Those who work on the “996” model (where employees work from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week) must envy their counterparts (对应的人)in an American company, because they have a shorter work week. Basecamp, a Chicago-based web application company gives all his employees a short work week: just four days—a total of 32 hours, between May and September every year. Also, they usually work five days a week for the rest of the year.
“That’s plenty of time to get great work done. This is all we expect and all we want from people,” says Jason Fried, a co-founder. “Working 60-plus, or 70-plus hours is unnecessary. In fact, if you have to work 60-plus or 70-plus hours a week, there’s a management problem.”
The company’s summer workload must fit reduced hours, Mr. Fried insists, otherwise the benefits of a shorter week - to recover from work, enjoy time with family and develop outside interests - would be undone.
His new research finds that it is not just long hours that are harmful to employees’ physical and mental health. It is also the intensity (强度)of work. Moreover, it suggests that intensity work harms career prospects (前景).That is because unbearable hours and intensity are in the opposite direction, reducing the quality of the work.
The research concludes that the level of intensity we apply to the work we do is generally “a stronger predictor of unfavorable outcomes than overtime work”. The research compared people of similar jobs and education levels, and found they were more likely to suffer poorer happiness and worse career prospects, including satisfaction, security and promotion, when they worked at an intense level for long periods.
1.What do we know about Basecamp’s four — day work week?
A.It lasts nearly half a year. B.The work pressure is too high.
C.There are some management problems. D.Employees work more than 8 hours a day.
2.What does Mr. Fried intend to say in paragraph 2?
A.Given plenty of time, people can do more.
B.To get work done well needs plenty of time.
C.People can do a job very well in a short work week.
D.A long work week is appropriate for reduced workload.
3.What does the research mentioned in the text want to tell us?
A.Getting much more rest. B.Improving work quality.
C.Refusing a five-day work week. D.Avoiding working too intensely.
4.What can be the best title for this passage?
A.More Work, More Profits B.Shorter Week, Better Reward
C.Less Work, Less Benefits D.Longer Hours, Higher Intensity
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题
Those who work on the “996” model (where employees work from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week) must envy their counterparts (对应的人)in an American company, because they have a shorter work week. Basecamp, a Chicago-based web application company gives all his employees a short work week: just four days—a total of 32 hours, between May and September every year. Also, they usually work five days a week for the rest of the year.
“That’s plenty of time to get great work done. This is all we expect and all we want from people,” says Jason Fried, a co-founder. “Working 60-plus, or 70-plus hours is unnecessary. In fact, if you have to work 60-plus or 70-plus hours a week, there’s a management problem.”
The company’s summer workload must fit reduced hours, Mr. Fried insists, otherwise the benefits of a shorter week - to recover from work, enjoy time with family and develop outside interests - would be undone.
His new research finds that it is not just long hours that are harmful to employees’ physical and mental health. It is also the intensity (强度)of work. Moreover, it suggests that intensity work harms career prospects (前景).That is because unbearable hours and intensity are in the opposite direction, reducing the quality of the work.
The research concludes that the level of intensity we apply to the work we do is generally “a stronger predictor of unfavorable outcomes than overtime work”. The research compared people of similar jobs and education levels, and found they were more likely to suffer poorer happiness and worse career prospects, including satisfaction, security and promotion, when they worked at an intense level for long periods.
1.What do we know about Basecamp’s four — day work week?
A.It lasts nearly half a year. B.The work pressure is too high.
C.There are some management problems. D.Employees work more than 8 hours a day.
2.What does Mr. Fried intend to say in paragraph 2?
A.Given plenty of time, people can do more.
B.To get work done well needs plenty of time.
C.People can do a job very well in a short work week.
D.A long work week is appropriate for reduced workload.
3.What does the research mentioned in the text want to tell us?
A.Getting much more rest. B.Improving work quality.
C.Refusing a five-day work week. D.Avoiding working too intensely.
4.What can be the best title for this passage?
A.More Work, More Profits B.Shorter Week, Better Reward
C.Less Work, Less Benefits D.Longer Hours, Higher Intensity
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
Will you ever find fun in the competition? Will you experience it?
Now take a photograph, draw or paint a picture, put it on a postcard and you could have the chance to win an iPad.
Your design should be inspired by something that happened to you today.
Complete the entry form once you’ve completed your artwork, then send it with your postcard to:
Freepost RLXL- GYRS ECCL
UCW Art Competition
University for the Creative Works
Falkner Rd
Farnham
Surrey GU9 7DS
The University for the Creative Works (UCW) Art Competition (“the competition”) is open to people aged between thirteen and nineteen years old.
Students who are studying in UCW, employees of the University or their family members or anyone else connected with the competition may not enter the competition.
When sending in your competition entry you must complete the entry form (download the entry form from here) providing your name, age, date of birth, address, telephone number and e-mail address and (if you are under eighteen) the name and telephone number of your parent or teacher.
Only one entry per artist is allowed.
The last date for entries is 5 pm on Nov. 16, 2020.
UCW will pick three judges, at least two of whom will be Senior Lecturers at the University. The judges will shortlist(列入入围名单) up to fifty entries for exhibition and from the shortlist, winners who get the most support will receive prizes as follows:
1st —iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi 128GB
2nd —iPad Air Wi-Fi 16GB
3rd —iPad mini Wi-Fi 16GB
If you have any questions about the competition, please e-mail us at competitions@ucreative.ac.uk with UCW Art Competition 2020 in the subject.
1.What is required to enter the competition?
A.Designing a picture book. B.Sending an inspiring photo or picture.
C.Recording something that happened to you. D.Creating a postcard with a photo or picture on it.
2.Who can take part in the competition?
A.Students in the University. B.People who work for the University.
C.Teenagers with no relation to the competition. D.Family members of the University’s employees.
3.Where might you read the text?
A.On a school’s notice board. B.At an art exhibition.
C.In a newspaper. D.On the Internet.
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
Shortly before Christmas last year,Brazilian piano player Joao Carlos Martins invited his friends to a bar near his home. He wanted to show them the best gift he had received in many years:a new pair of gloves. They are not just any gloves,however. The specially made bionic(仿生）devices are letting the 79-year-old play with both hands for the first time in more than 20 years.
Martins 'health problems could be traced back to 1965. He suffered nerve damage in his arm from a soccer injury. And while he was on tour,a robber hit him over the head with a metal pipe in Bulgaria. Even his close friends believed that his career as a pianist would come to an end.
By his retirement last March,he had undergone 24 medical procedures to try to reduce pain caused by a series of accidents. As a result,he had been forced to work mostly as a musical conductor since the early 2000s.
However,one designer believed Martins 'retirement had come too early. That designer, Ubirata Bizarro Costa,created special bionic gloves for Martins 'hands. The gloves help move his fingers up after they press on the piano keys. Costa said he created early models based on images of Martins' hands,but that those models were“far from ideal”. He then decided to tell Martins about his efforts and they together spent several months testing different models. The perfect match came in December,and cost only$125 to build.
These days,Martins never takes off his new magic gloves-even when he goes to sleep. Martins said he had received more than 100 devices in the last 50 years as possible solutions to his hand problems. None worked well or long enough. "But these gloves do,"he said.
The new gloves have given Martins a new goal. He hopes to play the piano at New York's Carnegie Hall in October. He has already been preparing a concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of his first appearance there.
1.Which of the following is true about Joao Carlos Martins?
A.A designer who created special gloves for himself.
B.A musician who prefers conducting to playing the piano.
C.A pianist whose career was restricted by health problems.
D.A soccer lover who was hit over the head during a match.
2.What is special about Martins' s new gloves?
A.They have been around for a long time.
B.They are considered to be far from ideal.
C.They enable Martins to play with two hands.
D.They are developed mainly for the disabled.
3.In the process of creation,Costa did the following EXCEPT that
A.he perfected the gloves together with Martins.
B.he spent several months testing different models.
C.he made early models based on images of Martins 's hands.
D.he insisted on building the new gloves despite the high price.
4.What's the best title for the text?
A.Technology Improves People's Life
B.Martins Receives the Best Christmas Gift
C.Costa Creates the Special Gloves for Martins
D.Magic Gloves Let Brazilian Pianist Play Again
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
One day, a college student was taking a walk with a professor. As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes. They supposed the shoes belonged to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day’s word.
The student turned to the professor, saying, “ Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and hide ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his confusion when he cannot find them”.
“My young friend,” answered the professor, “we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by tricking on the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects him.”
The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. After he slipped his foot into one of his shoes, he felt something hard. He bent down to feel w hat it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen on his face.
He fixed his eyes on the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and continued to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin. His feelings overcame him. He fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and cried a sincere thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, Whom the timely help, from some unknown hand, would save from dying．
The student stood there, deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears．“Now,”said the professor,“are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick？” The youth replied,“You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget．
1.The student wanted to play the poor man a trick to _________________．
A.find the truth B.show his wisdom
C.amuse himself D.teach him a lesson
2.After finding the two coins, the man felt_____________．
A.helpless B.interested
C.peaceful D.Thankful
3.We can know from the passage that the professor is ___________．
A.wise B.rich
C.humorous D.Serious
4.What dose the story intend to tell us？
A.A small act of kindness brings great joy．
B.God helps those who help themselves．
C.Where there is a will, there is a way．
D.Actions speak louder than words．
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
It's easy to get defeated completely by something negative in your daily life. Give these apps a try if you want to be more positive instead of being negative in your daily life.
Shine
Shine is a text messaging service based on the idea that sometimes you need some external phrases to guide your internal positive thinking.
Visit the website, and you'll have the ability to sign up to receive a daily text message ——all you need to provide is a first name and a phone number. Then you'll receive one message per day with inspirational quotes from successful people from Monday through Friday.
Kwippy
In many cases, statements that come from other people can be more powerful than ones you make to yourself. That's where Kwippy comes in.
The app Kwippy has a positive, lively community focused on fun while keeping negativity out. It is a new kind of social media platform that will send you random challenges throughout the day, prompting you to take a photo of something in your nearby environment.
ThinkUp
If you're feeling confident and good about your place in life, download the app, come up with some positive statements about yourself and record them for future generations. If you're feeling less creative or don't know what to say, don,t worry 一 the app also has a list of shared positive statements that you can choose from.
Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind, a nonprofit organization, was founded by and is currently operated by psychologists and educators. Everything there is supported by scientific evidence. The app is free to use but you can make a donation if you want to continue supporting their efforts, displaying friendly and thoughtful acts to others.
In the app, you'll find different choices, which can help you remove negative thoughts and focus on the positivity of the present moments.
1.Which app makes people feel encouraged regularly?
A.Shine. B.Kwippy.
C.ThinkUp. D.Smiling Mind.
2.Who is Kwippy suitable for?
A.Those who need to face a big life challenge.
B.Those who look for a friendly neighborhood.
C.Those who long for a great sense of belonging.
D.Those who want to live an enjoyable social life.
3.What is the purpose of the article?
A.To show the power of some advanced apps.
B.To introduce some apps for avoiding people feeling down.
C.To compare the advantages of some apps.
D.To list the wide usage of apps in our daily life.
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
Exercise is an important part of staying healthy. Studies show that it can help strengthen the body’s natural defenses against disease. But exercise does not just keep us healthy. For many people, it is part of their daily routine, making them feel better about themselves. Getting enough exercise at difficult times, such as the current coronavirus pandemic (新冠疫情), is important.
However, due to the bans on close contact between individuals, gyms and exercise studios are not open. In areas with stay-at-home orders, exercising outside may not be as simple as usual. So, people are changing the way they exercise during this pandemic.
Beth Berglin is the director of a gallery in Miami, Florida. Before the pandemic, her exercise routine involved going to camp-style classes four mornings a week. Now, the area where she trains is closed. But she is staying active through online classes. “Part of the reason we exercise is to have that mental break,” she said. “I can’t imagine getting through this without having some form of physical activity.”
Fitness companies are changing to meet the new environment. Some are helping people stay active by offering online classes, some of which are free or have reduced cost. Some are offering longer trial periods for at-home workouts. During a trial period, people can try a product or service for free. Some have completely moved their training programs online. Many of these online exercise classes are made for smaller spaces and do not require any special equipment.
Fitness companies that have been using an online model seem better prepared than others. They are using the pandemic to expand their fitness offerings and appeal to new customers. Some of those new customers include children who are now learning at home during the pandemic. Founders of one online exercise company, named Obe, said that they received requests for children’s classes from parents. So, they launched four 10-minute dance and strength workouts for children 10 years old and younger.
1.What does the word “this” in paragraph 3 probably refer to?
A.The unexpected loneliness. B.The daily exercise routine.
C.The great loss of business. D.The lasting health catastrophe.
2.According to the author, online fitness courses ______ .
A.call for less demanding places but more costs
B.face some challenges in developing new learning models
C.attract more customers by meeting their individual needs
D.are more popular compared with the usual way of exercise
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A.Those who keep exercising have no risk of infection.
B.Regular exercise is an effective way to keep mental health.
C.Obe’s founders are optimistic about the future of their company.
D.The widespread pandemic forces people to break the exercise routine.
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
There are numerous “secrets” out there on attaining success. The vast majority of these so called secrets all have one thing in common – Attitude.
1.
The key to developing a successful attitude is to decide that there are certain things in life that you need, rather than merely want. For example, do you want a luxury house? 2. Do you want fame and fortune in your career?
Sure, everyone wants these things. 3. That is because it’s never enough to merely want something. You have to be the type of individual who feels that they need these things in order to survive. This gives you the motivation to work towards your dream and do whatever it takes – except, of course, for breaking laws or hurting people – to get there. And all this must be done with the “fuel” of a positive attitude.
How do you begin to change your attitude?
It is always useful to connect with useful resources outside us in changing our attitude for the better. 4. Try to pay closer attention to your inner thoughts.
Realizing where negative thoughts come from can help us get to the point where we are able to erase them. Once they are erased, it is vital to replace them with more positive thoughts. 5.
Perhaps your friends and loved ones will not understand the new you. But you can become a role model for them — and it begins by developing a positive attitude!
A.What do you need?
B.Do you want a lot of money?
C.What is the secret to Success?
D.Do you find yourself constantly in doubt?
E.However, the change will always begin inside you.
F.Problem is, very few people are able to attain them.
G.This is how we begin to make an attitude adjustment.
高二英语七选五简单题查看答案及解析
In 1978, I was 18 and was working as a nurse in a small town about 270 km away from Sydney, Australia. I was looking forward to having five fays off from duty. Unfortunately, the only one train a day back to my home in Sydney had already left. So I thought I’d hitch a ride (搭便车).
I waited by the side of the highway for three hours but no one stopped for me. Finally, a man walked over and introduced himself as Gordon. He said that although he couldn’t give me a lift, I should come back to his house for lunch. He noticed me standing for hours in the November heat and thought I must be hungry. I was doubtful as a young girl but he assured (使……放心)me I was safe, and he also offered to help me find a lift home afterwards. When we arrived at his house, he made us sandwiches. After lunch, he helped me find a lift home.
Twenty-five years later, in 2003, while I was driving to a nearby town one day, I saw an elderly man standing in the glaring heat, trying to hitch a ride. I thought it was another chance to repay someone for the favour I’d been given decades earlier. I pulled over and picked him up. I made him comfortable on the back seat and offered him some water.
After a few moments of small talk, the man said to me, “You haven’t changed a bit, even your red hair is still the same.” I couldn’t remember where I’d met him. He then told me he was the man who had given me lunch and helped me find a lift all those years ago. It was Gordon.
1.The author had to hitch a ride one day in 1978 because .
A.her work delayed her trip to Sydney
B.she was going home for her holidays
C.the town was far away from Sydney
D.she missed the only train back home
2.Which of the following did Gordon do according to Paragraph 2?
A.He helped the girl find a ride
B.He gave the girl a ride back home.
C.He bought sandwiches for the girl
D.He watched the girl for three hours.
3.The reason why the author offered a lift to the elderly man was that .
A.she realized he was Gordon
B.she had known him for decades
C.she was going to the nearby town
D.she wanted to repay the favour she once got
4.What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?
A.Giving sometimes produces nice results
B.Those who give rides will be rapid.
C.Good manners bring about happiness
D.People should offer free rides to others.
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
In a new move, doctors are using feature films in order to encourage their patients to talk more freely about their problems. Supporters of “film therapy (疗法)” say that discussing characters and plot lines from a proper film can help people to understand their feelings better.
One of those using the method is Bernie Wooder, a doctor from Elstree, who charges £45 for a one-hour “film therapy” session. He said, “I was treating a woman who had been badly let down in a relationship, and who was experiencing such strong feelings that it was difficult for her to speak about them. I told her that her situation reminded me of On the Waterfront, when Marlon Brando's character realizes his brother is dishonest and he feels a great sense of betrayal (背叛). My patient identified so easily with him that she started to cry. Watching and discussing the film
unlocked all the feelings she had buried. Each time she watched and cried, she felt better.”
Mr Wooder admits that film therapy does not work for everyone, but says he has used it successfully with about a third of his clients. “Through the films' characters, plots and even music, it allows people to face their problems.” He said that Falling Down, in which Michael Douglas plays the part of an unemployed man who is so frustrated (沮丧的) that he uses violence, was an example of the dangerous implications (后果) of not letting anger go. “I used this film with a patient who was very upset because he was holding on to a lot of the anger he felt towards people who had frustrated him,” said Mr Wooder. “We talked about Michael Douglas's character and the disastrous path he takes, and my patient then realized that he needed to let go of his feelings more regularly so as not to erupt (爆发) like a time bomb.”
1.What can we learn about Bernie Wooder?
A.He used to be an actor. B.He likes to review different films.
C.He is good at sharing his feelings. D.He is in support of “film therapy”.
2.Why did the patient cry when she watched On the Waterfront?
A.She missed her brother. B.She was moved by the film.
C.She realized she had been cheated. D.She thought of her sufferings.
3.After discussing Falling Down with Mr Wooder, the patient decided to _____.
A.let go of his anger B.stop his acts of violence
C.forget those who hurt him D.learn from Michael Douglas
4.What does the text mainly tell us?
A.Film stars have problems too.
B.Films can help unlock feelings.
C.Watching films can help you relax.
D.The public should pay more attention to films.
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But what are these really, and how do they operate?
Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things. If this is even possible, it is short-tern, and tends to backfire. If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they must, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term. They will also experience fear.
Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best. If they associate you with .his emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively. Fear has no place m leadership.
The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day, or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation. Today’s work place is all about relationships.
Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they’re recognized and valued as a human being as well as worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like. Leaders understand the way things work. They know the pay check is not the single most motivating factor in the work life of most people.
The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence—knowing your own emotions, and how to handle them, and those of others. Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills.
1.An employee man have a feeling of fear in the work place when .
A.he is forced to do things
B.he cannot work at his best
C.he feels his brain shut down
D.he thinks of his work as too heavy
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.People tend to associate leadership with fear.
B.Good relationship is the key to business success.
C.Smart people are more functional in the work place.
D.Working conditions affect people’s physical health.
3.To positively influence employees, a leader should first of all .
A.develop his own personality
B.provide better suggestions
C.give his employees a pay raise
D.hide his own emotion of fear
4.Good leadership is mainly seen in a leader’s ability to .
A.provide a variety of projects for employees
B.help raise employees’ living standards
C.give employees specific instructions
D.deal wisely with employees’ emotions
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析