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.
We’ve all heard the stories of an actor’s struggles before a career breakthrough: living a hard life, working part time, being a couch potato before getting that major role. Shelby, the star of “A Dog’s Way Home,” has a hard-luck tale that could top them all. Before her big break, she was living in a landfill, rooting through garbage for her next meal.
Shelby’s big break came in April 2017, when animal-control officer Megan Buhler was driving in Cheatham County. Tennessee. Out on an unrelated call, Buhler spotted and approached what she recalled was a noticeably scared puppy emerging from the dump. “I knelt down and just said, ‘Oh, come here, baby,’” said Buhler. “She was so scared, but she came right up to me, and I was able to put her in my truck.” The pair headed to the county animal shelter, where the staff began calling the new resident Baby Girl.
Buhler and others didn’t know that 3,200 kilometers away, Hollywood was looking for a dog to play Bella in a film written by Cathryn Michon. The find-a-Bella job went to freelance trainer Teresa Ann Miler. Her mission was to search shelters nationwide for a dog that could play Bella. One day, Miller spotted Baby Girl’s adoption photo. “Honestly, it was a really good picture, and she was flat-out smiling,” Miller said. Then she met Baby Girl, and assessed her on personality and the ability to respond to simple commands. After assessment, she adopted Baby Girl from the shelter, renamed her Shelby and took her to California for training. Miller and Shelby trained for just over three months before filming began. Then they were together each day on the set.
Most of the film’s reviews have praised Shelby’s performance. Variety made the comments “an amazing dog, perfect performance!”
Shelby has come a long way from the dump. But Buhler said she saw Shelby recently had needed only a second to compare the movie star with the dog she found from piles of trash. “She’s exactly the same,” Buhler said.
1.Why does the author mention an actor’s struggle before a career breakthrough at the very beginning?
A.To make a sharp contrast between an actor’s struggle and a dog’s struggle.
B.To introduce a dog’s similar but even more striking experiences.
C.To attract reader’s attention by giving dramatic examples.
D.To clearly point out the main idea of the passage.
2.What finally helped Baby Girl get the big role in the film?
A.Her adoption picture. B.Her flat-out smiling.
C.her personality and ability. D.Her miserable experiences.
3.By saying “She is exactly the same” in the last paragraph, Buhler probably means _______.
A.the dog returned to the piles of trash where she found it
B.it took quite a lot of trouble for the dog to change her own fate.
C.she’s really excited to see the dog she helped live such a happy life
D.the dramatic change of the dog’s life hasn’t changed her inner quality
4.What do you think may serve as the best title of the passage?
A.The Success of “A Dog’s Way Home”
B.From a Landfill Puppy to a Movie Star
C.The Trainer and Her Star Dog
D.Shelby’s Hard-luck Story
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 resume to unimd@gmail.com before September 15th.
Dr. Jessica Smith
Mathematics Department
Part-time Job Recruitment
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, elc.
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 am.): 2 persons; mornings (9 a.m.- 12 a.m.): 1 person afternoons (12 p.m.- 6 pm): (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 in 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
1.If you get the position as a secretary, you____.
A.have to assist in English comer
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 you have to help other people all the time.
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.
假定你是李华，你校将于下周三下午举办一次以“保护野生动物（Protect the Wildlife）”为主题的英文演讲活动。请你代表学校学生会写封邮件，邀请美国交换生Lucy 参与该活动。
内容包括：
1. 写信目的；
2. 时间、地点：下周三下午3:00-5:00在学术报告厅；主题：保护野生动物；说明演讲意义；
3. 联系电话：84920740；截止日期：本周六；
4. 盼望回复；表达祝愿。
参考词汇：学术报告厅Academic Lecture Hall
注意：1. 词数100左右，内容包括主要要点；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Lucy,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
John and his 10-year-old son Chase search the streets of Salt Lake City every weekends for the perfect person take to lunch. That they require is that the person is homeless. They started it four years before to share a meal among someone, listen to them and figure out how they can help. Mike Campbell is one of the first people they took to lunch and we are still in touch. John or Chase know they can’t solve the homeless problem. They just hope the kindness will go on. “If we have the other people come out and help, people will have a happily life.” Chase said.
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
A landlord in Maine announced he would not be collecting rent from his tenants (租户) in April due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak.
Nathan Nichols, of South Portland, wrote on Facebook that the tenants 1. (live) in the two units he owns are service and hourly workers, who may be out of work in the coming months.
“Because I am 2. (fortune) enough to afford it and I have the privilege of being in the owner class, I just let them know I would not be collecting rent 3. April,” Nichols wrote. “I ask any other landlords out there to take 4. serious look at the situation and consider giving their tenants some rent relief as well.
Nichols’ post has more than 22,000 shares and 5. (hundred) of comments praising his 6. (decide). In an update post on Facebook, he revealed that it had inspired at least one other landlord to do the same.
He added: “Every so often, however, there is a comment from a landlord who would like 7. (help) the tenants, but 8. (simple) can’t, or from a tenant who really wishes the landlord would help him, but 9. (doubt) whether they will. To these people, I say: I don’t know your situation and I don’t want to judge that a landlord 10. is still collecting rent is somehow a bad person.”
