The United States does not require business to pay workers who are sick or caring for a new baby. President Obama and some other U.S. lawmakers want to change time-off policies. Supporters say paid leave is the right thing to do. Opponents say it will kill economic growth.
In 2014, the United Nations reported that Papua New Guinea(巴布亚新几内亚) and the U.S. are the only two -- out of 185 -- countries in the world that do not offer workers paid time off to care for newborns. However, several state governments and some private businesses in the U.S. have provided the benefits for their workers.
Not every American agrees that requiring businesses to pay workers for leave is a good idea.
Tricia Baldwin is a business woman. She is secretary and treasurer for her family's company. Her company employs 400 workers. She says giving all of them paid leave would ruin her company. Instead, Reliable Contracting gives paid leave to employees who have stayed with the company for at least five years. She says paid leave is simply another government order that adds more costs to doing business.
President Obama supports paid leave for workers. Recently, he proposed a measure called the Healthy Family Act. It would allow workers to earn up to seven paid days of sick leave a year to care for themselves or family members.
Mr. Obama also wants Congress to approve a measure giving all workers six weeks of paid leave to have and care for a new baby.
U.S. lawmakers who support the proposed measure say paid leave is good for the families and for businesses. Representative Don Beyer says paid leave is an encouragement to parents to return to the job. Mr. Beyer says training a new employee can cost a company a year's worth of income. But U.S. lawmakers who oppose the bill say they do not want to restrict businesses by requiring them to provide paid leave. They are offering a different measure. The Working Families Flexibility Act would allow employees to work extra hours and earn either time off or more pay.
1.If a woman in the U.S left to care for her newborn baby, she _________.
A. wouldn’t get extra time off
B. would get lower pay
C. would pay for her leave or she will be fired
D. wouldn’t get paid leave
2.Tricia Baldwin opposes paid leave because it will ________.
A. kill the national economic growth
B. not be enough to relieve the workers’ burden
C. add more costs to doing business
D. ruin companies rules
3.Some of the lawmakers are opposed to the proposed measure to require paid leave because they think ______.
A. it encourages parents to return to the jobs
B. it will add companies’ cost of training new employees
C. it gives workers more economic guarantees
D. it reduces employees’ working time
4. What is the best title for the passage?
A. How to reform the Rules of Paid Leave in the U.S.
B. Will the U.S Pay Workers for Family Leave?
C.Is it Good for the U.S to Pay Workers for Family Leave?
D. Why Doesn’t the U.S Pay Workers for Family Leave?
On a cold winter day in Denver, I waited in line to see my hero, Jack Canfield, the co-author of the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series and the author of The Success Principles. What Jack had become was a version of what I wanted to be.
During his talk, Jack 1 his wallet, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, and said, "Who wants this?"
Hnads shot up in the audience; people leaned forward to see whom Jack would choose. But I
ran up the stairs to the stage and grabbed the bill from his hand. He turned to me and said, “Yes, that’s it! Instead of waiting around for opportunities, simply take the initiative and create what we want!”
After this week, I asked for his personal e-mail address and sent him e-mail sharing my views and dreams. He kindly e-mailed back simple encouragement such as “Keep thinking and playing bigger; it’s much more fun that way. Love, Jack.” Then I got occupied with other things in life and I stopped e-mail Jack.
A year later, my dream gradually faded. I had this idea if I got back in touch with Jack. I e-mailed him again and again but got no response. As I sat down at my computer to check my e-mail for the fifth time in 15 minutes, an inspiration came like lighting: What was I doing? Was I waiting for the prize of life? I knew I needed to do something about all this waiting. I was going to write a book, which I would call “Waiting for Jack”!
It all sounded good, but then reality hit. Some nights I cried and wanted to give up. I wrote and rewrote. Even though I could feel the fear, I did it anyway. Fortunately, three years later, Waiting for Jack turns out a best-seller on Amazon!
We all have a “Jack” for whom we wait—whether it’s a person, a place or a thing. Now I would like to ask you: what are you waiting for?
1.From the first paragraph we can learn that the author _________.
A. wanted Jack to autograph her book
B. wanted to be as successful as Jack
C. wanted to make friends with Jack
D. wanted to get help from Jack
2.It can be inferred from the passage that Jack Canfield is probably a person who ________.
A. enjoys playing a lot
B. likes showing off his wealth
C. seldom takes risks
D. welcomes challenges in life
3.How did the author lose contact with Jack?
A. She and Jack had an argument
B. She had no time to contact Jack
C. Jack was too proud to get along with
D. She was too upset with her broken dream
4. What might be the theme of the book Waiting for Jack?
A. The disappointment of waiting for her hero Jack
B. The need to keep waiting for the prize of our life
C. The importance of taking action to achieve a goal
D. The harm of blindly worshipping others as heroes
While exciting for many, the holidays are stressful for the thousands of families who are struggling in our community.
Therefore, our holiday programs coordinate(使协调)food collections and donations to aid the low-income mothers, children and senior citizens. Those who wish to join the challenge can send financial donations to our office: 1355 Oakman Boulevard, Detroit 48238. Other ways you can get involved are:
Collect fresh or packaged food or donations for senior citizens. Many schools and business coordinate food drives to support this effort. The donation will be distributed in a massive effort on December 12 at the Rashid Ground. Call 313 494 4401.
Adopt a senior citizen. We will randomly select senior citizens and provide their contact information for donors. We encourage donors to provide fresh food for a holiday meal, and small gifts, if possible. Donors are responsible for purchasing and distributing the gifts and food. Call 313 494 4424.
Adopt a family. Donors can request the names and addresses of families that are enrolled in our food program to provide gifts and food for the holiday season. They can indicate the size of the family they wish to adopt. All families will be selected randomly. Call 313 494 4413.
Participate in our Special Holiday Delivery. Different from past years, when delivery took place at the Gathering Center, volunteers are now expected to meet at the Campus Hall on December 12 to pick up boxes of food and deliver them to senior citizens. Contact Volunteer Outreach Department at 313 494 4270 to sign up for this special event.
1.This passage is written mainly to _________.
A. explain how holiday-makers can make their life meaningful
B. show what lonely and miserable lives poor citizens are leading
C. advertize for a company located in Oakman Boulevard, Detroit
D. introduce several ways of joining a program for charity work
2.If you want to adopt an elderly man and send gifts and food to him, you should call ________.
A. 313 494 4401
B. 313 494 4424
C. 313 494 4413
D. 313 494 4270
3.As a volunteer in Special Holiday Delivery, where should you go to distribute food to the old this year?
A. The Campus Hall
B. The Gathering Center
C. The Rashid Ground
D. The office of Volunteer Outreach Department
写作
假设你是英才中学学生会主席，你校将邀请一名英国心理学专家来做关于中学生心理问题的讲座。请参照以下内容准备一份通知。
心理学讲座
1. 主题：中学生心理（psychological）问题疏导
2. 时间：6月15日下午2:00—5:00
3. 地点： 学校礼堂
4. 最后20分钟与心理专家进行互动交流。
5. 欢迎大家光临
注意：
1. 词数120左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3. 参考词汇：学校礼堂：school auditorium 心理学专家psychologist
短文改错。
请修改以下短文：文中共有10处语言错误，错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在该词下面写出修改的词。删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。修改：在错的词下面划一条横线（_），并在该词下面写出修改的词。注意：1.每处错误及修改均仅限一词；2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分
The time we have is usual limited. However, even an hour is of much valuable. We should make full use of your time to do useful things. As students, we mustn’t study hard so as to serve for our society and our nation in the future. But it is pity that there are a lot of people who didn’t know the importance of time. They spend their valuable time smoke and drinking. They don’t realize that wasting time is the same as wasting a part of their life. Remember, don’t put off which you can do today until tomorrow.
下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Red is used in many American expressions. It can be used to show 1. (happy), as in “a red- letter day”. This is a day when something special happens. The expression is probably based 2. church customs. For almost six hundred years, church calendars(日历) 3. (mark) with red to indicate special holidays. Today’s calendars are still marked that way with the _4. (meaning) of holidays and special days printed in red.
The expression “a red-letter day” is often heard in everyday life. A red-letter day is 5. day when people are feeling quite happy. It may be a day 6. __ you’ve long waited for, a wedding day, for example, or it may be a day with a happy surprise. You might tell your friends that yesterday was a red-letter day, 7. you won sonic money in the state lottery (彩票).
“Rolling out the red carpet" is another 8. (common) heard expression, which 9. (represent) a warm welcome of any kind. A city may “roll out the red carpet” for its baseball team when the team arrives home after winning the championship.
Red is also used in some expressions that are not happy. Red-handed is one. To be caught red handed is to be caught 10. (perform) a wrong act.
