1 . All across America, students are anxiously finishing their “What I Want To Be …” college application essays, advised to focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) by experts and parents who insist that’s the only way to become workforce ready. But two recent studies of workplace success contradict the traditional wisdom about “hard skills”.
Google originally set its hiring systems to sort for computer science students with top grades from top science universities. In 2013, Google decided to test its hiring theory by quickly dealing with large amounts hiring, firing, and promotion data collected since the company’s establishment.
Project Oxygen shocked everyone by concluding that, among the eight most important qualities of Google’s top employees, STEM capability comes in dead last. The seven top characteristics of success at Google are all soft skills: being a good coach; communicating and listening well; possessing comprehension into others; being supportive of one’s colleagues; being a good critical thinker and problem solver; and being able to make connections across complex ideas.
Those characteristics sound more like what one gains as an English or theater major than as a programmer. Could it be that top Google employees were succeeding despite their technical training, not because of it? After bringing in more experts to dive even deeper into the data, the company enlarged its previous hiring practices to include humanities majors, artists, and even the MBAs (Master of Business Adminstration).
Project Aristotle, a study released by Google this past spring, further supports the importance of soft skills even in high-tech environments. Project Aristotle analyzes data on inventive and productive teams. Google takes pride in its A-teams, assembled with top scientists, each with the most specialized knowledge and able to throw down one creative idea after another. Its data analysis revealed, however, that the company’s most important and productive new ideas come from B-teams comprised of employees who don’t always have to be the smartest people in the room.
Project Aristotle shows that the best teams at Google exhibit a range of soft skills: equality, generosity, curiosity toward the ideas of your teammates, understanding, and emotional intelligence. And topping the list: emotional safety. To succeed, each and every team member must feel confident speaking up and making mistakes. They must know they are being heard.
STEM skills are vital to the world we live in today, but technology alone, as Steve Jobs famously insisted, is not enough. We desperately need those who are educated to the human, cultural, and social as well as the computational.
1. The underlined word “contradict” most probably means “_____”.| A．add to | B．back up | C．bring about | D．conflict with |
| A．determine what makes a workplace-ready student |
| B．check whether its hiring system serves the purpose |
| C．prove soft skills are more important than hard ones |
| D．impress its competitors with the employees’ excellence |
| A．Emotional safety enables people to express themselves freely. |
| B．Listening and hearing helps develop problem-solving abilities. |
| C．Learning from mistakes doesn’t necessarily mean improvement. |
| D．Those without specialized knowledge can also make inventions. |
| A．STEM skills our society needs for better education |
| B．The principal focus students have on application essays |
| C．The surprising thing Google learned about its employees |
| D．The soft skills Google programmers lack for career growth |
2 . Penguin Fun Clubs are found on campsites throughout Europe. They offer a range of enjoyable activities for children aged 4—14 years and we pride ourselves on delivering exciting times that children love and parents trust. Our fun-packed clubs are located throughout France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK, where our fame for high quality childcare depends on the professionalism and hard work of our on-camp staff.
In all our clubs we offer a varied timetable packed with exciting activities.
We are looking for enthusiastic and caring young adults to work in our camps for all or part of the coming Summer season.
Why work for Penguin Fun Clubs?
• Penguin Fun Clubs offer full in-house training by our experienced training team，including a course in basic first aid.
• You will meet and work with like-minded individuals.
• We will pay expenses to cover your return journey to the campsite where you are based.
• You will be given accommodation and food throughout your time at the camp.
• You will be given a fixed amount of pocket money each week (amount depending on age and the country in which you are based).
• You will gain valuable experience for any future career, especially one which involves working with children.
• We are flexible if you’re only able to work for part of the season.
• Impress us on camp and there's the opportunity to work with us for many seasons to come.
• We run Penguin Fun Clubs throughout the summer from July to September.
Job description
As a Penguin Fun Club helper you will work with small groups of children supervising them in a range of structured activities and using equipment provided by the camp. (There is plenty of opportunity to think up your own activities for your group.) Clubs will run in the mornings from 10.00 to 12.30 and in the evenings from 17.00 to 19.00. All Penguin Fun Club helpers will work for six days a week. In your free time you will have full access to all the campsite facilities.
Penguin Fun Club helpers should show enthusiasm at all times and encourage maximum participation in the activities from the children with whom they are working.
Requirements
All applicants:
• must be over 16 years of age
• should have an interest in/previous experience of working with children
• have some knowledge of the language of the country in which they wish to work
• be enthusiastic and organised with excellent communication skills and a good sense of initiative
• work well in a team with other like-minded individuals
1. The passage is aimed to__________.| A．introduce the job opportunities Penguin Fun Clubs will offer |
| B．promote Penguin Fun Clubs as a great place of entertainment for kids |
| C．look for those interested in helping Penguin Fun Clubs this summer |
| D．recommend the exciting activities that Penguin Fun Clubs provide |
| A．be able to work from July through September |
| B．pay for the transportation to and from the club |
| C．find a place near the club to live in the summer |
| D．talk in the language of the country where they work |
| A．Work just 30 hours a week. | B．Use all campsite facilities. |
| C．Get a full-day outdoor training. | D．Design entertainment equipment for kids. |
3 . About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film-studio（影棚）to take part in crowd-scene. Although our "act" would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.
We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path. Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie-camera was wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in "snow". Two more fans were turned on, and a "strong wind" blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.
The next scene was a complete contrast. The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen. An actor and actress stood in front of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water’s edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees, sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!
Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film ”Stars”!
1. Who is the author?| A．A cameraman. | B．A film actor. |
| C．A crowd-scene actor. | D．A workman for scene setting. |
| A．The heavy snowfall. | B．The man-made scene. |
| C．The low temperature. | D．The film being shown. |
| A．The next scene didn’t look real at all. |
| B．The next scene was like a hot summer day. |
| C．The actor and the actress for the next scene were not famous. |
| D．The way the next scene was filmed was unusual. |
| A．A new scene would be filmed. | B．More stars would act in the film. |
| C．The author would leave the studio. | D．The next scene would be prepared. |
CALIFORNIA STATE COLLEGE WORKING CONDITIONS AND BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES Payday Employees are paid every other Friday. If Friday is a holiday, payday will be the following Monday. Generally, employees pick up the pay checks in their department; if not, they may be picked at the business office. Overtime All the worked over eight hours in one day and forty hours in a workweek, and also the first eight hours worked in the seventh day of work in a workweek is considered overtime for non-exempt employees. The supervisors must approve all overtime before overtime occurs. Hours in excess of eight hours on the seventh day and in the excess of twelve hours in one day will be paid at double time. Exempt employees receive no additional compensation for overtime hours. Parking All employees who will be parking in a staff parking zone must obtain a parking permit. A monthly pre-tax payroll deduction can be made by visiting Human Resources. If you wish to pay cash, present your staff ID. card and license number to the Cashier’s office. The Safety Department will ticket cars without a parking permit and a fine will be applied. Holidays All regular and temporary full-time employees generally receive approximately 13 paid holidays during the course of each calendar year. Regular part-time employees will receive holiday benefits worked out using a prorated system. The holiday schedule is initiated annually. Personal Holidays Each employed is granted on extra day as a Personal Holiday at the time of hire, and at the beginning of each calendar year. Personal Holiday hours must be taken at one time (eight hours full-time pr prorated based on the employee’s time). Employees requesting Personal Holiday will be required to complete “Leave Request” forms. No more than one Personal Holiday is authorized annually. |
1. How often will an employee generally get paid?
| A．Every Friday |
| B．Every two weeks |
| C．Every week |
| D．Every other Monday |
| A．Cashier |
| B．Safety department officer |
| C．Supervisor |
| D．Human resources officer |
| A．Human Resources |
| B．Business Office |
| C．Cashier’s Office |
| D．Safety Department |
5 . The goings-on in the consulting room have become more transparent(透明的）recently. Thank goodness. We know more than the lines supplied by the movies in which the therapist knows all and gives wisdom to those who, sitting on a couch, consult with them. Therapists are interested in how the individual, the couple or the family experiences and understands their difficulties. That has to be a starting place. We can be of value if our first port of call is to listen, to gradually feel ourselves into the shoes of the other, to absorb the feelings that are being conveyed and to think and then to say some words.
The thinking and talking that I do inside the consulting room is at odds with many features of ordinary conversation. Not that it is mysterious, but it isn't concerned with traditional ways of sharing or identifying. The therapist makes patterns and theories, but they are also reflecting on the words that are spoken, how they are delivered and how the words, once spoken, affect the speaker and the therapist themselves.
Words can give voice to previously unknown feelings and thoughts. That’s why it’s called the talking cure. But just as words reveal so, too, can they obscure, and this gets us to the listening and feeling part of the therapy. Whatever and however the words are delivered, they will have an impact on me as a therapist. I might feel hopeless, I might feel energized, I might feel pushed away, I might feel demanded of, I might feel pulled to find solutions.
The influence of the other is what makes any relationship possible or impossible. A therapist is trained to reflect on how those who consult with them affect them. As I try to step into the shoes of the other and then out again, my effort is to hold both those experiences, plus an awareness of my ease or discomfort with what I encounter in the relationship.
Feelings are the bread and butter of our work in the consulting room. They inform or modify our ideas and they enable us to find an emotional bridge to what can so hurt for the people we are working with. Along with the more commonly thought-about theories and ideas we have about the psyche, they are an essential part of the therapist's toolkit, certainly for me. The talking cure means talking, yes. It also means the therapist is listening, thinking and feeling.
1. In which way is the thinking and talking the writer does different from ordinary conversation?| A．It may not be understood by patients. |
| B．It is full of terms used by most therapists. |
| C．It is a good reflection of traditional talking. |
| D．It involves thinking about how people speak. |
| A．cancel | B．clarify |
| C．confirm | D．conceal |
| A．Patients' influence has been neglected by therapists for too long a time. |
| B．Therapists need to think from their own perspectives as well as patients'. |
| C．It is no easy job for therapists to realize how uncomfortable their patients are. |
| D．Therapists had better push away those negative emotions acquired from patients. |
| A．Awareness of feelings | B．It’s good to talk—and listen |
| C．Theories that help therapists | D．What is the point of being a therapist |
6 . GOING TO UNIVERSITY is supposed to be a mind-broadening experience. That statement is probably made in comparison to training for work straight after school, which might not be so encouraging. But is it actually true? Jessika Golle of the University of Tübingen, in Germany, thought she would try to find out. Her result, however, is not quite what might be expected. As she reports in Psychological Science this week, she found that those who have been to university do indeed seem to leave with broader and more inquiring minds than those who have spent their immediate post-school years in vocational (职业的) training for work. However, it was not the case that university broadened minds. Rather, work seemed to narrow them.
Dr. Golle came to this conclusion after she and a team of colleagues studied the early careers of 2,095 German youngsters. The team used two standardized tests to assess their volunteers. One was of personality traits, including openness, conscientiousness（认真）and so on. The other was of attitudes, such as realistic, investigative and enterprising. They administered both tests twice—once towards the end of each volunteer’s time at school, and then again six years later. Of the original group, 382 were on the intermediate track, from which there was a choice between the academic and vocational routes, and it was on these that the researchers focused. University beckoned for 212 of them. The remaining 170 chose vocational training and a job.
When it came to the second round of tests, Dr. Golle found that the personalities of those who had gone to university had not changed significantly. Those who had undergone vocational training and then got jobs were not that much changed in personality, either—except in one crucial respect. They had become more conscientious.
That sounds like a good thing, certainly compared with the common public image of undergraduates as a bunch of lazybones. But changes in attitude that the researchers recorded were rather worrying. In the university group, again, none were detectable. But those who had chosen the vocational route showed marked drops in interest in tasks that are investigative and enterprising in nature. And that might restrict their choice of careers.
Some investigative and enterprising jobs, such as scientific research, are, indeed beyond the degreeless. But many, particularly in Germany, with its tradition of vocational training, are not. The researchers mention, for example, computer programmers and finance-sector workers as careers requiring these traits. If Dr. Golle is correct, and changes in attitude brought about by the very training Germany prides itself on are narrowing people’s choices, that is indeed a matter worthy of serious consideration.
1. Which of the following can best replace “beckoned for” in Paragraph 2?| A．Examined. | B．Attracted. |
| C．Organized. | D．Recognized. |
| A．The degreeless have not changed in personalities. |
| B．Going to university is a mind-broadening experience. |
| C．Working straight after school narrows people’s minds. |
| D．College students pride themselves on their education. |
| A．college students enjoy a very good public image |
| B．the undergraduates have changed significantly in attitude |
| C．the degreeless are much better at dealing with challenging tasks |
| D．people show less interest in investigative jobs due to vocational training |
| A．Concerned. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Unclear. | D．Sceptical. |
She trained as a nurse, but had to give it up when her elder child became seriously ill. “I would have liked to go back to it, but the shifts (工作班次) are all wrong for me, as I have to be home to get the children up and off to school.”
So she works as a cleaner instead, from 9 a.m. till 6 a.m. five nights a week for just ￡90, before tax and insurance. “It’s better than it was last year, but I still think that people who work ‘unsocial hours’ should get a bit extra.”
The hours she’ s chosen to work meant that she sees plenty of the children, but very little of her husband. However, she doesn’t think that puts any pressure on their relationship.
Her work isn’t physically very hard, but it’s not exactly pleasant, either. “I do get angry with people who leave their offices like a place for raising pigs. If they realized people like me have to do it, perhaps they’d be a bit more careful.”
The fact that she’s working all night doesn’t worry Margaret at all. Unlike some dark buildings at night, the building where she works is fully lit, and the women work in groups of three. “Since I’ve got to be here, I try to enjoy myself——and I usually do, because of the other girls. We all have a good laugh, so the time never drags.”
Another challenge Margaret has to face is the reaction of other people when she tells them what she does for a living. “They think you’re a cleaner because you don’t know how to read and write,” said Margaret. “I used to think what my parents would say if they knew what I’d been doing, but I don’t think that way any more. I don’t dislike the work though I can’t say I’m mad about it.”
1. Margaret quit her job as a nurse because _______
| A．she wanted to earn more money to support her family |
| B．she had suffered a lot of mental pressure |
| C．she needed the right time to look after her children |
| D．she felt tired of taking care of patients |
| A．they never clean their offices |
| B．they look down upon cleaners |
| C．they never do their work carefully |
| D．they always make a mess in their offices |
| A．light-hearted because of her fellow workers |
| B．happy because the building is fully lit |
| C．tired because of the heavy workload |
| D．bored because time passed slowly |
| A．help care for her children |
| B．regret what they had said |
| C．show sympathy for her |
| D．feel disappointed in her |
I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work - a life's work in the agony（痛苦） and sweat of the human spirit. But I would like to use this moment as a climax from which I might be listened to by the young men and women already dedicated to the same agony and sweat, among whom is already that one who will someday stand here where I am standing.
Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.
He, the writer, must learn them again. He must teach himself that the worst of all things is to be afraid; and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old truths of the heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is short-lived and doomed - love and honor and pity and pride and sympathy and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse（诅咒）. He writes not of love but of desire, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, of victories without hope and, worst of all, without pity or sympathy. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands（腺体）.
Until he relearns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of sympathy and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and sympathy and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
1. The word “that” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ______.| A．the agony and sweat of the human spirit |
| B．the general and universal physical fear |
| C．the sustenance and endurance for a long time |
| D．the human heart in conflict with itself |
| A．they are love, honor, pity, pride, sympathy and sacrifice |
| B．they prolong a writer’s life and protect him from curses |
| C．they are the soul of a real and powerful piece of writing |
| D．they can effectively stop the trend towards the end of man |
| A．By inspiring man with his past glories through words. |
| B．By helping man endure the end through endless voices. |
| C．By recording sympathy, sacrifice and endurance in his soul. |
| D．By building spiritual pillars through immortal hearts. |
| A．the award was not fair because his life was too painful |
| B．young writers now are too fearful to bear the agony and sweat |
| C．the biggest obstacle to good writing is the writer’s fear |
| D．writing about man’s soul signals his final prevalence |
9 . "Everything happens for the best," my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. "If you can carry on, one day something good will happen. And you'll realize that it wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."
Mother was right, as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932. I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked（搭便车）to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station-and got turned down every time. In one studio, a kind lady told me that in most cases big stations couldn't risk hiring inexperienced person. "Go out in the remote areas and find a small station that'll give you a chance," she said. I went back home to Dixon, Illinois.
While there was no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me.
But I wasn't hired. My disappointment must have shown. "Everything happens for the best," Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to hunt for jobs. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, my frustration boiled over（沸溢，发怒）. I asked aloud, "How can a fellow get to be a sport announcer if he can't get a job in a radio station?" I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling, "What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?" Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game. The preceding autumn, my team had won a game in the last 20 seconds with a 65-yard run. I did a 15-minute boost to that play, and Peter told me I would be broadcasting Saturday’s game!
On my way home, as I have many times since, I thought of my mother's words: "If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment".
1. The reason why the author wasn’t hired in Chicago was probably that____| A．he showed no confidence at the stations |
| B．there were no job available at the stations |
| C．he had no experience in radio broadcasting |
| D．there were too many people competing with him |
| A．the frustration of the author prevented him from performing well at WOC Radio |
| B．both of the author’s parents showed support when he was trying to search for a job |
| C．Peter MacArthur recognize the author’s talent in broadcasting after reading his resume. |
| D．the author lost all his hope and courage when he was turned down by Montgomery Ward |
| A．He was worried that Peter wouldn’t believe in his ability |
| B．He was afraid that his loud inner clam would annoy Peter |
| C．He was angry that Peter didn’t offer him a satisfying potential |
| D．He was grateful that Peter could notice his broadcasting potential |
| A．Well begun is half done | B．Prevention is better than cure |
| C．No cross, no crown | D．Rome was not built in a day |
10 . A gaming company in New Zealand is luring employees. from around the world by offering unlimited paid annual leave, a share in the company’s profits and no set work hours.
Dean Hall became famous in international gaming circles for being the lead designer on popular video game DayZ. After searching the world for a location for his new gaming studio, Rocketwerkz, New Zealander Hall settled on the small university town of Dunedin on the south island’s east coast, where land is cheap and creative start-ups have become an important pan of the city’s identity.
Rocketwerkz’s flexible work culture is now drawing talent from around the globe, with Hall receiving 300 messages of inquiry since a local newspaper wrote about his studio last week.
Last year, when the company was still in its infancy(婴儿期), baby cats would also make a regular appearance in the office as a form of fighting stress, and Friday afternoons are generally reserved for sports and games to end the week on a playful note.
“The first time I heard about the idea of unlimited paid leave in places like Silicon Valley it was about the problems it caused. A culture had appeared where employees took no leave,” said Hall.
“So to address that, our staff are issued the standard New Zealand annual leave of four weeks, but they can also take unlimited leave in addition to that.”
Emily Lampitt, from Britain, is a 3D junior artist who has been with the company for a year and a half. She says the flexible work culture was a huge factor in her decision to move to New Zealand.
“The flexibility here has made me feel much more relaxed” she says. I “That internal stress I used to feel in a traditional work environment has gone, so when I am at work now it is because I want to be, because I am passionate(有激情的), not because I am afraid of my boss or watching the clock.”
1. The underlined word “luring” in Paragraph I is closest in meaning to .| A．cheating | B．disturbing |
| C．inspiring | D．attracting |
| A．To show the company focuses on pressure relief. |
| B．To explain how the company motivates its staff. |
| C．To stress the significance of harmony in workplaces. |
| D．To introduce a new way to promote creativity |
| A．set a good example to Rochetwerkz. |
| B．didn’t work out as expected. |
| C．helped develop the local culture. |
| D．solved the problem of unemployment. |
| A．To encourage companies to be more flexible. |
| B．To describe what a creative company should be like. |
| C．To give a report on the flexible management of a company. |
| D．To discuss how to make a traditional company more competitive. |
