阅读理解I've been writing for most of my life. The

阅读理解Social media can be a powerful communication tool for employees, helping them to collaborate, share ideas and solve problems. Research has shown that 82% of employees think social media can improve work relationships and 60% believe it can support decision-making processes. These beliefs contribute to a majority of workers connecting with colleagues on social media, even during work hours. Employers typically worry that social media is a productivity killer; more than half of U. S. employers reportedly block access to social media at work. In my research with 277 employees of a healthcare organization I found these concerns to be misguided. Social media doesn’t reduce productivity nearly as much as it kills employee retention. In the first part of the study I surveyed the employees about why and how they used platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedln. Respondents were then asked about their work behaviors, including whether they felt motivated in their jobs and showed initiative at work. I found employees who engage in online social interactions with co-workers through social media blogs tend to be more motivated and come up with innovative ideas. But when employees interact with individuals outside the organization, they are less motivated and show less initiative. In the second part of the study I found 76% of employees using social media for work took an interest in other organizations they found on social media. When I examined how respondents expressed openness to new careers and employers, I found that they engaged in some key activities including researching new organizations and making new work connections. These findings present a dilemma for managers: employees using social media at work are more engaged and more productive, but they are also more likely to leave your company. Managers should implement solutions that neutralize the retention risk caused by social media. They can create social media groups in which employees will be more likely to collaborate and less likely to share withdrawal intentions or discussions about external job opportunities. Managers can also use social media to directly reduce turnover (跳槽) intentions, by recognizing employees’ accomplishments and giving visibility to employees’ success stories.

阅读理解Learning to say no [A] Not doing something will always be faster than doing it. This philosophy applies in many areas of life. For example, there is no meeting that goes faster than not having a meeting at all. This is not to say you should never attend another meeting, but the truth is that we say "yes" to too many things we don’t actually want to do. [B] How often do people ask you to do something and you just reply, "Sure." Three days later, you’re overwhelmed by how much is on your to-do list. We become frustrated by our obligations even though we were the ones who said "yes" to them in the first place. Even worse, people will occasionally fight to do things that waste time. You don’t have to do something just because it exists. It’s worth asking if things are necessary. Many of them are not, and a simple "no" will be more productive than whatever work the most efficient person can cope with. But if the benefits of saying "no" are so obvious, then why do we say "yes" so often? [C] We say "yes" to many requests not because we want to do them, but because we don’t want to be seen as rude or unhelpful. Often, we have to consider saying "no" to someone we will interact with again in the future—our co-worker, our spouse, our family and friends. Saying "no" to our superiors at work can be particularly difficult. In these situations, I like the approach recommended in Essentialisrn by Greg McKeown. He writes, "Remind your superiors what you would be neglecting if you said lyes’ and force them to deal with the trade-off. For example, if your manager comes to you and asks you to do X, you can respond with ’Yes, I’m happy to make this the priority. Which of these other projects should I deprioritize to pay attention to this new project?’" [D] Collaborating with others is an important element of life. The thought of straining the relationship outweighs the commitment of our time and energy. For this reason, it can be helpful to be gracious in your response. Do whatever favors you can, and be warm-hearted and direct when you have to say no. But even after we have accounted for these social considerations, many of us still seem to do a poor job of managing the trade-off between yes and no. We find ourselves over-committed to things that don’t meaningfully improve or support those around us, and certainly don’t improve our own lives. [E] Perhaps one issue is how we think about the meaning of yes and no. The words "yes" and "no" get so often used in comparison with each other that it feels like they carry equal weight in conversation. In reality, they’re not just opposite in meaning, but of entirely different magnitudes in commitment. When you say "no", you’re only saying "no" to one option. When you say ’’yes", you’re saying "no" to every other option. I like how economist Tim Harford put it, "Every time we say ’yes’ to a request, we’re also saying ’no’ to anything else we might accomplish with the time." Once you’re committed to something, you’ve already decided how that future block of time will be spent. In other words, saying "no" saves you time in the future. Saying "yes" costs you time in the future. "No" is a form of time credit. You retain the ability to spend your future time however you want. "Yes" is a form of time debt. You have to pay back your commitment at some point. [F] "No" is a decision. "Yes" is a responsibility. Saying "no" is sometimes seen as a luxury that only those in power can afford. And it’s true: turning down opportunities is easier when you can fall back on the safety net provided by power, money, and authority. But it’s also true that saying "no" is not merely a privilege reserved for the successful. It’s also a strategy that can help you become successful. Saying "no" is an important skill to develop at any stage of your career because it retains the most important asset in life: your time. As investor Pedro Sorrentino put it, "If you don’t guard your time, people will steal it from you." You need to say "no" to whatever isn’t leading you toward your goals. [G] Nobody embodied this idea better than Steve Jobs, who said, "People think focus means saying ’yes’ to the tiling you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying ’no’ to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully." Jobs had another great quote about saying "no": "I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying ’no’ to 1,000 things." [H] Over time, as you continue to improve and succeed, your strategy needs to change. The opportunity cost of your time increases as you become more successful. At first, you just eliminate the obvious distractions and explore the rest. As your skills improve and you learn to separate what works from what doesn’t, you have to continually increase your threshold for saying "yes". You still need to say "no" to distractions, but you also need to learn to say "no" to opportunities that were previously good uses of time, so you can make space for better uses of time. It’s a good problem to have, but it can be a tough skill to master. [ I ] What is true about health is also true about productivity: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. More effort is wasted doing things that don’t matter than is wasted doing things inefficiently. And if that is the case, elimination is a more useful skill than optimization. I’m reminded of the famous Peter Drucker quote, "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."

阅读理解The End of the Book?

阅读理解You might think of your teeth as tools, like built-in knives and forks, but if they are mere tools, why do they feel pain and wouldn’t it be better if they could just【C1】________under any condition? In spite of our【C2】________discomfort, it turns out there’s a good reason our teeth are so sensitive. Tooth pain is a【C3】________mechanism that ensures when a tooth is being damaged we’ll notice and do something about it. If we eat something too hot or too cold, or if the tooth is worn down enough where the tissue【C4】________is exposed, all of those things cause pain, and then the pain causes the person not to use that tooth to try to protect it a little bit more. So it’s really a protective mechanism more than anything else. If teeth didn’t feel pain, we might【C5】________to use them in situations that damage them, and for humans, damaging【C6】________teeth is a problem because, unlike crocodiles, we can’t【C7】________ them. Teeth have three layers, only one of which—the innermost layer of the tooth—can hurt, as that layer of the tooth【C8】________both blood vessels and nerves. Pain is the only feeling to which the nerves in that layer respond. Whereas people with tooth sensitivity may complain, for example, of tooth pain【C9】________by heat or cold, the nerves in the inner layer don’t sense temperature. Rather, they feel pain, which may be【C10】________with, say, drinking something very cold. A) adult I) emotional B) associated J) implies C) chew K) mammal D) contains L) replace E) continue M) swallow F) defense N) triggered G) dental O) underneath H) downward

阅读理解Online classes began to be popularized just a few decades ago. They are advertised as a way for adults to finish their education and students to learn the material at their own pace—it is far more compatible for people with busy schedules. But after being enrolled in an online course last fall semester, I came to realize online classes were merely a means to fulfil course requirements. First of all, students lack the desire to learn, and they simply complete their assignments to receive credit for a passing grade rather than genuinely engage with the course material. As online courses tend to have more than 100 students, most of the assignments are short and simple. They are not designed for students to interact with the material in depth but designed to be graded easily to accommodate such a large number of students. Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of taking an online class is the absence of face-to-face interaction between the teacher and their students. Live sessions are infrequent and are often scheduled during the middle of the day when students have to attend other classes or work. The office hours of the professor may also be during inconvenient times for many students as well. Most interaction with the professor has to be through email which is often impersonal. It is nearly impossible for students to build a relationship with their professor. There is also little interaction amongst students. It can be harder for students to create study groups and form relationships with their peers. Online classes also require either a computer or laptop and a reliable internet connection. Not all students have access to these types of resources, whether it is for financial or other reasons, and some students can be put at a disadvantage. Offering online classes certainly helps students who would otherwise not be able to attend classroom sessions. However, they fail to provide a genuine education with an emphasis on convenience rather than critical thinking. We need restructured online classes in which students can have a learning experience that will actually provide quality education.

阅读理解Public perception of success in the U.S. might be totally misguided. While 92% of people believe others care most about fame and【C1】________, fewer than 10% factor those qualities into their own success. This is according to the newly【C2】________study by Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Todd Smith. Smith says he was【C3】________by how past studies on success "assumed what people will care about." In this study, his team "went the【C4】________direction" by spending years carrying out individual interviews and group surveys to see what people really talk about when they talk about success. As a scientist, Smith【C5】________studied individuality for a living, and even he was surprised to find younger respondents cared more about having a【C6】________in life. Those between the ages of 18 and 34 prioritized it most, and that prioritization dropped off as respondents’ ages went up. Perhaps this is because older people had fewer options when they were starting their careers, at a time when values focused more on stable incomes than【C7】________personal missions. Other trends included an emphasis on the importance of parenting. Being a parent【C8】________very high across the priorities of all study participants. Ultimately, Smith hopes institutions will take note of these insights【C9】________. Higher education institutions tend to focus on preparing students for high-paying jobs. For such institutions, from universities to workplaces, to better【C10】________people in the U.S., they’ll need to understand "what the American public highly prioritizes," Smith says. A) accommodate I) oppositeB) accordingly J) professionC) acquiring K) purposeD) bothered L) rankedE) fortune M) releasedF) fulfilling N) similarlyG) identify O) wrong H) literally

阅读理解What is pop culture? Well, pop

阅读理解Public perception of success in the U.S. might be totally misguided. While 92% of people believe others care most about fame and【C1】________, fewer than 10% factor those qualities into their own success. This is according to the newly【C2】________study by Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Todd Smith. Smith says he was【C3】________by how past studies on success "assumed what people will care about." In this study, his team "went the【C4】________direction" by spending years carrying out individual interviews and group surveys to see what people really talk about when they talk about success. As a scientist, Smith【C5】________studied individuality for a living, and even he was surprised to find younger respondents cared more about having a【C6】________in life. Those between the ages of 18 and 34 prioritized it most, and that prioritization dropped off as respondents’ ages went up. Perhaps this is because older people had fewer options when they were starting their careers, at a time when values focused more on stable incomes than【C7】________personal missions. Other trends included an emphasis on the importance of parenting. Being a parent【C8】________very high across the priorities of all study participants. Ultimately, Smith hopes institutions will take note of these insights【C9】________. Higher education institutions tend to focus on preparing students for high-paying jobs. For such institutions, from universities to workplaces, to better【C10】________people in the U.S., they’ll need to understand "what the American public highly prioritizes," Smith says. A) accommodate I) oppositeB) accordingly J) professionC) acquiring K) purposeD) bothered L) rankedE) fortune M) releasedF) fulfilling N) similarlyG) identify O) wrong H) literally

阅读理解Fake holiday villa websites prompt warning A) During the British winter, the thought of two weeks in a coastal villa (别墅) with soul-stirring views of the sea and a huge pool to enjoy is enough to offset (抵消) the labor until the holidays start. For a growing number of people, however, their yearly break is turning into a nightmare as they find that the property they have paid thousands for does not exist and the website through which they booked it has disappeared. B) Consumers have been warned to be aware of the potential for deception in this market, which is far from uncommon. In 2017 there were 1,632 cases of reported "villa fraud (诈骗)", with victims losing an average of £2,052, according to Action Fraud, the national center for reporting such frauds. "Millions of pounds are lost each year by defrauded holidaymakers," says Sean Tipton of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). C) The problem has ballooned in the last 10 years, with frauds becoming more and more sophisticated. The fake websites have authentic-sounding names involving a mix of keywords, typically including the place name, "summer", "villas" or "rentals". Details of legitimate (合法的) villas are often stolen from other sites. "When the fraudsters first started it was unsophisticated—the websites looked amateur and there wasn’t a lot of effort," says Tipton. "Now they are clever. They extensively rip off legitimate websites and use a different website name. They’ll have pictures of a sales team and it might be a poor actor in New York that is down as their head of sales." D) Fraudsters target popular seaside destinations for British tourists visiting Spain where prices can soar if demand exceeds supply. Prices are kept within reasonable ranges to avoid arousing suspicion. "A villa might cost £ 5,000 elsewhere and they will offer it at say £ 3,500. But a bit of a giveaway is that the villa will be cheaper than on other websites and there’s unlimited availability," says Tipton. Fraudsters also invest in pay-per-click advertising to feature at the top of search engines when people type in phrases such as "Spanish seaside villas". E) With such a degree of professionalism, how can consumers find out if the website they’re looking to book with is trustworthy? "When people book holiday villas they are doing so through rose-colored glasses," says Tony Neate, chief executive of Get Safe Online. "They should be Googling the property, and looking on websites like Google Maps and Street View to see if it’s there. Also, speak to the person you’re booking the villa with on a landline phone, as fraudsters tend to only use mobiles." He also suggests asking someone not going on the holiday to have a look at the website. "They might spot problems you don’t spot." Another potential red flag is being asked to pay by bank transfer. "The problem is that when the money leaves your account it’s in theirs straightaway and it’s very hard to track it," says Barclays Bank head of digital safety, Jodie Gilbert. "We generally recommend other forms of payment, like credit card. " F) Little seems to be known about these fraudsters. "There is no way to definitely know who they are," says Neate. "It could be anyone. It could be your next-door neighbor or organized crime in Russia." Action Fraud says people should ensure the company renting the villa is a member of a recognized trade body such as ABTA. G) "By working with industry partners such as ABTA and Get Safe Online, we are able to issue alerts about the latest threats they should be aware of. If you believe you have fallen victim to fraud or cybercrime, please report it to Action Fraud," it adds. ABTA says it is trying to combat the issue by running public awareness campaigns. "It’s a growing problem and people can’t stop fraudsters being dishonest," says Tipton. "They’re still going to do it. It’s not impossible to stop but as it’s internet-based it’s harder to pursue." H) Nick Cooper, the founder and co-owner of villa booking company Villa Plus, estimates his company has uncovered more than 200 fake villa websites over the past two years, and doesn’t believe enough is being done. "It is hopeless to report fake villa websites to the internet giants who host them," he says. "I found it impossible to speak to anyone. Also, once one bank account gets reported, they simply use another." I) For now the only way to stop fraudsters appears ultimately to lie in the hands of the consumer. "When people book their holidays they get so emotionally involved, and when they find that villa at a good price with availability in peak season, they are an easy target," says Cooper. "The public has to learn to be far more aware they are a target for these sort of frauds. " But it’s not just the financial cost. "A family will turn up at a villa and find out it doesn’t exist or the owner doesn’t know who you are," says Tipton. "The problem then is you have to find accommodation at short notice. It can be incredibly expensive but it’s the emotional cost, too." J) Carla O’Shaughnessy from Sydenham was searching last year for a good deal to book a villa in Majorca for a summer break for the family. "I was comparing prices online and found one that came in a bit cheaper than others," says O’Shaughnessy. She emailed the company via its website, asking how far the villa was from the airport and about local restaurants. "They came back with believable answers; it was all very friendly and professional," she says. Happy with the responses,O’Shaughnessy paid the full amount of £ 3,000 via bank transfer into the travel agent’s account and then forgot about it until a month before the booking. K) "I tried logging on to the website and couldn’t," she recalls. "I Googled the agent’s name and there were lots of complaints about him being a fraudster. If only I’d Googled before but I never thought of it." Although she found another villa in time for their holiday, she admits she was much more cautious. "I paid through a secure third-party site and had phone conversations with the agent. But I wasn’t able to relax until we turned up and T had the keys."

阅读理解As we have seen, the focus of medical care in

阅读理解Fake holiday villa websites prompt warning A) During the British winter, the thought of two weeks in a coastal villa (别墅) with soul-stirring views of the sea and a huge pool to enjoy is enough to offset (抵消) the labor until the holidays start. For a growing number of people, however, their yearly break is turning into a nightmare as they find that the property they have paid thousands for does not exist and the website through which they booked it has disappeared. B) Consumers have been warned to be aware of the potential for deception in this market, which is far from uncommon. In 2017 there were 1,632 cases of reported "villa fraud (诈骗)", with victims losing an average of £2,052, according to Action Fraud, the national center for reporting such frauds. "Millions of pounds are lost each year by defrauded holidaymakers," says Sean Tipton of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). C) The problem has ballooned in the last 10 years, with frauds becoming more and more sophisticated. The fake websites have authentic-sounding names involving a mix of keywords, typically including the place name, "summer", "villas" or "rentals". Details of legitimate (合法的) villas are often stolen from other sites. "When the fraudsters first started it was unsophisticated—the websites looked amateur and there wasn’t a lot of effort," says Tipton. "Now they are clever. They extensively rip off legitimate websites and use a different website name. They’ll have pictures of a sales team and it might be a poor actor in New York that is down as their head of sales." D) Fraudsters target popular seaside destinations for British tourists visiting Spain where prices can soar if demand exceeds supply. Prices are kept within reasonable ranges to avoid arousing suspicion. "A villa might cost £ 5,000 elsewhere and they will offer it at say £ 3,500. But a bit of a giveaway is that the villa will be cheaper than on other websites and there’s unlimited availability," says Tipton. Fraudsters also invest in pay-per-click advertising to feature at the top of search engines when people type in phrases such as "Spanish seaside villas". E) With such a degree of professionalism, how can consumers find out if the website they’re looking to book with is trustworthy? "When people book holiday villas they are doing so through rose-colored glasses," says Tony Neate, chief executive of Get Safe Online. "They should be Googling the property, and looking on websites like Google Maps and Street View to see if it’s there. Also, speak to the person you’re booking the villa with on a landline phone, as fraudsters tend to only use mobiles." He also suggests asking someone not going on the holiday to have a look at the website. "They might spot problems you don’t spot." Another potential red flag is being asked to pay by bank transfer. "The problem is that when the money leaves your account it’s in theirs straightaway and it’s very hard to track it," says Barclays Bank head of digital safety, Jodie Gilbert. "We generally recommend other forms of payment, like credit card. " F) Little seems to be known about these fraudsters. "There is no way to definitely know who they are," says Neate. "It could be anyone. It could be your next-door neighbor or organized crime in Russia." Action Fraud says people should ensure the company renting the villa is a member of a recognized trade body such as ABTA. G) "By working with industry partners such as ABTA and Get Safe Online, we are able to issue alerts about the latest threats they should be aware of. If you believe you have fallen victim to fraud or cybercrime, please report it to Action Fraud," it adds. ABTA says it is trying to combat the issue by running public awareness campaigns. "It’s a growing problem and people can’t stop fraudsters being dishonest," says Tipton. "They’re still going to do it. It’s not impossible to stop but as it’s internet-based it’s harder to pursue." H) Nick Cooper, the founder and co-owner of villa booking company Villa Plus, estimates his company has uncovered more than 200 fake villa websites over the past two years, and doesn’t believe enough is being done. "It is hopeless to report fake villa websites to the internet giants who host them," he says. "I found it impossible to speak to anyone. Also, once one bank account gets reported, they simply use another." I) For now the only way to stop fraudsters appears ultimately to lie in the hands of the consumer. "When people book their holidays they get so emotionally involved, and when they find that villa at a good price with availability in peak season, they are an easy target," says Cooper. "The public has to learn to be far more aware they are a target for these sort of frauds. " But it’s not just the financial cost. "A family will turn up at a villa and find out it doesn’t exist or the owner doesn’t know who you are," says Tipton. "The problem then is you have to find accommodation at short notice. It can be incredibly expensive but it’s the emotional cost, too." J) Carla O’Shaughnessy from Sydenham was searching last year for a good deal to book a villa in Majorca for a summer break for the family. "I was comparing prices online and found one that came in a bit cheaper than others," says O’Shaughnessy. She emailed the company via its website, asking how far the villa was from the airport and about local restaurants. "They came back with believable answers; it was all very friendly and professional," she says. Happy with the responses,O’Shaughnessy paid the full amount of £ 3,000 via bank transfer into the travel agent’s account and then forgot about it until a month before the booking. K) "I tried logging on to the website and couldn’t," she recalls. "I Googled the agent’s name and there were lots of complaints about him being a fraudster. If only I’d Googled before but I never thought of it." Although she found another villa in time for their holiday, she admits she was much more cautious. "I paid through a secure third-party site and had phone conversations with the agent. But I wasn’t able to relax until we turned up and T had the keys."

单选题. Soon after starting his job as supervisor of the Memphis, Tenn., public schools, Kriner Cash ordered an assessment of his new district's 104,000 students. What most concerned him was that the number of students considered "highly mobile," meaning they had moved at least once during the school year, had ballooned to 34,000. At least 1,500 students were homeless—probably more. It led him to think over an unusual suggestion: What if the best way to help kids in poverty-stricken urban neighborhoods is to get them out? Cash is now calling for Memphis to create a residential school for 300 to 400 kids whose parents are in financial distress. His proposal is at the forefront (最前线) of a broader national trend. Public boarding schools are hardly a new concept. But publicly financing boarding schools for inner-city kids is a very different suggestion. If Cash's dream becomes a reality, it will probably look a lot like SEED (Schools for Educational Evolution and Development), whose 320 students live on campus five days a week. Perhaps the most provocative (引起争论的) aspect of Cash's proposal is to focus on students in grades 3 through 5. Homelessness is growing sharply among kids at that critical age, when much of their educational foundation is set, Cash says. His aim: to prevent illiteracy and clear other learning roadblocks early, so the problem "won't migrate into middle and high school." Students will remain on campus year-round. "It sounds very exciting, but the devil is in the details," says Ellen Bassuk, president of the National Center on Family Homelessness in Newton, Mass. "What's it like to separate a third-or fifth-grader from their parents?" It may help to consider the experience of SEED student Mansur Muhammad, 17. When he arrived seven years ago, the first few weeks were tough. But Muhammad hasn't looked back. He maintains a 3.2 GPA and reshelves books in the school's library for $160 every couple of days, when he's not in his room listening to rap or classical music and writing poetry. Inspired by a teacher, Muhammad is working on a book. "It was a long road for me to get here," he says, "and I have a long way to go."1. What did Cash intend to do with the kids in poverty-stricken urban neighborhoods to "get them out"? ______

单选题[此试题无题干]

单选题30. Between the two parts of the concert is an interval, ______ the audience can buy ice-cream.

单选题. Questions 16 to 18 are based on the passage you have just heard.1.