1 . The Most Trending Professions in 2023
Referee (裁判) or other sports official
Average hourly wage: $24.86
Sports continue to be one of the nation’s favorite leisure activities. Sports officials who can keep the games fair are needed everywhere. Some on-the-job training is required, along with perhaps more than a little patience for fans and players.
Physician assistant
Average hourly wage: $57.43
Physician assistant is another health care role that has more responsibilities than a nurse but less than a doctor. Working with a physician, the workers can handle duties such as finding out patients’ disease, ordering medical tests and setting broken bones. These jobs require a master’s degree along with required certificates.
Project management specialist
Average hourly wage: $53.32
If you have experience helping others turn their great ideas into finished products, this could be the right role for you. A project management specialist needs a bachelor degree, but doesn’t have to follow a fixed working time.
Teacher
Average hourly wage: $33.43
Teaching has long been a popular job for older adults, whether they’ve been doing it for years or they choose it as a second career. While most public schools do require teachers to have a degree in education, many private schools are willing to hire teachers who come from other professions.
1. What can we know about physician assistants?| A．They need an on-the-job training. |
| B．They are paid the most on average. |
| C．They are less popular than doctors. |
| D．They need both certificates and experience. |
| A．Teacher. | B．Referee or other sports official. |
| C．Physician assistant. | D．Project management specialist. |
| A．Job seekers. | B．Volunteers. | C．Employers. | D．Patients. |
2 . For as long as I can remember, I want to be a performer. But when it was time to go to college and decide what I wanted to be for the rest of my life, it didn’t occur to me to choose drama as my major. Making a living as a performer seems impractical to me. So instead of starting drama I started pre-law, and then went to law school like my two sisters did before me. They seemed happy enough, I thought; they worked about 80 hours a week, but they made good money and could afford expensive cars and fancy apartments in the city.
After law school I got a new job and worked as a lawyer for a big company. I had great benefits, including four weeks of vacation a year, but I never got to use any of my vacation time because there was always too much work to do. I worked from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week, and when I was finished, all I could do was collapse into my bed until I woke up to do it all over again the next day.
After five years of this lifestyle, I thought I was going to go crazy. I was unhappy and exhausted, I never saw my friends or my family, and I realized I hadn’t been in a play or musical since I started law school. I thought that acting in a small community play might make me feel better, but rehearsals and performances all took place during my work hours. So I made a drastic decision and quit my job.
I got a small part in a local play and then the lead role. Now I make my living from acting, and once in a while, I do some legal consulting for a little extra money. I don’t get paid a lot for my acting jobs, but it’s enough. I had to give up my big apartment and expensive car, but I’m so much happier now. I see my friends and family, I have free time,and I get to do something I love every day.
1. The writer went to law school because .| A．his two sisters went to law school |
| B．he was interested in the practice of law |
| C．a lawyer’s job would bring him a decent and leisure life |
| D．acting jobs were not well-paid enough to earn a living |
| A．Rewarding. | B．Exhausting. | C．Enjoyable. | D．Endless. |
| A．Work consumed almost all his time and energy. |
| B．He didn’t have great benefits. |
| C．He hated working and wanted a break. |
| D．Some rehearsals and performances took place during his work hours. |
| A．To inform us that the writer quit his job. |
| B．To show us how boring it is to be a lawyer. |
| C．To tell the writer’s story of making a living as an actor. |
| D．To share with us the change of the writer’s lifestyle and the reason. |
3 . Air-crash investigators Larry Vance and Anthony Brickhouse have details from certain jobs rooted in their memories. They could tell exact dates, locations, and fight numbers effortlessly. Vance’s “big one” is Swiss Air Flight 11 in 1998. He was put in the position of dealing with all the families from very early on, many of whom held the hope that their relatives could have survived. All 229 passengers and crew died. Burning fabric; burning flesh. The smell catches in your throat, and stays in your mind long after you’ve left the scene. Investigations can take anywhere from days to years.
“What can affect people in these jobs is the ongoing emotional damage,” said Vivien Lee, a psychologist. But mental health assistance is often lacking within the industry. Evidence suggests that investigators, like first responders, can suffer from negative emotional effects, including frequent thoughts and PTSD (创伤后应激障碍).
“One emotion of losing relatives is anger,” Brickhouse reflected. “And they’re looking to you to figure out what happened to their loved ones.” Depending on the size of the crash, that anger can come alongside a lot of international media attention.”
But more often, Vance said, the questions he faces are perhaps even tougher to answer than what caused the crash. “How did my loved one die? What were they feeling? What were they seeing?” And tougher still: “Were they suffering?”
Listening to the black box recordings takes an emotional damage. He said it was more unbearable by knowing that he’s listening to the final minutes of someone’s life. Some people in his industry listen to a black box recording once and choose to never do it again, he said.
The knowledge that they’re doing an essential job can make the tougher aspects of the work a little easier. “The end result of your work is that you try to make the world a safer place, so that this doesn’t happen to somebody else,” Vance said.
1. What can be inferred about the air-crash investigators?| A．They often get throat problems. |
| B．They must have good memories. |
| C．They experienced the same accident. |
| D．They have to face many challenges. |
| A．Helping them avoid air crashes. | B．Sending first respondents with them. |
| C．Offering qualified psychologists. | D．Teaching them how to communicate. |
| A．Making the world a safer place takes time. |
| B．Answering the relatives’ questions is tougher. |
| C．Investigating the cause of the crash is bearable. |
| D．Finding the black box takes an emotional damage. |
| A．Self-giving. | B．Easy-going. | C．Generous. | D．Independent. |
4 . Three years into my postdoc (博士后), I started to wonder whether I needed a new career plan. After applying for more than two dozen teaching jobs, I hadn’t landed a single interview.
I had once considered going to art school but had put that idea to the side when I decided to pursue chemistry as an undergraduate. In the years that followed, I kept up my interest in art by taking painting classes at night. My family was bursting with mathematicians, computer programmers, and engineers, so it felt natural to have my daily life center around science.
But in the spring after my failed job search, that started to change after a friend excitedly showed me proofs of a review article. She was astonished by what the journal’s scientific illustrator had done with her fundamental sketches (速写). “That would be such a fun job.” I thought.
I decided to test out a new career direction by volunteering to create similar illustrations for my institute’s newsletters. I spent my nights and weekends reading scientific papers and thinking about how to illustrate the results. It was a fun task. I felt I was perhaps on the right path. But could I make a full-time career work?
Searching online, I tracked down people who had that kind of job. I found many had training through scientific illustration master’s degree programs. After living on graduate student and postdoctoral salaries for years, I didn’t have enough money saved up for the programs, so I decided to get a certificate in digital design.
I now work as a visual designer at a biomedical research institute where I spend my days working with research to communicate their work visually. I love the fact that I get to combine my scientific and artistic sides.
1. Why did the author attend classes at night?| A．To please her family. | B．To pursue her hobby. |
| C．To pass her undergraduate tests. | D．To complete optional courses in art. |
| A．They shook her belief in science. |
| B．They tested out what she learned in class. |
| C．They motivated her to find a new career direction. |
| D．They gave her inspiration for her scientific paper. |
| A．Her financial difficulties. | B．Her busy schedule. |
| C．Her new interest in digital design. | D．Her lack of confidence. |
| A．Pressured. | B．Curious. | C．Desperate. | D．Satisfied. |
5 . Keeping a balance between work and life can be really hard.
A smart way to create and live a happier life is to actively find things or people you’re thankful for.
Learn to say NO
Have more fun
Think about what can get you excited. You can also take some risks, try something new or learn a new skill. If you need to get out of your comfort zone to have more fun, just do it.
| A．Show gratitude |
| B．Have goals for life |
| C．Besides, it’s time to make things more exciting |
| D．Working longer and harder doesn’t mean achieving more |
| E．It’s necessary for you to try to stay with the people that get you excited |
| F．Sometimes we have to say YES to things that we really don’t want to do |
| G．This influences not only your own personal state of mind but also that of others |
6 . I have been a professional skateboarder for 24 years. For much of that time, the activity that paid my rent and gave me my greatest joy was marked with many labels, most of which were ugly.
When I was about 17, three years after I turned pro-skater, my high school “careers” teacher scolded me and told me that I would never make it in the workplace if I didn’t follow directions clearly. He said I’d never make a living as a skateboarder, so it seemed to him that my future was bleak.
Even during those dark years, I never stopped progressing as a skater. There have been many times when I’ve been frustrated because I can’t join in some formal training. I’ve come to realize that the only way to master something is to keep it -- despite the bloody knees, twisted ankles, or mocking crowds.
So here I am, 38 years old, a husband and father of three, with a lengthy list of responsibilities and obligations. And although I have many job titles -- CEO, Executive Producer, Senior Consultant, Foundation Chairman, Bad Actor -- the one I am most proud of is “Professional Skateboarder”. My youngest son’s pre-school class was recently asked what their dads do for work. My son said, “I’ve never seen my dad do work.”
It’s true. Skateboarding doesn’t seem like real work, but I’m proud of what I do. My parents never once questioned the practicality behind my passion. I hope to pass on the same lesson to my children someday. So, find the thing you love. My 13-year-old son is really gifted skater, but there’s a lot of pressure on him. He used to skate for recognition, but now he brushes all that stuff aside. He just skates for fun and that’s good enough for me.
1. What does the underlined word “bleak” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Uncertain. | B．Special. | C．Glorious. | D．Impressive. |
| A．Keeping to his promise. | B．Adapting to school life. |
| C．Moving to better places. | D．Sticking to his own choice. |
| A．To show his son’s cleverness |
| B．To suggest his son’s dislike of his work. |
| C．To stress the features of his job in his son’s eyes. |
| D．To indicate his son’s care for his work and life. |
| A．Neglect what others think. | B．Do the things you love. |
| C．Set a good example for parents. | D．Be what your parents want you to be. |
7 . After working seven years in finance in Chile, I started questioning my career choice. In the man-dominated finance world, it was hard for me to climb the ladder. I decided to make a change. So I left my job, wondering what would be my next step. The following year witnessed me taking various classes to find what I was passionate about until the science of making bread appealed to me, which brought me waves of excitement.
In 2017, my husband and I moved to Lansdale, where I got a certificate from a 12-week general baking program. I had intended to open a bakery, but the high rent and the slight chance of gaining money soon discouraged me from taking a risk. When seeing that baking bread was a locally lost art, I figured that teaching baking classes could be my choice. Yet, my accent and my born shyness put me at disadvantage in public speaking. At the critical moment, my husband was the one who told me, “You can do this.”
In 2018, I rented space in Lansdale and created Vituperio Artisan Breads &Studio. I started small by offering free classes, not knowing whether I could make it. To deal with my initial nervousness, I approached teaching like I were an actor until I got myself comfortable in the class. In this way I not only tested myself but also learnt about what those attendants were interested in and capable of, thus attracting more people to my baking classes. All the classes were in person until March 2020, when I had to switch to teaching online. People told me it was a blessing and a joy to be able to make tasty bread during the pandemic.
As an immigrant, I took the initial leap of faith down a new path to start a business from scratch, hard as it might be. Looking forward, I’d like to bring more teens into the studio to give them the skills to consider a career in this field.
1. Why did the author choose to leave her job in finance?| A．She hoped to do what she liked best. | B．Her professional skills were questioned. |
| C．She had little chance of getting promoted. | D．Finance failed to bring her any excitement. |
| A．Her previous experience in finance. |
| B．The declining house rent in the area. |
| C．The local people’s desire for baking skills. |
| D．Her husband’s support at the crucial moment. |
| A．Behaving like a performer in class. | B．Pretending to be comfortable in public. |
| C．Transferring to teaching baking online. | D．Offering small classes to the attendants. |
| A．unpleasant. | B．Valuable. | C．Ordinary. | D．Regretful. |
8 . When she was just 9 years old, Hilde Lysiak became famous across the United States for reporting on different news stories.
Hilde Lysiak’s father was a reporter for New York Daily News. When she was young, he often took her to work with him, so she developed a strong interest in news reporting.
At age 8, Hilde Lysiak started her own newspaper, called Orange Street News (OSN). Her family lived on Orange Street at the time. Hilde Lysiak wanted to cover stories important to everyone in her town. Following the rules her father had taught her, she researched and reported stories in her monthly newspaper. She also set up her own website and reported on YouTube.
OSN suddenly became famous when a murder happened in town, and 9-year-old Hilde was the first person to report it. Soon, news organizations around the country were writing and reporting stories about Hilde. However, not everyone was happy about Hilde’s efforts. Some people criticized (批评) her parents for allowing her to report on something as unpleasant as a murder. Others criticized Hilde for “pretending to be a reporter”. Hilde was upset about the complaints (埋怨). She responded with a YouTube video, “I never began my newspaper so that people would think I was cute,” she said. “I want to be taken seriously. I am sure other kids do, too.”
That wasn’t the first time Hilde had found it hard for people to take her seriously, which was mainly because of her age. But she never let that stop her. Hilde continued reporting.
In 2019, Hilde wrote a book for young people, called Hilde Cracks the Case, which is based on stories that Hilde wrote. The book was then turned into a TV show called Home Before Dark. For now, Hilde says she has given up reporting. But her efforts have already inspired people around the world.
1. How did Hilde develop her passion for news reporting?| A．By going to work with her father. |
| B．By reading so many news reports herself. |
| C．By watching how other reporters perform their jobs. |
| D．By teaching herself the skills and knowledge about news reporting. |
| A．The murder was first reported. |
| B．The book Hilde Cracks the Case came out. |
| C．The TV show Home Before Dark was shot. |
| D．The newspaper Orange Street News was started. |
| A．Upset. | B．Calm. | C．Pleased. | D．Proud. |
| A．She turned to her father for help and comfort. |
| B．She posted a YouTube video to express herself. |
| C．She felt disappointed and gave up reporting immediately. |
| D．She published an article in New York Daily News to defend herself. |
9 . I recently had a conversation with a friend who was feeling very upset about work. Why? He thought his manager didn’t like him. He rarely heard much from his manager, and when his manager said something, it was about correcting some aspects of his work or giving him some constructive advice.
Not surprisingly, given my friend’s understandably anxious view of these workplace dynamics (动态), he was afraid of his annual performance evaluation. He was worried that his boss might even tell him that he wasn’t needed anymore. Accordingly, he considered looking around for another job — not because he really wanted to, as he liked the kind of work he was doing, but because he suffered from the kind of management.
The evaluation day came, and to his great surprise, rather than being harshly critical, his manager told him that he was doing a fine job and gave him a promotion.
The sad truth is, this kind of phenomenon is by no means unusual in the workplace. One recent survey showed that nearly half of the employees have considered leaving a job “due to lack of recognition”. Another similar study found 46 percent of the employees left a job “because they felt unappreciated”.
The good news is that, in this case, the damage was repaired before it was too late — before my friend was out the door and his company began the expensive and time-consuming process of hiring a new employee. But as the research noted above shows, workplace problems related to recognition and appreciation are as common as the office air we breathe.
This conforms with my personal experience; during my decades of corporate management, I saw similar appreciation issues all the time. When a job isn’t done well, nobody deserves anything, of course. But when a job is done well, if you’re an employee, it’s entirely natural to expect at least a bit of appreciation. So if you’re a manager, it’s a good idea to show some. It’s that simple.
1. What phenomenon does the author want to describe through his friend’s case?| A．Unclear rewards and punishments. | B．Employee-management misunderstanding. |
| C．Unfair promotion in the workplace. | D．Fierce competition among new employees. |
| A．His company hired a new employee. |
| B．He continued to work for the company. |
| C．His company simplified the evaluation process. |
| D．He repaired the relationship with his colleagues. |
| A．Results from. | B．Separates from. |
| C．Agrees with. | D．Contrasts with. |
| A．Defend employees’ rights. | B．A friend’s unforgettable experience. |
| C．Acknowledge employees’ work. | D．Misunderstanding between employees. |
10 . For average working people, they normally change their careers five to seven times throughout their whole lives.
It happens that you neglect thinking about your career when you are busy, but you must spend time considering your current situation and your ideal career path to develop a specific career plan.
Now that you have understood what you want and had your goals set and written down, it’s time to make career decisions. First, list pros and cons of different decisions. And then think about how each path lines up with your values.
How do you feel when talking about your career? Do you want to stay where you are or are you ready to make a change to take steps to achieve success? Reflect, set goals, and make your decision, and you’ll be on the right path in no time.
| A．The next step is to figure out how to get there. |
| B．Consider your long-term and short-term objectives. |
| C．Finally, evaluate how they could influence your future. |
| D．Reflecting on yourself and your needs is also necessary. |
| E．The best way to be prepared for a career change is to make a plan. |
| F．After you’ve obtained an understanding of the job, next comes the evaluation part. |
| G．Therefore, you can always have access to them because they are kept in your subconscious. |
