Normal 0 7.8 磅 0 2 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Bosses Say “Yes” to Home WorkRising costs of office space, time lost to stressful commuting, and a slow recognition that workers have lives beyond the office—all are strong arguments for letting staff work from home.For the small business, there are additional benefits too—staff are more productive, and happier, enabling firms to keep their headcounts (员工数) and their recruitment costs to a minimum. It can also provide competitive advantage, especially when small businesses want to attract new staff but don’t have the budget to offer huge salaries.While company managers have known about the benefits for a long time, many have done little about it, sceptical of whether they could trust their employees to work to full capacity without supervision, or concerned about the additional expenses teleworking policies might incur as staff start charging their home phone bills to the business.Yet this is now changing. When communications provider Inter-Tel researched the use of remote working solutions among small-and-medium-sized UK businesses in April this year, it found that 28% more companies claimed to have introduced flexible working practices than a year ago.The UK network of Business Links confirms that it too has seen a growing interest in remote working solutions from small businesses seeking its advice, and claims that as many as 60-70% of the businesses that come through its doors now offer some form. of remote working support to their workforces.Technology advances, including the widespread availability of broadband, are making the introduction of remote working a piece of cake.“If systems are set up properly, staff can have access to all the resources they have in the office wherever they have an internet connection,” says Andy Poulton, e-business advisor at Business Link for Berkshire and Wiltshire. “There are some very exciting developments which have enabled this.”One is the availability of broadband everywhere, which now covers almost all of the country (BT claims that, by July, 99.8% of its exchanges will be broadband enabled, with alternative plans in place for even the most remote exchanges). “This is the enabler,” Poulton says.Yet while broadband has come down in price too, those service providers targeting the business market warn against consumer services masquerading (伪装) as business-friendly broadband.“Broadband is available for as little as ￡15 a month, but many businesses fail to appreciate the hidden costs of such a service,” says Neil Stephenson, sales and marketing director at Onyx Internet, an internet service provider based in the north-east of England. “Providers offering broadband for rock-bottom prices are notorious for poor service, with regular breakdowns and heavily congested (拥堵的) networks. It is always advisable for businesses to look beyond the price tag and look for a business-only provider that can offer more reliability, with good support.” Such services don’t cost too much—quality services can be found for upwards of ￡30 a month.The benefits of broadband to the occasional home worker are that they can access email in real time, and take full advantage of services such as internet-based backup or even internet-based phone services.Internet-based telecoms, or VoIP (Voice over IP) to give it its technical title, is an interesting tool to any business supporting remote working. Not necessarily because of the promise of free or reduced price phone calls (which experts point out is misleading for the average business), but because of the sophisticated voice services that can be exploited by the remote worker—facilities such as voicemail and call forwarding, which provide a continuity of the company image for customers and business partners.By law, companies must “consider seriously” requests to work flexibly made by a parent with a child under the age of six, or a disabled child under 18. It was the need to accommodate employees with young children that motivated accountancy firm Wright Vigar to begin promoting teleworking recently. The company, which needed to upgrade its IT infrastructure (基础设施) to provide connectivity with a new, second office, decided to introduce support for remote working at the same time.Marketing director Jack O’Hern explains that the company has a relatively young workforce, many of whom are parents: “One of the triggers was when one of our tax managers returned from maternity leave. She was intending to work part time, but could only manage one day a week in the office due to childcare. By offering her the ability to work from home, we have doubled her capacity—now she works a day a week from home, and a day in the office. This is great for her, and for us as we retain someone highly qualified.”For Wright Vigar, which has now equipped all of its fee-earners to be able to work at maximum productivity when away from the offices (whether that’s from home, or while on the road), this strategy is not just about saving on commute time or cutting them loose from the office, but enabling them to work more flexible hours that fit around their home life.O’Hern says: “Although most of our work is client-based and must fit around this, we can’t see any reason why a parent can’t be on hand to deal with something important at home, if they have the ability to complete a project later in the day.”Supporting this new way of working came with a price, though. Although the firm was updating its systems anyway, the company spent 10-15% more per user to equip them with a laptop rather than a PC, and about the same to upgrade to a server that would enable remote staff to connect to the company networks and access all their usual resources.Although Wright Vigar hasn’t yet quantified the business benefits, it claims that, in addition to being able to retain key staff with young families, it is able to save fee-earners a substantial amount of “dead” time in their working days.That staff can do this without needing a fixed telephone line provides even more efficiency savings. “With Wi-Fi (fast, wireless internet connections) popping up all over the place, even on trains, our fee-earners can be productive as they travel, and between meetings, instead of having to kill time at the shops,” he adds.The company will also be able to avoid the expense of having to relocate staff to temporary offices for several weeks when it begins disruptive office renovations soon.Financial recruitment specialist Lynne Hargreaves knows exactly how much her firm has saved by adopting a teleworking strategy, which has involved handing her company’s data management over to a remote hosting company, Datanet, so it can be accessible by all the company’s consultants over broadband internet connections.It has enabled the company to dispense with its business premises altogether, following the realisation that it just didn’t need them any more. “The main motivation behind adopting home working was to increase my own productivity, as a single mum to an 11-year-old,” says Hargreaves. “But I soon realised that, as most of our business is done on the phone, email and at off-site meetings, we didn’t need our offices at all. We’re now saving ￡16,000 a year on rent, plus the cost of utilities, not to mention what would have been spent on commuting.”1. What is the main topic of this passage?A) How business managers view hi-tech.B) Relations between employers and employees.C) How to cut down the costs of small businesses.D) Benefits of the practice of teleworking.

({B)} The Organized Traveller’s Checklist({/B)} Here’s a step-by-step guide to accomplishing the essentials in the weeks, days, and hours before you leave on vacation.Eight Weeks Ahead ・ If you’re going out of the country and don’t have all of the documents you need--whether passports or original birth certificates--now is the time to get them. If it looks like the documents may not arrive until the last minute--or even late--show your airline tickets to personnel at the government agencies from which you’re requesting documents. Ask them to put a rush on your application. ・ If you’re traveling abroad, contact a travel health specialist (your health-care provider may have a travel department, or your doctor may be able to recommend a specialist), or contact your local health department to ask about immunizations and preventive medicines. ・ When it comes to what to take with you--be it luggage, sports equipment, camping gear, or clothing--now’s the time to assess your needs. You can save shopping time and hassle by buying from catalogs: order now so purchases will arrive before your departure date.({B)}Six Weeks Ahead({/B)} ・ If you don’t belong to an auto club and are about to use your car on a trip, join a club now so you can take advantage of member benefits. These usually include trip-planning services, maps, guidebooks, discounts at accommodations and attractions, and roadside emergency help. ・ Join an airline’s frequent-flier program too--it’s free. Make sure the names on your tickets and on membership forms are identical, or you won’t get mileage (英里里程)credit for your flights. Give frequent-flier numbers to your travel agent.({B)}Four Weeks Ahead({/B)} ・ Airline seats are generally assigned and confirmed 30 days prior to departure, so call now to get your desired seat assignments and to make certain your family is seated together. Another call to make is to a kennel (养狗场) or other facility if you plan to board a pet during vacation. ・ Buy any home security and automation (自动操作)devices you’ll need. These might include timers for lights and TVs, an alarm system, automatic plant-watering systems, and pet feeders. Figure out how they work now so you won’t be scrambling to set them on the day of departure. ・ If anyone in your family wears glasses or contacts, order a spare pair today so they’ll be ready by the time you go. At the very least, get an up-to-date prescription so you can take it to a quick-service optical store if glasses are lost or broken. If you need prescriptions or checkups, make those appointments now.({B)}Two Weeks Ahead({/B)} ・ Write down your doctors’ and. pharmacist’s phone numbers in case you need information on the road. If you’ll be driving your own car, have a reliable mechanic check it from top to bottom. ・ Plan the route now: Do it yourself with good maps and trip-planning software, or use your automobile club’s trip-planning service. Clubs like the American and Canadian Automobile Associations (AAA and CAA) require two weeks’ notice to provide this service to members. ・ You will want to carry a moderate amount of cash, as well as traveler’s checks and credit or debit cards. Automated teller machines (ATMs) are handy because you don’t have to take as much cash with you, but check with your bank to see if there will be ATMs where you’re going. Buy the traveler’s checks now, and be sure to keep the records detailing check numbers separate from the checks themselves. ・ Check camera equipment. Buy fresh batteries and more film than you think you’ll need. Resort-area stores charge premium prices for cameras and film.({B)}One Week Ahead({/B)} ・ No need to pack yet, but get everything ready. Gather toiletries, medicines, shoes, clothes, first-aid supplies, toys, and activities. Wash clothes and add to the pile. Make a separate pile for carry-on items. ・ Unless taxis or airport shuttle buses are available in your area, arrange a ride to the airport. You can call a car service or radio taxi, or ask a friend to take you. Arrange for your lawn to be cut, your mail to be held or picked up, and newspaper and milk delivery to be suspended. If you’re expecting deliveries from a parcel service, make arrangements for those too. ・ If any bills will come due while you’re away, pay them in advance. You can also prepay some bills if you’ll be gone a month or longer. Make arrangements with your utility, telephone, and cable companies, or any others that may tack on late fees or interest if you don’t pay on time. Call your child’s school if it’ll be in session while you’re gone. Give the office your travel dates, and talk to teachers about making up assignments. Also talk about travel-related work your child can do to make up for missing school.({B)}48 Hours Ahead({/B)} ・ Plan to meet with a friend who will hold on to your house keys and a detailed itinerary with telephone numbers where you can be reached. Also, give the friend a list of the serial numbers for your traveler’s checks, photocopies of airline tickets, and copies of any passports or birth certificate you’re taking along. If you lose these, your friend can fax or send copies to you. ・ Finish laundry now. You don’t want to be washing clothes at the last minute and worrying about whether everything will be dry enough to pack.({B)}The Final 24 Hours({/B)} ・ The day before you leave, stay home from work if possible--or at least try to come home early. Sacrificing one vacation day is worth it to reduce stress. ・ Once you’re packed and organized, order dinner in instead of cooking, and use paper plates so that you won’t have to wash up afterward. Before bed, load packed bags and any camping or sports gear into the car, leaving one bag indoors to hold last-minute items. If someone will be driving you to the airport, set everything by the door.({B)}Last-Minute Details({/B)} ・ Walk through the house and take care of everything that needs attention. In the kitchen, wash dishes, throw out the coffee filter, unplug appliances, and make sure the oven and stove-top burners are off. Adjust the refrigerator to an energy-saving setting, and toss out perishable foods. Take out the garbage. If you have canceled garbage pickup during your vacation, bring last-minute trash to a neighbor’s house or with you to dump elsewhere. ・ In the living room and bedrooms, unplug TVs and other devices not on timers. If it’s summer, turn the air conditioning off or to a comfortable setting for pets staying behind. If it’s winter, turn the heat to the lowest temperature that will keep pets warm and prevent pipes from freezing (ask your local utility company for the ideal setting). Close the fireplace flue to save heat and keep out animals. ・ Turn off the water to the washing machine. Clean pets’ cages and litter boxes; leave care instructions if they’re staying behind and you’ve asked someone to look in on them. Activate control systems for security, lawn watering, and lights. Before leaving, secure windows and doors.What do you do if you want to get a desired seat assignment on the airline A．To call the airline to confirm two months before the departure.B．To call your family and discuss about it together.C．To call the airline to confirm one month ahead of the departure.D．To call the travel agency to confirm three weeks before the departure.

1、A. growing number of US seniors face the risk of early mortality.B. Correlations have been found between loneliness and ill health.B.Chronic loneliness does harm to senior citizens in particular.D. The number of older Americans living alone is on the rise.2、E. Loneliness is probably reversible.F. Being busy helps fight loneliness.G. Loneliness rarely results from living alone.H. Medication is available for treating loneliness.3、I. Living with one´s children.J. Meaningful social contact.K. Meeting social expectations.L. Timely medical intervention.

TranslationTranslate the following sentences into English.1 中庸思想（Doctrine of the Mean）是儒家思想的核心之一，“中”不是折中，而是处理事情时的一种适度的（moderate）方法。__2 孔子主张，应该通过自身修养（self-cultivation）把中庸思想融入日常行为中，使之成为一种美德。__3 一直以来，中庸思想为民族精神的构建、智慧的传播和文化的发展发挥着不可估量的（immeasurable）作用。__

3 Translate the following sentences into English with the words and expressions in parentheses.1 书法给人一种很难掌握的印象。但只要你开始练习并坚持下去，你会乐在其中。(give the impression that ...)__2 中国式现代化是物质文明和精神文明相协调的现代化。中国居民从日益多样化的文化活动中得到满足。(feel utterly fulfilled by ...)__3 胡同里经常有人下象棋，还有很多人围观。如果胜负难决，他们也乐得平局。(call it a draw)__4 “曲水流觞(Winding stream party)”是中国古代的一种习俗，也是古代文人雅士的一种时尚休闲方式。(fashionable style)__5 我平时工作繁忙，缺乏锻炼，一般会在周末抽出一天去远足(hiking).(lack of exercise; day off)__

Directions: In this task, you are to write an essay on the necessity of developing social skills for college students. You will have 30 minutes for the task. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.

It was _____ of Michael to inform us of his delay in case we got worried.A. carelessB. considerateC. patientD. generous

8.A(n)____day for me involves waking up at 5 a.m. and going for a long run before starting work.A. flexibleB. greyC. typicalD. internal

Match the following expressions with the corresponding meanings.第一组内容1. employee's card2. feeling of freshness3. adaptation period第二组内容A. 新鲜感B. 工作证C. 适应期请将两组内容相关的项连起来1--- A B C2--- A B C3--- A B C

49.-_ you _(be) here next week?第1空请输入答案第2空请输入答案