英語四級考試閱讀練習題和答案

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　　Adam Smith, writing in the 1770s, 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 put it on is a separate operation, to polish the pins is another. It is even a trade by itself to put them into the paper. 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 4800 pins apiece. But if all of them had worked separately and independently without division of labor, they certainly could not each of them have made twenty pins in a day and perhaps not even one.

　　There can be no doubt that division of labor, provided that it is not taken too far, 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.

　　21. According to the passage, Adam Smith was the first person to_______.

　　A. take advantage of the division of labor

　　B. introduce the division of labor into England

　　C. understand the effects of the division of labor

　　D. explain the causes of the division of labor

　　22. Adam Smith saw that the division of labor_______.

　　A. enabled each worker to make pins more quickly and more cheaply

　　B. increased the possible output per worker

　　C. increased the number of people employed in factories

　　D. improved the quality of pins produced

　　23. Adam Smith mentioned the number 4800 in order to_______.

　　A. show the advantages of the division of labor

　　B. show the advantages of the old craft system

　　C. emphasize how powerful the individual worker was

　　D. emphasize the importance of increased production

　　24. According to the writer, Adam Smith's mistake was in believing that division of labor

　　A. was an efficient way of organizing work

　　B. was an important development in methods of production

　　C. inevitably led to economic development

　　D. increased the production of existing goods

　　25. The division of labor may become inefficient in organizing work if A. it is taken too far B. it is taken for granted C. it is made use of on a regular base D. it is widely used

 

　　21. C 22. B 23. A 24. C 25. A


 

　　We all know that the normal human daily cycle of activity is of some 7-8 hours' sleep alternating with some 16-17 hours' wakefulness and that, broadly speaking, the sleep normally coincides with the hours of darkness. Our present concern is with how easily and to what extent this cycle can be modified.

　　The question is no mere academic one. The ease, for example, with which people can change from working in the day to working at night is a question of growing importance in industry where automation calls for round-the-clock working of machines. It normally takes from five days to one week for a person to adapt to a reversed routine of sleep and wakefulness, sleeping during the day and working at night. Unfortunately, it is often the case in industry that shifts are changed every week; a person may work from 12 midnight to 8 a. m. one week, 8 a. m. to 4 p. m. the next, and 4 p.m. to 12 midnight the third and so on. This means that no sooner has he got used to one routine than he has to change to another, so that much of his time is spent neither working nor sleeping very efficiently.

　　The only real solution appears to be to hand over the night shift to a number of permanent night workers. An interesting study of the domestic life and health of night-shift workers was carried out by Brown in 1957. She found a high incidence ***發生率*** of disturbed sleep and other disorders among those on alternating day and night shifts, but no abnormal occurrence of these phenomena among those on permanent night work.

　　This latter system then appears to be the best long-term policy, but meanwhile something may be done to relieve the strains of alternate day and night work by selecting those people who can adapt most quickly to the changes of routine. One way of knowing when a person has adapted is by measuring his body temperature. People engaged in normal daytime work will have a high temperature during the hours of wakefulness and a low one at night; when they change to night work the pattern will only gradually go back to match the new routine and the speed particularly in terms of performance. Therefore, by taking body temperature at intervals of two hours throughout the period of wakefulness it can be seen how quickly a person can adapt to a reversed routine, and this could be used as a basis for selection. So far, however, such a form of selection does not seem to have been applied in practice.

　　26. Why is the question of "how easily people can get used to working at night" no mere academic one?

　　A. Because few people like to reverse the cycle of sleep and wakefulness.

　　B. Because sleep normally coincides with the hours of darkness.

　　C. Because people are required to work at night in some fields of industry.

　　D. Because shift work in industry requires people to change their sleeping habits.

　　27. The main problem of the round-the-clock working system lies in_______.

　　A. the inconveniences brought about to the workers by the introduction of automation

　　B. the disturbance of the daily cycle of workers who have to change shifts too frequently

　　C. the fact that people working at night are often less effective

　　D. the fact that it is difficult to find a number of good night workers

　　28. The best solution for implementing the 24-hour working system seems to be_______.

　　A. to change shifts at longer intervals

　　B. to have longer shifts

　　C. to employ people who work on night shifts only

　　D. to create better living conditions for night workers

　　29. It is possible to find out if a person has adapted to the changes of routine by measuring his body temperature because______.

　　A. body temperature changes when the cycle of sleep and wakefulness alternates

　　B. body temperature changes when he changes to night shift or back

　　C. the temperature reverses when the routine is changed

　　D. people have higher temperatures when they are working efficiently

　　30. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

　　A. Body temperature may serve as an indication of a worker's performance.

　　B. The selection of a number of permanent night shift workers has proved to be the best solution to problems of the round-the-clock working system.,

　　C. Taking body temperature at regular intervals can show how a person adapts to the changes of routine.

　　D. Disturbed sleep occurs less frequently among those on permanent night or day shifts.


 

　　26. D 27. B 28. C 29. D 30. B