“我是员工，你是老板”这种一成不变的关系，如果高兴，我也可以做老板，自己开公司，自己创业。自主创业也许看似收益满满，但确是需要承担一定的责任和风险，也是相当辛苦的。
作文题目：Self employment
参考范文：
Self employment could bring many advantages. One of the advantages of being self-employed is that the profit the business makes belongs to the owner. If the self-employed person succeeds in business, he has the chance to earn a great deal of money. The profit earned is the reward for the owner’s effort, ability and creativity. Thus, a second advantage is that a person’s intelligence and abilities have a direct effect on the earnings. A third advantage of being self-employed is that a person can control his working hours. While not all self-employed people are completely free, most of them have more control over this area than the salaried people.
However, being self-employed is not without problems. First, being one’s own boss places the responsibility directly on that individual shoulders. Everyone has some weaknesses in a certain aspects. These weaknesses will affect how successful a self-employed person is. Second, though the self-employed can earn considerable profits with a successful business, losses can force them out of business and sometimes, place them in debt. A third disadvantage concerns income security. Self-employed people have no guaranteed wage. Their earnings can vary greatly, depending on business conditions. Salaried people, however, can generally count on continued earnings.
In addition, salaried people often enjoy fringe benefits that mean greater peace of mind. One of these benefits may be insurance paid for by the employer that continues the employee’s salary in the event of sickness or accident while many self-employed people do not have such protection.本文导航第1页写作第2页阅读部分第3页阅读部分第4页阅读部分第5页阅读部分第6页翻译部分
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As Toyota and Hummer have learned, growing too fast can be a dangerous thing.
From its origins, success in the auto industry has been about scale. In the early decades of the 20th century, Henry Ford was able to democratize the car and dominate the early auto industry because he built, and then continually improved, an assembly line that could make huge numbers of cars in a short amount of time. Bigger was always better.
But two items from yesterday’s dispatch in the ongoing car dramas indicate why that’s not always true.
Item No. 1: The Toyota debacle (失败). The mass failings of Toyota’s legendary quality-control efforts are now on full display in the hearings that have subjected CEO Akio Toyoda to a ritualized set of apologies and humiliations (羞辱). In recent years Toyota rode its efficiency and better financial management — it didn’t have to contend with the burdensome pension and health-care benefits that sandbagged the Big Three (i.e. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) — to large gains in market share and significant growth. In 2007 Toyota surpassed GM as the largest carmaker in the world.
But something got lost in the process. As Toyoda acknowledged on Wednesday: “I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick. I would like to point out here that Toyota’s priority has traditionally been: first, safety; second, quality; and third, volume. These priorities became confused.” In other words, Toyoda seemed to admit, the company went wrong by moving size — i.e., volume — to the front of the line.
Item No. 2: After a series of failed efforts to sell it, GM announced that its Hummer brand would be wound down. Hummer had a different problem with bigness than Toyota has. It wasn’t that its production volumes were too high. In 2008 only 2,710 Hummers were sold. Rather, the outsize Hummer was simply too big — too inefficient, too out of step with the times — to succeed in a marketplace in which oil spiked to $150 per barrel and seems to have settled at a plateau above $70 a barrel. As the economy tanked, energy prices rose, and the spirit of the time shifted in favor of conservation, the gas-guzzling Hummer faced a double whammy (厄运): consumers had difficulty affording the vehicle’s high list price as well as difficulty affording its high operating price.
Size does matter when it comes to auto production. But not always in the way manufacturers think.
47. The example of Henry Ford’s assembly line suggests that the success in the auto industry was built on
48. According to the author, Toyota’s fast growth in recent years was attributed to
49. CEO Akio Toyoda seemed to admit that Toyota betrayed its tradition of putting at top priority.
50. According to the passage, GM decided to gradually bring its Hummer brand to an end because of
51. According to the passage, whether purchasing or operating a Hummer, consumers found it hard to
47. scale 48. its efficiency and better financial management 49. safety 50. a series of failed effort to sell it
51. afford the high prices本文导航第1页写作第2页阅读部分第3页阅读部分第4页阅读部分第5页阅读部分第6页翻译部分
Has your child cracked a book this summer?
Although adults often jump at the chance to catch up on their reading during vacations, many children and teenagers, particularly those from low-income families, read few, if any, books during the summer break from school.
But the price for keeping the books closed is a high one. Several studies have documented a “summer slide” in reading skills once school lets out each spring. The decline in reading and spelling skills are greatest among low-income students, who lose the equivalent of about two months of school each summer, according to the National Summer Learning Association, an education advocacy group. And the loss compounds each year.
Now new research offers a surprisingly simple, and affordable, solution to the summer reading slide. In a three-year study, researchers at the University of Tennessee found that simply giving low-income children access to books at spring fairs — and allowing them to choose books that most interested them — had a significant effect on the summer reading gap.
The study, financed by the federal Department of Education, tracked the reading habits and test scores of more than 1,300 Florida children from 17 low-income schools. At the start of the study, 852 randomly selected first- and second-graders attended a school book fair in the spring where they were allowed to browse from 600 book titles. A variety of books were offered. The children chose 12 books.
The researchers also selected at random a control group of 478 children who weren’t given reading books. Those children were offered free activity and puzzle books.
The book fairs and activity book giveaways continued for three summers until the study participants reached the fourth and fifth grades. Then the researchers compared reading test scores for the two groups.
Children who had received free books posted significantly higher test scores than the children who received activity books. The difference in scores was twice as high among the poorest children in the study.
One of the most notable findings was that children improved their reading scores even though they typically weren’t selecting the curriculum books or classics that teachers normally assigned for summer reading. That conclusion confirms other studies suggesting that children learn best when they are allowed to select their own books.
But giving children a choice in the books they read is a message many parents resist.
At a bookstore recently, a study co-author, Anne McGill-Franzen, professor and director of the reading center at the University of Tennessee, said she witnessed an exchange between some mothers encouraging their fifth- and sixth-grade daughters to read biographies of historical figures, when the girls wanted to select books about Hannah Montana, a character played by the pop star Miley Cyrus.
“If those books get them into reading, that has great repercussions (影响) for making them smarter,” Dr. McGill-Franzen said. “Teachers and middle-class parents undervalue kids’ preferences, but I think we need to give up being so uptight about children’s choices in books.”
52. Several studies reveal that during summer vacations, .
A) parents are eager to choose books for their children B) slide enjoys greater popularity among poor children
C) many schools choose to close the library to save money D) children’s reading skills decline without book reading
53. To solve the summer reading slide, researchers at the University of Tennessee suggest .
A) schools provide free books to children B) children read in company with their parents
C) children discuss with friends after reading D) parents buy some classics for their children
54. In the study, children are divided into two groups according to whether .
A) they come from low-income families B) the books are offered to them for free
C) they are allowed to select their own books D) they read much and perform well in tests
55. What conclusion of the study is worthy of notice according to the passage?
A) Children tend not to read the curriculum books in summer. B) Poor students get the lowest scores in the reading test.
C) Children given choice in books improve their reading. D) Teachers’ summer reading assignment fails to work on children.
56. What does Anne McGill-Franzen’s experience in the bookstore illustrate?
A) Parents oppose giving children a choice in books. B) Reading about fictional figures makes children smarter.
C) Many children books are undervalued in bookstores. D) There exists generation gap in selecting reading material.
答案 D A C C A本文导航第1页写作第2页阅读部分第3页阅读部分第4页阅读部分第5页阅读部分第6页翻译部分
Amid weak job and housing markets, consumers are saving more and spending less than they have in decades, and industry professionals expect that trend to continue. Consumers saved 6.4 percent of their after-tax income in June. Before the recession, the rate was 1 to 2 percent for many years. In June, consumer spending and personal incomes were essentially flat compared with May, suggesting that the American economy, as dependent as it is on shoppers opening their wallets and purses, isn’t likely to rebound anytime soon.
On the bright side, the practices that consumers have adopted in response to the economic crisis ultimately could make them happier. New studies of consumption and happiness show, for instance, that people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects, when they relish what they plan to buy long before they buy it, and when they stop trying to outdo the Joneses.
If consumers end up sticking with their newfound spending habits, some tactics (策略) that retailers and marketers began using during the recession could become lasting business strategies. Among those strategies are offering goods that makes being at home more entertaining and trying to make consumers feel special by giving them access to exclusive events and more personal customer service.
While the current round of stinginess may simply be a response to the economic downturn, some analysts say consumers may also be permanently adjusting their spending based on what they’ve discovered about what truly makes them happy or fulfilled.
“This actually is a topic that hasn’t been researched very much until recently,” says Elizabeth W. Dunn, an associate professor in the psychology department at the University of British Columbia, who is at the forefront of research on consumption and happiness. “There’s massive literature on income and happiness. It’s amazing how little there is on how to spend your money.”
Studies over the last few decades have shown that money, up to a certain point, makes people happier because it lets them meet basic needs. The latest round of research is, for lack of a better term, all about emotional efficiency: how to reap the most happiness for your dollar.
So just where does happiness reside for consumers? Scholars and researchers haven’t determined whether Armani will put a bigger smile on your face than Dolce & Gabbana. But they have found that our types of purchases, their size and frequency, and even the timing of the spending all affect long-term happiness.
One major finding is that spending money for an experience — concert tickets, French lessons, sushi-rolling classes, a hotel room in Monaco — produces longer-lasting satisfaction than spending money on plain old stuff.
“‘It’s better to go on a vacation than buy a new couch’ is basically the idea,” says Professor Dunn.
Thomas DeLeire, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin discovered that the only category to be positively related to happiness was leisure: vacations, entertainment, sports and equipment like golf clubs and fishing poles.
57. What’s the dark side of American consumers’ saving more and spending less?
A) The job and housing markets will become even weaker.B) There is little hope that the American economy will recover soon.
C) More and more retailers and marketers will have to go bankrupt.
D) It’s possible that the American economy will rebound sooner.
58. What makes consumers happier according to the new studies?
A) Overcoming the economic crisis. B) Affording anything at any time.
C) Spending money for an experience. D) Having as much money as other people.
59. What will happen if customers keep their spending habits formed in the economic downturn?
A) They will get goods and services much cheaper. B) It’s likely that they spend more time indoors.
C) Retailers will change their business strategies. D) They will enjoy better services and experiences.
60. What surprises Elizabeth W. Dunn according to the passage?
A) There is little about how to spend money to make people happy.
B) Consumers unconsciously adjust their spending habits to be happy.
C) People started researches on consumption-happiness relationship so early.
D) Happiness is proved to have nothing to do with consumption.
61. Scholars such as Prof. Dunn and Prof. DeLeire agree that .
A) richer people feel happier and more satisfied B) most consumers prefer leading brands like Armani
C) spending on vacations brings long-term happiness D) people should curb their spending on material things
答案B C D A C本文导航第1页写作第2页阅读部分第3页阅读部分第4页阅读部分第5页阅读部分第6页翻译部分
2016年下半年大学英语六级口语考试报名通知 口语考试报名补充说明
2016年12月英语六级报名时间 2016年12月六级模拟练习三十套
2016年12月大学英语六级听力考试备考练习汇总
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After the earthquake, the text messages came streaming in to 4636 — reports of trapped people, fires, polluted water sources, and requests for food, water and medical supplies. Hundreds of volunteers translated them from Creole and French into English, tagged them with a location and passed them on to aid agencies on the ground. Yet not one of the volunteers was anywhere near Haiti.
The 4636 texting service is part of a new generation of web-based efforts to help disaster relief that has emerged from the revolution in texting, social networking and crowdsourcing. Its impact on the ground is tangible (确凿的). For example, a Haitian clinic texted 4636 that it was running low on fuel for its generator. Within 20 minutes the Red Cross said it would resupply.
4636 is run by a small organization called Ushahidi.com, originally set up in Kenya to gather reports of violence after the 2008 election. Within days of the earthquake on 12 January that flattened Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince and numerous surrounding towns, it had set up a Haitian operation and recruited hundreds of volunteers to help translate messages, many of them Haitians living in the U.S. The service is free, courtesy of Digicell, Haiti’s largest mobile network operator, which had 70 per cent of its network running within 24 hours of the quake.
Nicolas di Tada, who helped set up 4636 on the ground in the first days after the disaster, says that was the easy part. “The challenge was making responders on the ground aware of us.” A stroke of luck made a big difference. One of the first texts was from a hospital which had 200 beds, and doctors, nurses and medical supplies on standby, but no patients, because hardly any relief agencies knew they were there. Forwarding that message on told a large number of organization about 4636. Now, radio stations help spread the word.
As people generally don’t send messages to say their request has been fulfilled, Ushahidi has no way of knowing how successful it has been. Still, “the system is unprecedented,” says Christopher Csikszentmihalyi, director of the Center for Future Civic Media at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
47. Who tackled text messages on earthquake-hit Haiti that poured into 4636?
48. The example of a Haitian clinic receiving response from the Red Cross suggests that the 4636 texting service has .
49. The original purpose of creating 4636 was to that followed the 2008 Kenya election.
50. According Nicolas di Tada, the difficult part of work for 4636 Haitian operation is .
51. Ushahidi is not clear of the effect of 4636 since senders usually do not give a feedback when .
答案
47. Hundreds of volunteers. 48. tangible impact 49. gather reports of violence
50. making responders on the ground aware of them51. their request has been fulfilled本文导航第1页写作第2页阅读部分第3页阅读部分第4页阅读部分第5页阅读部分第6页翻译部分
翻译
The SEC offers a huge carrot to encourage whistle-blowers
美国证券交易委员会高额悬赏鼓励举报人
"TOO many people remain silent in the face of fraud," says Mary Schapiro, the chairman of America’s Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). On May 25th she announced new rules to encourage corporate whistle-blowing. Inducements will include cash: 10-30% of fines of over $1m that result from tip-offs. The US Chamber of Commerce, a business lobby, calls it a "bounty programme" that will reward "amateur sleuths in search of a big payday". It isthreatening legal action to block it.
行为时选择了沉默。"美国证券交易委员会(SEC)主席Mary Schapiro感叹道。5月25日，她公布了鼓励举报公司犯罪的新规定。举报的奖励将会包含现金：如果举报产生了100万美元以上的罚款，那么举报人可获得罚款金额的10-30%。企业游说组织美国商会将其称作"赏金计划"，奖励那些盼着一夜暴富的业余侦探。其威胁性会导致有人采取法律行动来阻止这一计划。
The new rules were required by the Dodd-Frank act, Congress’s response to the financial crisis, which was passed last year. They follow an earlier effort to encourage employees to speak up. After Enron, an energy firm, collapsed in a flurry of fraud, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley act in 2002 which, among other things, protected whistle-blowers from retaliation.
国会为应对金融危机在去年通过了多德佛兰克金融改革法案(Dodd- Frank act)，这些新规定是应该法案的要求制定的。同时也延续了早就开始的鼓励公司员工站出来举报的做法。在能源公司安然(Enron)在连串的欺诈案件中轰然倒下之后，国会采取的善后措施中就包括通过了萨班-奥克利法案(Sarbanes-Oxley act)保护举报人免遭报复。
Employees have never found it easy to squeal on employers. Perhaps the most celebrated ofcorporate whistle-blowers, Sherron Watkins, a former executive at Enron, never went public with her prediction that the company might be brought down by fraud. She reported her concerns internally, and was ignored.
员工举报老板从来就不是件容易事。最著名的举报人，安然公司前高官Sherron Watkins，可能从没有将她对于公司会因诈骗倒闭的预测公布于众。她只是在公司内部提出了她的担忧，但是没有人理睬。
When the SEC released draft rules in November, businesses fretted that the financial rewards would prompt insiders to go straight to the commission, bypassing their firms’ internalprocedures—especially since that would reduce the risk of being victimised by the boss or branded a "disgruntled employee". The new rules try to correct this, for example by allowing areward to be paid in some circumstances to whistle-blowers who only grumble internally.
当证券交易委员会在去年11月公布规定的草案时，公司担心金钱奖励会促使内部知情人越过内部程序直接向委员会举报，因为这样会降低被老板陷害或者被贴上"不满员工"标签的风险。新出台的规定试图改变这一状况，比如规定在一些情况下可以奖励只在内部举报没有外传的员工。
The chance of making a fortune may encourage speculative whistle-blowing in the hope of winning the lottery. Ms Schapiro’s new Office of the Whistleblower may be deluged with useless tips. But even that might be better than the status quo.
靠举报发财的机会也许会刺激一心想发财的投机式举报。Schapiro女士的新举报官可能会被无效的线索淹没。但是即使是这样也好过现状。
2016年下半年大学英语六级口语考试报名通知 口语考试报名补充说明
2016年12月英语六级报名时间 2016年12月六级模拟练习三十套
2016年12月大学英语六级听力考试备考练习汇总
2016年12月英语六级选词填空专项强化训练汇总
2016年12月大学英语六级阅读试题库整理
2016年12月英语六级翻译答案及解析辅导汇总
2016年12月大学英语六级作文万能模板汇总
