Do you want to love what you do for a living? Follow your passion. This piece of advice provides the foundation for modern thinking on career satisfaction. But this can be a problem.
I've spent the past several years researching and writing about the different strategies we use to seek happiness in our work. It became clear early in the process that the suggestion to “follow your passion” was flawed (有缺陷), for it lacks scientific evidence. However, it doesn't mean you should abandon the goal of feeling passionate about your work. The reality emphasizes that things are quite complicated.
Passion is earned. Different people are looking for different things in their work, but generally, people with satisfying careers enjoy some combination of the following features: autonomy，respect, competence, creativity, and a sense of impact. In other words，if you want to feel passionate about your livelihood，don't seek the perfect job，but seek to get more of these features in the job you already have.
Passion is elusive (难捉摸的). Many people develop the rare and valuable skills leading to passion, but still end up unhappy in their work. The problem is that the features leading you to love your work are more likely to be useful to you than your organization. As you become increasingly “valuable”，for example, your boss might push you toward traditional promotions that come with more pay and more responsibility, as this is what is most useful to your company. However, you might find more passion by applying your value to gain autonomy in your schedule or project selection.
Passion is dangerous. I've watched too many of my peers fall into anxiety and chronic(慢性的) job-hopping (跳槽) due to the “follow your passion” advice. The issue is expectations. If you believe we all have a pre-existing passion, and that matching it to a job will lead to instant workplace happiness, reality will always pale in comparison.
Work is hard. Not every day is fun. If you're seeking a dream job, you'll end up frustrated, again and again. Don't set out to discover passion. Instead, set out to develop it. This path might be longer and more complicated than what most cheerful career guides might advocate, but it's a path much more likely to lead you somewhere worth going.People satisfied with their careers are _______.
| A．autonomous and passionate | B．creative and passionate |
| C．respectable and sensitive | D．creative and competent |
What is the author's advice on achieving career satisfaction?
| A．Figuring out early what one will do in the future. |
| B．Matching the pre-existing passion to one's work. |
| C．Developing passion for what one is doing. |
| D．Discovering skills that lead to interesting careers. |
The underlined sentence in Para. 5 probably means that _______.
| A．it is not easy to match our passion with our jobs |
| B．we shouldn't think everyone has a pre-existing passion |
| C．workplace happiness does not require a pre-existing passion |
| D．high expectations of passion in jobs bring disappointment |
What's the author's attitude towards the advice of “following your passion”?
| A．Disapproving. | B．Supportive. | C．Cautious. | D．Unclear. |
In 1859，during the Gold Rush，a twenty- year-old immigrant（移民）from Bavaria named Levi Strauss stepped off the boat in San Francisco. He had with him a special cloth called Serge de Nimes that was later called denim in America. Levi Strauss hoped to sell the denim as material to make tents and covers for wagons to the men who were going to the goldfields to look for gold.
“You should have brought trousers to sell. In the goldfields we need strong trousers that don‘t wear out，”one young miner advised Strauss. So Levi Strauss took some of his denim to the nearest tailor and had him make the miner a pair of trousers. The miner was so pleased that he told other miners about the wonderful newcomer，Levi，and soon Levi Strauss had to open a shop，producing enough trousers for the miners. The miners wanted trousers that were comfortable to ride in and were low cut so that they could bend over easily to pick up the gold from under their feet. Besides they wanted the trousers to have big useful pockets. One miner complained that the gold in his pockets kept tearing them. So Levi put metal corners in the pockets to make them stronger. Very soon，miners and cowboys from all over came to get fitted up with Levi‘s trousers. Today more than a hundred years later， Levi’s trousers walk the world a Levi‘s blue jeans（牛仔裤）。The denim cloth was originally（起初）meant for____.
| A．making tent covers and wagons |
| B．making tents for wagons |
| C．making trousers for the miners |
| D．making wagon covers and tents |
What kind of material do you think is denim？
| A．A strong type of cloth that is not torn by strong wears. |
| B．A special type of cloth that cannot be washed away by rain. |
| C．A smooth type of cloth that is for underwear. |
| D．A wonderful type of cloth that is as good as metal. |
A miner advised Strauss to sell trousers because ____.
| A．the miners didn‘t have enough trousers |
| B．the miner‘s trousers had not been strong enough |
| C．the miner‘s trousers did not wear out easily |
| D．the tailor on the goldfield could not make trousers |
Why did the miners need strong pockets in the trousers？
| A．Their pockets kept tearing the gold. |
| B．Their pockets were not made of metal. |
| C．The gold they found was too sharp and heavy to tear their pockets. |
| D．The gold they collected easily tore their pockets. |
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| A．rent a beautiful flat of her own in Happy Valley |
| B．find another lady to share the cost to rent a flat |
| C．share her room in a flat with whoever has no pet |
| D．find a maid to look after herself |
According to the advertisements, you may _______.
| A．buy an old picture for $150 |
| B．call 25720836 to see a beautiful park |
| C．buy two armchairs for $400 |
| D．hire a maid（女仆）by paying $6,800 |
If you want to buy some old furniture, you should ______.
| A．get in touch with NOVA ELECTRONICS |
| B．call 2524-5867 any day except Monday |
| C．do it before you move to another place |
| D．call either 2524-5867 on Monday or 2521-6011 on Saturday |
Once you get a part-time job in NOVA ELECTRONICS, _______.
| A．you will be given 14 days off each year besides weekends |
| B．you will get $6,598 each month no matter how experienced you are |
| C．your have to work at least 4 hours a day |
| D．you should write a letter of application to Mrs. G Chan |
INTERNATIONAL TRADE OF PANLAND
Considering all imports and exports, what statement can be made about Panland’s trade?
| A．Panland imports food and exports raw materials（原材料）. |
| B．Panland imports manufactured goods（加工品） and exports food. |
| C．Panland imports manufactured goods and exports raw materials. |
| D．Panland imports raw materials and exports manufactured goods. |
With which of the following does Panland carry on the most trade?
| A．Asia. | B．Africa. | C．Middle East. | D．United States. |
What is probably Panland’s largest import from the Middle East?
| A．oil | B．food | C．wood | D．cotton |
Judging from its economy, it could be concluded that most of Panland’s working people are _____
| A．farmers | B．fishing people |
| C．unskilled laborers | D．skilled factory workers |
Language learning begins with listening. Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners. Most children will "obey" spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word "obey" is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises.
Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves as particularly expressive as delight, pain, friendliness, and so on. But sincethese can't be said to show the baby's intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store. This self-imitation leads on to deliberate (有意的) imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.
It is a problem we need to get out. The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world.Thus the use at seven months of"mama" as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at other times for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes. Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself, I doubt, however, whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds. Before children start speaking, _____.
| A．they need equal amount of listening |
| B．they need different amounts of listening |
| C．they are all eager to cooperate with the adults by obeying spoken instructions |
| D．they can't understand and obey the adult's oral instructions |
Children who start speaking late _____.
| A．may have problems with their listening |
| B．probably do not hear enough language spoken around them |
| C．usually pay close attention to what they hear |
| D．often take a long time in learning to listen properly |
A baby's first noises are _____.
| A．an expression of his moods and feelings |
| B．an early form of language |
| C．a sign that he means to tell you something |
| D．an imitation of the speech of adults |
The problem of deciding at what point a baby's imitations can be considered as speech _____.
| A．is important because words have different meanings for different people |
| B．is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age |
| C．is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually |
| D．is one that should be completely ignored (忽略) because children's use of words is often meaningless |
The author implies _____.
| A．parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds |
| B．even after they have learnt to speak, children still enjoy imitating |
| C．children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak |
| D．children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly |
Can people change their skin color without suffering like pop king Michael Jackson? Perhaps yes. Scientists have found the gene that determines skin color.
The gene comes in two versions, one of which is found in 99 per cent of Europeans. The other is found in 93 to 100 per cent of Africans, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report in the latest issue of Science.
Scientists have changed the color of a dark-striped zebrafish（斑马鱼） to uniform gold by inserting a version of the pigment (色素) gene into a young fish. As with humans, zebrafish skin color is determined by pigment cells, which contain melanin (黑色素). The number, size and darkness of melanin per pigment cell determine skin color.
It appears that, like the golden zebrafish, light-skinned Europeans also have a mutation (变异) in the gene for melanin production. This results in less pigmented skin.
However, Keith Cheng, leader of the research team, points out that the mutation is different in human and zebrafish genes.
Humans acquired dark skin in Africa about 1.5 million years ago to protect bodies from ultra-violet rays of the sun (太阳光紫外线), which can cause skin cancer.
But when modern humans leave Africa to live in northern latitudes, they need more sunlight on their skin to produce vitamin D. So the related gene changes, according to Cheng.
Asians have the same version of the gene as Africans, so they probably acquired their light skin through the action of some other gene that affects skin color, said Cheng.
The new discovery could lead to medical treatments for skin cancer. It also could lead to research into ways to change skin color without damaging it like chemical treatment did on Michael Jackson.The passage mainly tells us that ________.
| A．people can not change their skin color without any pain |
| B．the new discovery could lead to research into ways to change skin color safely |
| C．pop king Michael Jackson often changed his skin color as he liked |
| D．scientists have found out that people’s skin color is determined by the gene |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．nowadays people who want to change their skin color have to suffer a lot from the damage caused by the chemical treatment |
| B．Europeans and Africans have the same gene |
| C．the new discovery could help to find medical treatments for skin cancer |
| D．there are two kinds of genes |
Scientists have done an experiment on a dark-striped zebrafish in order to ________.
| A．find the different genes of humans’ |
| B．prove the humans’ skin color is determined by the pigment gene |
| C．find out the reason why the Africans’ skin color is dark |
| D．find out the ways of changing people’s skin color |
The reason why Europeans are light-skinned is probably that _____
| A．they are born light-skinned people |
| B．light-skinned Europeans have mutation in the gene for melanin production |
| C．they have fewer activities outside |
| D．they pay much attention to protecting their skin |
The writer’s attitude towards the discovery is ________.
| A．neutral | B．negative | C．positive | D．unconcerned |
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