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Recent research has claimed that an excess of positive ions in the air can have an ill effect on people’s physical or psychological health. What are positive ions? Well, the air is full of ions, electrically charged particles,
and generally there is a rough balance between the positive and the negative charged. But sometimes this balance becomes disturbed and a larger proportion of positive ions are found. This happens naturally before thunderstorm, earthquakes
when winds such as the Mistral, Hamsin or Sharav are blowing in certain countries. Or it can be caused by a build-up of static electricity indoors from carpets or clothing made of man-made fibres, or from TV sets, duplicators or
computer display screens.
When a large number of positive ions are present in the air many people experience unpleasant effects such as headaches, fatigue, irritability, and some sensitive people suffer nausea or even mental disturbance. Animals
are also affected, particularly before earthquakes, snakes have been observed to come out of hibernation, rats to flee from their burrows, dogs howl and cats jump about unaccountably. This has led the US Geographical Survey to fund a
network of volunteers to watch animals in an effort to foresee such disasters before they hit vulnerable areas such as California.
Conversely, when large numbers of negative ions are present, then people have a feeling of well-being. Natural conditions that produce these large amounts are near the sea, close to waterfalls or fountains, or in any place where water is sprayed, or forms a spray. This probably accounts for the beneficial effect of a holiday by the sea, or in the mountains with tumbling streams or waterfalls.
To increase the supply of negative ions indoors, some scientists recommend the use of ionisers: small portable machines, which generate negative ions. They claim that ionisers not only clean and refresh the air but also improve the health of people sensitive to excess positive ions. Of course, there are the detractors, other scientists, who dismiss such claims and are skeptical about negative/positive ion research. Therefore people can only make up their own minds by observing the effects on themselves, or on others, of a negative rich or poor environment. After all it is debatable whether depending on seismic readings to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than watching the cat.
1.What effect does exceeding positive ionization have on some people?
A.They think they are insane.
B.They feel rather bad-tempered and short-fussed.
C.They become violently sick.
D.They are too tired to do anything.
2.In accordance with the passage, static electricity can be caused by___.
A.using home-made electrical goods.
B.wearing clothes made of natural materials.
C.walking on artificial floor coverings.
D.copying TV programs on a computer.
3.A high negative ion count is likely to be found___.
A.near a pound with a water pump.
B.close to a slow-flowing river.
C.high in some barren mountains.
D.by a rotating water sprinkler.
4.What kind of machine can generate negative ions indoors?
A.Ionisers.
B.Air-conditioners.
C.Exhaust-fans
D.Vacuum pumps.
5.Some scientists believe that___.
A.watching animals to anticipate earthquakes is more effective than depending
on seismography.
B.the unusual behavior of animals cannot be trusted.
C.neither watching nor using seismographs is reliable.
D.earthquake
In the past, operations were difficult. Until the middle of the eighteen
fifties, surgery was very dangerous. Many patients died after even the smallest
operations. This was because bacteria entered the cuts in the patients
bodied’and started infection. In some countries, up to 90 percent of patients
died from inf ection after operations. In 1865, however, Joseph Lister, a
British surgeon, found an answer to the problem. He used an “antiseptic during”
and after operations. This killed the dangerous bacteria and most of his
patients lived. Since then, surgeons have used antiseptics in all
operations.Surgery has developed in many important ways since the day of Joseph
Lister. Today, when patients go to hospital for an operation, they can expect
thebest treatment, in clean and hygienic conditions.
33. Operations were difficult and dangerous until_______.
A.1850
B. the middle of 1850
C. the middle of the fifties of the eighteenth century
D. the middle of the fifties of the nineteenth century
34. In the passage, surgery means__________.
A. The performing of an operation
B. cure
C. treatment
D. medicine
35. In the past, up to 90 percent of patients died after operations mainly
b
ecause__________.
A. bacteria entered the cuts in the patients bodies’and infection took
place
B. the conditions in hospitals were bad
C. the skill of surgeons was not so good
D. there were no good medicine at that time
36. Which topic of the following best suits the passage?
A. Operations were difficult in the past
B. The devotion of Joseph Lister to medical science
C. Surgery has become safer
D. Developments in surgery
37. Joseph Lister was________.
A. a Frenchman
B. a German
C. an Englishman
D. an Americ
Passage 2
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:
There are two kinds of memory: shot-term and long-term. Information in
long-term memory can be remembered at a later time when it is needed. The
information may be kept for days or weeks. However, information over and over.
The following experiment shows how short-term memory has been studied.
Henning studied how students who are learning English as a second language
remember vocabulary. The subjects in his experiment were 75 college students.
They represented all levels of ability in English: beginning, intermediate, and
native-speaking students.
To begin, the subjects listened to a recording of a native speaker reading a
paragraph in English. Following the recording, the subjects took a 15-question
test to see which words they remembered, each question had four choices. The
subjects had to circle the word they had heard in the recording. Some of the
questions had four choices that sound alike. For example, weather, whether,
wither, and wetter are four words that sound alike. Some of the questions had
four choices that have the same meaning. Method, way, manner, and system would
be four words with the same meaning. Finally the subjects took a language
proficiency test.
Henning found that students with a lower proficiency in English made more of
their mistakes on words that sound alike; students with a higher proficiency
made more of their mistakes on words that have the same meaning. Henning’s
results suggest that beginning students hold the sound of words in their
short-term memory, and advanced students hold the meaning of words in their
short-term memory.
6. Henning made the experiment in order to study .
A. how students remember English vocabulary by short-term memory
B. how students learn English vocabulary
C. how to develop students’ ability in English
D. how long information in short-term memory is kept
7. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Information in short-term memory is different from that in long-term
memory.
B. Long-term memory can be achieved only by training.
C. It is easier to test short-term memory than long-term memory.
D. Henning gave a separate test on vocabulary to his students.
8. From Henning’s result we can see that .
A. beginners have difficulty distinguishing the pronunciation of words
B. advanced students remember words by their meaning
C. it is difficult to remember words that sound alike
D. it is difficult to remember words that have the same meaning
9. The word “subjects” in the passage means .
A. memory B. the theme of listening material
C. a branch of knowledge studied D. the students experimented on
Section C
What a lovely place Xerox is to work Kim Moloney, a client services
executive, can’t say enough nice things about her employer. ‘It’s a very special
environment,’ she says. ‘People describe Xerox as a family and I was amazed at
the number of people who have worked here for so long.’ It’s tempting to take
Moloney’s comments with a pinch of salt, especially considering that when you’ve
been working somewhere for only two years, as she has at Xerox, everyone seems
old and established. But there’s truth behind her enthusiasm.
Take Carole Palmer, the group resources director. She joined Xerox in 1978 as
a temp and has been in her present role for seven years. ‘Xerox has been good to
me over the years,’ she says. ‘It has supported me through qualifications … and
last year I took part in the vice-president incumbent program.’ Human resources
is taken seriously at Xerox, Palmer says, and the company has a policy of
promoting from within (which would explain Moloney’s amazement at her
colleagues’ longevity). The company takes on only fifteen to twenty graduates
each year and Moloney was part of an intake who joined having already acquired a
couple of years’ work experience. She started as a project manager for Xerox
Global Services before moving into sales. Now her responsibility is to ‘grow and
maintain customer relationships’.
Moloney is based at the head office in Uxbridge. ‘It’s great in terms of
working environment,’ she says. ‘We’ve just got a new provider in the canteen
and … we have brainstorming rooms and breakout areas.’ Much of Moloney’s role is
visiting clients, so she doesn’t have a permanent desk at head office. ‘I’m a
hot-desker, which is good because you get to sit with different people in the
hot-desk areas. And you’re given a place to store your things.’ Head office
staff numbers between 1,200 and 1,500 people, Palmer says. The company has four
other main offices in the UK. The nature of the organization, which encompasses
sales and marketing, global services (the biggest division), developing markets,
research and development and manufacturing, means that the opportunities at the
company vary from service engineers to sales roles and consultants.
Perks include a final-salary pension scheme and various discount schemes. The
reward and recognition scheme is a little different, and rather nice: ‘Each
manager has a budget every year to recognize and reward staff,’ Palmer says. ‘It
can be in the form of a meal for two, or a bottle of wine. It can be up to
£1,000. There’s the recognition, and then there’s putting money behind it.’
Moloney, however, likes the non-cash rewards. ‘Xerox takes care of all its staff
but it also recognizes the people who put in the added effort,’ she says. ‘It
offers once-in-a-lifetime incentive trips, and recently I organized a sailing
trip for my team.’
The idea of working abroad with the company appeals to her, and she says that
her career goal is to be part of the senior management team. Here’s another
employee, it would seem, who is in it for the long haul.
( )1.The journalist of this article thinks that .
A. staff at Xerox are not telling the truth abut the company.
B. Xerox offers great benefits to staff.
C. Xerox is the best company in the world.
D. Xerox has the best working environment.
( )2.The company tends to find its new manager .
A. only form graduates B. on training courses
C. from existing staff D. from job markets
( )3.What does the phrase “to take on” in the sentence “The company takes on
only fifteen to twenty graduates each year and …” of the second paragraph mean?
.
A. To train B. To employ
C. To interview D. To maintain(A)
( )4.As well as recognizing its staff through promotion, Xerox .
A. gives cash bonuses
B. gives unpaid leave to take trips of a lifetime.
C. provides a number of perks.
D. provides huge end-of-year bonuses.
( )5.One common feature of Xerox staff is that they tend .
A. to work hard B. to get promoted
C. work longer hours each day D. not to change employer
Trouble with Teamwork
Mary Owen examines the role and efficiency of teams
Recruiters say that candidates who can give examples ofwork they have done as
members of a successful team are in asstrong a position as those who can point
to significant individualachievement. Indeed, too much of the latter may suggest
thatthe person concerned is not a 'team player' - one of the moreserious
failings in the book of management.
The importance of being a team player is a side effect of the increasing
interaction acrossdepartments and functional divides. Instead of pushing
reports, paperwork and decisions aroundthe organisation, 'teams provide a
dynamic meeting place where ideas can be shared and expertisemore carefully
targeted at important business issues,' says Steve Gardner, in his book
KeyManagement Concepts. He adds, 'Globalisation has added a further dimension to
teamwork.Multinational teams now study policy decisions in the light of their
impact on the local market.'
But is teamworking being overdone? 'Some managers are on as many as seven or
eightdifferent teams', says Dr Cathy Bandy, a psychologist who recently ran a
conference on thesubject. 'They take up so much time that managers can't get on
with core tasks.' Forming teamsand having meetings has, she says, become an end
in itself, almost regardless of purpose. There isalso the danger of an unhealthy
desire to keep the team going after the work has been done. 'People feel the
need to belong, and team membership can provide a kind of
psychologicalsupport.'
The idea behind teamworking is that, when the right group of people is
brought together, a'force' develops which is greater than the sum of their
individual talents. This is often true in sport,where good players can reach
unexpected heights as members of an international team.However,few business
situations have as clear a set of objectives, or as clear criteria of success
orfailure, as winning a match.
'In business, everyone needs to be clear about what the challenge is and
whether a team isthe right way of approaching it', says Steve Gardner.
'Unfortunately, people focus instead on whothe members of the team should be and
what roles they are to play' Dr Bandy agrees. 'There isalways a danger that
teams can turn into committees,' she says. 'In a lot of situations, one or
twoindividuals would be much more effective.'
So what makes a successful team? There are some general qualities that have
been identified.Steve Gardnerrecommends that in every team there should be
someone who is good atresearching ideas and another who is good at shooting down
impractical ones. There should bethose who can resolve the tensions that
naturally occur in a team and others who are focused ongetting the job done.
Also, providing a clear and achievable target at the outset is the best way
ofensuring that the team will move on to greater things.
13、 What point does the writer make about teamworking at the beginning of the
article?
A It is the most successful form of management.
B It has changed the recruitment procedure in companies.
C Well-run teams still allow individuals to demonstrate their talents.
D Being a team player is now considered an essential management skill.
14 、According to the article, teamwork developed within companies as a
response to
A modern office design.
B changing work practices.
C a reduction in administrative tasks.
D the expansion of international business.
15 、In the third paragraph, Dr Bandy suggests that
A many employees do not enjoy working in teams.
B some managers are not very effective team leaders.
C some teams are created unnecessarily.
D few teams are well organised.
16 、According to the writer, teamwork is more effective in the field of sport
because the players
A know what they want to achieve.
B are more competitive by nature.
C have more individual talent.
D can be driven by national pride.
17 、Steve Gardner and Dr Bandy agree that when a business team is created
people do notpay enough attention to
A the structure of the team.
B alternatives to the team.
C selecting the team members.
D directing the team's activities.
18、 What is Steve Gardner's advice on operating a successful team?
A Maintain a flexible approach to membership.
B Allow personalities to develop within the team.
C Select people who fit naturally into certain roles.
D Make every effort to avoid conflict between members.
