1、2013 年真题原文In an essay entitled “Making It in America”, the author Adam Davidson relates a joke from cotton country about just how much a modern textile mill has been automated: The average mill has only two employees today, “a man and a dog. The man is there to feed the dog, and the dog is there to
2、keep the man away from the machines.”Davidsons 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 largely because of the big drop in demand because of the Great Recess
3、ion, but it 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 workers.In the past, workers with average skills, doing an average job, could earn an average lifestyle. But, today,
4、average is officially over. Being average just wont earn you what it used to. It cant 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 ext
5、ratheir 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 theres been an acceleration. As Davidson notes, “In the 10 years ending in 2009, U. S. factories shed workers so fast that they
6、erased almost all the gains of the previous 70 years; roughly one out of every three manufacturing jobsabout 6 million in totaldisappeared.”There will always be changenew jobs, new products, new services. But the one thing we know for sure is that with each advance in globalization and the I.T. revo
7、lution, 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
8、century that ensures that every American has access to post-high school education. 21. The joke in Paragraph 1 is used to illustrate _ .A the impact of technological advancesB the alleviation of job pressureC the shrinkage of textile millsD the decline of middle-class incomes22. According to Paragra
9、ph 3, to be a successful employee, one has to _ .A work on cheap softwareB ask for a moderate salaryC adopt an average lifestyleD contribute something unique23. The quotation in Paragraph 4 explains that _ .A gains of technology have been erasedB job opportunities are disappearing at a high speedC f
10、actories are making much less money than beforeD new jobs and services have been offered24. According to the author, to reduce unemployment, the most important is _ .A to accelerate the I.T. revolutionB to ensure more education for peopleC to advance economic globalizationD to pass more bills in the
11、 21st century25. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the text?A New Law Takes EffectB Technology Goes CheapC Average Is OverD Recession Is BadA century ago, the immigrants from across the Atlantic included settlers and sojourners. Along with the many folks looking to make
12、a permanent home in the United States came those who had no intention to stay, and who would make some money and go home. Between1908 and 1915, about 7 million people arrived while about 2 million departed. About a quarter of all Italian immigrants, for example, eventually returned to Italy for good
13、. They even had an affectionate nickname, “uccelli di passaggio”, birds of passage.Today, we are much more rigid about immigrants. We divide newcomers into two categories: legal or illegal, good or bad. We hail them as Americans in the making, or brand them as aliens to be kicked out. That framework
14、 has contributed mightily to our broken immigration system and the long political paralysis over how to fix it. We dont need more categories, but we need to change the way we think about categories. We need to look beyond strict definitions of legal and illegal. To start, we can recognize the new bi
15、rds of passage, those living and thriving in the gray areas. We might then begin to solve our immigration challenges.Crop pickers, violinists, construction workers, entrepreneurs, engineers, home health-care aides and physicists are among todays birds of passage. They are energetic participants in a
16、 global economy driven by the flow of work, money and ideas. They prefer to come and go as opportunity calls them. They can manage to have a job in one place and a family in another.With or without permission, they straddle laws, jurisdictions and identities with ease. We need them to imagine the Un
17、ited States as a place where they can be productive for a while without committing themselves to staying forever. We need them to feel that home can be both here and there and that they can belong to two nations honorably.Accommodating this new world of people in motion will require new attitudes on
18、 both sides of the immigration battle. Looking beyond the culture war logic of right or wrong means opening up the middle ground and understanding that managing immigration today requires multiple paths and multiple outcomes, including some that are not easy to accomplish legally in the existing sys
19、tem. 26. “Birds of passage” refers to those who _ .A immigrate across the AtlanticB leave their home countries for goodC stay in a foreign country temporarilyD find permanent jobs overseas27. It is implied in Paragraph 2 that the current immigration system in the US _ . A needs new immigrant categor
20、iesB has loosened control over immigrantsC should be adapted to meet challengesD has been fixed via political means28. According to the author, todays birds of passage want _ .A financial incentivesB a global recognitionC opportunities to get regular jobsD the freedom to stay and leave29. The author
21、 suggests that the birds of passage today should be treated _ .A as faithful partnersB with economic favorsC with legal toleranceD as mighty rivals30.The most appropriate title for this text would be _ .A Come and Go: Big MistakeB Living and Thriving : Great RiskC Legal or Illegal: Big MistakeD With
22、 or Without : Great RiskScientists have found that although we are prone to snap overreactions, if we take a moment and think about how we are likely to react, we can reduce or even eliminate the negative effects of our quick, hard-wired responses.Snap decisions can be important defense mechanisms;
23、if we are judging whether someone is dangerous, our brains and bodies are hard-wired to react very quickly, within milliseconds. But we need more time to assess other factors. To accurately tell whether someone is sociable, studies show, we need at least a minute, preferably five. It takes a while t
24、o judge complex aspects of personality, like neuroticism or open-mindedness.But snap decisions in reaction to rapid stimuli arent exclusive to the interpersonal realm. Psychologists at the University of Toronto found that viewing a fast-food logo for just a few milliseconds primes us to read 20 perc
25、ent faster, even though reading has little to do with eating. We unconsciously associate fast food with speed and impatience and carry those impulses into whatever else were doing. Subjects exposed to fast-food flashes also tend to think a musical piece lasts too long.Yet we can reverse such influen
26、ces. If we know we will overreact to consumer products or housing options when we see a happy face (one reason good sales representatives and real estate agents are always smiling), we can take a moment before buying. If we know female job screeners are more likely to reject attractive female applic
27、ants, we can help screeners understand their biasesor hire outside screeners.John Gottman, the marriage expert, explains that we quickly “thin slice” information reliably only after we ground such snap reactions in “thick sliced” long-term study. When Dr. Gottman really wants to assess whether a cou
28、ple will stay together, he invites them to his island retreat for a much longer evaluation: two days, not two seconds.Our ability to mute our hard-wired reactions by pausing is what differentiates us from animals: dog can think about the future only intermittently or for a few minutes. But historica
29、lly we have spent about 12 percent of our days contemplating the longer term. Although technology might change the way we react, it hasnt changed our nature. We still have the imaginative capacity to rise above temptation and reverse the high-speed trend. 31. The time needed in making decisions may
30、_ .A vary according to the urgency of the situationB prove the complexity of our brain reactionC depend on the importance of the assessmentD predetermine the accuracy of our judgment32. Our reaction to a fast-food logo shows that snap decisions _ .A can be associativeB are not unconsciousC can be da
31、ngerousD are not impulsive33. To reverse the negative influences of snap decisions,we should _ .A trust our first impressionB do as people usually doC think before we actD ask for expert advice34. John Gottman says that reliable snap reactions are based on _ .A critical assessmentBthin sliced studyC
32、 sensible explanationD adequate information35. The authors attitude toward reversing the high-speed trend is _ .A tolerant B uncertain C optimistic D doubtfulEurope is not a gender-equality heaven. In particular, the corporate workplace will never be completely family-friendly until women are part o
33、f senior management decisions, and Europes top corporate-governance positions remain overwhelmingly male. Indeed, women hold only 14 percent of positions on Europe corporate boards.The Europe Union is now considering legislation to compel corporate boards to maintain a certain proportion of womenup
34、to 60 percent. This proposed mandate was born of frustration. Last year, Europe Commission Vice President Viviane Reding issued a call to voluntary action. Reding invited corporations to sign up for gender balance goals of 40 percent female board membership. But her appeal was considered a failure:
35、only 24 companies took it up.Do we need quotas to ensure that women can continue to climb the corporate ladder fairly as they balance work and family?“Personally, I dont like quotas,” Reding said recently. “But I like what the quotas do.” Quotas get action: they “open the way to equality and they br
36、eak through the glass ceiling,” according to Reding, a result seen in France and other countries with legally binding provisions on placing women in top business positions.I understand Redings reluctanceand her frustration. I dont like quotas either; they run counter to my belief in meritocracy, gov
37、ernance by the capable. But, when one considers the obstacles to achieving the meritocratic ideal, it does look as if a fairer world must be temporarily ordered.After all, four decades of evidence has now shown that corporations in Europe as well as the US are evading the meritocratic hiring and pro
38、motion of women to top positionno matter how much “soft pressure” is put upon them. When women do break through to the summit of corporate poweras, for example, Sheryl Sandberg recently did at Facebookthey attract massive attention precisely because they remain the exception to the rule.If appropria
39、te pubic policies were in place to help all womenwhether CEOs or their childrens caregiversand all families, Sandberg would be no more newsworthy than any other highly capable person living in a more just society.36. In the European corporate workplace, generally _ .A women take the leadB men have t
40、he final say C corporate governance is overwhelmedD senior management is family-friendly37. The European Unions intended legislation is _ .A a reflection of gender balanceB a reluctant choiceC a response to Redings callD a voluntary action38. According to Reding, quotas may help women _ .A get top b
41、usiness positionsB see through the glass ceilingC balance work and familyD anticipate legal results39. The authors attitude toward Redings appeal is one of _ .A skepticism B objectiveness C indifference D approval40. Women entering top management become headlines due to the lack of _ .A more social
42、justiceB massive media attentionC suitable public policiesD greater “soft pressure”21.答案： A 【考点】例证题 【正确项精解】第一段冒号后为笑话（joke）的具体内容，冒号前 about 后接的宾语从句说明了笑话的相关信息：现代纺织厂自动化的程度（automated） 。该例提到，普通工厂只有两个员工，一个是喂狗的人，另一个是看机器的狗。由此可知，工厂的生产工作都是由机器自动完成的。自动化体现了科技进步，A 中的 technological advances 对应原文中的 automated，因此正确。原文
43、提及人是负责喂狗的，但并没有说这个人的工作压力是否得到缓和，且工作压力也非本文论述的主题，故 B 错误。笑话中的纺织厂员工很少，但并不意味着纺织厂的规模就缩小了（由下文可知，工厂员工减少的原因只是因为机器的大规模使用） ，因此 C 不能选。第一段没有涉及员工的收入问题，D 属于无中生有。22.答案： D 【考点】细节题 【正确项精解】通过题干可以定位到文章第三段，由第三段的最后一句话可知“人人都需要有过人之处，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” 。题干中 to be a successful employee 与第三段的最后一句话中的 that makes them st
44、and out in whatever is their field of employment 是同义替换，everyone needs to find their extratheir unique value contribution 与D选项中的 contribute something unique 是同义替换，所以D选项正确。B、C两个选项与第三段的倒数第二句话意思不符，是干扰选项。 A选项与第三段的第一、二句话意思相反，重点关注的是 But ,today ,average is officially over，意思是“现如今，拥有一般水平不行了” 。23.答案： B 【考点】推断
45、题【正确项精解】此题考查考生根据上下文中的细节推断正确信息的能力。问题问第四段中的引文解释了什么事情。文章第四段重点介绍技术发展对人们的工作机会的吞噬。而引文特别指出：“截止 2009 年，十年间（美国）工厂解雇工人的速度是如此之快，以至于抹消了几乎过去 70 年里增加的所有工作机会；大约每三个制造业的工作就有一个消失了，总计大约 600 万个工作没有了。 ”由此可以推断出本题的正确答案应该是 B：工作机会正在快速消失。选项 A：技术的收益已经被抹杀了；选项 C：工厂现在赚的钱比以前少多了。文章中没有提到这两个内容。选项 D：已经出现了新的工作和服务项目。这个内容与原文不符。所以这三个选项均为
46、干扰项。24.答案： B 【考点】事实细节题【正确项精解】根据题干中的 reduce unemployment“减少失业” ，可以定位到文章中最后一段，这段出现了与之类似的表达support employment“促进就业” 。而题干表述 the most important 与最后一段中的 nothing would be more important than 相对应，根据最后一段：In a world where average is officially over, there are many things we need to do to buttress employment,
47、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 post-high school education.意思是：这是一个“平庸”已正式落幕的世界，为了促进就业我们还有很多事要去做，但是对于 21 世纪来说，没有什么比通过某些类似军人安置法案这样的法案更重要的措施了，这样才能确保每个美国人都能有机会接受到中学以后的教育。这就和选项 B 中的 to ensure mor
48、e education for people“确保人民得到更多教育 ”的意思吻合，因此，本题的正确答案是选项 B。选项 A 加速信息技术产业变革，选项 C 促进经济全球化，均未提及，故排除。选项 D 是干扰项，虽提及要颁布更多法案，但颁布法案的目的实际是为了保障教育，所以选项 D 的意思过于表面化，因此也可以排除。25.答案： C 【考点】主旨题【正确项精解】文章第一、二段通过笑话及引用当下文章的观点指出技术的进步使得工作岗位大大减少。第三段则论述在这种背景下，能力一般的工人的处境发生了变化，指出 average is officially over（平庸时代正式过去） 。第四、五段用具体的数
49、据说明新技术在快速吞噬工作岗位，并提出建议：工人需要提高自身的教育水平，才能够摆脱平庸。最后一段再次指出 average is officially over，并给出建议。故本文实际上是在论述“平庸时代过去”的原因及应对方法，由此确定 C 为答案。 A 中的 law 与第六段的 bill 相关，但全文并没有提到某项新法规要实施，故排除。B“技术变得廉价”是促使工厂大量裁员的原因，只是“平庸时代过去”的原因之一，不足以概括全文，故排除。D 中的 recession 出现在第二段，但经济衰退对就业的影响并不是本文论述的重点，故 C 也错误。26.答案： C 【考点】推断题 【正确项精解】根据题干，首先定位到首段末句。在这句中，birds of passage 是前面一句中的 1/4 的意大利移民
