Some people say that the study of liberal arts is a useless luxury we cannot afford in hard times. Students, they argue, who do not develop salable skills will find it difficult to land a job upon graduation. But there is a problem in speaking of “salable skills.” What skills are salable? Right now, skills for making automobiles are not highly salable, but they have been for decades and might be again. Skills in teaching are not now as salable as they were during the past 20 years, and the population charts indicate they may not be soon again. Home construction skills are another example of varying salability, as the job market fluctuates. What’s more, if one wants to build a curriculum exclusively on what is salable, one will have to make the course very short and change them very often, in order to keep up with the rapid changes in the job market. But will not the effort be in vain? In very few things can we be sure of future salability, and in a society where people are free to study what they want, and work where they want, and invest as they want, there is no way to keep supply and demand in labor in perfect accord.
A School that devotes itself totally to salable skills, especially in a time of high unemployment, sending young men and women into the world armed with only a narrow range of skills, is also sending lambs into the lion’s den. If those people gain nothing more from their studies than supposedly salable skills, and can’t make the sale because of changes in the job market, they have been cheated. But if those skills were more than salable, if study gave them a better understanding of the world around them and greater adaptability in a changing world, they have not been cheated. They will find some kind of job soon enough. Flexibility, an ability to change and learn new things, is a valuable skill. People who have learned how to learn can learn outside of school. That is where most of us have learned to do what we do, not in school. Learning to learn is one of the highest liberal skills.
1. From this passage, we can learn that the author is in favor of ______.
2. The word “fluctuate” in the first paragraph most probably means ______.
3. According to the author, who of the following is more likely to get a job in times of high unemployment?
4. According to the author, in developing a curriculum schools should ______.
问题1选项
A.teaching practical skills that can be sold in the current job market
B.a flexible curriculum that changes with the times
C.a liberal education
D.keeping a balance between the supply and demand in the labor market
问题2选项
A.remain steady
B.change in an irregular way
C.follow a set pattern
D.become worse and worse
问题3选项
A.A person with the ability to learn by himself
B.A construction worker
C.A car repairman
D.A person with quite a few salable skills
问题4选项
A.predict the salability of skills in the future job market
B.take the current job market into consideration
C.consider what skill are salable
D.focus on the ability to adapt to changes
1.【试题答案】C
【试题解析】推理判断题。由题干可以定位到文章第一段最后一句In very few things can we be sure of future salability, and in a society where people are free to study what they want, and work where they want, and invest as they want, there is no way to keep supply and demand in labor in perfect accord.（在一个人们可以自由学习他们想要的东西、在他们想要的地方工作、在他们想要的地方投资的社会里，我们不可能使劳动力的供求完全一致）可知作者没有特地支持哪一种教育，而是支持他们自由地学习。C选项“自由的教育”，符合文章内容，C选项正确。A选项“教授一些实用的技能，这些技能可以在当前的就业市场上得到销售”，作者在文中写到，不确定哪些技能值得推销，可排除A选项。B选项“随时代变化的灵活课程”，文章没有提到此内容，可排除。D选项“保持劳动力市场供求平衡”，文章提到并不能做到劳动力供求一致，D选项可排除。因此C选项正确。
2.【试题答案】B
【试题解析】推理判断题。由题干可以定位到文中第一段Home construction skills are another example of varying salability, as the job market fluctuates（随着就业市场的波动，住房建造技能的变化是销售能力变化的另一个例子）。选项B“不规则的变化”，文章所说，就业市场的波动，可以理解为不规则的变化，选项B正确。选项A“保持稳定”，不符合文章的内容，可排除。选项C“依照成法”，不符合文章内容，可排除。D选项“日就衰败”，不符合文章内容，可排除。因此B选项正确。
3.【试题答案】A
【试题解析】推理判断题。根据题干可以定位到文章第二段第三句But if those skills were more than salable, if study gave them a better understanding of the world around them and greater adaptability in a changing world, they have not been cheated. They will find some kind of job soon enough（但如果这些技能很受欢迎，如果学习能让他们更好地了解周围的世界，并能更好地适应不断变化的世界，那么他们就没有受骗。他们很快就会找到工作的）。由此句可推测，那些拥有自学能力的人，可以在高失业率下找到工作。A选项“有自学能力的人”，符合文章内容，A选项正确。B选项“建筑工人”，文章没有提到此内容，B选项排除。C选项“汽车修理工”，文章没有提到这个内容，可排除。D选项“一个有相当多的销售技巧的人”，一所完全致力于销售技能的学校，尤其是在高失业率的时候，就是把男女送进虎穴，可排除D选项。因此A选项正确。
4.【试题答案】D
【试题解析】细节事实题。根据题干可以定位到文章第二段最后一句People who have learned how to learn can learn outside of school. That is where most of us have learned to do what we do, not in school. Learning to learn is one of the highest liberal skills.（学会了如何学习的人可以在校外学习。那是我们大多数人学会做我们所做的事情的地方，而不是在学校。学会学习是最高的自由技能之一）。由此句可推测，要学会如何学习，关注适应变化的能力。D选项“关注适应变化的能力”，符合文章内容，因此D选项正确。A选项“预测技能在未来就业市场的销售能力”，销售能力只是有限的技能，A选项排除。B选项“把当前的就业市场也考虑进去”，文章没有提到这个内容，可排除。C选项“考虑什么技能是可以销售的”，文章没有提到这个内容，可排除C选项。因此D选项正确。
