Section C (2’×10 = 20’)
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 66 to 70 are based on the following passage.
Children are a delight. They are our future. But sadly, hiring someone to take care of them while you go to work is getting more expensive by the year.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the cost of enrolling an infant or small kid at a childcare center rose 3% in 2012, faster than the overall cost of living. There are now large strips of the country where daycare for an infant costs more than a tenth of the average married couple’s income.
This is not necessarily a new trend, but it is a somewhat puzzling one. The price of professional childcare has been rising since the 1980s. Yet during that time, pay for professional childcare workers has stood still. Actually caregivers make less today, in real terms, than they did in 1990. Considering that labor costs are responsible for up to 80% of a daycare center’s expenses, one would expect flat wages to have meant flat prices.
So who’s to blame for higher childcare costs?
Childcare is a carefully regulated industry. States lay down rules about how many children each employee is allowed to watch over, the space care centers need per child, and other minute details. And the stricter the regulations, the higher the costs. If it has to hire a caregiver for every two children, it can’t really achieve any economies of scale on labor to save money when other expenses go up. In Massachusetts, where childcare centers must hire one teacher for every three infants, the price of care averaged more than $16,000 per year. In Mississippi, where centers must hire one teacher for every five infants, the price of care averaged less than $5,000.
Unfortunately, I don’t have all the daycare-center regulations at hand. But I wouldn’t be surprised if as the rules have become more elaborate, prices have risen. The tradeoff (交换)might be worth it in some cases; after all, the health and safety of children should probably come before cheap service. But certainly, it doesn’t seem to be an accident that some of the cheapest daycare available is in the least regulated South.
66. What problem do parents of small kids have to face?
A) The ever-rising childcare prices.
B) The budgeting of family expenses.
C) The balance between work and family.
D) The selection of a good daycare center.
67. What does the author feel puzzled about?
A) Why the prices of childcare vary greatly from state to state.
B) Why increased childcare prices have not led to better service.
C) Why there is a severe shortage of childcare professional in a number of states.
D) Why childcare workers’ pay has not increased with the rising childcare costs.
68. What prevent childcare centers from saving money?
A) Steady increase in labor costs.
B) Strict government regulations.
C) Lack of support from the state.
D) High administrative expenses.
69. Why is the average cost of childcare in Mississippi much lower than in
Massachusetts?
A) The overall quality of service is not as good.
B) Payments for caregivers there are not as high.
C) Each teacher is allowed to care for more kids.
D) Living expenses there are comparatively low.
70. What is the author’s view on daycare service?
A) Caregivers should receive regular professional training.
B) Less elaborate rules about childcare might lower costs.
C) It is crucial to strike a balance between quality and costs.
D) It is better for different states to learn from each other.
Passage Two
Questions 71 to 75 are based on the following passage.
When it’s five o’clock, people leave their office. The length of the workday, for many workers, is defined by time. They leave when the clock tells them they’re done.
These days, the time is everywhere: not just on clocks or watches, but on cell-phones and computers. That may be a bad thing, particularly at work. New research shows that clock-based work schedules hinder morale(士气)and creativity.
Clock-timers organize their day by blocks of minutes and hours. For example: a meeting from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., research from 10 a.m. to noon, etc. On the other hand, task-timers have a list of things they want to accomplish. They work down the list, each task starts when the previous task is completed. It is said that all of us employ a mix of both these types of planning.
What, then, are the effects of thinking about time in these different ways? Does one make us more productive? Better at the tasks at hand? Happier? In experiments conducted by Tamar Avnet and Anne-Laure Sellier, they had participants organize different activities—from project planning, holiday shopping, to yoga—by time or to-do list to measure how they performed under “clock time” vs “task time.” They found clock timers to be more efficient but less happy because they felt little control over their lives. Task timers are happier and more creative, but less productive. They tend to enjoy the moment when something good is happening, and seize opportunities that come up.
The researchers argue that task-based organizing tends to be undervalued and under-supported in the business culture. Smart companies, they believe, will try to bake more task-based planning into their strategies.
This might be a small change to the way we view work and the office, but the researchers argue that it challenges a widespread characteristic of the economy: work organized by clock time. While most people will still probably need, and be, to some extent, clock-timers, task-based timing should be used when performing a job that requires more creativity. It’ll make those tasks easier, and the task-doers will be happier.
71. What does the author think of time displayed everywhere?
A) It makes everybody time-conscious.
B) It is a convenience for work and life.
C) It may have a negative effect on creative work.
D) It clearly indicates the fast pace of modern life.
72. How do people usually go about their work according to the author?
A) They give priority to the most urgent task on hand.
B) They combine clock-based and task-based planning.
C) They set a time limit for each specific task.
D) They accomplish their tasks one by one.
73. What did Tamar Avnet and Anne-Laure Sellier find in their experiments about
clock-timers?
A) They tend to be more productive.
B) They always get their work done in time.
C) They have more control over their lives.
D) They seize opportunities as they come up.
74. What do the researchers say about today’s business culture?
A) It does not support the strategies adopted by smart companies.
B) It does not attach enough importance to task-based practice.
C) It places more emphasis on work efficiency than on workers’ lives.
D) It aims to bring employees’ potential and creativity into full play.
75. What do the researchers suggest?
A) A scientific standard should be adopted in job evaluation.
B) It is important to keep a balance between work and life.
C) Performing creative jobs tends to make workers happier.
D) Task-based timing is preferred for doing creative work.
Part V Translation (15')
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese to English. You should write your answer on the Answer Sheet.
在几年前，因特网上提供的工作绝大部分还局限于高科技领域。现在，非技术性的工作，如售货员、银行出纳员、秘书等，都是网上招聘机会增长最为迅速的部分。大型报纸和专业出版物(trade publications)的分类广告都有在线版，求职者能搜索到市内、国内甚至国外的一些工作机会。
