If you are a recent social science graduate who has had to listen to jokes about unemployment from your computer major classmates, you may have had the last laugh. There are many advantages for the social science major because this high-tech “Information Age” demands people who are flexible(灵活的) and who have good communication skills.

   There are many social science majors in large companies who fill important positions. For example, a number of research studies found that social science majors had achieved greater managerial success than those who had technical training or pre-professional courses. Studies show that social science majors are most suited for change, which is the leading feature(特点) of the kind of high-speed, high-pressure, high-tech world we now live in.

   Social science majors are not only experiencing success in their long-term company jobs, but they are also finding jobs more easily. A study showed that many companies had filled a large percentage of their entry-level positions with social science graduates. The study also showed that the most sought-after quality in a person who was looking for a job was communication skills, noted as “very important”, by 92 percent of the companies. Social science majors have these skills, often without knowing how important they are. It is probably due to these skills that they have been offered a wide variety of positions.

   Finally, although some social science majors may still find it more difficult than their technically trained classmates to land the first job, recent graduates report that they don’t regret their choice of study.

By saying that “you may have had the last laugh” in the first paragraph, the author means that you may have____.

A. shared the jokes with computer majors        B. earned as much as computer majors

C. found jobs more easily than computer majors   D. stopped joking about computer majors

Compared with graduates of other subjects, social science graduates ___.

   A. are ready to change when situations change      B. are better able to deal with difficulties

   C. are equally good at computer skills       D. are likely to give others pressure

The underlined word “land” in the last paragraph probably means ___.

   A. keep for some time   B. successfully get   C. immediately start   D. lose regretfully

According to the text, what has made it easy for social science graduates to find jobs?

   A. Willingness to take low-paid jobs.         B. Readiness to gain high-tech knowledge.

   C. Skills in expressing themselves.           D. Part-time work experience.

A study of English learning problems was carried out among a total of 106 foreign students. It shows that most students considered understanding spoken English to be their biggest problem on arrival. This was followed by speaking. Writing increased as a problem as students discovered difficulties in writing papers that they were now expected to hand in. Reading remained as a significant(显著的) problem.

The information gained helped us in determining where special attention should be paid in our course. Although many students have chosen to join the course with a reasonable motivation(动机), we considered it important to note what seemed to encourage interest. Nearly all the students have experienced some kind of grammar-based English teaching in their own country. To use the same method would be self-defeating because it might reduce motivation, especially if it has failed in the past. Therefore a different method may help because it is different.

Variety of activity was also seen as a way of maintaining(保持) or increasing motivation. Several years ago we had one timetable that operated throughout, but we soon found that both the students and the teachers lost interest by about halfway through the ten weeks. This led us to a major re-think, so finally we brought it into line with the expressed language needs of the students.

10. What is the text mainly about?

A. Foreign students have more problems.

B. There are many ways to improve English.

C. Teaching should meet students’ needs.

D. English learning problems should be studied again.

11. Writing became a bigger problem when foreign students________.

A. had to write their papers

B. became better at speaking

C. became less interested in reading

D. had fewer problems with listening

12. We may infer from the last two paragraphs that ________.

A. different teaching methods should be used

B. grammar-based teaching seems to be encouraging

C. English courses are necessary for foreign students

D. teaching content should be changed halfway.

If you know exactly what you want, the best way to get a job is to get specialized training. A recent report shows that companies like graduates in such fields as business and health care who can go to work immediately with very little on-the-job training.

    That’s especially true of booming fields that are challenging for workers. At Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, for example, bachelor's degree graduates get an average of four or five job offers with salaries ranging from the high teens to the low 20s and plenty of chances for rapid advancement. Large companies especially like a background of formal education coupled with work experience. But in the long run, too much specialization does not pay off. Business, which has been flooded with MBAs, no longer considers the degree an automatic stamp of approval. The MBA may open doors and command a higher salary initially, but the impact of a degree washes out after five years.

As further evidence of the erosion of corporate faith in specialized degrees, Michigan State’s Scheetz cites a pattern in corporate hiring practices. Although companies tend to take on specialists as new hires, they often seek out generalists for middle and upper-level management. This sounds like a formal statement that you approve of the liberal-arts(文科) graduate. Time and again labor-market analysts mention a need for talents that liberal-arts majors are assumed to have: writing and communication skills, organizational skills, open-mindedness and adaptability, and the ability to analyze and solve problems. David Birch, manager of the Boston Red Sox, says that he does not hire anybody with an MBA or an engineering degree. “I hire only liberal-arts people because they have a less-than-canned way of doing things,” says Birch.

For a liberal – arts degree, students focus on some basic courses that include literature history, mathematics, economics, science, human behavior and a computer course or two. With these useful and important courses, you can feel free to specialize, “A liberal-arts degree coupled with an MBA or some other technical training is a very good combination in the marketplace,” says Scheetz.

67．The job market is in great need of people with          .

       A．special training in special fields

       B．a bachelor’s degree in education

       C．formal schooling and work experience

       D．an MBA degree from top universities

68．The underlined sentence in Paragrph 2 means         .

       A．an MBA degree does not help in future promotion

       B．MBA programs will not be as popular as they are now

       C．people will not forget the degree the MBA graduates have got

       D．most MBA programs fail to provide students with a foundation

69．David Birch says that he only hires liberal – arts people because          .

       A．they will follow others’ ways of solving problems

       B．they can do better in bundling changing situations

       C．they are well trained in a variety of specialized fields

       D．they have attended special programs in management

70．The author supports the idea that          .

       A．on – the – job training is less costly in the long run

       B．formal schooling is less important than job training

       C．specialists are more expensive to hire than generalists

       D．generalists will do better than specialists in management

If you know exactly what you want, the best way to get a job is to get specialized training. A recent report shows that companies like graduates in such fields as business and health care who can go to work immediately with very little on-the-job training.

That’s especially true of booming fields that are challenging for workers. At Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, for example, bachelor's degree graduates get an average of four or five job offers with salaries ranging from the high to low and plenty of chances for rapid advancement. Large companies especially like a background of formal education coupled with work experience. But in the long run, too much specialization does not pay off. Business, which has been flooded with MBAs, no longer considers the degree an automatic stamp of approval. The MBA may open doors and command a higher salary initially, but the impact of a degree washes out after five years.

As further evidence of the erosion of corporate faith in specialized degrees, Michigan State’s Scheetz cites a pattern in corporate hiring practices. Although companies tend to take on specialists as new hires, they often seek out generalists for middle and upper-level management. This sounds like a formal statement that you approve of the liberal-arts(文科) graduate. Time and again labor-market analysts mention a need for talents that liberal-arts majors are assumed to have: writing and communication skills, organizational skills, open-mindedness and adaptability, and the ability to analyze and solve problems. David Birch, manager of the Boston Red Sox, says that he does not hire anybody with an MBA or an engineering degree. “I hire only liberal-arts people because they have a less-than-canned way of doing things,” says Birch.

For a liberal – arts degree, students focus on some basic courses that include literature history, mathematics, economics, science, human behavior and a computer course or two. With these useful and important courses, you can feel free to specialize, “A liberal-arts degree coupled with an MBA or some other technical training is a very good combination in the marketplace,” says Scheetz.

The job market is in great need of people with          .

A. special training in special fields       B. a bachelor’s degree in education

C. formal schooling and work experience     D. an MBA degree from top universities

The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 means         .

A. an MBA degree does not help in future promotion

B. MBA programs will not be as popular as they are now

C. people will not forget the degree the MBA graduates have got

D. most MBA programs fail to provide students with a foundation

David Birch says that he only hires liberal – arts people because          .

A. they will follow others’ ways of solving problems

B. they can do better in bundling changing situations

C. they are well trained in a variety of specialized fields

D. they have attended special programs in management

The author supports the idea that          .

A. on – the – job training is less costly in the long run

B. formal schooling is less important than job training

C. specialists are more expensive to hire than generalists

D. generalists will do better than specialists in management

If two scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are correct, people will still be driving gasoline-powered cars 50 years from now, giving out heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — and yet that carbon dioxide will not contribute to global warming.

In a proposal by two scientists, vehicle emissions (排放) would no longer contribute to global warming. The scientists, F. Jeffrey Martin and William L. Kubic Jr., are proposing a concept, which they have named Green Freedom, for removing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it back into gasoline.

The idea is simple. Air would be blown over a liquid solution (溶液) of potassium carbonate, which would absorb the carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide would then be put to chemical reactions that would turn it into fuel: gasoline or jet fuel.

This process could change carbon dioxide from an unwanted, climate-changing pollutant into a vast resource for renewable fuels. The cycle — equal amounts of carbon dioxide produced and removed — would mean that cars, trucks and airplanes using the synthetic (合成的) fuels would no longer be contributing to global warming.

Although they have not yet built a synthetic fuel factory, or even a small model, the scientists say it is all based on existing technology. “Everything in the concept has been built, is operating or has a close cousin that is operating,” Dr. Martin said.

The Los Alamos proposal does not go against any laws of physics, and other scientists who have independently suggested similar ideas. Dr. Martin said he and Dr. Kubic had worked out their concept in more detail than previous proposals.

There is, however, a major fact that explains why no one has built a carbon-dioxide-to-gasoline factory: it requires a great deal of energy.

According to their analysis, their concept, which would cost about $5 billion to build, could produce gasoline at an operating cost of $1.40 a gallon and would turn economically practical when the price at the pump hits $4.60 a gallon.

Other scientists said the Los Alamos proposal perhaps looked promising but could not evaluate it fully because the details had not been published.

“It’s definitely worth pursuing,” said Martin I. Hoffert, a professor of physics at New York University. “It’s not that new an idea. It has a couple of pieces to it that are interesting.”

67. What is the idea of the project being discussed in the article?

A. Recycling the carbon dioxide from cars back into gasoline.

B. Create a new gasoline that gives off very little carbon dioxide.

C. Using a special liquid solution to absorb carbon dioxide from cars.

D. Build synthetic fuel factories to remove carbon dioxide from the air.

68. What’s the name given to the new concept?

A. Synthetic Fuel.                                 B. Green Freedom.    

C. Renewable Fuel.                                D. Carbon-dioxide-to-gasoline Factory.

69. Which of the following is NOT one of the benefits of this new concept as suggested in the article?

A. Reduction of global warming.            B. Cheaper gasoline for cars.

C. Longer life of cars.                     C. Less pollution of the atmosphere.

70. What’s the biggest problem in realizing the concept according to the report?

A. Shortage of starting funds.         B. Immature technology involved.

C. All previous similar attempts have failed.

D. The use of too much energy in running the fuel factory.