If you know exactly what you want, the best route to a job is to get specialized training.A recent survey shows that companies like graduates in such fields as business and health care who can go to work immediately with very little on-the-job training.
That’s especially true of booming fields that are challenging for workers.At Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, for example, bachelor’s degree graduates get an average of four or five job offers with salaries ranging from the high teens to the low 20s and plenty of chances for rapid advancement.Large companies, especially, like a background of formal education coupled with work experience.
But in the long run, too much specialization doesn’t pay off.Business, which has been flooded with MBAs, no longer considers the degree an automatic stamp of approval.The MBA may open doors and command a higher salary initially, but the impact of a degree washes out after five years.
As further evidence of the erosion(销蚀)of corporate(公司的)faith in specialized degrees, Michigan State’s Scheetz cites a pattern in corporate hiring practices.Although companies tend to take on specialists as new hires, they often seek out generalists for middle and upper-level management.“They want someone who isn’t constrained(限制)by nuts and bolts to look at the big picture, ” says Scheetz.
Time and again labor-market analysts mention a need for talents that liberal-arts majors are assumed to have:writing and communication skills, organizational skills, open-mindedness and adaptability, and the ability to analyze and solve problems.David Birch claims he does not hire anybody with an MBA or an engineering degree, “I hire only liberal-arts people because they have a less-than-canned way of doing things, ” says Birch.Liberal-arts means an academically thorough and strict program that includes literature, history, mathematics, economics, science, human behavior-plus a computer course or two.With that under your belt, you can feel free to specialize.“A liberal-arts degree coupled with an MBA or some other technical training is a very good combination in the marketplace, ” says Scheetz.What kinds of people are in high demand on the job market?
| A.Students with a bachelor’s degree in humanities. |
| B.People with an MBA degree from top universities. |
| C.People with formal schooling plus work experience |
| D.People with special training in engineering. |
By saying “…but the impact of a degree washes out after five years”(Line 5, Para.3), the author means ________.
| A.most MBA programs fail to provide students with a solid foundation |
| B.an MBA degree does not help promotion to managerial positions |
| C.MBA programs will not be as popular in five years’ time as they are now |
| D.in five people will forget about the degree the MBA graduates have got |
David Birch claims that he only hires liberal-arts people because ________.
| A.they are more capable of handling changing situations |
| B.they can stick to established ways of solving problems |
| C.they are thoroughly trained in a variety of specialized fields |
| D.they have attended special programs in management |
Which of the following statements does the author support?
| A.Specialists are more expensive to hire than generalists. |
| B.Formal schooling is less important than job training. |
| C.On-the-job training is, in the long run, less costly. |
| D.Generalists will outdo specialists in management. |
What is your favorite color? Do you like yellow, orange, red? If you do, you must be an optimist, a leader, an active person who enjoys life, people and excitement. Do you prefer grays and blues? Then you are probably quiet, shy and you would rather follow than lead. If you love green, you are strong-minded and determined. You wish to succeed and want other people to see you are successful. At least this is what psychologists tell us, and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of color preference, and the effect that colors have on human beings. They tell us that we don't choose our favorite color as we grow up. If you happen to love brown, you did so as soon as you opened your eyes, or at least as soon as you could see clearly.
A yellow room makes us feel more cheerful and more comfortable than a dark green one, and a red dress rings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. On the other hand, black is depressing. Light and bright colors make people not only happier but more active. It is a fact that factory workers work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or dark gray.
Remember, then, that if you feel low, you can always brighten your day or your life with a new shirt or a few colorful things. Remember also that you will know your friends and your enemies better when you find out what colors they like and dislike. And don't forget that anyone can guess a lot about your character when you choose a piece of handkerchief.According to this passage, _________.
| A.one can choose his color preference |
| B.one is born with his color preference |
| C.one's color preference is changeable |
| D.one has to choose his favorite color as soon as he can see clearly |
We would pay attention to colors because _______.
| A.colors do have effect on our moods |
| B.colors may have effect on our work and study |
| C.light and bright colors make people happy |
| D.you can know your friends better by the colors they like or dislike |
If someone choose a red handkerchief, he will probably do the following things EXCEPT _______.
| A.Becoming a leader. |
| B.Joining the Student Union. |
| C.Always complain and blame others. |
| D.Getting along well with others. |
"I am feeling black" means ______.
| A.I am feeling well | B.I am very happy |
| C.I am excited | D.I am depressed |
The main idea of this passage is ________.
| A.one's color preference shows one's character |
| B.you can brighten your life with wonderful colors |
| C.psychologists have been studying the meaning of color preference |
| D.one's color preference has something to do with his character and colors have effects on human beings |
I was in a strange city I didn’t know at all, and what’s more, I could not speak a word of the language. On my second day I got on the first bus that passed, rode on it for several stops, then got off and walked on. The first two hours passed pleasantly enough, then I decided to turn back to my hotel for lunch. After walking about for some time, I decided I had better ask the way. The trouble was that the only word I knew of the language was the name of the street in which I lived, and even that I pronounced badly. I stopped to ask a newspaper-seller. He handed me a paper. I shook my head and repeated the name of the street and he put the paper into my hands. I had to give him some money and went on my way. The next person I asked was a policeman. He listened to me carefully, nodded and gently took me by the arm. There was a strange look in his eyes as he pointed left and right and left again. I nodded politely and began walking in the direction he pointed.
About an hour passed and I noticed that the houses were getting fewer and fewer and green fields were appearing on either side of me. I had come all the way into the countryside. The only thing left for me to do was find the nearest railway station.The writer preferred to walk back to his hotel because_______.
| A.he had no money to buy a ticket |
| B.he wanted to lose himself in the city |
| C.he tried to know the city in this way |
| D.it was late and there were no buses passing by |
The newspaper-seller______.
| A.didn’t know where the hotel was |
| B.didn’t understand what the writer said |
| C.could understand what the writer said |
| D.didn’t want to take the money from the writer |
From the story we know that the policeman______.
| A.was kind but didn’t understand the writer |
| B.told the writer where to take a train |
| C.knew what the writer really meant |
| D.was cold-hearted and didn’t help the writer |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A.The writer got close to the hotel where he stayed. |
| B.The writer got to the hotel with the policeman’s help. |
| C.The writer found he was much farther away from the hotel. |
| D.The writer found the hotel in the direction the policeman pointed. |
In your opinion, what was the writer’s real trouble?
| A.He didn’t know the city at all. |
| B.He couldn’t speak the language. |
| C.He went too far in the wrong bus. |
| D.He followed the policeman’s direction. |
Donald was not very good at maths. He could not understand the teacher’s explanations. Even when the teacher explained something a second time, Donald still could not understand it. “Never mind,” Donald told himself. “I’m quite good at other subjects. I’ll cheat in the maths exam, then I won’t be in trouble.”
“I will sit next to the boy who’s best at maths,” he thought, “and copy down his answers.” The day of the exam came, and Donald sat next to Brian Smith, who always was at the top of the class in maths. Donald carefully copied Brian’s answers onto his own exam paper. At the end of the exam, the teacher collected the papers and graded them. Then she said, “Well, boys and girls. I’ve decided to give a prize to the student who got the highest grade. However, it’s difficult for me to decide who to give the prize to, because two students, Doanld and Brian, got the same grade.”
“Let them share it,” one of the other students said.
“I have thought about that,” the teacher said, “but I have decided to give the prize to Brian.” Donald was angry when he heard this. He stood up and said. “That is not fair. I got the same grade as Brian.” “That is true,” the teacher said. “However, Brian’s answer to Question 18 was ‘I don’t know,’ while yours was ‘Neither do I.’”Donald decided to cheat in the maths exam because_________.
| A.he was always at the top of the class in maths |
| B.he understood the questions |
| C.he was not very good at maths |
| D.the maths teacher did not explain the questions carefully |
Donald got a high grade in maths because __________
| A.maths was his best subject |
| B.the questions were easy |
| C.he copied from another boy |
| D.the teacher explained the questions carefully |
Donald got the same grade as Brian because _________.
| A.both boys were good at maths |
| B.Donald cheated |
| C.Brian copied Donald’s answers |
| D.the question were very easy |
The teacher knew it was Donald who cheated because _______.
| A.his answers were the same as Brian’s |
| B.he wrote “I don’t know” as an answer |
| C.he got the same wrong answers as Brian |
| D.he wrote the words “Neither do I” |
Why was he angry when Donald heard that the teacher would give a prize to Brian?
| A.Because he got the same grade as Brian. |
| B.Because Brian copied him. |
| C.Because the teacher didn’t know Donald’s answers. |
| D.Because he cheated in the maths exam. |
My mother loves flowers. As soon as warm weather comes around, you will find her planting, watering and weeding over everything .For many years we lived next door to each other, and she spent as much time in my garden as she did her own. After the flowers became plentiful each summer, she would cut colorful bouquets(花束)to enjoy inside the house—both hers and mine . I would often come home from work and find a beautiful arrangement(布置)of fresh flowers on my coffee table.
Shortly before Christmas one year, a local flower shop offered a bouquet-a-month special. It seemed to be a great way to thank her for all of the flowers she had given me through the years.
After the holidays, in early January, I drove her to the flower shop to pick up her first month’s bouquet. the small fresh colorful bouquet would hardly fill a small vase(花瓶).
I was so embarrassed(尴尬的).However, after we returned home, she began to arrange the flowers she had received.“Mom, I’m sorry, ”I told her.“I can’t believe how skimpy that bouquet is.”She looked at me and smiled.“It’s okay,”she said“It allows me to better enjoy the beauty of each one.”
Mom’s words helped me to realize something bigger and more important—when we have too many good things, we often fail to enjoy the beauty of each one.
Thanks, Mom ,for helping me understand that less is sometimes more.According to paragraph 1 ,which of the following is TRUE?
| A.The author’s mother put fresh flowers on the author’s coffee table. |
| B.The author used to buy some fresh flowers on her way home. |
| C.The author’s mother usually bought flowers for her daughter. |
| D.The author and her mother shared a beautiful garden. |
The author bought her mother flowers to_______.
| A.celebrate the coming Christmas |
| B.express thanks for all her mother’s done |
| C.bring more flowers to her mother’s garden |
| D.arrange her mother’s new house |
The underlined word“skimpy”in Paragraph 4 means_______.
| A.beautiful | B.colorful |
| C.cheap | D.small |
What did the author learn from her mother?
| A.How to grow flowers. |
| B.How to arrange flowers |
| C.Enjoying life if possible |
| D.Considering things in other ways. |
I was sleeping in my room when my bed started shaking and a loud noise was heard. I woke up and my mom was screaming my name. Next moment I was running along with my younger sister, mom and dad. Before I ran out of the door, I realized my elder sister hadn’t come out yet. So I screamed her name at the top of my voice. My mom said she had gone to her class. Then the four of us, along with many others, were running on the staircase. We lived on the seventh floor, so I thought we would not be able to make it and the building would fall before we managed to reach even the fourth floor. My dad’s head was injured by something falling down. I did try to put my hand over his head. When we reached the sixth floor, the building split into two. We had no way to get down.
The next thing I remember is silence. There were around 30 people on the staircase and none could react. Five minutes later, someone opened the door of the sixth-floor flat. We all went in. we were wondering how we would get down. From the balcony of the sixth-floor flat, I saw people standing on the ground floor. All eyes were stuck on us. I could see my elder sister crying.
Our first hope of surviving came when a worker climbed a rope to where we were. That was ,the first time we thought maybe we could get down. Half an hour passed and we were still trapped. Finally RSS people arrived with ropes. They got people down one by one. My biggest worry was how my dad would get down. Finally after two and a half hours, we all got down.
That day we saw the power of nature. It has taken more than two years to build the flats and it took just one and a half minutes to destroy the structure.What is this passage mainly about?
| A.Ways to survive an earthquake. |
| B.Reasons why earthquakes happen. |
| C.The love of parents in an earthquake. |
| D.The writer’s experience in an earthquake |
When the building split into two, the writer and his/her family_______.
| A.were still sleeping |
| B.were trapped on the sixth floor |
| C.were looking for a family member |
| D.were running from the seventh floor to the sixth floor |
The first time the writer thought they would probably survive was when_______.
| A.the writer was encouraged by people on the ground floor |
| B.someone opened the door of the sixth-floor flat |
| C.a worker climbed up on a rope |
| D.RSS people arrived with ropes |
The earthquake made the writer realize that_______.
| A.there is always hope for people |
| B.the power of nature is really great |
| C.natural disasters can happen any time |
| D.human beings are strong in natural disasters |