When you’re an employee of a company, no matter the size, it’s common to see co-workers promoted, or transferred to a different department. But there is another way to move around—by creating a new position for yourself. I did this several years ago, though I wasn’t actively looking for a different job.
In 2007, I was hired at the Transamerica Life Insurance Company, as a customer service representative in the distributions services department. I processed requests for distributions from our annuity(养老金)policy holders around the country. Someone might have forgotten to sign a form, for example, or might have omitted security information. To solve the problem, I’d mail the person a letter.
The company had been through several combinations, so in our department alone we had a collection of about 140 templates(模板) for letters related to distributions. The longer I worked with the letters, the more I saw how they could be improved. Some had overlapping information and could be combined. Some had incorrect grammar or needed updating. I also noticed that industry terminology(专业术语) wasn’t standard across all the versions.
When I told my department supervisor about this in 2008, she agreed that the letters needed revamping. She said I should stop what I’d been doing and start the new work. In a relatively short time, I was able to make numerous improvements and reduce the number of letters to 70. It was an informal job change until a managers’ meeting several months later.
At that meeting, a vice president who was unaware of my new work mentioned that the division’s entire stock of 1,700 letters should be reviewed. My manager told her that she knew the perfect person for the job—me. The position was still considered temporary when I took on the extra tasks, but I was able to show that the work had value, and I was officially promoted and given a raise in November 2009.According to Paragraph 1, which of the following statements is true?
A.The author admired those who got a promotion in his company. |
B.It is no surprise to see people around us change their positions. |
C.The author tried his best to get a promotion in his company |
D.The author was eager to seek another job. |
Which of the following problems with the letters is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A.Some information was overlooked. |
B.Some information needed to be united. |
C.Some had grammatical mistakes. |
D.Industry terminology didn’t meet the standard. |
The underlined word “revamping” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to .
A.repeating | B.rebuilding | C.improving | D.strengthening |
The author started to review the letters when .
A.he was hired by the company |
B.he was promoted |
C.he was recommended at a managers’ meeting |
D.his department supervisor agreed his idea |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A.Where there is will, there is a way. |
B.Creating a position, and earning a promotion. |
C.Don’t let the chance go, when it comes. |
D.Ways to get a promotion. |
The US space agency NASA is looking for people to go to Mars, and stay there. This attractive career is for people who want a huge change of scenery and planet. The project is called the Hundred Years Starship, which aims to colonize (开拓殖民地) other lands such as the red planet Mars.
Settlers would travel to the red planet and live there forever. NASA says it would be too expensive to bring humans back to Earth. The space agency can afford, however, to send supplies to the astronaut pioneers from Earth. Astronauts would be landed on the planet's surface and would never be able to return home due to the cost.
NASA has started the project with $1.6 million, and hopes to attract investment from space-living billionaires. Google co-founder Larry Page told NASA he would be interested if the cost of a one-way ticket can go down from $10 billion to $2 billion.
The journey to Mars could take 4 months. Setting on the red planet would be extremely dangerous, especially given the freezing temperatures there. The thin atmosphere would be another problem as it is mostly carbon dioxide, so oxygen supplies are a must. A director in NASA said that he believed the trip might start with visiting Mars's moons first. He claimed that humans could be on Mars's moons by 2030.
Many scientists think colonizing space is absolutely necessary. Steven Hawking believes we must move to other planets to survive as a species. He said: “Once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe.” Scientists Dirk' Schulze-Makuch and Paul Davies also call it a “desirable goal”, though there surely are huge risks to explore new lands.Which of the following is TRUE about the Hundred Years Starship?
A.It has cost NASA around $10 billion. |
B.It is expected to be conducted on Mars in 2030. |
C.It aims to explore new lands in the universe. |
D.It is a project first raise by Steven Hawking. |
We can infer from the passage that Google co-founder Larry Page _______.
A.used to be an astronaut | B.is no longer rich now |
C.is a fan of space travel | D.is a generous man |
What would be the best title for the passage?
A.One-way trip to Mars |
B.Mars's another moon is found. |
C.Human landing on Mars. |
D.NASA's first cooperation with Google. |
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States, becoming a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held, with Super Bowl I being the 1966 season championship game, when the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Super Bowl XLVI (46) was played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, on February 5, 2012, to determine the champion of the 2011 season; the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots.
The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues’ champion teams would play in an AFL--NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was appointed as a “conference”, and the game was then played between the conference champions. Currently, the National Football Conference (NFC) leads the series with 25 wins to 21 wins for the American Football Conference (AFC).
The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered to be an existing American national holiday, is called “Super Bowl Sunday”, though it is not determined by the government. It is the second—largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most watched American television broadcast of the year.
Because of its high viewership, commercial airtime during the Super Bowl broadcast is the most expensive of the year. Due to the high cost of investing in advertising on the Super Bowl, companies regularly develop their most expensive advertisements for this broadcast. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcast’s commercials has become a significant aspect of the event. In addition, many popular singers and musicians have performed during the event’s pre-game and halftime ceremonies because of the exposure’s attracting more fans.What does the Super Bowl use to show each game?
A.The year when the game is held. |
B.English letters. |
C.Roman numerals |
D.Arabic numerals |
What does the underlined word “merger” in the second paragraph refer to?
A.Union. | B.Appearance. |
C.Division. | D.Competition. |
According to the third paragraph, we can know that_______.
A.the Super Bowl Sunday is an official national holiday |
B.the Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest day for U.S. food consumption |
C.the Super Bowl has owned the biggest TV audience among all games |
D.Thanksgiving Day is the second--largest day for U.S. food consumption |
We can infer from the last paragraph that________.
A.singers and musicians perform during the event’s ceremonies to get more attention |
B.people seldom discuss the broadcast’s commercials |
C.commercial companies make much money by broadcasting advertisements |
D.commercial companies are not interested in the Super Bowl |
The national schools’ first aid competition is an interesting way for young people to practice their first aid skills in a safe environment.
A school may have three teams. The deadline for this competition has now been continued to April 21, 2012. All teams will compete at an elimination (淘汰) round, with the winners going forward to the National Final for the chance to become the winner.
A team has three formal members, and a reserve is also needed. All team members, together with the reserve, will take part. There are two age sections:
Junior: 7 to11
Senior: 12 to 16
This competition is based on the Young First Aid Course from St. John Ambulance Training Officer. Support will be given to make sure everyone has equal chances to win.
The winners of this competition will be invited to take part in the Young Grand Prior Competition. This competition improves the practical first aid skills of young people and tests their knowledge and skills with a series of realistic accidents and injuries. Youth teams are aged between 12 and 16 years old and should have three members. Young adults are aged between 17 and 21 and should have two members. All teams may bring a reserve. The Young Grand Prior Competition will be held at the Spa Complex, Scarborough, on November 28, 2012.
Those who want to take part in the national schools’ first aid competition will have to complete our application form. If you are fifteen and want to take part in the competition, you will _________.
A.belong to the junior sections of the first aid competition |
B.complete our application form by the end of April, 2012 |
C.study the course of St. John Ambulance Training Officer |
D.teach yourself a lot of knowledge and skills of first aid |
How many students will stand for a school?
A.Sixteen | B.Twelve | C.Four | D.Three |
Form the passage we can learn that the Young Grand Prior Competition will __________.
A.have a test with realistic accidents and injuries |
B.not allow the adult competitors to take part in |
C.be the highest level competition in the country |
D.be held on April 21, 2012 |
The passage is written mainly for __________.
A.those who want to practice their first aid skills |
B.the young school students in the country |
C.the middle school teachers in the country |
D.the young people throughout the country |
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。(共5题,每小题2分,满分10分)
Active listening is an essential skill in learning. It is when you listen carefully to make sure you understand and learn the information that is being conveyed.1Here are some things which can help you to listen actively.
Listen for the main point and major subpoints(次要点). Don’t just write everything down. Listen carefully and make sure you understand what the purpose of this lecture is. As you take down notes, keep the main point in mind and make sure you understand how these notes are related.
Listen for an organizational structure. Listen carefully to figure out how the ideas are organized and they will make more sense.
Pay attention to organizational cues(暗示). 2Pay close attention to the introduction, as it will probably indicate how you should organize your notes. If the lecture begins with, “ Today, I’m going to talk about three conflicts in the Middle East,” then you have a good idea of what’ s going to follow. Listen for “signpost” words to indicate a transition for one point to the next, such as “next” and “finally” and numerical signposts like “first” or “third”.
Listen with your eyes. 3Watch the teacher and be aware of how he or she uses hand gestures, eye contact and other body language to convey points.
___4____ Put away the campus newspaper, your cell phone and anything else that might be more interesting than the lecture. Learning to concentrate and listen actively is an endurance(持久) skill. 5
A. Speakers communicate information through nonverbal(不使用语言的) communication. |
B. Unfortunately, many students don’t know how to listen actively when they attend classes. |
C. If your teacher indicates that something is important ,mark it. |
D. Make yourself do it, and it will get easier over time. |
E. Listen carefully for words and phrases that reflect the organizational structure of the lecture.
F. Your teachers’ notes are probably organized into some kind of outline.
G. Remove distractions.
They only got engaged(订婚)on Saturday, but it seems that Rochelle Wiseman and Marvin Humes are planning on marrying in March. The pop stars are eager to tie the knot in just ten weeks in order for their big day to coincide with(重合)their birthdays. are both keen to turn the events into one big celebration. According to the Daily Star, the couple think it is the perfect excuse to have one huge party.
“After getting engaged this Christmas, Rochelle and Marvin didn’t waste any time in thinking about dates,” a source told the newspaper. The couple apparently came to a mutual agreement that they would like to be married by the summer, and then the subject of their birthdays came up.“Rochelle has been telling her pals how excited she is and that she loves the birthday idea,” the source continued, “she thinks combining the events will make it the most amazing three—way celebration ever.”
JLS star Marvin proposed(求婚)to Rochelle during a festive break in Antigua,and The Saturdays singer was keen to announce the news as soon as possible.“It’s official Marvin proposed 2 me 2day, wanted 2 tell u b4 some1 else did! So excited 2 b Mrs Humes.” she tweeted(微博留言)on December 31. She also posted a photo of her and her husband-to-be in which she flashes her £45,000 heart-shaped diamond engagement ring. Rochelle Wiseman and Marvin Humes want to get married in March_________.
A.to celebrate both their wedding and birthdays |
B.to make their wedding different from others |
C.to satisfy the curiosity of their fans |
D.to please their parents and relatives |
What can be inferred from the passage?
A.The wedding was arranged in January. |
B.Both Rochelle Wiseman and Marvin Humes are pop stars. |
C.Rochelle Wiseman is the husband-to-be. |
D.They decided to get married shortly after they got engaged. |
The numbers “2,4,1” and letters “u,b” in the underlined sentence probably mean______.
A.two, four, one;you, be |
B.to, four, first;use, bee |
C.to, fore, one;you, be |
D.two, for, one;you, bee |