In the last 12 years total employment in the United States grew faster than at any time in the peacetime history of any country – from 82 to 110 million between 1973 and 1985 – that is, by a full one third. The entire growth, however, was in manufacturing, and especially in no – blue-collar jobs…

This trend is the same in all developed countries, and is, indeed, even more pronounced in Japan. It is therefore highly probable that in 25 years developed countries such as the United States and Japan will employ no larger a proportion of the labor force I n manufacturing than developed countries now employ in farming – at most, 10 percent. Today the United States employs around 18 million people in blue-collar jobs in manufacturing industries. By 2010, the number is likely to be no more than 12 million. In some major industries the drop will be even sharper. It is quite unrealistic, for instance, to expect that the American automobile industry will employ more than one –third of its present blue-collar force 25 years hence, even though production might be 50 percent higher.

If a company, an industry or a country does not in the next quarter century sharply increase manufacturing production and at the same time sharply reduce the blue-collar work force, it cannot hope to remain competitive – or even to remain “developed.” The attempt to preserve such blue – collar jobs is actually a prescription for unemployment…

This is not a conclusion that American politicians, labor leaders or indeed the general public can easily understand or accept. What confuses the issue even more it that the United States is experiencing several separate and different shifts in the manufacturing economy. One is the acceleration of the substitution of knowledge and capital for manual labor. Where we spoke of mechanization a few decades ago, we now speak of “robotization “ or “automation.” This is actually more a change in terminology than a change in reality. When Henry Ford introduced the assembly line in 1909, he cut the number of man – hours required to produce a motor car by some 80 percent in two or three years –far more than anyone expects to result from even the most complete robotization. But there is no doubt that we are facing a new, sharp acceleration in the replacement of manual workers by machines –that is, by the products of knowledge.

1.According to the author, the shrinkage in the manufacturing labor force demonstrates______.

A.the degree to which a country’s production is robotized

B.a reduction in a country’s manufacturing industries

C.a worsening relationship between labor and management

D.the difference between a developed country and a developing country

2.According to the author, in coming 25years, a developed country or industry, in order t remain competitive, ought to ______.

A.reduce the percentage of the blue-collar work force

B.preserve blue – collar jobs for international competition

C.accelerate motor – can manufacturing in Henry Ford’s style

D.solve the problem of unemployment

3.American politicians and labor leaders tend to dislike_____.

A.confusion in manufacturing economy

B.an increase in blue – collar work force

C.internal competition in manufacturing production

D.a drop in the blue – collar job opportunities

4.The word “prescription” in “a prescription for unemployment” may be the equivalent to ______

A.something recommended as medical treatment

B.a way suggested to overcome some difficulty

C.some measures taken in advance

D.a device to dire

5.This passage may have been excepted from ________

A.a magazine about capital investment

B.an article on automation

C.a motor-car magazine

D.an article on global economy

翻译：

Thecaptainrealizedthatthementriedtodeceivehimsohemadethemworkveryhardfortherestofthevoyage.(PassageOne)

Once it was possible to define male and female roles easily by the division of labor. Men worked outside the home and earned the income to support their families, while women cooked the meals and took care of the home and the children. These roles were firmly fixed for most people, and there was not much opportunity for women to exchange their roles. But by the middle of this century, men’s and women’s roles were becoming less firmly fixed.

In the 1950s, economic and social success was the goal of the typical American. But in the 1960s a new force developed called the counterculture. The people involved in this movement did not value the middle-class American goals. The counterculture presented men and women with new role choices. Taking more interest in childcare, men began to share child-raising tasks with their wives. In fact, some young men and women moved to communal homes or farms where the economic and childcare responsibilities were shared equally by both sexes. In addition, many Americans did not value the traditional male role of soldier. Some young men refused to be drafted as soldiers to fight in the war in Vietnam.

In terms of numbers, the counterculture was not a very large group of people. But its influence spread to many parts of American society. Working men of all classes began to change their economic and social patterns. Industrial workers and business executives alike cut down on “overtime” work so that they could spend more leisure time with their families. Some doctors, lawyers, and teachers turned away from high paying situations to practice their professions in poorer neighborhoods.

In the 1970s, the feminist movement, or women’s liberation, produced additional economic and social changes. Women of all ages and at all levels of society were entering the work force in greater numbers. Most of them still took traditional women’s jobs as public school teaching, nursing, and secretarial work. But some women began to enter traditionally male occupations: police work, banking, dentistry, and construction work. Women were asking for equal work, and equal opportunities for promotion.

Today the experts generally agree that important changes are taking place in the roles of men and women. Naturally, there are difficulties in adjusting to these transformations.

1.Which of the following best express the main idea of Paragraph 1?

A.Women usually worked outside the home for wages.

B.Men and women’s roles were easily exchanged in the past.

C.Men’s roles at home were more firmly fixed than women’s.

D.Men and women’s roles were usually quite separated in the past.

2.Which sentence best expresses the main idea of Paragraph 2?

A.The first sentence.

B.The second and the third sentences.

C.The fourth sentence.

D.The last sentence.

3.In the passage the author proposes that the counterculture___.

A.destroyed the United States.

B.transformed some American values.

C.was not important in the United States.

D.brought people more leisure time with their families.

4.It could be inferred from the passage that___.

A.men and women will never share the same goals.

B.some men will be willing to exchange their traditional male roles.

C.most men will be happy to share some of the household responsibilities with their wives.

D.more American households are headed by women than ever before.

5.The best title for the passage may be ___.

A.Results of Feminist Movements

B.New influence in American Life

C.Counterculture and Its consequence

D.Traditional Division of Male and Female Roles.

翻译：

中华民族的传统文化博大精深、源远流长。早在2 000多年前，就产生了儒家学说和道家学说，以及其他很多在中国思想史上有地位的学说流派，这就是有名的“诸子百家”。从孔夫子到孙中山，中华民族传统文化有它的很多珍贵品质。比如“天下兴亡，匹夫有责”的爱国情操，“民为邦本”、“民贵君轻”的民本思想和“己所不欲，勿施于人”的行为准则。

Wecanconcludefromthepassagethat________.