Observer 2007-03-28 13:54

   Nothing could be more shameful for McDonald’s and KFC. They are violating labour’s rights. The government must immediately bring the guilty to justice. A stricter government inspection system must be enforced to protect the workers.

Nathan 2007-03-28 21:39

It is known that McDonald’s and KFC and other fast-food restaurants pay the lowest wage they possibly can to get their employees. I think it’s kind of funny that these two restaurants have not yet set up unions. It is also known that they also take every possible measure e(legal, and sometimes illegal) to prevent their employees from forming or joining unions. I think it is high time that government enforced the law that they have made.

Cushman 2007-03-28 22:32

The deepest reason is that China has a large population. If you complain that the pay is very low, the boss will tell you that can go to other places and that there are a lot of people waiting for the job. Today finding a job is not very easy, so you don’t have many choices, and you have to face the reality.

Chip 2007-03-29 20:33

If wages were too low, people wouldn’t work for them, but they do, so it proves the wages are reasonable. Sure, they could raise the wages, but why should they? The workers are still working, still willing to show up on time, and it keeps costs lower. Were they to raise wages, they would have to FIRE more workers, and the price of burgers would go up. Then people wouldn’t buy them, then McDonald’s would once again FIRE more workers because of a reduced demand, and you’d be back in the same boat, just with less people working.

What are they debating about?

A．McDonald’s and KFC pay too low a salary to their employees.

B．Setting up a social security system.

C．Fast-food restaurants have no rights to fire workers.

D．McDonald’s and KFC will be punished for their behaviour.

According to Chip, it is____for McDonald’s and KFC to give employees a low salary.

A．unacceptable       B．shameful        C．acceptable        D．illegal

In the opinion of Cushman, the key to the problem is that____.

A．the social security net has not been set up

B．China has too large a population

C．the government has not taken stronger steps to protect workers

D．the unions have not played an important part to raise the wages.

The underlined word “they” in Nathan’s words refers to____.

A．the employees                          B．governments    

C．all the restaurants                        D．fast-food restaurants

No one wants to look silly or do the wrong thing at a new job. It is important to make the right impression from the very first day. You will face new people. You will be in a new place. It may be difficult to know what to do. Here are five tips to help you make it through the first days at a new job:
First impressions can last forever: Make sure you make a good one. Before your first day, find out if your new job has a dress code. If so, be sure to follow it. No matter what, always be neat and clean.
Get to work in time: Give yourself an extra 15 minutes to make sure you arrive on time.
Pay attention to introductions: One of the first things that your supervisor may do is to introduce you to co-workers. These co-workers will be important to you. They are the ones who will answer your questions when the boss is not around.
Ask plenty of questions: Make sure that your supervisor has told you what is expected of you. If he or she has not told you your duties, ask for a list. Set daily and weekly goals for yourself.
Never be the first one to leave: Observe what your co-workers do around quitting time. It does not look good for you to be eager to leave.
1. Before you arrive at work, you should_________.
A. introduce yourself        B. dress in a right way  
C. know your duties          D. know your co-workers well
2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is True?
A. You should be the first one to arrive at work.
B. You should ask your co-workers for your duties.
C. You are required to arrive 15 minutes earlier.
D. You should not be eager to go back home.
3. According to the passage, your supervisor is most likely your _____.
A. leader          B. teacher         C. workmate       D. visitor
4. What is the best title for this passage?
A. Getting a New Job.           B. Tips on How to Work.
C. The First-Day Work.          D. The Importance of Co-workers.

It’s you and I who are to blame for the state of the earth. No question about it. It’s our life-style that is threatening life on Earth, so we must make the changes. The good news is that many of those changes are really quite simple, even enjoyable, but for every careful step we take as individuals, we must press government and industry to take a big step on our benefit. And we must start now. Tomorrow’s too late.

My aim this year is to persuade as many of my friends and colleagues as possible to choose the train, and leave their cars behind too. My gardens have been pesticide(杀虫剂)–free zones for years and I enjoy seeing more wildlife on my doorstep as a result; I’ve tried to reduce my contribution to water pollution too, by using environment-friendly, phosphate(磷)–free washing powder , and by no longer thinking of the toilet as a suitable waste-disposal(处理) point .

I ran after a young lady through town recently to give her back the piece of paper she had carelessly thrown away. She disappeared into a shop, and when I followed her inside and made my presentation, she was doubly embarrassed--she worked there, and the boss gave her a ticking–off too. I’ve started asking fellow drivers at gas stations why they aren’t using unleaded (无铅的) petrol . These are small things, but we have to start somewhere, and every little does help.

1.We can learn from the first paragraph that____________.

A．you and I are responsible for looking after the environment

B．the government and industry are responsible for looking after the environment

C．the government is responsible for looking after the environment

D．both A and B

2.To help the environment, the author is trying to do everything mentioned below EXCEPT_________.

A．taking the train instead of a car

B．avoiding the use of pesticides

C．throwing away the old cars

D．running after those who throw articles carelessly

3.The author ran after a woman through town because he wanted__________.

A．to find out where she worked

B．to give her back the piece of paper she had lost

C．to ask her to pay him for picking up the piece of paper.

D．to tell her not to throw away pieces of paper carelessly

4.The purpose of this passage is to__________.

A．persuade his friends to take the train

B．try to advise us all to protect our environment

C．make clear who is responsible for the environment

D．inform us of the good news

【小题1】The author has written quite several ___________(小说) about campus life, which are popular with teenagers.
【小题2】The young man ________________(怒视着)at the boss and shouted, “It’s unfair!”
【小题3】The doctor suggested he cut down on fat by ___________ (结合) regular exercise with a varied diet.
【小题4】The unexpected storm may a              for poor attendance of the concert.
【小题5】My English is so l           that I can’t express myself when visiting England.
【小题6】As is known, teaching kids in kindergarten requires great _______________(耐心)
【小题7】You need a ______________(平衡的) diet to keep slim as well as healthy.
【小题8】Newspapers and magazines are not p              to be taken out of the reading room. Just read here, please.
【小题9】You had better c         your lawyer if you have any question about the case.
【小题10】The shocking news has attracted _____________(全世界范围)attention.

单词拼写：根据所提供的首字母，写出符合句意的单词。一个空只能填一个单词。（共10小题；每小题0.5分，共5分）

1. The Big House of Qiao Family (乔家大院) is a perfectly p__________________ old house.

2. It suddenly o_____________ to her that she had once seen the man somewhere before.

3. Bank cards are p________________ useful when travelling and there are often insurance benefits if you pay for your travel with them.

4. The police want those who have w____________ the accident to call them and provide them with enough evidence.

5. More often than not, it is difficult to c______________ the exact meaning of a Tang poem in English.

6. She wrote several letters to the government about the air pollution, but got no r_____________.

7. Today, the boss announced that smoking was f__________________ during office hour.

8. Akitt was u_______________ about the time of the recovery so he looked very depressed.

9. Though rich, she lives a simple life. She r____________ wears expensive jewellery.

10. I was very d_________________ by the failure, but I still hoped we could find a solution.