I would never have（ ） a court of law if I hadn’t been so desperate.

A.sought for B.accounted for C.turned up D.resorted to

If sustainable competitive advantage depends on work-force skills, American firms have a problem. Human resource management is not traditionally seen as central to the competitive survival of the firm in the United States. Skill acquisition is considered an individual responsibility. Labor is simply another factor of production to be hired ——rented at the lowest possible cost ——much as one buys raw materials or equipment.The lack of importance attached to human-resource management can be seen in the corporate hierarchy. In an American firm the chief financial officer is almost always second in command. The post of head of human-resource management is usually a specialized job, off at the edge of the corporate hierarchy. The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic decisions and has no chance to move up to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). By way of contrasts, in Japan the head of human-resource management is central ——usually the second most important executive after the CEO, in the firm’s hierarchy.While American firms often talk about the vast amounts spent on training their work forces, in fact they invest less in the skills of their employees than do either Japanese or German firms. The money they do invest is also more highly concentrated on professional and managerial employees. And the limited investments that are made in training workers are also much more narrowly focused on the specific skills necessary to do the next job rather than on the basic background skills that make it possible to absorb new technologies.As a result, problems emerge when new breakthrough technologies arrive. If American workers, for example, take much longer to learn how to operate new flexible manufacturing stations than workers in Germany (as they do), the effective cost of those stations is lower in Germany than it is in the United States. More time is required before equipment is up and running at capacity, and the need for extensive retraining generates costs and creates bottlenecks that limit the speed with which new equipment can be employed. The result is a slower pace of technological change. And in the end the skills of the bottom half of the population affect the wages of the top half. If the bottom half can’t effectively staff the processes that have to be operated, the management and professional job that go with these processes will disappear.1.Which of the following applies to the management of human resources in American companies?2.What is the position of the head of human-resource management in an American firm?3.The money most American firms put in training mainly goes to（ ）.4.According to the passage, the decisive factors in maintaining a firm’s competitive

advantage is（ ）.5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A.They hire people at the lowest cost regardless of their skills. B.They see the gaining of skills as their employees’ own business C.They attach more importance to workers than equipment. D.They only hire skilled workers because of keen competition问题2： A.He is one of the most important executives in the firm. B.His post is likely to disappear when new technologies are introduced. C.He is directly under the chief financial executive D.He has no say in making important decisions in the firm.问题3： A.Workers who can operate new equipment. B.Technological and managerial staff C.Workers who lack basic background skills D.Top executives问题4： A.The introduction of new technologies B.the improvement of worker’s basic skills C.the rational composition of professional and managerial employees D.the attachment of importance to the bottom half of the employees问题5： A.American firms are different from Japanese firms in human-resource management B.Extensive retraining is indispensable to effective human resource management C.the head of human resource management must be in the central position in a firm’shierarchy. D.the human resource management strategies of American firms affect their competitive capacity.

There are new sources of diversity becoming more prominent in the form of the new providers—the for-profit, the virtual, and the corporate universities and colleges, （ ） substantially different organizational forms.

A.some of that use B.some of what use C.some of them use D.some of which use

They（ ） his claim of innocence with eye-witness testimony

A.objected B.opposed C.contradicted D.refuted

When you prepare for your speech, be sure to cite（ ）qualified sources of information and examples.

A.unbiased B.manipulated C.distorted D.conveyed

With the prospect of coal and petroleum supplies running out and with air pollution becoming an increasing concern, the major countries of the world are seeking alternate sources of energy. If a means to obtain energy from water, especially from the ocean, can be effected economically, it would provide a never ending supply of energy, since 70% of the earth’s surface is ocean and another 10% is fresh water in rivers and lakes.From the beginning of time man has used waterpower as a source of working energy---waterfalls and dams---but these are fresh water sources and are landlocked. The seas have contributed little or nothing in the way of power. The use of temperature variation between currents is one area of exploration. Ocean water is heated by the sun near the equator and drawn by the rotation of the earth toward the poles, where it cools and drops toward the ocean floor and starts its journey back toward the equator. The differential between the two currents is 1 °C and 7°C. To use it, the scientists must find the places where they run near land and are not too far away from each other.America, the greatest consumer of energy, has been working on another kind of thermal sea energy proposal. One plan would somewhat resemble the operation of a refrigerator on a vast scale. Warm water would be the heat source, cold water the heat sink. A component such as fog would be liquid at a cold temperature and turn to gas as it warmed.Oceans also offer wave power, tides and the chemical reaction of salt water as potential sources of energy. All these uses are theoretically possible. Britain is interested in wave power, using a string of “tear drop” devices that depend on very active wave areas at 100 feet depths. In addition to this, the British are working on a method that the Japanese have already put into practical use on a small scale for powering their navigational boats. This method is called an oscillating （振荡的）water column and rides the waves with a series of cylinders（气缸）having one-way air valves. Wave movement produces air under pressure that has only one escape route——to a turbine（涡轮机）that powers a generator.1.The use of water referred in this passage is（ ）.2.In the matter of developing energy from ocean water, Britain is（ ）.

3.The development of oceanic water power is important because（ ）.4.Getting energy from the ocean is important to（ ）.5.The oscillating water column produces power from（ ）.

A.a new concept compared with other ways of natural resources B.less expensive than petroleum and other means of energies C.now being used more from the ocean than from rivers and lakes D.being developed to supplement other sources of energy问题2： A.working on an old Japanese method B.the most advanced country in the field C.following the lead of the United States D.consolidating their work with operations问题3： A.there will be a shortage of coal and petroleum B.it is the cheapest method of producing energy C.petroleum supplies are being steadily drained D.obtaining energy from ocean water is simpler问题4： A.Russia because of its limited coal and petroleum resources on land B.America because it is the greatest consumer of energy in the world C.Asia because most of Asian countries lack other sources of energy D.South America because a great part of its population is very poor问题5： A.the turbine that powers the generator B.the generator that produces electricity C.the cylinders that drives the turbine D.the air that escapes to the turbine