1-2 My life as a bed tester Last year， I graduated from art school without any definite ideas about what I wanted to do. I knew I didn’t want to work nine to five， and I also didn’t really want to work in an office. Then one day， I saw an advertisement on the graduate career website. It said: “Do you appreciate the importance of a good night’s sleep? Are you interested in flexible working hours? Why not consider a career in bed testing!” I’ve always enjoyed sleeping， so I decided to send my résumé and a cover letter. The interview was very unusual. I was asked to lie down on two different beds and make notes on what I thought about them. It was the strangest interview I’ve ever had， and I couldn’t believe my luck when I found I had got the job. After that， I worked for a year testing beds. I think I slept in about 50 or 60 beds every month! My biggest job was when I visited a big， luxury hotel. I was offered $10，000 to sleep in each one of their hundreds of beds and write about how comfortable they were. It wasn’t a bad salary for such relaxing work. One of the best things about the job is when people at parties ask me what I do. Telling them I am a professional sleeper always gets the conversation started! I don’t know if I’ll do this job forever， but for now it suits me just fine. 8. What does the writer say about the biggest job?

23. I __________ （had tried / had been trying）to call him all day， when he walked into my office.

9. My brother did a life-size _______ of a giraffe for his art project.

A. 　 sculptor

B. 　 sculpture

C. 　 sculpt

D. 　 sculpting

6-2 New year, new goal! For the past five years, I made the same promise to myself every spring: “I am going to get into shape”. Each year, I promised myself that I was going to lose weight and go down two dress sizes, so that I would look good (or at least normal) on the beach. However, it was the same story every year. Just two weeks after I’d made the resolution, I went back to my old bad habits. This year I decided to do things differently. I realized that my goal of dropping two dress sizes was unrealistic, and probably even unhealthy. When I examined my goal, I decided that it was too short-sighted to be meaningful. Why would I work so hard for just two weeks on the beach? When I thought about it, I realized it was more important to be healthy and strong than to look slim. Examining and changing my goal made a big difference. Instead of trying to lose weight, a friend and I decided we’d run a marathon in July. We planned our exercise schedule together, which was really motivating. We ate healthily, without worrying about our weight. Instead of obsessing about how we looked, we focused on our running performance. So, what happened? Not only did I manage to run the marathon, I also went down a dress size. What did I take away from this experience? What we think we need isn’t always what’s good for us. It pays to examine our goals. 56. What goal did the writer set herself every year for 5 years?

A. 　 She promised herself she’d lose weight.

B. 　 She promised herself she’d run a marathon.

C. 　 She promised herself she’d eat more healthily.

D. 　 She promised herself she’d spend more time on the beach.

14.---Help yourself to some fruit.---__________

A. 　 Thank you.

B. 　 Yes， I like it very much.

C. 　 OK. It’s nothing serious.

D. 　 Really?

5. By all means， use social media to help you catch a potential employer’s eye.

5. ——I hope you don’t mind my pointing out your mistakes.——_________ .

A. 　 Not at all

B. 　 You’re welcome

C. 　 Of course

D. 　 It’s a pleasure

20. I’ve just had an interview， and guess what? They _______ me the job!

A. 　 offer

B. 　 offered

C. 　 admit

D. 　 admitted 

3-2 Dressing for success Until recently， I had never thought about how important our work clothes are. However， this changed when I arrived for my first day of work at my new job. The first thing I noticed was that the receptionist was wearing jeans. Then I met my boss， who was wearing shorts and trainers. Most of my other colleagues were similarly dressed. At first， I felt happy to work in such a relaxed environment， but after a few days， I realized something. People were always checking their social media and eating food at their desks. One colleague even fell asleep sometimes. I am ambitious， and this wasn’t the way I wanted to work. Then I had an idea. I had read about how wearing smart clothes can make people work harder， and I wanted to see if it was true. I remembered that some workplaces let staff come to work in casual clothes on Fridays. I suggested to my boss that our workplace do the opposite， asking staff to dress smartly on Fridays. The first “dress smart” Friday my colleagues looked so smart! And guess what? They seemed to work harder too. Suddenly， it felt like that my workplace was a more energetic place to be. My colleagues noticed the difference—and so did my boss， because three Fridays later， she suggested staff come to work smartly dressed every day. Now my colleagues and I always dress smartly， and as a result， I think our team is happier and more productive.27. Why was the writer unhappy in her new workplace?

A. 　 The hours weren’t flexible.

B. 　 The workplace was cold and unattractive.

C. 　 Her colleagues weren’t friendly.

D. 　 She was ambitious and wanted to work hard.

4-2 Have you ever dreamed about turning your hobby into your full-time job? This may sound too good to be true， but for fashion writer and model Anna King， the dream is now a reality. Anna had always found it difficult to find clothes to fit her. She says， “I am a plus-size woman， and so when I went shopping with my friends， I could never find anything big enough to fit me. So， I went online and found lots of great shops which sold fashionable clothes in bigger sizes. I took photos of myself wearing the clothes and shared my shopping experiences online， on a weekly fashion blog.” The blog called “Large Looks” became popular. Anna says， “Soon I had followers from all over the world! It turns out that many bigger women were having similar problems finding nice clothes.” After two years of blogging， a publisher asked me to write a book about my experiences. Just one week later， a model agency asked me to model some plus-size clothes for them. I just couldn’t believe it! Anna says， “I was able to give up my job as a secretary for a law firm and concentrate on my hobby. Now I never feel sad about going back to work on a Monday!” She adds， “Lots of people tell me how lucky I am. I tell them that yes， I was lucky， but I also worked very hard. I wrote hundreds of blog posts before I was noticed!” 36. What problem did Anna have?

A. 　 Clothes in shops were too expensive for her.

B. 　 Clothes in shops were too big for her.

C. 　 Clothes in shops were too small for her.

D. 　 None of the shops in the town where she lived sold nice clothes.

34. I＇m fed _______ with my job. I think I need to do something different.

A. 　 then

B. 　 down

C. 　 through

D. 　 up