A different sort of generation gap is developing in the workplace. Someone --- specifically the father-daughter team of Larry and Meagan Johnson --- has figured out that on some American job sites, five generations are working side by side.
In their new book about generations in the workplace the pair argue that while such an age difference adds a lot of texture and a variety of life experiences, it can also bring tensions and conflicts.
The Johnsons are human-resource trainers and public speakers. Dad Larry is a former health-care executive; daughter Meagan is a onetime high-level sales manager.
Here are the oldest and youngest of the five generations they identify:
They call the oldest group Traditionals, born before 1945. They were heavily influenced by the lessons of the Great Depression and World War Two. They respect authority, set a high standard of workmanship, and communicate easily and confidently. But they’re also stubbornly independent. They want their opinions heard.
At the other extreme are what the Johnsons call Linksters, born after 1995 into today’s more complicated, multi-media world. They live and breathe technology and are often social activists.
You won’t find many 15-year olds in the offices of large companies, except as volunteers, of course, but quite old and quite young workers do come together in sales environments like bike shops and ice-cream stores.
The Johnsons, Larry and Meagan, represent a generation gap themselves in their work with jobsite issues. The Johnsons’ point is that as the average lifespan continues to rise and retirement dates get delayed because of the tight economy, people of different generations are working side by side, more often bringing with them very different ideas about company loyalty and work values.
The five generations are heavily influenced by quite different events, social trends, and the cultural phenomena of their times. Their experiences shape their behavior and make it difficult, sometimes, for managers to achieve a strong and efficient workplace.
Larry and Meagan Johnson discuss all this in greater detail in a new book, “Generations, Inc.: From Boomers to Linksters --- Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work,” published by Amacom Press, which is available in all good bookstore from this Friday.The type of generation gap in paragraph 1 refers to the difference in beliefs ________.
| A．between managers and workers |
| B．among family members |
| C．among employees |
| D．between older and newer companies |
Which of the following statements is NOT true about Traditionals?
| A．They’ve learned much from war and economic disaster. |
| B．They’re difficult to work with as they are stubborn. |
| C．They respect their boss and hope to be respected. |
| D．They’re independent workers with great confidence. |
According to the passage, the Linksters are usually ________.
| A．found working in the offices of large companies |
| B．influenced by media and technology |
| C．enthusiastic multi-media activists |
| D．ice-cream sellers |
According to the passage, modern workforces are more diverse because ________.
| A．people want to increase their average lifespan |
| B．many young people are entering the workforce |
| C．employees with different values can benefit their companies |
| D．retirement dates are being delayed for economic reasons |
What’s the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To promote a new book by Larry and Meagan Johnson. |
| B．To describe the five different workplace generations. |
| C．To introduce the Johnsons’ research about diverse workforces. |
| D．To identify a major problem in modern workforces. |
I was walking along the deserted main street of a small seaside town in the north of England looking somewhere to make a phone call. My car had broken down outside the town and I wanted to get in touch with the Automobile Association .Low gray clouds were drifting across the sky and there was a cold damp wind blowing off the sea. It had rained in the night and water was dripping from the bare trees that lined the street. I was glad that I was wearing a thick coat.
I could see no call box, nor was there anyone at that early hour I could ask. I had thought I might find a shop selling the Sunday papers or a milkman doing his job, but the town was completely dead.
Then suddenly I found what I was looking for. There was a small post office, and almost hidden from sight in a dark narrow street next to it was the town's only public call box, which badly needed a coat of paint, I hurried forward but stopped in astonishment when I saw through the dirty glass that there was a man inside. He was very fat, and was wearing a cheap blue plastic raincoat and rubber boots. I could not see his face - he was bending forward over the phone with his back pressed against the glass and didn't even raise his head at the sound of my coming nearer and nearer. Carefully and surprisedly, I remained standing a few feet away and lit a cigarette to wait my turn. It was when I threw the dead match on the ground that I noticed something bright red trickling from under the call box door.The author was walking through the small seaside town__________.
| A．late morning | B．before midnight | C．early morning | D．late evening |
The weather of the day was ____, when the story happened.
| A．stormy, damp and clear |
| B．windy, cold and cloudy |
| C．rainy, cold and clear |
| D．rainy, windy and cold |
Why was the author astonished when he saw that there was a man in the call box? Because___
| A．the man inside was still wearing a raincoat |
| B．he didn't expect it to be taken up |
| C．the man had his back with him |
| D．the man did not seem to be moving |
The author waited, standing a few feet away from the box because____.
| A．it was bad manners to overhear other's phone calls |
| B．the man didn't notice his coming |
| C．he wanted to have a cigarette to calm himself down |
| D．it was not safe to be close to the box |
What do you suppose happened to the man in the call box?
| A．He slept. |
| B．He was too fat to move around. |
| C．He was lost in his important phone call. |
| D．He had most probably been killed. |
Chinese female film stars, like Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, due to the charm of their films, have set a good image for Chinese women in the world. Compared with Chinese women, the image of Chinese men is not so good in the eyes of Western women, the Shanghai Evening Post reported.
In March 2006, Zhang Jiehai, a doctorate（博士学位） holder at the Sociology Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, led a research team to investigate how Western women look at Chinese men. The survey shows that many Western women think Chinese men are mostly known for their care for the family. Chinese men, as the Western women say, are willing to spend money for women. As to their shortcomings, Western women think that Chinese men do not have good manners and that some Chinese men have the habit of spitting everywhere, keeping nails and hair long, picking their noses and ears in public places, and not cleaning their teeth thoroughly. These bad habits make many Western women think that Chinese men are unwilling to take care of their personal image.
The survey was carried out in two ways, by questionnaires and interviews. All the respondents（调查对象） agreed that Chinese men show much tender loving care for the family and that many Chinese men do know how to respect women. They open the door for women and carry their handbags for them. For some American women, the bad image of Chinese men in the world is largely because of Hollywood films. In many Hollywood films, Chinese men usually do not have a good image. But this has been changed by Hong Kong film star Chow Yun-Fat. After the Chinese film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was shown in cinemas in the United States in 2002, many Westerners began to change their impression of Chinese men.Which statement best expresses the main idea of the first paragraph?
| A．Chinese female film stars enjoy as great fame as Chinese male film stars in the world. |
| B．Chinese male film stars do not perform well in their films in the eyes of Western women. |
| C．Chinese female film stars don’t like Western male film stars. |
| D．Chinese female film stars have set a good image for Chinese women. |
Which is NOT mentioned as the shortcoming of Chinese men in Paragraph 2?
| A．Spitting everywhere. |
| B．Speaking too loudly in public places. |
| C．Not cleaning their teeth thoroughly. |
| D．Picking their noses and ears in public places. |
In some American women’s eyes, Chinese men’s images are bad because of ______.
| A．Chinese female film stars |
| B．Chinese male film stars |
| C．Hollywood films |
| D．Film stars in Hong Kong |
What does the passage mainly deal with?
| A．Chinese men in the eyes of Western women. |
| B．Foreign film stars and Chinese film stars. |
| C．Chinese women in the eyes of Western men. |
| D．Chinese film stars in Hollywood films. |
Sea turtles come in many different sizes, shapes and colors. The shell of each sea turtle species is different in length, color, shape and the arrangement of the scales（鳞片）.
Sea turtles do not have teeth but use their jaws （下巴）to eat. Their sense of smell is excellent. Their eyesight underwater is good, but they have near-sighted eyes out of water. Their special bodies make them adapt to life at sea. However, sea turtles maintain（保持） close ties to land.
Female sea turtles have to go to the seaside to lay their eggs in the sand; therefore, all baby sea turtles begin their lives on land. Most research on sea turtles has been focused on female turtles nesting and the baby sea turtles in the nest, largely because they can be found most easily. After decades of studying sea turtles, much has been learned about. However, many mysteries（谜） still remain.
Researchers do not yet know how long baby turtles spend in the open sea, or exactly where they go. People believe they spend their earliest years floating in the sea, where they do little more than eat and grow. Once turtles reach dinner-plate size, they appear at feeding grounds in waters near the shore. They grow slowly and take between 15 and 50 years to grow old enough to bear baby sea turtles, depending on the species. There is no way to know the age of a sea turtle from its physical appearance. It is believed that some species can live for over 100 years.Which of the following statements is NOT true about sea turtles?
| A．They don’t use teeth to eat. |
| B．They have a good sense of smell. |
| C．Sea turtles are more adaptable to life at sea. |
| D．Different species have different shells. |
The underlined phrase “near-sighted eyes” in the second paragraph means_____.
| A．good eyesight | B．bad eyes |
| C．excellent eyes | D．poor eyesight |
Which of the following questions is answered in the text?
| A．Why do female turtles lay eggs on land? |
| B．Why can’t people tell how old a sea turtle is from its appearance? |
| C．Where do the baby turtles usually go? |
| D．Do sea turtles grow very fast? |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Mysteries About Sea Turtles |
| B．Baby and Female Sea Turtles |
| C．The Growth of Different Sea Turtles |
| D．The Characteristics（特点） of Sea Turtles |
It’s summer movie time again．And heroes are ready to try their strength and magic on the silver screen．Check out our list of four films that look most promising to young audience.
Harry potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Release Date: June 4
Story: It’s the summer before Harry Potter’s third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry．A shadow is hanging over Hogwarts．A dangerous murderer, Sirius Black, has escaped the Wizards’ Prison．And he broke out to fulfill one task to kill Harry Potter．
Around the World in 80 Days
Release Date: June 16
Story: This version of the classic novel set in 1872 focuses on Passepartout ( Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan), a Chinese thief who seeks refuge with a strange London adventurer, Phileas Fogg．Passepartout uses his martial arts skills to defend Fogg from danger as he travels around the world in 80 days to win a bet.
Spider- Man 2
Release Date: June 30
Story :Peter Parker is still coming to terms with his dual (双重的) identity as the crime superhero Spider-Man．He wants to reveal his secret identity to Mary Jane: meanwhile, his aunt May has fallen on hard times．A new villain(坏人) , Dr Otto Octavius, has appeared to cause more troubles.
King Arther
Release Date: July 7
Story: King Arthur is presented as a clever ruler who manages to unite all the knights(骑士) in Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire．Under the guidance of Merlin and the beautiful, brave Guinevere, Arthur will struggle to realize his dreamsAccording to the passage, if you want to see a film whose leading actor is Jackie Chan, you will see the film on _____.
| A．June 4 | B．June 16 | C．June 30 | D．July 7 |
In Spider Man 2, Aunt May’s trouble is caused by_____.
| A．Peter Parker | B．Mary Jane |
| C．Dr．Otto Octavius | D．Spider-Man |
Which of the following films is set in ancient Britain?
| A．Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. |
| B．Around the world in 80 Days. |
| C．Spider-Man 2 |
| D．King Arthur |
I was walking along the main street of a small seaside town in the north of England looking for somewhere to make a phone call．My car had broken down outside the town and I wanted to contact the AA Company．Low grey clouds were gathering across the sky and there was a cold damp wind blowing off the sea which nearly threw me off my feet every time I crossed one of the side streets．It had rained in the night and water was dropping from the bare trees that lined the street．I was glad that I was wearing a thick coat．
There was no sign of a call box, nor was there anyone at that early hour whom I could ask．I had thought I might find a shop open selling the Sunday papers or a milkman doing his rounds, but the town was completely dead．The only living thing I saw was a thin frightened cat outside a small restaurant．
Then suddenly I found what I was looking for．There was a small post office, and almost hidden from sight in a dark narrow street．Next to it was the town’s only public call box, which badly needed a coat of paint．I hurried forward, but stopped in astonishment when I saw through the dirty glass that there was a man inside．He was fat, and was wearing a cheap blue plastic raincoat．I could not see his face and he didn’t raise his head at the sound of my footsteps．
Carefully, I remained standing a few feet away and lit a cigarette to wait for my turn．It was when I threw the dead match on the ground that I noticed something bright red trickling from under the box call door．At what time was the story set?
| A．An early winter morning． | B．A cold winter afternoon． |
| C．An early summer morning． | D．A windy summer afternoon． |
Which of the following words best describe the writer’s impression of the town?
| A．Cold and frightening． | B．Dirty and crowded． |
| C．Empty and dead． | D．Unusual and unpleasant． |
The underlined word “trickling” in the last paragraph means _____．．
| A．rushing out suddenly | B．shining brightly |
| C．flowing slowly in drops | D．appearing slowly |
Why didn’t the man raise his head when the writer came near?
| A．He was annoyed at being seen by the writer． |
| B．He was angry at being disturbed by the writer． |
| C．He was probably fast asleep． |
| D．He was probably murdered． |