Spring is coming, and it is time for those about to graduate to look for jobs. Competition is tough, so job seekers must carefully consider their personal choices. Whatever we are wearing, our family and friends may accept us, but the workplace may not.
A high school newspaper editor said it is unfair for companies to discourage visible tattoos nose rings, or certain dress styles. It is true you can’t judge a book by its cover, yet people do “cover” themselves in order to convey certain messages. What we wear, including tattoos and nose rings, is an expression of who we are. Just as people convey messages about themselves with their appearances, so do companies. Dress standards exist in the business world for a number of reasons, but the main concern is often about what customers accept.
Others may say how to dress is a matter of personal freedom, but for businesses it is more about whether to make or lose money. Most employers do care about the personal appearances of their employees, because those people represent the companies to their customers.
As a hiring manager I am paid to choose the people who would make the best impression on our customers. There are plenty of well-qualified candidates, so it is not wrong to reject someone who might disappoint my customers. Even though I am open-minded, I can’t expect all our customers are.
There is nobody to blame but yourself if your set of choices does not match that of your preferred employer. No company should have to change to satisfy a candidate simply because he or she is unwilling to respect its standards, as long as its standards are legal.What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Hiring managers make the best impression on their candidate. |
| B．Candidates have to wear what companies prefer for an interview. |
| C．What to wear is a matter of customers’ acceptance to a great extent. |
| D．Companies sometimes have to change to respect their candidates. |
Which of the following is the newspaper editor’s opinion according to Paragraph2?
| A．Customers’ choices influence dress standards in companies. |
| B．Candidates with tattoos or nose rings should be fairly treated. |
| C．Strange dress styles should not be encouraged in the workplace. |
| D．People’s appearances carry messages about themselves. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Appearances Do Matter |
| B．Hiring Managers Matter |
| C．Personal Choices Matter |
| D．Employees Matter |
I've always felt a bit sad for weekend fathers, who are divorced and must maintain a bond with their children through visits on the weekend．Not having the opportunity for a lot of quality time, they go in for quantity giving lots of gifts and taking the children on non stop outings．
But now I can understand．I'm a weekend mom．My child, Henry, is a dog．
Henry just returned to his father, Jack, after a happy stay with me．For ten days, I fed him the best food, canceled plans to stay home with him and let him sleep on the bed every night．
Jack and I broke up a year ago．But neither of us wanted to part with Henry, so we share him．Not surprisingly, Henry is a willing participant in our contest for his love．
Jack doesn't let Henry sleep on his bed, so that's where I can always gain big points．I feed Henry higher quality food．I am always replacing his expensive “thingy" ,a cotton knot he likes chewing on．It' s his favorite toy, and the only one he has is at my house．Score another one for me．
Jack now has a girlfriend, Lucy．At first she was afraid of dogs, which secretly delighted me．But that Henry, just trying to be polite（the way I taught him to be）,won her over．
If truth be told, as time passes, there has been a slight change in Henry' s behavior toward me．The worst was one day when Jack dropped him off for a two week stay．Henry and I were in the backyard playing as Jack was driving off．When he heard Jack's truck, he ran after it for two blocks until Jack had to stop and bring him back．
That hurt, especially since I had friends over at the time．In a rare conciliatory （安抚的） mood, Jack said to me, "You know, I' m his best friend, but you'll always be his mom．"
Whatever it takes, I plan to make sure it stays that way．At the writer's home, Henry________．
| A．does a lot of running |
| B．enjoys high quality food |
| C．has many expensive toys |
| D．is not allowed to sleep on her bed |
The writer feels hurt because________．
| A．Jack has got a girlfriend |
| B．Lucy doesn't like Henry at all |
| C．Jack doesn't treat Henry as well as before |
| D．Henry' s attitude to her has changed slightly |
This article is mainly about________．
| A．the tips on keeping dogs |
| B．the writer' s happy life with a dog |
| C．the writer' s efforts to win a dog's love |
| D．the relationship between the writer and Jack |
The writer wrote the passage in a/an_________way．
| A．humorous | B．serous | C．angry | D．painful |
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Sunshine Sports Centre
One of the most modem sports centers in town, the Sunshine Sports Centre is not just a sports club but much more!
Facilities
With a swimming pool for adults and teens, and a smaller one for children, our centre has something for all the members of the family．Parents can relax while children play in the water．For anybody who is interested in competitive sports, our volleyball, tennis and basketball courts are the ideal place to work off stress．
Whether you just want to keep in shape, lose some weight or build your strength, there's the gym with its super modem equipment and three personal trainers to look after you and answer all your questions．They can also give you general advice about healthy eating and dieting．
Lessons
It doesn't matter if you' re five or eighty five, there's something for you at the Sunshine Sports Centre! We offer personal training in all sports if you want it, but there are also group lessons for all sports if you prefer teamwork．
Kids and teenagers
Take advantage of our special offer for younger members．For members between five and sixteen years old, there are special lessons in water polo, competitive swimming and diving．There are many classes for all levels of swimmers, with a lifeguard on duty from 9:00 am when the pool opens until it closes at 7:00 pm．
Social events
Sunshine Sports Centre is not only for sport! You can enjoy a delicious meal at our restaurant or have a milkshake with your friends on the balcony overlooking the swimming pool and the courts．In addition, there are lovely gardens where families or friends can have a picnic! To celebrate a birthday, there is no better place than the Sunshine Sports Centre．
So, come on Sign up for Sunshine Sports Centre today!In Sunshine Sports Centre __________
| A．people can have birthday parties |
| B．lifeguards are on duty 24 hours a day |
| C．children are not allowed to swim alone |
| D．special lessons in diving are offered to adults |
People can ask personal trainers for advice when they _________
| A．learn to swim |
| B．sign up |
| C．build strength |
| D．play basketball |
The main purpose of the passage is to _________
| A．explain the rules of the sports centre |
| B．attract people to the sports centre |
| C．persuade people to play sports |
| D．show the benefits of sports |
School Counseling（咨询）
In our grandparents' time, it was unthinkable．In our parents' time, it was unusual and nobody spoke openly about counseling．These days, more and more schools are asking for this service and it is considered a necessity for most．Why is it? What has changed in the last fifty years to have made counseling at schools so important?
“One reason is that we expect schools to do more to protect their pupils than we did in the past," says school counselor, Mike Hudson．“ Also, our society doesn't work as well as it should．Many parents are either under pressure of work or face the economic problems of unemployment, while children are under more and more pressure to do well at school．Many pupils feel they are pushed to their limits by their parents and teachers．"
Most school children face some kind of relationship problem at some stage with family members, teachers or other pupils, so．it helps to have somebody to talk to．
From the pupil' s point of view, it is easier to talk to a counselor in confidence rather than a family member or teacher．This solution is less embarrassing to pupils, who are not forced to face the person that they had problems with in the first place．They can calmly talk things through without arguments．
School counselors advise not only students but also their teachers and parents, and offer other services as well, such as deciding learning disabilities or assisting parents and guardians to make the correct decisions about their children' s education．
Counselors can help students with problems ranging from the most serious, like a death in the family, to what an adult would consider really trivial, like an argument with a friend．
In a society that is becoming more and more stressful, this service is providing children with a supportive way to express their fear and worries．Why is school counseling becoming important?
| A．Pupils are not well protected in school． |
| B．Parents can't help their children in learning． |
| C．Parents and pupils are under too much pressure． |
| D．The relationship between parents and schools is worse． |
According to the passage, school counselors________．
| A．bear high pressure themselves |
| B．are the guarantee of school success |
| C．have more responsibilities than teachers |
| D．are more likely to be accepted when pupils have problems |
The underlined word "trivial" in Para．5 probably means________．
| A．unimportant | B．puzzling | C．difficult | D．urgent |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The development of school counseling． |
| B．The reasons for school counseling’s popularity． |
| C．The advantages and disadvantages of school counseling． |
| D．The comparison of the past and present school counseling． |
This is a story told or read to children of young ages．The heroine（女主人公）, Cinderella, treated cruelly by her stepmother and her two ugly stepsisters, is helpless until the right magic comes along．She meets her prince and they live together happily．
Just a sweet, pretty tale? Not in the view of Ellen Macintosh, who has written much about fairy tales．Ellen' s main concern is with what the story implies．
"Instead of standing up to her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, Cinderella just waits for a fairy godmother to appear and solve her problem．But wouldn't you want a daughter of yours to show more spirit?"
The story is long lasting, whatever its shortcomings, and it does' t take much to see its influence on a number of recent Hollywood productions．In these versions for the silver screen, the Cinderella character no longer has to clean the house and has no sisters to make her life terrible, though she keeps the way of not showing much courage．The character of the rich and handsome stranger, however, is kept, and in some cases really is a prince．The role of the fairy godmother is often played by luck; we live in a civilized age when even very young children might reject the idea of fairies．In the majority of film versions, the heroine has a profession and is even permitted to continue working after marrying her prince this is the twenty first century, after all．
Doesn't the success of these films indicate that the story has relevance to children even today?” Yes,, admits Ellen, who sees its message as being rooted in a fundamental childhood desire for love and attention．" Most children experience a sense of inner loneliness as they are growing up and empathize with （与…共鸣）the character who faces some sort of challenge．This can be seen in the original story of Cinderella, where the fairy godmother tells the heroine that she must learn to be gracious and confident if she is to go to the ball．She has to grow spiritually, and by maturing, she becomes attractive to the prince, thus ensuring that the ending of the story will be happy．" "In the later versions, thus element（因素）is missing," says Ellen, " and the theme of the story is simply that a girl' s role in life is to be more beautiful than other girls so that she can carry off the prize: the handsome prince．Is this really what we want girls to grow up believing?"Why does Ellen disapprove of the Cinderella story?
| A．The plot is too simple． |
| B．The description is not vivid． |
| C．The heroine is not brave enough． |
| D．The story is unfit for the children today． |
In the film versions of the Cinderella story,_________．
| A．luck plays an important role in the heroine' s happy life |
| B．Cinderella’s family background remains unchanged |
| C．the heroine becomes a successful career woman |
| D．the character of the prerace is removed． |
According to Even, the film versions of the story _________
| A．succeed because of the happy ending |
| B．ignore the children's psychological need' |
| C．deliver a mistaken message that beauty is everything |
| D．reflect modem people' s attitude towards challenges in life |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To analyze the characters of the Cinderella story． |
| B．To introduce different versions of the Cinderella story． |
| C．To explain the changes of the Cinderella story over time． |
| D．To present a different understanding of the Cinderella story． |
You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.
It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. At times, the dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last.
Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Time magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine(重新定义) the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.
Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And entrepreneurship(创业) is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.
So what has led to this huge change?
Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity and social stagnation(停滞),”noted The Daily Beast.
“The rate of 16-to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don’t require a degree,” Time reported.
The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation’s ladder”.
Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations.”This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennias are feeling they can only attain a day-today lifestyle that suits them.”The underlined word “cornerstone” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to “ ”.
| A．growth | B．balance | C．basis | D．purpose |
What has changed Millennials’ view of the American Dream according to the passage?
| A．A lack of confidence in themselves |
| B．Fierce competition in the job market |
| C．Their dissatisfaction with the government |
| D．The discouraging economy and unemployment |
Dan Kadlec thinks Millennials’ new definition of the American Dream is ______.
| A．beautiful | B．understandable |
| C．worrying | D．positive |
What can be the best title for this passage?
| A．Redefinition of American Dream |
| B．Meaning of American Dream |
| C．Value of Achieving American Dream |
| D．History of Changing American Dream |