Section I Use of English
Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered black and mark A, B, C or d on ANSWER SHEET I (10 points)
It's not difficult to set targets for staff. It is much harder, __1__ , to understand their negative consequences. Most work-related behaviours have multiple components __2__one and the others become distorted.
Travel on a London bus and you’ll __3__ see how this works with drivers. Watch people get on and show their tickets. are they carefully inspected? Never. Do people get on without paying? Of course! Are there inspectors to __4__ that people have paid? Possibly, but very few. And people who run for the bus? They are __5__ How about jumping lights? Buses do so almost as frequently as cyclists.
Why? Because the target is __6__ People complained that buses were late and infrequent. __7__ the number of buses and bus lanes were increased, and drivers were __8__ or punished according to the time they took. And drivers hit these targets. But they __9__ hit cyclists. If the target was changed to __10__ , you would have more inspectors and more sensitive pricing. If the criterion changed to safety, you would get more__11__drivers who obeyed traffic laws. But both these criteria would be at the expense of time.
There is another __12__ : people become immensely inventive in hitting targets.
Have you __13__ that you can leave on a flight an hour late but still arrive on time? Tailwinds? Of course not! Airlines have simply changed the time a __14__ is meant to take. An one-hour flight is now ballad as a two-hour flight.
The __15__ of the story is simple. Most jobs are multidimensional, with multiple criteria. Choose one criterion and you may well __16__ others. Everything can be done faster and made cheaper, but there is a __17__. Setting targets can and does have unforeseen negative consequences
This is not an argument against target-setting. But it is an argument for exploring consequences first. All good targets should have multiple criteria __18__ critical factors such as time, money quality and customer feedback. The trick is not only to __19__just one or even two dimensions of the objective, but also to understand how to help people better __20__ the objective.
1.A.therefore B.again C.moreover D.however
2.A.Identify B.Assess C.Emphasize D.Explain
3. A.curiously B quickly C eagerly D. nearly
4.A. check B.prove C. recall D. claim
5.A.threatened B. mocked C ignored D blamed
6.A.hospitality B.competition C punctuality D. innovation
7.A. Yet B. Besides C.still D.so
8.A. rewarded B. trained C grouped D.hired
9.A. rather B. also C.once D.only
10.A.comfort B.efficiency C.security D. revenue
11.A.cautious B.quiet C. diligent D. friendly
12.A.purpose B.prejudice C policy D.problem
13.A.revealed B.noticed C. admitted D.reported
14.A. break B departure C. transfer D. trip
15.A. background B. style C.moral D.form
16.A. sacrifice B. criticize C. tolerate D. interpret
17.A. secret B. cost C product D. task
18.A. relating to B.calling for C.accounting for D.leading to
19.A predict B. restore C.specify D. create
20. A review B. achieve C. present D. modify
Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
Text 1
“ Reskilling"something that sounds like a buzzword but is actually a requirement if we plan to have a future in which a lot of would-be workers do not get left behind
We know we are moving into a period where the jobs in demand will change rapidly, as will the requirements of the jobs that remain. research by the World Economic Forum finds that on average 42 per cent of the “core skills"within job roles will change by 2022. That is a very short timeline.
The question of who should pay for reskilling is a thorny one For individual companies, the temptation is always to let go of workers whose skills are no longer in demand and replace them with those whose skills are. That does not always happen. AT&T is often given as the gold standard of a company that decided to do a massive reskilling program rather than go with a fire-and-hire strategy
Other companies had also pledged to create their own plans. When the skills mismatch is in the broader economy, though, the focus usually turns to government to handle. Efforts in Canada and elsewhere have been arguably languid at best, and have given us a situation where we frequently hear of employers begging for workers, even at times and in regions where unemployment is high
With the pandemic, unemployment is very high indeed. in February, at 3.5 United States were at generational lows and worker shortages were everywhere. As of may those rates had spiked up to 13.3 per cent and 13.7 per cent, and although many worker shortages had disappeared, not all had done so. In the medical field, to take an obvious example the pandemic meant that there were still clear shortages of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel
Of course, it is not like you can take an unemployed waiter and train him to be a doctor in a few weeks But even if you can not close that gap, maybe you can close others, and doing so would be to the benefit of all concerned .That seems to be the case in Sweden :When forced to furlough 90 percent of their cabin staff ,Scandinavian Airlines decided to start up a short retraining program that reskilled the laid-off workers to support hospital staff.The effort was a collective one and involved other companies as well as a Swedish university.
21. Research by the World Economic Forum suggests__________
A. an urgent demand for new job skills
B. an increase in full-time employment
C a Steady growth of job opportunities
D. a controversy about the “core skills”
22. AT&T is cited to show__________
A. the characteristic of reskilling programs
B. the importance of staff appraisal standards
C an immediate need for government support
D. an alternative to the fire-and-hire strategy
23. Efforts to resolve the skills mismatch in Canada______
A. have driven up labour costs
B. have proved to be inconsistent
C. have met with fierce opposition
D. have appeared to be insufficient
24. We can learn from Paragraph 3 that there was
A. a sign of economic recovery
B a call for policy adjustment
C a change in hiring practices
D a lack of medical workers
25. Scandinavian airlines decided to
A create jobs vacancies for the unemployed
B retrain their cabin staff for better services
C prepare their laid-off workers for other jobs
D finance their staffs college education
Text 2
With the global population predicted to hit close to 10 billion by 2050, and forecasts that agricultural production in some regions will need to nearly double to keep pace, food security is increasingly making headlines. In the UK, it has become a big talking point recently too, for a rather particular reason: Brexit
Brexit is seen by some as an opportunity to reverse a recent trend towards the UK importing food. The country produces only about 60 per cent of the food it eats, down from almost three-quarters in the late 1980s. A move back to self-sufficiency, the argument goes, would boost the farming industry, political sovereignty and even the nation's health. Sounds great-but how feasible is this vision?
According to a report on UK food production from- the University of Leeds, UK, 85 per cent of the country's total land area is associated with meat and dairy production. That supplies 80 percent of what is consumed, so even covering the whole country in livestock farms wouldn’t allow us to cover all our meat and dairy needs.
There are many caveats to those figures, but there are still grave. To become much more self-sufficient the UK would need to drastically reduce its-consumption of animal foods, and probably also farm more intensively -meaning fewer green fields and more factory-style production.
But switching to a mainly plant based diet wouldn’t help. There is good reason why the UK is dominated by animal husbandry; most of its terrain doesn't have the right soil or climate to grow crops on a crop growing, most of which is already occupied by arable fields.Even if we converted all the suitable land to fields of fruit and veg —which would involve taking out all the nature reserves and removing thousands of people from their homes -we would achieve only a 30 per cent boost in crop production.
Just 23 per cent of the fruit and vegetables consumed in the UK are currently home-grown, so even with the most extreme measures we could meet only 30 per cent of our fresh produce needs. That is before we look for the space to grow the grains, sugars, seeds and oils that provide us with the vast bulk of our current calorie intake.
26. Some people argue that food self-sufficiency in UK would______
A. be hindered by its population growth
B. become apriority of government
C. Pose a challenge to its farming industry
D. Contribute to the nation’s well-being
27. The report by the University of Leeds shows that in the UK_______
A. Farmland has been inefficiently untilized
B. factory—style production needs reforming
C. Most land is used for meat and dairy production
D. More green fields will be converted for farming
28. Crops-growing in the UK is restricted due to_________
A. its farming technology
B. its dietary tradition
C. its natural conditions
D.Its commercial interests
29.It can be learned from the last paragraph that British people________
A. rely largely on imports for fresh produce
B. enjoy a steady rise in fruit consumption
C. are seeking effective ways to cut calorie intake
D. are trying to grow new varieties of grains
30. The author’s attitude to food self-sufficiency in the UK is__________
A .defensive
B. doubtful
C. Tolerant
D. Optimistic
Text 3
When Microsoft bought task management app Wunderlist and mobile calendar Sunrise in 2015, it picked up two newcomers that were attracting considerable buzz in Silicon Valley. Microsoft’s own Office dominates the market for"productivity” software, but the start-ups represented a new wave of technology designed from the ground up for the smart-phone world.
Both apps, however, were later scrapped after Microsoft said it had used their best features in its own products. Their teams of engineers stayed on, making them two of the many "acqui-" that the biggest companies have used to feed their insatiable hunger for tech talent
To Microsoft's critics, the fates of Wunderlist and Sunrise are examples of a remorseless drive by Big tech to chew up an innovative companies that lie in their path. “They bought the seedlings and closed them down” complained Paul Arnold, a partner at San Francisco-based Switch Ventures, putting paid to businesses that might day tum into competitors Microsoft declined to comment
Like other start-up investors, Mr Molds own business often depends on selling start-ups to larger tech companies, though he admits to mixed feelings about the result: "I think these things are good for me, if i put my selfish hat on. But are they good for the American economy? I don' t know”
The US Federal Trade Commission says it wants to find the answer to that question. This week, it asked the five most valuable US tech companies for information about their many small acquisitions over the past decade. Although only a research project at this stage, the request has raised the prospect of regulators wading into early-stage tech markets that until now have been beyond their reach.
Given their combined market value of more than S5. 5tn, rifling through such small deals- many of them much less prominent than Wunderlist and Sunrise-might seem beside the point Between hem, the five companies (Apple,Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Facebook)have spent an average of only $3. 4bn a year on sub-$1bn acquisitions over the past five years a drop in the ocean compared with their massive financial reserves, and the more than $130bn of venture capital that was invested in the US last year
However, critics say that the big companies use such deals to buy their most threatening potential competitors before their businesses have a chance to gain momentum, in some cases as part of a"buy and kill"tactic to simply close them down
31. What is true about Wunderlist and Sunrise after their acquisition?
A. Their market values declined
B. Their engineers were retained
C. Their tech features improved
D. Their products were re-priced
32 Microsoft’s critics believe that the big tech companies tend to
A. exaggerate their product quality
B. treat new tech talent unfairly
C. eliminate their potential competitions
D.ignore public opinions
33. Paul Arnold is concerned that small acquisitions might
A. weaken big tech companies
B. worse market competition
C. discourage start-up investors
D. harm the national economy
34. The US Federal Trade Commission intends to
A. supervise start-ups operations
B. encourage research collaboration
C. limit Big Tech’s expansion
D. examine small acquisitions
35. For the five biggest tech companies, their small acquisitions have
A. raised few management challenges
B. brought little financial pressure
C. set an example for future deals
D. generated considerable profits
Text 4
We’re fairly good at judging people based on first impressions, thin slices of experience ranging from a glimpse of a photo to a five-minute interaction, and deliberation can be not only extraneous but intrusive. In one study of the ability she dubbed"thin slicing", the late psychologist Nalini Ambady asked participants to watch a silent 10-second video clips of professors and to rate the instructor s overall effectiveness. Their ratings correlated strongly with students end-of-semester ratings. Another set of participants had to count backward from 1,000 by nines as they watched the clips, occupying their conscious working memory. Their ratings were just as accurate, demonstrating the intuitive nature of the social processing.
Critically, another group was asked to spend a minute writing down reasons for their judgment, before giving the rating. Accuracy dropped dramatically. Ambady suspected that deliberation focused them on vivid but misleading cues, such as certain gestures or utterances, rather than letting the complex interplay of subtle signals form a holistic impression. She found similar interference when participants watched 15-second clips of pairs of people and judged whether they were strangers, friends, or dating partners.
Other research shows we're better at detecting deception and sexual orientation from thin slices when we rely on intuition instead of reflection. “It's as if you're driving a stick shift, says Judith Hall, a psychologist at Northeastern University, "and if you start thinking about it too much, you can't remember what you're doing. But if you go on automatic pilot, you're fine. Much of our social life is like that
Thinking too much can also harm our ability to form preferences College students' ratings of strawberry jams and college courses aligned better with experts' opinions when the students weren’t asked to analyze their rationale And people made car-buying decisions that were both objectively better and more personally satisfying when asked to focus on their feelings rather than on details, but only if the decision was complex -when they had a lot of information to process
Intuition's special powers are unleashed only in certain circumstances. In one study, participants completed
battery of eight tasks, including four that tapped reflective thinking discerning rules, comprehending vocabulary )and four that tapped intuition and creativity(generating new products or figures of speech). Then they rated the degree to which they had used intuition("gut feelings", hunches", "my heart ). Use of their gut hurt their performance on the first four tasks, as expected, and helped them on the rest Sometimes the heart is smarter than the head
36. Nalini Ambaby’ s study deals with
A. instructor student interaction
B. the power of people’s memory
C. the reliability of first impressions
D. People 's ability to influence others
37. In Ambaby's study, rating accuracy dropped where participants
A. gave the rating in limited time
B .focused on specific details
C. watched shorter video clips
D. discussed with on another
38. Judith Hall mentions driving to mention that
A. memory can be selective
B .reflection can be distracting
C. social skills must be cultivated
D. deception difficult to detect
39. When you are making complex decisions, it is advisable
A. follow your feelings
B. list your preference
C.seek expert advice
D.collect enough data
40. What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Intuition may affect reflective tasks
B. Generating new products takes times
C.Vocabulary comprehension needs creativity
D.Objective thinking may boost inventiveness
Part B
Directions: Read the following text and answer questions by finding a subtitle for each of the marked parts or paragraphs. There are two extra items in the subtitles. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.(10 points)
A. Stay calm
B. Stay hum
C. Don’t make judgments
D. Be realistic about the risks
E. Decide weather to wait
F. Ask permission to disagree
G. Identified a shared goal
Your boss proposes a new initiative you think won t work. Your senior colleague outlines a project timeline you think is unrealistic. What do you say when you disagree with someone who has more power than you do? How do you decide whether it's worth speaking up? And if you do, what exactly should you say?
41.________________________
After this risk assessment, you may decide it's best to hold off on voicing your opinion. Maybe"you finished thinking the problem through, the whole discussion was a surprise to you, or you want to get a clearer sense of what the group thinks, " says Weeks. If you think other people are going to disagree too, you might want to gather your army first. People can contribute experience or information to your thinking - all the things that would make the disagreement stronger or more valid. " It's also a good idea to delay the conversation if you're in a meeting or other public space. Discussing the issue in private will make the powerful person feel less threatened
42._______________________
Before you share your thoughts, think about what the powerful person cares about it may be the credibility of their team or getting a project done on time, "says Grenny. You' re more likely to be heard if you can connect your disagreement to a "higher purpose. " When you do speak up, don't assume the link will be clear. You' ll want to state it overtly, contextualizing your statements so that you're seen not as a disagreeable underling but as a colleague who’s trying to advance a shared goal The discussion will then become "more like a chess game than a boxing match, "says Weeks
43._______________________
This step may sound overly deferential, but, according to Grenny, it's a smart way to give the powerful person“psychological safety"and control. You can say something like”, I know we seem to be moving toward a first-quarter commitment here. I have reasons to think that won't work I'd like to lay out my reasoning. Would that be OK? "This gives the person a choice, "allowing them to verbally opt in, "says Grenny. and, assuming they say yes, it will make feel more confident about voicing your disagreement
44._______________________
You might feel your heart racing or your face turning red but do whatever you can to remain neutral in both you words and actions. When your body language communicates reluctance or anxiety it undercuts the message, Weeks says. It sends"a mixed message, and your counterpart gets to choose what to read, " she explains. Deep breaths can help as can speaking more slowly and deliberately. "When we feel panicky we tend to talk louder and faster. Yo don' t want to be mousey or talk in a whisper, but simply slowing the pace and talking in an even tone helps calm the other person down and does the same for you”, says Grenny. It also makes you seem confident, even if you aren't
45.________________________
Emphasize that you're offering your opinion, not gospel truth, says Grenny. It may be a well-informed well-researched opinion, but it's still an opinion, [so] talk tentatively and slightly understate your confidence. "Instead of saying something like," If we set an end-of-quarter deadline, we'll never make it, "say, This is just my opinion,but I don' t see how we will make that deadline. " Weeks suggests adding a lot of guiding phrases "like" I'm thinking aloud here. This will leave room for dialogue. Having asserted your position (as a position, not as a fact demonstrate equal curiosity about other views, says Grenny. Remind the person that this is your point of view, and then invite critique. Weeks suggests trying something like, " Tell me where I' m wrong with this " Be genuinely open to hearing other opinions
SectionIII Translation
46. Directions:
In this section there is a passage in English. Translate it into Chinese and write your version on the ANSWER SHEET 2.(15 points)
We tend to think that friends and family members are our biggest sources of connection, laughter and warmth. While that may well be true, researchers have also recently found that interacting with strangers actually brings a boost in mood and feelings of belonging that we didn't expect.
In our series of studies, researchers instructed Chicago-area commuters using public transportation to strike up a conversation with someone near them. On average, participants who followed this instruction felt better than those who had been told to stand or sit in silence. The researchers also argued that when we shy away from casual interaction with strangers, it is often due to a misplaced anxiety that they might not want to talk to us. Much of that time, however, this belief is false. As it turns out, many people are actually perfectly willing to talk---and may even be flattered to receive your attention.
Section IV writing
Part A
47. Directions:
Suppose you are organizing an online meeting, write an email to Jack, an international student, to
1)invite him to participate, and
2)tell him the details
You should write about 100 words
Don’t sign your name, use Li Ming instead
Part B
48. Directions:
Write an essay based on the following chart. In your writing, you should
1)interpret the chart and
2) give your comments
You should write at least 150 words. Write your essay on ANSWER SHEET 2 (15 points)
________________________________________________
参考答案
参考答案
1. D However 2. C emphasize 3. B quickly
4. A check 5. C ignored 6. C punctuality
7. D So 8. A rewarded 9. B also
10. D revenue 11. A cautious 12. D problem
13. B noticed 14. D trip 15. C moral
16. A sacrifice 17. B cost 18. A relating to
19. C specify 20. B achieve
Section II Reading Comprehension
Text 1
A. an urgent demand for new job skills
D. an alternative to the fire-and-hire strategy
D. have appeared to be insufficient
D a lack of medical workers
C prepare their laid-off workers for other jobs
Text 2
C. contribute to the nations well-being
C. most land is used for meat and dairy production
C. its natural conditions
A. rely largely on imports for fresh produce
B. doubtful
Text 3
B.Their engineers were retained
C. eliminate their potential competitions
D. harm the national economy
D. examine small acquisitions
B. brought little financial pressure
Text 4
C the reliability of first impressions
B. focused on specific details
B.reflection can be distracting
A. follow your feelings
A. Intuition may affect reflective tasks
Part B
41. Decide whether to wait
42. Identify a shared goal
43. Ask permission to disagree
44. Stay calm
45. Stay humble
SectionIII Translation
【参考译文】
我们通常将朋友和家人视为交流，快乐和温暖的重要源泉。这也许是正确的。但是,研究人员最近发现与陌生人交流可以改善情绪并找到出乎预料的情感归属。
在一系列研究中，研究人员建议芝加哥地区乘坐公共交通工具的通勤者与附近的人搭讪。结果显示：那些与人交流的乘客远比那些被告知独自站立或静坐的人感觉要好。研究人员还认为，我们之所以在日常生活中羞于与陌生人交流是因为我们错误地认为别人不愿意交流。事实证明，许多人其实非常愿意交谈——甚至可能因为能引起你的注意而感到受宠若惊。
Section IV Writing
【参考范文】
Dear Jack:
I am writing this letter to invite you to take part in an online meeting. It would be a great honor for me if you could participate.
This online meeting is about how to utilize multimedia to aid our study. With the continuous development of network technology, it is very convenient to use multimedia materials in learning and researching, therefore, it is beneficial for students to get familiar with these tools. The meeting starts at nine o'clock on Tuesday morning. We will be glad to meet you online on Tuesday.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly. Looking forward to your participation.
Yours sincerely,
Li Ming
【参考范文】
The chart above depicts the different forms of taking exercise. As is revealed by the chart, the percentage of taking exercise alone was the largest among all the categories, accounting for 54%. In comparison, taking exercise with friends, and with families took up 47.7% and 23. 9% respectively, while taking exercise in the form of group only occupied 15.8%.
These differences correspond to the social reality and living standard in existence. Actually, some factors always stand out on top of others, if we take a closer look into the phenomenon. At the top of the list, due to the COVID-19 circumstance this year, people tend to keep a reasonable social distance, which contributes to more than half of the folks decide to take exercise alone rather than in the form of group. Besides taking exercise alone may bring about efficiency. There is no doubt that overwhelming majorities insist that jogging alone or taking other exercises alone can help them focus on the present. However, we can not ignore the fact that it is still essential for many people to take exercise with friends, this is probably because people need interaction and connection.
Taking into account the points discussed so far, we can conclude that with the development of society, phenomenon is bound to continue for a few years in the future. As far as I am concerned, it's a positive trend and should be encouraged since it is beneficial not merely to individuals but to the whole society.
