China has long been tipped to be the next Silicon Valley, but now the finances and support are in place to make it happen.
There is a growing consensus ( 共 识 ) that while Silicon Valley is not about to disappear anytime soon, its next biggest rival is already on the verge of bursting onto the international scene — not in the US, nor in the EU, but in Asia. More specifically, China.
This is not just an observation based on the rise of companies like Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent. It is grounded in a more widespread move to fund start-ups in Asia to the point where more money is being invested there than in Europe. Just five years ago, Europe and Asia are neck and neck in terms of investment.
In 2013, Europe made slightly more deals, 1550 compared to Asia’s 1071, but the total value of investment was $7bn. Just five years later, Asia is now four times the size of Europe with twice as many deals carried out.
Between 2013 to 2018, the number of deals in Asia increased nearly fivefold, and their value leapt to $81bn, compared to the $21bn raised in Europe. The Asian figure also shows that the continent is closing the gap on the US which saw $105bn worth of deals.
One of the main reasons that makes the country so attractive is not just the huge growth in investment and high education standards, but also local and national governmental support benefiting tech companies.
In fact, one of the conclusions of a recent Fortune tech conference was that China’s tech companies will soon be beating American companies on their home turf. One of the reasons is that investors believe US immigration policy is making it more difficult for the best talent around the world to find work there. Plus, Chinese companies are now able to start paying salaries that can keep pace with those on offer in Silicon Valley.
Hence, when Ian Roger, Chief Digital Official at luxury group LVMH was asked where he thought the next Facebook or Google would come from, he suggested it would be a close call between Silicon Valley and China. The latter had the investment that is needed as well as a hard work culture of a six-day week. It also has a superb education system and a huge population.
As Silicon Valley appears to be heating up a little too hard for some people, China would appear to be warming up at just the right pace.
1.What does the expression “on the verge of ” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.on the way of B.on the list of
C.on the condition of D.on the point of
2.Which of the following is NOT a reason why China attracts foreign investment in tech companies?
A.High education standards. B.Huge growth in investment.
C.Support from the government. D.Higher salaries than those in Silicon Valley.
3.It can’t be inferred from the passage that ________.
A.the US immigration policy is strict but talent-friendly
B.Ian Roger believes the next Google might come from China
C.employees of Baidu might be accustomed to overwork
D.Chinese tech companies can provide highly competitive salaries now.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The total value of investment in Asia is four times that in Europe.
B.Finances, high education standards and support make it possible for China to become the next Silicon Valley.
C.Asia attracts worldwide best talents to tech companies.
D.American tech companies will soon be beaten by those in China.
These are pages pasted on a college bulletin board. It lists part-time job vacancies on campus this semester.
Bilingual Secretary Wanted
Our International Exchange Department requires one part-time bilingual secretary for our office. He / She must be native Mandarin with excellent English competence (better with Japanese). We ask for 8 hours a week (from Monday to Saturday), and working schedule is
negotiable. However, English corners are arranged on Thursdays, and therefore we need you to be on site from 3pm to 5pm. Attractive salary and good benefits package, including chances to exchange to foreign countries, are offered to junior and senior year students with excellent secretarial skills, the ability to communicate, an outgoing personality and a strong sense of responsibility.
Please hand in applications with photo, and email to uniied@gmail.com, or call 400-800-100 during office hours to get further information.
International Exchange Department
Advanced Math Teaching Assistants in Need
The Mathematics Department is looking for two Advanced Math teaching assistants. The job is mainly to help freshmen students to deal with math assignments and projects, as well as prepare them for final exams in Week 16.
We hope those applying for the position could meet the following requirements. First, it’s necessary for the applicants to be skilled at math. Second, he/she should have at least 2 As in math-related courses with GPA no less than 4.0. Third, the job asks for excellence in both professional skills and patience.
For those who are interested in the position, please send your résumé to unimd@gmail.com before September 15th.
Part-time Job Recruitment
Dr. Jessica Smith Mathematics Department
Technology Support Department lacks several assistants to work at its help desk.
Contents: A customer service job — answering questions, helping people solve their computer problems, providing basic teaching to new users, etc.
Requirement: the Advanced Computer Test certificate; good interpersonal skills; enthusiasm.
Work hours: from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
early mornings (6 a.m.-9 a.m.): 2 persons mornings (9 a.m.- 12 a.m.): 1 person
afternoons (12 p.m.- 6 p.m.): (full)
evenings (6 p.m. - 11 p.m.): (full)
late nights: (11 p.m.-2 a.m.): 2 persons weekends: 3 persons
If you are interested, please come to Luking Library 2F (East Side) Room 213 and fill the forms. An interview will be arranged afterwards. New position for the next semester will be released in December.
Mr. Luke Johnson Technology
Support Department
www.examly.cn
1.If you get the position as a secretary, you ________.
A.have to assist in English corner
B.have a tight schedule during the week
C.have the chance to be an exchange student in foreign universities anytime during university
D.must be a native English speaker who can speak fluent Chinese
2.Why are there so many job vacancies in Technology Support Department?
A.Because the interview is challenging.
B.Because applicants have to fill in complicated forms.
C.Because applicants have to work irregular hours.
D.Because the Advanced Computer Test certificate is too difficult to obtain.
3.Which of the following statements is correct according to the advertisements?
A.The advertisements can be found on the school website.
B.Call for further information of math teaching assistants before September 15th.
C.More job vacancies in the Mathematics Department will be available in December.
D.The International Exchange Department needs a communicative and responsible secretary.
Tea, the most typical of English drinks, is a relative latecomer to British shores. Although the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium (一千年) BC in China, it was not until the mid-17th century that the drink first appeared in England. It was the Portuguese and Dutch traders who first imported tea to Europe, reaching the Continent by the way of Venice around 1560, with regular shipments by 1610.
Curiously, it was the London coffee houses that were responsible for introducing tea to England. One of the first coffee house merchants to offer tea was Thomas Garway. He sold both liquid and dry tea to the public as early as 1657. Three years later he issued a broadsheet advertising tea at £6 to £10 per pound, touting ( 兜 售 ) its virtues at “making the body active and lusty (健壮的)”, and “preserving perfect health until extreme old age”.
Tea gained popularity quickly in the coffee houses, and by 1700 over 500 coffee houses sold it. This distressed the pub owners, as tea cut their sales of beer, and it was bad news for the government, who depended upon a steady stream of revenue (税收) from taxes on liquor sales. By 1750 tea had become the favoured drink of Britain’s lower classes.
A 1676 act taxed tea and required coffee house operators to apply for a license. This was just the start of government attempts to control, or at least, to profit from the popularity of tea in Britain. By the mid-18th century the duty on tea had reached a ridiculous 119 percent. This heavy taxation had the effect of creating a whole new industry — tea smuggling ( 走 私 ). Ships from Holland and Scandinavia brought tea to the British coast, then stood offshore while smugglers met them and unloaded the precious cargo in small vessels. The smugglers, often local fishermen, secretly moved the tea inland through underground passages and hidden paths to special hiding places. One of the best hiding places was in the local church!
Even smuggled tea was expensive, however, and therefore extremely profitable, so many smugglers began to adulterate (掺假) the tea with other substances, such as willow and sloe leaves. Used tea leaves were also redried and added to fresh leaves.
Finally, in 1784 William Pitt the Younger introduced the Commutation Act, which dropped the tax on tea from 119% to 12.5%, effectively ending smuggling. Adulteration remained a problem, though, until the Food and Drug Act of 1875 brought in severe punishment for the practice.
1.According to the passage, tea drinking _______.
A.is the favorite pastime of the Dutch
B.is an important British tradition
C.was well-received by the Portuguese centuries ago
D.could be found everywhere in the world in 1560
2.Who might be annoyed by the popularity of the tea?
A.Coffee house owners. B.Wine sellers.
C.Britain’s lower classes. D.Smugglers.
3.Which of the following statements about tea smuggling is TRUE?
A.Churches provided convenience for smuggling.
B.Fishermen and farmers contributed a lot to tea industry.
C.Underground passages and boats were ideal hiding places for tea.
D.The government encouraged tea smuggling for taxes on tea.
4.How was the order of the tea market finally restored in Britain?
A.By passing an act related to a tax rise.
B.By imposing mild punishment.
C.By punishing those who sold fake tea.
D.By mixing redried used leaves with fresh tea leaves.
How Saving Wildlife Benefits Humans
It’s no secret that we’ve lost an overwhelming number of species within that last four decades. These species have all but _____ due to overpopulation, deforestation, consumer culture, climate change, animal exploitation, and other harming sources — all brought about by mankind.
One of the first great rules of terrestrial (陆地的) biology is “no species is forever.” _____, this rapid loss of species today is estimated to be between1,000and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. As increasingly accepted theories have argued, we are now in the midst of the sixth great _____.
The Earth consists of plants, animals, water, land, the atmosphere, and humans. Biodiversity (生物多样性) _____ the health of the planet and has a great impact on all our lives. Reduced biodiversity means a future where food supplies are vulnerable (易受攻击的) to pests and disease, and fresh water is in short supply. If biodiversity _____ impacts our lives in such big ways, then our conservation (环保) efforts don’t just benefit the environment, they benefit us, too.
One convincing benefit that comes from wildlife conservation efforts is that it ensures food _____. Wildlife conservation promotes agricultural biodiversity, which plays an important role in building a secure and healthy food system. When agricultural biodiversity is _____ and land is cleared for agriculture, extensive habitat loss takes place, as well as undocumented loss of species and massive soil erosion (侵蚀).
Another benefit that comes from wildlife conservation is that these _____ protect human health. Conservation International reportsthat “more than 50 percent of modern medicines and more than 90 percent of traditional medicines come from wild plants and animals.” _____, a world that promotes healthy ecosystems and biodiversity provides crucial buffers (缓冲) between disease and humans. A number of studies have _____ reduced diversity among mammal (哺乳动物 ) species and overall decreases in biodiversity to an increase in the transmission ( 传 播 ) of animal-born diseases to humans.
Perhaps the most convincing benefit that comes from wildlife conservation is that it provides us with _____ whether it be economically or socially. Increasing biodiversity and healthy ecosystems improve agricultural productivity, thereby allowing farms to become more _____. Healthy ecosystems that are home to unique species _____ tourists from around the world, which helps the local economy and invites in a new fusion of investment.
Our unsustainable, unconscious, self-interested relationship with the environment has led us into an extremely destructible world. If we do not take action and _____ changing our ways, we are at risk of losing more vital and _____ ecosystems and biodiversity, or at least until the sixth great extinction claims one final species: our own.
1.A.changed B.existed C.disappeared D.evolved
2.A.Furthermore B.However C.Therefore D.Otherwise
3.A.extinction B.destruction C.evolution D.immigration
4.A.threatens B.localizes C.strengthens D.endangers
5.A.infrequently B.potentially C.regionally D.directly
6.A.management B.inspection C.development D.security
7.A.identified B.cultivated C.exploited D.valued
8.A.initiatives B.consequences C.intentions D.contributions
9.A.In addition B.After all C.In particular D.By contrast
10.A.adapted B.turned C.adjusted D.linked
11.A.protections B.opportunities C.services D.nutrients
12.A.standard B.welcome C.scarce D.profitable
13.A.discourage B.attract C.forbid D.protect
14.A.feel like B.keep on C.set about D.argue for
15.A.irreplaceable B.unpredictable C.unlimited D.imbalanced
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
The Shop Where It’s OK to Be Different
When Angela Makey knew her autistic (患自闭症的) son Adam wanted to open a comic shop, she laughed out loud. She knew he’d been keen on comics since childhood. But how would he deal with customers and suppliers and all the other jobs 1. are necessary for running a business?
At that time, Adam was looking for a job. He had a degree in philosophy and had learned to live independently, but there didn’t seem to be any suitable jobs for him. The family 2. (hope) he and his younger brother Guy, also with autism, could find work that matched their strengths: reliability, punctuality and attention to detail. But there were no available opportunities.
So the “laughable” comic shop idea began to grow on Angela. Eventually, she used her savings to buy a shop in Cambridgeshire, and seven years ago Niche Comics 3. (bear).
Like many autistic people, Adam loves comics for their world of rich detail and visual expression. He developed an interest in Marvel comic heroes on TV 4. he was seven years old. “They are a reminder 5. it’s OK not to be like everyone else,” Adam said. He’s now 30, and comics and their heroes are still part of his life.
In the comic shop, the brothers share their encyclopedic (渊博的) knowledge of comics with customers. The brothers act as guides in this universe, 6. (introduce) customers to new comics.
The shop attracts many autistic customers. And being autistic 7. turns out to be a big help for the brothers to deal with customers. They are good at 8. (spot) the customers’ needs and feelings. “Maybe it’s the tone of the voice, the motion of a hand — small details that most people won’t pick up on — that I might have insight (深刻理解) into,” says Guy. Of course, the majority of customers who come to the shop are not autistic. Now the brothers get a steady stream of customers who are, both male and female, 9. young children to retired people. Once the shop had established itself, the brothers also began reaching out to people with autism beyond the shop.
Seven years on, Angela is glad she took the risk of helping her sons 10. (create) their dream shop. “This shop has a soul,” the mother says proudly.
假定你是李华，市电视台将举办《中国诗词比赛)(Chinese poetry Contest)国际友人专场， 你想邀请对中国文化感兴趣的外教老师Adam -同观赛。请给他写-封信，内容包括:
1. 时间:下周五晚六点半；
2. 地点:市民中心；
3. 诗词比赛的意义。
注意:
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Adam,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
