2017年职称英语综合A类阅读理解练习题(5)

　　The industrial age has been the only period of human history in which most people's work has taken the form of jobs. The industrial age may now be coming to an end, and some of the changes in work patterns which it brought may have to be reversed. This seems a daunting thought. But, in fact, it could offer the prospect of a better future for work. Universal employment, as its history shows, has not meant economic freedom.

　　Employment became widespread when the enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries made many people dependent on paid work by depriving them of the use of the land, and thus of the means to provide a living for themselves. Then the factory system destroyed the cottage industries and removed work from people's homes. Later, as transport improved, first by rail and then by road, people commuted longer distances to their places of employment until, eventually, many people's work lost all connection with their home lives and the places in which they lived.

　　Meanwhile, employment put women at a disadvantage. In pre-industrial times, men and women had shared the productive work of the household and village community. Now it became customary for the husband to go out to paid employment, leaving the unpaid work of the home and families to his wife. Tax and benefit regulations still assume this norm today, and restrict more flexible sharing of work roles between the sexes.

　　It was not only women whose work status suffered. As employment became the dominant form of work, young people and old people were excluded-a problem now, as more teenagers become frustrated at school and more retired people want to live active lives.

　　All this may now have to change. The time has certainly come to switch some effort and resources away from the idealist goal of creating jobs for all, to the urgent practical task of helping many people to manage without full-time jobs.

　　1. The established work patterns may be changed with the closing of the industrial age.

　　A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

　　2. Universal employment has brought about economic freedom.

　　A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

　　3. Many people depended on the land for a living before the 17th century.

　　A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

　　4. Improved transport enabled people to travel longer distances to their work places.

　　A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

　　5. Employed women of equal qualifications are paid less than men.

　　A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

　　6. A large number of teenagers will quit school next year.

　　A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

　　7. Now is the time to handle the issue of employment in a practical manner.

　　A　Right B　Wrong C　Not mentioned

　　参考答案：A B A A C C A

　　答案解析：

　　1. 在第一段的第二句话“The industrial age may now be coming to an end, and some of the changes in work patterns which it brought may have to be reversed.”中，作者提到“工业时代可能会结束，而且一些工作模式会发生变化”。所以答案选择A。

　　2. 在第一段的倒数第一句话中“Universal employment, as its history shows, has not meant economic freedom.”，明确指出了普遍性的工作就业并不意味着经济自由，所以答案选择B.

　　3. 首先，大家要判断出这是道数字题，在文中找出“17th century”所在的位置，在第二段的开头指出在17世纪和18世纪的圈地运动时，工作就业变得普及。其暗含的意思是说，在这之前，人们还是靠种地生活，所以该题的答案选择A。

　　4. 在第二段中，“Later, as transport improved, first by rail and then by road, people commuted longer distances to their places of employment”这句话提到了交通的改善，作者指出交通的改善，首先是铁路和公路的改善，让人们可以去较远的工作地点上班。所以答案选择A。

　　5. 在第三段和第四段中，文中提到了关于women 女性的问题，指出就业的出现，让女性处于不利地位，并没有提及问题中所说的“雇佣女性做和男性一样的工作，但女性得到的报酬低于男性”，所以答案选择C.

　　6. 在倒数第二段的最后一句话中，“more teenagers become frustrated at school”文中指出“很多青少年在学校里遇到了挫折，并不如意”，但是并没有提及很多青少年会在明年辍学。所以答案选择C.

　　7. 在最后一段话中，作者在第一句话中说道“All this may now have to change，现在这一切很可能要进行改变”，所以由此推断出答案选择A。