阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

A

How to Ask for a Raise 1. Do Your Homework Do some market research to determine what others in your industry currently earn at your position. Websites such as Salary.com and PayScale.com offer tools that provide you with a salary range, and suggestions for how to determine where you fit in that range based on your skills and experience. You should also do informal research by polling your friends and colleagues in similar positions—as long as you work for different companies. 2. Know Your Employer Many companies have official policies for discussing salary increases. If your employer offers salary reviews once a year, that’s probably the best time for you to negotiate (协商) a raise. If the company’s practices are more flexible, take the pulse of the financial situation of your department and the corporation as a whole, when considering the timing of your discussion. 3. Show Them What You’re Worth Keep a journal or list of your daily tasks and accomplishments. Use this documentation as evidence to support your claim that you’re worthy of a salary increase. 4. Have a Number in Mind Based on your industry research, your responsibilities and your accomplishments, determine the salary you feel you deserve in advance of a meeting with your boss. 5. Set Up a Meeting Schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss your desired raise. Know that your boss may want to do some research too, or meet first with Human Resources. Pushing for a meeting sooner than your boss offers definitely won’t help your cause. 6. Come Prepared When you meet with your boss, be ready to support your request with specifics about your performance and accomplishments, as well as goals for the future and additional responsibilities you’re willing to take on. Keep the meeting professional and avoid discussing any personal reasons you feel you need a higher salary. Be careful to use tactics (手段) such as a competitive job offer to get a raise—they may cause opposite effect. 7. Have a Plan B If your boss can’t or won’t give you a raise at the moment, ask what you can do to work towards a salary increase in the near future. Are there more responsibilities you can take on or aspects of your work you can improve on? If it’s a corporate budget issue, find out when might be a good time to revisit the conversation. In either case, schedule a meeting within a few months to discuss the matter again.

1. The word “homework” in the first paragraph refers to ______. A. work that is given by teachers for students to do at home B. Websites such as Salary.com and PayScale.com C. tools and suggestions offered by websites D. market research and informal research

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2. The underlined sentence in the passage means that you’d better ask for a raise ______. A. when the employer has a normal pulse rate B. when the employer is in a good mood

C. when the company has a good financial situation D. when the company’s practices are more flexible 3. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The employer will give you a raise because of your personal reasons. B. You should show them that you’re worthy of a salary increase. C. You can tell your boss the exact number of salary increase you want D. Schedule a meeting with your boss but don’t push too hard. 4. It can be inferred in the last paragraph that ______.

A. If your boss won’t give you a raise, you’d better take fewer responsibilities. B. It is a wise way to get a raise by letting your boss know you are doing more. C. Only if you find a proper time to talk with your boss will you get a raise.

D. You should schedule a meeting within a few months to discuss the matter again.

B

Here’s one number to keep in mind during your next cell phone conversation: 50. A new experiment shows that spending 50 minutes with an active phone pressed up to the ear increases activity in the brain. This brain activity probably doesn't make you smarter. When cell phones are on, they emit (发出) energy in the form of radiation that could be harmful, especially after years of cell phone usage. Scientists don't know yet whether cell phones are bad for the brain. Studies like this one are attempting to find it out.

The 47 participants in the experiment may have looked a little strange. Each one had two Samsung cell phones attached to his or her head — one on each ear. The phone on the left ear was off. The phone on the right ear played a message for 50 minutes, but the participants couldn't hear it because the sound was off.

With this set-up, the scientists could be sure they were studying brain activity from the phone itself, and not brain activity due to listening and talking during a conversation. After 50 minutes with two phones strapped to their heads, the participants were given PET scans.

The PET scan showed that the left side (the side with the phone turned off) of each participant's brain hadn't changed during the experiment. The right side of the brain, however, had used more glucose, which is a type of sugar that provides fuel to brain cells. These right-side brain cells were using almost as much glucose as the brain uses when a person is talking. This suggests that the brain cells there were active ― even without the person hearing anything. That activity, the scientists say, was probably caused by radiation from the phone.

Henry Lai, who works at the University of Washington in Seattle, is uncomfortable with the data related to cell phones. Holding a cell phone to your ear during a conversation is “not really safe,” Lai told Science News. Lai is a bioengineer at the University of Washington in Seattle. He wrote an article about the new study for a journal, but he did not work on the study. Bioengineers bring together ideas from engineering and biology.

For those who don't want to wait to find out for sure whether cell phones are bad for the brain, there are ways to talk more safely. You can have short and sweet conversations, use a

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speakerphone or keep the phone away from your head. 5. Which of the following statement is true?

A. Scientists are sure that cell phones are bad for the brain.

B. In the experiment, the left side of the brain used more glucose. C. Radiation from the phone causes the change in the brain. D. Henri Lai wrote a lot of articles about this new study.

6. Why weren’t the participants allowed to have a conversation on the phone during the experiment?

A. Because that would be too noisy and bad for the experiment.

B. Because they really looked strange and no one wanted to talk to others. C. Because they were given PET scans and they lost the ability to talk.

D. Because the scientists want to be sure of the accuracy of the experiment. 7. What is glucose?

A. A type of sugar that provides vitamin to brain cells. B. Something that the right side of the brain used. C. A type of sugar that gives energy to brain cells. D. Something that makes a human excited.

8. According to the last two paragraphs, which is the safest way to use a cell phone? A. Holding the cell phone close to your head.

B. Using a cell phone more than three hours a day. C. Taking the most powerful cell phone. D. Keeping the cell phone at a distance. 9. Where is this article probably taken from? A. Literature magazine. B. Science News. C. Story books. D. Art Journal.

C

When should people be made to retire? 55? 65? Should there be a compulsory (强制的) age limit?

Many old people work well into their 70s and 80s, running families, countries or corporations. Other people, however, despite being fit and highly talented, are forced to retire in their fifties or even earlier because of the regulations of a company or the nation. This essay will examine whether people should be allowed to continue working as long as they want or whether they should be encouraged to retire at a particular stage.

Some people think there are several arguments for allowing older people to continue working as long as they are able. First of all, older employees have an immense amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business or organization if they are made to retire. A second point is that older employees are often extremely loyal employees and are more willing to carry out company policies than younger less committed staff. However, a more important point is regarding the attitudes in society to old people. To force someone to resign or retire at 60 indicates that the society does not value the input of these people and that effectively their useful life is over. Age is irrelevant to a working life, surely if older employees are told they cannot work after 60, this is age discrimination. That they become old does not necessarily mean they are going to be sick. Old people could be more aware, experienced and committed than some youngsters.

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