Who is there among us who hasn’t dreamed of having his or her own small (maybe , several years later , even big )business , and having wonderful freedom , both from a boss and from the time clock ; the freedom to make up our own rules for our work , and our own plans —arranging our own hours of work ? That way work would be both painless and fun. Or, so we imagine.

Well, in fact it isn’t quite as simple as that. Yes , it is true that being the boss has its satisfactions and that you can arrange your working hours freely if you own your own small business . But in those early years of starting your own business, you shouldn’t think of a free day, not to mention flying off for a month’s vacation. It is not unusual for new business owners to work seventy or eighty hours a week , and if there is a day off , that day might need to be devoted to accounting (算账).

But this negative picture doesn’t destroy the beautiful hopes. The possibility of getting something wonderful in return—both material and mental—continues to drive that large number of people who start up small businesses each year in the United States.

1.From the first paragraph, we know that everybody hopes  ________ .

A．to rule others	B．to be his or her own boss
C．to get a time clock	D．to be free from work

2.Most new business owners have to  ________  .

A．work more than 10 hours a day	B．devote himself to accounting
C．fly to some places in the world	D．have a day off in a week

3.The expression “negative picture” most probably means “  ________ “.

A．a terrible experience	B．a poor picture
C．limited freedom	D．unpleasant situations

4.The beautiful hopes will never be destroyed because  ________ .

A．people love beautiful things by nature

B．people have a strong desire to seek personal gains

C．small businesses make big money each year in the US

D．small businesses have advantages over big companies

 

                     Dropouts for Ph. D. s

  Educators are seriously concerned about the high rate of dropouts among the doctor of philosophy candidates and the consequent loss of talent to a nation in need of Ph. D. s. Some have placed the dropouts loss as high as 50 percent. The extent of the loss was, however, largely a matter of expert guessing. Last week a well-rounded study was published. It was published. It was based on 22,000 questionnaires sent to former graduate students who were enrolled in 24 universities and it seemed to show many past fears to be groundless.

  The dropouts rate was found to be 31 per cent, and in most cases the dropouts, while not completing the Ph. D. requirement, went on to productive work. They are not only doing well financially, but, according to the report, are not far below the income levels of those who went on to complete their doctorates.

  Discussing the study last week, Dr. Tucker said the project was initiated ‘because of the concern frequently expressed by graduate faculties and administrators that some of the individuals who dropped out of Ph. D. programs were capable of competing the requirement for the degree. Attrition at the Ph. D. level is also thought to be a waste of precious faculty time and a drain on university resources already being used to capacity. Some people expressed the opinion that the shortage of highly trained specialists and college teachers could be reduced by persuading the dropouts to return to graduate schools to complete the Ph. D.’

  “The results of our research” Dr. Tucker concluded, “did not support these opinions.”

1).   Lack of motivation was the principal reason for dropping out.

2).   Most dropouts went as far in their doctoral program as was consistent with their levels of ability or their specialities（特性）

3).   Most dropouts are now engaged in work consistent with their education and motivation.

  Nearly 75 per cent of the dropouts said there was no academic reason for their decision, but those who mentioned academic reason cited failure to pass the qualifying examination, uncompleted research and failure to pass language exams. Among the single most important personal reasons identified by dropouts for non-completion of their Ph. D. program, lack of finances was marked by 19 per cent.

  As an indication of how well the dropouts were doing, a chart showed 2% in humanities were receiving $ 20,000 and more annually while none of the Ph. D. ‘s with that background reached this figure. The Ph. D. ‘s shone in the $ 7,500 to $ 15,000 bracket with 78% at that level against 50% for the dropouts. This may also be an indication of the fact that top salaries in the academic fields, where Ph. D. ‘s tend to rise to the highest salaries, are still lagging behind other fields.

  As to the possibility of getting dropouts back on campus, the outlook was glum. The main condition which would have to prevail for at least 25 % of the dropouts who might consider returning to graduate school would be to guarantee that they would retain their present level of income and in some cases their present job.

The author states that many educators feel that

A steps should be taken to get the dropouts back to campus.

B the dropouts should return to a lower quality school to continue their study.

C the Ph. D. holder is generally a better adjusted person than the dropout.

D The high dropouts rate is largely attributable to the lack of stimulation on the part of faculty members.

Research has shown that

A Dropouts are substantially below Ph. D. ‘s in financial attainment.

B the incentive factor is a minor one in regard to pursuing Ph. D. studies.

C The Ph. D. candidate is likely to change his field of specialization if he drops out.

D about one-third of those who start Ph. D. work do not complete the work to earn the degree.

Meeting foreign language requirements for the Ph. D.

A is the most frequent reason for dropping out.

B is more difficult for the science candidate than for the humanities candidate.

C is an essential part of many Ph. D. programs.

D does not vary in difficulty among universities.

After reading the article, one would refrain from concluding that

A optimism reigns in regard to getting Ph. D. dropouts to return to their pursuit of the degree.

B a Ph. D. dropout, by and large, does not have what it takes to learn the degree.

C colleges and universities employ a substantial number of Ph. D. dropouts.

D Ph. D. ‘s are not earning what they deserve in nonacademic positions.

It can be inferred that the high rate of dropouts lies in

A salary for Ph. D. too low.      B academic requirement too high.

C salary for dropouts too high.   D 1,000 positions.

Multitasking
People who multitask all the time may be the worst at doing two things at once, a new research suggests. The findings, based on performances and self-evaluation by about 275 college students, indicate that many people multitask not out of a desire to increase productivity, but because they are easily distracted (分心) and can’t focus on one activity. And “those people turn out to be the worst at handling different things,” said David Sanbonmatsu, a psychologist at the University of Utah.
Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues gave the students a set of tests and asked them to report how often they multitasked, how good they thought they were at it, and how sensation-seeking (寻求刺激) or imperative (冲动) they were. They then evaluated the participants’ multitasking ability with a tricky mental task that required the students to do simple mathematical calculations while remembering a set of letters.
Not surprisingly, the scientists said, most people thought they were better than average at multitasking, and those who thought they were better at it were more likely to report using a cellphone while driving or viewing multiple kinds of media at once. But those who frequently deal with many things at the same time were found to perform the worst at the actual multitasking test. They also were more likely to admit to sensation-seeking and impulsive behavior, which connects with how easily people get bored and distracted.
“People multitask not because it’s going to lead to greater productivity, but because they’re distractible, and they get sucked into things that are not as important.” Sanbonmatsu said.
Adam Gazzaley, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not a member of the research group, said one limitation of the study was that it couldn’t find out whether people who start out less focused   toward multitasking or whether people’s recognizing and understanding abilities change as a result of multitasking.
The findings do suggest, however, why the sensation-seeker who multitask the most may enjoy risky distracted driving. “People who are multitasking are generally less sensitive to risky situations.” said Paul Atchley, another researcher not in the group. “This may partly explain why people go in for these situations even though they’re dangerous.”
【小题1】 The research led by Sanbonmatsu indicates that people who multitask       .

A．seek high productivity constantly

B．prefer handling different things when getting bored

C．are more focused when doing many things at a time

D．have the poorest results in doing various things at the same time

【小题2】When Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues conducted their research, they          .

A．assessed the multitasking ability of the students

B．evaluated the academic achievements of the students

C．analyzed the effects of the participants’ tricky mental tasks

D．measured the changes of the students’ understanding ability

【小题3】According to Sanbonmatsu, people multitask because of their        _.

A．limited power in calculation	B．interests in doing things differently
C．inability to concentrate on one task	D．impulsive desire to try new things

【小题4】 From the last paragraph, we can learn that multitaskers usually____  .

A．drive very skillfully

B．go in for different tasks

C．fail to react quickly to potential dangers

D．refuse to explain the reasons for their behavior

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 children. 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 since these 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(模仿) 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 our teeth into. 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 meaning-less sound simply because he also uses it at another time 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 obey 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’ imitations can be considered as speech _______.

A. is important because words have different meanings for different people

B. is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually

C. is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age

D. is one that should be completely ignored(忽略) because children’s use of words is of-ten meaningless

The speaker implies _______.

A. parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds

B. children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak

C. children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly

D. even after they have learnt to speak, children still enjoy imitating

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 since these 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 selfimitation(模仿) 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 teeth into.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.

1.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

2.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

3.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 not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually

C．is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age

D．is one that should be completely ignored(忽略) because children’s use of words is often meaningless

4.The speaker wants to tell us that        .

A．parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds

B．children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak

C．even after they have learnt to speak,children still enjoy imitating

D．children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly