The result outlines some of the employment changes that businesses can expect to see over the next decade and predicts the ___33___ of two worker cultures which will dominate the workforce. They are the obligated and the self-fulfilled workers.
"Obligated workers" refer to people with dependents and the sandwich generation, ___34___ raising children with caring for elderly parents. Therefore, they value a career ___35___ to life stages and events and financial security. Joel Defries, 33, father of one kid and partner at London Vodka said, "A flexible employer will allow me to have a long paternity leave (陪产假) and to value my family just as much as I value my job."
Self-fulfilled workers are committed to life-long learning and acquiring new skills rather than ___36___ to an employer. They actively look for personal development and want employee benefits that help them ___37___ both their personal and professional ambitions. They treat personal commitments and pursuits as ___38___ to professional commitments. Elly Kemp, 31, ___39___ a full-time employee, now working part-time in a caféand also assisting with her grandmother's care said, "My approach to work allows me the freedom to ___40___ my career at my own pace. I want my work to be fluid so I can change it when I want and do whatever makes me happy at the time."
III. Reading Comprehension
Section A
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A,B,C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
Early decision - you apply to one school, and admission is binding (有法律约束力的) - seems like a great choice for nervous applicants. Schools ___41___ a higher percentage of early-decision applicants, which arguably means that you have a better chance of being enrolled. And if you do, you're done with the whole painful process by December. But most students and parents don't realize that schools have hidden ___42___ for offering early decision.
Early decision, since it's binding, allows schools to fill their classes with qualified students; it allows ___43___ committees to select the students that are in particular demand for their college and know those students will come. It also gives schools a higher yield rate (优秀学生率), which is often used as one of the ways to ___44___ college selectivity and popularity.
The problem is that this process effectively ___45___ the window of time students have to make one of the most important decisions of their lives up to that point. Under ___46___ admissions, seniors have to choose which school to attend until May 1; early decision effectively steals six months from them, months that could be used to visit more schools, do more research, speak to current students and alumni (校友) and make a more ___47___ decision.
For any given student in America, whatever their levels are, there are a number of schools that are a great ___48___. When students become too fixed on a particular school early in the admissions process, that fixation can lead to ___49___ severe disappointment if they don't get in or, if they do, it is likely that they are now bound to go to a school that, given time for further ___50___, may not actually be right for them.
Early decision offers a genuine admissions edge. That advantage goes largely to students who already have ___51___ advantages. The students who use early decision tend to be those who have received higher-quality college guidance, usually a result of coming from a more advantaged background. ___52___, there's an argument against early decision, as students from lower-income