Welcome to the world of multitasking -- a place where the measure of a person is how many jobs they can perform at the same time. In fact, if experts are to be believed, multitasking is a disastrous idea. One of the opponents of multitasking is Dr. Clifford Nass, a professor at Stanford University. "People who multitask frequently are less able to pay attention; they're worse at managing their memory." he said. In his opinion, the loss that we get with multitasking is harmless in some situations, for example, part of doing business in the digital world: but you can't do serious work like writing, thinking or solving an important problem this way. You do worse even as you think you're doing better. All the time the research points to a simple fact: the brain cannot cope. When you stop midway through composing a report to check an email, you force your brain to stop and regroup. It is like pressing the pause button during a movie, meaning the film takes longer to watch. And as for Dr. Nass, the problems extend beyond the brain. Young people who frequently multitask are not as socially and emotionally healthy as those who don't. They just feel more emotionally satisfied and the feeling is so good and they are bound to desire it again. Todd Oppenheimer, a writer said "We've become a very short-term society and don't reward people for taking a lot of time on something." He fears we may end up losing the next generation of great thinkers. "It's really unfortunate because the long-term challenges of our world -- environmental issues, financial issues -- require people to think wisely about the long-term consequences of what they do. And it's no coincidence that the kind of people who do think long-term don't multitask." According to Dr. Nass, multitasking _ . A) makes the performance emotionally affected only B) contributes to memorizing various things C) may result in losing the next generation of great thinkers D) can be performed using digital tools
D
This is a tense time for students in America,with the exam season in full swing and the stress and anxiety being felt across the country.At some universities,students are reviewing their lessons,knowing that in a few weeks the stress will be over once they put pen to paper in that exam hall.For others,however,that stress and anxiety may well last a while longer as lecturers continue to refuse to set exams.No one knows when things will get back to normal. The reason behind this trouble is the ongoing argument in higher education between lecturers and employers over pay.The Association of University Teachers(AUT)are currently taking industrial action because of the fact that lecturers have been underpaid for years.Vice-presidents of the universities,who enjoy six-figure salaries,are not making any noises to suggest that this will change in the near future. The National Union of Students(NUS) ly believes that our lecturers should be better paid,and that the promises made to them during the top-up fees debate about extra income must be kept. It's shameful that 1ecturers have had to take industrial action to achieve better pay and conditions while vice-presidents'own salaries have risen 25%over the past three years.But the students who are suffering as a result of the argument must be put first.We do not agree with the attitude taken by the AUT,which is refusing to set exams.We admit that the decision to take this course of action was democratically reached.However,it is having the biggest effect on our members at this moment in time and we will continue to let the AUT know the results of this. We call on both sides to sort this mess out.Hopefully then our members can get the horrible exam season Out of the way and start planning,and enjoying,their upcoming summer holiday. The author wrote this article on behalf of _ . A) the vice-presidents B) the lecturers C) the students D) the AUT
C
Q: Almost a decade ago, the federal government dropped $10 million for an Earth-monitoring satellite that never made it into space. Today it sits in a closet in Maryland. Cost to taxpayers for storing it: $1 million a year. And _ . Who knows what's in the rest of them? Because we think the government should be held to at least the same standards as a publicly traded company, and because as taxpayers, we're America's shareholders, we performed an audit of sorts of the federal books. We're not economists, but we do have common sense. We tried to get help from Congressional staffers from both parties, as well as various watchdog groups and agencies. In the end, we found that the federal government wastes nearly $1 trillion every year. That's roughly equal to the amount collected annually by the Internal Revenue Service in personal income taxes. Put another way, it's also equal to about one-third of the country's $2.9 trillion total annual budget. And reclaiming that lost trillion could help wipe out the country's annual budget deficit , improve education, and provide health insurance for those who don't have it. So how do you define "waste"? David Walker of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a federal watchdog agency, calls it "the government's failure to give taxpayers the most for their money." For our part, we used the kind of household test you would use on a piece of meat sitting in your refrigerator: If it smells rotten, it's waste. Our government regularly pays for products and services it never gets, wildly overpays companies to do things it could do more cheaply itself, loses money outright due to lax accounting and oversight, and spends money randomly on unnecessary programs. How exactly does the federal government waste your hard-earned tax dollars? We've identified what we consider ten of the worst ways. What might be talked about if the passage is continued? A) The government's taking some steps to stop wasting taxes. B) Presenting people's feelings against the government's wasting taxes. C) Giving suggestion to help the government solve the financial problem. D) Listing how the government is wasting taxes.
A: D
(Q).
The interview is an important event in the job-hunting process, because the 20 or 30 minutes you spend with the interviewer may decide whether or not you get the particular job you want. Therefore, it is important to remember that your purpose during the interview may differ from that of the potential employer. You want to make yourself stand out as a whole person who has personal strengths and should be considered the right person for the job. It is encouraging to know that the interviewer's task is not to embarrass you, but to hire the right person for the job. Remember, job-hunting is very competitive. Anything you can do to improve your interview techniques will be to your advantage. The following suggestions may help you land the most important job. Your goal in this interview is to make sure your good points get across. The interviewer won't know them unless you point them out, so try to do this in a factual and sincere manner. Don't say anything bad about your former employers. If you have been fired from a job and the interview asks about it, be honest. Show the interviewer that you are interested in the company by asking questions. Ask about responsibilities, working conditions, promotion opportunities and benefits of the job you are interviewing for. If at some point you decide the interview is not going well, do not let your discouragement show. You have nothing to lose by continuing a show of confidence, and you many have much to gain. It may be real, or it may be a test to see how you react to _ conditions. Some interviewers may bring up salary early in the interview. At this time, you may indicate that you are more interested in a job where you can prove yourself than a specific salary. This politely passes the question back to the interviewer. If possible, you should negotiate for salary after you have been offered a job and have completed the paperwork. If you did not get along with your former employer, you _ . A) should tell a lie to the interviewer B) should not speak ill of him C) should refer to him in a factual manner D) should never mention it
(A).
B