Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension(35 minutes) Passage One Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:
Opinion polls are now beginning to show that,whoever is to blame and whatever happens from now on,high unemployment is probably here to say.This means we shall have to find ways of sharing the available employment more widely.
But we need to go further. We must ask some fundamental questions about the future work. Should we continue to treat employment as the norm? Should we not rather encourage many ways for self-respecting people to work? Should we not create conditions in which many of us can work for ourselves, rather than for an employer? Should we not aim to revive the neighborhood, as well as the factory and the office, as centers of production and work?
The industrial age has been the only period of human history in which most people’s work has taken the form of jobs. The industrial age may now becoming to an end, and some of the changes in work patterns which it be reversed. This seems a daunting thought. But, in fact, it could offer the prospect of a better future for work. Universal employment, as its history shows, has not meant economic freedom.
Employment became widespread when the enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries made many people dependent on paid work by depriving them of the use of the land, and thus of the means to provide a living for themselves. Then the factory system destroyed the cottage industries and removed work from people’s homes. Later, as transport improved first by rail and then by road, people commuted longer distances to their places of employment until, eventually, many people’s work lost all connection with their home lives and the places in which they live.
Meanwhile, employment put women at a disadvantage. In preindustrial times, men and women had shared the productive work of village community. Now it became customary for the husband to go out to paid employment, leaving the unpaid work of the home and families to his wife. Tax and benefit regulations still assume this norm today, and restrict more flexible sharing of work roles between the sexes. It was not only women whose work status suffered. As employment became the dominant form of work, young people and old people were excluded—a problem now, as more teenagers become frustrated at school and more retired people want to live active lives. All this may now have to change.
The time has certainly come to switch some effort and resources away from the idealist goal creating jobs for all, to the urgent practical task of helping many people to manage without full-time jobs.
21.What is the main idea of the passage? A） Employment became widespread in the 17th and 18th centuries. B） Unemployment will remain a major problem for industrialized nations. C） The industrial age may now be coming to an end. D） Some efforts and resources should be devoted to helping more people cope with the problem of unemployment.
22.Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a factor contributing to the spread of employment? A） The enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries. B） The development of factories. C） Relief from housework on the part of women. D） Development of modern means of transportation.
23.It can be inferred from the passage that____. A） most people who have been polled believe that the problem of unemployment may not be solved within a short period of time B） many farmers lost their land when new railways and factories were being constructed C） in preindustrial societies housework and community service were mainly carried out by women D） some of the changes in work pattern that the industrial age brought have been reversed
24.What does the word “daunting” in the third paragraph mean? A） Shocking B） InterestingC） Confusing D） Stimulating
25.Which of the following is NOT suggested as a possible means to cope with the current situation? A） Create situations in which people work for themselves. B） Treat employment as the norm. C） Endeavor to revive the neighborhood as centers of production. D） Encourage people to work in circumstances other than normal working conditions.
Passage One 内容概要:根据民意测验的结果，失业率居高不下可能会持续一段时间，因而我们得想办法让更多的人来分享现有的工作，这就需要人们改变以往的工作观念，以获得更多的就业机会。从历史的角度来看，多方面的因素使得人们越来越依赖于有报酬的工作，但就业使得妇女、青少年和上了年纪的人处于劣势，带来了社会问题。因此，现在该是转变思想的时候了。 21.【答案】D。 【译文】根据短文得知，应该花些精力和才力来帮助更多的人解决失业问题。 【试题分析】主旨大意题。通过找文章的主题句以及各段落主题句可以得知答案。 【详细解答】见文章开篇段Opinion polls are now beginning to show that, whoever is to blame and whatever happens from now on, high unemployment is probably here to say. This means we shall have to find ways of sharing the available employment more widely和结尾段The time has certainly come to switch some effort and resources away from the idealist goal creating jobs for all, to the urgent practical task of helping many people to manage without full-time jobs。所以答案为D。 22.【答案】C。 【译文】根据短文得知，妇女从家务劳动中解放出来不是就业普及的因素。 【试题分析】 是非题。一误三正，通过选项对应文章中的细节可以得知答案。 【详细解答】见文章第四段中提到工作普及的三个原因：Employment became widespread when the enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries (22A对) made many people dependent on paid work by depriving them of the use of the land, and thus of the means to provide a living for themselves. Then the factory system (22B对)destroyed the cottage industries and removed work from people’s homes. Later, as transport improved (22D对), first by rail and then by road, people commuted longer distances to their places of employment until, eventually, many people’s work lost all connection with their home lives and the places in which they live。这段话中没有提到C，所以答案为C。 23.【答案】A。 【译文】根据短文得知，接受民意测试的大多数人认为失业问题可能在短期内得不到解决。 【试题分析】推断题。通过选项回到原文找相关的句子来推断，便可以得知答案。 【详细解答】见第三段第二句话“The industrial age may now be coming to an end, and some of the changes in work patterns which it be reversed”, 可选项D中为have been reversed，因而排除选项D；根据第五段第二句In preindustrial times, men and women had shared the productive work of village community男女共同承当劳动，可以排除C；根据第四段第一句话the enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries made many people dependent on paid work by depriving them of the use of the land，可以排除B；根据第一段内容high unemployment is probably here to say，答案为A。 24.【答案】A。 【译文】根据短文得知，工业时代带来的一些工作模式上的变化可能必须颠倒过来，这似乎是一个令人奇怪的想法。 【试题分析】词义题。通过上下文可以得知答案。 【详细解答】见第三段The industrial age may now be coming to an end, and some of the changes in work patterns which it be reversed. This seems a daunting thought. But, in fact, it could offer the prospect of a better future for work。通过第四句话“但实际上它可以为工作提供一个更好的前景。”中的转折含义可以断定最接近daunting的词义为A。 25.【答案】B。 【译文】根据短文得知，把就业作为标准来看待不能解决当前失业问题。 【试题分析】是非题。一误三正，通过选项对应文章中的细节可以得知答案。 【详细解答】见第二段中提出的解决办法：We must ask some fundamental questions about the future work. Should we continue to treat employment as the norm? (25B不对) Should we not rather encourage many ways for self-respecting people to work?（25D对） Should we not create conditions in which many of us can work for ourselves（25A对）, rather than for an employer? Should we not aim to revive the neighborhood, as well as the factory and the office, as centers of production and work? （25C对）。以上几个问句都是修辞疑问句，肯定形式作否定理解，否定形式作肯定理解。所以答案为B。
the neighborhood, as well as the factory and the office, as centers of production and work?
be reversed. This seems a daunting thought. But, in fact, it could offer the prospect of a better future for work. Universal employment, as its history shows, has not meant economic freedom.
