1 . For most dog owner, the expression “Work like a dog” doesn’t make much sense. The lovely pets usually live a life of leisure. They go from the simple days of childhood directly to the relaxation of retirement, skipping the working part of life completely.
But some dogs happily perform very difficult jobs for much of their life. They put in a full day’s work just like the rest of us. Guide dogs, one of the most familiar kinds of working dog, provide an important service to humans. During the Beijing Paralympics, guide dogs received much attention as they helped their masters--those blind athletes--get from place to place safely.
Dogs were first used to guide blind people in 1819. In 1916, Dr. Gerhard Stalling set up a school to train dogs to help German soldiers who had been blinded in World War I. As time passed, trainers began to recognize which kinds of dogs are best for guide work. Today, Golden Retrievers, Labradors and German Shepherds are favorites because they are smart and work hard.
Guide dogs help blind people get around in the world. To do this, they must know how to:
1. Keep on a direct route.
2. Keep a slow, even pace.
3. Stop at all curbs(路边) until told to start moving again.
4. Turn left and right and move forward and stop when told.
5. Recognize and avoid obstacles that the handler won’t be able to deal with.
6. Lie quietly when the handler is sitting down.
7. Help the handler to get on and move around buses, subways and other forms of public transportation.
As a guide dog, gets more experience with its handler, it may be able to take on even more responsibilities. For example, many guide dogs that have worked for years know all of places their master usually goes. All the handler has to tell them is “go to the office” or “find the coffee shop”, and the guide dog will follow the complete route!
1. In Para. 2, the writer mentioned the guide dogs in Beijing Paralympics in order to _______.A.arouse readers’ interest in reading the rest part |
B.emphasize the importance of their hard work |
C.compare the job of guide dogs with that of humans |
D.tell the difference of the guide dogs and lovely pets |
A.avoid leading the handlers to some obstacles impossible to handle |
B.keep a proper pace that is easy for the handlers to follow |
C.assist the handlers when taking a bus, subway or train, etc. |
D.look for some quiet places for the handlers to have rests |
A.responsible | B.careful |
C.obedient | D.approachable |
2 . Many young people are excited by their first weeks on a new job. For others, this early period is disappointing. Some difficulties may be caused by the individual’s lack of information and preparation. Often, unpleasant surprises result from the unreal expectations aroused during the recruiting(招聘) process. Recruiters and interviewers overstate the attractiveness of a job to gain a large number of candidates. Applicants overstate their abilities and understate their needs to improve their chances of getting the job. At the same time, they may fail to study the company to which they are applying. Thus, each side offers a mixed bag of truth-all likely to cause problems when those hired begin to work.
The problem of over expectations can exist for anyone, but it may be especially severe for those young graduates who have done particularly well in their studies and/or have graduated from famous business school. They have been used to fast, regular feedback on their performance and to the atmosphere of the university. They expect to find the same conditions on their new job. But once on the job, they think their skills and abilities unused.
An individual whose expectations are inconsistent(不一致) with the realities of a new job is not likely to develop an effective and satisfying work role in the company. Edgar Schein found that almost 75% of the interviewed graduates changed jobs at least once over a five-year period. He also found that within five years, most companies lose over half of the college graduates they hire. Schein thinks that this is caused by the difference between the graduates’ expectations and the realities of the company. Similarly, in his study of a small group of American business school graduates working in South America, Schein found that job continuation and satisfaction were related to how closely the graduates’ original expectations matched the realities of their jobs.
1. That some young people are disappointed during their first weeks on a new job may be caused by________.A.their over excitement |
B.new working conditions |
C.their lack of abilities and unreal expectations |
D.the individual’s lack of information and preparation |
A.get the job |
B.attract more companies |
C.get a higher payment |
D.obtain a large number of candidates |
A.an individual’s expectations are inconsistent |
B.over half of the college graduates lost their jobs within five years |
C.more than 75% interviewed graduates changed jobs over a 5-year period |
D.one man is not likely to develop an effective and satisfying work role in the company |
A.companies like to hire old people |
B.young people like to change their jobs |
C.young people are more likely to change their jobs |
D.young people’s skills and abilities are not needed in companies |
The Benefits of a Summer Job
Have you ever had a summer job? For many young people, summer is an exciting period where education stops and fun begins.
The concept of students and younger members of society being gainfully employed over the summer period is not a new one. And there are opportunities out there for those who want to earn.
A.Summer and Saturday jobs prepare young people for successful careers in later life, teaching vital soft skills. |
B.Students take summer jobs mainly to cover their tuition and this practice is highly appreciated by their parents. |
C.That said, holidays, festivals and time spent with friends cost money. |
D.This move comes at a time of apparent need. |
E.Soft skills are so essential to students’ future career that they have to take summer jobs to acquire them. |
F.Vacancies can range from roles as boring as fry cook, to seasonal work at a theme park. |
No matter what the reason, though, juggling more than one job is guaranteed to be a crash course in time management. If you’re not careful, the word “crash” could become more than figurative.
We all know that we’ll have to figure out a time management system when we take on a second job. Equally obvious is the fact that what works for one person (and their jobs) probably won’t work for anyone else.
Good records can also help. I’m not just talking about the calendars and task lists most of us rely on, either. Making sure that you have any contact information available no matter whether you’re at Job A, Job B or home can take some extra effort, but it’s worth it.
I know plenty of people who bring their work to their primary job. It seems to be a favorite tactic of folks starting up a freelancing career or small business. I don’t think that’s the best way to manage a packed schedule. If you don’t have your primary employer’s permission, the best advice is to just keep things quiet. Give preference to the employer who is paying you for this specific chunk of time.
Some companies don’t want you to work anywhere else. They want you to put in your eight hours, go home, sleep well and come back rested. Others consider employees who go looking for other projects as its benefits —— such employees have a jump start on networking and have a wider variety of experiences.
A.Priority should definitely be given to your day job. |
B.The same goes for your notes and other paperwork. |
C.It’s up to you to find a system and stick with it. |
D.Sometimes it is no easy task to make decisions between Job A and Job B. |
E.Keep firm dividers between your different jobs. |
F.Unfortunately, most supervisors do not come with a label which variety they are. |
5 . Alibaba, Bank of China and Huawei—these are the dream employers for Chinese students, according to a new survey.
“The survey of more than 55,000 students, conducted by the research firm Universum, has found that roughly a quarter want to work for an international company, while only 9% want to work for a start-up. Five percent want to start their own business.”
The students said that work-1ife balance was the most important career goal, followed by job stability. When it comes to desirable companies, Bank of China has been named the top choice by business students for seven consecutive years, and the gigantic state-owned firm shows no signs of giving up its lead.
William Wu, the China country manager for Universum, said that banking remains an attractive industry for young Chinese. “China’s government is now emphasizing the revolution of the finance industry, which leaves the younger generation with the impression that although banking is a traditional industry, there are still a lot of development opportunities.” Wu said.
E-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA, Tech30) improved six places from 2014, ranking second among business students. Alibaba’s rise shouldn’t come as much of a surprise—the company held a record-breaking $25 billion IPO in September.
Among engineering students, Alibaba was once again a bridesmaid. Instead, Huawei—a telecoms infrastructure firm that now makes consumer products-took the top spot.
“Both of these companies are pioneers in terms of local companies going international.” said Wu. “It shows that… an international development strategy has a positive influence among Chinese young talents.” Tech companies ruled the rankings for humanities students, with Alibaba—which was ninth in 2014 一 landing at the top. Last year, Apple was the Number l choice of Chinese students.
1. What’s the percentage of the surveyed students who want to join a company set up recently?A.Five percent. |
B.Twenty-five percent. |
C.Nine percent. |
D.Twenty percent. |
A.Work-life balance. |
B.Job stability. |
C.Alibaba. |
D.Their own business. |
A.is rooted only in China |
B.makes consumer products |
C.goes international |
D.just aims at the foreign market |
A.What companies students want to work for. |
B.Why students have to go to university. |
C.How a company can develop well. |
D.Where students’ success lies in. |
More On: Go to greg Is omitting jobs from a resume lying? ----------------------- How to handle stress at work ------------------------ How can men and women work better together? ------------------------ How will cancer treatment affect my son’s resume? ------------------------ What to do if you drank too much at the company holiday party | Letter 1 January 28, 2018 | 3:31pm I work for an e-commerce Website. If one of our merchandisers has a question or wants to make a correction, they e-mail the entire department. In my opinion, this is rude and unnecessary. It seems to me that mass e-mail is appropriate for good or neutral news, rather than making a correction. Do you agree? Moreover, if you were the recipient of the correction, how would you respond? The only people who should be included in an e-mail are those who need to know or respond. Including everyone is rude and unprofessional as well as annoying to recipients. It’s not like we don’t have enough in our inbox already. I don’t agree that e-mail is only for good or neutral news, however. Sometimes you need to alert people or create a record of bad news. But no one should use e-mail to blame other people. If you’ve got a problem with someone, pick up the phone or take it outside (for a coffee, not a fist fight…geez). As for how to respond, e-mail is usually ineffective for resolving conflict. Have a conversation with the sender and explain why his or her approach isn’t the best and what you recommend. |
Letter 2 January 14, 2018 | 9:24 pm It’s the start of a new year and I believe it’s time for a change. What’s the best way to explain to a prospective employer that you are in need of something new without seeming flighty and without complaining about your current employer? The new year is as good a time as any to take stock, but not the only reason for making a change. At least, that’s not what you communicate to a prospective employer. Your reason for looking for a new job is less important to your new employer than why you want to work there. Needing a change might be the catalyst(催化剂), but the job search is like dating, and you wouldn’t ask someone out and explain you’re just bored in your current relationship, right? At least I hope not, otherwise you’re likely to be as lonely as Barry Manilow sounds when he sings “It’s Just Another New Year’s Eve”. |
1. What is discussed in the first letter?
A.How to ask questions in a polite way. | B.How to respond to a false charge. |
C.How to make a correction at work. | D.How to handle rude mass emails at work. |
A.talking about your family issues in public |
B.complaining about your prior partner on a first date |
C.demonstrating your qualifications to your new boss |
D.bragging about your experience to your partner |
A.career choices | B.social relationships |
C.working problems | D.health problems |
7 . To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say “I will take an interest in this or that.” Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like; you have got to like what you do.
Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes: those whoare toiledto death, those who are worried to death and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual labourer, tired out with a hard week’s sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or business man, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the weekend. As for the unfortunate people who can command everything they want, who can gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire — for them a new pleasure, a new excitement is only an additional satiation. In vain they rush frantically round from place to place, trying to escape from the avenging boredom by mere clatter and motion. For them discipline in one form or another is the most hopeful path.
It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are divided into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the former are the majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fortune’s favoured children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vacation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their mind.
1. What does “are toiled” in the 2ndparagraph mean?A.have hobbies | B.feel pleased |
C.work very hard | D.are busy |
A.Being late in life to attempt to cultivate hobbies adds to mental stress. |
B.Great knowledge irrelevant to the daily work can’t guarantee benefit. |
C.Those tired out for a week’s labour are reluctant to play football on weekends. |
D.Unfortunate people need discipline to help them build up hope. |
A.are very willing to work long hours in the office or the factory |
B.earn a large amount of money due to their hard work for a long time |
C.are keen to enjoy the pleasure when they are off duty |
D.usually enjoy themselves in the simplest and most modest forms |
A.The first class are lazy and the second class are bound to succeed. |
B.The second class never need holidays because their life is harmonious. |
C.The minority are more favoured by fortune because they never stop working. |
D.One really needs alternation for a change in order to work better. |
Seeking feedback not always sufficient for stimulating creativity
It is widely believed that seeking feedback from colleagues, managers, friends and family enhances employees' creativity. But is this always the case? No, a positive effect depends on the work environment. This is the conclusion of new joint research study led by UvA work and organizational psychologist Roy Sijbom.
“The idea is simple: seeking feedback from different sources - also known as feedback source variety -- benefits one's creativity since it leads to a greater diversity of viewpoints”, says Sijbom. “And the more diverse the viewpoints, the more it benefits one's creativity because by combining all the different viewpoints new perspectives will emerge that in turn will result in more creativity.
The researchers examined how specific characteristics of the immediate work environment influence the relationship between feedback source variety and creative performance.
Sijbom offers several recommendations: “
A.They thus focused on two elements that are typical for contemporary work environments. |
B.The researchers used online questionnaires to obtain data. |
C.The notion that obtaining external feedback about one's ideas is essential for increasing creativity is deeply rooted in society. |
D.The most important is that when an organization stimulates feedback seeking, it needs to ensure that the work environment is excellent enough to use the benefits of feedback. |
E.The question, however, is whether these beneficial effects always occur. |
F.The creative achievements were assessed by their direct managers. |
9 . 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 |
10 . 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. |