专升本英语练习

Passage One

Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.

When it's five o'clock, people leave their office. The length of the workday, for many workers,

is defined by time. They leave when the clock tells them they're done.

These

days,

the

time

is

everywhere:

not

just

on

clocks

or

watches,

but on cell-phones

and

computers. That may be a bad thing, particularly at work. New research shows that clock-based

word schedules hinder morale(

士气

)and creativity.

Clock-timers

organize

their

day

by

blocks

of

minutes

and

hours.

For

example:

a

meeting

from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., research from 10 a.m. to noon, etc. On the other hand, task-timers have a

list of things they want to accomplish. They work down the list, each task starts when the previous

task is completed. It is said that all of us employ a mix of both these types of planning.

What, then, are the effects of thinking about time in these different ways? Does one make us

more productive? Better at the tasks at hand? Happier? In experiments conducted by Tamar Avnet

and Anne-Laure Sellier, they had participants organize different activities-from project planning,

holiday shopping, to yoga-by time or to-do list to measure how they performed under

vs

control over their lives. Task timers are happier and more creative, but less productive. They tend

to enjoy the moment when something good is happening, and seize opportunities that come up.

The

researchers

argue

that

task-based

organizing

tends

to

be

undervalued

and

under-supported

in

the

business

culture.

Smart

companies,

they

believe,

will

try

to

bake

more

task-based planning into their strategies.

This might be a small change to the way we view work and the office, but the researchers

argue that it challenges a widespread characteristic of the economy: work organized by clock time.

While

most

people

will

still

probably

need,

and

be,

to

some

extent,

clock-timers,

task-based

timing should be used when performing a job that requires more creativity. It'll make those tasks

easier, and the task-doers will be happier.

does the author think of time displayed everywhere?

makes everybody time-conscious.

is a convenience for work and life.

may have a negative effect on creative work.

clearly indicates the fast pace of modern life.

58. How do people usually go about their work according to the author?

mbine clock-based and task- based planning.

ve priority to the most urgent task on hand.

set a time limit for each specific task.

complish their tasks one by one.

59.

What

did

Tamar

Avnet

and

Anne- Laure

Sellier

find

in

their

experiments

about

clock-timers?

ize opportunities as they come up.

always get their work done in time.

ve more control over their lives.

nd to be more productive.

60. What do the researchers say about today's business culture?

does not support the strategies adopted by smart companies.

does not attach enough importance to task-based practice.

places more emphasis on work efficiency than on workers' lives.

aims to bring employees' potential and creativity into full play.

61. What do the researchers suggest?

-based timing is preferred for doing creative work.

is important to keep a balance between work and life.

ming creative jobs tends to make workers happier.

D.A scientific standard should be adopted in job evaluation.

Passage Two

Question 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.

Martha Stewart was charged, tried and convicted of a crime in 2004. As she neared the end of

her prison sentence, a well-known columnist wrote that she was

is simply no reason for anyone to attempt to deny her right to start anew.

Surely, the American ideal of second chances should not

be reserved only for the rich and

powerful.

Unfortunately,

many

federal

and

state

laws

impose

post-conviction

restrictions

on

a

shockingly

large

number

of

Americans,

who

are

preventedform

ever

fully

paying

their

debt

to

society.

At

least

65

million

people

in

the

United

States

have

a

criminal

record.

This

can

result

in

severe penalties that continue long after punishment is completed.

Many

of

these

penalties

are

imposed

regardless

of

the

seriousness

of

the

offense

or

the

person's individual circumstances. Laws can restrict or ban voting, access to public housing, and

professional and business licensing. They can affect a person's ability to get a job and qualification

for benefits.

In all, more than 45,000 laws and rules serve to exclude vast numbers of people from fully

participating in American life.

Some

laws

make

sense.

No

one

advocates

letting

someone

convicted

of

pedo philia(

恋童

癖

)work

in

a

school.

But

too

often

collateral(

附随的

)conse quences

bear

no

relation

to

public

safety. Should a woman who possessed a small amount of drugs years ago be permanently unable

to be licensed as a nurse?

These

laws

are

also

counterproductive,

since

they

make

it

harder

for

people

with

criminal

records to find housing or land a job, two key factors that reduce backsliding.

A

recent

report

makes

several

recommendations,

including

the

abolition

of

most

post-conviction penalties, except for those specifically needed to protect public safety. Where the

penalties are not a must, they should be imposed only if the facts of a case support it.

The point is not to excuse or forget the crime. Rather, it is to recognize that in America's vast

criminal

justice

system,

second

chances

are

crucial.

It

is

in

no

one's

interest

to

keep

a

large

segment of the population on the margins of society.

62. What does the well- known columnist's remark about Martha Stewart suggest?

past record might stand in her way to a new life.

business went bankrupt while she was in prison.