TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2017)

GRADE EIGHT

 

TIME LIMIT: 150 MIN

 

PART I  LISTENING COMPREHENSION [25 MIN]

 

SECTION A  MINI-LECTURE

In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the mini-lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the mini-lecture, please complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may use the blank sheet for note-taking.

You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task.

Now listen to the mini-lecture. When it is over, you will be given THREE minutes to check your work.

 

The Modes of Language

Three modes of language

·speech

·writing

·(1) ______

 

Speech and Writing

·speech is considered (2) ______ because

– all languages are spoken

– children acquire spoken language first

– (3) ______ requires reading and writing

·speech and writing have (4) ______ roles

– legal contracts are written for

– providing permanent records

– (5) ______ disputes over oral contracts

·speech is more appropriate in (6) ______

– face-to-face casual conversations

– business transactions in stores

– discussions in a classroom

·(7) _____ of speech and writing

– immediate clarification in speech

– visible (8) ______ in conversation

– sense of (9) ______ in writing

– use of intonation to express (10) ______

– writing seen to be more (11) ______

– lack of (12) ______ in on-line written “chat”

·(13) ______ between speech and writing

– linguistic markers of interactivity with (14) ______

– how language is structured depends more on (15) ______

 

Conclusion

As two different modes of language, speech and writing have their own characteristics.

 

SECTION B  INTERVIEW

In this section you will hear TWO interviews. At the end of each interview, five questions will be asked about what was said. Both the interviews and the questions will be spoken ONCE ONLY. After each question there will be a ten-second pause. During the pause, you should read the four choices of A, B, C and D, and mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.

You have THIRTY seconds to preview the choices.

Now, listen to the first interview. Questions 1 to 5 are based on the first interview.

 

1.

A. Comprehensive.

B. Disheartening.

C. Encouraging.

D. Optimistic.

 

2.

A. 200.

B. 70.

C. 10.

D. 500.

 

3.

A. Lack of international funding.
B. Inadequate training of medical personnel.
C. Ineffectiveness of treatment efforts.
D. Insufficient operational efforts on the ground.

4.

A. They can start education programs for local people.
B. They can open up more treatment units.
C. They can provide proper treatment to patients.
D. They can become professional.

5.

A. Provision of medical facilities.
B. Assessment from international agencies.
C. Ebola outpacing operational efforts.
D. Effective treatment of Ebola.

 

Now, listen to the second interview. Questions 6 to 10 are based on the second interview.

 

6.

A. Interpreting the changes from different sources.
B. Analyzing changes from the Internet for customers.
C. Using media information to inspire new ideas.
D. Creating things from changes in behavior, media, etc.

7.

A. Knowing previous success stories.
B. Being brave and willing to take a risk.
C. Being sensitive to business data.
D. Being aware of what is interesting.

8.

A. Having people take a risk.
B. Aiming at a consumer leek.
C. Using messages to do things.
D. Focusing on data-based ideas.

9.

A. Looking for opportunities.
B. Considering a starting point.
C. Establishing the focal point.
D. Examining the future carefully.

10.

A. A media agency.
B. An Internet company.
C. A venture capital firm.
D. A behavioral study center.

 

PART II  READING COMPREHENSION [45 MIN]

 

SECTION A  MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

In this section there are three passages followed by fourteen multiple choice questions. For each multiple choice question, there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer and mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET TWO.

 

PASSAGE ONE

(1) It’s 7 pm on a balmy Saturday night in June, and I have just ordered my first beer in I Cervejaria, a restaurant in Zambujeira do Mar, one of the prettiest villages on Portugal’s south-west coast. The place is empty, but this doesn’t surprise me at all. I have spent two weeks in this area, driving along empty roads, playing with my son on empty beaches, and staying in B&Bs where we are the only guests.

(2) No doubt the restaurant, run by two brothers for the past 28 years, is buzzing in July and August, when Portuguese holidaymakers descend on the Alentejo coast. But for the other 10 months of the year, the trickle of diners who come to feast on fantastically fresh seafood reflects the general pace of life in the Alentejo: sleepy, bordering on comatose.

(3) One of the poorest, least-developed, least-populated regions in western Europe, the Alentejo has been dubbed both the Provence and the Tuscany of Portugal. Neither is accurate. Its scenery is not as pretty and, apart from in the capital Evora, its food isn’t as sophisticated. The charms of this land of wheat fields, cork oak forests, wildflower meadows and tiny white-washed villages, are more subtle than in France or Italy’s poster regions.

(4) To travel here is to step back in time 40 or 50 years. Life rolls along at a treacly pace; there’s an unnerving stillness to the landscape. But that stillness ends abruptly at the Atlantic Ocean, where there is drama in spades. Protected by the South West Alentejo and Costa Vicentina national park, the 100 km of coastline from Porto Covo in the Alentejo to Burgau in the Algarve is the most stunning in Europe. And yet few people seem to know about it. Walkers come to admire the views from the Fisherman’s Way, surfers to ride the best waves in Europe, but day after day we had spectacular beaches to ourselves.

(5) The lack of awareness is partly a matter of accessibility (these beaches are a good two hours’ drive from either Faro or Lisbon airports) and partly to do with a lack of beachside accommodation. There are some gorgeous, independent guesthouses in this area, but they are hidden in valleys or at the end of dirt tracks.

(6) Our base was a beautiful 600-acre estate of uncultivated land covered in rock-rose, eucalyptus and wild flowers 13km inland from Zambujeira. Our one-bedroom home, Azenha, was once home to the miller who tended the now-restored watermill next to it. A kilometre away from the main house, pool and restaurant, it is gloriously isolated.

(7) Stepping out of the house in the morning to greet our neighbours – wild horses on one side, donkeys on the other – with nothing but birdsong filling the air, I felt a sense of adventure you normally only get with wild camping.

(8) “When people first arrive, they feel a little anxious wondering what they are going to do the whole time,” Sarah Gredley, the English owner of estate, told me. “But it doesn’t usually take them long to realise that the whole point of being here is to slow down, to enjoy nature.”

(9) We followed her advice, walking down to the stream in search of terrapins and otters, or through clusters of cork oak trees. On some days, we tramped uphill to the windmill, now a romantic house for two, for panoramic views across the estate and beyond.

(10) When we ventured out, we were always drawn back to the coast – the gentle sands and shallow bay of Farol beach. At the end of the day, we would head, sandy-footed, to the nearest restaurant, knowing that at every one there would be a cabinet full of fresh seafood to choose from – bass, salmon, lobster, prawns, crabs, goose barnacles, clams… We never ate the same thing twice.

(11) A kilometre or so from I Cervejaria, on Zambujeira’s idyllic natural harbour is O Sacas, originally built to feed the fishermen but now popular with everyone. After scarfing platefuls of seafood on the terrace, we wandered down to the harbour where two fishermen, in wetsuits, were setting out by boat across the clear turquoise water to collect goose barnacles. Other than them, the place was deserted - just another empty beauty spot where I wondered for the hundredth time that week how this pristine stretch of coast has remained so undiscovered.

 

11. The first part of Para. 4 refers to the fact that ______.

A. life there is quiet and slow

B. the place is little known

C. the place is least populated

D. there are stunning views

12. “The lack of awareness” in Para. 5 refers to ______.

A. different holidaying preferences

B. difficulty of finding accommodation

C. little knowledge of the beauty of the beach

D. long distance from the airports

13. The author uses “gloriously” in Para. 6 to ______.

A. describe the scenery outside the house

B. show appreciation of the surroundings

C. contrast greenery with isolation

D. praise the region’s unique feature

14. The sentence “We never ate the same thing twice” in Para. 10 reflects the ______ of the seafood there.

A. freshness

B. delicacy

C. taste

D. variety

15. Which of the following themes is repeated in both Paras. 1 and 11?

A. Publicity.

B. Landscape.

C. Seafood.

D. Accommodation.

 

PASSAGE TWO

(1) I can still remember the faces when I suggested a method of dealing with what most teachers of English considered one of their pet horrors, extended reading. The room was full of tired teachers, and many were quite cynical about the offer to work together to create a new and dynamic approach to the place of stories in the classroom.

(2) They had seen promises come and go and mere words weren’t going to convince them, which was a shame as it was mere words that we were principally dealing with. Most teachers were unimpressed by the extended reading challenge from the Ministry, and their lack of enthusiasm for the rather dry list of suggested tales was passed on to their students and everyone was pleased when that part of the syllabus was over. It was simply a box ticking exercise. We needed to do something more. We needed a very different approach.

(3) That was ten years ago. Now we have a different approach, and it works. Here’s how it happened (or, like most good stories, here are the main parts. You have to fill in some of yourself employing that underused classroom device, the imagination.) We started with three main precepts:

(4) First, it is important to realize that all of us are storytellers, tellers of tales. We all have our own narratives – the real stories such as what happened to us this morning or last night, and the ones we have been told by others and we haven’t experienced personally. We could say that our entire lives are constructed as narratives. As a result we all understand and instinctively feel narrative structure. Binary opposites – for example, the tension created between good and bad together with the resolution of that tension through the intervention of time, resourcefulness and virtue – is a concept understood by even the youngest children. Professor Kieran Egan, in his seminal book ‘Teaching as Storytelling’ warns us not to ignore this innate skill, for it is a remarkable tool for learning.

(5) We need to understand that writing and reading are two sides of the same coin: an author has not completed the task if the book is not read: the creative circle is not complete without the reader, who will supply their own creative input to the process. Samuel Johnson said: A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it. In teaching terms, we often forget that reading itself can be a creative process, just as writing is, and we too often relegate it to a means of data collection. We frequently forget to make that distinction when presenting narratives or poetry, and often ask comprehension questions which relate to factual information – who said what and when, rather than speculating on ‘why’, for example, or examining the context of the action.

(6) The third part of the reasoning that we adopted relates to the need to engage the students as readers in their own right, not as simply as language learners; learning the language is part of the process, not the reason for reading. What they read must become theirs and have its own special and secret life in their heads, a place where teachers can only go if invited.

(7) We quickly found that one of the most important ways of making all the foregoing happen was to engage the creative talents of the class before they read a word of the text. The pre-reading activities become the most important part of the teaching process; the actual reading part can almost be seen as the cream on the cake, and the principle aim of pre-reading activities is to get students to want to read the text. We developed a series of activities which uses clues or fragments from the text yet to be read, and which rely on the student’s innate knowledge of narrative, so that they can to build their own stories before they read the key text. They have enough information to generate ideas but not so much that it becomes simply an exercise in guided writing; releasing a free imagination is the objective.

(8) Moving from pre-reading to reading, we may introduce textual intervention activities. ‘Textual Intervention’ is a term used by Rob Pope to describe the process of questioning a text not simply as a guide to comprehension but as a way of exploring the context of the story at any one time, and examining points at which the narrative presents choices, points of divergence, or narrative crossroads. We don’t do this for all texts, however, as the shorter ones do not seem to gain much from this process and it simply breaks up the reading pleasure.

(9) Follow-up activities are needed, at the least, to round off the activity, to bring some sense of closure but they also offer an opportunity to link the reading experience more directly to the requirements of the syllabus. Indeed, the story may have been chosen in the first place because the context supports one of the themes that teachers are required to examine as part of the syllabus – for example, ‘families’, ‘science and technology’, ‘communications’, ‘the environment’ and all the other familiar themes. There are very few stories that can’t be explored without some part of the syllabus being supported. For many teachers this is an essential requirement if they are to engage in such extensive reading at all.

(10) The whole process – pre-, while and post reading – could be just an hour’s activity, or it could last for more than one lesson. When we are designing the materials for exploring stories clearly it is isn’t possible for us to know how much time any teacher will have available, which is why we construct the activities into a series of independent units which we call kits. They are called kits because we expect teachers to build their own lessons out of the materials we provide, which implies that large amounts may be discarded. What we do ask, though, is that the pre-reading activities be included, if nothing else. That is essential for the process to engage the student as a creative reader.

(11) One of the purposes of encouraging a creative reading approach in the language classroom is to do with the dynamics we perceive in the classroom. Strategic theorists tell us of the social trinity, whereby three elements are required to achieve a dynamic in any social situation. In the language classroom these might be seen as consisting of the student, the teacher and the language. Certainly from the perspective of the student – and usually from the perspective of the teacher – the relationship is an unequal one, with the language being perceived as placed closer to the teacher than the student. This will result in less dynamic between language and student than between language and teacher. However, if we replace ‘language’ with narrative and especially if that is approached as a creative process that draws the student in so that they feel they ‘own’ the relationship with the text, then this will shift the dynamic in the classroom so that the student, who has now become a reader, is much closer to the language – or narrative – than previously. This creates a much more effective dynamic of learning. However, some teachers feel threatened by this apparent loss of overall control and mastery. Indeed, the whole business of open ended creativity and a lack of boxes to tick for the correct answer is quite unsettling territory for some to find themselves in.

 

16. It can be inferred from Paras. 1 and 2 that teachers used to ______.

A. oppose strongly the teaching of extended reading

B. be confused over how to teach extended reading

C. be against adopting new methods of teaching

D. teach extended reading in a perfunctory way

17. The sentence “we all understand and instinctively feel narrative structure” in Para. 4 indicates that ______.

A. we are good at telling stories

B. we all like telling stories

C. we are born story-tellers

D. we all like listening to stories

18. Samuel Johnson regards the relationship between a writer and a reader as ______ (Para. 5).

A. independent

B. collaborative

C. contradictory

D. reciprocal

19. In Para. 7, the author sees “pre-reading” as the most important part of reading because _____.

A. it encourages students’ imagination

B. it lays a good foundation for reading

C. it can attract students’ attention

D. it provides clues to the text to be read

20. “Textual Intervention” suggested by Rob Pope (in Para. 8) is expected to fulfill all the following functions EXCEPT ______.

A. exploring the context

B. interpreting ambiguities

C. stretching the imagination

D. examining the structure

 

PASSAGE THREE

(1) Once again, seething, residual anger has burst forth in an American city. And the riots that overtook Los Angeles were a reminder of what knowledgeable observers have been saying for a quarter century: America will continue paying a high price in civil and ethnic unrest unless the nation commits itself to programs that help the urban poor lead productive and respectable lives.

(2) Once again, a proven program is worth pondering: national service.

(3) Somewhat akin to the military training that generations of American males received in the armed forces, a 1990s version would prepare thousands of unemployable and undereducated young adults for quality lives in our increasingly global and technology-driven economy. National service opportunities would be available to any who needed it and, make no mistake, the problems are now so structural, to intractable, that any solution will require massive federal intervention.

(4) In his much quoted book, “The Truly Disadvantaged,” sociologist William Julius Wilson wrote that “only a major program of economic reform” will prevent the riot-prone urban underclass from being permanently locked out of American economic life. Today, we simply have no choice. The enemy within and among our separate ethnic selves is as daunting as any foreign foe.

(5) Families who are rent apart by welfare dependency, job discrimination and intense feelings of alienation have produces minority teenagers with very little self-discipline and little faith that good grades and the American work ethic will pay off. A military-like environment for them with practical domestic objectives could produce startling results.

(6) Military service has been the most successful career training program we’ve ever known, and American children born in the years since the all-volunteer Army was instituted make up a large proportion of this targeted group. But this opportunity may disappear forever if too many of our military bases are summarily closed and converted or sold to the private sector. The facilities, manpower, traditions, and capacity are already in place.

(7) Don’t dismantle it: rechannel it.

(8) Discipline is a cornerstone of any responsible citizen’s life. I was taught it by my father, who was a policeman. May of the rioters have never had any at all. As an athlete and former Army officer, I know that discipline can be learned. More importantly, it must be learned or it doesn’t take hold.

(9) A precedent for this approach was the Civilian Conservation Corps that worked so well during the Great Depression. My father enlisted in the CCC as a young man with an elementary school education and he learned invaluable skills that served him well throughout his life. The key was that a job was waiting for him when he finished. The certainty of that first entry-level position is essential if severely alienated young minority men and women are to keep the faith.

(10) We all know these are difficult times for the public sector, but here’s the chance to add energetic and able manpower to America’s workforce. They could be prepared for the world of work or college – an offer similar to that made to returning GI after Word War II. It would be a chance for 16- to 21-year-olds to live among other cultures, religions, races and in different geographical areas. And these young people could be taught to rally around common goals and friendships that evolve out of pride in one’s squad, platoon, company, battalion – or commander.

(11) We saw such images during the Persian Gulf War and during the NACC Final Four basketball games. In military life and competitive sports, this camaraderie doesn’t just happen; it is taught and learned in an atmosphere of discipline and earned mutual respect for each other’s capabilities.

(12) A national service program would also help overcome two damaging perceptions held by America’s disaffected youth: the society just doesn’t care about minority youngsters and that one’s personal best efforts will not be rewarded in our discriminatory job market. Harvard professor Robert Reich’s research has shown that urban social ills are so pervasive that the upper 20 percent of Americans – the “fortunate fifth” as he calls them – have decided quietly to “secede” from the bottom four-fifths and the lowest fifth in particular. We cannot accept such estrangement on a permanent basis. And what better way to answer skeptics from any group than by certifying the technical skills of graduates from a national service training program?

(13) Now, we must act decisively to forestall future urban unrest. Republicans must put aside their aversion to funding programs aimed at certain cultural groups. Democrats must forget labels and recognize that a geographically isolated subgroup of Americans – their children in particular – need systematic and substantive assistance for at least another 20 years.

(14) The ethnic taproots of minority Americans are deeply buried in a soil of faith and loyalty to traditional values. With its emphasis on discipline, teamwork, conflict resolution, personal responsibility and marketable skills development, national service can provide both the training and that vital first job that will reconnect these Americans to the rest of us. Let’s do it before the fire next time.

 

21. According to the author, “national service” is comparable to “military training” because they both cultivate youngsters’ ______.

A. good grades

B. self discipline

C. mutual trust

D. work ethic

22. The author cites the example of his father in order to show ______.

A. the importance of discipline

B. the importance of education

C. the necessity of having strong faith

D. the effectiveness of the program

 

23. According to the author, a national service program can bring the following benefits to America’s youngsters EXCEPT ______.

A. increase in income

B. a sense of responsibility

C. confidence and hope

D. practical work skills

24. According to the context, what does “the fire” refer to (Para. 14)?

A. Discrimination.

B. Anger.

C. Riots.

D. Aversion.

 

SECTION B  SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

In this section there are eight short answer questions based on the passages in SECTION A. Answer each question in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS in the space provided on ANSWER SHEET TWO.

 

PASSAGE ONE

25. What does Para. 2 tell us about the restaurant business on the Alentejo coast throughout the year?

26. According to Para. 5, what are the two main reasons of the Alentejo’s inaccessibility?

 

PASSAGE TWO

27. What does “It was simply a box ticking exercise” mean in Para. 2?

28. Paras. 4-6 propose three main precepts for the now approach. Please use ONE phrase to summarize each of the three precepts.

29. What does the author suggest to shift the dynamic in the classroom (Para. 11)?

 

PASSAGE THREE

30. What is the purpose of the program proposed by the author (Paras. 1-3)?

31. What does the word “it” in “Don’t dismantle it: rechannel it.” refer to (Para. 7)?

32. What do Robert Reich’s findings imply (Para. 12)?

 

PART III  LANGUAGE USAGE [15 MIN]

The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proof-read the passage and correct it in the following way:

For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at the end of the line.

For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a “^” sign and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at the end of the line.

For an unnecessary word, cross the unnecessary word with a slash “/” and put the word in the blank provided at the end of the line.

 

Example

When ^ art museum wants a new exhibit, (1) EQ \o(an,\s\do -1(__________))

it never buys things in finished form and hangs (2) EQ \o(never,\s\do -1(__________))

them on the wall. When a natural history museum

wants an exhibition, it must often build it. (3) EQ \o(exhibit,\s\do -1(__________))

 

Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET THREE as instructed.

 

The ability to communicate is the primary factor that distinguish human

beings from animals. And it is the ability to communicate well which (1) ______

distinguishes one individual from another.

The fact is that apart from the basic necessities, one needs to

be equipped with habits for good com munication skills, thus this is (2) ______

what will make one a happy and successful social being.

In order to develop these habits, one needs to first acknowledge

the fact that they need to improve communication skills from time to time.

They need to take stock of the way how they interact and the direction (3) ______

in which their work and personal relations are going.

The only constant in life is change, the more one accepts one’s strengths and works (4) _____

towards dealing with their shortcomings, specially in the area of (5) ______

communication skills, the better will be their interactions and the more their social popularity.

To dominated question that comes here is: How to improve (6) ______

communication skills? The answer is simple. One can find plenty of literature on this. There

are also experts, who conduct workshops and seminars based on communication skills of

men and women. In fact, a large number of companies are bringing in

trainers to regularly make sessions on the subject, in order to (7) ______

help their work force maintain better interpersonal work relations.

Today effective communication skills have become a predominant factor

even while recruiting employees. While interviewing candidates, most interviewers judge

them on the basis of the skills they communicate with.

They believe that some skills can be improvised on the job; but ability to (8) ______

communicate well is important, as every employee becomes the

representing face of the company.

There are trainers, who specialized in delivering custom -made (9) ______

programs on the subject. Through the sessions they not only facilitate

better communication skills in the workplace, but also look into

the problems in the manner of being able to convey messages effectively. (10) ______

 

PART IV  TRANSLATION [20 MIN]

Translate the underlined part of the following text from Chinese into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.

 

我小的时候特别盼望过年，往往是一过了腊月，就开始掰着指头数日子。对于我们这种焦急的心态，大人们总是发出深沉的感叹，好像他们不但不喜欢过年，而且还惧怕过年。他们的态度令当时的我感到失望和困惑，现在我完全能够理解了。我想长辈们之所以对过年感慨良多，一是因为过年意味着一笔开支，二是飞速流逝的时间对他们构成巨大压力。小孩子可以兴奋地说：过了年，我又长大了一岁；而老人们则叹息：嗨，又老了一岁。过年意味着小孩子正在向自己生命过程中的辉煌时期进步，而对于大人，则意味着正向衰朽的残年滑落。

 

PART V  WRITING [45 MIN]

The following are two excerpts about job hopping. Read the two excerpts carefully and write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 WORDS, in which you should: summarize the main arguments in the two excerpts, and then express your opinion towards job hopping, especially on whether job hopping would benefit your career development.

You can support yourself with information from the excerpts.

Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.

Write your article on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.

 

Excerpt 1

The Pros of Job Hopping

Until recently, job hopping was considered career suicide. But things have changed. As job longevity becomes a thing of the past, employers and recruiters are beginning to have a different outlook on job hopping.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average number of years that U.S. workers have been with their current employer is 4.6. Tenure of young employees (ages 20 to 34) is only half that (2.3 years).

As it turns out, job hopping can be extremely advantageous for certain types of people – if they do it for the right reasons, says Laurie Lopez, a partner and senior general manager in the IT Contracts division at WinterWyman. “For those in technology, for example, it allows them the opportunity to gain valuable technical knowledge in different environments and cultures. This can be more common for those specializing in IT. In order to keep their skills fresh, it is necessary for technologists to remain current in a highly competitive market. Job hopping is more common with employees that are less tenured, and feel confident in their skills to be able to move on and can add value immediately in a new opportunity. With employers being more open to hiring job hoppers, we expect the trend to continue.”

 

Excerpt 2

Job hopping becomes more difficult as employers seek solid credentials

Amid a slowdown in the country’s economic growth, the good times for job hoppers might be coming to an end, said Angel Lam, associate director of commerce and finance, human resources, supply chain and operation business of Robert Walters.

Job hoppers are those who frequently change jobs in a two-year span, according to global recruitment consultancy Robert Walters.

Employers started to shun the job hoppers in 2012, and the trend became more apparent in 2013 and this year.

“About 90 percent of our clients will simply reject the candidate if they find traces indicating job hopping in the resumes. They wouldn’t even give an interview,” she said.

The usual time span for candidates to change a job should be between four to six years, especially for middle to senior management candidates, as they have to demonstrate progress to their employers over this period of time, according to Lam.

Usually, the candidate will adapt to all the changes in the job in the first year, make some fine tuning in the second year, speed up his or her progress in the third year and start to seek more stable development in the ensuing years. Only in this way can the employee improve adaptability, gain persistence and grasp basic skill sets required for the job, Lam said.