Imagine you got paid to go shopping,and could keep the things you bought with other people's money.Does this sound like a dream?Well,for some,like Amy Knott,from Chicago,this is their job.

Amy Knott is a mystery shopper.She is paid to visit a store,eat in a restaurant,go to a bank,stay in a hotel,get her hair cut,fill up her gas tank,or see a movie.She pretends to be an ordinary customer,but afterwards she writes a report about her experience,commenting on things like: How long did you wait in line?Was the flood hot?Did the cashier say "thank you"?Did the restroom have soap and tissue?This gives companies useful information about how they can improve their customer service.

So who can become a mystery shopper?You do not need any special qualifications or experience,but you need a good memory,an eye for detail,and good writing skills.When you apply for the job,instead of an interview,you will be asked to write about something like:"What was your best shopping experience?"

What is the pay like?For a 15-minute visit to a store,you might get $10 and the cost of what you buy.For a haircut,you might get $35 and the cost of the haircut.Most mystery shoppers do this job in their spare time,like Byron Jenner,who visits a restaurant on his lunch break every day and earns about $500 extra a month.But others, like Amy,make it their full-time career,and earn up to $40,000 a year.

"I love mystery shopping.I can't believe I actually get paid to have fun,"she says."For example,tonight my husband and I will go out,have a $150 dinner,go to stay at a luxury hotel,and I'll walk away with $300."

1.Amy Knott is paid to go shopping_______ .

A. to see whether the cashier says "thanks you"

B. to do a research for a company to improve its service

C. to comment on some things

D. to see whether the restroom has soap and tissue

2.Which of the following is Not the qualification for a mystery shopper?

A. A good memory. B. An eye for detail.

C. Good writing skills. D. Passing an interview.

3.How much does Byron Jenner earn as a mystery shopper a year?

A. $6,000. B. $40.000.

C. $420. D. $30,000.

Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?

UBC Professor Simard explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined. Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their co-operation and support, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.

Nitrogen (氮) and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi (真菌) networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons (神经元) in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all.

Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend. She explains how dying trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest.

“We didn’t take any notice of it.” Simard says sadly. “Dying trees move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them a chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.

1.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Old Trees Communicate Like Humans

B. Young Trees Are In Need Of Protection

C. Trees Contribute To Our Society

D. Trees Are More Complex Than You Think

2.In Simard’s opinion, trees .

A. protect their own wealth B. depend on each other

C. compete for survival D. provide support for dying trees

3.We can learn from the passage that .

A. if “mother trees” are cut down, the survival for the entire forest will be affected

B. “mother trees” are usually of no use to other trees

C. Charles Darwin had the same thought as Simard

D. people know much about the complex “tree societies”

It’s that time of year again, when college graduates attend graduation ceremony, half-listening to celebrity speakers’ wisdom and advice. Here are the don’t-miss graduation speeches of 2016.

◆President Obama at Howard

At Howard University, Obama had some tough love for young people with enthusiasm, saying that’s just not enough: “Change requires more than anger. It requires a program and it requires organizing. Enthusiasm is very important, but you have got to have a strategy.”

◆Michelle Obama at Santa Fe Indian School

“ I want you to keep pushing forward. Just keep pushing forward. And I want you to reach out and ask for help. I know your teachers tell you that all the time, but please understand that no one gets through college---or life, for that matter—alone. No one. I certainly didn’t.

◆SheryI Sandberg at Berkeley

As the chief operating officer of Facebook, SheryI Sandberg is one of the most famous figures in tech. last year, her husband suddenly died. In a speech at Berkeley a year later, Sandberg spoke about his death and her experience for the first in public: “My hope for you is that you can find that thankfulness—not just on the good days, like today, but on the hard ones, when you will really need it.”

◆Elizabeth Warren at Suffolk

“Knowing who you are will help when it’s time to fight. Fight for the job you want, fight for the people who mean the most to you and fight for the kind of world you want to live in. It will help when people say that’s impossible or you can’t do that. Look, if you take the unexpected opportunities when they come up, if you know yourself, and if you fight for what you believe in, I can promise that you will live a life that is rich with meaning.”

1.Who stressed the importance of strategies in the speeches?

A. President Obama B. Michelle Obama

C. SheryI Sandberg D. Elizabeth Warren

2.If you like struggling alone, whose speech may touch you most?

A. President Obama’s B. Michelle Obama’s

C. SheryI Sandberg D. Elizabeth Warren

3.In which university did the speaker mention appreciation?

A. Howard B. Santa Fe Indian School

C. Berkeley D. Suffolk

4.What does Elizabeth Warren want to tell the graduates?

A. Fight for the job you want B. Fight for the people you love

C. Fight for the world you want D. Fight for what you believe in

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