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  3. (1) When Winston Chen told his friends that he had quit his job as chief tech

(1) When Winston Chen told his friends that he had quit his job as chief tech

游客2023-11-25  22
问题    (1) When Winston Chen told his friends that he had quit his job as chief technology officer at a software company to move to a small island in Arctic Norway with his family for a year, few people called him crazy.
   (2) Instead, most people simply replied; "I wish I had the guts (勇气) to do that. "
   (3) While many people dream of taking time off mid-career, few actually do it. But the number of people taking lengthy sabbaticals later in life is increasing, according to experts. That’s in part due to companies becoming more open to the idea and the higher rate at which people are changing jobs. And depending on how you play your cards, you can return with a better job than when you left.
   Time for a change
   (4) For Chen, who had been with the same company for a decade when he quit in 2011, it was time for a change, he said. His original plan was to find a new job, but the idea of taking time off—inspired by a TED talk—got him seriously thinking about a sabbatical. At first, he said he was concerned that time away from the industry might hurt his career.
   (5) "That’s the main reason that keeps people from doing this, and I was no different," he said in an email. "But you have to create the urgency for living the life you want. "
   (6) After quitting, Chen did look for another job—until a family friend mentioned that a small island in Arctic Norway was looking for a teacher. Chen’s wife, who was born in Norway, wanted to go back to work after being at home with their kids for five years. "She called and basically got the job," said Chen. "So, very quickly, we decided that was it. "
   Increasingly popular
   (7) Paul Payne, managing director of UK-based rail and construction recruitment firm OneWay, is one of a growing number of professionals in the recruiting field who have seen a number of clients opting for a gap year or sabbatical midway through their careers.
   (8) "It’s an interesting idea, particularly when firms are looking to hire and, crucially, retain millennial talent who tend to get itchy feet quicker than their predecessors," he said in an email. "While it’s not for every business, more and more are offering sabbaticals as a retention tool by giving their employees paid leave to travel, volunteer or simply to take time off to recharge their batteries. "
   Slacker label
   (9) Explaining a year off on your CV doesn’t have to be a bad thing, said Payne. "Taking the time off can highlight to an organisation that you want to further your skill set and try new experiences," he said. "It could also mean that you’ll come back from your break with a different perspective, which is likely to aid your job performance. "
   Try something new
   (10) If you’re thinking of taking a mid-career break that boosts your outlook and skills, consider going abroad, where you could try undertaking informal paid work or volunteering, either of which could give you a fresh perspective on things upon your return, according to Payne. The experience could also improve your basic competencies.
   (11) "Who knows what you could learn from working alongside professionals who’ve been developed and trained in a different way to you," he said. " In more general terms, taking this sort of break also allows you to develop life experience, which can contribute to building better ’ soft’ skills like communication and people management. " Plus, volunteer work can give your more insight into how to solve problems differently. By nature, volunteers have to buy in to what they are doing and work with limited or no resources.
   Always a risk
   (12) Of course, not all employers will be open to the idea of a gap year-but there are ways to make it more appealing to them, according to Holly Bull, president of Princeton, New Jersey-based gap year consultancy Center for Interim Programs, LLC. "Lay out what [you have] in mind to an employer and see how much time away they might agree to if there is a clear commitment to return to the job," she said in an email. "Enrol the employer by outlining the benefits of taking this kind of time; most people are reinvigorated by gap time and return with more to offer in their jobs. "
   (13) Bull recommends being very clear about what is most important, and only then going to your employer with your intent and requests. " See what happens," she said. "I think one has to be ready to let a job go if an employer is not at all open to the gap option. "
   (14) But don’t be surprised if there is pushback about the idea. "Many employers are not so keen to see someone take off for a year because of the need for business continuity and consistency," said Reboot Partners’ Smith. Have a plan showing how they could cover you in your absence. One of Smith’s clients pointed out to their manager how much money they could save in the budget for that year by not having to pay their salary, yet not sacrificing the investment they had made in training them over the years. " It was a win-win for the company and the employee taking the break," said Smith.
   Time to move on
   (15) The year off may prove the stepping stone to your next job. "I think it’s really important people ask the question about whether their work is fulfilling. If it’s not, it may be scary to make a change, but it’s invariably better to risk it to find something that really does light them up," said Bull. " Gap options provide landing pads and a way to test the waters without making a full commitment to another job. "
   (16) For some people, it can be as short as a few weeks to learn if something suits them or not. For Bull, it took a month of aquaculture (水产业) research to realise that she didn’t have the patience for that kind of methodical work.
   Unexpected results
   (17) In Chen’s case, he developed an app just "for fun" during his time away. But it became his new career—and the precursor (先驱) to voice-based mobile app company, Voice Dream—when he returned to Boston a year later.
   (18) "It’s not necessary to think of being away as a way to start a business or go to a new career," he said. "The point is: What would you do if, for a while, you don’t have to think about making money?" [br] Which of the following statements is CORRECT according to Para. 3?
选项 A、It’s a common phenomenon that people take a mid-career break.
B、Experts believe more and more people will take long vacations.
C、More frequent job changes cause the change in companies’ attitudes.
D、Playing cards well can lead to better job opportunities.
答案 B
解析 细节题。文章第三段第二句提到，据专家所说，在以后的生活中休长假的人会持续增加，由此可知，专家认为越来越多的人会休长假，故[B]为正确答案。第一句指出虽然很多人梦想能在职业生涯中期休假，但很少有人真的这样做，[A]“人们在职业生涯中期休假是很常见的现象”与原文表述相反，故排除；第三段第三句提到部分原因是公司对这一观念更开放了，以及人们换工作的频率更高了，由此可知公司态度的转变和换工作的频率增加是两个并列的原因，而不是更频繁换工作导致了公司的态度转变，故排除[C]；最后一句提到你回来后能否得到一份比离开时更好的工作，取决于你如何利用休假时间，该句中的短语“play one’s cards”，原意为“实行计划；按计划行事”，在此处指利用休假时间，而非擅长打牌，故排除[D]。
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