1、湖北省2012高考英语二轮复习专题训练：阅读理解（86）阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。A 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 e
2、ach work half the job, for example, they each receive 50 percent of the jobs wages, its holidays and its other 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
3、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 positions to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing, by contrast, is not designed t
4、o 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, most job sharers are women. A survey carried out in 2010 by Britains Equal Opportunities Commission showed that 78
5、 per cent of sharers 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 reentering the job market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part time work because it would have meant lower
6、 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 partn
7、ership 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
8、 well matched and must treat each other as equals.1In what way is work sharing different from job sharing?AWork sharing requires more working hours.BWork sharing is aimed at creating more jobs.CWork sharing provides a more satisfactory salary.DWork sharing depends on the employers decision.2Accordin
9、g to Paragraph 4, young mothers preferred job sharing to conventional part time work mainly because .Athey sought higher social statusBthey were over ideal working agesCthey had difficulty finding full time jobsDthey had to take care of both work and family3In job sharing the partners should _.Aenjo
10、y equal social status Bhave similar work experience Ckeep in touch with each other Dknow each other very well4The main purpose of the passage is to _.Arecommend job sharing to women Bdiscuss how to provide more jobsCdescribe job sharing in general Dcompare job sharing with work sharingB For a time,
11、Americans were turning in their new cars at a breakneck pace. Cheap financing, good deals, and a powerful economy meant that we could account for the tendency to keep a car for less time, and only see a modest increase in our monthly payment, if any increase at all. Those days are apparently over, a
12、t least for the short term. R. L. Polk, which collects and measures data in the automotive industry, says that were now keeping our cars longer than we ever have. According to Polks study of registration data. Americans are keeping new cars for an average 63.9 moths five and a quarter years up 4.5 m
13、onths from the same period in 2009. In truth, theres not much need to turn a car in on any kind of schedule. By following proper maintenance, its relatively simple to squeeze a decade or 150,000 miles out of a new car with no major issues.In 2006, the sticker price on a Silverado was $ 32,000, but t
14、hanks to a model changeover for 2007 and a timely purchase in October when dealers were trying to move any remaining inventory (库存). Whelan purchased the truck for $ 22,700. At five years of age, with 75,000 miles showing on the meter, he has no I intention of turning it in at any point in the near
15、future. “My goal is to run it to 160,000 miles and evaluate my options from there,” he says. So we turn cars in not because we need to, but because we want to. Call it the “Four year Itch.” We get bored of the same old car in the driveway every morning. Our eyes wander whenever we see a car ad. It m
16、ay be “till death do us part” with our wife or husband and significant others, but when I comes to cars, were shamelessly unfaithful.Whelan figures hes put the average of about two payments a year into regular improvements meant to keep the truck fresh. “Ive found that making a modification here and
17、 there keeps me happy. That, and the thought of having a payment again, with big tax bills and another sales tax payment has been enough to contain my urges,” he says. “The trucks five years old now, and I have a couple of scratches, but I think I prefer that now, rather than having to worry about g
18、etting scratches in a new truck.”5There was a time when Americans landed to .Asell their cars at a frightening speedBmake a high monthly payment on carsCshorten the period of use of their carsDreceive a larger income than nowadays6According to Polks study, in general a car . Acan last 10 years if us
19、ed carefullyBshould be replaced as soon as possibleCmust be run for less time by AmericansDcan be used for only 63.9 months7Whelan wont consider buying a new truck until .Ahis wife divorces him or passes awayBhe gets bored of driving it every dayCa fantastic model is placed on a car adDthe expected
20、miles of driving is reached8The author employs the example of Whelan to show .Aweak economy results in decreasing expenseBresisting new car purchases can pay offCsaving money is better than saving faceDsome people prefer old things than new onesCCommuters (远途上下班的人) who drive to work will face a park
21、ing charge of up to 350 a year. Ministers are backing a workfare parking charge which will come into force in Nottingham in 2013 and is likely to be adopted across the country. The scheme will see firms with more than ten parking places for staff charged 350 a year for each space in two years.Employ
22、ers would be free to pass on the charge to their staff meaning it would effectively be a tax on driving to work. The scheme aims to reduce traffic by preventing unnecessary car journeys and raise funds to improve public transport, but cities say it is just an excuse for councils to fill their coffer
23、s (保险柜).Some ten million Britons drive to work each day, and the British Chambers of Commerce says the new charge could total 3.4 billion a year if rolled out nationwide.Already some firms in Nottingham have threatened to leave the city, where 40,000 commuters use their cars to get to work. A spokes
24、man said the scheme was nothing more than a tax on jobs. It is very unfair to discriminate against shoes employers who have parking spaces, which get vehicles off the streets, he said. “And these charges apply around the clock, which is especially unfair on shift workers who rely on their cars becau
25、se public transport is not available. This is more about increasing the governments income than reducing traffic.”However, Transport Minister Khan gave the plan an official approval during a visit to Nottingham. The council says the tax will raise as much as 100 million over ten years one fifth of t
26、he cost of a new transport system for the city.Another transport spokesman Therese Villiers said the tax would have a devastating impact on businesses struggling to cope with the economic decline.But Richard Hebditch of the Campaign for Better Transport said the tax would raise money to invest in be
27、tter transport. “We put forward the idea of workplace parking taxes as a fairer way to raise money to invest in the future of local transport services. We are pleased that the people of Nottingharn will be the first to benefit.”9Supporters argue that the scheme . Acan help improve the parking condit
28、ions for the staffBshould be applied to all commuters driving to workCis certain to be carried out despite the objectionsDwill relieve traffic pressure and improve public transport10According to the objectors, the scheme is unfair for .Athe firms with parking lotsBthe workforce without carsCthe empl
29、oyees parking their cars on the streetsDthe staff driving to work in the daytime11Which word can best describe Theresa Villiers attitude towards the scheme?ADoubtful.BNegative.CUnderstanding.DPositive.12It can be inferred from the passage that .Amany firms are willing to pay the charges for their st
30、affBthe public transport in Nottingham is in great need of improvementCthe author believes Britons will benefit from the schemeDthose firms with more commuters will leave NottinghamDI met Bobby four years ago in Brazil. He wanted me to help him get into the central part of the rainforest, where the
31、tourists dont go, so I gave him a few of my contacts and we kept in touch. He made a fortune before the age of 40, and now he spends his time wandering on the planet looking for projects to supports where concrete baby steps matter and can make a very big difference.Hes funding the reconstruction of
32、 a temple in Bhutan, setting up teacher training programs for Afghan refugees, assisting the people of Rwands in rebuilding their justice system, and running micro enterprise programs in South Africa. Nepal, and Rwand. Our practical chartering (慈善家) upends the rest of the day (in Nepal) photographin
33、g children in the village and leaching Jake, my son, some of his secrets. He has a breathtaking series of portraits of children in Afghanistan, in refugee (难民) camps in Pakistan and Rwanda, and of Palestinian refugees in camps in Lebanon.I watch him at work, sitting just outside a group of youngster
34、s: he begins a lively conversation with a bright yellow duck. He whispers to it to be quiet and well behaved; the duck nods but then begins to attack Bobby, who only just manages to control his tiny creature. The children begin to stare at the strange sight of this big man and his naughty duck, burs
35、ting into laughter when the duck gets the better of him. They move closer, and the duck starts to tease the children. Some of them run away laughing while others get closer.A young man attempts to give Bobby a can of some soft drink, saying something in Nepalese.“Pema, whats this kid saying? Whys he
36、 trying to give me this can?”Pema talks to the boy, who is about 12. “He says you saved his grandmothers life last year, Mr. Bobby. She needed an operation in Katmandu, and you put her in the helicopter. He says the family wants to thank you, and this is all they have to give you.”The big guy from B
37、oston is suddenly quiet and clearly touched by the gesture. My two lasting memories of this extraordinary and complex man will be of him chasing the village kids like a fool, and the next reduced almost to tears by this simple gift.13Bobby went into the rainforest because . Ahe wished to become weal
38、thyBhe wanted to protect wildlifeChe was fond of taking picturesDhe was crazy about tourism14The underlined part “gets the better of him” (in the third paragraph) means .Agains an advantage over BobbyBeats nice food from BobbyCgives in to BobbyDis brought under Bobbys control 15It can be inferred fr
39、om the passage that Pema is .Athe authorBBobbys sonCa doctorDa loyal guide16Whats the purpose of this passage?ATo describe Bobbys complex character.BTo reflect the importance of presents.CTo praise Bobbys acts of kindness.DTo indicate charity work is based on wealth.E Till 2010, only two countries i
40、n the advanced world provided no guarantee for paid leave from work to care for a newborn child. Last spring one of the two, Australia, gave up that dubious distinction by establishing paid family leave starting in 2011. I wasnt surprised when this didnt make the news here in the United Stateswere n
41、ow the only wealthy country without such a policy.The United States does have one explicit family policy, the Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1933. It entitles workers to as much as 12 weeks unpaid leave for care of a newborn or dealing with a family medical problem. Despite the modesty of t
42、he benefit, the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups fought it bitterly, describing it as “government-run personnel management” and a “dangerous precedent.” In fact, every step of the way, as Democratic leaders have tried to introduce work-family balance measures into the law, business grou
43、ps have been strongly opposed.As Yale law professor Anne A1stott argues, justifying parental support depends on defining the family as a social good that, in some sense, society must pay for. In her book No Exit: What Parents Owe Their Children and What Society Owes Parents, she argues that parents
44、are burdened in many ways in their lives: there is “no exit” when it comes to children. “Society expects and needs parents to provide their children with continuity of care, meaning the intensive, intimate care that human beings need to develop their intellectual, emotional, and moral capabilities.
45、And society expects and needs parents to persist in their role for 18 years, or longer if needed.”While most parents do this out of love, there are public penalties for not providing care, What parents do, in other words, is of deep concern to the state, for the obvious reason that caring for childr
46、en is not only morally urgent but essential for the future of society. The state recognizes this in the large body of family laws that govern childrens welfare, yet parents receive little help in meeting the lifechanging obligations society imposes. To classify parenting as a personal choice for whi
47、ch there is on collective responsibility is not merely to ignore the social benefits of good parenting; really, it is to steal those benefits because they accrue to the whole of society as todays children become tomorrows productive citizenry. In fact, by some estimates, the value of parental invest
48、ments in children, investments of time and money including lost wages, is equal to 20%-30% of gross domestic product. If these investments generate huge social benefitsas they clearly dothe benefits of providing more social support for the family should be that much clearer.17What do we learn about
49、paid family leave from the first paragraph?AIt came as a surprise when Australia adopted the policy.BIt has now become a hot topic in the United States.CAmerica is now the only developed country without the policy.DIts meaning was clarified when it was established in Australia.18What is Professor An
50、ne Alstotts argument for parental support?AThe cost of raising children in the U.S. has been growing.BGood parenting benefits society.CThe U.S. should keep up with other developed countries.DChildren need continuous care.19What does the author think of Americas large body of family laws governing ch
51、ildrens welfare?AThey fail to ensure childrens healthy growth.BThey fail to provide enough support for parents.CThey emphasize parents legal responsibilities.DThey impose the care of children on parents.20Why does the author object to classifying parenting as a personal choice?AIt is regarded as a legal obligation.BIt relies largely on social support.CIt generates huge social benefits.DIt is basically a social undertaking120 BADC CADB DABB AADC CBBD高考资源网独家精品资源，欢迎下载！高考资源网Ks5uK&S%5#UKs5uKs%U高考资源网高考资源网高考资源网
