Many managers believe that overworking is an evidence of devotion from their employees’ side. Still few others regard this custom as a threat to the worked work-life balance, which may negatively influence the level of productivity and efficiency.
Employees at Amsterdam design studio Heldergroen won’t be putting in much overtime. Not in the office, at any rate, because every day at 6:00 pm, their desks, tables and other work surfaces, with their computers attached, are lifted to the ceiling by steel cables (绳索) normally used to move heavy props (道具) in theatrical productions. If you leave a half-eaten sandwich on your desk, you’ve out of luck.
“Once the chairs and other workplace paraphernalia are cleared away, the space is free for evening and weekend use as a dance floor, yoga studio... or anything else you can think of—the floor is actually yours,” director Sander Veenendaal said.
In a way, the office space itself is working overtime for Heldergroen, bringing about lots of publicity and carrying an enlightened (有启发的) message of career-life balance far and wide. “We think that doing activities like this makes it easier for people to work here,” says Veenendaal. “You know when it is time to relax or do something else that inspires you.”
That sounds awesome. There’s just one catch. In the morning, the desks reappear and everybody has to go back to work.
1.What can we learn about the employees at Heldergroen?
A. They are unwilling to work late.
B. They are persuaded to leave the office earlier.
C. They believe overworking is an evidence of devotion.
D. They are to put away their computers after work.
2.What does the underlined word “paraphernalia” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Props. B. Food.
C. Equipment. D. Cables.
3.What does the author think of the Heldergroen’s office design?
A. Creative. B. Inconvenient.
C. Ordinary. D. Strange.
After four silent years, British singer Adele Adkins finally introduced herself to the world again with Hello, the opening song from her third album 25, which came out on Nov. 20, 2015.
Although Adele is a very successful singer now, music wasn’t always what she saw herself doing. At age 10, when she saw her grandmother’s pain over the death of Adele’s grandfather, she pictured herself as a heart surgeon.
“I wanted to fix people’s hearts,” she told the UK music website i-D, remembering the childhood interest she’d had in biology classes until she found out that her real talent was for singing.
“Adele didn’t go to medical school, but many would agree that she still has healing (治愈)powers. Her songs find the kind of memory every listener holds somewhere in their heart. This kind of feeling is what people have always liked in Adele,” said The Telegraph. “She writes a pop diary, sharing the simple secrets of her heart.”
Most successful pop stars make albums at a fast pace, but not Adele. After her second album 21 won the 2012 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, she made it clear with her label that she would spend “four or five years” making her next album. She told magazine. “I won’t come out with new music until it’s better than 21.”
Instead of seeking fame, Adele remained silent and moved to the countryside. In her free time, she loved to watch TV series Teen Mom, American Horror Story, and The Walking Dead.
Living life as normally as possible is important to the singer’s art. “Nobody wants to listen to a record from someone who’ s not living in the real world,” Adele told i-D.“So I live a low-key life for my fans.”
1.What does die text mainly tell us?
A. The popularity of Adele’s album 25
B. The healing powers of Adele’s music
C. The secrets of Adele’s success in music
D. TV reason Adele’s becoming a singer
2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Adele wasn’t interested in music
B. Adele wasn’t good at music at first
C. Music wasn’t very important in Adele’s life
D. Music wasn’t all Adele wanted to be devoted to
3.Why doesn’t Adele want to make albums at a fast pace?
A. To live a low-key life
B. To win the Grammy Award
C. To guarantee the quality of her music
D. To share the secrets of her heart as a musician
4.What can we know about Adele?
A. Her album Hello will come out on Nov. 20
B. She has kept a diary since childhood
C. She moved to the countryside before 2012
D. Her works are based on real life
今天是世界读书日，请你用英语向大家推荐一本你最喜欢的书。
内容包括：
要求：
1. 可适当增加细节以使行文连贯。
2. 字数要求：100词左右。
My favorite book
Hello, everyone. I’d like to put forward a book for you for World Book Day,_________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
1.Snakes produce young generally by lying eggs.
2.With your help, now I know very more about gravity.
3.Young man, would you mind step inside a moment, please?
4.Please stare me and tell me where you are from.
5.No one can prevent me work for my dream.
1.Yesterday when I was w_______ on the pavement, I met an old neighbour.
昨天当我徘徊在街头时，我遇到了一位老邻居。
2.P _______ me to lead the way, sir.
请允许我来领路，先生。
3.Did you notice that man in r _______?
你注意到那个衣衫褴褛的人了吗？
4.Eating too much is h _______ to health.
吃太多对健康有害。
5.We need an a _______ of hard-working in our class.
在我们班我们需要一种努力学习的氛围。
Mark Twain was 1. (bear) in Florida 2. November 30th, 1835. He was 3. (bring) up in Hannibal, Missouri, along the Mississippi River. He is 4. (good) known for his novels set in his boyhood world on the river, such 5. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain loved the river so much 6. even his pen name is about the river. “Twain” is 7. old word for “two”. The phrase “mark twain” means that the water is two fathoms deep. The author’s real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Mark Twain was a 8. (success) writer. His works and speeches made people laugh. However, his 9. (late) life was not a happy one. Two of his daughters died. His wife died in 1904 after a long 10. (sick). Some critics think Mark Twain’s later works were more serious because of that.
