第三部分 英语阅读理解  时间：30分钟

The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike progress in both area is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political and intellectual development of these and all other societies; however, the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong. We are fortunate that is it, because new educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations. The findings of a research institution have consistently shown that workers in all countries can be trained on the job to achieve radical higher productivity and, as a result, radically higher standards of living.

Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in theUnited   States. Not long ago, with the country entering a recessing andJapanat its pre-bubble peak. TheU.S.workforce was derided as poorly educated and one of primary cause of the poorU.S.economic performance.Japanwas, and remains, the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity. Yet the research revealed that theU.S.factories of Honda Nissan, and Toyota achieved about 95 percent of the productivity of their Japanese countere pants a result of the training thatU.S.workers received on the job.

More recently, while examing housing construction, the researchers discovered that illiterate, non-English- speaking Mexican workers in Houston,  Texas, consistently met best-practice labor productivity standards despite the complexity of the building industry’s work.

What is the real relationship between education and economic development? We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education even when governments don’t force it. After all, that’s how education got started. When our ancestors were hunters and gatherers 10,000 years ago, they didn’t have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food. Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things.

As education improved, humanity’s productivity potential, they could in turn afford more education. This increasingly high level of education is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance. Thus poor countries might not be able to escape their poverty traps without political changes that may be possible only with broader formal education. A lack of formal education, however, doesn’t constrain the ability of the developing world’s workforce to substantially improve productivity for the forested future. On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn’t developing more quickly there than it is.

1. The author holds in paragraph 1 that the important of education in poor countries ___________.

[A] is subject groundless doubts

[B]has fallen victim of bias

[C] is conventional downgraded

[D] has been overestimated

2. It is stated in paragraph 1 that construction of a new education system __________.

[A]challenges economists and politicians

[B]takes efforts of generations

[C] demands priority from the government

[D] requires sufficient labor force

3.A major difference between the Japanese and U.S workforces is that __________.

[A] the Japanese workforce is better disciplined

[B]the Japanese workforce is more productive

[C]the U.S workforce has a better education

[D] ]the U.S workforce is more organize

4. The author quotes the example of our ancestors to show that education emerged __________.

[A] when people had enough time          [B]prior to better ways of finding food

[C] when people on longer went hung      [D] as a result of pressure on government

5. According to the last paragraph , development of education __________.

[A] results directly from competitive environments      [B]does not depend on economic performance

[C] follows improved productivity                    [D] cannot afford political changes

It used to be so straightforward. A team of researchers working together in the laboratory would submit the results of their research to a journal. A journal editor would then remove the authors' names and affiliations from the paper and send it to their peers for review. Depending on the comments received, the editor would accept the paper for publication or decline it. Copyright rested with the journal publisher, and researchers seeking knowledge of the results would have to subscribe to the journal.

No longer. The Internet - and pressure from funding agencies, who are questioning why commercial publishers are making money from government-funded research by restricting access to it - is making access to scientific results a reality. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has just issued a report describing the far-reaching consequences of this. The report, by John Houghton of Victoria University inAustraliaand Graham Vickery of the OECD, makes heavy reading for publishers who have, so far, made handsome profits. But it goes further than that. It signals a change in what has, until now, been a key element of scientific endeavor.

The value of knowledge and the return on the public investment in research depends, in part, upon wide distribution and ready access. It is big business. InAmerica, the core scientific publishing market is estimated at between $7 billion and $11 billion. The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers says that there are more than 2,000 publishers worldwide specializing in these subjects. They publish more than 1.2 million articles each year in some 16,000 journals.

This is now changing. According to the OECD report, some 75% of scholarly journals are now online. Entirely new business models are emerging; three main ones were identified by the report's authors. There is the so-called big deal, where institutional subscribers pay for access to a collection of online journal titles through site-licensing agreements. There is open-access publishing, typically supported by asking the author (or his employer) to pay for the paper to be published. Finally, there are open-access archives, where organizations such as universities or international laboratories support institutional repositories. Other models exist that are hybrids of these three, such as delayed open-access, where journals allow only subscribers to read a paper for the first six months, before making it freely available to everyone who wishes to see it. All this could change the traditional form of the peer-review process, at least for the publication of papers.

6. In the first paragraph, the author discusses________.

[A] the background information of journal editing.

[B] the publication routine of laboratory reports.

[C] the relations of authors with journal publishers.

[D] the traditional process of journal publication.

7. Which of the following is true of the OECD report?

[A] It criticizes government-funded research.

[B] It introduces an effective means of publication.

[C] It upsets profit-making journal publishers.

[D] It benefits scientific research considerably.

8. According to the text, online publication is significant in that________.

[A] it provides an easier access to scientific results.

[B] it brings huge profits to scientific researchers.

[C] it emphasizes the crucial role of scientific knowledge.

[D] it facilitates public investment in scientific research.

9. With the open-access publishing model, the author of a paper is required to________.

[A] cover the cost of its publication.

[B] subscribe to the journal publishing it.

[C] allow other online journals to use it freely.

[D] complete the peer-review before submission.

10. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the text?

[A] The Internet is posing a threat to publishers.         [B] A new mode of publication is emerging.

[C] Authors welcome the new channel for publication.    [D] Publication is rendered easier by online service.

During the past generation， the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair play to keep itself financially secure has been transformed by economic risk and new realities. Now a pink slip， a bad diagnosis. or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months.

In just one generation， millions of mothers have gone to work， transforming basic family economics. Scholars， policymakers， and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes， but few have looked at the side effect family risk has risen as well. Today's families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status. As a result they have lost the parachute they once had in times of financial setback- a back-up earner （usually Mom） who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This “added-worker effect” could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today， a disruption to family fortunes can not longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner.

During the same period， families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers， airline employees， and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates， stock market fluctuation， and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year. President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a savings-account model， with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families， the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen-and newly fashionable health-savings plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers， with much higher deductibles and a large new does of investment risk for families‘ future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family， as the odds of having a weak elderly parent- and all the attendant need for physical and financial assistance have jumped eightfold in just one generation.

From the middle-class family perspective， much of this， understandably， looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility， and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun， and the political fallout may not be far behind.

11. Today's double-income families are at greater financial risk in that ________.

　[A] the safety net they used to enjoy has disappeared.

　[B] their chances of being laid off have greatly increased.

　[C] they are more vulnerable to changes in family economics.

　[D] they are deprived of unemployment or disability insurance.

12. As a result of President Bush's reform， retired people may have ________.

　[A] a higher sense of security.

　[B] less secured payments.

　[C] less chance to invest.

　[D] a guaranteed future.

13. According go the author， health-savings plans will ________.

　[A] help reduce the cost of healthcare.

　[B] popularize among the middle class.

　[C] compensate for the reduced pensions.

　[D] increase the families investment risk.

14. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ________.

　[A] financial risks tend to outweigh political risks.

　[B] the middle class may face greater political challenges.

　[C] financial problems may bring about political problems.

　[D] financial responsibility is an indicator of political status.

15. Which of the following is the best title for this text？

　[A] The Middle Class on the Alert

　[B] The Middle Class on the Cliff

　[C] The Middle Class in Conflict

　[D] The Middle Class in Ruins：

It never rains but it pours. Just as bosses and boards have finally sorted out their worst accounting and compliance troubles， and improved their feeble corporation governance， a new problem threatens to earn them- especially in America-the sort of nasty headlines that inevitably lead to heads rolling in the executive suite： data insecurity. Left， until now， to odd， low-level IT staff to put right， and seen as a concern only of data-rich industries such as banking， telecoms and air travel， information protection is now high on the boss's agenda in businesses of every variety.

Several massive leakages of customer and employee data this year- from organizations as diverse as Time Warner， the American defense contractor Science Applications International Corp and even the University of California. Berkeley-have left managers hurriedly peering into their intricate 11 systems and business processes in search of potential vulnerabilities.

“Data is becoming an asset which needs no be guarded as much as any other asset.” says I am Mendelson of Stanford University's business school “The ability guard customer data is the key to market value， which the board is responsible for on behalf of shareholders” Indeed， just as there is the concept of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles （GAAP）。 perhaps it is time for GASP. Generally Accepted Security Practices， suggested Eli Noam of New York's Columbia Business School. “Setting the proper investment level for security， redundancy， and recovery is a management issue， not a technical one.” he says.

The mystery is that this should come as a surprise to any boss. Surely it should be obvious to the dimmest exccutive that trust， that most valuable of economic assets， is easily destroyed and hugely expensive to restore-and that few things are more likely to destroy trust than a company letting sensitive personal data get into the wrong hands.

The current state of affairs may have been encouraged-though not justified-by the lack of legal penalty （in America， but not Europe） for data leakage. Until California recently passed a law. American firms did not have to tell anyone， even the victim， when data went astray， I hat may change fast lots of proposed data-security legislation now doing the rounds in Washington. D.C. Meanwhile. the theft of information about some 40 million credit-card accounts in America， disclosed on June 17th. overshadowed a hugely important decision a day earlier by America's Federal Trade Commission （FTC） that puts corporate America on notice that regulators will act if firms fail to provide adequate data security.

16. The statement： “It never rains but it pours” is used to introduce ________.

　[A] the fierce business competition.

　[B] the feeble boss-board relations

　[C] the threat from news reports.

　[D] the severity of data leakage.

17. According to Paragraph 2， some organizations check their systems to find out ________.

　[A] whether there is any weak point.

　[B] what sort of data has been stolen.

　[C] who is responsible for the leakage.

　[D] how the potential spies can be located.

18. In bringing up the concept of GASP the author is making the point that ________.

　[A] shareholders interests should be properly attended to.

　[B] information protection should be given due attention.

　[C] businesses should enhance their level of accounting security.

　[D] the market value of customer data should be emphasized.

19. According to Paragraph 4， what puzzles the author is that some bosses fail to ________.

　[A] see the link between trust and data protection.

　[B] perceive the sensitivity of personal data.

　[C] realize the high cost of data restoration.

　[D] appreciate the economic value of trust.

20. It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that ________.

　[A] data leakage is more severe in Europe.      　[B] FTC's decision is essential to data security.

　[C] California takes the lead in security legislation. 　[D] legal penalty is a major Solomon to data leakage.