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 keep the man away from the machines.”
Davidson’s 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 Recession, 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, average is officially over. Being average just won’t earn you what it used to. It can’t 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 extra——their 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 there’s been an acceleration. As Davidson notes, “In the 10 years ending in 2009, [ U. S. ] factories shed workers so fast that they erased almost all the gains of the previous 70 years; roughly one out of every three manufacturing jobs—about 6 million in total—disappeared.”
There will always be change—new jobs, new products, new services. But the one thing we know for sure is that with each advance in globalization and the I. T. revolution, 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 century that ensures that every American has access to poet-high school education.
1.The joke in Paragraph 1 is used to illustrate （ ）.
2.According to Paragraph 3, to be a successful employee, one has to （ ）.
3.The quotation in Paragraph 4 explains that （ ）.
4.According to the author, to reduce unemployment, the most important is （ ）.
5.Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the text?
问题1选项
A.the impact of technological advances
B.the alleviation of job pressure
C.the shrinkage of textile mills
D.the decline of middle-class incomes
问题2选项
A.adopt an average lifestyle
B.work on cheap software
C.ask for a moderate salary
D.contribute something unique
问题3选项
A.gains of technology have been erased
B.job opportunities are disappearing at a high speed
C.factories are making much less money than before
D.new jobs and services have been offered
问题4选项
A.to accelerate the I. T. revolution
B.to advance economic globalization
C.to ensure more education for people
D.to pass more bills in the 21st century
问题5选项
A.Technology Goes Cheap
B.New Law Takes Effect
C.Average Is Over
D.Recession Is Bad
第1题:A
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:C
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
The joke in Paragraph 1 is used to illustrate______. 第一段的笑话是用来说明______。
A. the impact of technological advances A. 技术进步的影响
B. the alleviation of job pressure B. 工作压力的缓解
C. the shrinkage of textile mills C. 纺织厂的收缩
D. the decline of middle-class incomes D. 中产阶级收入的下降
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据题干The joke in paragraph 1可定位到第一段第一句话中冒号后：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 keep the man away from the machines.”（如今，普通磨坊只有两名员工，“一个人和一条狗。人在那里喂狗，狗在那里让人远离机器。”）但这是笑话自身的具体内容，不是笑话论证的主题。冒号前about后的信息：...a joke...about just how much a modern textile mill has been automated.（作者讲述了一则笑话，内容与现代纺织厂的自动化程度有关。）这个是笑话论证的主题，即技术进步带来的结果就是自动化程度的提高。所以A选项the impact of technological advances‘技术进步带来的影响’正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项通过这个笑话本身可知，人根本就不需要工作，也就谈不上缓解工作压力了，属于曲解原文；
C、D选项在原文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
According to Paragraph 3, to be a successful employee, one has to_____. 根据第三段，要成为一名成功的员工，一个人必须_____。
A. adopt an average lifestyle A. 采取普通的生活方式
B. work on cheap software B. 开发便宜的软件
C. ask for a moderate salary C. 要求一个适中的薪水
D. contribute something unique D. 做出特殊的贡献
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干Paragraph 3和to be a successful employee可定位到第三段第五句：Therefore, everyone needs to find their extra-their unique value contribution that makes them stand out in whatever is their field of employment.（因此，每个人都需要找到他们的额外的价值——一种能使自己在任何职场中脱颖而出的特殊价值贡献。）所以D选项contribute something unique‘做出特殊的贡献’正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项根据Being average just won’t earn you what it used to.（做一个普通人不会像以前那样让你赚到钱。）可知选项信息属于反向干扰；
B，C选项在原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The quotation in Paragraph 4 explains that______. 第四段中的引文解释了______。
A. gains of technology have been erased A. 技术进步已被抹去
B. job opportunities are disappearing at a high speed B. 工作机会正在快速消失
C. factories are making much less money than before C. 工厂赚的钱比以前少多了
D. new jobs and services have been offered D. 提供了新的工作和服务
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据题干Paragraph 4和The quotation可定位到第四段第三句：As Davidson notes, “In the 10 years ending in 2009, [U. S.] factories shed workers so fast that they erased almost all the gains of the previous 70 years...（正如戴维森所指出的，“在2009年结束的10年里，美国的工厂裁员速度如此之快，几乎抹去了过去70年增加的所有劳动力……）但这是引言的内容，不是论证的主题。所以应该留意该句的上下文，尤其是上文，第四段第一和第二句信息：Yes, new technology has been eating jobs forever, and always will.（是的，新技术一直在蚕食工作岗位，而且将永远如此。）与B选项信息相符。
【干扰项排除】
A、D选项根据上述解析可知属于反向干扰；
C选项在原文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
According to the author, to reduce unemployment, the most important is_____. 作者认为，要减少失业，最重要的是去_____。
A. to accelerate the I. T. revolution A. 加速信息技术革命
B. to advance economic globalization B. 推进经济全球化
C. to ensure more education for people C. 保障人民接受更多教育
D. to pass more bills in the 21st century D. 在21世纪通过更多的法案
【考查点】观点态度题
【解题思路】根据题干reduce unemployment和the most important可定位在尾段：In a world...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 century that ensures that every American has access to post-high school education.（在这样一个世界……我们需要做很多事情来支持就业，但没有什么比在21世纪通过某种形式的《退伍军人权利法案》更重要的了，该法案确保每个美国人都有机会接受高中后教育。）作者态度题就是关注原文的主观倾向性表达，注意本句but后面的信息表达nothing would be more important than ‘没有什么会比……更重要’，than后面的部分就是作者明确的建议内容，即让人们接受更多的教育。与C选项信息相符，所以C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B选项，But the one thing we know for sure is that with each advance in globalization and the I. T. revolution, the best jobs will require workers to have more and better education to make themselves above average.（但我们可以肯定的是，随着全球化和信息技术革命的每一次进步，最好的工作将要求工人接受更多更好的教育，使自己高于平均水平。）可知，两个选项的内容体现了现状，而这个现状正是要求提高教育水平，这里属于曲解原文；
D选项，文中提到的法案是为了说明教育对于就业的重要性，法案本身对于就业无关，这里属于偷换概念。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the text? 下列哪一个标题最合适该文本？
A. Technology Goes Cheap A. 技术变得廉价
B. New Law Takes Effect B. 新法律生效
C. Average Is Over C. 平均时代已终结
D. Recession Is Bad D. 经济衰退是不好的
【考查点】主旨大意题
【解题思路】通过第一、二段对Adam Davidson文章的引用及说明，在第三段第二句和第五句明确导出文章主题：But, today, average is officially over. Therefore, everyone needs to find their extra...但是今天，平庸时代正式结束了。因此人人都需要找到自己的额外价值……C选项Average Is Over‘平庸时代已结束’信息完全吻合，正确。此外，average在文章多处复现，贯穿全文，是篇章主旨词。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、D选项不可根据原文信息推断出来。
