1 . There was no way to escape when they spotted a polar bear. Verena Mohaupt and a handful of colleagues were trapped on a floating sea ice while the bear gazed at them, smelling the air, a dangerous sign.
“That’s when everything kicks in,” Mohaupt says, “and you focus on what’s important.” As a colleague fired into the sky as a warning shot, Mohaupt radioed their research ship a few kilometres away, whose helicopter luckily arrived quickly and Mohaupt didn’t have to use the gun that was hanging over her shoulder.
Keeping a lookout for bears was a regular duty for Mohaupt, the logistics coordinator(后勤协调员) for a year-long mission known as the MOSAiC——the largest Arctic research exploration in history. The project, consisting of roughly 300 scientists, led by scientist MarkusRex, has collected massive measurements that will help better forecast how warming will transform the globe in the coming decades. For months, the exploration operated in constant darkness while polar bears wandered nearby, storms rocked the ship and the ice shifted and cracked. Then, when the Sun returned, the ice began to melt, creating a life-threatening risk and a nightmare for researchers who needed to keep their instruments from sinking.
Tasked with the security of the mission, Mohaupt designed an extensive training course for the participants in which they learnt how to avoid the danger, like storm-rocking and ice-cracking. They jumped into a Norwegian channel in their survival suits and climbed out of the freezing waters using only their ice picks. They learnt how to escape from a crashed helicopter. And they discussed the psychological effects of being far from home. Mohaupt brought knitting equipment, yoga mats and a violin for their men tal health——although having been prepared for the isolation.
Mohaupt didn’t expect a career in polar regions, but says she has always been drawn to the north. “She was there to make sure that we were protected,” says Markus Rex, “Mohaupt is certainly the champion in the field.”
1. Why does the author mention a polar bear in the beginning?| A．To show the threat of bears. | B．To tell an interesting story. |
| C．To introduce Mohaupt’s job. | D．To describe the polar scenery. |
| A．The working conditions were tough. | B．Mohaupt helped to collect massive data. |
| C．The exploration went on in total darkness. | D．Mohaupt’s duty was to protect polar bears. |
| A．Ambitious and brave. | B．Passionate and dependent. |
| C．Considerate and modest. | D．Professional and responsible. |
| A．A Potential Danger in the Exploration. | B．A Guardian Angel of Polar Researchers. |
| C．A Great Scientific Exploration in History. | D．A Great Female Scientist in Polar Research. |
2 . Good evening everyone!
I hope to pick your brain on potential advertising strategies and gaining new customers for my boyfriend’s car repair shop.
He has been in business for 3 years and is fairly successful, but we are trying to increase the number of chargeable hours. While he was doing repair work, I took over all the administrative duties. The first thing on my to-do list was to get him on social media. I was floored that he had no social media presence, which is not surprising considering he is old school.
Now, he has a business Facebook page and an Instagram account, although it may not be worth much yet. We are working on a weekly “feature” for both platforms in order to create some interest.
He doesn’t want to do coupons (优惠券) or discounts or anything like that, and I understand why. His labor rate is already significantly lower than anyone else in the area, and his overall costs are lower as well. This is where I am a bit lost——how can we effectively attract more customers without a hook? My guess would be focusing on the value, but I’m not sure how well that will work out.
We are considering sending postcards as well since he already cooperates with a few local shops who send their large jobs to him and such. However, I am unsure about Facebook marketing, but definitely open.
1. What was scheduled first to promote business?| A．Working out a weekly feature. | B．Increasing chargeable hours. |
| C．Establishing his presence online. | D．Visiting his old school. |
| A．By raising labor rates. | B．By offering discounts and coupons. |
| C．By cutting overall costs. | D．By highlighting the value of services. |
| A．To offer information. | B．To seek advice. |
| C．To show advantages. | D．To find cooperation. |
3 . 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 |
4 . It is an old expression about some people who are highly motivated about work in itself with the opposite view of someone who works to live.
Certain people, it is said, live to work. Their lives center on their work or careers and that achievement in their professions is a major source of satisfaction and meaning in their lives
By contrast, other people work to live. These people view their work or careers largely as toil whose purpose is to earn the money necessary to support themselves and their dependents. Their real interests lie elsewhere.
| A．It’s critical to understand it. |
| B．Money may not be a motivation. |
| C．They may develop-a same attitude. |
| D．And their work or careers are only means to an end, not an end in itself. |
| E．There is no right or wrong answer to the question of which attitude is better. |
| F．The answer for a given individual may differ based on his or her circumstances. |
| G．Many individuals used to work to live but after a change of career start living to work. |
5 . Recently the sewer line (污水管道) under our house didn’t work. My first response was to call a repairman.
made the call, expecting the man at the other end of the line to complain about such an awful job. Instead, he simply asked, “The address?”
An hour later Steve arrived in his truck. He looked exactly as I had imagined he might: broad and bearlike, in well-worn clothing. “Can you fix it?”I asked with a mixture of doubt and hope. Steve looked at me as if responding to my lack of faith. With a cheerful shrug that suggested my crisis was all in a day’s work for him, he said, “Sure.”
After a short while, Steve told me that he had to get a tool and tear up the street to the main sewer line. He would first have to get permission from the town. I registered appropriate panic. “How long will all this take?”Again, a shrug. “I should have it done by evening.”
I did not want to watch the digging of my property unfold and went into town to visit some fiends. I felt somewhat guilty upon driving off in my clean vehicle, leaving Steve to such a disagreeable task. Finally, when I went home, a sweeter sight I never saw; a period of newly paved street and all was tidy and relatively dry.
I need to say, in my own defense, that I am not a weak father of two children. I’ve traveled all over the world, served in the United States Navy and earned a PhD. But the broken sewer line was my limit. Then I thought about Steve. Big, rough, and how people might judge him, if not for his appearance then for his work. And I was taken by the very idea that, no matter what crisis occurs, there is somebody, somewhere, who has the appropriate tools and settles it.
1. What do we know about Steve?| A．He wears neat and new clothes. |
| B．He is quite confident of his skills. |
| C．He always complains about his job. |
| D．He hesitates to accept the repair work. |
| A．It’s a great challenge. |
| B．It’s beyond his ability. |
| C．It’s a part of his routine. |
| D．It’s none of his business. |
| A．He liked to take his time riding outside. |
| B．He drove to turn to his friends for help. |
| C．He was afraid of being looked down upon. |
| D．He was unwilling to face the embarrassing situation. |
| A．Action speaks louder than words. |
| B．God helps those who help themselves. |
| C．Every profession produces its top experts. |
| D．Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. |
6 . Not so long ago,most people didn't know who Shelly Ann Francis Pryce was going to become.She was just an average high school athlete.There was every indication that she was just another American teenager without much of a future.However,one person wants to change this.Stephen Francis observed then eighteen-year-old Shelly Ann as a track meet and was convinced that he had seen the beginning of true greatness.Her time were not exactly impressive, but even so,he seemed there was something trying to get out,something the other coaches had overlooked when they had assessed her and found her lacking.He decided to offer Shelly Ann a place in his very strict training seasons. Their cooperation quickly produced results,and a few year later at Jamaica's Olympic games in early 2008,Shelly Ann,who at that time only ranked number 70 in the world,beat Jamaica's unchallenged queen of the sprint（短跑）.
"Where did she come from?"asked an astonished sprinting world,before concluding that she must be one of those one-hit wonders that spring up from time to time,only to disappear again without signs.But Shelly Ann was to prove that she was anything but a one-hit wonder.At the Beijing Olympic she swept away any doubts about her ability to perform consistently by becoming the first Jamaican woman ever to win the 100 meters Olympic gold.She did it again one year on at the World Championship in Briton,becoming world champion with a time of' 10.73—the fourth record ever.
Shelly-Ann is a little woman with a big smile.She has a mental toughness that did not come about by chance. Her journey to becoming the fastest woman on earth has been anything but smooth and effortless,She grew up in one of Jamaica's toughest inner-city communities known as Waterhouse,where she lived in a one-room apartment, sleeping four in a bed with her mother and two brothers.Waterhouse,one of the poorest communities in Jamaica,is a really violent and overpopulated place.Several of Shelly-Ann's friends and family were caught up in the killings;one of her cousins was shot dead only a few streets away from where she lived.Sometimes her family didn't have enough to eat.She ran at the school championships barefooted because she couldn't afford shoes.Her mother Maxime,one of a family of fourteen,had been an athlete herself as a young girl but,like so many other girls in Waterhouse,had to stop after she had her first baby.Maxime's early entry into the adult world with its responsibilities gave her the determination to ensure that her kids would not end up in Waterhouse's roundabout of poverty.One of the first things Maxime used to do with Shelly-Ann was taking her to the track,and she was ready to sacrifice everything.
It didn't take long for Shelly-Ann to realize that sports could be her way out of Waterhouse.On a summer evening in Beijing in 2008,all those long,hard hours of work and commitment finally bore fruit.The barefoot kid who just a few years previously had been living in poverty,surrounded by criminals and violence,had written a new chapter in the history of sports.
But Shelly-Ann's victory was far greater than that.The night,she won Olympic gold in Beijing,the routine murders in Waterhouse and the drug wars in the neighbouring streets stopped.The dark cloud above one of the world's toughest criminal neighbourhoods simply disappeared for a few days.“I have so much fire burning for my country,”Shelly said.She plans to start a foundation for homeless children and wants to build a community centre in Waterhouse.She hopes to inspire the Jamaicans to lay down their weapons.She intends to fight to make it a woman's as well as a man's world.
As Muhammad Ali puts it,"Champions aren't made in gyms.Champions are made from something they have deep inside them.A desire,a dream,a vision."One of the things Shelly-Ann can be proud of is her understanding of this truth.
1. Why did Stephen Francis decide to coach Shelly-Ann?| A．He had a strong desire to free her family from trouble. |
| B．He sensed a great potential in her despite her weaknesses. |
| C．She had big problems maintaining her performance. |
| D．She suffered a lot of defeats at the previous track meets. |
| A．She was highly rewarded for her efforts. |
| B．She was eager to do more for her country. |
| C．She became an athletic star in her country. |
| D．She was the envy of the whole community. |
| A．players should be highly inspired by coaches |
| B．great athletes need to concentrate on patience |
| C．hard work is necessary in one's achievements |
| D．motivation allows great athletes to be on the top |
| A．The Making of a Great Athlete |
| B．The Dream for Championship |
| C．The Key to High Performance |
| D．The Power of Full Responsibility |
