Part I Writing (30 minutes)
注意：此部分试题在答题卡1上。
Directions: For this part,you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short easy entitled How Will Our Life Go on without Internet. You should write at least 120 words following the outline given below in Chinese:
1. 网络提供给了人们丰富多彩和便捷的生活
2. 很多人开始感觉离开网络寸步难行
3. 你对网络依赖症的看法
How Will Our Life Go on without Internet
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Part II Reading Comprehension (skimming and scanning) (15 minutes)
Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.
Time Off from Work Gains in Importance
American workers are saying they need a break. As their number of hours clocked on the job has crept higher, more time off has become a bigger priority. In the past few years, human resources experts say time off has consistently placed among the top three employee concerns, along with compensation and staffing levels, whereas it used to be farther down the list. In a Salary.com poll taken online in November 2004, 39% of workers said if given the choice, they would choose time off over the equivalent in additional base salary. Of course, most of the 4,600 respondents are still opting for the bigger paycheck, but the desire for time off is up almost 20% from just three years ago when Salary.com conducted a similar poll.
The reasons for this shift are many and varied. Some have to do with the way a new generation is thinking about work, while others are driven by how companies are responding to recent economic pressures.
A New Generation
The results may in part represent the needs of a new breed of workers. The average American is working one month (160 hours) more each year than a generation ago. According to recruiting and human capital management expert John Sumser, younger workers work for meaning first and money second. He goes on to warn employers that these are the people who are the foundation for the next workforce and they may not buy the existing paradigm (范例). A study released in late 2004 by the New York-based Families and Work Institute concludes that the new brand of young workers is rejecting the work-centric style of their parents’ generation. The study, which examines changes in the workforce over the past 25 years, found that younger workers are more likely to be “family-centric” or “dual-centric” (with equal priorities on both career and family) rather than “work-centric” when compared to members of the Boomer Generation.
September 11th and the End of the Roaring Nineties
The impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11th cut across all age groups of the workforce. We collectively entered a new era, reevaluating life’s priorities and making changes in our attitude toward time spent at work versus hobbies and family. “I started looking at things completely differently. I’ve been far less willing to put in the 14-hour days necessary to get noticed and climb the corporate ladder,” said Tony Jackson, a 43-year-old employee of a New York City-based financial services company. “Frankly, I can’t see that changing.”
Even before September 11th, some experts say the slow shift in worker attitudes was already underway due to the end of the roaring 1990’s, when hours were long and significant personal wealth was created. For those who fared well financially, some opted for careers of contract work where they could call more of the shots pertaining to (与……有关的) time off, or new occupations with greater personal rewards. For others, even if their bank accounts were not spilling over from America’s economic heyday (全盛时期), their own energy had been depleted due to unrelenting (毫不松懈的) years of work hours and high stress. They were ready for something less taxing.
Families and Work Institute President and co-founder Ellen Galinsky agrees. She says the Salary.com poll numbers show evidence of an increase in need for time off and a shift in thinking due to the fact that workers have been pushed to their limit in recent years. “This new generation of workers is at the edge of how long they can work. It just feels like too much. They are not slackers (懒虫); they just don’t want more,” says Galinsky.
Monetary Needs Less Intense Due to Dual Income Households
“We’ve decided we prefer to have more time to ourselves,” says Carol Kornhaber, a New England software programmer in her late twenties. Kornhaber and her husband are both working but have sought out jobs where they are not pressed to put in long hours. Instead, they have insisted upon eight-hour days and having enough vacation time to travel, a major interest they share. Financial pressures are eased by both of them working and keeping a careful watch on their expenses. “We are lucky in a lot of ways to have found bosses who understand our needs.”
Burnout
Trying to squeeze more productivity out of workers may be nothing new, but it has become particularly acute in recent years. This has been due in large measure to recession-induced layoffs and other trends such as the rising cost of healthcare benefits. After a layoff, workers who remain behind are often asked to pick up most or even all the load of the people who were let go, requiring more and more hours at the office. As new corporate initiatives are planned, the inverse is also true. As Sumser observes, “the additional workload, which runs across the economy from the office worker to the manufacturing line, seems to be a function of the cost of benefits. The regulations make it cheaper to add workload for existing employees than to hire new players.” The Families and Work Institute reports that nearly one third of U.S. employees often or very often feel overworked or overwhelmed by how much work they have to do. Nearly three out of four report that they frequently dream about doing something different from their current job.
Show Me the Money
Overworked or not, the majority in the Salary.com poll still chose to fatten their paycheck if given the choice. For many, it was a practical matter. Says Peggy Jones, an accountant in a Boston area business services company, “I already get three weeks a year that I can’t use up because I’m so busy. I’d definitely go for the extra money to pay some bills or make a big purchase I’ve been holding off on.” For Jones, the realities of running a household and saving up for college for her children simply need to take precedence over extra free time.
Companies Are Already Responding
To many human resources experts it is inevitable that, given the growing health of the economy and the upcoming population-driven labor shortages as the Boomer Generation moves into retirement, the pendulum of control in the employee-employer relationship will swing back to the employee side. That is expected to begin in just a few years. According to human resources expert, Larry Schumer, at Salary.com, “since most companies succeed based on a motivated and capable workforce, they have offered and will continue to offer more paid flexibility, whether it be through tried and tested time-off programs or the next great idea.” Where will that new balance of employer versus employee needs lie? Time, or perhaps time off, surely will tell.
1. Which of the following has been rising in importance in the past few years?
A) Compensation. B) Time off. C) Right to vote. D) Staffing levels.
2. According to the passage, we know that the Boomer Generation is concerned ________.
A) about family and work equally B) more about work
C) more about family D) about neither work nor family
3. What can be inferred about Tony Jackson?
A) He is 43 years old.
B) He works in a financial services company.
C) He has changed his life and work attitude.
D) He spends 14 hours a day on his work.
4. When did American workers gradually begin to change their attitudes towards work?
A) After September 11. B) In November 2004.
C) In late 2004. D) At the end of the roaring 1990’s.
5. According to Ellen Galinsky, why did workers change their mind about work?
A) They have been pushed to the limit of their working hours.
B) They increased their need to enjoy life.
C) They have more rights than before.
D) They don’t want to work for a living.
6. Carol Kornhaber and her husband don’t have too much financial pressure because ___________.
A) they have parents who are rich
B) they don’t have children to feed
C) they both have a high salary
D) they both have work and they are thrifty
7. After a layoff, the employees who keep their jobs usually have to ___________.
A) find another job in case they are fired
B) do what their bosses tell them to
C) work longer hours to avoid being fired
D) do the work left by the laid-off workers
8. According to Salary.com, compared with three years ago, the desire for time off is up almost ________________________.
9. According to the poll from Salary.com, the majority of employees preferred to ________________________ if they had the choice.
10. Larry Schumer said that most companies succeeded based on a motivated and capable __________________________.
Part Ⅲ Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)
Section A
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。
11. A) She used to be in poor health. B) She was popular among boys.
C) She was somewhat overweight. D) She didn’t do well at high school.
12. A) At the airport. B) In a restaurant.
C) In a booking office. D) At the hotel reception.
13. A) Teaching her son by herself. B) Having confidence in her son.
C) Asking the teacher for extra help. D) Telling her son not to worry.
14. A) Have a short break. B) Take two weeks off.
C) Continue her work outdoors. D) Go on vacation with the man.
15. A) He is taking care of his twin brother.
B) He has been feeling ill all week.
C) He is worried about Rod’s health.
D) He has been in perfect condition.
16. A) She sold all her furniture before she moved house.
B) She still keeps some old furniture in her new house.
C) She plants to put all her old furniture in the basement.
D) She bought a new set of furniture from Italy last month.
17. A) The woman wondered why the man didn’t return the book.
B) The woman doesn’t seem to know what the book is about.
C) The woman doesn’t find the book useful any more.
D) The woman forgot lending the book to the man.
18. A) Most of the man’s friends are athletes.
B) Few people share the woman’s opinion.
C) The man doesn’t look like a sportsman.
D) The woman doubts the man’s athletic ability.
Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
19. A) She has packed it in one of her bags.
B) She is going to get it at the airport.
C) She has probably left it in a taxi.
D) She is afraid that she has lost it.
20. A) It ends in winter. B) It will cost her a lot.
C) It will last one week. D) It depends on the weather.
21. A) The plane is taking off soon. B) The taxi is waiting for them.
C) There might be a traffic jam. D) There is a lot of stuff to pack.
22. A) At home. B) At the airport.
C) In the man’s car. D) By the side of a taxi.
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
23. A) She is thirsty for promotion. B) She wants a much higher salary.
C) She is tired of her present work. D) She wants to save travel expenses.
24. A) Translator. B) Travel agent.
C) Language instructor. D) Environmental engineer.
25. A) Lively personality and inquiring mind.
B) Communication skills and team spirit.
C) Devotion and work efficiency. 、
D) Education and experience.
Section B
注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答
Passage One
Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard.
26. A) They care a lot about children.
B) They need looking after in their old age.
C) They want to enrich their life experience.
D) They want children to keep them company.
27. A) They are usually adopted from distant places.
B) Their birth information is usually kept secret.
C) Their birth parents often try to conceal their birth information.
D) Their adoptive parents don’t want them to know their birth parents.
28. A) They generally hold bad feelings towards their birth parents.
B) They do not want to hurt the feelings of their adoptive parents.
C) They have mixed feelings about finding their natural parents.
D) They are fully aware of the expenses involved in the search.
29. A) Early adoption makes for closer parent-child relationship.
B) Most people prefer to adopt children from overseas.
C) Understanding is the key to successful adoption.
D) Adoption has much to do with love.
Passage Two
Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard.
30. A) He suffered from mental illness.
B) He bought The Washington Post.
C) He turned a failing newspaper into a success.
D) He was once a reporter for a major newspaper.
31. A) She was the first woman to lead a big U.S. publishing company.
B) She got her first job as a teacher at the University of Chicago.
C) She committed suicide because of her mental disorder.
D) She took over her father’s position when he died.
32. A) People came to see the role of women in the business world.
B) Katharine played a major part in reshaping Americans’ mind.
C) American media would be quite different without Katharine.
D) Katharine had exerted an important influence on the world.
Passage Three
Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.
33. A) It’ll enable them to enjoy the best medical care.
B) It’ll allow them to receive free medical treatment.
C) It’ll protect them from possible financial crises.
D) It’ll prevent the doctors from overcharging them.
34. A) They can’t immediately get back the money paid for their medical cost.
B) They have to go through very complicated application procedures.
C) They can only visit doctor who speak their native languages.
D) They may not be able to receive timely medical treatment.
35. A) They don’t have to pay for the medical services.
B) They needn’t pay the entire medical bill at once.
C) They must send the receipts to the insurance company promptly.
D) They have to pay a much higher price to get an insurance policy.
（余下部分见2013年6月全国大学英语四级考试真题（二））
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