Job stress hits students

As the job-hunting season kicks off, many graduates are suffering from anxiety． Job interview  results are becoming the most common conversation topic in dormitories, Worried about not getting  satisfactory offers, some students have sleep problems, or lose their appetite． Some might even display symptoms of depression．

According to a survey across several universities in Wuhan conducted by Wuhan Yangtze Business University, over 72 percent of student participants were worried about finding a job．Students in the first one or two years were also uneasy about their job prospects, which contributed to spreading anxiety further．

Lang Lei．22, a business major from Renmin University in Beijing, admitted having mood swings when job hunting． The student hoped to get positions with large state-owned enterprises in  his hometown of Yantai, Shandong． But when it turned out that things wouldn't be so easy, Lang became concerned． After some struggling moments, he has now changed to more realistic goals．

Others feel tortured（受折磨）while waiting for interview results． Mo Tong, a senior software  engineering major at South China Normal University, would fall into a nervous state every time after  he attended a job interview．

“For a day or two I couldn't help but keep thinking about how l performed in front of the interviewers, how well I dealt with their questions, and whether they would consider giving me a  chance in the end,"   Mo was unable to focus on other things as his anxiety grew．

Media reports about rising unemployment rates and a difficult job market have touched  students' nerves．

‘‘I’m alarmed by articles saying how bachelor's degree holders are losing ground," said Wang Hongjuan,a sophomore English major from Putian University in Fujian province． "It suggests to me that good jobs are only available to graduate or doctoral students．"

As Wang has no plans to further her education, she has to commit herself to all sorts of extracurricular activities to improve her prospects． This throws her into a packed schedule．

Wen Fang, a well-known education psychology expert and consultant in Beijing, advises students not to be misled by depressing surveys and reports about the job market． "Unemployment rates are not linked to an individual's chances of getting a job," he said． "An individual's chances are actually mainly determined by his or her capability．"

According to Wen, a moderate degree of anxiety is normal-it can even be helpful． But if it constantly affects a student's normal life, one should pay more attention． "Focus on adapting yourself to the needs of society, and never ever overestimate your goals," Wen added．

According to US research, it can take up to ten years to become a near-native English speaker. Asian and Spanish students took between five and ten years to reach native speaker performance in English-only schools. Fluency obviously doesn’t happen overnight. But time can definitely make you a better speaker.
After testing his own memory, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that humans forget most of what they learn in the first 20 minutes.
So cramming right before a speaking exam is not likely to be as effective as practicing regularly over time. The more you practice, the more familiar new words will become. In the classroom, studies have also shown that repeating oral tasks improves a speaker’s performance.
One of the best repetition exercises is the 4/3/2 technique. Speakers give the same talk to three different listeners with a progressive decrease in delivery time, starting at four minutes, then three, and finally two minutes. This exercise has been proven to help learners speak faster. It can also result in less hesitation and more grammatical accuracy. While time dose make a difference when it comes to speaking perfect English, it would not hurt to brush up on your other language skills.
Studies have also shown that reading can increase your speaking vocabulary. After one month of an extensive reading program, a 27-year-old student of French became more familiar with 65 percent of the new words.
Aside from choosing the right learning methods, having certain personality traits may also help. US linguistics expert Stephen Krashen believes those with high motivation, self-confidence and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for speaking success.
Krashen says students who don’t have these qualities are more likely to have a “mental block”. “Even if they understand the message, the input will not reach the part of the brain responsible for language acquisition,” he writes in his book Principles and Practice in second Language Acquisition.
【小题1】According to the passage, if you want to be a near-native speaker, you need _____.

According to US research, it can take up to ten years to become a near-native English speaker. Asian and Spanish students took between five and ten years to reach native speaker performance in English-only schools. Fluency obviously doesn’t happen overnight. But time can definitely make you a better speaker.

After testing his own memory, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that humans forget most of what they learn in the first 20 minutes.

So cramming right before a speaking exam is not likely to be as effective as practicing regularly over time. The more you practice, the more familiar new words will become. In the classroom, studies have also shown that repeating oral tasks improves a speaker’s performance.

One of the best repetition exercises is the 4/3/2 technique. Speakers give the same talk to three different listeners with a progressive decrease in delivery time, starting at four minutes, then three, and finally two minutes. This exercise has been proven to help learners speak faster. It can also result in less hesitation and more grammatical accuracy. While time dose make a difference when it comes to speaking perfect English, it would not hurt to brush up on your other language skills.

Studies have also shown that reading can increase your speaking vocabulary. After one month of an extensive reading program, a 27-year-old student of French became more familiar with 65 percent of the new words.

Aside from choosing the right learning methods, having certain personality traits may also help. US linguistics expert Stephen Krashen believes those with high motivation, self-confidence and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for speaking success.

Krashen says students who don’t have these qualities are more likely to have a “mental block”. “Even if they understand the message, the input will not reach the part of the brain responsible for language acquisition,” he writes in his book Principles and Practice in second Language Acquisition.

1.According to the passage, if you want to be a near-native speaker, you need _____.

2.The author put forward the 4/3/2 technique just to show that _____.

3.The example of a 27-year-old student of French in the passage mainly means that _____.

4.The underlined phrase “linguistics expert” means a person who is quite expert at _____.

According to US research, it can take up to ten years to become a near-native English speaker. Asian and Spanish students took between five and ten years to reach native speaker performance in English-only schools. Fluency obviously doesn’t happen overnight. But time can definitely make you a better speaker.
After testing his own memory, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that humans forget most of what they learn in the first 20 minutes.
So cramming right before a speaking exam is not likely to be as effective as practicing regularly over time. The more you practice, the more familiar new words will become. In the classroom, studies have also shown that repeating oral tasks improves a speaker’s performance.
One of the best repetition exercises is the 4/3/2 technique. Speakers give the same talk to three different listeners with a progressive decrease in delivery time, starting at four minutes, then three, and finally two minutes. This exercise has been proven to help learners speak faster. It can also result in less hesitation and more grammatical accuracy. While time dose make a difference when it comes to speaking perfect English, it would not hurt to brush up on your other language skills.
Studies have also shown that reading can increase your speaking vocabulary. After one month of an extensive reading program, a 27-year-old student of French became more familiar with 65 percent of the new words.
Aside from choosing the right learning methods, having certain personality traits may also help. US linguistics expert Stephen Krashen believes those with high motivation, self-confidence and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for speaking success.
Krashen says students who don’t have these qualities are more likely to have a “mental block”. “Even if they understand the message, the input will not reach the part of the brain responsible for language acquisition,” he writes in his book Principles and Practice in second Language Acquisition.

1. 1.

   According to the passage, if you want to be a near-native speaker, you need _____.

   1. A.
      long-term speaking practice and much reading
   2. B.
      speaking practice for ten years only
   3. C.
      long-term speaking practice, much reading and certain qualities
   4. D.
      cramming new words every day
2. 2.

   The author put forward the 4/3/2 technique just to show that _____.

   1. A.
      you should speak to 3 different people
   2. B.
      you should speak to 3 different people at 3 different times
   3. C.
      it can prevent you from making grammar mistakes
   4. D.
      it is really a good way to make you a better speaker
3. 3.

   The example of a 27-year-old student of French in the passage mainly means that _____.

   1. A.
      reading can enlarge your vocabulary for your speaking
   2. B.
      reading can make you memorize just 65 percent of the new words
   3. C.
      the 27-year-old student of French is very clever
   4. D.
      in one month, you can improve your speaking ability
4. 4.

   The underlined phrase “linguistics expert” means a person who is quite expert at _____.

   1. A.
      languages
   2. B.
      spoken language
   3. C.
      scientific research
   4. D.
      teaching English