1 . It’s pretty common to feel like we’re in a position or career where we’re just going through the motions, trying to get to that next paycheck or the next vacation. Yet, it is __________ to hope for or to expect better from those we work for after we have __________ what we have been assigned to do.

St. John Properties just __________ $10 million in holiday bonuses to their employees! This incredible __________ came during the company’s holiday party where all 198 employees were __________ with a sealed envelope. Then, the company owner Edward St. John took to the stage and said each envelope __________ a bonus check based on the time with the company, at a(n) __________ of $50,000 per employee. When St. John was asked what __________ him to give away such sizable bonuses, he simply said, “They’re the ones who make the boat go.”

Sometimes, it may feel like our __________ at work or at home may go unnoticed so that’s why it’s important to __________ them on a personal level. In doing so, it helps us better appreciate our colleagues or __________ members for their own efforts. When we show our __________ , not only during the holiday season but every chance we get, we __________ to improve morale and team spirit. __________ , it helps to remind us of our potential, both __________ and collective, and leads us to the opportunities we deserve.

1.

A．impossible

B．strange

C．ridiculous

D．acceptable

2.

A．refused

B．adjusted

C．accomplished

D．delayed

3.

A．handed down

B．gave out

C．handed in

D．gave up

4.

A．impact

B．gift

C．policy

D．notice

5.

A．awarded

B．inspired

C．presented

D．impressed

6.

A．contained

B．cashed

C．represented

D．covered

7.

A．expense

B．average

C．loss

D．rate

8.

A．disturbed

B．allowed

C．forced

D．caused

9.

A．positions

B．roles

C．efforts

D．achievements

10.

A．value

B．recognize

C．admit

D．encourage

11.

A．family

B．society

C．group

D．union

12.

A．determination

B．knowledge

C．appreciation

D．view

13.

A．choose

B．tend

C．try

D．expect

14.

A．Otherwise

B．Therefore

C．However

D．Furthermore

15.

A．individual

B．physical

C．mental

D．hidden

2 . 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.

2. What does Abdul do when he is free?

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.

3. How does Abdul feel about his job according to the text?

A．It’s satisfying.

B．It’s overpaid.

C．It’s boring.

D．It’s instructive.

3 . So often we find ourselves on autopilot—waking up in the same home, putting on the same clothes and taking the same transportation to the same-old job.    1    And while it’s perfectly natural for humans to stick to routine, there’s much to be discovered beyond the limits of our comfort zones.

There is no exception to a man aged 53.    2    He knew it was going to be hard to find another job. He also knew it was now or never to pursue his lifelong dream of owning his own restaurant. But he was too old to compete with the young and too weak to do any labor work.

    3    He didn’t want to spend his rest life sitting around and feeling pity for himself. Also, Mrs. Mockenhaupt actively encouraged him to move on, considering it a perfect chance for two of them to start their own business with plenty of time and without the disturbance of children.

    4    Brian found just what he wanted eight blocks from home—an existing cafe that was underperforming and whose owner was highly motivated to get out of his lease (租期).    5    But the problem was that he had never financially planned for this day. He had to borrow money from friends and relatives. After that, he changed the name to Black Dog Coffee, and made it alive again. Eighteen years later, they’re still there and doing better than ever. Brian says he’s extremely grateful for the decision to make a change.

A．Then came the opportunity.

B．The thought filled him with anxiety.

C．That was exactly what Brian needed.

D．Even our New Year’s decisions to change hardly make it.

E．With the support of his family, he took a job in the local cafe.

F．Several weeks after consideration, he decided to have a change.

G．Brian Mockenhaupt got laid off from a senior management position.

4 . What’s the point of studying? It’s something you might ask yourself if you’re studying for a degree and you’re struggling to complete homework or in an exam, especially if your friends seem to be out having a good time, or are working and earning lots of money.

Many of us choose to go to university as a first step towards a good career but sometimes that career is to go to university as a first step towards a good career but sometimes that career is hard to achieve and graduates end up doing something they are overqualified for. With the increasing costs of university, students begin to ask themselves whether a degree path is the best route into a career, There is a need for much better career advice and guidance into employment in addition to university education.

But other new research says that a degree will in the long run, earn you more. However there are differences in your earning potential. Dr Jack Britton says that “graduates of the 24 Russell Group universities earn an average of £33,500 after five years - about 40% more than those who studied at other universities.”

However, it has found it’s not just the location but other factors that can play a part in what you can earn, such as the subject a student chooses to study. It discovered that five years after graduation, the income gap between students who studied the subjects that attract the highest and lowest salaries can be considerable. Graduates in subjects such as law, medicine, dentistry as well, tend to do well. And as they progress, the pay gap between these careers and others, such as the creative arts, widens. There are factors too that influence what you might earn: Five years after graduation, men earn on average 14% more than women. Also, a student’s social background can have an effect, with those from better-off household much more likely to go to university and particularly a good one.

But if you still feel university doesn’t deliver the best opportunities then there are encouraging words from Alistair Jarvis, head of universities UK, who told BBC News that “Employs are demanding more graduates and graduates are half as likely to be unemployed as likely to be unemployed as non-graduates. There are many good graduate outcomes coming from universities” So may all that studying is worth it-after all ‘no pain, no gain’!

1. Why do students start to question whether to go to university or not?

A．Because of the heavy studying burden.

B．Because they can’t get a degree after graduation.

C．Because they don’t need a degree for their career.

D．Because of the increasing costs of university.

2. Which major may most probably lead to a lower-earning career?

A．Medicine.	B．Law.
C．Creative arts.	D．Dentistry.

3. Which of the following is most likely to be fired according to Alistair Jarvis?

A．Graduates.	B．Non-graduates.
C．Doctors.	D．Employers.

4. What can be inferred from this passage?

A．Russell Group universities are top ones.

B．Most students go to university to get a good career.

C．One’s location has no effect on his income.

D．Graduates often have more academic qualifications than required for a particular job.

5 . An 18-year-old US girl gained unexpected appreciation and a surprise after she gave “extra help” to an elderly man in the restaurant she was working.

It’s social media that made her seemingly small action go viral and brought her appreciation from hundreds of thousands of strangers and a scholarship to Texas Southern University.

The heroine Evoni Williams has reportedly been working full-time to earn money for further study in a restaurant in La Marque, Texas，the United States. It was last week when an old man named Adrian Charpentier asked for help to chop his ham for his hands were weak because of illness. On that busy morning when she had loads of work on shoulder, Williams helped the man without hesitation. The moment she was leaning over the counter and cutting the ham was shot by a customer known as Laura Wolf.

Wolf posted the picture on the Internet and wrote, “I’m thankful to have seen this act of kindness and caring at the start of my day while everything in this world seems so negative. If we could all be like this waitress and take time to offer a helping hand…” According to local reports, Wolf didn’t know Williams, neither did Williams know her act was shot and shared on the web. However, the small act of kindness soon accumulated its own power on and outside the Internet.

Besides praise from netizens and media reports across the United States, a 16000-dollar scholarship to Texas Southern University was recently granted to Williams to support her study plan on business management.

“We wanted to reward Evoni’s act of kindness and let her know that good deeds do not go unnoticed,” said Melinda Spaulding, an administrator at Texas Southern University.

1. What can we infer from this passage?

A．Do well and have well.	B．No cross, no crown.
C．All that ends well is well.	D．A merry heart goes all the way.

2. What does the underlined part “go viral” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Spread quickly.	B．Frequently occur.
C．Fade eventually.	D．Slowly accumulate.

3. What did Evoni Williams offer to help Adrian Charpentier?

A．To change his food.	B．To pay the bill.
C．To take a picture of him.	D．To cut his ham.

4. Why did Laura Wolf post the picture on the Internet?

A．To support Williams’ study.

B．To share a beautiful picture.

C．To attract people’s attention.

D．To encourage people to help others.

5. What will the scholarship be used to do?

A．To support Charpentier to open a restaurant.

B．To help Williams learn business management,

C．To donate to elderly customers in the restaurant.

D．To achieve Wolf’s dream of helping people in need.