option. Many start to think China offers better opportunities in the longer term.
This is not to say that Chinese students in the US are not interested in job opportunities here any more. A few years of work experience in the US can give them advantages when they finally land back in their home country. But if the job opportunities are largely reduced by the tightening of immigration policy, I expect there will be a decline. And if that happens, it is the American economy that will suffer from the loss of those educated, hard-working and talented immigrants.
1. The author felt useless because ___.A.he couldn’t find a job in the fierce job market. |
B.he was less bright and ambitious than the Chinese young student. |
C.he couldn’t win the cruel lottery. |
D.he had to make the Chinese student realize it was difficult to find work there. |
A.It is increasingly hard for them to get their H-1B working visa. |
B.The number of applicants in the job market is ever growing. |
C.Donald Trump’s immigration policies have been tightening up. |
D.The starting salaries they require are higher than expected. |
A.125, 000. |
B.75, 000. |
C.150. 000. |
D.200, 000. |
A.Indifferent. |
B.Concerned. |
C.Favorable. |
D.Objective. |
10 . Fatima grew up in rural Gohr Province, where there was no schooling available to girls. But she insisted on listening to BBC radio, which she could
“My sisters were forced to get married. I decided that I would not continue in their
She joined Facebook groups for history fans.
Of course, being a
A.take up | B.pick up | C.turn up | D.build up |
A.life | B.choice | C.tradition | D.business |
A.work | B.live | C.study | D.travel |
A.Afraid | B.Convinced | C.Certain | D.Tired |
A.posts | B.letters | C.novels | D.speeches |
A.responses | B.donation | C.lessons | D.guidance |
A.teaching | B.settling | C.travelling | D.serving |
A.similarly | B.obviously | C.hopefully | D.eventually |
A.promoted | B.instructed | C.hired | D.trained |
A.intelligent | B.devoted | C.efficient | D.professional |
A.researcher | B.pioneer | C.specialist | D.celebrity |
A.playing | B.interacting | C.exploring | D.cooperating |
A.support | B.patience | C.protection | D.contribution |
A.refreshed | B.recognized | C.informed | D.motivated |
A.relax | B.skip | C.quit | D.insist |