If you're one of the 13 million Americans still struggling to find a job, or wanting to change jobs, a lot of your applications are probably being swallowed up by the "the black hole．" That's when you send in a job application and never receive any follow-up from the company．In fact, only 25 out of 100 applications ever get looked at by companies．

Now, a remarkable new service is helping job seekers instantly track almost every application they submit so they actually know what's going on．It's called Start Wire． corn and it lets job seekers track their applications and find out whether or not their applications have been reviewed, dismissed, or are still being considered．

How does it work? When you fill out a job application via a company website, you'll typically get an auto confirmation email from the company, thanking you for applying．And then, the waiting begins．

Start Wire has linked to more than 5 , 600 employers across the country and receives online updates on job applications for every one of their members．By allowing you to connect your job hunt to your Facebook and Linkedin accounts, it can notify you if you have any connections with the company that you apply for ．

And, Start Wire is free to use! Because Start Wire is a completely ad-supported site, they don't need to charge job seekers to use it．

Most importantly, Start Wire keeps your information private．Your job search activity will never show up on a social network or search engine．Start Wire has become invaluable to over 55, 000 job seekers in a highly competitive job market．

If you're tired of your job search resulting in dead-end responses, take advantage of this free service and give yourself a huge advantage in the job marketplace．

Click here to put your information on an official list and reach an arrangement with Start Wire to use a free service it provides, and improve your chances of finding a good job quickly．

1.You can probably read the passage from ___________.

A．a newspaper               B．a website           C．a poster      D．a magazine

2.If your job applications are being swallowed up, it means that ______．

A．your personal information has been stolen

B．your job applications are under consideration

C．you can not receive any reply from the company

D．you have to pay money to get your applications back

3.If you want to use Start Wire first you should ________.

A．make a call to the website            B．get access to some employers

C．register an account without payment  D．email the company you will apply to

4.The passage is mainly intended to______.

A．prove the advantages of Start Wire    

B．attract more people to use Start Wire

C．teach people how to access Start Wire       

D．provide key facts about unemployment

PART FOUR WRITING

SECTION A

Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the numbered blanks by using the information from the passage.

     Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

The girls in this sixth grade class in East Palo Alto, California, all have the same access to computers as boys. But researchers say, by the time they get to high school, they are victims of what the researchers call a major new gender (性别) gap in technology. Janice Weinman of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) says, "Girls tend to be less comfortable than boys with the computer. They use it more for word processing rather than for problem solving, rather than to discover new ways in which to understand information.

  After re-examining a thousand studies, the AAUW researchers found that girls make up only a small percentage of students in computer science classes. Girls rate themselves significantly lower than boys in their ability and confidence in using computers. And they use computers less often than boys outside the classroom.

  An instructor of a computer lab says he's already noticed some difference. Charles Cheadle of Cesar Chavez School says, "Boys are not so afraid they might do something that will harm the computer, whereas girls are afraid they might break it somehow."

    Six years ago, the software company Purple Moon noticed that girls' computer usage was falling behind boys. Karen Gould with the company says, "The number one reason girls told us they don't like computer games is not that they're too violent, or too competitive. Girls just said they're unbelievably boring." What girls want, Purple Moon found, is characters they can relate to and story lines relative to what's going on in their own lives. "What we definitely found from girls is that there is no intrinsic (内在的) reason why they wouldn't want to play on a computer; it was just a content thing," says Karen Gould.

   The sponsor of the study says it all boils down to this: the technology gender gap that separates the girls from the boys must be closed if women are to compete effectively with men in the 21st century.

What has caused the new gender gap in technology?

I. The present situation:

Before high school: ◆Girls use computers   71   boys.

In high school: ◆Girls make up   72   in computer science classes.

             ◆Girls feel less comfortable with the computer.

             ◆Boys use computers   73   often than girls after class.

             ◆Boys feel more   74   when using computers.

II. The   75   of the situation:

What they do with a computer:

◆Girls prefer to use computers for _ 76  .

◆Boys prefer to use computers for   77   and understanding information.

How they feel about a computer:

◆Girls are afraid of breaking it.

◆Boys are   78   such worry.

Their   79   to computer games:

◆Girls think they are boring because the characters are irrelevant to their lives.

◆Boys don’t have such feelings.

III. The appeal from   80  :

◆The technology gender gap must be closed.

Mr. Briggs got a job with an insurance company(保险公司) after he left school and went around visiting people in their homes to sell them life insurance. One day, after he had been working for the company for about a year, the insurance manager sent for him and said, “Mr. Briggs, I have been looking at your record as a salesman with our company, and there is one thing that surprises me about it. Why have you been selling insurance only to people over 95 years old, and why have you been giving them such generous（宽厚的）conditions? You’ll ruin our company if you go on like that.”

“Oh, no, sir,” answered Mr. Briggs at once, “Before I started work, I looked at the figures(数字) for deaths in this country during the past ten years, and I can tell you that few people die at the age of 95.”

1.Before he worked in an insurance company, what was Mr.

Briggs?            

2.The word “ruin” in the first paragraph means       .

3.As a salesman with the company, Mr. Brigs        .

4.What was it that surprised the manager?   

5.Which of the following is true according to the passage?      

small.

How can you hear your friends’ voices when they are far away and you can’t make a long—distance call? Besides the web camera system with your computer, we have a new high-tech way to solve the problem and ease your pain of missing them.
The Japanese company Combiwith created a system—“talking picture”. It makes people in pictures speak!
The “talking picture” has a special pen. It is actually a pen-shaped scanner. It can scan information in special—made pictures. A connected player will then play the information out loud.
First, you need to take a picture and record what you want to say with the company. The company will then make special barcodes(条形码) onto your picture(you can’t see those codes). Those codes are your voice and your words. When you hold up the pen to scan your picture with barcodes, a player connected to the pen will start to play. It plays things you’ve recorded. That way the invention makes the “you” in the picture speak!
Do you want your friends and families talking out of pictures? Have them make pictures like that, and you can hear them whenever you want, only with the “talking picture” system. The system can play messages for up to 12 minutes.
“The pictures would be useful for those who hope to hear the voice of someone living far away,” said Mayumi Fuji, a spokeswoman for the company. “Grandparents, for example, longing to know about their grandchildren, would be happy to hear their voice when they see the picture,” Fuji said.
But it is troublesome to go to the company for taking a special picture first. And, it is much more expensive than using a telephone. The photo with barcodes costs between 17,040 and 17,990 yen(日元)(160 and 169 dollars). The larger picture you want, the more you pay.
Now, just raise a finger, lonely people can have their loved ones speak out of pictures. But, whether the “talking picture” is practical or not, let’s wait and see.
【小题1】What does “talking pictures” mean according to this article?

阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。
注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
Customer service refers to the way that companies behave towards their customers．It's the quality of service that determines whether the customer remains with the company． However, many a time organizations don't focus on customer relationship management, and that's what makes customers angry, which is one of the reasons why companies lose their customers．So customer service is vital and you should know how to improve it．
First of all, you need to realize how important the customers are．It's they who are the boss, and it's because of them that you get your pay checks．So do take your customers seriously．
Finding out the needs of the customers is another important customer service tip．You need to ask the customers the right kind of questions and think of the possible solutions which you can provide．Understand how they feel according to a particular situation, their body language, tone of voice and words they speak．Never make assumptions and think that you know what the customer wants．
Making customers feel they are important is an excellent way to serve them better．Treat customers as individuals and the best way to do that is using their first name and finding ways of praising them in a sincere way．
In addition, there are some other skills which will help you in serving your customers better．For example, once you finish solving the problem for the customer, before, ending the call, always remember to ask if there is anything else you can do for them．' End the call with a "thank you"．If customers are angry, let them express their anger completely．Never interrupt or start speaking until they've finished．Once they've finished speaking, try to calm them down by apologizing．
In a word, always remember that if the customers remain happy, you'll be in business．