一、单选题
根据下面资料，回答1-20题
It’s not difficult to set targets for staff. It is much harder, 1 , to understand their negative consequences. Most work-related behaviors 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 became 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. A one-hour flight is now billed 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、第（1）题选______.
A、therefore
B、again
C、moreover
D、however
解析：
：根据句间关系，空格处是一个插入语，空格前一句指出：为员工设定目标并不难。空格所在句指出：理解它们的负面后果要困难得多。首句not difficult和空白处前的much harder存在转折关系。therefore表示因此，用于因果关系的连接；again表示再次，不符合语境；moreover表示而且，用于补充说明；however表示然而，用于转折关系。因此，正确答案是D，表示前后存在转折关系。
根据下面资料，回答21-25题
“Reskilling” is something that sounds like a buzzword but is actually a requirement if we plan to have a future where 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 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively, unemployment rates in Canada and the 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 cannot 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 per cent 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.
2、Research by the World Economic forum suggests_______.
A、an increase in full-time employment
B、an urgent demand for new job skills
C、a steady growth of job opportunities
D、a controversy about the "core skills"
解析：
根据题干中的关键词“Research by the World Economic Forum suggests”，我们可以定位到文章第一段。该段提到世界经济论坛的研究发现，到2022年，工作岗位中的核心技能将有42%发生变化，这是一个非常短的时间线。因此，研究结果表明对于新的工作技能有迫切的需求，选项B“对新工作技能需求的紧迫性”与文章内容相符，是正确答案。而选项A、C和D在文章中均未提及，可以排除。
根据下面资料，回答26-30题
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 per cent 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 they 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 a 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 commercial basis. Just 25 per cent of the country’s land is suitable for 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.
3、Some people argue that food self-sufficiency in UK would_______.
A、be hindered by its population growth
B、become a priority of the government
C、pose a challenge to its farming industry
D、contribute to the nation's well-being
解析：
：根据题干中的关键词food self-sufficiency in UK，可以定位到文章第二段倒数第二句，这句话提到恢复自给自足将促进农业、政治主权乃至国家健康。因此，选项D“有助于英国的良好发展”与文章表述一致。而选项A中的“被人口增长所阻碍”并未在文章中提及，选项B和C提到的政府优先考虑和农业挑战也未在文中提及，故排除。因此，答案为D。
根据下面资料，回答31-35题
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 smartphone 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-hires” 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 any 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 one day turn into competitors. Microsoft declined to comment.
Like other start-up investors, Mr Arnold’s 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 $5.5tn, rifling through such small deals — many of them much less prominent than Wunderlist and Sunrise — might seem beside the point. Between them, 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.
4、What is true about Wunderlist and Sunrise after their acquisitions?
A、Their market values declined.
B、Their tech features improved.
C、Their engineers were retained.
D、Their products were re-priced.
解析：
根据原文第二段提到，微软收购了Wunderlist和Sunrise后，这两个应用的工程师团队留了下来，成为了微软聘请的技术人才。因此，正确答案是C，即他们的工程师被留下来了。其他选项在文中没有提及。
根据下面资料，回答36-40题
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 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 a 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 or the first four tasks, as expected, and helped them on the rest. Sometimes the heart is smarter than the head.
5、Nalini Ambady'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
解析：
：Nalini Ambady的研究关注的是人们基于短暂经验（如照片的一瞥或短暂的互动）对人们的判断。根据文章中的描述，Nalini Ambady通过一系列实验来探讨人们的第一印象是否准确可靠，特别是在判断老师的教学效果、人际关系以及个人喜好等方面。因此，正确答案是C，即Nalini Ambady的研究涉及第一印象的可信度。
根据下面资料，回答41-45题
How to Disagree with Someone More Powerful than You
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? Here is how to disagree with someone more powerful than you.
41.____________
After this risk assessment, you may decide it's best to hold off on voicing your opinion. Maybe you haven't 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. 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 are 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. 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.
43.____________
This step may sound overly deferential, but 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, And, assuming they say yes it will make you 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 your words and actions. When your body language communicates reluctance or anxiety,it undercuts the message, it sends a mixed message, and your counterpart gets to choose what to read. Deep breaths can help, as can speaking more slowly and deliberately. When we feel panicky we tend to talk louder and faster. Simply slowing the pace and talking in an even tone helps calm the other person down and does the same for you. It also makes you seem confident, even if you aren't.
45.____________
Emphasize that you're offering your opinion, not gospel truth. 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. " Having asserted your position (as a position, not as a fact), demonstrate equal curiosity about other views. Remind the person that this is your point of view and then invite critique. Be genuinely open to hearing other opinions.
A．Stay calm
B．Stay humble
C．Don't make judgments
D．Be realistic about the risks
E．Decide whether to wait
F．Ask permission to disagree
G．Identify a shared goal
6、第（41）题选______.
A、Stay calm
B、Stay humble
C、Don't make judgments
D、Be realistic about the risks
E、Decide whether to wait
F、Ask permission to disagree
G、Identify a shared goal
解析：
根据段落中的第一句“…you may decide it’s best to hold off on voicing your opinion”和后面的描述，作者建议在某些情况下需要决定是否要等待，考虑风险后再决定是否要发表自己的观点。因此，正确答案是E，即“Decide whether to wait”（决定是否要等待）。
二、简答题
7、请将下列材料翻译成中文：
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 one 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 the 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 interactions with strangers, it is often due to a misplaced anxiety that they might not want to talk to us. Much of the 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.
解析：
这段材料主要讲述了与陌生人的交流对我们情绪的影响以及人们避免与陌生人交流的原因。首先，文章指出我们往往认为朋友和家庭成员是交流、欢笑和温暖的源泉。然而，近期的研究发现与陌生人的交流也能提升我们的情绪和带来归属感，这超出了我们的预期。接着，文章提到在一项研究中，那些被要求与陌生人交谈的通勤者通常感觉更好。最后，文章指出人们避免与陌生人交流的原因是因为担心他们不愿意和我们交流，但很多时候这种担忧是多余的，因为很多人实际上很愿意交谈，甚至可能因为受到关注而感到荣幸。
8、Directions:
Suppose you are organizing an online meeting, write an email to Jack, an international student,
(1) invite him to participate;
(2) tell him about the details.
You should write about 100 words on the ANSWER SHEET.
Do not use your own name. Use “Li Ming” instead.
解析：
这封邮件是邀请Jack参加一个即将举行的在线会议。邮件中提到了会议的具体时间，以及由于COVID-19的影响，所有国际学生被要求推迟到达学校的信息。同时，也告知了会议将通过教育系统来进行常规课程的相关说明，并提醒Jack注册账户以参加会议。最后表示期待Jack的参与，并提供了联系方式以便他有任何疑问时联系。
9、Directions:
Write an essay based on the chart below. In your writing, you should
(1) interpret the chart, and
(2) give your comments.
You should write about 150 words on the ANSWER SHEET. ( 15 points)
解析：
{文章首先解读了图表中居民运动方式的分布情况，然后分析了独自锻炼成为最流行的运动方式的可能原因，最后从个人角度出发，阐述了生命如同马拉松，健康的重要性以及不同人应选择适合自己的运动方式。文章符合题目要求，对图表进行了合理解读，并给出了评论，字数也符合150字的要求。}
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