Business depends on productivity and employee’s interaction(互动) with customers. The more productive a company is and the better its customer service is, the more income it makes. Productivity is measured by the output of employees. No other factor influences productivity and customer interaction more than how the employees think about their job.
Working environments are not the same. Blame Donais, in his book Workplaces That Work, defines culture as “a system of shared beliefs, values and norms(规范) that shape behavior”. This system of shared beliefs creates the atmosphere in which the employees work and determines their worth in the company, their opportunities within the company and their opinions of their managers.
A review of the culture of the workplace helps the management team to create models that inspire a more productive and employee-friendly culture. Understanding the workplace culture gives the management insight（洞察力）as to what hinders(阻碍) production, what can be changed and what policies can be added.
Negative cultures discourage employees, form having opinions. This is generally a result of a management team that only sees employees for their production values. Employees who don’t feel valued move on to companies that encourage their input. The high turnover results in less qualified employees.
Positive workplace cultures keep more employees. Employees who remain in positions for extended periods of time develop relationships with preferred customers and can often be the reason that a customer does business with a company. Motivated employees value the company’s assets（资产）more, and their decisions reflect this value.
Joan Hodgins, a management psychologist, insists that “Research shows organizations that are committed to developing and maintaining a culture of ‘dignity at work’, harvest the benefits in terms of financial results.” Blame Donais advises that large workplaces be aware of subcultures that can develop in different regions in the world. Large companies may need outside help to create national or global platforms to encourage a united culture among all their locations.
1.What influences a company most according to the text?
A. Its customer service. B. Its efficient production.
C. Its managers’ work attitude. D. Its employees’ opinions about work.
2.What can we learn about Blame Donais’ attitude?
A. He thins people have different opinions on negative cultures.
B. He thinks large workplaces should maintain a different culture.
C. He thinks the system of shared beliefs is not fit for workplaces.
D. He thinks subcultures are of great importance to large workplaces.
3.What way be the best title for the text?
A. The Importance of Workplace Culture
B. The Disadvantages of Workplace Culture
C. How to Choose a Qualified Company
D. How to Employ Qualified Employees
Today, we talk about a common object that appears in many expressions — buttons! Buttons, which are usually small and round and made of metal or plastic, are found on all sorts of clothing. They fasten or connect one piece of clothing to another in order to make sure your clothes don’t fall off.
To be cute as a button is an old saying, which means to be attractive or sweet, but in a small way. Babies are often described as cute as a button. Language experts don’t know why. But they do say this expression dates back to the late 1860s.
Here is another expression related to button: button-down. People often wear button-down shirts to the office. Button-down as an adjective means to be conservative or traditional. People described as button-down stay as close as possible to the normal way of dressing and behaving.
When buttoning a button you slip it into a buttonhole. A buttonhole traps the button. So, to buttonhole someone means you have trapped them in a spoken conversation. Now, let’s say you find yourself buttonholed in a conversation at a party. Someone just keeps talking and talking and talking! Finally, you can’t take it any longer. You tell the person to button it! This is a direct, but unacceptable way of saying “Stop talking!” Button your lip is another equally rude but effective way to stop a person who talks too much.
Another kind of difficult person is someone who pushes one’s buttons. To push one’s buttons means to know exactly how to get that person angry or upset. People who like to push other people’s buttons usually do it for selfish reasons. They find a person’s weak point and then they use it to upset them.
1.What do you think of someone who wears a button-down shirt to the office?
A. Funny. B. Traditional.
C. Crazy. D. Fashionable.
2.What will you probably say to get rid of a long and boring talk?
A. Button your lip. B. Be cute as a button.
C. Push your buttons. D. Be button-down.
3.How does the fourth paragraph mainly develop?
A. By giving examples. B. By making contrasts.
C. By listing figures. D. By analyzing cause and effect.
4.What does the underlined phrase “pushes one’s buttons” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A. Learns of one’s secret. B. Shouts loudly.
C. Gets someone to lose his temper. D. Argues with someone.
“I’ve never used that road,” I said doubtfully. After a weekend of camping, it’s time for us to go home. The question was, which way?
The campsite in the mountainous Nyanga District of Zimbabwe was an hour and a half’s drive from our house in Mutare. There’s one road between Mutare and Nyanga that everyone uses. We’d driven on it many times. But just before we left for our holiday, a friend had emailed to say she’d heard of another route. So now here we were, with two roads from which to choose.
“Let’s try it,” I said to my husband. “Surely it can’t be too bad.”
Unlike me, an English girl who would never forget her four years in Paris, my husband grew up in this part of the world. He knew the fear of breaking down miles from anywhere with no cellphone signal. But to my surprise, he turned right at the Bonda Mission sign. Almost immediately, the magic began.
“Look, Mum,” Sam, who was 10, cried. “It’s that famous school!”
Sure enough, just past Bonda Mission there was a road sign to Knows tics Academy, a small rural school that nobody had heard of until last year when two of its pupils got the best results in the world for their history final exams, set by the University of Cambridge. We’d read about it in Zimbabwe’s main state-run newspaper but had no idea we’d see it today!
Sometimes I think of what my life might have been like if I’d stayed in Paris, if I’d kept to the main road, the one almost certain to have taken me where I thought I wanted to go. And then I remember what coming across the unknown in Zimbabwe has given me: wonderful experiences I could never have dreamed of.
1.What puzzled the author’s family at the moment of leaving the campsite?
A. How to get home. B. Which route to take.
C. Which city to go to first. D. How to contact their friend.
2.What did the author’s husband do after hearing her suggestion?
A. He expressed his strong fear. B. He found their car broke down.
C. He put it into practice. D. He turned to his cellphone for help.
3.What can we infer from Paragraph 6?
A. It was an unexpected experience to see Knows tics Academy.
B. It was a part of their travel schedule to see Knows tics Academy.
C. Knows tics Academy inspired the author’s son to study harder.
D. Seeing Knows tics Academy was a suggestion given by the author’s friend.
4.What does the author feel according to the last paragraph?
A. She regrets giving up the main road.
B. She can’t help missing her life in Paris.
C. She dreams of settling in Zimbabwe one day.
D. She likes her experiences in Zimbabwe.
Things to Do in Atlanta This Weekend
Start the year off by experiencing something new this weekend! Here are our favorite events picked for this weekend.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra at Spivey Hall, Saturday
The music of Glenn Miller has an unusual sound. Combine that with the perfect sound affects at Spivey Hall, and you get a concert that is sure to have your toes tapping. And really, who doesn’t love Challanooga Choo Choo?
Garden Lights at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Saturday
This is the last night for this annual light show at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It is particularly unusual that the magical sound of frogs in the conservatory(温室) is not from a recording. That magic is coming from the real frogs that live there. If it’s not too crowded, stop along the way, close your eyes and just listen.
Children’s Workshop: Egyptian Hieroglyphs(象形文字), Saturday
Does your child dream of becoming a historian when he grows up? If you answer “yes”, you will want to take him to the Michael C. Carlos Museum. Participants will learn how to read and write ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs from Egyptologist Annie Shanley. Children will have an opportunity to discover the meaning of hieroglyphs on tomb reliefs and statues.
Colin Mochrie at Dad’s Garage Theatre, Saturday and Sunday
Set the tone for a great 2018 with laughter. Colin Mochrie comes to Dad’s Garage Theatre and brings his lightning-quick creativity and humor.
If you want to look at all the events happening this weekend, check out our full events calendar.
1.Where can people enjoy Glenn Miller’s works?
A. At Spivey Hall. B. At Dad’s Garage Theatre.
C. At the Atlanta Botanical Garden. D. At the Michael C. Carlos Museum.
2.What makes the light show at the Atlanta Botanical Garden unusual?
A. The perfect light effects.
B. The sound from real frogs.
C. The specially designed conservatory.
D. The magical sound from a recording.
3.What can tourists do at the Michael C. Carlos Museum?
A. Interview Annie Shanley.
B. Meet some sinners face to face.
C. Learn to read ancient Egyptian writing.
D. Carve hieroglyphs on tomb reliefs and statues.
4.Which of the following can best describe the event to be held at Dad’s Garage Theatre?
A. Challenging. B. Educational.
C. Historic. D. Amusing.
假设你是李华，校学坐会主席，想邀请外教Henry先生一起参加学校举办的中秋节晚会。请给他写封邮件，内容包括：
1.介绍写邮件的目的； 2.晚会时间、地点：9月30日晚6点、学校报告厅：
3.晚会内容：同学们表演节目、吃月饼、赏月。
注意：1.词数100左右；2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；3.开头与结尾己给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Henry,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Yours sincerely,
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处错误，每句中最多有两处，每处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：在错的词下划一横线，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。
It was late when we left the restaurant. We have already crossed a long bridge when I discovered I had left my purse at the restaurant. It was nothing we could do but to turn around. There was no chance we could return to the restaurant before the closed time. Then we remembered a friend of us who lived six block from a restaurant. He listened to our story carefully but then he promised he would run over to the restaurant, that my purse had been left. Finally, we recovered the purse. Our friend sounded delightedly to have been a part of this little adventure. Beside finding the lost purse, I also had a sense of great happiness.
