Passage Three Job sharing refers to the situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time job. The two people willingly act as part-time workers, enough hours between them to fulfill the duties of a full-time worker. If they each work half the job, for example, they each receive 50 per cent of the job’s wages, its holidays and its other benefits. Of course, some job sharers take a smaller or larger share of the responsibilities of the position, receiving a lesser or greater share of the benefits. Job sharing differs from conventional part-time work in that it occurs mainly in the more highly skilled and professional areas, which require higher levels of responsibility and employee commitment. Job sharing should not be confused with the term work sharing, which refers to increasing the number of jobs by reducing the number of hours of each existing job, thus offering more position to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing, by contrast, is not designed to address unemployment problems; its focus, rather, is to provide well-paid work for skilled workers and professionals who want more free time for other activities. As would be expected, women constitute the bulk of job shares. A survey carried out in 1988 by Britain’s Equal Opportunities Commission revealed that 78 per cent of shares were female, the majority of whom were between 20 and 40 years of age. Subsequent studies have come up with similar results. Many of these women were re-entering the job market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part-time work because it would have meant lower status. Job sharing also offered an acceptable shift back into full-time work after a long absence. The necessity of close cooperation when sharing a job with another person makes the actual work quite different from conventional one-position jobs. However, to ensure a greater chance that the partnership will succeed, each person needs to know the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of his or her partner before applying for a position. Moreover, there must be a fair division of both routine tasks and interesting ones. In sum, for a position to be job-shared well, the two individuals must be well matched and must treat each other as equals. Work sharing is different from job sharing in that ____.
A. it requires more working hours
B. it provides more work positions
C. it depends on the employer’s decision
D. it offers a more satisfactory salary
查看答案
Weather ____, we’ll go for a walk in the woods tomorrow.
A. to permit
B. permitted
C. permits
D. permitting
Passage Two Is the customer always right The answer, it seems, depends on which country you are in. Shopping is very much a part of a country’s culture, and attitudes to shopping and consumers vary from country to country just as much as climate or taste in food. From the air-conditioned American shopping centers to the street market of African towns, the way we shop shows the way we see ourselves and our relationships with other people. Business competition in Europe has given consumers increased power. This has meant falling prices, plenty of special offers and a re-examination of what customer service really means. People often point to America as an example of excellent customer service. In restaurants in the south of the USA, for example, waiters compliment you on your clothes, ask about your day, compliment you on the wisdom of your order and then return every ten minutes to refill your glass and make sure that everything is to your satisfaction. Anyone who has waited 30 minutes to be served in a restaurant might well dream of such attention, but do Europeans really want US style service?As a friend of mine once told me,” By the end of the evening I had spent as much time talking to the waiter as to my wife.” It is a question of expectations. Different nationalities expect different types of service. A Chinese-American friend loves telling people about how her Chinese mother shops for clothes. “First of all she waits until they are on sale, then she bargains until she gets an even better price and then she finds some small fault with the product and demands a further reduction. She never buys anything at the regular price.” Could you imagine trying such tricks in a department store in your country Attitudes to service are, of course, affected by employers’ attitudes to their workers. As American sales and service personnel are heavily reliant on commission and tips, they have more motives to provide more service. But is this fair Do we think it is fair to ask shop assistants to work late evenings, Sundays and 12 hour shifts It might not be a case of “Is the customer always right” but a case of “How much service is it fair to expect” The word “compliment” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “_____”.
A. evaluate
B. criticize
C. laugh at
D. praise
Passage Three Job sharing refers to the situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time job. The two people willingly act as part-time workers, enough hours between them to fulfill the duties of a full-time worker. If they each work half the job, for example, they each receive 50 per cent of the job’s wages, its holidays and its other benefits. Of course, some job sharers take a smaller or larger share of the responsibilities of the position, receiving a lesser or greater share of the benefits. Job sharing differs from conventional part-time work in that it occurs mainly in the more highly skilled and professional areas, which require higher levels of responsibility and employee commitment. Job sharing should not be confused with the term work sharing, which refers to increasing the number of jobs by reducing the number of hours of each existing job, thus offering more position to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing, by contrast, is not designed to address unemployment problems; its focus, rather, is to provide well-paid work for skilled workers and professionals who want more free time for other activities. As would be expected, women constitute the bulk of job shares. A survey carried out in 1988 by Britain’s Equal Opportunities Commission revealed that 78 per cent of shares were female, the majority of whom were between 20 and 40 years of age. Subsequent studies have come up with similar results. Many of these women were re-entering the job market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part-time work because it would have meant lower status. Job sharing also offered an acceptable shift back into full-time work after a long absence. The necessity of close cooperation when sharing a job with another person makes the actual work quite different from conventional one-position jobs. However, to ensure a greater chance that the partnership will succeed, each person needs to know the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of his or her partner before applying for a position. Moreover, there must be a fair division of both routine tasks and interesting ones. In sum, for a position to be job-shared well, the two individuals must be well matched and must treat each other as equals. Job sharing is popular with young mothers mainly because _____.
A. they can take care of both work and family
B. they are over ideal working ages
C. they seek equal opportunities with men
D. they have difficulty finding full-time jobs
Passage Four Americans have a great love for informality and nowhere is this better expressed than in their love for nicknames (昵称、绰号).Upon greeting strangers for the first time they will quickly introduce themselves by their nickname. These are shortened forms of their given name at birth and reflect the casual relationships which exist among friends and coworkers. Family names are hardly ever used in daily situations and the use of one’s father’s last name is saved only for rare and formal occasions. In many traditional cultures the use of the family name is seen as a sign of respect. For Americans, however, it’s the nickname which creates an immediate intimacy between two people upon which to build a relationship. By speaking to another on a first name basis and using his nickname, walls are immediately torn down and equality between two people is established. At work bosses will refer to their employees by their nicknames. Should an employer use a worker’s family name, you can be sure that some kind of correction or serious business will follow. This love for nicknames can create a sense of closeness between people who are otherwise not related. Even the presidents of the United States have borne nicknames. Abraham Lincoln was known as Honest Abe John F.Kennedy was known as Jack or JFK and William Clinton has no reservations in letting people know he prefers to be called Bill, but those who look upon him with disfavor may call him Slick Willy. Not only people but cities often carry their own nicknames, Chicago is called the “Windy City” because of the strong winds which come down from Canada throughout the year. New York City is considered the “Big Apple” for reasons which are still obscure to most people including many New Yorkers. Not every nickname, however, is positive and some can be rather rude and insulting. If someone should demonstrate a certain negative characteristic, a label will soon be attached to describe that person in an unpleasant way. Likewise a person’s physical traits which are very dominant may lead to nicknames but not necessarily to one’s liking or choice. A nickname, therefore, is a way of identifying or describing someone or something for better or worse. Americans tend to use others’ family names ____.
A. in the work place
B. when writing letters
C. on formal occasions
D. when making phone calls