1 . 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 |
2 . Get up at 6 am, arrive at the hospital one hour earlier to help patients check in, and accompany patients during consultations… In recent years, “patient escorts” has emerged as a new industry, and those who have taken on this career are known as “people who sell time”, 26-year-old Zhang Tian is one of them.
September 4 was a lucky day for Zhang Tian. On this day, Zhang Tian saw a video about patient escorts on a short video platform. The daily routine of patient escorts shown in the video fascinated her and gradually inspired her to take this on as a business. She browsed through many platforms and read multiple information and found there indeed exists a certain demand for patient escorts, especially for the elderly, children, and pregnant women. Since she had never engaged in this kind of work before, she spent two days in major hospitals in Wuhan, in order to familiarize herself with all the departments on different floors, as well as the processes of medical consultation and preparation for surgery.
After preliminary preparatory (预备的) work, Zhang Tian posted a video of myself-introduction on major social platforms, talking about the help and services a patient escort provides, as well as some tips for a quick and convenient medical consultation. At first, she was a little worried that her video would go unnoticed. However, after she uploaded the video, it got over 100 likes and she received her first ever offer as a patient escort.
The memory of her first task is still alive and fresh in her mind. She received a phone call on September 9 from a man whose father was seriously ill and might need surgery. He wanted Zhang Tian to accompany his father through his consultation and treatment.” Zhang Tian made full preparations before meeting her first client and did a very good job despite her nervousness.
“Later, the family expressed their gratitude to me over and over again, which warmed my heart and gave me a sense of achievement.” Zhang Tian said.
1. What do patient escorts do?| A．They assist doctors in hospitals. |
| B．They arrive at hospitals early to check in. |
| C．They take on this career to sell their time. |
| D．They help patients get treated in hospitals. |
| A．she enjoyed seeing an interesting video |
| B．she got inspiration for her own career |
| C．she found a demand for medical workers |
| D．she was well received on social platforms |
| A．She got familiar with the routine work in hospitals. |
| B．She spent two days in major hospitals to meet patients. |
| C．Her video on social platforms attracted her first client. |
| D．The man’s father was seriously ill and might need a surgery. |
| A．Hardworking and considerate. | B．Humorous and careful. |
| C．Ambitious and imaginative. | D．Talkative and positive. |
3 . You will be leaving this school at the end of this year and the unavoidable question many people will ask you is, “So, what do you want to be?” Some of you may have already decided on a career path.
First, does the career you are considering have staying power? Will it be in demand in 20 years? Rapid technological change is disruptive.
Second, choose a career that interests you. Some people might think this is unimportant, but if you are truly passionate about your job then going to work every day won’t seem a chore. It’s also likely that you will stay and grow in this career. Before making a choice, you should examine your values, skills and personality type.
Third, of course you will want to consider your chosen profession’s earning power! Although high pay plays a part, you should know that a job with a big salary will likely require more time to get to the top, much more effort and a higher level of stress.
| A．But many of you still don’t have a clue! |
| B．We need to be forward-looking at our future prospects. |
| C．Trying different work can help you find out your favorite job. |
| D．This can help you decide if a career path is a good fit for you. |
| E．Only the truly motivated will likely be able to meet these challenges. |
| F．People’s wages are lower in industries with slow technological change. |
| G．Thinking about a life-long career at this stage in your life is surely challenging. |
4 . In the heart of the Antarctic there’s a unique post office staffed by a dedicated team and surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery that includes around 3,000 penguins. The “Penguin Post Office” is a nearly 80-year-old building on British-owned Goudier Island, which is about the size of a football field.
Each year, the post office hires four postmasters to live on the island from November to March. In addition to taking care of the 70,000 cards posted each year for delivery to 100 countries, the employees are in charge of wildlife monitoring, which includes counting penguins, and environmental data collection. They are also collectively responsible for maintaining the historic sites and tending on thousands of tourists who come by boat. Depending on the specific role, salaries range from about $US1,600 per month to $US2,300.
“The experience offers a different and new viewpoint on your role in the planet,” Camilla Nichol, the CEO of the post office said. “It’s an extraordinary place”. While applicants are initially intrigued by the penguins, they are warned it’s not an easy job. Employees must live without running water, internet or mobile phone service for five months. The team live together in a small room, and share a single bathroom and camping toilet. “You might be working 12-hour days. There’s not much time for rest and relaxation.” added Camilla Nichol. The employees are also responsible for keeping the site clean, which includes spending a lot of time brushing penguin waste off rocks.
The five-month role is widely sought-after. The post office gets thousands of applications for the postmaster position every year. In 2022, four women have been selected to run the world’s most remote post office in Antarctica among 6,000 people who expressed an interest in the roles. Successful candidates do a week of training in Cambridge before heading to the post office in November, where they remain until March the following year.
“This is my first time in Antarctica and I’m very excited to set foot on the white continent,” said Hilton, one of the four postmasters.
1. Which of the following best describes the job?| A．Risky but worthwhile. | B．Dangerous but appealing. |
| C．Tough but significant. | D．Boring but rewarding. |
| A．Location. | B．Penguins. | C．Scenery. | D．Salaries. |
| A．You may become extraordinary. |
| B．The job may improve your life. |
| C．The job is relaxing but poorly conditioned. |
| D．You may have a new attitude towards the world. |
| A．The Coolest Job | B．The Best-paid Position |
| C．The Dedicated Staff | D．The Unique Adventure |
 Anna | Hey, everybody, share your stories about your first job! Click here and join the conversation! |
 Craig | Hi, there! I’d like to tell you about my experiences here in Australia. After seven years of university, I expected to find a good job pretty easily. But you can’t get a job without experience and you can’t get experience without a job! I don’t mind starting on a low paid job but I don’t get the chance. Right now, I’m spending all my time filling in application forms and I’m getting pretty sad. Does this happen in other countries? Posted by: Craig from Australia 28 May 23: 11 |
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 Melanie | Unemployment is a real big problem in where I live, too. I’d like to find a job here in my home town but it’s really difficult. A lot of people from school are planning to move or go abroad and find a job, but I don’t want to leave my friends and family! What can I do? Posted by: Melanie from America 1 June 08: 05 |
| ♥3 ★2 3 | |
 Eddie | It was the 1980s! It was not easy for me when I learnt to use a computer in my first job. But I soon found that I loved working with computers and so I saved up and bought one. After a few years, I decided to start my own computer company and today I am a success as a boss with homes in London and California. Success is all in your head. You need to know exactly what you want to do in life, then nothing can stop you. Posted by: Eddie from London 1 July 18: 37 |
| ♥1 ★2 3 |
| A．He can’t find a job. | B．He isn’t well-educated. |
| C．He isn’t allowed to work abroad. | D．He doesn’t know how to apply for a job. |
| A．He did very well at school. | B．He hated working on computers. |
| C．He started his business in 1980. | D．He benefited a lot from his first job. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A website. | C．A news report. | D．A science magazine. |
6 . Some American states are making money available for high school graduates so they can learn skills to help them get technology jobs without a college degree.
One example is the northeastern state of Connecticut. It has invested $70 million to put young people and adults through short-term training programs that can lead to good paying technology jobs.
The programs are known as “non-degree skills training.” They have helped people like Mohameth Seck, who left college after two years. Seck said he wanted to work in technology but the classes he was offered in a traditional college program “weren’t really interesting”to him. He also said traditional college takes too long to finish.
So Seck decided to enter a one-year computer training program run by a nonprofit organization. Today, the 25-year-old teaches computer coding at a skills training center, or academy, in Stamford, Connecticut. Eck said friends who finished the program also have good jobs.
Research carried out by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce showed that people who do get a college degree earn about 84 percent more over their lifetimes. But not everyone can get into, pay for or do well in college.
David Soo leads an organization called Jobs for the Future. He said the college model that has been in place for the last 40 years does not work for everyone. And this is especially true for students who are Black, Hispanic (拉美裔美国人) or whose families do not make a lot of money. “We need to find a better way to serve those students.” Soo said.
Anthony Carnevale is the leader of Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce. He said that while job training is good, it is not 100 percent correct to tell people they cannot benefit from a college degree.
One reason companies might hire college graduates is because they think they might have better communication and teamwork skills.
1. What did Seck think of the training program?| A．Boring. | B．Time-consuming. | C．Rewarding. | D．Demanding. |
| A．Some students can’t afford to go to college. |
| B．Some students are incapable of getting into college. |
| C．The programs offer more choices to lead to a good job. |
| D．People cannot benefit from a college degree. |
| A．Minority and poor families. | B．Everyone in America. |
| C．African-American students. | D．College graduates. |
| A．Expanding in size. | B．Being given more financial support. |
| C．Including interpersonal skills in the programs. | D．Teaching how to write code or design websites. |
7 . During the pandemic, millions of people replaced their large open-plan offices with their living rooms. Now, some companies say their employees need never come back in.
Brynn Harrington, Vice President of Facebook, said, “Facebook believes that remote work is the future. We want to be able to give our employees choice to live and build lives in places that they love, and we want to increase our ability to hire from places around the world, not just places where we currently have offices.”
Not everyone approves of working from home. Some people are eager to get back into the office. Facebook estimates that more than half of its staff could work remotely in the coming years, but it insists the move is not about saving costs. And it says it’s committed to keeping its offices open.
Other tech giants such as Microsoft and Twitter have also indicated staff could stay remote — even after lockdowns ease. On Wall Street, they seem less enthusiastic about the idea. The boss of Goldman Sachs rejected working from home as a new normal — labelling it an “aberration” instead. There are also fears that it could create more inequality.
For many companies, the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle — with workers dividing their time between office and home.
Tushar Agarwal from Hubble said, “The office does have a future. We believe the future is hybrid (混合). We believe the future is flexible. The demand for flexible workspace has just gone through the roof. Just in the month of March, we’re back to about sixty to seventy percent of pre-Covid levels, and actually huge amounts of companies that are demanding flexible space used to be in traditional rent space, so now people want more and more flexibility than ever before.”
One thing’s clear — the world of work will look very different to how it did before this crisis.
1. Why do some companies prefer home-working?| A．It can save cost. |
| B．It creates more equality. |
| C．It decreases interpersonal conflicts. |
| D．It offers more possibilities for companies. |
| A．Objective. | B．Varied. |
| C．Intolerant. | D．Favorable. |
| A．A normal thing. | B．A flexible thing. |
| C．An interesting thing. | D．An untypical thing. |
| A．It will remain unchanged. |
| B．It will mainly be remote work. |
| C．It will mix different types of working places. |
| D．It will have an open space in a large building. |
8 . Summer jobs for teens are worth saving. These seasonal jobs offer more than money. Summer jobs can teach important life skills and give teens real-world experience.
“We don't naturally know how to be good employees(雇员), ”says Kathy Kristof, who works for SideHusl, a part-time employment. “We learn with practice. ”
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' Job Survey 2018, while 89. 4% of recent college graduates considered themselves as having good work skills, only 42. 5% of surveyed employers shared that opinion.
“You have 22-year-olds who might have an excellent academic(学业的)record but they've never held a job, ”says Andrew Challenger, vice president of firm Challenger. “They've missed out on some important life skills. ”
Summer jobs can help high school and college students perform better in the classroom, according to recent research. But parents often believe that summer school and volunteer work will be more helpful for college applications than paid work.
“It's not really going to matter what you do, as long as you're doing something besides just playing video games, ”Challenger says.
Where summer jobs can really help is in the job market after graduation. The jobs most teens do help them build “soft skills” that employers value and that lead to higher-paying jobs. Dealing with customers and coworkers helps them with communication and problem-solving skills, for example. Dealing with a boss gives them the ability to accept and learn from criticism(批评) .
This summer's job market is expected to be a good one, Challenger says. Where there are few workers on hand, there will be chances.
1. What does the 2018 survey suggest?| A．Employers value work experience more than academic records. |
| B．Many college graduates don't meet employers' expectations. |
| C．Most college graduates have a satisfying academic record. |
| D．Employers think highly of today's college graduates. |
| A．Study at home. | B．Do summer jobs. |
| C．Do volunteer work. | D．Help around the house. |
| A．Employers. | B．Teen workers. | C．Customers. | D．Coworkers. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Uncertain. | D．Uninterested. |
9 . A waitress who lost her job during the coronavirus pandemic has kick-started her own career as a business woman and baker. She turned one of her lockdown hobbies into a business that brings her a lot of money.
Mona Route, 27, was let go from her server job at an airport in Melbourne, Australia, when COVID-19 hit in March 2020, and the new-found time on her hands left her feeling “so bored”. With nothing else to do, Mona decided to take up baking as a hobby to pass the time and soon found herself trying out experimental dessert recipes—which eventually led her to start her own cookie business.
Mona’s various cookie recipes became her “cheat meal” when she was on her mission to lose weight, and the massive snacks are made up of baked cookie dough (面团) that surrounds a sweet filling. The cookies quickly became a hit with her family and friends, and when her dad suggested she start selling the sweet treats, the woman set up Mona’s Treats with 15 unique cookie flavors to choose from.
The keen baker created an account on the Internet and spent 282 on ingredients for her first industrial-sized batch. At first, Mona was selling around 30 to 40 cookies a month, but she now has a monthly average of 450 orders—leaving her waking up at 2 am to keep up with demand. During the height of lockdown, Mona was selling as many as 700 cookies a month. Mona currently makes an impressive 1,700 every month from selling cookies in addition to her main occupation, and has turned over 14,000 since she started up.
The cook, who runs her business from her parents’ kitchen, is even hoping to transition into baking full-time when she can reach 1,500 orders a month. She said, “Hopefully one day I can do this in a commercial kitchen.”
1. What made Mona feel “so bored”?| A．Working as a waitress at an airport. |
| B．Doing cookie business all day. |
| C．Experimenting with massive recipes. |
| D．Having too much free time. |
| A．Mona set up her own company. |
| B．Mona’s business began to take off. |
| C．Mona was successful in losing weight. |
| D．Mona’s business was against her family’s will. |
| A．Hardworking and creative. | B．Kind and generous. |
| C．Confident and determined. | D．Ambitious and independent. |
| A．Well begun, half done. | B．Practice makes perfect. |
| C．Actions speak louder than words. | D．Misfortune may be an actual blessing. |
10 . Noa Mintz has started her own nanny (保姆) agency since August 2012. She employed Allison Johnson in 2014 to take charge of day-to-day business operations while she attended her first year of high school. She rents a room in an office building in Midtown Manhattan where Johnson works.
Like any teenager, Noa has had to depend on her parents for some help. Her father is the registered owner of her business. He’s helped raise front money for legal fees. But Nannies by Noa is all her brainchild. The idea came about as a result of a challenge made by her mother: find a better nanny for their family.
She did just that, and then she started helping her mother’s friends find nannies. “I found it fun to get to know a family and their needs — and especially to find a nanny,” she said. So, Nannies by Noa was born. It was the summer of 2012, before she entered 7th grade.
She’s designed a thorough review process: an application, an in-person interview with a trained nanny, the reference and background check and a phone interview. Her business has seen a considerable success: from 50 clients (客户) in 2013 to 190 clients today.
At first, she charged $ 100 to $ 200. “I wasn’t charging enough. Even clients would say, ‘You realize you should be charging way, way more,’” added Noa, whose clients are mostly looking for long-term help. She’s changed her business model since: Nannies by Noa now takes a percentage of the overall rate, which is usually 15% of the nanny’s first year gross salary.
While Noa said she has other business ideas, she also would consider other careers. “Perhaps I’ll start another company. We will see,” said Noa.
1. How does Allison help Noa?| A．She rents an office for Noa. | B．She helps operate Noa’s business. |
| C．She teaches Noa her school lessons. | D．She puts money into Noa’s nanny agency. |
| A．It was the idea of Noa’s mother. | B．It was legally registered by Noa. |
| C．It aims to match nannies with families. | D．It offers nanny-related jobs to teenagers. |
| A．She employed trained nannies. | B．She changed charging standards. |
| C．She raised nannies’ salaries. | D．She interviewed applicants in person. |
| A．Fame is a great thirst of the young. |
| B．A youth is to be regarded with respect. |
| C．A good idea and action result in success. |
| D．Success means getting family needs satisfied. |
