.
"If you're busy preparing for your job interview now, you could learn a lot by watching this show," says Joe Turner.
Mr. Turner says American Idol (美国偶像) has many lessons to teach an employee about making an impression in a job interview, especially selling your strengths and skills.
To win on American Idol, "you don't have to be the best singer, just the most memorable singer," he said. "Same for the job interview — you don't have to be the best employee with the top skills, but you do have to be the most memorable employee worth being hired."
The No.1 thing in an interview and a job search is knowing your audience. For American Idol competitors, the judges and voting (投票的) public are the audience; for job hunters, it's the hiring manager.
Just as talented American Idol competitors lack confidence when singing the wrong song, job hunters can fail to be chosen when they fail to present their skills according to the employer's needs.
"Difference" is how Mr. Turner describes the way American Idol competitors stand out among singers who may be equally good.
In the real world, the right skills, education and experience still make one's ability different or memorable. But it's important for the job hunter to present "something special" that he or she has to offer.
A recent survey suggests that managers often sense whether they'll hire someone within minutes after the first handshake. Just as an Idol competitor prepares for performances, a job hunter should prepare carefully to make the first good impression.
Job hunters also can learn from past American Idol winners who proved an ability to recover from setbacks. If they can take feedback (反馈), make improvements and make sure they're better prepared the next go-round, that will pay off eventually.
72. The purpose of the passage is _________.
A. to persuade readers to take part in American Idol
B. to praise the winners of American Idol
C. to advertise for American Idol
D. to tell job hunters what they can learn from American Idol
73. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. if a job hunter fails to be chosen for one job, he or she will never succeed
B. job hunters should distinguish themselves from other applicants when interviewing
C. the skills, education and experience are the keys to your success
D. an American Idol competitor is never the same as a job hunter
74. The underlined word "setbacks" in the last paragraph means __________.
A. failures B. successes
C. performances D. advantages
75. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage ?
A. The reason that you are planning to change your job.
B. The best singer may not win on American Idol.
C. An employer may have the opinion on a job hunter within minutes.
D. How an American Idol competitor can stand out among singers.
| CWU The communications union Head of Research Salary: ￡55, 271 We are looking for a Head of Research to manage the CWU Research Department and Information Centre. You would be required to exercise control of all research work of the department and manage a team of three researchers and four support staff. The person appointed would be expected to carry out research work of a strategic nature across the range of businesses in which the CWU has or seeks membership and to contribute to the strategic thinking and direction of the union as a whole. You will need: proven line management skills, especially in managing and motivating a team; good research skills, holding a good degree in a related subject or other similar experience; a high level of mathematical and calculating skills; the ability to produce high quality work under pressure; a commitment to and knowledge of the trade union movement and social democratic politics; and knowledge and/or experience of the postal and/or telecommunications industry. To apply, please request an application pack by emailing hr@ cwu. org or by telephoning HR (Human Resources) on 020 8971 7482. When applying please state your source. Closing Date for Applications: 4th August 2010 Anticipated interview date: 17th August 2010 No agencies please |
In which column of a newspaper could we find this advertisement?
| A．Arts. | B．News. | C．Jobs. | D．Sales. |
One of the duties of the person to be appointed is .
| A．taking charge of research work | B．running a telecommunications company |
| C．managing a team of three or four members | D．seeking membership for the trade union |
If you want to apply for this position, you can do all EXCEPT .
| A．ask an agency for an application form |
| B．send in your application before 4th August 2010 |
| C．email hr@ cwu. org for an application pack |
| D．dial 020 8971 7482 for more information |
Which of the following applicants is most likely to be employed?
A．A school teacher with a master’s degree. |
| B．A clerk from a telecommunications company |
| C．A director from a research centre with a master’s degree. |
| D．A university graduate majoring in computer science. |
Andy rode slowly on his way to school, day-dreaming about the fishing trip that his father had promised him. He was so busy dreaming about all the fish he would catch that he was unaware of everything else around him.
He rode along until a strange sound drew him to the present. He came to a stop and looked curiously up to the heavens. What he saw shocked and terrified him. A huge swarm of bees filled the sky like a black cloud and the buzzing mass seem
ed to be heading angrily towards him.
With no time to waste, Andy sped off in the opposite direction, riding fur
iously — but without knowing how to escape the swarm. With a rapidly beating heart and his legs pumping furiously, he sped down the rough road. As the bees came closer, his panic increased. Andy knew that he was sensitive to bee stings (蜇). The last sting had landed him in hospital — and that was only one bee sting! He had been forced to stay in bed for two whole days. Suddenly, his father’s words came to him. “When you are in a tight situation, don’t panic. Use your brain and think your way
out of it.”
On a nearby hill, he could see smoke waving slowly skywards from the chimney of the Nelson family home. “Bees don’t like smoke,” he thought. “They couldn’t get into the house.” Andy raced towards the Nelson house, but the bees were gaining ground. Andy knew he could not reach the house in time. He estimated that the bees would catch up with him soon.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a smal
l dam used by Mr. Nelson to irrigate his vegetable garden. Off his bike and into the cool water he dived, disappearing below the surface and away from the savage insects. After holding his breath for as long as he could, Andy came up for air and noticed the bees had gone. Dragging himself out of the dam, he struggled up the hilly slope and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Nelson took him inside and rang his mother.
“You’ll really need that fishing break to help you recover,” laughed his mother with relief. “Thank goodness you didn’t panic!” But Andy did not hear her. He was dreaming once again of the fish he would catch tomorrow.”Why did Andy fail to notice the swarm of bees earlier?
| A．He was lost in the thought of the fishing trip. |
| B．He was listening to a strange sound. |
| C．He was going fishing with his father. |
| D．He was riding to school. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the swarm of bees in the passage?
| A．They made Andy stay in hospital for two days. |
| B．They shocked and terrified Andy. |
| C．They tried to attack Andy in a mass. |
| D．They crowded like a black cloud. |
How did Andy avoid the bees in the end?
| A．He rode off in the opposite direction. | B．He hid himself under the water. |
| C．He rushed into the Nelson house. | D．He asked Mr. Nelson for help. |
Which of the following can best describe Andy’s escape from the bees?
| A．In time of danger, one’s mind works fast. | B．Once bitten, twice shy. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. | D．No pains, no gains. |
Have you winterized your horse yet? Even though global warming may have made our climate more mild, many animals are still hibernating(冬眠)．It’s too bad that humans can’t hibernate．In fact, as a species, we almost did．
Apparently, at times in the past, peasants in France liked a sem
i-state of human hibernation．So w
rites Graham Robb, a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French peasants．As soon as the weather turned cold people all over France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months on end．
In line with this, Jeff Warren, a producer at CBC Radio’s The Current, tells us that the way we sleep has changed fundamentally since the invention of artificial(人造的) lighting and the el
ectric bulb．
When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages, they noticed something referred to as “first sleep”, which was not clarified, though．Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods．The business of eight hours’ uninterrupted sleep is a modern invention．
In the past, without the artificial light of the city to bathe in, humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves around midnight．The late night period was known as ”The Watch” It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals, although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbours ．
According to some sleep researchers, a short period of insomnia(失眠) at midnight is not a disorder ．It is normal．Humans can experience another state of consciousness around their sleeping, which occurs in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning．This period can be an extraordinarily creative time for some people．The impressive inventor, Thomas Edison, used this state to hit upon many of his new ideas．
Playing with your sleep rhythms can be adventurous, as anxiety may set in．Medical science doesn’t help much in this case．It offers us medicines for a full night’s continuous sleep, which sounds natural; however, according to Warren’s theory, it is really the opposite of what we need．The example of the French peasants shows the fact that________．
| A．people might become lazy as a result of too much sleep |
| B．there were signs of hibernation in human sleeping habits |
| C．people tended to sleep more peacefully in cold weather |
| D．winter was a season for people to sleep for months on end |
The late night was called “The Watch” because it was a time for people_______．
| A．to set traps to catch animals | B．to wake up their family and neighbours |
| C．to remind others of the time | D．to guard against possible dangers |
What does the author advise people to do?
| A．Sleep in the way animals do． | B．Consult a doctor if they can’t sleep． |
| C．Follow their natural sleep rhythm． |
D．Keep to the eight-hour sleep pattern． |
What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To give a prescription for insomnia． |
B．To urge peopl e to sleep less． |
| C．To analyze the sleep pattern of modern people． |
| D．To throw new light on human sleep． |
This brief book is aimed at high school students, but speaks to anyone learning at any stage of life．
Its formal, serious style closely matches its content, a school-masterly book on schooling．The author, W．H．Armstrong, starts with the basics: reading and writing．In his opinion, reading doesn’t just mean recognizing each word on the page; it means taking in the information, digesting it and incorporating it into oneself just as digests a sandwich and makes it a part of himself．The goal is to bring the information back to life, not just to treat it as dead facts on paper from dead trees．Reading and writing cannot be
completely separated from each other; in fact, the aim of reading is to express the information you have got from the text．I’ve seen it again and again: someone who can’t express an idea after reading a text is just as ineffective as someone who hasn’t read it at all．
Only a third of the book remains after that discussion, which Armstrong devotes to specific tips for studying languages, math, science and history．He generally handles these topics thoroughly(透彻地) and equally, except for some weakness in the science and math sections and a bit too much passion(激情) regarding history．Well, he was a history teacher — if conveyed only a tenth of his passion to his students, that was a hundred times more than my history teachers ever got across．To my disappointment, in this part of the book he ignores the arts．As a matter of fact, they demand all the concentration and study that math and science do, though the study differs slightly in kind．Although it’s commonly believed that the arts can only be naturally acquired, actually, learning the arts is no more natural than learning French or mathematics．
My other comment is that the text aged．The first edition apparently dates to the 1960s — none of the references(参考文献)seem newer than the late 1950s．As a result, the discussion misses the entire computer age．
These are small points, though, and don’t affect the main discussion．I recommend it to any student and any teacher, including the self-taught student．According to Armstrong, the goal of reading is to________．
| A．gain knowledge and expand one’s view |
| B．understand the meaning between the lines |
| C．express ideas based on what one has read |
| D．get information and keep it alive in memory |
The author of the passage insists that learning the arts_________．
| A．requires great efforts | B．demands real passion |
| C．is less natural than learning maths | D．is as natural as learning a language |
What is a shortcoming of Armstrong’s work according to the author?
| A．Some ideas are slightly contradictory． |
| B．There is too much discussion on studying science． |
| C．The style is too serious． |
| D．It lacks new information． |
This passage can be classified as________．
| A．an advertisement | B．a book review |
| C．a feature story | D．a news report |
They wear the latest fashions with the most up-to-da
te accessories(配饰)．Yet these are not girls in their teens or twenties but women in their sixties and seventies．A generation which would once only wear old-fashioned clothes is now favouring the same high street looks worn by those half their age．
Professor Julia Twigg, a social policy expert, said, “Women over 75 are now shopping for clothes more frequently than they did when they were young in the 1960s．In the 1960s buying a coat for a woman was a serious matter．It was an expensive item that they would purchase only every three or four years — now you can pick one up at the supermarket whenever you wish to．Fashion is a lot cheaper and people get tired of things more quickly．”
Professor Twigg analysed family expenditure(支出) data
and found that while the percentage of spending on clothes and shoes by women had stayed around the same — at 5 or 6 percent of spending — the amount of clothes bought had risen sharply．
The professor said, “Clothes are now 70 percent cheaper than they were in the 1960s because of the huge expansion of production in the Far East．In the 1960s Leeds was the heart of the British fashion industry and that was where most of the clothes came from, but now almost all of our clothes are sourced elsewhere．Everyone is buying more clothes but in general we are not spending more money on them．”
Fashion designer Angela Barnard, who runs her own fashion business in London, said older women were much more affected celebrity(名流) style than in previous years．
She said, “When people see stars such as Judi Dench and Helen Mirren looking attractive and fashionable in their sixties, they want to follow them．Older women are much more aware of celebrities ．There’s also the boom in TV programmes showing people how they can change their look, and many of my older customers do yoga to stay in shape well in their fifties．When I started my business a few years ago, my older customers tended to be very rich, but now they are what I would call ordinary women．My own mother is 61 and she wears the latest fashions in a way she would never have done ten years ago．”Professor Twigg found that, compared with the 1960s, _________．
| A．the price of clothes has generally fallen by 70% |
| B．the spending on clothes has increased by 5% or 6% |
| C．people spend 30% less than they did on clothes |
| D．the amount of clothes bought has risen by 5% or 6% |
What can we learn about old women in terms of fashion？
| A．They are often ignored by fashion designers． |
| B．They are now more easily influenced by stars． |
| C．They are regarded as pioneers in the latest fashion． |
| D．They are more interested in clothes because of their old age． |
It can be concluded that old women tend to wear the latest fashions today mainly because _________．
| A．they get tired of things more quickly | B．TV shows teach them how to change their look |
| C．they are in much better shape now | D．clothes are much cheaper than before |
Which is the best possible title of the passage?
| A．Age Is No Barrier for Fashion Fans | B．The More Fashionable, the Less Expensive |
| C．Unexpected Changes in Fashion | D．Boom of the British Fashio n Industry |