Text 2 Adam Smith, a writer in the 1700s, was the first person to see the importance of the division of labor and to explain part of its advantages. He gives as an example the process by which pins were made in England. "One man draws out the wire, another strengthens it, a third cuts it, a fourth points it, a fifth grinds it at the top to prepare it to receive the head. To make the head requires two or three distinct operations. To put it on is a separate operation, to polish the pins is another. And the important business of making pins is, in this manner, divided into about eighteen distinct operations, which in some factories are all performed by different people, though in others the same man will sometimes perform two or three of them," Ten men, Smith said, in this way, turned out twelve pounds of pins a day or about 4 800 pins a person. But if all of them had worked separately and independently without division of labor, they certainly could not turn out any pin, each of them would have made twenty pins in a day and perhaps not even one There can be no doubt that division of labor is an efficient way of organizing work. Fewer people can make more pins. Adam Smith saw this but he also took it for granted that division of labor is in itself responsible for economic growth and development and that it accounts for the difference between expanding economies and those that stand still. But division of labor adds nothing new: it only enables people to produce more of what they already have. According to the passage, Adam Smith was the first person to ______.
A. take advantage of the division of labor
B. understand the effects of the division of labor
C. explain the causes of the division of labor
D. introduce the division of labor into England
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Part A You will hear 10 short dialogues. For each dialogue, there is one question and .four possible answers. Choose the correct answer -- [A], [B], [C] or [D], and mark it in your test booklet. You will have 15 seconds to answer the question and you will hear each dialogue ONLY ONCE. When did the man graduate
A. In 2005.
B. In 2003.
C. In 2004.
D. In 2002.
Text 1 In England recently three foreign gentlemen approached a bus stop. They studied the information on the sign attached to the concrete post and decided which bus to take. About five minutes later the bus they wanted came along. They prepared to board it. Suddenly there was a clamor behind them. People rushed onto the bus and tried to push them out of the way. Someone shouted insulting remarks about foreigners. The bus conductor came rushing down the stairs to see what all the trouble was about. The three foreign gentlemen looked puzzled and embarrassed. No one had told them about the British custom of queuing for a bus so that the first person who arrived at a bus stop is the first person to get on the bus. Learning the language of a country isn’t enough. If you want to ensure a pleasant visit, find out as much as possible about the manners and customs of your hosts. You will probably be surprised just how different they can be from your own. A visitor to India would do well to remember that people there consider it impolite to use the left hand for passing food at table. The left hand is supposed to be used for washing yourself. Also in India, you might see a man apparently shaking his head at another and assume that he is disagreeing. But in many parts of India a rotating movement of the head is a gesture that signifies agreement or acceptance. Nodding your head when offered a drink in Bulgaria is likely to leave you thirsty. In that country you shake your head to signify "yes" pa nod indicates "no". Arabs are known for their sumptuous hospitality. At a meal in countries on the Arabian Peninsula, you will find that any drinking vessel is repeatedly refilled as soon as you drain it. The way to indicate that you have had enough is to take the cup or glass in your hand and give it a little shake from side to side or place your hand over the top. In Europe it is quite usual to cross your lags when sitting talking to someone even at an important meeting. Doing this when meeting an important person in Thailand, however, could cause offence. It is considered too informal an attitude for such an occasion. Also when in Thailand avoid touching the head of an adult -- it’s just not done. In India the left hand is supposed to be used for ______.
A. passing food at table
B. washing oneself
C. shaking hands
D. offering drinks to guests
Text 3 Futurists love computers. After all,40 years ago electronic digital computers didn’t exist; today microchips as tiny as a baby’s fingernail are making all sorts of tasks faster and easier. Surely the future holds still more miracles. Some of the computer experiments now going on inspire exciting visions of the future. For example, scientists are working on devices that can electronically perform some sight and hearing functions, which could make life easier for the blind and deaf. They’re also working on artificial arms and legs that respond to the electric impulses produced by the human brain. Scientists hope that some day a person who’s lost an arm could still have near-normal brain control over an artificial arm. Video games, computerized special effects in movies, and real-life training machines now being used by the US Army are causing some people to predict new educational uses for computers. Computers could some day be used to simulate travel to other planets, to explore the ocean floor, or to look inside an atom. Experiments with electronic banking and shopping inspire predictions that these activities will soon be done from home computer terminals. Cars, too, might be equipped with computers to help drivers find their way around (Honda has one in an experimental car) or to communicate with home and office computers. Many people, including handicapped workers with limited ability to move around, already are working at home using computer terminals. Each terminal is connected to a system at a company’s main office. Some futurists say the day may come when few people will have to leave home to go to work -- they’ll just turn on a terminal A growing number of factories such as the General Motors Plant in Newark, Delaware, "hire" computerized robots to perform tasks such as spot welding. Some executives get a gleam in their eyes as they envision the spread of these "perfect workers" -- no coffee breaks, no strikes, and no vacations or sick days. These modern and potential computer uses are possible because of the silicon microchip. These chips, which have become increasingly complex since their beginning in 1959, contain a network of information pathways. Electronic impulses travel along the paths. The plans for a chip look much like a city street plan and can be as large as a football field. It can take as long as three months to complete a new chip design. Chips are used to store information, too. An entire "computer" can be put onto one chip -- called a microprocessor. As chips become even more complex, easier to make, and less costly, futurists predict limitless possibilities. A group of Japanese scientists is working on a new generation of computers, which they hope will be able to understand vocal instructions, talk back to their users, and automatically try out alternate solutions to a problem to come up with the best answer. Some people say that the humans of the future will never be without their companion -- computers. Predicting the future can be tricky, of course. In 1948 an IBM study predicted that there would never be enough demand for computers to justify going into the business! What is the purpose of the passage
A. To tell the readers what computers will look like in the future.
B. To show the close relations between man and computers.
C. To tell the readers how important silicon microchips are.
D. To talk about the possible future uses of computers.