1 . Mark is leaving, and I’m feeling kind of sad. He’s been the heart and soul of the office for a couple of years,
And now he’s moving on to an exciting new professional
Life has a way of throwing these curve (曲线) balls
Our ability to cope with
I think life is a series of
That doesn’t mean you don’t keep trying to make all your
“Change, indeed, is painful,
| A．associating | B．comparing | C．combining | D．replacing |
| A．fragile | B．gentle | C．special | D．split |
| A．separation | B．destination | C．expectation | D．opportunity |
| A．sincerely | B．ridiculously | C．absolutely | D．secretly |
| A．nobler | B．ruder | C．easier | D．fairer |
| A．colleague | B．roommate | C．teacher | D．leader |
| A．on | B．with | C．in | D．at |
| A．autonomous | B．sunburnt | C．comfortable | D．dynamic |
| A．change | B．challenge | C．choice | D．chance |
| A．adaptability | B．confidence | C．accommodation | D．competence |
| A．accidents | B．barriers | C．events | D．records |
| A．control | B．access | C．advantage | D．priority |
| A．take | B．make | C．get | D．have |
| A．decisions | B．promises | C．dreams | D．solutions |
| A．mostly | B．accidentally | C．eventually | D．exactly |
| A．yet | B．also | C．even | D．still |
| A．assist | B．accompany | C．miss | D．forgive |
| A．complaint | B．attention | C．sadness | D．sympathy |
| A．do | B．demand | C．face | D．seize |
| A．if | B．until | C．when | D．after |
| A．Take the job. | B．Refuse the offer. | C．Change the working hours. |
3 . 54-year-old Abdul has a special job. He has been working as a living statue for over three decades, standing perfectly still for six hours a day and resisting people’s attempts to make him move or smile, anything that proves he is a living person.
Abdul, known as “India’s Statue Man”, has been performing his daily routine ever since 1985, soon after getting a job as a security guard. His boss had recently traveled to the UK, where he was so impressed by the statue-like members of the Royal Guard outside Buckingham Palace that he wanted to do something similar back home. So he had his guards receive three months of training, where they would sit perfectly still for around four hours. They weren’t allowed to talk or smile, eat, drink, or even shoo away a fly if it sat on their faces. In the end, Abdul proved the best of the group, so he got the strange job.
Abdul isn’t the only person in the world acting as a living statue, but what makes him special is the fact that he can do it for as long as six hours without even blinking his eyes. Once, a $ 155 prize was put up for anyone who can make him move a muscle. But try as they might, no one has ever succeeded. Actually, Abdul tries to move about as much as he can in his spare time, and only eats healthy home-cooked food, to keep his body in shape. But he claims yoga has been the biggest help. In the 32 years, Abdul has become a celebrity in India and other Asian countries. Many Bollywood celebrities have come to witness this living statue and try to finally make him move, but none have succeeded.
Abdul earns about 10,000 rupees ($ 156) a month, which is enough to support his family, but definitely not enough to encourage his children to follow in his footsteps. It’s just too stressful and taxing on the body. “Despite all the hardship and health problems, I love my job and I am thankful to people for the love and respect they have showered on me” he says, “When the time comes, I want to die playing a statue.”
1. Why could Abdul get the strange job given by his boss?| A．He had his special ambition. | B．He was most familiar with the job. |
| C．He knew the boss more than others. | D．He stood out among the group. |
| A．He eats a lot of snacks. | B．He tries his best to move around. |
| C．He cooks for his family. | D．He practices yoga for 12 hours a day. |
| A．It’s satisfying. | B．It’s overpaid. | C．It’s boring. | D．It’s instructive. |
1. What's the probable relationship between the speakers?
| A．Boss and secretary. | B．Teacher and student. | C．Interviewer and interviewee. |
| A．English. | B．Spanish. | C．Italian. |
| A．A Spanish teacher. | B．A manager assistant. | C．A company secretary. |
| A．She does well in typing. |
| B．She works in a company now. |
| C．She expects to get a driving license. |
5 . If you are a recent social science graduate who has had to listen to jokes about unemployment from your computer major classmates, you may have had the last laugh. There are many advantages for the social science major because this high-tech "Information Age" demands people who are flexible (灵活) and who have good communication skills.
There are many social science majors in large companies who fill important positions. For example, a number of research studies found that social science majors had achieved greater managerial success than those who had technical training or pre-professional courses. Studies show that social science majors are most suited for change, which is the leading feature (特点) of the kind of high-speed, high-pressure, high-tech world we now live in.
Social science majors are not only experiencing success in their long term company jobs, but they are also finding jobs more easily. A study showed that many companies had filled a large percentage of their entry level positions with social science graduates. The study also showed that the most sought-after quality in a person who was looking for a job was communication skills, noted as "very important" by 92 percent of the companies. Social science majors have these skills, often without knowing how important they are. It is probably due to these skills that they have been offered a wide variety of positions.
Finally, although some social science majors may still find it more difficult than their technically trained classmates to land the first job, recent graduates report that they don't regret their choice of study.
1. By saying that "you may have had the last laugh" in the first paragraph, the author means that you may have ________.| A．shared the jokes with computer majors |
| B．earned as much as computer majors |
| C．found jobs more easily than computer majors |
| D．stopped joking about computer majors |
| A．are ready to change when situations change |
| B．are better able to deal with difficulties |
| C．are equally good at computer skills |
| D．are likely to give others pressure |
| A．keep for some time |
| B．successfully get |
| C．immediately start |
| D．lose regretfully |
| A．Willingness to take low-paid jobs. |
| B．Readiness to gain high-tech knowledge. |
| C．Skills in expressing themselves. |
| D．Part-time work experience. |
1. When will the woman present?
| A．On September 7. | B．On September 8. | C．On September 9. |
| A．The time of the meeting. |
| B．The information on the hotel. |
| C．The change of the schedule. |
| A．By phone. | B．By e-mail. | C．By letter. |
| A．Write several reports. | B．Meet Rachel and Sam. | C．Prepare her lunch. |
7 . For most of her life, Suanne Laqueur’s passion for storytelling was shown on the dance floor.
Although Laqueur began writing at a young age, dancing always took center stage. She majored in dance and theater at Alfred University and taught at her mother’s dance studio in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, for years. But when her mother was ready to retire and an opportunity opened for Laqueur to take over the studio, she realized she had no interest in taking on the business side of her art: “Owning a studio is a lot of work—financially, logistically. I love the teaching, the choreographing(编舞), the staging, but I didn’t want to own it.”
Yet Laqueur’s disinterest in running the studio changed when she became a self-published author. In the fall of 2013, she decided to pursue Self-publishing as a way of sharing her first completed novel with friends and family. During the process, she realized that following her true passion—telling stories through writing—made the business of the art worthwhile, and owning that business meant she could direct her writing career however she chose.
Starting with her second self-published novel, she began investing more time in marketing and building her audience. Her investment paid off. Since 2014, Laqueur, now 49, has self-published six novels, which collectively have hundreds of ratings and reviews on Goodreads. Her 2016 novel An Exaltation of Larks stole the show at the 25th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards, topping more than 2,300 entries to win the grand prize.
“You have to write the most truthful story to you, and I think self-publishing allows that freedom,’ she says. “If you work with traditional publishing, it’s more about what’s marketable, There are trade-offs, which everyone will tell you, but by self-publishing I have control of the book, I have control of the story, and I’m cool with that.”
1. From Paragraph 2，we can learn that Laqueur _______.| A．was a part-time writer when she was young |
| B．didn’t like teaching dancing in fact |
| C．wanted to own a publishing house |
| D．was interested in running her mother’s studio |
| A．Her mother’s persuasion. | B．The desire to make money |
| C．Self-publishing her novels. | D．Her own passion toward art. |
| A．became a failure. | B．was shown to people. |
| C．got all the attention. | D．was accidentally stolen. |
| A．Self-publishing will replace traditional publishing. |
| B．She will never use traditional publishing. |
| C．Traditional publishing only focuses on the market. |
| D．She enjoys the way of self-publishing. |
| A．A teacher. | B．A journalist. | C．A secretary. |
| A．In a shop. | B．In a supermarket. | C．In a restaurant. |
1. 你的职业规划；
2. 选择该职业的原因；
3. 询问对方的意见。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Tom,
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Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
