In recent years many countries of the world have been faced with the problem of how to make their workers more productive. Some experts claim the answer is to make jobs more varied. But do more various jobs lead to greater productivity? There are facts to suggest that while variety certainly makes the worker's life more enjoyable, it does not actually make him work harder. As far as increasing productivity is concerned, then variety is not an important factor.
Other experts feel that giving the worker freedom to do his job in his own way is important, and there is no doubt that this is true. The problem is that this kind of freedom cannot easily be given in the modern factory with its complicated machinery that must be used in a fixed way. Thus while freedom of choice may be important, there is usually very little that can be done to create it.
Another very important consideration is how each worker contributes to the product he is making. In most factories the worker sees only one part of the product. Some car factories are now experimenting with having many small production lines rather than one large one, so that each worker contributes more to the production of the cars on his line. It would seem that not only is degree of the worker’s contribution an important factor, therefore, but it is also one we can do something about.
To what degree does more money lead to greater productivity? The workers themselves certainly think this is important. Maybe they want more money only because the work they do is boring. Money just lets them enjoy their spare time more. A similar argument may explain demands for shorter working hours. Perhaps if we succeed in making their jobs more interesting, they will neither want more money, nor will shorter working hours be so important to them.
Which of the following is the best way to make workers work harder according to the author?
| A．Increasing their pay. |
| B．Giving them more spare time. |
| C．Making the work itself meaningful. |
| D．Replacing large production lines with small ones. |
The reason why a worker cannot have freedom in doing the job in his own way is that ___ .
| A．the machine is so badly needed that more of it should be bought |
| B．there are e production lines in factories |
| C．the bosses can create very little freedom of choices |
| D．the machines must be operated strictly according to instructions and rules |
Besides money, what may make workers work more actively?
| A．extra free hours | B．More comfort of life |
| C．interesting jobs | D．better working conditions |
The best title for this passage may be _______.
| A．Problems of Modern Workers | B．Making Jobs More Interesting |
| C．Pushing Workers to Produce More | D．How to Improve Labor Productivity |
There are two types of people in the world. Although they have equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy and the other becomes unhappy. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds.
People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things: the pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine and the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things．Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things. Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied. By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, offend（hurt） many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this term of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing（批评）and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation（模仿）.It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit.
Although in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people offend many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect. This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes. If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrongdoings. These should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact（接触）with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels.People who are unhappy _______．
| A．always consider things differently from others |
| B．usually are affected by the results of certain things |
| C．usually misunderstand what others think or say |
| D．always discover the unpleasant side of certain things |
We can conclude from the passage that _______．
| A．we should pity all such unhappy people |
| B．such unhappy people are dangerous to social life |
| C．people can get rid of the habit of unhappiness |
| D．unhappy people can not understand happy persons |
If such unhappy persons insist on keeping the habit, the author suggests that people should ____．
| A．prevent any communication with them | B．show no respect and politeness to them |
| C．persuade them to recognize the bad effects | D．quarrel with them until they realize the mistakes |
In this passage, the writer mainly _______．
| A．describes two types of people |
| B．laughs at the unhappy people |
| C．suggests the unhappy people should get rid of the habits of unhappiness |
| D．tells people how to be happy in life |
Once upon a time, there was a man who was so famous that everyone in his country knew him.
One day, the famous man was sitting in a restaurant with his sister. “It must be great to be famous. Everyone tries to please you, and you can do whatever you want to,” said his sister. “It’s quite the opposite sometimes, in fact. Because I’m famous, I can’t do what I want to,” he denied. “But look, we’re sitting at the best table and eating the best food. We couldn’t sit here and eat this if you weren’t famous,” said his sister. “I’ll show you what I mean,” said he.
The next day, the famous man picked up his sister and took her to another country. “I’m not at all famous here,” he said. “Let’s see how we get on.” Soon they found a restaurant, but it was very busy, so they had to queue. “This wouldn’t have happened if you were famous,” said his sister, but the famous man just smiled.
When they finally got a table, it took the waiter years to bring what they ordered. And the food supposed to be hot was cold, and the food supposed to be cold was hot! Eventually, the famous man couldn’t stand any more and asked to see the manager. “This food is awful. We had to wait an hour for a seat, and the service is also very poor. Look, even my spoon is dirty!”
Showing his horribly yellow teeth, the manager, smiling, said, “Well, that’s just bad luck for you.”
“Don’t you know who I am?” asked the famous man.
“I’ve no idea,” replied the manager.
So the famous man and his sister ran away, without paying.What’s the attitude of the man’s sister toward famous people?
| A．Indifferent. | B．Envious. | C．Curious. | D．Annoyed. |
The famous man took his sister to another country to ________.
| A．see how famous he was there | B．enjoy the delicious food there |
| C．enjoy the beautiful views there | D．see what would happen if no one knew him |
In fact, the famous man thought that being famous ________.
| A．was a thing worth taking pride in | B．could bring him all he needed |
| C．was not all great with everything | D．would enable him to travel abroad |
The passage is written mainly ________.
| A．to describe famous people’s life |
| B．to explain the importance of being famous |
| C．to show how to deal with problems in a restaurant |
| D．to show that famous people are watched more |
In the United States, 30 percent of the people have a “weight problem”. To many people the cause is obvious (明显的): they eat too much. But scientific evidence (证据) does little to support this idea. Going back to America of 1910, we find that people were thinner than today, yet they ate more food. In those days people worked harder physically, walked more, used machines much less, and didn’t watch television.
Several modern studies, moreover, have shown that fatter people don’t eat more on average than thinner people. A 1979 study of 3,545 London office workers showed that fat people eat less than slim (苗条的) people.
Studies also show that slim people are more active than fat people. A study by a research group at Stanford University found the following interesting facts:
The more the man ran, the greater loss of the body fat.
The more they ran, the greater increase in food intake.
Thus, those who ran the most ate the most, yet lost the greatest amount of body fat.Nowadays many Americans have the problem that ______.
| A．they are too slim | B．they work too hard |
| C．they are too fat | D．they lose too much body fat |
According to the passage, how many people in 900 Americans have a “weight problem”?
| A．150. | B．300. | C．600. | D．270. |
Is there any scientific evidence to support the idea that eating too much is the cause of a “weight problem”?
| A．Yes, there is plenty of evidence. |
| B．Of course, there is some evidence to support this. |
| C．There is hardly any scientific evidence to support this. |
| D．We are not sure. |
The Americans in 1910 ________.
| A．ate more food and had more physical activities |
| B．ate less food but had more physical activities |
| C．ate less food and had less physical activities |
| D．had more problems |
If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak. When you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows this. Yet there are many people who do not seem to know that one’s memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by exercising it regularly. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong.
If a friend complains that his arms are weak, we know that it is his own fault. But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame, or that he is just unlucky, and few of us realize that it is really his own fault. Not all of us can become very strong or very clever, but all of us can improve our memory by the same means — practice.
Have you ever noticed that people who cannot read or write usually have a better memory than those who can? Why is this? Of course, because people who can’t read or write have to remember things: they cannot write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember dates, prices, names, songs and stories, so their memory is exercised all the time.
So if you want a good memory, learn from those who cannot read or write: practice remembering.According to the passage, few people know that _____.
| A．arms or legs become weak if they are not used for some time |
| B．when they start using their arms or legs again, they slowly become strong again |
| C．a person’s memory becomes weak if he does not practice remembering things |
| D．it is their own fault if their arms or legs are weak |
The author thinks that if a person has a poor memory, _________.
| A．it is his own fault | B．his parents are to blame |
| C．he is just unlucky | D．his arms must be weak |
From Paragraph 3, we can learn that ___.
| A．people who can’t read are cleverer than those who can |
| B．people who can’t write are cleverer than those who can |
| C．a little notebook helps people who cannot read or write get a better memory |
| D．people who practice remembering regularly have a better memory |
The passage mainly tells us ____________.
| A．how to get our arms and legs stronger | B．how to improve our memory |
| C．how to read and write | D．how to remember dates and prices |
Forgiving someone who has hurt you or let you down is never an easy thing. Several new studies, however, say that it could have a lot of health benefits. When you think of forgiveness, you probably don’t think of it as being a health or medical problem. Studies from Stanford University, on the other hand, show that something like anger can change your well-being.
When cartoon book characters like the Incredible Hulk get angry, they change colors and often gain special power. In the real world, anger is less obvious and may be more dangerous. That’s why Professor Fred Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good, says holding on to anger and hatred can harm your physical and mental health. Two new studies seem to show the same idea.
The studies find that people who are able to forgive feel less stress, less back pain, and less depression. They also have fewer headaches, lower blood pressure, and fewer problems on sleeping.
So it doesn’t matter if your anger is caused by the traffic or other things. Learning to let it go is important. Techniques such as deep breath or thought can help. Or just ask yourself if it’s worth hurting yourself by staying angry with someone else.
Forgiveness does not mean that you simply accept what happened and say it’s OK. Instead, it’s a way of making peace with yourself about what happened in the past. The example of the cartoon book characters is taken in the passage to______.
| A．support the viewpoint that anger and hatred harm physical and mental health |
| B．introduce a famous expert |
| C．let the reader know the different colors of cartoon faces |
| D．show how to control one’s temper |
The underlined phrase “holding on to” in this passage possibly means“______”.
| A．removing | B．keeping up | C．getting rid of | D．learning about |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in this passage?
| A．People who are able to forgive feel less stress. |
| B．People who are able to forgive feel less depression. |
| C．People who are able to forgive have fewer problems on sleeping. |
| D．People who are able to forgive feel less tired. |
The best title for this passage is probably _______.
| A．Forgiveness | B．Forgiveness Is Good for Health |
| C．A Secret to Keeping Health | D．Anger Is Bad for Health |