DU Lala is the hottest career coach in the country. The fictional character in the acclaimed novel Du La La’s Promotion shows others how to take the high road to success in a multinational company. But does her story describe a real or distorted picture of work life? The answer is as complicated as office life itself.
Over one million copies of the book have been sold since its release in 2007. Go Lala Go!, a movie adaptation of the novel set to hit cinemas next weekend, has stirred up even more interest in the story. The film stars Xu Jinglei and Stanley Huang, but fans seem to be more excited about seeing the story unfold on the big screen.
According to a recent sina.com survey, 45 percent of the 6,810 netizens polled said they have drawn career pointers from the novel. Other office novels, such as In and Out of the Loop, Win and Lose and Drowning and Floating, seem to have been received with similar interest.
“These books show me the life of white collars, and they teach me career rules and jargon that are not offered in class,” said Zhang Shanshan, a 22-year-old senior at Beijing Forestry University. Zhang says the competition, humor and office gossip in the book intrigued her. “I can’t wait to embark on my own career,” she said.
The popularity of office novels does not surprise Chen Ning, a senior career consultant at Zhaopin.com. “Novels about office fights and struggles satisfy the psychological demands of an ordinary office worker,” Chen said. “The leading characters face great pressure, fierce competition and an uncertain future. This is what really happens in many readers’ daily life.”
Li Ke, the author of Du Lala’s Promotion, has been stressing the significance of her fiction. “I want to provide real and useful common sense, knowledge and experience to office workers,” Li told the Qianjiang Evening News last year.
Recent graduates say they have found the basic work principles highlighted in the novel to be instructive. “If these books had been published five years earlier, I might have avoided some problems,” said Xu Jun, an HR manager at Guangqi Honda Automobile Company. “They often discuss basic office principles, which are relevant for staff working under the middle management level. They also help readers to see the importance of basic problem solving and organizational skills.”
But some veteran employees warn that the novels are not always realistic. They say this is especially true of the characters. “The protagonists appear to be unbeatable,” said Hou Zhendong, an HR manager at General Electric. “Du Lala’s team leader quit in an irresponsible way; her boss is inept; and the staff around her is either stupid or overly-sophisticated. Du stands out in emergencies and makes all the right decisions. The truth is, real-life colleagues are not that polarized（截然对立）,” Hou said. “You seldom get to negotiate your salary with a big boss. And, most of the time, you make wrong decisions far more than you make correct ones.”
The career principles in the books are also of limited use. “Most of the stories happen in Fortune 500 companies with a long history. Their cultures are well-established, and their rules are scientific,” Hou said. “But if you work for a small foreign company, or a local enterprise, some principles are useless.”
Liu Rui, a project manager at IBM, suggests fans of these books focus on the little bits of wisdom they provide. “The novels give rookies（新手） some inspiration,” he said. “They emphasize the importance of observation, practice and self-examination. These tips are precious and universally true.”
1.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
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A．Recent graduates can learn a lot of useful career principles from the novel. |
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B．The best novel shows readers how to be promoted in various companies. |
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C．The book Go Lala Go! Sells very well. |
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D．The movie adaptation of the novel will be a massive hit at the box-office in China. |
2.What can be inferred from the passage?
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A．Du Lala’s story reflects the true office life. |
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B．Go Lala Go! Enjoys more popularity than other office novels, such as In and Out of the Loop, Win and Lose and Drowning and Floating. |
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C．Some people argue that the story is a bit polarized. |
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D．Both rookies and veteran employees are fond of Go Lala Go!. |
3.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
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A．The Life of White Collars |
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B．The Hottest Career Coach |
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C．How to Promote in Company |
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D．Go Lala Go! — Office Life Not All Fairytale Drama |
The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success. Instead, it’s purposeful practice. Top performers spend more hours practising their craft. It you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same family background, or shared the same birthday.
This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would hive her some idea of a fascinating circle who might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fuelling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary knowledge of her field. She’s be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly understand its inner workings.
Then she would practise writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and error-focused. By practising in this way, he delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skills into unconscious. Automatically performed skills. By practising slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance form the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems—how do I get characters into a room—dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.
The primary quality our young writer possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine; the latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behaviour.
1.The passage mainly deals with .
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A．the function of I.Q. in cultivating a writer |
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B．the relationship between genius and success |
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C．the decisive factor in making a genius |
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D．the way of gaining some sense of distinction |
2.By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could .
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A．come to understand the inner structure of writing |
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B．join a fascinating circle of writers someday |
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C．share with a novelist her likes and dislikes |
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D．learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security |
3.In the girl’s long painstaking training process, ________.
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A．her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her success. |
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B．her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performance |
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C．she acquires the magic of some great achievement |
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D．she comes to realize she is “hard-wired” to write |
4.What can be concluded from the passage?
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A．A fuelling ambition plays a leading role in one’s success |
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B．A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing. |
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C．As to the growth of a genius, I.Q. Doesn’t matter, but just his/her effort. |
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D．What really matters is what you do rather than who you are. |
Winners Club
You choose to be a winner!
The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers. It has been made to help you better manage your money. The Winners Club is a transaction account（交易账户）where you receive a key-card so you can get to your money 24/7 – that’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
It’s a club with impressive features for teenagers:
⊙ No account keeping fees!
You’re no millionaire so we don’t expect you to pay large fees. In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees!
⊙ Excellent interest rates!
You want your money to grow. The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits（储蓄）without taking them out in a month.
⊙ Convenient
Teenagers are busy – we get that. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet ???You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part-time job!
⊙ Mega magazine included
Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money .There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members.
The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers. And it is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form. You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian (So we can organize that cool key card), but it is easy. We can not wait to hear from you. It’s the best way to a winner.
1.Which of the following is TRUE about the Winners Club?
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A．Special gifts are ready for parents. |
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B．The bank opens only on work days. |
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C．Services are convenient for its members. |
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D．Fees are necessary for the account keeping. |
2.The Winners Club provides magazines which ________.
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A．encourage spending |
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B．are free to all teenagers |
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C．are full of adventure stories |
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D．help to make more of your money |
3.If you want to be a member of the Club, you must ________.
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A．be an Internet user |
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B．be permitted by your parent |
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C．have a big sum of money |
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D．be in your twenties |
4.What is the purpose of this text?
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A．To set up a club. |
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B．To provide part-time jobs. |
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C．To organize key-cards. |
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D．To introduce a new banking service. |
My father brought home a sailboat when I was ten, and almost each Sunday in summers we would go sailing. Dad was quite skilled in sailing, but not good at ___36___. As for me, I ___37___ both before twelve because of living close to Lake Ontario.
The last time Dad and I set sail together is really ___ 38___. It was a perfect weekend after I graduated from university. I came home and ___39___Dad to go sailing. Out we set soon on the ___40___lake. Dad hadn’t sailed for years, but everything ___41___well with the tiller（舵柄）in his hands.
When we were in the middle of the lake, a ___ 42___ wind came all of a sudden. The boat was hit ___43___. Dad was always at his best in any___44___, but at this moment he___45___.
"John!___46___!" he shouted in a trembling voice, with the tiller still in his hands.
In my memory he could fix any___ 47___. He was the one I always___48___for strength and security. Before I could respond, a___ 49___ of water got into the boat. I rushed to the tiller ___50___it was too late. Another huge wall of water ___ 51___the boat in a minute. We were thrown into the water, and Dad was struggling aimlessly. At that moment, I felt fiercely ___52___of him.
I swam to Dad ___ 53___and assisted him in climbing onto the hull（船壳）of the boat. Upon sitting on the hull, Dad was a little awkward about his flash of ___ 54___. "It's all right, Dad. We are safe now," I comforted him.
That was the first time Dad had counted on me in a moment of emergency. More importantly, I found it was my turn to start___55___for my father.
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The Sydney Opera house , which ________ almost 900 rooms and halls of different sizes, is our first stop in Australia.
A makes up B. consists of C. connects with D. combines with
I have no idea____________ the book is __________ to your English study.
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A．whether, of great value |
B．if , of great value |
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C．that , so value |
D．how , very valuable |
