Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be a simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit?
If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who took hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs. The sixth, who was tall and got hold of theelephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.
Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.
To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a “simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water in the third. Now put your left hand in the ice water. Put your right hand in the hot water. After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it’s hot.What makes people think about simple facts differently?
A.The fact that simple facts differ from one another. |
B.The fact that people have different experience in the same simple fact. |
C.The fact that people often disagree with one another. |
D.The fact that it’s hard to make up one’s mind about simple facts. |
The writer’s advice is that ________.
A.we should never think about simple facts |
B.we should never judge something with a one-sided view |
C.we should not agree about simple facts |
D.we must learn from the six blind men |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
A.People often judge something according to their own experience. |
B.People often agree about simple facts. |
C.It’s hard for a person to make up his mind about a simple fact. |
D.Don’t care too much about simple facts. |
Meet the “Tutor Kings and Queens”
“If you want to be a top tutor, it definitely helps if you are young and attractive. Students look at your appearance,” said Kelly Mok, 26, a “tutor queen” at King's Glory, one of Hong Kong's largest tutorial establishments.
Richard Eng from Beacon College, a former secondary school teacher, is often credited with being the first of Hong Kong's “star tutors”. “In school all the teachers look the same, there's no excitement,” he said.
The celebrity tutor phenomenon is a result of the huge growth in outofschool tutoring in Asia. It is fuelled by highly pressured examination systems and ambitious parents wanting their children to secure places at top universities and highstatus secondary schools.
In societies where success is_equated_with good exam results, parental anxiety converts into a “steady stream of revenue(收入)” for tutoring establishments, according to a study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The tutoring industry, or “shadow education” as the ADB calls it, has become very widespread in Asia, fed by the growth in universities and the rising proportion of school leavers aiming for university. Hong Kong University's professor Mark Bray, one of the authors of the ADB study, said a staggering 72% of finalyear school students in Hong Kong now go to private tutors.
It's not just Hong Kong. Tutoring has “spread and intensified(强化) in Asia and become more commercialized,” said Professor Bray. In South Korea, 90% of primary school children attend such classes. In China, New Oriental Education and Technology has grown to become one of the largest tutoring schools in Asia with around 2.4 million students this year. In South Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, tutorial schools use star tutors to attract even more students.According to Kelly Mok, tutors ________.
A.have a lot in common with school teachers |
B.benefit much from their appearances |
C.become more and more popular in the world |
D.have much more pressure than in the past |
Who is probably a “tutor king” in Hong Kong?
A.Kelly Mok. | B.Richard Eng. |
C.Mark Bray. | D.Not mentioned. |
What Professor Bray says in this passage means that ________.
A.the number of school leavers is increasing |
B.tutoring may improve achievement for individual students |
C.star tutors have attracted 2.4 million students |
D.more and more students in Asia go to private tutors |
The underlined part in Paragraph 4 is similar in meaning to ________.
A.is equal to | B.leads to |
C.results in | D.is different from |
Where is this passage probably taken from?
A.An English newspaper. | B.A travel guide. |
C.A fashion magazine. | D.A physics book. |
Bali(巴厘岛) is home to most of Indonesia's Hindu minority. Here's how to get the most out of a 48hour visit:
FRIDAY
3pm—There's nothing like a good meal. La Lucciola is the place to go, with its good food, great service and a beautiful view of the sea.
You can hire a car for some 450,000 rupiah per day. This will help you have more to spare during your trip there.
5pm—About an hour away from La Lucciola is Uluwatu. This southern tip of the island is famous for its temple that lies on the edge, high above the sea. Fire dance is performed here daily at sunset.
8pm—To finish off the evening, head to Jimbaran Bay where restaurants offer candles, dances, boys singing songs. Kick off your shoes, feel the sand, and enjoy the night.
SATURDAY
9:30am—Start the day with another taste of culture by heading for a “barong and keris” dance performance. It's held in many places. One is the Catur Eka Budi in Denpasar, capital of Bali.
12pm—About 50km from Denpasar is Kintamani, a favorite with tourists for the view of active volcano Mt. Batur. It's a good idea to reach Kintamani early as it gets cloudy after 3pm. Have lunch at a local restaurant with a view of Mt. Batur. Tourists can climb to Mt. Batur to catch the sunrise.
6:30pm—Spa(温泉疗养)time! Spa Hati is a good place. Book ahead.
SUNDAY
6am—It's time to go to the sea. Don't forget the camera.
10:30am—Another halfday trip to two of the most famous temples in Bali. Drive down to the Taman Ayun temple at Mengwi.
12am—Next up is the Tanah Lot temple, perhaps the most famous of them all. Built on a rock, it's best seen in the afternoon when it's against the sun or at sunset.How can you save time during your trip in La Lucciola according to the text?
A.Having a pair of good shoes. |
B.Preparing early and well. |
C.Joining a tour group. |
D.Hiring a car. |
Where can you enjoy fire dance?
A.In La Lucciola. | B.In Uluwatu. |
C.At Mengwi. | D.In Denpasar. |
Which of the following is probably a better time to visit the famous temple built on a rock?
A.5 am. | B.4 pm. | C.11 am. | D.9 pm. |
Which of the following needs to be booked in advance?
A.Joining in a “ barong and keris” dance. |
B.Visiting the Tanah Lot temple. |
C.Having a spa in Spa Hati. |
D.Having lunch in Kintamani. |
We chat with our colleagues all the time when we have lunch, gossip in the tearoom, or leave work together. Sharing your personal life brings you closer to your coworkers and builds trust within your team. But revealing too much about yourself to colleagues, managers or human resources staff can cause difficulties and even endanger your work.
It's important to keep the right balance between getting along with colleagues and maintaining your privacy. “Communication in the office is tricky and complicated. You can neither spread chatter, nor be too silent and shut yourself off from others,” said Yang Yudan, deputy HR director at P&G.
According to her, there are several safe topics to talk about with colleagues during the break, such as the weather or movies. Women like to talk about makeup and clothing, while men are fond of sports and online games. But discussing your private life, such as relationship, habits or health conditions, is a potential minefield.
Liang Kun, 26, had to resign from his job at a trading company in Guangzhou last week after discussing his income with colleagues during a lunch break. “I didn't realize it was such a serious issue until a senior member of staff went to find the boss, asking why I got a higher salary than her,” said Liang. “Then our HR told me that according to the employee handbook it is forbidden to talk about salary in the office.” HR expert Yang also reminds us that paychecks are your own business. It is unwise to share this information with others, no matter how close you are.
To summarize, Yang advises office workers to be more aware of the image they project when talking to colleagues, “When you share your personal life, it will be recorded on your invisible resume and may slow down your career progressing.”The author quoted Yang Yudan in the text to ________.
A.show his admiration for her |
B.make an argument with her |
C.support his own viewpoint |
D.build up his fame |
What can be inferred from the fact that Liang Kun had to resign his job according to the text?
A.It was unwise for him to share information with others. |
B.He broke the rules made by the company. |
C.He was such an honest person that he told the truth. |
D.He treated his colleagues as family members. |
What is the author's purpose in writing the text?
A.To draw people's attention to their behaviors in public. |
B.To advise office workers to be aware of the image they project. |
C.To make you believe that communication in the office is complicated. |
D.To warn you to be careful of invisible trouble while talking about your privacy to colleagues. |
Which would be the best title for the text?
A.At Work, Keep It to Yourself |
B.Keep the Right Balance |
C.Share Your Personal Life with Others |
D.Safe Topics to Talk about |
On a sunny day last August, Tim heard some shouting. Looking out to the sea carefully, he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.
Two 12yearold boys, Christian and Jack, rowed out a boat to search for a football.Once they'd rowed beyond the calm waters, a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water.The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore.But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.
Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.
“Everything went quiet in my head,” Tim recalls(回忆).“I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”
Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water.Every 500 yards or so, he raised his head to judge his progress.“At one point, I considered turning back,” he says.“I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.” After 30 minutes of struggling, he was close enough to yell to the boys, “Take down the umbrella!”
Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella.Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat.He took over rowing, but the waves were almost too strong for him.
“Let's aim for the pier(码头),” Jack said.Tim turned the boat toward it.Soon afterward, waves crashed over the boat, and it began to sink.“Can you guys swim?” he cried.“A little bit,” the boys said.
Once they were in the water, Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier.Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs.Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys' faces.
“Are we almost there?” they asked again and again.“Yes,” Tim told them each time.
After 30 minutes, they reached the pier.Why did the two boys go to the sea?
A.To go boat rowing. |
B.To get back their football. |
C.To swim in the open water. |
D.To test the umbrella as a sail. |
What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.The beach. | B.The water. |
C.The boat. | D.The wind. |
Why did Tim raise his head regularly?
A.To take in enough fresh air. |
B.To consider turning back or not. |
C.To check his distance from the boys. |
D.To ask the boys to take down the umbrella. |
How did the two boys finally reach the pier?
A.They were dragged to the pier by Tim. |
B.They swam to the pier all by themselves. |
C.They were washed to the pier by the waves. |
D.They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back. |
“It is one of the few bright spots in the Chinese economy,” says Zeng Ming. He is talking about ecommerce. Mr. Zeng, the chief strategy officer for Alibaba, a giant Chinese Internet firm, predicts that digital transactions on his firm's platforms will top 1 trillion yuan($159 billion) this year—more than Amazon's and eBay's combined. That is a bold claim, but consider what happened on Singles Day.
Invented a few years ago by students and seized upon by digital marketers, this festival for lonely hearts falls annually on the 11th day of the 11th month(since 1 is the loneliest number). It is like St Valentine's Day, only worse. Singletons show each other with tender gifts: a barrage of pearls; a storm of sweets.
This November 11th they spent a surprising 19 billion yuan on Alibaba's online platforms—a fourfold increase on a year ago, and more than double what Americans spent online last Cyber Monday(the Monday after Thanksgiving, when retailers urge Americans to shop online). About 100 million purchases were logged, accounting for 80% of the packages shipped that day. Couriers(快递员) were buried in parcels.
So life is good for China's etailers. Then? Not exactly. The number of digital marketers is increasing and online sales are booming. Consumers are enjoying lower prices, better service and more variety. The problem? The pressure on profits in Chinese ecommerce is worse than in America, reckons Elinor Leung of CLSA, a broker. “Almost no one makes money,” she says.
The fiercest battles are being fought between online retailers and their bricksandmortar(实体的) rivals. Dangdang, a firm that resembles Amazon, and 360buy, another online retailer, have cut prices fiercely. Tencent, a cashrich online giant known for its instantmessaging software, is splashing out to win market share. 360buy has also just raised $400 millon from investors to do the same. But it is unclear how much longer such firms can burn through capital.What's the best title of this passage?
A.The Ambition of Alibaba |
B.Fierce Competition between Retailers |
C.A New Festival for the Singles |
D.Chinese Booming Ecommerce |
According to Zeng Ming, this year Alibaba will ________.
A.outweigh Amazon and eBay in worldwide influence |
B.rank top among all the Internet firms |
C.have more than 159 billion dollars' sale |
D.create another sales miracle just like the one on Singles Day |
How many packages were shipped on November 11th from Alibaba's online platforms?
A.About 80 million. | B.About 100 million. |
C.About 125 million. | D.About 180 million. |
What's the author's attitude towards online retailers in China?
A.Optimistic. | B.Concerned. |
C.Sympathetic. | D.Indifferent. |