Oxford English Language Center

Information for New Students

    CLASS TIME：8:30a. m. —10:00a. m.，10:30a. m. —12:00a. m.，1:30p. m. —3:00p. m..

    The Language Center is open Monday to Friday. Each class has one afternoon free per week. On the first day, go to the lecture hall to check your timetable.

    SELF—ACCESS：The language laboratory（Room 1110）is open Monday to Friday from 3:15p. m. to 5:00p. m. for all full-time students.

    You can learn how to use computers for language games or word-processing. There are tapes for students to borrow to practice their English. Go in and ask the teacher to show you. If you plan to take public examinations, there are dictation and listening comprehension tapes for you to practice with. There are cloze exercises on the computers. Ask your class teacher for a list of past exam essays. Students can borrow tapes to take home but they must be returned after two days.

    ATTENDANCE: All students are expected to attend classes as it is required. Students who do not attend classes will be reported to OSS. Eighty percent attendance is required for students to receive their certificates when they finish their courses. It is also required by OSS for an extension to your visa.

    BOOKS: If students are given course books, the books are their responsibility. If a book is lost, the student will be expected to pay for it. If students wish to buy books, there is a bookshop in the college specializing in English books（Room 3520.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    At any discussion of a job offer, money can be a deal breaker. Negotiating an attractive deal, however, can be hard for many job candidates because they lack the necessary skills or simply because they're too concerned that pushing for a high salary can cost them the job.

    These factors certainly can be hurdles (障碍), but it doesn't mean that you give up trying to get the best deal you can get. Needless to say, if money isn't a big factor in your decision, you still need to make sure that the deal you're accepting is fair compared to what's offered in the market. Selling yourself short once can impact your future salaries and set you back financially.

    Here are common mistakes that many jobseekers commit in negotiating money.

    Negotiate too early. Timing is of essence in any negotiation, and negotiating a salary too early in the process can cost you dearly. Many employers, in fact, rank this as one of the biggest mistakes job candidates make. The best timing to begin a salary discussion is after you and your future employer are nearly sure that you've been selected for the position.

    Abandon professionalism. It's common that people, after going through a long recruitment process, can be shocked that the salary offered is significantly below their expectations. If you find yourself in this situation, don't abandon your professional attitude or throw a fit. This likely will get you nowhere except the door.

    There're two options to this situation: the first is that the employer is inflexible (不灵活的) about the budget, and in this case, you may just leave and make a graceful exit from the hiring process.

    The second option is that there's some negotiation room for the hiring manager with other decision makers in the organization. If this is the case, you may be surprised that a final push with a positive attitude and a well-delivered presentation about your skills and market price can get you closer to your expected salary. Still, if this is not acceptable, you don't have to take it.

    Our first winter in Canada was the happiest we have ever experienced. We were living in the countryside then and had just arrived from Hong Kong that autumn. One evening in mid-December snow began to fall. When we looked out of the window and saw that it was snowing, we all cheered. It was the first snow we had ever seen and we were excited. We could hardly wait for the snow to stop so that we could go out to play. Next morning when we woke up, it was still snowing. We switched on the radio and learned that more than ten inches of snow had fallen during the night and that since the roads were blocked, there would be no school that day. We jumped up and down for joy and beg mother to let us go outside to play in the snow. She said we could go out after breakfast if we dressed warmly and promised to come back as soon as we felt cold. When we went out, the snow had almost stopped. The roads, paths, gardens, and playgrounds were all hidden under a white blanket of soft snow. It was the most beautiful sight we had ever seen. Just then, we saw some neighbors' children coming out to play. We ran over to join them. Together we built a snowman and a snow house. After that, we took turns sliding down a hill on a large piece of carboard. We were having so much fun when supper time came. Mother almost had to force us to go in and eat.

    Flying devices called drones(无人机) may be one of the most important technologies of the future.

    The number of jobs for people who know how to design, build and control them is increasing. Because of this increase, several U.S. universities have started offering degrees in unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS.

    One of these universities is the University of Washington in Seattle. Ward Handley is seeking a master's degree in UAS at the university. When the drone program first began, he did not think it was a good idea. “Drones can be used to invade privacy(侵犯隐私).” He said. But later, Handley changed his opinion. He said, “I think there are good enough purposes for them.”

    The FAA (the part of the U.S. government that controls air travel and traffic) is creating new rules to control the use of drones, however. A new law requires drone owners to register(登记) their drones. People who do not register their drones could face fines of up to US$20,000.

    The new rules may also present problems for students. One problem is finding a legal place to fly.

    Students at Blue Mountain Community College fly inside the college gym. In Seattle, University of Washington students test their drones in a big room.

    Christopher Lum, a scientist at the University of Washington, helps students explore how drones can safely share the sky with regular aircraft. Lum explained why they test drones inside a building, “We need to register our aircraft and get permission to fly outside. That process can take months.”

    At this time, Kansas State University is the only school with permission to offer unmanned aircraft flight classes to students outside. The FAA selected Kansas State University and 15 other universities to be part of a national research group.

    Lum and some of his students recently moved their research to Australia. Australia has fewer rules limiting drones. A professor at Western Washington University also took his department's drones to Canada for the same reason.

    I recently had dinner with someone who told me that one of his best friends had been killed in a private plane crash, and something happened at the memorial service that he'll never forget. He shared the story with me.

    At the memorial service, his friend's wife walked to the platform to speak to the gathering. She said a friend had asked her the best memory she had of their life together. At the moment, she had been too sad to answer, but she had thought about it since and wanted to answer the question.

    They were in their late forties when he died, and she began talking about a time in their life almost twenty years earlier. She had quit her job to obtain her master's degree, and her husband never hesitated in his support.

    He held down his own job and also did the cooking, cleaning, and other housework while she studied for her degree.

    One time they both stayed up all night. She was finishing her paper, and he was preparing for an important business meeting. That morning, she walked out of her study, leaned against the door by the stairs, looked at her husband downstairs and just thought about how much she loved him. She knew how important this meeting was to his future, and she was feeling guilty that she didn't even have time to make his breakfast. He took his briefcase and hurried out. She heard the garage door open and close, but much to her surprise, she heard it open again about thirty seconds later. From above, she watched her husband dash into the house and walk over to the forgotten coffee table. Marking the surface of it with his finger through the dust with the words "I love you", then he raced back to his car.

    The new widow then looked out at her audience and said, "John and I had a wonderful life together. We have been around the world several times. We've had everything money can buy but nothing comes close to that moment."

    Hearing this, I was deeply moved. "Love makes life worthwhile."