? ? ? ?Despite a cooling of the economy, high-technology companies are still crying out for skilled workers. The Information Technology Association of America projects that more than 800,000 technology jobs will go unfilled next year. The lack of qualified workers poses a huge threat to the U.S. economy.
The most commonly cited reason for this state of affairs is that the country's agrarian-age(農(nóng)村時(shí)代) education system fails to prepare students in the primary and secondary grades for the 21st century work. Yet an inadequate and outmoded education system is only part of the problem. A less tangible(明確的) but equally powerful cause is an antique(過(guò)時(shí)的) classification system that divides the workforce into two camps:white-collar knowledge workers and blue-collar manual laborers.
Blue-collar workers emerged in the United States during the Industrial Age as work moved from farms to factories. White-collar office workers became a significant class in the twentieth century, outnumbering(多于) the blue-collar workers by mid-century. Corporations increasingly require a new layer of knowledge worker: a highly skilled multi-disciplined talent, who combines the mind of the white-collar worker with a solid grounding in mathematics and science(physics, chemistry, and biology).
These “gold-collar” workers—so named for their contributions to their companies and to the economy as well as for their personal earning ability—apply their knowledge to technology.The gold-collar worker already exists in a wide range of jobs. The maintenance technician who tests and repairs aircraft systems at American Airlines; the network administrator who manages systems and network operations at Procter & Gamble(寶潔公司); the engineering technologist who assists scientists at Sandia National Laboratories; and the advanced-manufacturing technician at Intel can all be regarded as gold-collar workers.
問題:
1.What does the word “projects” in the first paragraph mean?
A.Throws.
B.Predicts.
C.Concludes.
D.Claims.
【參考答案】B
[考點(diǎn)]詞語(yǔ)理解題
【精析】B 根據(jù)第一段第二句“…projects that more than 800,000 technology jobs will go unfilled next year.”可知,“明年將會(huì)有80多萬(wàn)個(gè)技術(shù)職位空缺”是還未發(fā)生的事情,應(yīng)該是推測(cè)出來(lái)的。throw:扔,投擲;predict:預(yù)測(cè),預(yù)報(bào);conclude:得出結(jié)論;claim:聲稱,認(rèn)領(lǐng)。故選B。
2.What is a gold-collar worker's advantage over a blue-collar worker?
A.A gold-collar worker is more skillful in technology.
B.A gold-collar worker has received higher education.
C.A gold-collar worker used to be a white-collar worker.
D.A gold-collar worker learnt more in high school.
【參考答案】A
[考點(diǎn)]推理判斷題
【精析】A 根據(jù)第三段第三句可知,金領(lǐng)能熟練應(yīng)用多門學(xué)科知識(shí),如數(shù)學(xué)、物理、化學(xué)、生物等,并將這些科學(xué)運(yùn)用到技術(shù)中去;而藍(lán)領(lǐng)只是一般的技工。由此可推知,對(duì)于藍(lán)領(lǐng)來(lái)說(shuō),金領(lǐng)的優(yōu)勢(shì)在于更專業(yè)的技術(shù)。故選A。
3. How can a person be qualified as a gold-collar worker?
A.He must continue to learn and work hard in his career.
B.He must have the knowledge of more than one subject.
C.He can make a skillful use of his wisdom and his knowledge.
D.He can earn more than a blue-collar worker does.
【參考答案】C
[考點(diǎn)]事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題
【精析】C 根據(jù)第三段第三、四句“…a new layer of knowledge worker: a highly skilled multi-disciplined talent, who combines the mind of the white-collar worker with a solid grounding in mathematics and science…These ‘gold-collar' workers…apply their knowledge to technology.”可知,金領(lǐng)掌握多門學(xué)科知識(shí),并且能將這些知識(shí)運(yùn)用到技術(shù)上去,所以C項(xiàng)正確。
4. It can be inferred from the passage that the first group of blue-collar workers were most likely to be _______.
A.migrants
B.educators
C.servants
D.farmers
【參考答案】D
[考點(diǎn)]推理判斷題
【精析】D 根據(jù)第二段最后一句“…divides the workforce into two camps: white-collar knowledge workers and blue-collar manual laborers.”可知,白領(lǐng)是知識(shí)工作者,而藍(lán)領(lǐng)是體力勞動(dòng)者。再根據(jù)第三段第一句“Blue-collar workers emerged…as work moved from farms to factories.”可知,當(dāng)工作從農(nóng)業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)向工業(yè)時(shí),藍(lán)領(lǐng)工作者出現(xiàn)了。由此可推知,第一批藍(lán)領(lǐng)很可能是農(nóng)民。故選D。
5.What has contributed much to America's lack of qualified skilled workers?
A.The outdated education system.
B.The current new classification of workforce.
C.The fact that most American workers are illiterates.
D.The fact that the blue-collar workers are not used to the factory work.
【參考答案】A
[考點(diǎn)]推理判斷題
【精析】A 根據(jù)第二段第一、二句“The most commonly cited reason for this state of affairs is that the country's agrarian-age education system…”可推知,導(dǎo)致美國(guó)缺乏優(yōu)質(zhì)技工的主要原因是過(guò)時(shí)的教育系統(tǒng)。