It is pretty much a one-way street. While it may be common for university researchers to try their luck in the commercial (商业的) world, there is very little traffic in the opposite direction. Pay has always been the biggest deterrent, as people with families often feel they cannot afford the drop in salary when moving to a university job. For some industrial scientists, however, the attractions of academia (学术界) outweigh any financial (金钱的) considerations.
Helen Lee took a 70％cut in salary when she moved from a senior post in Abbott Laboratories to a medical department at the University of Cambridge. Her main reason for returning to academia mid-career was to take advantage of the greater freedom to choose research questions. Some areas of inquiry have few prospects (前景) of a commercial return, and Lee’s is one of them.
The influence of a salary cut is probably less serious for a scientist in the early stages of a career. Guy Grant, now a research associate at the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics at the University of Cambridge, spent two years working for a medicine company before returning to university as a post doctoral researcher. He took a 30% salary cut but felt it worthwhile for the greater intellectual chances.
Higher up the ladder, where a pay cut is usually more important, the demand for scientists with a wealth of experience in industry is forcing universities to make the change to academia more attractive, according to Lee. Industrial scientists tend to receive training that academics do not, such as how to build a multidisciplinary team, manage budgets and negotiate contracts. They are also well placed to bring something extra to the teaching side of an academic role that will help students get a job when they graduate, says Lee, perhaps experience in manufacturing practice or product development. “Only a small number of undergraduates will continue in an academic career. So someone leaving university who already has the skills needed to work in an industrial lab has far more potential (潜力) in the job market than someone who has spent all their time on a narrow research project.” By “a one-way street” in Paragraph 1, the author means ______.
| A．university researchers know little about the commercial world |
| B．few university professors are willing to do industrial research |
| C．few industrial scientists would leave to work in a university |
| D．there is little exchange between industry and academia |
The underlined word “deterrent” most probably refers to “something that ______”.
| A．helps to move the traffic | B．attracts people’s attention |
| C．brings someone a financial burden | D．keeps someone from taking action |
What was Helen Lee’s major consideration when she changed her job in the middle of her career?
| A．Less work hours. |
| B．More freedom to choose research fields. |
| C．Better prospects of a commercial return. |
| D．Her preference for the lifestyle on campus. |
What can industrial scientists do when they come to teach in a university?
| A．Make its research more practical. |
| B．Develop its students’ potential in research. |
| C．Help it to obtain financial support from industry. |
| D．Increase its graduates’ competitiveness in the job market. |
We spent a day in the country and picked a lot of flowers. Our car was full of flowers inside! On the way home we had to stop at traffic lights, and there my wife saw the bookshelf.（书柜）
It stood outside a furniture（家具）shop. “Buy it,” she said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof-rack（车顶架）. I’ve always wanted one like that.”
What could I do? Ten minutes later I was twenty dollars poorer, and the bookshelf was tied on to the roof rack. It was tall and narrow, quite heavy too.
As it was getting darker, I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed more polite than usual that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.
After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake（超车）?”
Just at that time a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously when they went past. But then, with a kind smile they asked us to follow their car through the busy traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me.
“Right, sir,” he said. “Do you need any more help now?”
I didn’t quite understand. “Thanks, officer,” I said. “You’ve been very kind. I live just down the road.”
He was looking at our things: first at the flowers, then at the bookshelf. “Well, well,” he said and laughed. “It’s a bookshelf you’ve got there! We thought it was——er, something else.”
My wife began to laugh. Suddenly I understood why the police drove here. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a bookshelf, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.From the story we know that.
| A．the writer was poor and didn’t buy the bookshelf for his wife |
| B．the writer’s wife didn’t like the bookshelf at all |
| C．the writer was not very glad to buy the bookshelf for his wife |
| D．the writer was always glad to buy something for his wife |
What made the writer think that carrying furniture was “a good idea”?
| A．Other drivers would let him go first. |
| B．He could drive slowly and it was safe. |
| C．His wife could use a new bookshelf. |
| D．He could save a lot of money and time. |
Why were the police and other drivers so kind to the writer?
| A．Because they thought the writer liked studying very much and needed a bookshelf. |
| B．Because they didn’t think it was polite to overtake a car with a bookshelf on it. |
| C．Because they thought it was dangerous to carry a bookshelf on a car. |
| D．Because they thought somebody in the writer’s family had died and he needed help. |
Why did the writer’s wife begin to laugh?
| A．Because the police had helped them a lot. |
| B．Because at last the police had driven to the church. |
| C．Because the officer was always looking at the flowers and the bookshelf. |
| D．Because now she knew what mistake the police had made. |
When did the officers begin to realize they had made a mistake?
| A．After they arrived at the church. |
| B．Before they overtook the writer’s car. |
| C．Before they arrived at the church. |
| D．After the writer’s family left the church. |
At the time, I would go out in the evening with my parents. But this time I had borrowed a bicycle from a friend of mine. I didn’t know why, but once I was on my own bicycle, a kind of free feeling flooded through me. The faster I rode, the faster I wanted to go! Far ahead, I rode as if my life depended on it, head down, hands grasping the handbars（车把手）. I meant to get to Jinghai Bar as fast as I could...
Oh! My hands! Don’t come any closer... Don’t touch me! That poor doctor just couldn’t get my gloves off. Each time he took a step towards me, I broke into painful shouting. Much later, I discovered that I had crashed(碰撞) heavily with another bicycle, and I hadn’t spoken one word of sense for at least three hours! After some time, my mother arrived at the hospital, her face as white as a sheet（纸张）, and gave me a hug(拥抱), only then did the doctor begin to stitch(缝合) my head wound, not only did he merrily（愉快地） cut off a long lock of my hair, but used no anaesthetic(麻药) either! Later. I seemed to hear faraway voices saying that my right hand was broken. I almost burst into tears. How would I ever play the piano again?On her way to Jinghai, the writer felt _______.
| A．nervous | B．comfortable |
| C．light-hearted | D．Upset |
Why did the writer ride a bicycle to Jinghai Bar that evening?
| A．Because she wanted to attend a party on time. |
| B．Because she wanted to meet her friend who was waiting for her there. |
| C．Because she just wanted, to join some of her friends and drink some wine. |
| D．We are not quite sure about what she was really going there for. |
What did the writer think of the doctor?
| A．Friendly. | B．Cruel. |
| C．Hardworking. | D．Kind. |
One thing is sure, that is, before she was wounded she _______.
| A．often went to Jinghai Bar with her friends |
| B．liked playing the piano |
| C．didn’t like any doctors at all |
| D．would burst into tears when she was in trouble |
Mr. Briggs got a job with an insurance company(保险公司) after he left school and went around visiting people in their homes to sell them life insurance. One day, after he had been working for the company for about a year, the insurance manager sent for him and said, “Mr. Briggs, I have been looking at your record as a salesman with our company, and there is one thing that surprises me about it. Why have you been selling insurance only to people over 95 years old, and why have you been giving them such generous（宽厚的）conditions? You’ll ruin our company if you go on like that.”
“Oh, no, sir,” answered Mr. Briggs at once, “Before I started work, I looked at the figures(数字) for deaths in this country during the past ten years, and I can tell you that few people die at the age of 95.”Before he worked in an insurance company, what was Mr. Briggs?
| A．He was a student. | B．He was an official. |
| C．He was a worker. | D．He was a businessman. |
As a salesman with the company, Mr. Brigs .
| A．visited people to ask them to work with him |
| B．called on people to make them join the company |
| C．saw old people in order to help them |
| D．visited many people so as to offer insurance |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Mr. Briggs had studied the figures for deaths for several years. |
| B．Mr. Briggs began to look at the figures after he started work. |
| C．The number of the very old people who died every year is small. |
| D．A great number of very old people die every year. |
We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your half prepared meal. You hang up（挂断电话） hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can go wrong on a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly go into a panic (恐慌) and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a truck-driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck on to the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up（排成长龙） behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meanwhile, the truck-driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident, for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!According to the author’s opinion, ____.
| A．troubles always come in groups |
| B．accidents may happen anytime |
| C．a small matter may cause great trouble |
| D．anyone may have trouble any day |
When the telephone rings,____.
| A．you should never go to answer it in a hurry |
| B．your trouble is sure to come |
| C．you’d better just let it ring all the way |
| D．you’d better have your baby a little distant from your table before answering it |
What did the police do after the accident?
| A．They helped the driver clean up the road. |
| B．They tried to stop the people from arguing. |
| C．They helped the drivers to go on with their journey. |
| D．They would find out who should be responsible |
It has long been thought that first-born children are more successful than their younger brothers and sisters and often have qualities of being more organised and responsible as well as being eager to be in charge.
But a new study has shown that the elder child's achievements can help improve their younger siblings(兄弟姐妹) exam results by helping them to raise their game. For the first time ever, researchers from the University of Essex examined how the success of first born children in school affected their younger brothers and sisters by studying primary school test results.
And the data showed that having an older brother or sister improved a child’s learning with the equal effect of spending an extra £670 on the younger sibling's schooling. One of the study’s authors Birgitta Rabe explained, the older sibling’s achievement may have a direct effect on the younger sibling’s school grades if the older sibling teaches the younger sibling or helps with homework; the younger sibling imitates(模仿) the older sibling, for example in their work style, or tries to be different, for example to avoid competition; the older sibling passes on important information about educational choices or school and teachers to the younger sibling.
The effect is even more noticeable in less well-off families showing poorer children benefit more from a successful older sibling. “We find that the effect is larger for siblings in families relying on free school meals, living in poverty and speaking a language other than English at home. This means that children who live in poverty benefit more from a successful older sibling than children who live in well-off families.”The study is mainly based on the children’s ________.
| A．exam results | B．work style |
| C．family background | D．educational choices |
According to the study, ________ tend to benefit more from a successful older sibling.
| A．the children who live in rich families |
| B．the children who live in poor families |
| C．the children whose parents are successful |
| D．the children whose mother language is English |
What can we conclude from the study?
| A．Younger siblings are more successful than first borns. |
| B．First-born children are as successful as their younger siblings. |
| C．First-born children are more successful than their younger siblings. |
| D．The success of first borns has positive effects on their younger siblings. |
The passage is likely to appear in ________.
| A．a newspaper advertisement |
| B．a high school textbook |
| C．a science magazine |
| D．a news report |