C. Hilton London Green Park. D. Hampton Court Motor Cruiser.

23. Which number should a couple with a baby and a dog call if they want to book a room?

A. 207-629-7522 B. 208 — 977 —1728

C. 207-247-3313 D. 203 — 696 — 0215

24. How is Abercorn House Hostel different from the rest?

A. It has non-smoking rooms. B. It provides rooms with separate kitchens.

C. It has air-conditioned rooms. D. It charges Wi-Fi service.

B

Isabel has turned down two job offers in the past year. The first job she considered was Director of HR for a company in Utah. After the initial interviews, she felt the job fit her except for the location. Still, she flew west to meet the hiring manager. The hiring manager explained that Isabel was the top candidate for the job but that, before she continued with the process, she should better understand the firm’s culture. She directed Isabel to several videos of the company’s CEO, who regularly appeared in front of the company in costume as part of morale building exercises and expected his senior leaders to do the same. “Even though I was desperate for a job, I knew I couldn’t do that,” Isabel says. She called the company to turn down the job and explained that she didn’t feel there was a cultural fit.

A few months later, she had an interview for another job： a director of employee relations at a local university. After several interviews, the hiring manager told her the job was hers if she wanted it. The job had many positives： it provided a low-stress environment, it offered great benefits, and the university was an employee-friendly place. But the job was relatively junior despite the title and Isabel worried it wouldn’ t be challenging enough. Finally, she turned it down. “It would be great to have a paycheck and great benefits but I would definitely have trouble sleeping at night，"she says.

In both cases，she was frank with the hiring managers about why she wasn’t taking the jobs. “ In the past, it felt like dating, I was worried about hurting people’s feelings,” she says. However, they appreciated her frankness and thanked her for her honesty. She says it was hard to turn down the jobs and it was a risk for her financially but she felt she had to.

25. Which factor made Isabel turn down the first job finally?

A. The company’s location. B. The initial interviews.

C. The firm’s culture. D. The hiring manager.

26. What does the underlined word “junior” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. Challenging. B. Easy

C. Beneficial. D. Stressful.

27. What is the most important thing for Isabel in job hunting?

A. Being truthful to others. B. A job with a stable income.

C. A relaxed working atmosphere. D. Avoiding hurting people’s feelings.

C

Flaubert had it that “one way of tolerating existence is to lose oneself in literature as in an unending party". It turns out that reading doesn’t only help us to tolerate existence, but actually lengthens it.

A recent study by Yale University researchers, published online in the journal Social Science & Medicine，concluded that “book readers experienced a 20 percent reduction in the risk of death over the 12 years of follow-up compared to non-book readers. ”

The data was obtained from the study sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. The study looked at 3，635 subjects, all older than 50，whom the researchers divided into three groups： those who didn’t read books, those who read up to 3. 5 hours a week and those who read more than 3. 5 hours a week.

The findings were remarkable： on average, book readers survived almost two years longer than those who didn’t crack open a book. The more the subjects read，the longer they lived, but that as little as 30 minutes a day was still beneficial in terms of survival.

Accounting for factors such as education level, income and health status, the study found that those who read more than 3. 5 hours weekly were 23 percent less likely to die during that 12-year period. Those who read up to 3. 5 hours — an average of a half-hour a day — were 17 percent less likely.

In other words, just like a healthy diet and exercise, books appear to promote a “significant survival advantage,，，the authors concluded.

Why or how that’s the case remains unclear; the research showed only an association between book reading and longevity, not a causal relationship. But the findings are not so surprising. Other recent research showed that reading novels appears to increase both brain connectivity and sympathy.

28. Why does the author mention Flaubert’s words in the first paragraph?

A. To stress the value of reading. B. To compare reading with party.

C。To introduce the study on reading. D. To support the findings of the study.

29. From the text, what can we learn about the study?

A. No similar study on reading has been carried out.

B. The process of the study lasted more than ten years.

C. It shows readers live two years longer than non-readers.

D. It shows time spent on reading increases one’s love for it.

30. What does the underlined words “that’s the case" probably mean?

A. Reading books enables people to live longer.

B. Reading is similar to a healthy diet and exercise.

C. Reading books is closely associated with longevity.