SectionC

WhatalovelyplaceXeroxistoworkKimMoloney,aclientservicesexecutive,can’tsayenoughnicethingsaboutheremployer.‘It’saveryspecialenvironment,’shesays.‘PeopledescribeXeroxasafamilyandIwasamazedatthenumberofpeoplewhohaveworkedhereforsolong.’It’stemptingtotakeMoloney’scommentswithapinchofsalt,especiallyconsideringthatwhenyou’vebeenworkingsomewhereforonlytwoyears,asshehasatXerox,everyoneseemsoldandestablished.Butthere’struthbehindherenthusiasm.

TakeCarolePalmer,thegroupresourcesdirector.ShejoinedXeroxin1978asatempandhasbeeninherpresentroleforsevenyears.‘Xeroxhasbeengoodtomeovertheyears,’shesays.‘Ithassupportedmethroughqualifications…andlastyearItookpartinthevice-presidentincumbentprogram.’HumanresourcesistakenseriouslyatXerox,Palmersays,andthecompanyhasapolicyofpromotingfromwithin(whichwouldexplainMoloney’samazementathercolleagues’longevity).ThecompanytakesononlyfifteentotwentygraduateseachyearandMoloneywaspartofanintakewhojoinedhavingalreadyacquiredacoupleofyears’workexperience.ShestartedasaprojectmanagerforXeroxGlobalServicesbeforemovingintosales.Nowherresponsibilityisto‘growandmaintaincustomerrelationships’.

MoloneyisbasedattheheadofficeinUxbridge.‘It’sgreatintermsofworkingenvironment,’shesays.‘We’vejustgotanewproviderinthecanteenand…wehavebrainstormingroomsandbreakoutareas.’MuchofMoloney’sroleisvisitingclients,soshedoesn’thaveapermanentdeskatheadoffice.‘I’mahot-desker,whichisgoodbecauseyougettositwithdifferentpeopleinthehot-deskareas.Andyou’regivenaplacetostoreyourthings.’Headofficestaffnumbersbetween1,200and1,500people,Palmersays.ThecompanyhasfourothermainofficesintheUK.Thenatureoftheorganization,whichencompassessalesandmarketing,globalservices(thebiggestdivision),developingmarkets,researchanddevelopmentandmanufacturing,meansthattheopportunitiesatthecompanyvaryfromserviceengineerstosalesrolesandconsultants.

Perksincludeafinal-salarypensionschemeandvariousdiscountschemes.Therewardandrecognitionschemeisalittledifferent,andrathernice:‘Eachmanagerhasabudgeteveryyeartorecognizeandrewardstaff,’Palmersays.‘Itcanbeintheformofamealfortwo,orabottleofwine.Itcanbeupto£1,000.There’stherecognition,andthenthere’sputtingmoneybehindit.’Moloney,however,likesthenon-cashrewards.‘Xeroxtakescareofallitsstaffbutitalsorecognizesthepeoplewhoputintheaddedeffort,’shesays.‘Itoffersonce-in-a-lifetimeincentivetrips,andrecentlyIorganizedasailingtripformyteam.’

Theideaofworkingabroadwiththecompanyappealstoher,andshesaysthathercareergoalistobepartoftheseniormanagementteam.Here’sanotheremployee,itwouldseem,whoisinitforthelonghaul.

()1.Thejournalistofthisarticlethinksthat.

A.staffatXeroxarenottellingthetruthabutthecompany.

B.Xeroxoffersgreatbenefitstostaff.

C.Xeroxisthebestcompanyintheworld.

D.Xeroxhasthebestworkingenvironment.

()2.Thecompanytendstofinditsnewmanager.

A.onlyformgraduatesB.ontrainingcourses

C.fromexistingstaffD.fromjobmarkets

()3.Whatdoesthephrase“totakeon”inthesentence“Thecompanytakesononlyfifteentotwentygraduateseachyearand…”ofthesecondparagraphmean?.

A.TotrainB.Toemploy

C.TointerviewD.Tomaintain(A)

()4.Aswellasrecognizingitsstaffthroughpromotion,Xerox.

A.givescashbonuses

B.givesunpaidleavetotaketripsofalifetime.

C.providesanumberofperks.

D.provideshugeend-of-yearbonuses.

()5.OnecommonfeatureofXeroxstaffisthattheytend.

A.toworkhardB.togetpromoted

C.worklongerhourseachdayD.nottochangeemployer

Heborrowedabooktheotherday，theauthor____isaworker.

HowtoDealwithaHeavyWorkload

InItaly,whenpeopletouchtheireyes,itrepresents:

Passage3

Questions11to15arebasedonthefollowingpassage:

“...WearenotabouttoentertheInformationAgebutinsteadareratherwellintoit.”Presentpredictionsarethatby1990,aboutthirtymillionjobsintheUnitedStates,oraboutthirtypercentofthejobmarket,willbecomputer-related.In1980,onlytwenty-onepercentofallUnitedStateshighschoolsownedoneormorecomputersforstudentuse.(79)Inthefallof1985,anewsurveyrevealedthathalfofUnitedStatessecondaryschoolshavefifteenormorecomputersforstudentuse.Andnoweducationalexperts,administrators,andeventhegeneralpublicaredemandingthatallstudentsbecome“computerliterate(慢点…的).”“Bytheyear2000knowledgeofcomputerswillbenecessaryinovereightypercentofalloccupations.Soonthosepeoplenoteducatedincomputerusewillbecomparedtothosewhoareprintilliteratetoday.”

Whatis“computerliteracy”?Thetermitselfseemstoimplysoonextentof“knowing”aboutcomputers,butknowingwhat.Thecurrentopinionseemstobethatthisshouldincludeageneralknowledgeofwhatcomputersare,plusalittleoftheirhistoryandsomethingofhowtheyoperate.

Therefore,itisvitalthateducatorseverywheretakeacarefullooknotonlyatwhatisbeingdone,butalsoatwhatshouldbedoneinthefieldofcomputereducation.Todaymostadultsarecapableofutilisingamotorvehiclewithouttheslightestknowledgeofhowtheinternal-combustionengineworks.Weeffectivelyusealltypesofelectricalequipmentwithoutbeingabletotelltheirhistoriesortoexplainhowtheywork.(80)Businesspeopleforyearshavemadegooduseoftypewritersandaddingmachines,yetfewhaveeverknownhowtorepairthem.Why,then,attempttoteachcomputersbyteachinghoworwhytheywork?

Rather,wefirstmustconcentrateonteachingtheeffectiveuseofthecomputerasthetoolis.

“Knowinghowtouseacomputeriswhat’sgoingtobeimportant,wedon’ttalkabout‘automobileliteracy.‘Wejustgetinourcarsanddrivethem.”

11.In1990,thenumberofjobshavingnothingtodowithcomputersintheUnitedStateswillbereducedto________.

A)79millionB)30millionC)70millionD)100million(C)

12.Theexpression“Printilliterate”(Para.1,Line16)refersto________.

A)onewhohasneverlearntprintingB)onewhoisnotcomputerliterate

C)onewhohasneverlearnttoreadD)onewhoisnotabletouseatypewriter(C)

13.Thefirstparagraphismainlyabout________.

A)recentpredictionsofcomputer-relatedjobsB)thewideuseofcomputersinschools

C)theurgencyofcomputereducationD)publicinterestincomputers(C)

14.Accordingtotheauthor,theeffectivewaytospreadtheuseofcomputersistoteach____.

A)whatcomputersareB)howtousecomputers

C)wherecomputerscanbeusedD)howcomputerswork(B)

15.WhichofthefollowingstatementsisFALSE?

A)Whattoteachaboutcomputersshouldbereconsidered.

B)Thosewhoarenoteducatedincomputerusewillfinditdifficulttogetajob.

C)HumansocietyhasalreadyenteredtheInformationAge.

D)Thosewhowanttousecomputersshouldknowhowcomputersoperate.