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Passage 4
Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage:
Successful innovations have driven many older technologies to extinction and
have resulted in higher productivity, greater consumption of energy, increased
demand of raw materials, accelerated flow of materials through the economy and
increased quantities of metals and other substances in use each person. The
history of industrial development abounds with examples.
In 1870, horses and mules were the prime source of power on U.S. farms. One
horse or mule was required to support four human beings a ratio that remained
almost constant for many decades. At that time, had a national commission been
asked to forecast the population for 1970, its answer probably would have
depended on whether its consultants were of an economic or technological turn of
mind. Had they been “economists”, they would probably have projected the 1970
horses or mule population to be more than 50 million. Had they been
“technologists”, they would have recognized that the power of steam had already
been harnessed to industry and to learn and ocean transport. They would have
recognized further that it would be the prime source of power on the farm. It
would have been difficult for them to avoid the conclusion that the horse and
mule population would decline rapidly.
16. According to the passage, what supplied most of the power on U.S. farms
in 1870?
A. Animals B. Humans C. Engines D. Water
17. Which of the following is NOT mentioned by the author as a consequence of
new technological developments?
A. Older technologies die away.
B. The quality of life is Improved.
C. Overall productivity increase.
D. More raw materials become necessary.
18. It can be inferred from the passage that by 1870 .
A. technology began to be more economical
B. the steam engine had been invented
C. the U.S. horse population was about 10 million
D. a national commission was about 10 million
19. In the second paragraph, the author suggests that “economists” would
.
A. plan the economy through yearly forecasts
B. fail to consider the influence of technological innovation
C. value the economic contribution of farm animals
D. consult the national commission on the economy
20. What is the author’s attitude toward changes brought on by technological
innovations?
A. He is excited about them.
B. He accept them as natural.
C. He is disturbed by them.
D. He questions their usefulness.
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.
Asian economies will continue to expand rapidly in the next two years on the
back of foreign investments, exports and domestic demand, but will not be free
of worries, according to a recent securities company economic report. Massive
infrastructure spending, the benefits of past investments and deregulation and
growing regional trade will push along regional growth.
The report tipped China’s gross domestic product to grow by 9.5 per cent in
1996 and 10.5 per cent in 1997, and Hong Kong’s to grow by 4.3 and 5.0 per cent.
Singapore’s real GDP was forecast to grow by 7.6 and 7.4 per cent, Malaysia’s by
8.6 and 8.1 per cent, Thailand’s by 8.8 and 8.4 per cent, Indonesia’s by 7.3 and
7.1 per cent and Philippines’ by 5.6 and 5.8 per cent.
“However, all is not rosy,” cautioned the report, which listed overheating as
the region’s biggest challenge in the short term and skilled-labor shortages in
the long run.
It cited strains from rapid growth that had begun to stretch current account
deficits and spur inflation in some regional economies, which could prevent
their central banks from lowering interest rates.
“This implies that economic vulnerability to unexpected shocks will remain
high,” the report said, forecasting a further tightening of monetary policy in
countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia, and no significant easing in
Thailand, Indonesia and China.
Crosby Securities also cited massive new investment programs generated by
demands on infrastructure such as power, telecommunications and transport which
had fuelled over-heating.
It said Asia would also face a bigger challenge from newly deregulating
economies in Eastern Europe which offered lower costs and better-educated
workers to foreign investors.
Asia’s main foreign investors should, however, continue to expand their
presence in the region, the securities house said, noting new trends of
intra-Asian investment.
Singapore is shifting its lower value-added disc drive and electronics
industry to Malaysia, which in turn is moving some of its garment-making and
consumer electronics manufacturing to Indonesia and Thailand. Thailand, Malaysia
and Singapore are increasingly investing in Viet Nam, Myanmar and Laos.
“Asia will benefit from this trend in several ways,” the report said.
( )1Asia economy will continue to grow because of _____________.
A. foreign investment B. demands in Asian countries.
C. export D. all of the above
( )2 In the next 2 years, the highest economic growth will appear in
____________.
A. Singapore B. Thailand
C. Hong Kong D. China
( )3 Years later, the problem in Asian economy may be _________________.
A. too little investment B. too much investment
C. not enough qualified labors D. monetary instability
( )4 According to this report, economic changes in East Europe are
___________.
A. harmful B. challenging
C. helpful D. useless
( )5 The report is about the prospect of Asian economy.
A. optimistic B. pessimistic
C. more optimistic than pessimistic D. more pessimistic than optimistic
The majority of successful senior managers do not closely follow the
classical rational model of first clarifying goals, assessing the problem,
formulating options, estimating likelihoods of success, making a decision, and
only then taking action to implement the decision. Rather, in their day-by-day
tactical maneuvers, these senior executives rely on what is vaguely termed
intuition to manage a network of interrelated problems that require them to deal
with ambiguity, inconsistency, novelty, and surprise ; and to integrate action
into the process of thinking. Generations of writers on management have
recognized that some practicing managers rely heavily on intuition. In general,
however, such writers display a poor grasp of what intuition is. Some see it as
the opposite of rationality; others view it as an excuse for capriciousness.
Isenberg's recent research on the cognitive processes of senior managers reveals
that managers' intuition is neither of these. Rather, senior managers use
intuition in at least five distinct ways. First, they intuitively sense when a
problem exists. Second, managers rely on intuition to perform well-learned
behavior patterns rapidly. This intuition is not arbitrary or irrational, but is
based on years of painstaking practice and hands-on experience that build
skills. A third function of intuition is to synthesize isolated bitsm of data
and practice into an integrated picture, often in an Aha! experience. Fourth,
some managers use intuition as a check on the results of more rational analysis.
Most senior executives are familiar with the formal decision analysis models and
tools, and those who use such systematic methods for reaching decisions are
occasionally leery of solutions suggested by these methods which run counter to
their sense of the correct course of action. Finally, managers can use intuition
to bypass in-depth analysis and move rapidly to engender a plausible solution.
Used in this way, intuition is an almost instantaneous cognitive process in
which a manager recognizes familiar patterns.One of the implications of the
intuitive style of executive management is that thinking is inseparable from
acting. Since managers often know what is right before they can analyze and
explain it, they frequently act first and explain later.Analysis is inextricably
tiedto actionin thinking/actingcycles,in which managers develop thoughtsabout
theircompanies and organizations not by analyzing aproblematic situation and
then acting, butby acting and analyzing in close concert.Given the great
uncertainty of many of the management issues that they face, seniormanagers
often instigatea course of action simply to learn more about an issue. They
thenuse the results of the action to develop a more complete understanding of
the issue. Oneimplicationof thinking/actingcycles is that action is often part
of definingthe problem,not just of implementing the solution.
1. According to the text, senior managers use intuition in all of the
following ways EXCEPT to
[A] Speed up of the creation of a solution to a problem.
[B] Identify a problem.
[C] Bring together disparate facts.
[D] Stipulate clear goals.
2. The text suggests which of the following about the writers on management
mentionedin line 1, paragraph 2
[A] They have criticized managers for not following the classical rational
model ofdecision analysis.
[B] They have not based their analyses on a sufficientlylarge sample of
actual managers.
[C] They have relied in drawing their conclusions on what managers say rather
than onwhat managers do.
[D] They have misunderstood how managers use intuition in making business
decisions.
3. It can be inferred from the text that which of the following would most
probablybe one major differencein behavior between Manager X, who uses
intuitionto reach decisions,and Manager Y, who uses only formal decision
analysis
[A] Manager X analyzes first and then acts; Manager Y does not.
[B] Manager X checks possiblesolutions toa problem by systematicanalysis ;
ManagerY does not.
[C] Manager X takes action in order to arrive at the solution to a problem;
ManagerY does not.
[D] Manager Y draws on years of hands-on experience in creatinga solutionto a
problem ;Manager X does not.
4. The text provides support for which of the following statements
[A] Managers who rely on intuition are more successful than those who rely on
formaldecision analysis.
[B] Managers cannot justify their intuitive decisions.
[C] Managers'' intuition works contrary to their rational and analytical
skills.
[D] Intuitionenables managers to employ theirpracticalexperience more
efficiently.
5. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first
paragraph of the text
[A] An assertion is made and a specific supporting example is given.
[B] A conventional model is dismissed and an alternative introduced.
[C] The results of recent research are introduced and summarized.
[D] Two opposing points of view are presented and evaluated.
