本题具体涉及对第一段的中心意思的理解，尤其是对这段最后一句中losing in numerical importance的确切理解。这一段的大致意思是，当今的社会已经成为一个雇员的社会。大约在100年前，5个美国人中只有1个人是被雇佣为别人干活的。今天，5个人中只有l个人是为自己干而不被雇佣的。50年前，被雇佣就意味着当工厂或农场的劳动力。而今天，越来越多的雇员是接受过正规教育的中产阶层医学全在线www.med126.com。他们承担了需要智力和技术的职业或管理工作。50年以来，美国社会的确有两个特点：中层和上层雇员成了工薪队伍中人数快速增长的一部分一—其速度之快使得作为工业革命最早的产物的产业工人在人数上相形见绌，尽管工业生产还在扩大规模。所以选项D是正确答案。选项A意思与选项D正好相反。同样，选项B和选项C都不对。
2. According to the writer, professional knowledge or skill is________.
A. less important than awareness of being a good employee
B. as important as the ability to deal with public relations
C. more important than employer--employee relations
D. as important as the ability to co-operate with others in the organization
本题考查读者对文章第二段中关于专门知识和技能的重要性的论点的理解。学生可以 从最后一句找出正确答案。这一句指出，“人们失败的原因更多的是不具备当雇员的要素，而不是缺乏本行业的专业技能”。因此选项A是正确答案医学全在线www.med126.com。选项B说的是公共关系的能力， 是误解，因为文章说的是单位内部开展工作的能力，如内部合作的好(the ability to work within the organization)。选项C把意思颠倒了。选项D说两者同等重要，当然也不对。
例2
To prepare for career in engineerin9, a student must begin planning in high school. Mathematics and science should form the core curriculum．For example，in a school where sixteen credit hours are required for high school graduation，four should be in mathematics，one each in chemistry，biology，and physics．The remaining credits should include four in English and at least three in the humanities and social sciences．The average entering freshman in engineering should have achieved at least a 2.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale in his or her high sch001． Although deficiencies can be corrected during the first year，the student who needs additional work should expect tO spend five instead of four years completing a degree．
1．What is the average grade point that an entering freshman in engineering should have achieved in his or her high school?
答案：2．5．(看文章的第五句)
2．When should a student begin planning for a career in engineering?
答案：In high sch001．(看文章的第一句)
3．In normal situations，how many years are needed for a student to complete a degree?
答案：Four．(看文章最后一句)
4．How many credits are required for a high school diploma?
答案：Sixteen．(看文章第三句)
5．How many credits need a student have in English?
答案：Four．(看文章第四句)
