A is for always getting to work on time.

B is for being extremely busy.

C is for the conscientious(勤勤恳恳的) way you do your job.

You may be all these things at the office, and more. But when it comes to getting ahead, experts say, the ABCs of business should include a P, for politics, as in office politics.

Dale Carnegie suggested as much more than 50 years ago: Hard work alone doesn’t ensure career advancement. You have to be able to sell yourself and your ideas, both publicly and behind the scenes. Yet, despite the obvious rewards of engaging in office politics—a better job, a raise, praise—many people are still unable or unwilling—to “play the game”.

“People assume that office politics involves some manipulative(工于心计的) behavior,” says Deborah Comer, an assistant professor of management at Hofstra University. “But politics derives from the word ‘polite’. It can mean lobbying(游说) and forming associations. It can mean being kind and helpful, or even trying, to please your superior, and then expecting something in return.”

In fact, today, experts define office politics as proper behavior used to pursue one’s own self-interest in the workplace. In many cases, this involves some form of socializing within the office environment—not just in large companies, but in small workplaces as well.

“The first thing people are usually judged on is their ability to perform well on a consistent basis,” says Neil P. Lewis, a management psychologist. “But if two or three candidates are up for a promotion, each of whom has reasonably similar ability, a manager is going to promote the person he or she likes best. It’s simple human nature.”

Yet, psychologists say, many employees and employers have trouble with the concept of politics in the office. Some people, they say, have an idealistic vision of work and what it takes to succeed. Still others associate politics with flattery(奉承), fearful that, if they speak up for themselves, they may appear to be flattering their boss for favors.

Experts suggest altering this negative picture by recognizing the need for some self-promotion.

“Office politics” is used in the passage to refer to________.

A. the political views and beliefs of office workers

B. the interpersonal relationships within a company

C. the various qualities required for a successful career

D.  the code of behavior for company staff

To get promoted, one must not only be competent but________.

A. avoid being too outstanding

B. get along well with his colleagues

C. honest and loyal to his company

D. give his boss a good impression

The author considers office politics to be________.

A. unwelcome at the workplace

B. bad for interpersonal relationships

C. an important factor for personal advancement

D. indispensable to the development of company culture

It is the author’s view that________.

A. self-promotion does not necessarily mean flattery

B. hard work contributes very little to one’s promotion

C. many employees fail to recognize the need of flattery

D. speaking up for oneself is part of human nature

A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world's people may not have enough water by the year 2025.

   A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than three-hundred-thirty-five-million people lack enough water now. The people live in twenty-eight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.

   P-A-I researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025, about three-thousand-million people may lack water. At least 18 more countries are expected to have severe water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on Earth stays the same.

   Mr. Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase.

   The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking waters are not safe. Mr. Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases, such as cholera, which are carried in water. Lack of water may also result in more international conflict. Countries may have to compete for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning.

   The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem. One way, it says, is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third way is to use less water of agriculture.

   The report also says long-term solutions to the water problem must include controls on population growth. It says countries cannot provide clean water unless they slow population growth by limiting the number of children people have.

           are expected to have severe water problems by the year 2025.

A. 18 countries                             B. No countries

    C. 46 countries                            D. 28 countries

All the following are true except            .

    A. New industries need a lot of water

    B. There are solutions to the water problem

    C. Egypt now has enough fresh water

    D. Lack of water may cause conflict between countries

It can be learned that           .

  A. The ability of developing has nothing to do with lack of water.

    B. . It is not known whether diseases have something to do with lack of water

    C. Lack of water may also result from international conflict

    D There is connection between providing clean water and slowing population growth

The best title of the passage would be          .

  A. World Water Shortage                       B. Population and Water

    C. World Conflict                           D. Diseases and Water

A senior United Nations Children's fund （UNICEF） official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children's welfare（福利）.

A.H.M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for China and Mongolia said, “China can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily.”

China's child population makes up one fifth of the world's total.

“The reason behind the remarkable achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society," he said.

“What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need."

The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri la Hotel, Beijing.

The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks（小吃）, sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a “Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude（前奏） to celebrations to mark the Children’s Day.

The Beijing children's Welfare Home, set up soon after New China was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children.

A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends 400－500 yuan a month for an average orphan. An average Chinese worker earned 440 yuan a month during the first quarter this year. k+s-5#u 

Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary general of the China Youth Development Foundation （CYDF）, said people from all walks of like have contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children.

She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which walls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling.

By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuan in donations, which has helped the establishment（建立） of 2,074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1.25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms.

According to the passage, how can children grow healthily and happily?

       A．They are offered best education and satisfying life.

       B．They must have their own parents who are rich.

       C．Both the society and their parents care for them.

       D．They are allowed to take part in many activities like computer games as often as possible.

From the passage, we know the Beijing Children's Welfare Home spends at least _____ yuan on the orphans every year.

       A．1,920,000 B．700,000    C．874,000    D．900,000

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

       A．China's population makes up one fifth of the world's total.

       B．The CYDE has used the money to help reduce dropouts.

       C．The Beijing children's Welfare Home was founded in 1989.

       D．An average Chinese worker earned 440 yuan during the first quarter this year.

China can get the remarkable achievements in children’s welfare because _______.

       A．There are many children’s welfare homes. k+s-5#u 

       B．The Hope Project has been very successful.

       C．The Chinese governments have been working harder than before.

       D．China has a long tradition of caring for children both at home and in society.

“A very disruptive（扰乱型的）six-year old child kicked my legs and clawed at my hand.” said one teacher. “I broke up a fight but was kicked，” said another. Many people have heard stories like this. But the situation is more worrying still and it involves(涉及) parents.
Every child, regardless of(不管) the surroundings into which they are born，has the right to achieve their potential. And we recognize that, as a nation，it is a long way to achieve this goal. But rights come with responsibilities and what worries people is that we are in danger of ignoring the latter.
Far too many children are behaving badly at school，even to the point of being violent to teachers. This is terrible enough，but it is hard to be surprised since many children are just mirroring the behavior of their parents. Too many are starting school unable to hold a knife and fork, unused to eating at a table，and unable to use the toilet properly.
We are in danger of becoming a nation of families living separate lives under one roof. The bedroom, once a place to sleep，has become the living space for the young. Spending hours in front of computer screens, on social networking sites or being addicted to computer games, children and young people spend little time with their parents. Parents are unable to monitor just what their children are watching.
Schools cannot right the wrongs of society and teachers cannot become substitute (代替)parents. Both parties need to work together. Parents must be helped and given confidence to take back control. They are responsible for setting limits to their children’s behavior and sticking to those limits when things get tough(困难). They are responsible for setting a good example to their children and for devoting that most precious of resources---time---so that children come to school ready and willing to learn.
【小题1】In the opinion of the writer, what problem do people ignore?

D
We are all interested in equality, but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality, others, still in the name of equality, want only to destroy it.
Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must regularly test its pupils. The standards may be changed—no examination is perfect—but to have no tests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards. There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not believe either in examinations or in any controls in school or on teachers. This would mean that everything would depend on luck since every pupil would depend on the efficiency, the values and the purpose of each teacher.
Without examinations, employers will look for employees from the highly respected schools and from families known to them－a form of favoritism will replace equality. At the moment, the bright child from an ill－respected school can show certificates to prove he or she is suitable for a job, while the lack of certificate indicates the unsuitability of a dull child attending a well－ respected school. This defense of excellence and opportunity would disappear if examinations were taken away, and tile bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school's reputation, unable to compete for employment with the child from the favored school.
The opponents(反对者) of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils. According to these people, there must be no special, different, academic class. They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area: all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection. The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some computer.
53．The underlined word "favoritism" in paragraph 3 is used to describe the phenomenon that_____.
A．bright children also need certificates to get satisfying jobs
B．children from well－respected schools tend to have good jobs
C．poor children with certificates are favored in job markets
D．children attending ordinary schools achieve great success
54．What would happen if examinations were taken away according to the author?
A．There would be more opportunities and excellence.
B．Schools for bright children would lose their reputation.
C．Children from poor families would be able to change their schools.
D．Children's job opportunity would be affected by their school reputation.
55．The opponents of the examination system will agree that ________.
A．jobs should not be assigned by systematic selection
B．computers should be selected to take over many jobs
C．special classes are necessary to keep the school standards
D．schools with academic subjects should be done away with
56．The passage mainly focuses on________.
A．schools and certificates                                B．examination and equality
C．opportunity and employment                       D．standards and reputation