专四阅读+详解

星期

4 Thursday

Business is the salf of life.

事业是人生的第一需要。

学习内容

Text A

Text B

Text C

Text D

今日练习

Text A

Despite

all

the

progress

toward

wo

men’s

equality,

women

who

work

full

time

are

still

earning only 75 cents on average to every dollar earned by men.

Driving home that point, the National Committee on Pay Equity has chosen April 16 this year,

to remind Americans that all women would need to work at least an extra two days in a workweek

to earn almost as much as all men do in one normal workweek.

Why does such a wage gap still persist?

Economists

differ

in

their

explanations.

And

yet

this

income

disparity

is

seen

as

a

key

indicator of how women are treated

—

in both the workplace and at home.

Fortunately,

the

women’s

movement

and

civil

rights

enforcement

have

ended

most

gender

discrimination in setting wages. Now advocates are focused on ensuring that working women have

female advisers and role models, while they try to remove subtle discrimination in promotions

—

the

“

glass ceiling

”

(

指职业女性在职务提升时遇到的无形阻力

)that accounts for so few women

being in top management.

Many

economists,

however,

say

many

women

have

lower

-

paying

jobs

because

of

choices

made

in

their

home

life,

such

as

taking

time

out

to

raise

children.

Or

women

take

part

-

time,

low

-

wage

jobs

for

the

flexibility.

When

they

do

reenter

the

workforce

full

time,

they’re

often

behind their working peers in pay and promotions.

But as more women feel empowered to make career choices, their pay rises.

Another explanation is that women d

on’t r

eally make the choice to drop off the career ladder

or to stay at a lower job rung. They may, for example, accept the expectations of others to take

traditional jobs for women, such as nursing, which have low market wages. They must often take

jobs that do

n’t account for the unpredictability of families. Working moms may find their income

can’t pay for day care, or day care doesn’t su

it their child. If they are married, they may realize

their husbands are not inclined to child rearing (or house chores), so they either quit work or go

part time.

So as their life choices seem to become a life burden, wo

men’s

income slips behi

nd men’s.

No

matter

what

the

explanation,

much

progress

has been

made

in

reducing

the

pay

gap. While

government still has a major role, employers can do more. Many have found a market advantage

in

supporting

working

mothers

or

putting

women

in

management.

And

in

the

home,

men

and

women are getting smarter in defining their marital relationships, often before tying the knot.

Just

as

women

now

outnumber

men

in

college,

perhaps

someday

their

average

pay

will

surpass

men’s

—

and that may make up for lost wages.

题

材

女性职场

经济管理

自然奥秘

社会问题

词

数

430

392

450

546

建议时间

6

分钟

5

分钟

6.5

分钟

7.5

分钟

错误统计

/5

/5

/5

/5

做题备忘

1. April 16 has been chosen

[A] to show the

organization’s

attitude towards equal pay.

[B] to define the day as pay day for women who are not equally paid.

[C] to make it clear that women working full time are earning less than men.

[D] to remind women to work longer hours to earn as much as men.

2. How can women raise their salary?

[A] By going out for work instead of staying at home.

[B] By asking their employer to raise their salary.

[C] By sending their child to the kindergarten.

[D] By having the ability to choose their jobs.

3. Which of the following is NOT a traditional job for women?

[A] Nurse.

[B] Teacher.

[C] Economist.

[D] Typist.

4. Which of the following statement is NOT true?

[A] Wage gap servers as a key indicator of how women are treated.

[B] Many women have lower

-

paying jobs because of house chores.

[C] Some working mothers earn less than their children

’

s day care.

[D] Many employers have already done enough to support working mothers.

5. Who are expected to contribute more to narrowing the pay gap?

[A] Women themselves.

[B] Employers.

[C] The government.

[D] Men.

Text B

If sustainable competitive advantage depends upon work force skills, American firms have a

problem.

Human-resource

management

is

not

traditionally

seen

as

central

to

the

competitive

survival

of

the

firm

in

the

United

States.

Skill

acquisition

is

considered

an

individual

responsibility.

Labor

is

simply

another

factor

of

production

to

be

hired

—

rented

at

the

lowest

possible cost

—

much as one buys raw materials or equipment.

The lack of importance attached to human-resource management can be seen in the corporate

hierarchy.

In

an

American

firm

the

chief

financial

officer

(CFO)

is

almost

always

second

in

command. The post of head of human- resource management is usually a specialized job, off at the

edge of the corporate hierarchy. The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic

decisions and has no chance to move up to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). By way of contrast, in

Japan the head of human-resource management is central

—

usually the second most important

execut

ive, after the CEO, in the firm’

s hierarchy.

While

American

firms

often

talk

about

the

vast

amounts

they

spend

in

training

their

work

forces, in fact, they invest less in the skills of their employees than do either Japanese or German

firms. The money they do invest is also more highly concentrated on professional and managerial

employees.

And

the

limited

investments

that

are

made

in

training

workers

are

also

much

more

narrowly

focused

on

the

specific

skills

necessary

for

the

next

job

rather

than

on

the

basic

background skills that make it possible to absorb new technologies.

As

a

result,

problems

emerge

when

new

breakthrough

technologies

arrive.

If

American

workers,

for

example,

take

much

longer

to

learn

how

to

operate

new

flexible

manufacturing

stations than in Germany (as they do), the effective cost of those stations is lower in Germany than

it is in the United States. More time is required before equipment is up and running at capacity,

and the need for extensive retraining generates costs and creates bottlenecks that limit the speed

with which new equipment can be employed. The result is a slower pace of technological change.

And in the end the skills of the bottom half of the population affect the wages of the top half. If the

bottom

half

can

’

t

effectively

start

the

processes

that

have

to

be

operated,

the

management

and

professional jobs that go with these processes will disappear.

6. In an American firm, the executive of human-resource management

[A] has a position directly under the chief financial executive.

[B] is one of the most important executives of the firm.

[C] has no say in making important decisions of the firm.

[D] is unimportant when new technologies have been introduced.

7. The money most American firms put in work force training mainly goes on

[A] technological and managerial staff.

[B] workers who will run new equipment.

[C] workers who lack basic background skills.

[D] top executives.

8. Technological change in American firms is slower because

[A] new equipment in America is more expensive.

[B] they

don’

t pay enough attention to the job training of their workers.

[C] they are less responsive to technological changes.

[D] their professional staff are less paid and so less creative.

9.

Which

of

the

following

applies

to

the

management

of

human

resources

in

American

companies?

[A] They hire people at the lowest cost regardless of their skills.

[B] They see the gaining of skills as their employees

’

own business.

[C] They attach more importance to workers than equipment.

[D] They only hire skilled workers because of keen competition.

10. According to the passage, the decisi

ve factor in maintaining a firm’

s competitive advantage is

[A] the introduction of new technologies.

[B] the improvement of worker’

s basic skills.

[C] the rational composition of professional and managerial employees.

[D] the attachment of importance to the bottom half of the employees.

Text C

Despite the fact that comets are probably the most numerous astronomical bodies in the solar

system

aside

from

small

meteor(

流星

)

fragments

and

the

asteroids

(

小行星

),

they

are

largely

a

mystery.

Scientists

don’t

know

exactly

what

comets

are

or

where

they

come

from.

Educated

guesses are the best we have in hand.

Considering the role of comets in lore, legend, and the memory of man, it is remarkable that

we

still

know

so

little,

relatively,

about

them.

The

most

famous

comet

of

all,

Halley’s

Comet

(named for the man who predicted its return), was first sighted by the Chinese in 240 B.C., and it

has returned to terrify the people of the world on a regular basis ever since then (last scheduled

return:

1986). The

ancients considered

it

an

object

of

ill

omen.

By

mysterious

coincidence,

the

arrival of Halley’s Comet coincided with such events as t

he battle of Hastings in 1066, the Jewish

revolt of 66 A.D., and the last battle of Attila the Hun against the Romans. Nor is it the only comet

to fill man with awe, but merely the most famous in a rich aristocracy of blood-freezers.

Comets are even more fascinating to amateur astronomers than to professionals, because this

is one area where amateurs can (and do) make major discoveries. Comet Ikeya Seki, one of the

brightest comets to appear in last century was discovered in 1965 by a pair of Japanese amateurs,

Ikeya

and

Seki.

The

person

who

discovers

a

new

comet

gets

his

(or

her)

name

put

on

it.

And

amateurs have a head start in the race to discover new comets; the shorter focal lengths on their

smaller telescopes give them a positive advantage over the huge telescope such as Mount Wilson

which is built to scan for galaxies, not comparatively of short distances.

Most scientists tend to agree with the astronomer

Fred

T. Whipple that a comet is

really a

large mushy snowball of frozen ices and gases (ammonia, methane, possibly carbon dioxide) with

a few bits of solid particles stuck inside. But no one is sure how comets are created in the first

place.

Scientists believe that comets don’t exhibit their characteristic tail while they lurk far out in

space

away

from

the

warmth

of

the

sun

but,

rather,

wander

in

the

form

of

frozen

lumps,

like

icebergs. This is the core of the comet. Only when the comet approaches the heat of the sun, does

the ice begin to melt and stream away in the form of visible gases. The tails of the comet stream

out behind for, literally, astronomical distances. Halley’s Comet had a tail of 94 million miles long

when it visited here in 1910. The Great Comet of 1843 had a tail of 186 million miles long.

11. At the beginning of the passage, the author indicates that

[A] comets are the most commonly seen astronomical bodies.

[B] comets, meteor fragments and the asteroids are mysterious.

[C] not much is known about comets.

[D] nothing do we know about comets except guesses.

12.

Halley’s Comet

is mentioned in paragraph 2

[A] to introduce some famous historical events.

[B] to explain some traditional beliefs about comets.

[C] to demonstrate the harm it has done to man.

[D] to show its significance to human history.

13. We learn from the passage, amateur astronomers

[A] began their discovery earlier than the professionals .

[B] tend to be the leaders in the area of astronomy.

[C] have some advantages in discovering new comets.

[D] established some theories on how comets come into being.

14. The core of a comet

[A] has no solid form.

[B] wanders like a frozen lump when it’s far out in space.

[C] requires the warmth of the sun to survive.

[D] is always followed by a long tail.

15. Which of the following about comets is INCORRECT?

[A] They are great in number.

[B] Their arrivals used to frighten human beings.

[C] They are named after their discoverers.

[D] They are large mushy snowballs of frozen ices and gases.

Text D

Around the world, hearts were broken when news came that the conjoined Bijani twins had

died on the operating table. Having lived in tortured unity for 29 years, they traveled form their

native Iran to Singapore for the surgery meant to set them free. The doctors who performed it were

distressed.

When

you

lose

a

patient,

particularly

when

the

patient

dies

at

your

own

hand,

the

heartbreak

mixes

with

unbearable

guilt.

The

doctors

are

asking

themselves

the

same

question

everyone else is asking: Should they have done it?

The doctors certainly knew the risk. They knew that with the women

’

s shared circulatory

systems, the risk was great. They might have underestimated the technical challenges, but they did

not deceive their patients. The sisters, highly educated and highly motivated, knew full well the

risk of never waking up from the surgery.

Indeed,

they

never

did.

Should

the

surgeons

have

attempted

such

a

risky

procedure

on

patients who were not dying, and, in fact, were not even sick?

For

all

the

regrets

and

second

guesses,

it

is

hard

to

see

how

the

answer

could

have

been

anything

but

yes.

The

foundation

of

the

medical

vocation

is

that

the

doctor

is

servant

to

the

patient

’

s will. Not always, of course. There are times when the doctor must say no. This was not

such a time.

Consider those cases in which outside values trump(

占据上风

) the patients

-

expressed desire.

The

first

is

life.

Even

if

the

patient

asks

you

to,

you

may

not

kill

him.

In

some

advanced

precincts(

地区

)

—

Holland

and

Oregon,

for

example

—

this

is

thought

to

be

a

quaint(

奇怪

的

)idea , and the state permits physicians to perform

“

assisted suicide

”

. That is a terrible mistake,

for the state and for the physician. And not only because it embarks us on a slippery slope where

putting people to death in the name of some higher humanity becomes progressively.

Even if there were no slippery slope, there is a deeply important principle at stake: doctors

are healers, not killers. You cannot eliminate the subject you are supposedly serving

—

it is not

just a philosophical absurdity, it constitutes the most fundamental violation of the Hippocratic oath.

You are not permitted to do any harm to the patient, let alone the ultimate harm.

There are other forms of self

-

immolation, less instantaneous and less spectacular, to which

doctors may not contribute. Drug taking, for example. One could say, the patient wants it, and he

knows

the

risks

—

why

not

give

him

what

he

wants?

No.

The

doctor

is

there

to

help

save

a

suffering soul from the ravages of a failing body. He is not there to ravage a healthy body in the

service of a sick and self

-

destructive soul.

The

patient

is

sovereign

and

the

physician

’

s

duty

is

to

be

the

servant,

which

is

why

the

doctors

in

Singapore

were

right

trying

to

separate

the

twins.

They

were

not

seeking

self

-

destruction; they were seeking liberation. And they were trying to undo a form of impairment

imposed on them by nature. The extraordinary thing about their request was that it was so utterly

ordinary. They were asking for nothing special, nothing superhuman, nothing radically enhancing

of human nature. They were only seeking to satisfy the most simple and pedestrian of desires: to

live as single human being.

16. At the beginning of the passage, the author sounds

towards the doctors.

[A] indifferent.

[B] pitiful.

[C] accusing.

[D] objective.

17. Why do

es the author say “this was not such a time”

in Para. 4?

[A] Because the twin sisters are conjoined.

[B] Because the twin sisters know the risks very well.

[C] Because the operation is the twin sisters

’

expressed desire.

[D] Because the twin sisters are seeking liberation, not self

-

destruction.

18. We can infer from Para.

6 that “Hippocratic oath” is

[A] a philosophical conception.

[B] an oath for all common citizens.

[C] about the doctors’ responsibilities to the patients.

[D] the doctors’ oath to serve

the patients’ expressed desires.

19. The author pointed out all the following facts EXCEPT that

[A] the doctors do not have any responsibility for the failure of the twin sisters’ operation.

[B] it is correct for the Singapore doctors to do the operation, although it failed in the end.

[C] the twin sisters’ desire is different from the desire of those who want drugs or suicide.

[D]

doctors

should

decide whether

the patient

is

attempting

self-destruction

before

serving

his

desire.

20. Which would be the best title for the passage?

[A] The Conjoined Sisters from Iran.

[B] Should They Have Made the Attempt?

[C] On Patients

’

Self

-

immolation.

[D] Doctors and Patients.

词汇难句

语境词汇

Text A

1. Driving home

把?讲得透彻明白

2. disparity n.

不同，不等

3. indicator n.

指示者，指示器；指示牌

4. enforcement n.

实施，执行；强制，强迫

5. subtle a.

微细的，微妙的；精巧的；敏锐的

6. reenter vt.

重新加入，再加入

7. empower vt.

授权，准许

8. rear vt.

抚养，养育；饲养，栽培

n.

后部，背面

9. tie the knot

结婚

Text B

1. sustainable a.

持续的；能维持的；支撑得住的

2. acquisition n.

取得，获得；得到的东西

3. hierarchy n.

等级制度，阶层

4. specific a.

特定的；明确的

n.

特效药；详情

5. extensive a.

大规模的，广阔的；全面的，彻底的

6. bottleneck n.

瓶颈，障碍；窄路段，交通阻塞点

Text C

1. astronomical a.

天文的

2. aside from

除了?之外

(

尚有

)

3. educated a.

根据知识或经验的；有教养的

4. remarkable a.

不平常的，值得注意到

5. on a regular basis

定期地

6. focal a.

焦点的：

focal length

焦距

Text D

1. conjoin v.

使联合，使连接：

conjoined twins

连体双胞胎

2. underestimate v.

低估

3. trump v.

占据上风

4. precinct n.

区域；近郊

5. quaint a.

奇怪的；古怪的

6. at stake

濒临危险

7. absurdity n.

荒谬，违背常理

8. ravage n.

蹂躏，饱受折磨

9. pedestrian a.

平常的；徒步的；缺乏想象的

n.

行人

难句突破

Text A

1.

Now

advocates

are

focused

on

ensuring

that

working

women

have

female

advisers

and

role

models, while they try to remove subtle discrimination in promotions

—

the

“

glass ceiling

”

that

accounts for so few women being in top management.

【分析】复合句。

while

引导时间状语从句，主句中，

ensuring

…

是动名词短语作宾语，其中

包含

t hat

引导宾语从句；破折号后的

the

“

glass ceiling

”

对

discrimination in promotion

进行解

释说明；后面的

that

引导定语从句，修饰

the

“

glass ceiling

”

。

【译文】

如今倡导者们试图消除职业女性在晋升方面的隐性歧视——即消除导致 高层管理者

中女性廖廖无几的无形阻力，同时他们还致力于确保要有女性顾问和榜样。< /p>

2. If they are married, they may realize their husbands are not inclined to child rearing or (house

chores), so they either quit work or go part time.

【分析】复合句。

if

引导条件状语从句，主句中

so

是连词，连接了两个并列分句。在状语

从句中，

their husbands

…

(or house chores)

是省略

that