Job sharing refers to the situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time job. The 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 percent of the job’s wages, its holidays and its other benefits.
Job sharing differs from conventional(常规的) 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 positions to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing by contrast, is not designed to address 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, most job sharers are women. A survey carried out in 1988 by Britain’s Equal Opportunities Commission showed that 78 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 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.
【小题1】In what way is work sharing different from job sharing?

There is a story of a country where the rate of inflation(通货膨胀率)is so high that clever people pay for a taxi ride before, instead of after the trip. The story may or may not be true. But inflation was up so fast that by the end of 1923, they were 50 billion percent higher— a rise of almost 2500% a month.

There was so much paper money, and it had so little value that people carried bags full of money around to pay for things. One woman tells the story of standing outside a shop with a basket full of 500, 000 mark notes(马克). She wanted to buy just one piece of meat, and she hoped she had enough money. But when she was looking, a thief robbed(抢劫)her. He didn’t take her money; however, he threw it away and took the basket instead.

At first workers demanded to be paid every day. But as the situation became worse, they had to be paid twice a day. but they had to run out and spend the money at once, or it would lose its value. People bought anything that was for sale but food was almost impossible to find. Farm workers refused to take money. They wanted to be paid in potatoes instead.

New policies (政策) ended the inflation in 1923 when the government introduced a new money. But about half of the German people lost everything in those three and a half years.

According to the passage, in Germany the prices in 1920 were _______.

A.the lowest in history                B.the highest in history

C．higher than those in 1923      D.lower than those in 1923

The thief stole the basket instead of the money in it because he thought_______.

A．the basket was what he needed most            

B．the money was of no value

C．the basket was more valuable than the money

D．he couldn’t” t buy a piece of meat with the money

The farm workers demanded to be paid in potatoes because they believed that_______.

A．the potato was valuable              B．the money might lose its value

C．the potato was too expensive          D．the money could not buy potatoes

Which of the following best shows the inflation in Germany between 1920 and 1923?