Reading Comprehension

Questions are based on the following passage.

Telecommuting--substituting the computer for the trip to the job~has been hailed as a solution to all kinds of problems related to office work. (78) For workers it promises freedom from the officer less time wasted in traffic, and help with childcare conflicts. For management,

telecommuting helps keep high performers on board, minimizes lateness and absenteeism by eliminating commuters (经常乘火车往返者), allows periods of solitude (独立) for high

concentration tasks, and provides scheduling flexibility. In some areas, such as Southern California,Seattle, and Washington, local governments are encouraging companies to start

telecommuting programs in order to reduce rush-hour traffic and improve air quality.

But these benefits do not come easily. Making a telecommuting program work requires careful planning and an understanding of the differences between telecommuting realities

and popular images. Many workers are seduced by rosy illusions of life as a telecommuter. A computer programmer from New York City moves to the quiet Adirondack Mountains and stays

in contact with her office via computer. A manager comes in to his office three days a week and

works at home the other two. An accountant stays home to care for her sick child; she hooks up her telephone modem connections and does office work between calls to the doctor.

These are powerful images, but they are a limited reflection of reality. (79) Telecommuting

workers soon learn that it is almost impossible to concentrate on work and care for a young child at the same time. Before a certain age, young children cannot recognize, much less respect, the

necessary boundaries between work and family. Additional child support is necessary if the parent is to get any work done.

Management, too, must separate the myth from the reality. Although the media has paid a great deal of attention to telecommuting, in most cases it is the employee's situation, not the availability of technology, that precipitates (加速。。。来临) a telecommuting arrangement.

That is partly why, despite the widespread press coverage, the number of companies with work-at-home programs or policy guidelines remains small.

第1题单选 What is the main subject of the passage ?

A.Bussiness management policies.

B.Driving to work.

C.Extending the work place by means of computers.

D.Computers for child-care purposes.

参考答案：C

第2题单选 Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a problem for employers that is poten- tially solved by telecommuting ?

A.Employees' lateness for work.

B.Employees' absence from work.

C.Employees' need for time alone to work intensively.

D.Employees' conflicts with second jobs.

参考答案：D

第3题单选 In which area does the local government encourage telecommuting programs according to the passage?

A.New York City.

B.Adirondack Mountains.

C.Washington.

D.New York State.

参考答案：C

第4题单选 Which of the following does the author mention as a possible disadvantage of telecommuting ?

A.Small children cannot understand the boundaries of work and play.

B.Computer technology is never advanced enough to accommodate the needs of every situation.

C.Electrical malfunctions can destroy a project.

D.The worker often does not have all the needed resources at home.

参考答案：B

第5题单选 Which of the following is example oftelecommuting as described in the passage ?

A.A scientist in a laboratory developing plans for a space station.

B.A technical writer sending via computer documents created at home.

C.A computer technician repairing an office computer network.

D.A teacher directing computer-assisted leaming in a private school.

参考答案：B

Questions are based on the following passage.

In the last 500 years, nothing about people--their clothes, ideas, or languages-has changed as much as what they eat.The original chocolate drink was made from the seeds of cocoa tree by South American Indians.The Spanish introduced it to the rest of the world during the 1500's. Although it was very expensive, it quickly became fashionable. In London,shops where chocolate drinks were served became important meeting places. Some still exist today.

The potato is also from the New World.Around 1600, the Spanish brought it from Peru to Europe, where it soon was widely grown.The potato was the main food at Irish table. Thousands of Irish people starved when the crop failed during the"Potato Famine" (土豆饥荒) of 1845 ~ 1846, and thousands more were forced to move to America.

There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the old World. But some others went in the opposite direction. Brazil is now the world's largest grower of coffee,

And coffee is an important crop in Colombia and other South American countries. But it is native to Ethiopia (埃塞俄比亚). It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400's.

(77) According to an Arabic story, coffee was discovered when a man named Kaldi noticed that his goats were attracted to the red fruits on a coffee bush. (78) He tried one and experienced the"wide-awake" feeling that one-third of the world's population now starts the day with.

第6题单选 According to the passage, which of the following has changed the most in the last 500 years?

A.Food.

B.Chocolate drinks.

C.Potato.

D.Coffee.

参考答案：A

第7题单选 "Some" in the sentence"Some still exist today." refers to __________

A.cocoa trees

B.chocolate

C.shops

D.meeting places

参考答案：C

第8题单选 Thousands of Irish people starved because __________

A.they depended on the potato

B.they were forced to move to America

C.the weather conditions in Ireland were not fit for growing the potato

D.the potato harvest was bad

参考答案：D

第9题单选 Coffee originally came from __________

A.Brazil

B.Colombia

C.Ethiopia

D.Arabia

参考答案：C

第10题单选 The writer used an Arabic story to prove that __________

A.coffee was first discovered by Kaldi

B.coffee was first discovered by Kaldi's goats

C.coffee was first discovered in South American countries

D.coffee drinks were first made by Arabs

参考答案：D

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