Section C

Directions: There are two passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice.

Passage One

    LinkedIn announced a new standalone "LinkedIn Students" app, aimed at helping soon-to-be college graduates search for jobs that could relieve some of the major stress students can face hunting for their first job out of college. To join the app, students share their college, major and graduation date. If they don't already have a LinkedIn profile, they'll be asked to make one. The app's design resembles swiping(刷卡) through a deck of cards. The first card shows users a role they might like with accompanying information such as a job description, skills needed for the role, its median salary, related job openings and similar positions a student might find interesting. Cards then show recommended companies and alumni(校友) students should consider contacting, typically professionals who have graduated within the last five years.

    The format breaks up content into bite-sized pieces to make it easy to start and stop sessions on-the-go, for example during a commute or when the user has a few spare minutes. LinkedIn first piloted the apps at San Jose State University and the University of Central Florida. In tests, the format helped make job searching feel less stressful, the company said. Tests also showed that students preferred the professional feel of the current app to more Snapchat-like designs that were considered earlier. College career centers around the country can share job postings and career-related events with LinkedIn to appear in the app, viewable to their specific student body.

    The app serves up work-related content and videos, for example, articles about interviewing or negotiating a salary. It also features a small number of career-related sponsored posts by JP Morgan in an "Extra Credit" tab(标签), which prompts students to fill out a more detailed profile. A star button on each card, whether for an article, person, role or company, gives students a way to indicate their preferences and get better recommendations. The app launched in English on iOS and Android in the U.S. on Monday and should become available in more countries over time. 

Passage Two

     If you're one of the thousands of new graduates who have claimed their diplomas and set their sights on life after college this spring, job hunting is more than likely at the top of your priority list. You probably have certain expectations around what your first real career job will look like. I'm here to shatter(打破) those. The first job you land out of college doesn't matter. It matters that you find work, of course, but the nature of the work isn't of particular consequence at this stage in your life. 

    Here's why: The subject you spent four years studying may have absolutely no bearing on what you end up doing immediately after graduation. While 88% of the Class of 2016 expected to land a job in their field of study, only 65% of their peers who completed their education in 2014 and 2015 report that they've been able to do so in the time since they graduated. As is consistent with recent labor market trends, it's possible that you'll end up underemployed?working in a job that doesn't require a college degree, working fewer hours than you want), as 51% of 2015 grads reported in that same survey reported they are. Starting your working life in a career-focused role is becoming the exception to the rule. 

    Unless you're entering into a red-hot job market with a highly-coveted(令人垂涎的) degree (software engineering prodigies in Silicon Valley), your entry-level role likely won't be one that allows you to make a unique contribution to the company. To a certain degree, project assistants, account associates, admin assistants and junior whatevers are interchangeable. Beyond a paycheck, what your first job offers is the opportunity to understand what being part of a team day in and day out is like, to improve your ability to read people, to absorb the norms of a given workplace and figure out if they're ones you can live with.