1 . Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Yold

The year 2020 marks the beginning of the decade of the yold, or the “young old”, as the Japanese call people aged between 65 and 75. By continuing to work and staying socially engaged, the boomers, in their new appearance as the young old, will change the world.

The yold are more numerous, healthier and wealthier than previous generations of seniors.

    1    Of the 3.7 years of increased life expectancy in rich countries between 2000 and 2015, says the WHO, 3.2 years were enjoyed in good health. Working is one of the factors that are helping people stay healthy longer. A German study found that people who remain at work after the normal retirement age manage to slow the cognitive (认知的) decline. The yold are also better off, while the wealth of all other age groups declined.

The yold are challenging the traditional expectations of the retired in many aspects. They won’t wear indoor shoes and look after the grandchildren.     2    They also spend much more, when taking a foreign holiday, than younger adults, so they are vital to the tourism industry. And, because of the importance of pensions, the yold are transforming insurance companies from passive distributors of fixed annuities(年金) to financial service providers for customers who want to manage their pension pots more actively.

    3     Societies should be better off because public spending on health and pensions should be lower than expected, as people work longer and need less medical care.

Today, some big things will have to change, under pressure from the yold themselves. The most important is public attitudes towards older people and in particular the expectation that 60-somethings ought to quietly retire into the background.     4    The yold will demand that companies become more age-friendly and, in the process, help change attitudes towards aging itself.

A．Healthy yold people will require great changes in health spending.

B．They become one of the fastest growing groups for airline businesses.

C．The rise of the yold will definitely be a blessing to both culture and economy.

D．Health worsens with age, but the yold are resisting the decline better than most.

E．Many companies treat older workers unfairly by offering training only to younger ones.

F．Bosses may think productivity falls with age, but studies in Germany suggest things different.

2 . Directions: Read the following passage carefully. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

The worst time to look for a job is when you feel desperate and must have a new one immediately.     1    If you are not in need of an immediate career change, here are ways you can improve your long-term career prospects today:

Identify at least two different roles. You do not have to be qualified for these positions today, nor do they have to exist in your company. However, these roles should be related to your current skill set. They are career options that look interesting.     2    Pay close attention to what appeals to you, and write it down. This will give insight into your motivations and targets.

Subscribe to a career specific magazine. Knowledge is power in the workplace. All businesses must stay relevant to their customers in order to win the competitions and increase revenue (收益). Reading about industry trends, advancements and success stories keeps you in touch with market conditions. This information allows you to see which companies and professionals are leading the pack. You can follow their examples in your own workplace.

    3    

Do exceptional work. In any role, there is a way to perform at your best. Look for ways to deliver a top performance. Show up early, be flexible to new assignments, have a positive attitude, cooperate with other departments, pay attention to the little details.

Be professionally curious. Talk to people about their careers. Learn more about how success is measured in other roles, departments and companies. Ask people their thoughts on different industries.     4    People hire people. You never know what connections may be relevant when you start your next job search, so develop a habit of making good connections no matter where you go. Take the time to learn about others, and be helpful when you can.

As in all things in life, getting in front of a difficult task early is always less stressful than reacting to a career surprise. Changing jobs is to be expected. No matter how secure you feel today, the time will come when either you or your employer decide it is time to change.

A．If you associate with distinguished people, you are likely to find yourself with better opportunities.

B．Challenge yourself to expand your business knowledge through interactions with people at regular time.

C．In addition, the chances, if any, are low that you can find a satisfactory job in an economic situation like this.

D．Once you have a couple of targets, think about why and what interests you.

E．That is to say, the people you keep company with determine your character development.

F．Job searching under pressure often results in nervous interviewing and decision-making from relatively few options.

3 . Innovation for Everyone – Career Skills for Life

Invitation to Alumni (校友) Networking Event Organized by University of Warwick and British Council

We are delighted to invite you to an alumni networking event on Tuesday 14 March, 7-9 pm at the Le Royal Méridien Hotel, Shanghai. The event is organized by the University of Warwick and the British Council and is open to all alumni.

Come and join us for refreshments, followed by four short presentations on the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship (创业) skills in your career and the launch of new career initiatives for students and alumni, before spending time networking with friends and other UK alumni over a buffet dinner.

The place for this event is the Le Royal Méridien Hotel, No.789 Nanjing East Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai. The Le Royal Méridien Hotel is located in People's Square in Shanghai and is easily accessed by subway, bus or taxi.

DATE AND TIME
Tue 14 March 2017
19:00 – 21:00 CST
LOCATION
Le Royal Méridien Hotel
No.789 Nanjing East Road
Huangpu District

Shanghai

PROGRAMME

7:00 pm	Registration and welcome refreshments
7:15 – 7:25 pm	“An overview of Graduate Employability (就业能力) among UK-educated Chinese Alumni and British Council Activities to Support Alumni Career Development”, Cathy He, Head of Education Services, British Council
7:25 – 7:35 pm	“The Importance of Career Planning: from the SJTU Viewpoint”, Mr Shen, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Careers
7:35 – 7:45 pm	“The Importance of Innovation Skills Throughout Your Career: An Employer Viewpoint”, John Hung, Managing Partner, China Consumer & Industrial Products Industry and Automotive Sector, Deloitte, China
7:45 – 7:55 pm	“New Resources to Enhance the Employability of Chinese Students and Graduates”, Esther de Perlaky, International Manager, University of Warwick
8:00 – 9:00 pm	Networking and banquet buffet dinner

Free but up to 80 tickets, please register via READ MORE.

1. The main purpose of holding this alumni networking event is ________.

A．to invite the alumni for refreshments

B．to spend time networking with the alumni

C．to help the alumni to launch new career initiatives

D．to share the experience of innovation and career skills for life

2. The people attending the event are most probably those ________.

A．UK-educated Chinese Alumni

B．only from University of Warwick

C．UK-educated Alumni and their friends

D．UK-educated Chinese Alumni and from the SJTU

3. What do the four short presentations mainly talk about?

A．How to improve the employability of the alumni.

B．How to help the alumni find and improve employment.

C．How to enhance the employability in career development.

D．How to make career planning and train the alumni’s innovation skills.

4 . Welcome to Fresh Start February! This week Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that I would transition to the private sector. Today, my last official day as the Director of the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs. After serving 6 years in the Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser and 2 of those years as Director, of the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs, I am very excited and look forward to starting this next phase in my career.

I am humbled and grateful to Mayor Bowser for trusting in me to be a leader in her administration and to serve as the primary liaison between you-the members of the community, and 13 community affairs offices to foster relationships across all 8 Wards. What can I say, other than it has been an amazing journey and I am grateful!

This journey has been the very foundation of our work in partnership and collaboration between District of Columbia residents and the Executive Office of the Mayor. We have established partnerships with communities, conducted and coordinated several events, town halls, forums, and projects in support of carrying forward mayoral initiatives at the community level.

We have built stronger ties between the Mayor and community organizations civic groups, and Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) while attending to the intersectional needs of the community.

Also, thank you to the 90+ MOCA staff members that have helped me up to provide support to our office directors and District residents throughout the years. Interacting with you all and having the opportunity to work with such dedicared individuals is something I have and will never take for granted. I have often been inspired by the creativity and innovation that they bring to the respective offices. Our work has left a lasting impression on my life.

Again, thank you to our first female two-term Mayor, Muriel Bowser for her leadership and for allowing me to be a part of this great work! I want to thank you for your support throughout this journey, and I am excited about the great work that will continue to go forward. I leave with fond memories of my 8 years total in the John A. Wilson Building.

2 years in the office or Councilmember Anita Bonds and with memories that I will forever cherish. I also know that MOCA is well-positioned to go to the NEXT LEVEL! It has been one of my greatest privileges to serve with you. Until we meet again.

1. А_______________ is a person whose job is to make sure there is a good relationship between two groups or organizations.

A．mayor

B．resident

C．director

D．liaison

2. How many years altogether has the author worked in MOCA?

A．2

B．6.

C．8.

D．10.

3. Who is the author of the speech most likely to address?

A．Muriel Bowser.	B．The private sector.
C．Local residents.	D．MOCA staff members.

5 . It is conventionally known that a master's degree from Harvard Business School in the US is the key to a Fortune 500 job, while the same degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, US, means a possible career on Wall Street.

The graduate school you go to somewhat decides your future. And a recent New York Times article reveals the correlation between MBA（Master of Business Administration）graduates at certain US schools and career prospects.

To work at Amazon

Ross School of Business（University of Michigan）

Amazon regularly hires more MBAs from top 10 business schools than big Wall Street firms. And a large chunk of American employees are from Ross. Graduate Peter Faricy, vice president of Amazon Marketplace, says the reason behind this is that Ross' curriculum-related offerings, a problem-solving course for instance, are particularly well suited to Amazon.

To work at McKinsey & Company

Kellogg School of Management（Northwestern）

For an MBA, landing a job at McKinsey is like trying to get into a competitive business school all over again. However, Kellogg graduates perform well in the fierce competition. The school's MBAs are in demand at elite（精英）consulting firms, which hired 35 percent of Kellogg graduates last year, a higher percentage than at Harvard（23 percent）and Stanford（16 percent）.

To work at Apple

Fuqua School of Business（Duke）

Silicon Valley hasn't always welcomed MBAs.

However, two of Apple's top 10 executives come from Fuqua. Apple has hired 32 Fuqua graduates over the past five years, and provided 42 internships for Duke students.

To start your own company

Harvard Business School

The extensive resources Harvard has devoted to its entrepreneurial offerings in recent years are starting to show real results. By many accounts, it has surpassed Stanford as the top entrepreneurial hot-bed in the US.

1. Which school in the following offers students a course on various approaches to difficulties at work?

A．Kellogg School of Management.	B．Ross School of Business.
C．Harvard Business School.	D．Fuqua School of Business.

2. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．Consulting companies favor MBA students from Kellogg.

B．Stanford produces the greatest number of business leaders.

C．To work at Apple, MBA graduates have an advantage.

D．Wall Street employs more MBAs from top 10 business schools than Amazon.

3. If you want to work in the area of hi-tech electronic products, you may choose to study in ________.

A．Wharton School	B．Kellogg School of Management
C．Ross School of Business	D．Fuqua School of Business

6 . High school freshmen always have a lot of questions on their minds. "What can I do when I grow up?" is one of them. It's definitely not too early to start thinking about his tough question. The following tips may help equip you for your future career.

Think beyond grades

Getting good grades in high school is important, but focusing only on straight A's could go wrong. Spending too much time on your schoolwork will leave you little time to explore opportunities outside of the classroom. Extracurricular activities are necessary because they serve as a form of career exploration. They can help you figure out your work preferences, like whether you are a "people person" or prefer to work alone. Nowadays, most well-known colleges care about candidates' experiences as much as their grades.

Seek advice from grown-ups

Talk to your parents, teachers and school counselors about how they started their careers. Even though you're interested in the careers they are in, it would be useful to learn about the process which got them where they are now. If you find your friend's mother doing a worthwhile job by chance, ask her if job shadowing is possible in her company during vacation. After all, seeing a typical day in the position you have an interest in can be an invaluable experience.

Start your search online

If you really have no idea what you can do when you grow up, take online career quizzes to get ideas about what professions naturally match your skills, interests and personality traits. For the time being, you just need to focus on finding a field or two that interests you, rather than a specific career. Chances are you'll change your mind several times before finding a career that you want to stick to. Starting to explore career options now can at least help you decide what your potential major might be.

1. Spending some time taking part in after-school activities can help high school students ________.

A．get A's in all subjects	B．explore their work preferences
C．have access to prestigious universities	D．get along with their classmates

2. Grown-ups may help high school students by _________.

A．starting a business with them	B．teaching them occupational skills
C．sharing their career paths with them	D．providing an opportunity for job shadowing

3. It is suggested that high school students find out their _______ from online career quizzes.

A．possible professions	B．main disadvantages
C．specific occupations	D．ideal majors

4. This article was probably written by a __________.

A．college professor	B．school counselor
C．advertising manager	D．computer programmer

7 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the sentences given below. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Although many companies offer tuition reimbursement (偿付), most companies reimburse employees only for classes that are relevant to their positions.     1    . A company that reimburses employees for all college credit course-whether job related or not-offers a service not only to the employees but to the entire company.

One good reason for giving employees unconditional tuition reimbursement is that it shows the company's dedication to its employees. In today's economy, where job security is a thing of the past and employees feel more and more expendable, it is important for a company to demonstrate to its employees that it cares. The best way to do this is to make investments in them.

    2     A company that puts out funds to pay for the education of its employees will get its money back by having employees stay with the company longer. It will reduce employ turnover (流动), because even employees who don't take advantage of tuition reimbursement program will be more loyal to their company, just knowing that their company cares enough to pay their education.

Although companies do indeed run the risk of losing money on employees who go on to another job in a different company as soon as they get their degree, more often than not, the employees will stay with the company.     3     Thus, even if the employee leaves upon graduating, throughout those years, the employer will have a more sophisticated, more intelligent, and therefore more valuable and productive employee. And, if the employee stays, that education will doubly benefit the company. Not only is the employee more educated, but now that employee can be promoted so the company doesn't have to fill a high-level vacancy from the outside.     4    .

Though unconditional tuition reimbursement requires a significant investment on the employer's part, it is perhaps one of the wisest investments a company can make.

A．In thin way, companies will have more productive employees.

B．In today's economy, job security is a thing of the past and employees feel more and more expendable.

C．In return, this dedication to the betterment of employees will create greater loyalty.

D．This is indeed a very limiting policy.

E．Even if employees do leave, it generally takes several years to complete any degree program.

F．Open positions can be assigned to who already knew he company well

8 . If you are a recent social science graduate who has had to listen to jokes about unemployment from your computer major classmates, you may have had the last laugh. There are many advantages for the social science major because this high-tech “Information Age” demands people who are flexible and who have good communication skills.

There are many social science majors in large companies who fill important positions. For example, a number of research studies found that social science majors had achieved greater managerial success than those who had technical training or pre-professional courses. Studies show that social science majors are most suited for change, which is the leading feature of the kind of high speed, high-pressure, high-tech world we now live in.

Social science majors are not only experiencing success in their long-term company jobs, but they are also finding jobs more easily. A study showed that many companies had filled a large percentage of their entry-level positions with social science graduates. The study also showed that the most sought-after quality in a person who was looking for a job was communication skills, noted as “very important” by 92 percent of the companies. Social science majors have these skills, often without knowing how important they are. It is probably due to these skills that they have been offered a wide variety of positions.

Finally, although some social science majors may still find it more difficult than their technically trained classmates to land the first job, recent graduates report that they don’t regret their choice of study.

1. Compared with graduates of other subjects, social science graduates _____.

A．are ready to change when situations change

B．are better able to deal with difficulties

C．are equally good at computer skills

D．are likely to give others pressure

2. According to the text, what has made it easy for social science graduates to find jobs?

A．Willingness to take low-paid jobs.	B．Readiness to gain high-tech knowledge.
C．Skills in expressing themselves.	D．Part-time work experience.

3. The underlined word “land” in the last paragraph probably means _______.

A．keep for some time	B．successfully get
C．immediately start	D．lose regretfully

9 . Directions: Choose from the sentences A-F to complete the passage. There are two extra sentences which you do not need to use.

There is no better feeling than walking away from your desk in the evening with a sense of deep satisfaction for a job well done.    1     Here are five ways to help you do just that:

Empty your inbox．

    2     You will find that an empty inbox late in the day will give you a strong sense of accomplishment and order in your life. If you want an empty inbox, it means everything is in a particular spot: either in the trash, or sent to someone else.

    3    

If you leave a tiring and undesirable task until the next day, you will walk away from your desk with a dark cloud hanging over you and a sense of fear. On the other hand, try to complete the task before you leave the office, and you will walk away with a feeling of freedom and victory.

Do something nice for someone else.

The key here is intentionality. Plan to end your day by doing something specific and beneficial for someone in your life—a partner, friend, family member, customer, etc. You will feel better when doing a good deed to others. It is impossible to do something nice for someone without feeling better yourself.

Say thank you.

Take a moment before you shut things down for the day to be thankful for your life.    4     When you feel grateful to people around you, you will get a new idea on the difficulties of any given day.

A．Determine what will make tomorrow special.

B．Regardless of what else has happened in a day, ending it with thanks is a rewarding approach.

C．Finish the task as far as possible before you leave.

D．Keeping your inbox empty makes you more effective.

E．In fact, a whole unproductive day can end with just 15 hyper-productive minutes.

F．Nothing else throughout your day could possibly be so bad.

10 . Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-education well off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individual and society, are profound.

The world is facing as astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.

But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人) are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.

Policy is partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Rising life expectancy, combined with the replacement of generous defined-benefit pension plans with less generous defined-contribution ones, means that even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to get rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the previous generation. Technological change may well strengthen that shift: the skills that make up for computers, from management knowhow to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.

1. What has helped deepen the divide between the well-off and the poor?

A．Longer life expectancies.

B．A rapid technological advance.

C．Profound changes in the workforce.

D．A growing number of the well-educated.

2. What do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20th century?

A．Economic growth will slow down.

B．Government budgets will increase

C．More people will try to pursue higher education.

D．There will be more competition in the job market.

3. What is the result of policy changes in European countries?

A．Unskilled workers m ay choose to retire early.

B．More people have to receive in-service training.

C．Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement.

D．People may be able to enjoy generous defined-benefits from pension plans.

4. What is characteristic of work in the 21^st century?

A．Computers will do more complicated work.

B．More will be taken by the educated young.

C．Most jobs to be done will be creative ones

D．Skills are highly valued regardless of age