As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have. It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven. Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week.

    Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long hours work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them.

    Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year. One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs (郊区), leaving their two children with a nanny (保姆). Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.

    Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. “I always wanted to have a farm here,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s taken some getting used to, but it has been worthy of. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.”

    Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all.”

What do the first two paragraphs tell us?

    A. People seldom work long hours to make money.

    B. People hardly buy more things than necessary.

    C. People are sure everything they own is in the right place.

D. People realize there is more to life than just making money.

When Daniel was a reporter he _____.

    A. lived in central London          B. disliked his job

    C. missed his children               D. was well paid

Daniel and Liz both agree that the move to the farm _____.

    A. was easy to organize              B. has improved family life

    C. was extremely expensive           D. has been a total success

What does the underlined “it” in the last paragraph refer to?

    A. Child-caring.        B. Liz’s advice.   C. Downshifting.   D. Liz’s job.

For Chinese wanting to work as nurses in the United Sates, the arrival of the test of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) may be a welcome move.

 The CGFNS has a certification programme for people wanting to work as registered nurses in the US. The first CGFNS test in China is to be held in Beijing in July. Registrations is open till April 9. According to US labour law, nurses have to pass the National Council License Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) before they can practise. However, the NCLEX-RN is only useful in the US, making it difficult for people from other countries to get in. But, the US expects a shortage of 50,000 nurses by 2010. So, the CGFNS has not replaced the NCLEX-RN, which is still needed for work as a registered nurse in the US.

So what exactly does CGFNS do?

First of all, it helps international nurses qualify for a work visa for the US. Nurses educated abroad who do not have a US license by the NCLEX-RN, must get the CGFNS certificate. “But not everyone who gets a CGFNS certificate can get a work visa. There are many requirements for a visa, and the CGFNS is just one,” said John Ratigan, immigration officer for the CGFNS.

The certificate helps applicants meet requirements for the NCLEX-RN. Forty-two states require a CGFNS certificate from nurses educated abroad before taking the NCLEX-RN examination.

About 85 percent of those who passed the CGFNS have passed the NCLEX-RN. According to Barbara Michols, chief executive officer of CGFNS, “the CGFNS is cost-efficient for the Chinese. If they can’t pass the CGFNS here in China, their chances of passing the NCLEX-RN for the US are tiny. This saves time and money on visa applications and the long trip. ” In a word, to get a CGFNS certificate, a person must have: a credentials review, the CGFNS qualifying exam of nursing knowledge and an English language proficiency exam.

   We can infer from the text that to people hoping to work as registered nurses in the US, CGFNS tests can be taken _____.

A. nowhere but in the US                    B. somewhere outside the US

C. in every country but the US              D. both in China and the US

According to American labour law, people cannot work as nurses until they pass                    _____.

NCLEX-RN                            B. CGFNS

C. CGFNS and NCLEX-RN                   D. CGFNS or NCLEX-RN

We can learn from the text that _____.

A. if you get a CGFNS certificate, you can pass the NCLEX-RN in the US and get visa

      applications

B. if you pass the NCLEX-RN in the US, you can get a CGFNS certificate and get visa

    applications

C. if you can't pass the NCLEX-RN in the US, you will not be able to pass the CGFNS

examination

D. if you get a CGFNS certificate, you will be more likely to pass the NCLEX-RN examination

The sentence "CGFNS holders have a higher rate of success on the NCLEX-RN examination" can be arranged at the beginning of Paragraph _____.

Two                 B. Four                 C. Five             D. Six

What is probably the best title of this passage?

The CGFNS helps international nurses       

B. The first CGFNS test in China

C. The CGFNS and the NCLEX-RN          

D. Working as registered nurses in the US

One day in l965, when I worked at View Ridge School in Seattle, a fourth-grade teacher approached me. She had a student who finished his work before all the others and needed a challenge. "Could he help in the library?" She asked. I said, "Send him along."

  Soon a slight, sandy-haired boy in jeans and a T-shift appeared. "Do you have a job for me?" he asked.

  I told him about the Dewey Decimal System for shelving books. He picked up the idea immediately. Then I showed him a stack of cards for long-overdue books that I was beginning to think had actually been returned but were misshelved with the wrong cards in them. He said, "Is it kind of a detective job?" I answered yes, and he became working.

  He had found three books with wrong cards by the time his teacher opened the door and announced, "Time for break!" He argued for finishing the finding job; She made the case for fresh air. She won.

  The next morning, he arrived early. "I want to finish these books," he said. At the end of the day, when he asked to be a librarian on a regular basis, it was easy to say yes. He worked untiringly.

  After a few weeks I found a note on my desk, inviting me to dinner at the boy's home. At the end of a pleasant evening, his mother announced that the family would be moving to neighbouring school district. Her son's first concern, she said, was leaving the View Ridge library. "Who will find the lost books?" he asked.

  When the time came, I said a reluctant good-bye. I missed him, but not for long. A few days later he came back and joyfully announced: "The librarian over there doesn't let boys work in the library. My mother got me transferred back to View Ridge. My dad will drop me off on his way to work. And if he can’t, I'll walk!"

I should have had an inkling(感觉) such focused determination would take that young man wherever he wanted to go. What I could not have guessed, however, was that he would become a wizard of the Information Age: Bill Gates, tycoon of Microsoft and America's richest man.

What was the author when the story happened?

       A. A teacher.                 B. A librarian.               C. A detective.              D. A professor.

What was the boy told to do on his first day in the library?

A. To rearrange the books according to the new system.

B. To put those overdue books back to the shelves.

C. To find out the books with wrong cards in them.

D. To put the cards back in the long-overdue books.

The boy got transferred back to View Ridge because _______.

A. he did not like his life in the new school                            

B. the transportation there was not convenient

C. he missed his old schoolmates and teachers

D. he was not allowed to work in the school library

What impressed the author most was that the boy _______.

A. had a thirst for learning                               B. had a strong will

C. was extremely quick at learning                            D. had a kind heart

      With the Indian economy predicted to grow by 7.5 percent this year, experts say it could be time for Western CEOs to learn some lessons from Indian CEOs.The key differences between Indian and Western bosses are:
Social purpose
One of the most important things is that Indian leaders lead with a sense of social purpose.Every leader in India gave a specific social purpose as being the goal of their business.Those purposes ranged from improving healthcare to getting cell phones to people who didn't have access to communication tools.Having a social purpose motivates workers.
Invest in employees
Indian firms invest an enormous amount in their employees' training and development.IT firms typically offer 60 days of formal training for newly hired workers and they even spend months training experienced workers.A study said that Western firms have largely abandoned investing in employees, seeing it as a waste if they quit.But Indian bosses believe that investing in employees ensures the quality of those who stay at the company.
Take the long view
Indian bosses stress far less on shareholders than it is typical at Western business.As a result they're more able to take a long-term view.Western companies can't just ignore their shareholders, but their CEOs can do more to protect their -employees from short-term financial pressures, letting them get on with their jobs.
Work fromtheir strengths
Western companies often think about strategy in terms of chasing customers or pursuing market opportunities, but Indian firms will more often start by identifying their strengths and customers’ needs, and then try to meet those needs.
Act as a role model
Being a personal role model for their employees is an amazing thing for a CEO.If Western bosses could think of themselves as role models, it would have a real impact on their workers.
【小题1】Indian CEOs use their sense of social purpose to _________.

A.improve the workers' healthcare system
B.provide cell phones to people in need
C.motivate and encourage their employees
D.promote the development of communication systems
【小题2】Western firms have largely abandoned investing in employees’ training and development because _______.
A.it takes too long to complete the formal training of newly hired workers
B.they often hire experienced workers who don't need much training
C.they are afraid of the losses brought about by the resignation of employees
D.they don't care about the quality of the employees in their firms
【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE about Western bosses?
A.They stress on workers more than shareholders.
B.They always act as role models for employees.
C.They are good at identifying their own strengths.
D.They pay closer attention to market opportunities.

After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, so mostly I just lied a lot to appear to be skilled at dealing with people. At least I never needed the map.

One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she gossiped about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.

We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.

It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't staring at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an over interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught and held my attention.

I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all extremely, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine, or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful -- maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy.

1.What does the underlined word “diplomatic” mean?

A.smooth

B.clever

C.honest

D.delight

2.From the passage, we can infer that _______________.

A.“I” was really liking the new place.

B.“I” was not interested in what the girl said.

C.“I” had a bad memory, so it’s hard to remember names.

D.“I” was good at making friends.

3. According to the last two paragraphs, why did “they” catch “my” attention?

A.Because “they” weren’t talking.

B.Because “they” sat in the corner.

C.Because “they” didn’t eat the food.

D.Because “they” looked incredibly beautiful.

4.According to the passage, which statement is NOT true?

A.The girl walked with “me” was a little short.

B.“I” saw the five students for the first time.

C.Those students sitting in the corner had finished their food.

D.“I” probably wanted to know more about those five students.

 

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