阅读理解

　　From bankers to factory staff, employees in the West face a cold prospect of losing their jobs as a global recession(衰退)starts to bite．For colleagues in the East, the pain is more likely to come through a pay cut．

　　Human resource experts say cultural differences explain why Asian companies try harder to preserve jobs in difficult times, which will prevent unemployment and may help Asian economies survive at a time of slowing exports．The East Asian attitude may also make it easier for companies to recover quickly from the economic downturn since they will not need to rehire or train new staff, but build up a more loyal and devoted group．

　　“In the Confucian mindset(儒家思想), the right thing to do is to share the burden, which is the sense of collective responsibility．While in the West, it's more about individual survival,” said Michael Benoliel, associate professor of organizational behavior at Singapore Management University(SMU)．

　　In contrast, local Western companies from General Motors to Goldman Sachs plan to lay off workers by the thousands, but at the Asian units of Western multinationals or western units of Asian groups, job cuts will probably be less severe．

　　Japan's jobless rate was 4 percent in September, up from 3.8 percent in January, while Hong Kong's was flat at 3.4 percent．But US unemployment is expected to have jumped to 6.3 percent last month from below 5 percent in January．

　　Experts say that while there are noticeable differences in labor practices in East and West, the gap will narrow as more firms become more multinational and competition forces firms to adopt the best practices of rivals(对手)from abroad．

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阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

　　An elderly carpenter was ready to retire．He told his employer of his plans to 　　1　　 the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife 　　2　　 his extended family．He would 　　3　　 the salary, but he needed to retire．They could get by．

　　The employer was 　　4　　 to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one 　　5　　 house as a personal 　　6　　．The carpenter said yes, 　　7　　 over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work．He used bad workmanship and inferior(差的)materials．It was an unfortunate way to end his 　　8　　．

　　When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to 　　9　　 the house and handed the front-door key to the carpenter．“This is your house, ” he said, “my 　　10　　 to you．” The carpenter was shocked! What a 　　11　　! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so 　　12　　．

　　So it is with us．We build our lives in a distracted(心浮气躁的) 　　13　　, willing to put up less than the best．At 　　14　　 points we do not give the job our best 　　15　　．Then with a shock we look at the situation we have 　　16　　 and find that we are now living in the house we have built．

　　But, you cannot 　　17　　．You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or build a wall．The plate on the wall says, “Life is a do-it-yourself project．” Your life tomorrow will be the result of your 　　18　　 and the choices you 　　19　　 today．Therefore, build 　　20　　!

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阅读理解

　　movie magic can defy reality, but actors are inescapably human．They grow and change, and don't necessarily change for the better．

　　Harry Potter actors, who are now saying their final goodbyes to their roles, have all become fully-fledged(成熟的)grown-ups, worlds apart from the little kids who began the Hogwarts' adventures in 2001．

　　While many fans feel sad that the magical franchise(特权)is coming to an end, some feel even sadder to see how much the actors have changed over the years．

　　"Daniel Radcliffe(who plays Harry Potter)went from being a really cute kid to a thin, pale-looking guy," said Filipino Internet User Lealuvy．"I kind of wish he stayed a kid forever．''

　　Radcliffe himself doesn't seem to be bothered by his change of appearance．In an interview with GQ magazine last week, he teased himself："If people find me sexy or cool, it's because they like short, little, nerdy guys．And we do have our niche(合适的职业)．"

　　Meanwhile, actors growing up to be handsome have their headaches．

　　Harry Melling, who played Potter's cousin Dudley Dursley, told The Telegraph that he was almost recast for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when producers discovered he' d lost a lot of weight he had as a kid．He was too thin for the part．

　　"They(the producers)did this double take, 'Oh my God, we are going to have to do something', and I felt guilty," said Meiling．

　　Aside from changes in looks, the gradual personality change of child stars is another big concern of audience and producers．

　　Miley Cyrus began her career at 13 in Disney's hit TV series Hannah Montana．

　　When Cyrus decided to show her adult personality by releasing "sexy" photos, people began to get uneasy about her．Reports said that furious Disney bosses were considering replacing Cyrus with a more clean-cut teen star．

　　Cyrus finally kept her role after public apologies．But some parents banned their children watching the show．

　　"My daughter has been banned from watching the show," supermodel Cindy Crawford told Showbiz Spy．"I really don't think Miley Cyrus is much of a role model for my kid．"

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