Several years ago, I had to replace a receptionist (接待员) for my unit. Before I advertised for the position, I was approached by another younger manager, who was one of my best friends, and asked if I would consider a transfer (转换) from his staff instead of opening a new competition. My natural question was to ask who he wanted me to consider and why.
It appeared from his description of this employee, Maria, that she was having a lot of problems performing her duties, and had difficulties with her boss, and did not appear to respond to any attempts he, the manager, had made to settle the issues. Now, after listening to his explanation, I really had severe doubts. What crossed my mind, after this discussion, was that he wanted me to take a problem off his hands.
I told him I would think about it and would let him know the next day. As promised, after thinking more about this potential performance issue, I decided that I would agree to speak with Maria privately before I made any decision.
And, what I found out during this interview, left me quite shocked and deep in thought. As it turned out, the performance issue appeared to result from working for a boss who never extended a good morning greeting, never gave a word of encouragement, and was constantly changing the work load and routines, always turning a deaf ear to what the employees said. The end result was a totally ruined employee who was unconfident, hated to see a new work day start.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I decided to accept her transfer to my unit and her performance surprised me a lot.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I thought a lot about what had happened and several days later, I had a talk with the manager.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Anthony was born in a beautiful town. The local environment was particularly good and the people were caring and attached importance to hygiene (卫生). In the blink of an eye, Anthony was in high school. For more than a decade, he developed the habit as the other people in the town.
Then he went on to university. He got along with his classmates because he had a kind heart and was always ready to help others. He even set up an organization aimed at guiding people to pay attention to the hygiene in the campus. He received an award from the school for this.
After graduating from university, Anthony came to New York to attend an interview for a job. He wanted to work for a software design company. But it would be difficult for him because the company was very famous and there were many people going for the interview. But Anthony did not feel discouraged and wanted to give it a try. He prepared a lot in advance, including the history, the culture and the current situation of the company.
The day of the interview came quickly. As he had expected, there were many interviewees. He was told that there were only 10 positions available, but he still felt confident. The interviewees were all waiting on the ground floor and the office where the interview took place was located on the third floor. The interviewees went to the interview in turn. One by one, they went upstairs but came down quickly. Anthony thought to himself that the interviews were too fast and felt worried.
Finally it was Anthony’s turn. He stood up and headed upstairs. At the corner of the second floor stairs were an empty bucket and two mops (拖把). One of them was dry and the other one was wet. The wet one was on the floor, slowly dripping (滴落) down with dirty water.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Anthony saw it and walked up to it.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interviewer looked at Anthony with a smile.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mistake or Masterpiece?
Wanda graduated from a cooking school and got a job in a new cafe. She has been working in the cafe for 6 weeks. She likes her job. The cafe belongs to Gregor who makes coffee and looks after the customers. Wanda does all the cooking. Wanda thinks Gregor is very nice, but he is also a tough boss. He wants everything to be perfect.
Today Wanda is having a bad day. Last night, she was in a terribly low mood and drank a lot of wine with her friends. Now her head hurts and she feels extremely bad. However, Gregor is very excited. “Wanda, we must try very hard today. Look at the man sitting by the window. He is Anton Wesley-Brown. He writes about food and restaurants for the newspaper! If he likes the food here, he will write a good report about our cafe!”
Wanda understands. Gregor wants the cafe to be a success. But why today? Why does this restaurant critic come today? Today’s special is very simple — a grilled pork chop (烤猪排), with cream, mustard sauce (芥末酱) and salad. “I could have cooked something wonderful if I had known that man was coming. But today I am too ill to cook better,” Wanda thinks. “Mr Wesley-Brown wants the pork chop!” Gregor comes to her and says. “OK,” Wanda replies. When the meal is ready, Gregor hurries over and takes the meal to Mr Wesley-Brown.
When Wanda is preparing for the next dish, she catches sight of a small bottle on the counter. “Why is there brown sugar here? I used salt, pepper and mustard. I didn’t use brown sugar. There is the pepper and the mustard. Where is the salt? Oh, no! I put brown sugar on the pork chop! Mr Wesley-Brown will hate it! Gregor will be very angry! I will lose my job!” Wanda becomes upset. She doesn’t know what to do.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
It’s almost noon and the cafe is busy.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Er, yes, I did put brown sugar on it. Sorry,” Wanda answers in a small voice.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The clock read 11 p.m. and I was still in the lab but I couldn’t focus. But going home wasn’t an option. My adviser had required me and the rest of my lab mates to stay in the lab until she had time to read all of our reports. She had decided she wanted to meet early with each of us to discuss the single-paragraph descriptions of our work. We waited dutifully as each lab member took their turn. None of us dared to leave or to challenge our boss. I didn’t get home until 1:30 a.m.
It was one more reminder that I should have been more careful when selecting a graduate adviser. Unfortunately, I was foolish enough not to give the directing style a second thought. I was simply happy to have received an offer.
Part of the problem was that I had limited options. I moved to the United States with my husband, who had a good job in a particular city. It had only one university, with only one department that really interested me. So I started to volunteer in a research lab there.
I was a regular attendee at departmental discussion groups, and that was where I met my future adviser. After she presented a meeting, I approached her and we set up a time to chat. We had a productive discussion about her research. Later, I went to dinner with her lab group.
I didn’t pick up any signs of trouble, although one person who worked in a lab that shared space with hers did tell me about coming across one of her lab members crying in the break room. I ignored that warning sign. Within a few weeks, the staff member offered me a position in her lab as a master’s student. The opportunity seemed too good to pass up. I hoped it would work out.
It wasn’t long before reality set in. Group meetings were terrible. Our adviser was often angry.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The situation disappointed me.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A year later, I finally had the opportunity to change my adviser with a different lab.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I wouldn’t have achieved any success in writing without my grandma and my husband’s encouragement.
The summer I turned 11 I spent two weeks with my grandparents. There were no other kids in the neighborhood. I was afraid I would die of boredom. I missed my friends back in my hometown, missed riding my bike everywhere. I even missed my brother and sister.
One afternoon Grandma was in the kitchen. “When’s Grandpa coming home?” I asked. Maybe he’d take us for a ride out.
“He’s out of town for a meeting and won’t be home till tomorrow.” She opened the door and the heat came out.
“I'm bored,” I said. “There’s nothing to do here.”
“Oh, there’s plenty to do,” she said. “You just have to use your imagination.”
Oh, I had an imagination all right. At night I’d call to Grandma from the guest room, terrified that I heard a noise in the closet or saw a face at the window. “There’s no one here but us,” Grandma would say, rubbing my back until I fell asleep.
It’s too bad that imagination deserted me in the daytime. “I can’t think of anything,” I said.
“How about a little trip?” she asked.
We walked along the brick sidewalks. We crossed the street. I saw the movie theater. My heart began to race. I loved movies! But, no, Grandma walked right past the theater. “Here we are,” she said, stopping in front of a store. “I thought you might like to go to Switzerland.”
“But this is a bookstore,” I said. Had the heat gone to Grandma’s head?
She pushed open the glass door, nodded to the sales clerk and walked to the children’s section. Her fingers danced along the covers of the books until they came to a thick volume bound in brown cloth. She pulled it off the shelf and handed it to me.
“Here you go. It’s one ticket to the snowcovered Alps, Switzerland.”
I looked at the title. “Heidi?” I’d never heard of it. “Is it any good?”
“There’s only one way to find out. It’s about a girl who goes to stay with her grandfather like you!”
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
Back at the apartment Grandma lay down for a nap.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twenty years ago my husband said,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It was September 1966, and I was twenty years old, facing my first class of kids as a new teacher. My class in downtown Toronto was made up of thirty-eight angels, and one street kid named Mike. His parents passed away when he was a baby, and he lived with a weak and indifferent grandmother. As for a ten-year-old boy, he was little and rough.
Like most new, young teachers, I was full of enthusiasm and determined to make a difference. Being so young, I knew very little about parenting. However, I did recognize a child in need, and decided to see if I could make a difference. And so my special “foster father (养父)” relationship with Mike began.
Each day as I arrived at school, I’d take Mike out for breakfast. Each noon hour as I shared my lunch with him, I taught him some new skills — for a while we worked on the proper method of using a microscope. On another day we constructed a camera, then we classified rocks. Mike would then “help” me teach these skills to the rest of the class. We had a lot of fun, and a kind of unspoken trust began to build up between us.
Early in our special relationship, Mike told me of his dream — becoming a lawyer. I believed then, and after thirty-four years of teaching I still believe, that all children have a gift. Everyone has the same opportunity to be the best person they can be. I realized this boy was brilliant, and that with a little love, attention, understanding, guidance and encouragement, he could probably accomplish whatever he put his mind to. I figured if he wanted to be a lawyer, I would do all I could to help him become the very best lawyer he could be.
Every Saturday morning, I took Mike to the Osgoode Law Library, which was attached to the University of Toronto. I explained to him that reading up on law was the only way to be a good lawyer. His young mind was eager and interested.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1: This was how we spent each Saturday morning for two years.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2: One day, after we were out of touch for 30 years, there went my doorbell.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I should have been born with my fingers permanently glued to a keyboard. Since I was five, I’ve known that I want to be a professional writer: a journalist, a novelist, a modernday Shakespeare, maybe. In my freshman year I tried to figure out what A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tragedy of Julius Caesar were about. Macbeth was much easier to understand in my sophomore year (大二年级).
However, I’m practically addicted to books, whether I’m reading or writing them. I can’t go a single day without writing something. I have made it a rule to pick up a pen and just let my thoughts out every day.
I can be inspired by anything: an expression, a song and a movie. Once I get inspired, it’s like the wheels turning faster and faster as I think out one possible story after another.
My family is so widespread that whenever I meet with a cousin or an aunt I only vaguely (模糊地) remember; I tell him or her I’m a writer because I know it will distinguish me from all the other kids in the family and make me memorable. I told my relatives about the stories I used to write as a child, the projects I’m working on now, and why I’m working so hard to make a breakthrough in the competitive world of publishing. One aunt hugged me and told me, “Just don’t forget about the rest of us when you become the next J. K. Rowling.”
Smiling, I replied, “Don’t worry, I won’t.” I am confident that I will become the next J. K. Rowling. I have the ambition, the means, and the talent. My English and history teachers don’t praise my writing and tell me I have an innate (与生俱来的) writing talent even though they know how passionate I am about writing, and how that passion slips through my fingertips to the paper.
Paragraph 1：
I don’t really know why I love writing so much.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：
Maybe I just want to leave my mark on the world since I can’t sing to create a great work of art.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It was spring, and Steve wanted to get a new set (套装) of football, sports shoes, and a really cool backpack. There was only one problem. That great set was too expensive. Steve only saved $10, and that was not even close to what he would need to buy the set.“I could ask mom and dad to give my pocket money in advance,” he thought to himself, “but that would be a big advance!”
That night, Steve told his parents the problem. “Have you ever thought about doing something for the neighborhood to earn some extra money?” asked his dad. “No, it would take me too long to earn the money,” answered Steve, “I need the new set for the school football match in two weeks.”
“Well, if you earn part of the money, I’ll advance you the rest. Is that OK?” suggested his dad. Steve agreed with the offer, went back to his bedroom and thought about what he could do to earn some money.“Billy from next door takes care of Mrs. Smith’s garden, Kelly walks Mr. Frank’s dog, and Tony washes Mr. Lipton’s car. There is nothing that I can do to ear some money,” thought Steve.
The next day after school, Steve went past the store, Sports Time. He loved to look in the window at all the football equipment and other goods on the shelves. Steve went in and looked at the new football set he wanted.
“Hi, Steve,” said Mrs. Thomas,“what can I do for you today?”
“I want to see if there is a sale on that football set.”
“I am afraid not,” said Mrs. Thomas, “it is sill S60.”
“I only have $10 saved, and my dad said if I could do something for the neighborhood, he would advance me the rest,” said Steve, and he told her about the school football match.
注意:
1.续写词数应为150左右:
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
Seeing that Steve was eager for the set, Mrs. Thomas came up with an idea.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
With her permission, Steve nushed to the new football set excitedly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appreciation of Hard Work
A young man applied for a managerial position in a big company. In the last interview, the director of the company found that the young man was excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research.
The director asked, “Did you obtain any scholarships in school?”
The youth answered, “None.”
The director asked, “Was it your father who paid for your school fees?”
The youth answered, “My father passed away when I was one year old. It was my mother who paid for my school fees.”
The director asked, “Where did your mother work?”
The youth answered, “My mother worked as a clothes cleaner.”
The director asked the youth to show his hands. The youth showed his smooth hands.
The director asked, “Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?”
The youth answered, “Never, my mother always asked me to study and read more books. Besides, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.”
The director said, “I have a request. When you go back today, clean your mother’s hands and then see me tomorrow morning.”
When he went back, he happily asked his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange but happy. The youth cleaned his mother’s hands slowly. His tears fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother’s hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water. After finishing the cleaning of his mother’s hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The next morning, the young man went to the director’s office.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The director asked, “Please tell me your feelings.”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After a long day, Zhang Tian finally got back to his small room, feeling tired. He had started working at seven in the morning, and it was eight in the evening now. He had to prepare his lessons for the following day. This is a typical day for Zhang Tian. Coming to Guizhou Province to teach has been quite an experience for him.
Zhang Tian graduated from university and got a teacher's certificate last year. His parents, like most, hoped he would go to a big city to find a teaching job. Likewise, his friends all left his hometown for work in Shanghai or Beijing. Zhang Tian felt differently, however. He wanted to start a new lifestyle. He had met wonderful teachers from small villages during his early school years and he was inspired by them to go and teach where he was needed the most. For that reason he applied for and became a volunteer teacher in a village school. Bringing with him lots of books, clothes, and two pairs of trainers, Zhang Tian travelled to the village with an eager heart. He imagined all sorts of exciting things about living independently and teaching in a village.
However, not everything lived up to Zhang Tian's hopes. The school had just three teachers and Zhang Tian was the only English teacher. The other two local teachers were responsible for maths and Chinese. The school was much smaller than he had expected, with only three classrooms. In front of the classrooms, there was a playground which got dusty on windy days and muddy on rainy days. Living in the village was also more challenging than he had thought. The power and water supplies were unstable, so he could only shower every three or four days, and he had to learn how to cook.
注意.开头已给出；2.所写词数应为150左右。
Paragraph 1 ：
The thought of leaving once flashed through his mind.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：
Zhang Tian's first service year is almost over.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
