1 . Fruit Picking Work in Australia

Australia has several weather zones and many different crops are grown. This means that there is usually work for fruit pickers somewhere in the country. If you’re interested in picking fruit in Australia, plan well and be prepared to work hard!

Working in the sun

Sunglasses and sun cream are absolutely essential if you want to avoid sunburn. A long-sleeve cotton shirt may not seem appealing, but you will be thankful for it in the heat of the day.

Drinking enough water is crucial. It will save time if you keep your water in something that is attached to your belt so that you can take a drink whenever you need to.

Other requirements

Sometimes, employers don’t supply tools, so you need to use your own. Check first to make sure you have what you need.

Consider taking a music player so that you can listen to music. The days can be long, and it makes the time go faster.

Payment methods

Some farms pay a flat rate (by the hour), but it is not common for work that involves collecting fruit; this type of payment is generally for work in the shed (棚). The other more usual model is the piece rate: your pay depends on the amount of fruit you bring in at the end of the day.

Following a harvest route

In some parts of Australia, there is something to harvest all year round.

New South Wales

Bananas: Coffs Harbour

Vegetables: Sydney Basin

Queensland

Bananas: Innisfail, Mareeba, Tully

Citrus (柑橘类果实): Gayndah, Mareeba

Victoria

Vegetables: Bairnsdale, Cobram

Citrus: Cobram

Western Australia

Bananas: Carnarvon

Citrus and vegetables: Gingin, Swan Valley

1. What are fruit pickers advised to do?

A．Keep water handy.	B．Wear a short-sleeve shirt.
C．Try to make their own tools.	D．Avoid music to keep focused.

2. How are fruit pickers usually paid?

A．By the week.

B．By the hour.

C．By the amount of harvest.

D．By the fruit type.

3. Where can fruit pickers harvest bananas and citrus all year round?

A．Coffs Harbour.

B．Mareeba.

C．Carnarvon.

D．Cobram.

2 . On a recent visit to her family home in Atlanta, Stella came across some papers from her tenth- grade English class. Looking at her essays and the notes, Stella was struck by how the work she did in that class informed her work now as an editor. Her teacher, Mr. Newman, always encouraged his students to dig deeper. Stella learned that the best way to understand literature is by asking, “What is this work trying to accomplish?” Now, when she sits down to edit a manuscript (手稿) that’s one of two guiding questions Stella asks herself, followed by, “How can I help the author fully realize that vision?”

Those questions were at the top of Stella’s mind when Freewater by Amina landed on her desk. As Stella made editorial suggestions, she was mindful of the balancing act involved in writing about a topic as painful as slavery and doing so through the eyes of a child. Stella kept a kid reader in mind-someone who might have learned only a part of this history. Stella and Amina went back and forth in phone calls, e-mails, editorial letters, and notes directly in the manuscript, until they agreed that Freewater was exactly where it needed to be.

The novel hit bookshelves on February 1, 2022, and nearly a year later was awarded the John Newbery Medal. Amina became only the third Black woman to be awarded that medal in the award’s one-hundred-and-one-year history, and Stella became the first Black editor to edit a Newbery-winning book.

Stella’s strategic approach to editing, personal warmth, and keen editorial insight have won her universal admiration from authors and colleagues, who also enjoy her sense of humor and infectious laugh. She is a powerful advocate for all the authors in her orbit, which recently came to include her mother, Wanda M. Morris, whose novel All Her Little Secrets has been widely acclaimed and even optioned for TV.

1. What’s Stella’s tenth-grade English teacher like?

A．Humorous.

B．Determined.

C．Inspiring.

D．Cautious.

2. What’s Stella’s major concern as an editor?

A．The novelty of the manuscript.

B．The writer’s purpose of writing.

C．The writer’s understanding of literature.

D．The practical significance of the work.

3. What’s paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．Why Amina created Freewater.	B．Who Freewater is intended for.
C．What message Freewater conveys.	D．How Stella helped improve Freewater.

4. What does the underlined word “acclaimed” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Applied.

B．Adapted.

C．Praised.

D．Shared.

3 . The Foundation for Educational Progress is Seeking a New Chief Executive

The Foundation for Educational Progress is an independent charity established by a global news organization in 2012. We support children from underserved backgrounds to have inspiring discussions about the news, which teach them to creatively solve problems, listen with an open mind and speak with confidence.

Our founding Chief Executive, Emily Evans, has decided to move on to tackle new challenges. She will step down next summer, and we are seeking a new Chief Executive to lead the charity as it begins a hugely exciting next stage of global growth. Our programme, Topical Talk, has expanded from a UK pilot in 2013 to reaching over 200,000 children across the world today, and we have ambitious plans for the next decade.

We have an extraordinary platform to support our growth ambitions: a talented, highly motivated and supportive team; a collaborative (合作的), high-trust culture; and clear strategic focus. We are looking for a leader who can build on this platform and realise our potential for scale at the same time as deepening our impact, ensuring that we always stay focused on making a meaningful difference in the lives of children who are most in need of extra support.

If you have experience of scaling an organisation while taking a collaborative, inclusive and empowering approach to leadership, and you are passionate about our mission, we would love to hear from you. The role is based in headquarters in London at least two days per week.

Find more information, including details of how to apply, here:

foundationforprogress.org/chiefexecutive

1. What do we know about the Foundation for Educational Progress?

A．It is a global news organization.

B．It runs many exchange programs.

C．It hopes to expand its global influence.

D．It provides financial help to needy children.

2. What must a qualified candidate be able to do?

A．Take on the role immediately.

B．Specialize in global news reporting.

C．Lead the team in an authoritative way.

D．Ensure a minimal weekly presence in London.

3. In which section of a magazine may this text appear?

A．News Updates.	B．Career Opportunities.
C．Educational Resources.	D．Volunteering Information.

4 . How many bosses could rely on their employees threatening to quit in mass if they were abruptly forced out? Sam Altman received such a show of support from more than 700 staff after he was fired from Open AI that he was swiftly restored to his position by the board. But this level of loyalty is not typical and may not always be a good thing.

Management experts say staff who are loyal to their employer are inclined to invest more time and effort in their jobs, helping to create an engaged and higher performing workplace. In turn they receive promotions and pay rises. They have a greater sense of belonging and potentially a longer career at the same organisation. But it is not all rosy. People who are too loyal are more likely to take actions that are deemed wrong to keep their jobs and protect their employer, according to a 2021 academic paper. They might overlook wrongdoing and be less likely to expose corruption. Loyalty is sometimes seen as such a force for good that it can be used to justify bad behavior.

Often companies and senior bosses are the real winner a of employee loyalty. Research led by Matthew Stanley at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business published this year, found that managers were more likely to exploit loyal individuals. Stanley recruited almost 1,400 managers to read about a fictional 29-year-old employee called John, who worked for a company that was trying to keep costs down. They had to decide how willing they would be to ask John to work longer hours and take on more work without more pay. Researchers created various situations including labelling John as loyal versus other traits such as honest and fair. Managers were more willing to ask loyal John to take on the burden of unpaid work.

However, Consultancy Gallup’s latest state of the workplace report showed that half of the 122, 416 employees who took part in a global survey were looking out for new work. “You can’t guarantee anyone will stick around these days,” says a consultant who advises boards. This is particularly true of younger generations. They trust their bosses less and are not as patient when it comes to career progression, seeing little benefit in keeping their heads down and following orders if they do not see results quickly.

1. What does the author want to say by mentioning Sam Altman in Paragraph 1?

A．Open AI’s staff loyalty is quite high.

B．Staff loyalty’s rosy side in the work.

C．Sam Altman could count on his employees.

D．This level of loyalty is not always good.

2. How did Matthew Stanley conduct his research!

A．Through global surveys concerning a fictional employee named John.

B．By creating different situations to ask John ta take on more unpaid work.

C．By asking managers to make decisions about work arrangements of John.

D．By recruiting managers to read fiction about work traits like loyal and honest.

3. What can you learn from the passage?

A．Loyalty can be used by management to exploit employees.

B．Younger generations are more patient towards their employers.

C．Employees who are loyal are more likely to report wrongdoing.

D．Loyalty to an employer always leads to a positive work environment.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．How Job Loyalty Affects the Work Environment?

B．Why Staff Loyalty is Not Always a Good Thing?

C．Are Loyal Employees More Likely to be Promoted?

D．Does Work Loyalty Help Career Progress More Quickly?

5 . If you wanted to make a Disney-style animation (动画) of, say, Reggie, a spirited rabbit, planning to save his forest, you’d have a lead animator draw the extremes of the action: Reggie looking intensely focused, and then proudly announcing, “There’s a new hero in the forest!” Then you’d bring in an in-betweener that is, the animator who draws all the comprehensive frames that bridge the major actions.

In-betweeners don’t get the glory, but without them cartoons would hop from one emotional peak to another, missing connective grace. Burny Mattinson (1935-2023) started his career at the Walt Disney Company in the mailroom, and, even though he had no formal training in animation, he was given a swing at in-betweening just six months later.

His first big assignment was to in-between the wagging of a dog’s tail. Disney animation was famous for its silky elegance, owing in no small part to the skill of its in-betweeners, and, thanks to Mattinson, the tail practically glided from side to side.

Mattinson had wanted to be an animator ever since his mother had taken him to see “Pinocchio” at a theatre when he was six. In a bold move, Mattinson showed up at the Disney Studios gate with his portfolio (作品) as soon as he finished high school. The magical part of this story is that, instead of shooing him away, the security guard liked his drawings and called the head of personnel to take a look.

Thus, Mattinson became a messenger at Disney, beginning a career that would eventually make him the employee with the longest service at the company. He had joined the company at a golden moment. Listing the films that he worked on is a little like listing the entire output of the Walt Disney Company over the past six decades: “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Lion King”, and on and on.

Mattinson was, perhaps, one of the last of an almost extinct genotype-the happy company man, the lifer. He never had an employer besides Disney. When asked what Mattinson enjoyed doing outside of his life at Disney, his son said, “He just loved his work.”

1. What role do in-betweeners play in animation production?

A．Design the storyline.	B．Draw the background.
C．Invent extreme actions.	D．Generate smooth motion.

2. Which of the following can best describe Mattinson’s path to Disney?

A．Unconventional.

B．Typical.

C．Illegal.

D．Accidental.

3. What makes Mattinson exceptional in Disney’s history?

A．His lifelong dedication to Disney.

B．His detailed work as an in-betweener.

C．His passion for animation beyond work.

D．His pioneering role in Disney animation.

4. What is the text?

A．A diary entry.	B．A biographical sketch.
C．A news report.	D．A critical review.

6 . Unexpected Things About Archaeology (考古学)

Archaeology is an amazing career. We get to explore and debate how life has been and can be lived, and we get to share this knowledge with people in a way which benefits society. If you don’t know an archaeologist or haven’t worked with one before, you might not know what they actually do or you might think we do things that we don’t.     1    

Not all archaeology is underground.

A lot of people think of archaeology as being buried in the ground, but any physical material can tell us about the past.     2     In fact, there’s a whole specialism of archaeology that involves recording historic buildings and creating drawings and reports about them.

    3    

You might think archaeologists are only interested in the most precious items, like coins, valuable jewellery or well-preserved objects. But often the most common items, like pottery, clay tobacco pipes, glass bottles or bricks, can tell them the most information. They help build a picture of people’s lives. Sometimes, not finding an object we thought would be there tells us something about the people.

Archaeologists don’t use brushes very often.

Many people think archaeologists spend all day brushing dirt off the items they find. They do sometimes use brushes to clean surfaces for clear photographs. But they mainly use tools like trowels, shovels or mattocks. A normal day involves a lot of heavy digging.    4     But sometimes archaeologists work with very fragile items. For this they would normally use tools like a thin “leave” trowel, but usually a brush.

Archaeologists can use technology to learn what is underground instead of digging.

    5     Geophysical Survey uses electric and magnets to find tiny differences in the earth and creates a map of potential archaeology under the earth. Drones can also be used to take aerial photographs, where things like crop-marks can be clues to past human activity.

Archaeology is a science, an art and a form of physical work. It’s varied and can appeal to people with different interests and skills. It may take you on a journey you don’t expect!

A．Archaeology is for everybody.

B．Archaeologists aren’t only interested in gold.

C．Archaeologists don’t have to dig to learn about what is underground.

D．So we pulled together a list of things you might not know about archaeology.

E．This means above-ground remains, like buildings, are important forms of evidence.

F．They also must work quickly as they’re usually part of a wider construction project.

G．Archaeologists get more information about the history of an area with every site they dig.

7 . As a kid, Pamela Akuku spent her weekends exploring the National Museums of Kenya, following along with her mom who worked there. Akuku became fascinated with the researchers. She saw them using various equipment and researching the fossils carefully. “But I didn’t know what they were doing at the time,” she says. “I kept asking my mom about it.”

Akuku’s mom saw her daughter’s curiosity and signed her up for the museum’s Young Researchers Club. Akuku soon took part in mock excavations (模拟挖掘) and reconstructed bones. “I enjoyed reading and puzzles,” says Akuku. “And this was a mixture of the two.”

The museum experiences helped inspire her career as an archeologist. After her four years in university, she was sure that she wanted to study archaeology. She did her master’s in South Africa and majored in zooarchaeology (动物考古学). She is now at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in Tarragona, Spain. There, she studies how ancient humans modified (改良) animal bones. Her research is helping to reveal more about where early humans lived. She’s currently studying the remains from Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge, where researchers previously discovered stone tools and evidence of early human ancestors going back as far as 2 million years.

Akuku gives some advice to people who want to do her job. “Be prepared to come across hard conditions. Working in this field is challenging. You have to work twice as hard just to be recognized,” Akuku said. But she has learned to deal with it. Now she always tells everyone the efforts are worthy.

1. Why did Akuku’s mother let her join in the Young Researchers Club?

A．Akuku showed interest in the club.	B．Akuku’s mom was curious about the club.
C．Akuku’s mom wanted Akuku to help with her job.	D．Akuku hoped to be an archaeologist.

2. What is Akuku’s present research about?

A．Why zooarchaeology is popular.	B．When the relics of Tarragona appeared.
C．What can be found from ancient fossils.	D．How ancient people modified animal bones.

3. What can we know about Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge?

A．Many stone tools remain to be found there.	B．Ancient human may live there 2 million years ago.
C．There are few relics left at present.	D．Few researchers show interest in it.

4. In Akuku’s opinion, if you wish to be an archaeologist, you should ______.

A．deal with challenges with colleagues	B．learn to be very smart
C．do the job harder than other people	D．believe what you do is important

8 . 13-year-old Ava Dorsey is the founder of Ava’s Pet Palace, a business that sells organic dog and cat treats.“I actually had the idea when I was six with a picture I drew of a palace,”she says.It was a detailed design for dogs and cats and she had serious plans to build it one day.

Unlike most dog treats that you find in stores, dog treats sold by Ava’s Pet Palace are 100% organic, and are non-GMO(非转基因). Ava has set a goal for herself with these dog treats, and she wants every treat to be healthy, tasty, and top-quality. Seriously, some of her treats sound delicious enough for people to eat! “All of my bags now have the USDA organic stamp, and we're very excited to have gotten it because it's something I've wanted for a long time,”she says.“A lot of stores like to see organic products because customers like it, so that was really exciting.”

Ava says the biggest challenge of being a kid in business is when people don't take her seriously, but undoubtedly Ava has proved that her doubters are wrong! When asked how she defines(定义) success, Ava says,“When you hit a bump in the road, you shouldn't give up and you keep trying.”She learned that from her mom, who sounds like a smart lady! Some more things Ava has learned from her years in business: Hard work eventually pays off and there is nothing wrong with asking for help.

As far as the future of the pet treats industry goes, Ava is optimistic——but she’d also like to be an inspiration for change.“There’s not much diversity(多样性) right now, so that’s something I would love to see in the future,”says Ava.“I would also love to see more kids in this industry.There aren't many other teenagers around, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to others who hope to lead the pet industry.”

1. What can we learn about Ava’s Pet Palace from the first two paragraphs?

A．It is a palace for pets.	B．It is very popular among kids.
C．It sells organic pet food.	D．It designs stamps for customers.

2. What does“hit a bump in the road”in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Drive on a stone road.	B．Escape a setback in business.
C．Face a challenging situation.	D．Encounter an unexpected opportunity.

3. What can be inferred about Ava’s future goals?

A．She plans to enlarge her business in other industries.

B．She wants to employ more teenagers in her company.

C．She intends to be a leading figure in the pet industry.

D．She hopes to break new ground in the pet treats industry.

4. Which of the following best describes Ava?

A．Patient and hard-working.	B．Determined and creative.
C．Confident and humorous.	D．Friendly and outgoing.