Our modern working lives are ruled by the concept of competence．The idea that lies behind competence is quite simple：that one can state what people should do in behavioral terms，and then measure whether a person has succeeded in meeting that task or not．We rarely have a second thought about whether the idea of measuring and achieving competence is a good one or not．In fact，it is a controversial one．

    Humans do not learn or work in ways that can be measured by the concept of competence．Take the example of a barista(咖啡师)who is being trained to make coffee．The job title of“barista”suggests a degree of skill in making coffee．However，baristas in large coffee chains are usually trained through competence-based qualifications．One part of these qualifications is to produce a cup of coffee to meet a minimum standard．It might have to achieve a certain taste and appearance．This might seem perfectly reasonable，but there are two reasons why such an approach to training baristas does not work．

    First，the production of a cup of coffee to a certain standard is a binary(二次元的)outcome．The baristas can either produce a coffee of a certain standard or they cannot．If they happen to produce the best cup of coffee in the world，it does not matter，as competence-based training does not reward outstanding performance．Likewise，producing the worst cup of coffee would be a fail in the same way as producing a cup just below the standard．In fact，competence is not interested in the process of producing a coffee at all—only the final binary outcome．

    Second，if the barista does produce a coffee to a certain standard，competence is not interested in why the barista can do that．But humans are not machines that simply produce binary outcomes．We have bodies and minds which change through learning．

    Yet we are increasingly forced to achieve competence in our schools and workplaces．We are not empty machines that simply produce binary outcomes．If we want to be true human in our learning and our workplaces，we need to be creative and special．Learning and innovation(创新)involve failure in aiming for something that is unusually good．Such things simply cannot be judged by the standard of competence where the mediocre is the gold standard．

 We know a lot about the advantages and disadvantages of reading a hard-copy book vs reading electronically. The problem is, many of us refuse to listen.

   Don't get me wrong: Digital reading has some real. advantages. Ask people what they like most about reading on digital screens, and you hear over and again about convenience. More points for digital reading: e-books tend to be cheaper. There's also the environmental argument. Think of the trees!

   Yet the soundness of this case is arguable. The earth metals to build e-readers are not just rare but highly poisonous. And think about all that energy needed to run servers and cooling fans. And remember, trees are a renewable resource.

   Then, there's the appeal of a hard copy. Many people prefer print when reading both for pleasure and for school or work. Drawing examples from my own research, some of the reasons are aesthetic(美学的). Others involve a sense of accomplishment, ease of annotation ("I can write on the pages"), and navigation ("easy to locate where I was"). Meanwhile, I hear abundant complaints about eye strain(干涩) and headaches when using screens.

   Much of what students liked about reading print involved their minds. They say "it's easier to focus." Some also acknowledged they took more time with printed text and read more carefully.

   But what makes the failure of electronic reading is concentration. More than 92 percent of those I surveyed said they concentrate best when reading a hard copy. When a digital device has an Internet connection, it's hard to resist the temptation(诱惑).

   So if digital interruptions don't threaten your enjoyment or understanding of a text, then medium may not matter. Casual reading like David Baldacci? If you break to check sports scores, little harm done. But just don't expect to understand Joyce's novels this way.

How often one hears children wishing they were grown﹣ups and old people wishing they were young again．Each age has its pleasures and its pains，and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets．

Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult．If a child has good parents，he is fed，looked after and loved，whatever he may do．It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return．In addition，life is always presenting new things to the child﹣things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well﹣known．But a child has his parents．He is not so free to do what he wishes to do； he is continually being told not to do things or being punished for what he has done wrong．

When the young man starts to earn his own living，he can no longer expect others to pay for his food，his clothes，and his room，but has to work if he wants to live comfortably．If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child，he will go hungry．And if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents，he may go to prison．If，however，he works hard，keeps out of trouble and has good health，he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society．

An old lady was walking with her basket down the middle of a street in Petrograd to the great confusion of the traffic and with no small danger to herself.It was pointed out to her that the pavement was the place for pedestrians, but she replied:“I’m going to walk where I like.We’ve got liberty now.”It did not occur to the dear old lady that if liberty entitled（授权）the pedestrian to walk down the middle of the road,then the end of such liberty would be universal chaos.Everybody would be getting in everybody else’s way and nobody would get anywhere.Individual liberty would have become social chaos.

There is a danger of the world getting liberty-drunk in these days like the old lady,and it is just as well to remind ourselves of what the rule of the road means.It means that in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the liberties of everybody must be limited.When the policeman steps into the middle of the road and puts out his hand,he is the symbol not of tyranny（暴政）,but of liberty.

Liberty is not a personal affair only,but a social contract（契约）.In matters which do not touch anybody else’s liberty,of course,I may be as free as 1 like.If I go down the street dressed strangely,who shall say me no?We have a whole kingdom in which we rule alone and can do what we choose.But directly we step out of that kingdom,our personal liberty of action becomes qualified by other people’s liberty.

We all tend to forget this.A reasonable consideration for the rights or feelings of others is the base of social conduct.

Is beauty something always positive? Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants. But in the executive（主管的） circle, beauty can become a disadvantage.

While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman. Handsome male executives were considered having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success. Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck.

All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the manly qualities required.

This is true even in politics, “When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently, ” says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates（候选人）. She asked 125 college students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.

The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes.

目前,越来越多的中学生周末上各种各样的培训班或请家教。对于这一现象，存在以下两种不同观点。请你根据以下提示，以Are Training Classes Necessary ?为题,写一篇150字左右的短文，反映表中内容，并简要阐述自己的观点。

注意：(1)词数：150字左右，短文的开头和结尾己为你写好，不计入总词数。

     (2)短文需包括表中所有要点，内容可适当发挥，使行文连贯。

    (3)参考词汇：家庭教师:tutor依赖：dependence娱乐：recreation

Are Training Classes Necessary ?

Nowadays more and more students attend different kinds of training classes or hire tutors to improve their grades at the weekends.

                                                                                   .

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.

   Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.

  Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.

  For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!

某英文报社举办以“I Like Reading”为主题的征文活动，你打算投稿。请根据以下要点写一篇短文：

1.你为什么喜欢读书；

2.你喜欢读哪一类的书（例如：历史，科学，文学等）？请给出至少两个理由。

注意：1)词数100左右。可适当增加细节以使行文连贯。

     2)开头已给出，不计入总词数。

I Like Reading