Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)
Text 1
In an essay entitled “Making It in America”, the author Adam Davidson relates a joke from cotton about just how much a modern textile mill has been automated: The average mill only two employees today,” a man and a dog. The man is there to feed the dog is there to keep the man away from the machines.”
Davidson’s article is one of a number of pieces that have recently appeared making the point that the reason we have such stubbornly high unemployment and declining middle-class incomes today is also because of the advances in both globalization and the information technology revolution, which are more rapidly than ever replacing labor with machines or foreign worker.
In the past, workers with average skills, doing an average job，could earn an average li.festyle ,But ,today ,average is officially over. Being average just won’t earn you what it used to. It can’t when so many more employers have so much more access to so much more above average cheap foreign labor, cheap robotics, cheap software, cheap automation and cheap genius. Therefore, everyone needs to find their extra-their unique value contribution that makes them stand out in whatever is their field of employment.
Yes, new technology has been eating jobs forever, and always will. But there’s been an acceleration. As Davidson notes,” In the 10 years ending in 2009, [U.S.] factories shed workers so fast that they erased almost all the gains of the previous 70 years; roughly one out of every three manufacturing jobs-about 6 million in total -disappeared.
There will always be changed-new jobs, new products, new services. But the one thing we know for sure is that with each advance in globalization and the I.T. revolution, the best jobs will require workers to have more and better education to make themselves above average.
In a world where average is officially over, there are many things we need to do to support employment, but nothing would be more important than passing some kind of G.I.Bill for the 21st century that ensures that every American has access to poet-high school education.
21. The joke in Paragraph 1 is used to illustrate_______
[A] the impact of technological advances
[B] the alleviation of job pressure
[C] the shrinkage of textile mills
[D] the decline of middle-class incomes
22. According to Paragraph 3, to be a successful employee, one has to______
[A] work on cheap software
[B] ask for a moderate salary
[C] adopt an average li.festyle
[D] contribute something unique
23. The quotation in Paragraph 4 explains that ______
[A] gains of technology have been erased
[B] job opportunities are disappearing at a high speed
[C] factories are making much less money than before
[D] new jobs and services have been offered
24. According to the author, to reduce unemployment, the most important is_____
[A] to accelerate the I.T. revolution
[B] to ensure more education for people
[C] ro advance economic globalization
[D] to pass more bills in the 21st century
25. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the text?
[A] New Law Takes Effect
[B] Technology Goes Cheap
[C] Average Is Over
[D] Recession Is Bad
【答案】
【答案详解】
21．标准答案： A
考点分析：此题考查考生对文章细节信息的把握能力，解题的关键在于定位和辨别细节信息。
选项分析：根据题干提示信息，我们定位到文章第一段的最后两句“…a man and a dog. The man is there to feed the dog, and the dog is there to keep the man away from the machines.”， 说如自动化的纺织厂，他们只需要两个员工“一个人外加一条狗。人是负责喂狗的，狗是让人不要靠近机器的。”近年来考研阅读常常用故事或是笑话引出文章所要谈论的主题。因此，我们再继续看第二段内容。第二段引出文章话题：全球化和信息科技革命进步是造成失业率居高不下、中产阶级收入下降的主要原因。因此选择答案A。选项B为就业压力的缓解，与本文谈论话题向左；选项C现代纺织厂规模的缩减，望文生义；选项D中产阶级收入的减少，不是文章谈论的重点，文章重在谈论造成中产阶级收入的减少的原因。
22. 标准答案： D
考点分析：此题考查考生对文章细节信息的把握能力，解题的关键在于定位和辨别细节信息。
选项分析：根据题干提示信息，我们定位到文章第三段的倒数第二句“Therefore, everyone needs to find their extra — their unique value contribution that makes them stand out in whatever is their field of employment”，“因此，人人都需要有另外的价值：异于常人的独特价值能够让他们在各自的雇佣市场上脱颖而出。” stand out与题干中的successful同义复现，题干中问我们为了成为成功的雇员，他必须怎么做。答案D中的contribute something unique是对their unique value contribution的同义改写，因此，答案选择D。其他三个选项均与文章内容不相符合。选项A，work on cheap software继续生产廉价的软件；选项B，ask for a moderate salary索要适当的薪水；选项C，adopt an average li.festyle选择一般的生活方式。
23. 标准答案：B
考点分析：此题考查考生对文章细节信息的定位和理解能力。此类题目的解题关键在于根据题干信息定位，本题的“Paragraph 4”，“quotation”即为定位信息。
选项分析：根据第四段引用的Davidson的原话，“2009年之前的十年内，美国工厂裁撤工人速度之快，基本上等于过去70年新增的工人数量；大概每三个工作岗位就有一个岗位消失了，总共约有600万之多。”可知引用这段话的主题为裁员，且速度很快，这符合B项工作机会急速消失，故此项为正确答案。AC两项文章中没有提到，D项和B项互为相反项，结合文章来看工作机会在消失而不是出现了新的工作机会，故D项错误。
24. 标准答案：B
考点分析：此题考查考生对文章的细节信息的把握能力，关键在于定位和对文章的理解。
选项分析：根据题干信息提示“unemployment”，结合自然段定位法，我们不难定位到文章倒数第二段最后一句“Here are the latest unemployment rates from…”下面是美国劳工局对美国25岁以上人群的最新失业率统计：高中学历都没有的失业率为13.8%；有高中学历医学 全在.线提供
www.med126.com，但没有大学学历的为8.7%；有大学或大专学历的为7.7%；有学士甚至更高学位的只有4.1%。从这句话可知失业率主要和员工的受教育程度相关。因此如果想要减少失业率，最重要的应该是选项B“确保更多的人受到教育”。ACD项均和文章不符。
25. 标准答案：C
考点分析：本题考核的知识点是全文主旨。可以根据文章中的主要内容作答，亦可以根据以上题目的共同焦点作答。
选项分析：文章第一段通过一个笑话指出现代化社会技术的进步程度，使得劳动力大大减少。其余各段进一步论证了失业率的增加，因此一个追求平庸的时代已经结束了，人们需要提高自身教育水平，才能够保证不被淘汰。最后一段第一句话再次强调说平庸时代已经正式结束了。因此选项C为最恰当的标题。A项“新的法律要实施”仅在最后一段提到一句，不能涵盖文章主旨。B项“科技走向廉价”不符合文意。D项“经济衰退有害”与文章无关。
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