专四阅读+详解.docx

专四阅读+详解.docx

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专四阅读+详解

专四阅读+详解

星期4Thursday

Businessisthesalfoflife.事业是人生的第一需要。

学习内容

题材

词数

建议时间

错误统计

做题备忘

TextA

女性职场

430

6分钟

/5

TextB

经济管理

392

5分钟

/5

TextC

自然奥秘

450

6.5分钟

/5

TextD

社会问题

546

7.5分钟

/5

今日练习

TextA

Despitealltheprogresstowardwomen’sequality,womenwhoworkfulltimearestillearningonly75centsonaveragetoeverydollarearnedbymen.

Drivinghomethatpoint,theNationalCommitteeonPayEquityhaschosenApril16thisyear,toremindAmericansthatallwomenwouldneedtoworkatleastanextratwodaysinaworkweektoearnalmostasmuchasallmendoinonenormalworkweek.

Whydoessuchawagegapstillpersist?

Economistsdifferintheirexplanations.Andyetthisincomedisparityisseenasakeyindicatorofhowwomenaretreated—inboththeworkplaceandathome.

Fortunately,thewomen’smovementandcivilrightsenforcementhaveendedmostgenderdiscriminationinsettingwages.Nowadvocatesarefocusedonensuringthatworkingwomenhavefemaleadvisersandrolemodels,whiletheytrytoremovesubtlediscriminationinpromotions—the“glassceiling”（指职业女性在职务提升时遇到的无形阻力）thataccountsforsofewwomenbeingintopmanagement.

Manyeconomists,however,saymanywomenhavelower-payingjobsbecauseofchoicesmadeintheirhomelife,suchastakingtimeouttoraisechildren.Orwomentakepart-time,low-wagejobsfortheflexibility.Whentheydoreentertheworkforcefulltime,they’reoftenbehindtheirworkingpeersinpayandpromotions.

Butasmorewomenfeelempoweredtomakecareerchoices,theirpayrises.

Anotherexplanationisthatwomendon’treallymakethechoicetodropoffthecareerladderortostayatalowerjobrung.Theymay,forexample,accepttheexpectationsofotherstotaketraditionaljobsforwomen,suchasnursing,whichhavelowmarketwages.Theymustoftentakejobsthatdon’taccountfortheunpredictabilityoffamilies.Workingmomsmayfindtheirincomecan’tpayfordaycare,ordaycaredoesn’tsuittheirchild.Iftheyaremarried,theymayrealizetheirhusbandsarenotinclinedtochildrearing（orhousechores）,sotheyeitherquitworkorgoparttime.

Soastheirlifechoicesseemtobecomealifeburden,women’sincomeslipsbehindmen’s.

Nomatterwhattheexplanation,muchprogresshasbeenmadeinreducingthepaygap.Whilegovernmentstillhasamajorrole,employerscandomore.Manyhavefoundamarketadvantageinsupportingworkingmothersorputtingwomeninmanagement.Andinthehome,menandwomenaregettingsmarterindefiningtheirmaritalrelationships,oftenbeforetyingtheknot.

Justaswomennowoutnumbermenincollege,perhapssomedaytheiraveragepaywillsurpassmen’s—andthatmaymakeupforlostwages.

1.April16hasbeenchosen

[A]toshowtheorganization’sattitudetowardsequalpay.

[B]todefinethedayaspaydayforwomenwhoarenotequallypaid.

[C]tomakeitclearthatwomenworkingfulltimeareearninglessthanmen.

[D]toremindwomentoworklongerhourstoearnasmuchasmen.

2.Howcanwomenraisetheirsalary?

[A]Bygoingoutforworkinsteadofstayingathome.

[B]Byaskingtheiremployertoraisetheirsalary.

[C]Bysendingtheirchildtothekindergarten.

[D]Byhavingtheabilitytochoosetheirjobs.

3.WhichofthefollowingisNOTatraditionaljobforwomen?

[A]Nurse.[B]Teacher.

[C]Economist.[D]Typist.

4.WhichofthefollowingstatementisNOTtrue?

[A]Wagegapserversasakeyindicatorofhowwomenaretreated.

[B]Manywomenhavelower-payingjobsbecauseofhousechores.

[C]Someworkingmothersearnlessthantheirchildren’sdaycare.

[D]Manyemployershavealreadydoneenoughtosupportworkingmothers.

5.Whoareexpectedtocontributemoretonarrowingthepaygap?

[A]Womenthemselves.

[B]Employers.

[C]Thegovernment.

[D]Men.

TextB

Ifsustainablecompetitiveadvantagedependsuponworkforceskills,Americanfirmshaveaproblem.Human-resourcemanagementisnottraditionallyseenascentraltothecompetitivesurvivalofthefirmintheUnitedStates.Skillacquisitionisconsideredanindividualresponsibility.Laborissimplyanotherfactorofproductiontobehired—rentedatthelowestpossiblecost—muchasonebuysrawmaterialsorequipment.

Thelackofimportanceattachedtohuman-resourcemanagementcanbeseeninthecorporatehierarchy.InanAmericanfirmthechieffinancialofficer（CFO）isalmostalwayssecondincommand.Thepostofheadofhuman-resourcemanagementisusuallyaspecializedjob,offattheedgeofthecorporatehierarchy.TheexecutivewhoholdsitisneverconsultedonmajorstrategicdecisionsandhasnochancetomoveuptoChiefExecutiveOfficer（CEO）.Bywayofcontrast,inJapantheheadofhuman-resourcemanagementiscentral—usuallythesecondmostimportantexecutive,aftertheCEO,inthefirm’shierarchy.

WhileAmericanfirmsoftentalkaboutthevastamountstheyspendintrainingtheirworkforces,infact,theyinvestlessintheskillsoftheiremployeesthandoeitherJapaneseorGermanfirms.Themoneytheydoinvestisalsomorehighlyconcentratedonprofessionalandmanagerialemployees.Andthelimitedinvestmentsthataremadeintrainingworkersarealsomuchmorenarrowlyfocusedonthespecificskillsnecessaryforthenextjobratherthanonthebasicbackgroundskillsthatmakeitpossibletoabsorbnewtechnologies.

Asaresult,problemsemergewhennewbreakthroughtechnologiesarrive.IfAmericanworkers,forexample,takemuchlongertolearnhowtooperatenewflexiblemanufacturingstationsthaninGermany（astheydo）,theeffectivecostofthosestationsislowerinGermanythanitisintheUnitedStates.Moretimeisrequiredbeforeequipmentisupandrunningatcapacity,andtheneedforextensiveretraininggeneratescostsandcreatesbottlenecksthatlimitthespeedwithwhichnewequipmentcanbeemployed.Theresultisaslowerpaceoftechnologicalchange.Andintheendtheskillsofthebottomhalfofthepopulationaffectthewagesofthetophalf.Ifthebottomhalfcan’teffectivelystarttheprocessesthathavetobeoperated,themanagementandprofessionaljobsthatgowiththeseprocesseswilldisappear.

6.InanAmericanfirm,theexecutiveofhuman-resourcemanagement

[A]hasapositiondirectlyunderthechieffinancialexecutive.

[B]isoneofthemostimportantexecutivesofthefirm.

[C]hasnosayinmakingimportantdecisionsofthefirm.

[D]isunimportantwhennewtechnologieshavebeenintroduced.

7.ThemoneymostAmericanfirmsputinworkforcetrainingmainlygoeson

[A]technologicalandmanagerialstaff.

[B]workerswhowillrunnewequipment.

[C]workerswholackbasicbackgroundskills.

[D]topexecutives.

8.TechnologicalchangeinAmericanfirmsisslowerbecause

[A]newequipmentinAmericaismoreexpensive.

[B]theydon’tpayenoughattentiontothejobtrainingoftheirworkers.

[C]theyarelessresponsivetotechnologicalchanges.

[D]theirprofessionalstaffarelesspaidandsolesscreative.

9.WhichofthefollowingappliestothemanagementofhumanresourcesinAmericancompanies?

[A]Theyhirepeopleatthelowestcostregardlessoftheirskills.

[B]Theyseethegainingofskillsastheiremployees’ownbusiness.

[C]Theyattachmoreimportancetoworkersthanequipment.

[D]Theyonlyhireskilledworkersbecauseofkeencompetition.

10.Accordingtothepassage,thedecisivefactorinmaintainingafirm’scompetitiveadvantageis

[A]theintroductionofnewtechnologies.

[B]theimprovementofworker’sbasicskills.

[C]therationalcompositionofprofessionalandmanagerialemployees.

[D]theattachmentofimportancetothebottomhalfoftheemployees.

TextC

Despitethefactthatcometsareprobablythemostnumerousastronomicalbodiesinthesolarsystemasidefromsmallmeteor（流星）fragmentsandtheasteroids（小行星）,theyarelargelyamystery.Scientistsdon’tknowexactlywhatcometsareorwheretheycomefrom.Educatedguessesarethebestwehaveinhand.

Consideringtheroleofcometsinlore,legend,andthememoryofman,itisremarkablethatwestillknowsolittle,relatively,aboutthem.Themostfamouscometofall,Halley’sComet（namedforthemanwhopredicteditsreturn）,wasfirstsightedbytheChinesein240B.C.,andithasreturnedtoterrifythepeopleoftheworldonaregularbasiseversincethen（lastscheduledreturn:

1986）.Theancientsconsidereditanobjectofillomen.Bymysteriouscoincidence,thearrivalofHalley’sCometcoincidedwithsucheventsasthebattleofHastingsin1066,theJewishrevoltof66A.D.,andthelastbattleofAttilatheHunagainsttheRomans.Norisittheonlycomettofillmanwithawe,butmerelythemostfamousinaricharistocracyofblood-freezers.

Cometsareevenmorefascinatingtoamateurastronomersthantoprofessionals,becausethisisoneareawhereamateurscan（anddo）makemajordiscoveries.CometIkeyaSeki,oneofthebrightestcometstoappearinlastcenturywasdiscoveredin1965byapairofJapaneseamateurs,IkeyaandSeki.Thepersonwhodiscoversanewcometgetshis（orher）nameputonit.Andamateurshaveaheadstartintheracetodiscovernewcomets;theshorterfocallengthsontheirsmallertelescopesgivethemapositiveadvantageoverthehugetelescopesuchasMountWilsonwhichisbuilttoscanforgalaxies,notcomparativelyofshortdistances.

MostscientiststendtoagreewiththeastronomerFredT.Whipplethatacometisreallyalargemushysnowballoffrozenicesandgases（ammonia,methane,possiblycarbondioxide）withafewbitsofsolidparticlesstuckinside.Butnooneissurehowcometsarecreatedinthefirstplace.

Scientistsbelievethatcometsdon’texhibittheircharacte