2-2 What to do after an interview There are many articles telling you how to prepare before an interview， but there is less advice about what to do afterwards. However， what you do after an interview is really important. Not only can it help you to prepare for future interviews， but it might also help you to increase your chances of getting the job. It is very important to think about your interview performance. Write down everything you remember， especially the questions you were asked. Then think about how you answered them. Don’t use this as an opportunity to be too negative about your performance， as this will not help with your confidence. Instead， try to be honest with yourself about what you did well， and where you could improve for the next time. Write a thank-you letter to the hiring manager. Not only does this show them that you are grateful for the time they took to speak to you， it is also an opportunity to make you stand out from the other candidates. After your interview， take time to connect with your interviewer on professional social media sites. If they accept your request， it could mean that they are interested in staying in touch. Even if you do not get the job， you will have taken an important step in growing your professional network. Finally， don’t spend all your time waiting to hear how the interview went. Stay calm， focus on learning new skills and start preparing for your next interview. 16. What is the purpose of this article?

8-1 Sometimes, interviewers will ask questions to find out more about the skills you have. For example, employers might want to see if you are a good team worker or if you are able to solve problems. A good way to answer these questions is with the STAR acronym. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result. Here is how this works. Imagine you are asked to talk about a time you showed leadership skills. Using the STAR technique, you might say something like: “Two years ago I was made captain of the basketball team. We had a big competition coming up, and the team hadn’t won a match in ten years. I decided to start an intensive training program. We trained every night for three hours. It was hard work, but I motivated my team members by giving them small rewards, like candy, when they scored a basket. In the end we won the competition and now we’re the most successful basketball team in our city!” The story is a good example of the STAR technique. It describes the situation (being captain of the basketball team) the task (having to win the competition) the action (motivating the team) and the result (winning). It’s impossible to predict exactly what you’ll be asked at an interview, but If you practice talking about some of your work and study experiences using the STAR technique, your answers will be well-structured and more likely to make a good impression.72 What kind of questions should you use the STAR technique to help you answer?

A. 　Questions about your personal information， e.g.: date of birth

B. 　Questions about the skills you have

C. 　Questions about your qualifications

D. 　Questions about your plans for the future

9-1 One of the most important things you can do in the days before a job interview is to work on developing a positive attitude. It’s natural to feel nervous， but a positive mind-set will help you to perform well and to convince the interviewer that you are the right person for the job. In order to feel positive， you need to examine the way you think. If you think things like “I can’t...” or “That’s impossible” you need to change the way you speak to yourself. Instead of thinking “I can’t do public speaking”， tell yourself “I find public speaking difficult， but I’m going to work on it and get better”. It is well-known that preparation will help you to successfully answer interview questions. But did you know that preparing well for an interview can also help you to feel much more confident? On the morning of your interview， do everything you can to make yourself feel relaxed. Do you have a favourite song which makes you feel good? Put it on at top volume and listen to the words. Treat yourself to a healthy breakfast and remind yourself of all you have achieved so far. Finally， tell yourself you are looking forward to， and not fearing， the interview. Finally， see the interview as an opportunity to learn. Try not to think of it in terms of getting the job or not getting the job. See it as a way of getting valuable interview experience and making important connections in your industry. 85. According to the article， what’s the best way to think about the interview?

A. 　 As an opportunity to learn and get experience

B. 　 As a kind of test to see what you are worth

C. 　 As a chance to get something you really want

D. 　 As your chance to get the interviewer to like you

49. These shoes are totally _______ for interview， I’m afraid.

A. 　 bad-mouth

B. 　 discriminatory

C. 　 inappropriate

D. 　 tempting

6-1 Be your own life coach! The demand for life coaches has grown in recent years， with many celebrities claiming that their lives have been improved by a few sessions of coaching. So， what does a life coach do， and can they change your life for the better? Life coaches claim to be able to help their clients work towards achieving their goals. Sue Berry， a life coach， says， “As a qualified life coach， I have several different clients now. Basically， I help people to feel better about their life， work and relationships. Many clients come to me feeling very unhappy. By asking them questions and listening carefully to their answers， I help them move forwards and achieve goals that they could never have dreamed of achieving themselves.” Life coaching is a multi-million-dollar industry， with many life coaches charging hundreds of dollars for a session. Is it worth it? Not everyone thinks so. Melvyn Clark， a careers advisor at Leicester University， thinks that people should take responsibility for their own destiny. He says， “People spend lots of money on getting advice from professionals. In fact， there’s a belief that the more you spend， the less you actually have to do by yourself. Well， I believe that if you want to make real changes in your life， it has to come down to you. Spending hundreds to talk to someone else about your problems will only empty your bank account.” What do you think? Would you pay someone to help you get some direction in your life? 53. According to the article， is life coaching well-paid?

A. 　 Yes， very.

B. 　 Yes， quite.

C. 　 No， not very.

D. 　 No， not at all.

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. 6. What kind of job was the writer looking for after graduating from art school?

A. 　 A well-paid job.

B. 　 A job with an attractive working environment.

C. 　 A job with flexible working hours.

D. 　 An outdoors job.

29. Philip has really _______off to a good start in his new job.

A. 　 made

B. 　 done

C. 　 kept

D. 　 got

15. Her job wasn’t going well， so she _______ （decide / decided）to apply for a new one.

41. If you _______（work / will work）on a Sunday， you earn double the money.

6-1 Be your own life coach! The demand for life coaches has grown in recent years， with many celebrities claiming that their lives have been improved by a few sessions of coaching. So， what does a life coach do， and can they change your life for the better? Life coaches claim to be able to help their clients work towards achieving their goals. Sue Berry， a life coach， says， “As a qualified life coach， I have several different clients now. Basically， I help people to feel better about their life， work and relationships. Many clients come to me feeling very unhappy. By asking them questions and listening carefully to their answers， I help them move forwards and achieve goals that they could never have dreamed of achieving themselves.” Life coaching is a multi-million-dollar industry， with many life coaches charging hundreds of dollars for a session. Is it worth it? Not everyone thinks so. Melvyn Clark， a careers advisor at Leicester University， thinks that people should take responsibility for their own destiny. He says， “People spend lots of money on getting advice from professionals. In fact， there’s a belief that the more you spend， the less you actually have to do by yourself. Well， I believe that if you want to make real changes in your life， it has to come down to you. Spending hundreds to talk to someone else about your problems will only empty your bank account.” What do you think? Would you pay someone to help you get some direction in your life? 54. What does Melvyn Clark do?

A. 　 He helps people to achieve their personal goals.

B. 　 He listens to people’s problems.

C. 　 He helps people to start their own businesses.

D. 　 He advises students about their careers.

7-2 My life as a pet food tester When I tell people that I work as a pet food tester， I get a lot of different responses. Some people laugh， some look disgusted， and others ask me what the food tastes like and how much of it I have to eat. It certainly is an interesting job. However， it’s also a job which needs a high level of skill and qualifications. I have a degree in nutrition， so I know about the kind of food that pets need to stay healthy. An important part of my job is writing reports about the food I taste and making suggestions about how it can be improved. Tasting the food is just one part of what I do. How do I go about tasting the pet food? First of all， I smell it carefully. The food has to smell nice， otherwise the animals won’t want to eat it. Also， pet owners don’t want bad-smelling food in their homes! After smelling the food， I taste it. I keep it in my mouth for a few minutes， taking notes on how it tastes and how it feels in my mouth. It’s really important the food tastes good. If I don’t like it， then probably the animals won’t like it either. The food isn’t the best part of my job， but there are other perks—like the salary. I earn $50， 000 a year. Now that leaves a good taste in my mouth! 68. When doing his/her job， what does the writer do first?

A. 　 He/She writes notes about the food.

B. 　 He/She tastes the food.

C. 　 He/She studies the food packaging.

D. 　 He/She smells the food.