Section B

　　As you are probably aware, the latest job markets news isn’t good: Unemployment is still more than 9 percent, and new job growth has fallen close to zero. That’s bad for the economy, of course. And it may be especially discouraging if you happen to be looking for a job or hoping to change careers right now. But it actually shouldn’t matter to you nearly as much as you think.

　　That’s because job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much as job turnover data. After all, existing jobs open up every day due to promotions, resignations, terminations, and retirements. (Yes, people are retiring even in this economy.) In both good times and bad, turnover creates more openings than economic growth does. Even in June of 2007, when the economy was still humming along, job growth was only 132,000, while turnover was 4.7 million!

　　And as it turns out, even today — with job growth near zero — over 4 million job hunters are being hired every month.

　　I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to land a job. It’s true that if total employment were higher, it would mean more jobs for all of us to choose from (and compete for). And it’s true that there are currently more people applying for each available job opening, regardless of whether it’s a new one or not.

　　But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated. They’re willing to do the hard work of identifying their valuable skills; be creative about where and how to look; learn how to present themselves to potential employers; and keep going, even after repeated rejections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 2.7 million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.

　　So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up. Four million people get hired every month in the U.S. You can be one of them.

　　57. The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate ______?

　　A) deprives many people of job opportunities.

　　B) prevents many people from changing careers.

　　C) should not stop people from looking for a job.

　　D) does not mean the U.S. economy is worsening.

　　58. Where do most job openings come from?

　　A) Job growth

　　B) Job turnover

　　C) Improved economy

　　D) Business expansion

　　59. What does the author say about overall job growth?

　　A) It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers.

　　B) It increases people’s confidence in the economy.

　　C) It gives a ray of hope to the unemployed.

　　D) It doesn’t mean greater job security for the employed.

　　60. What is the key to landing a job according to the author?

　　A) Education

　　B) Intelligence

　　C) Persistence

　　D) Experience

　　61. What do we learn from the passage about the unemployment figures in the US?

　　A) They clearly indicate how healthy the economy is.

　　B) They provide the public with the latest information.

　　C) They warn of the structural problems in the economy.

　　D) They exclude those who have stopped looking for a job.

SB__1答案

點評：本篇文章選自TIME周刊的財經板塊，原文標題為“Why Job Hunters Shouldn’t Worry So Much About Paltry Job Growth”，文章主要表達了這樣一種觀點，即找工作的人不必太在意官方提供的高失業率，就業增長等數據，原因在于這些并不等說明現實情況，比如：人員更替帶來了更多的職位空缺，因此，即便是經濟增速緩慢，就業增長為零，依然還是有很多的職位空缺存在。所以，如作者最后點睛所言，So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up. 不灰心不放棄。

　　從整體語言難度來說，文章難度不是很大，財經相關的一些詞匯基本都是大家比較熟悉的。并沒有出現過高難度的長難句以及詞匯，整體理解起來也相對容易。

　　今后大家還應當繼續注重一些商務詞匯的表達，如job turnover（人員更替），termination解雇，land jobs找工作，等等。

　　57. The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate ______?

　　答案：C. should not stop people from looking for a job.

解析：本題重點考察作者觀點。題干問在作者看來，高失業率怎么樣？鎖定原文第一段，雖然第一段中的bad for the economy，discouraging，change careers等字眼跟選項ABD當中的詞匯很類似，但是要注意的是，真正表達作者觀點的是第一段最后一句But it actually shouldn’t matter to you nearly as much as you think。其實高失業率跟你沒太大關系。包括原文最后一段第一句“So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up.”所以，綜上所述，它不該給你找工作帶來阻礙，引申意思就是該怎么辦就怎么辦，不要在意官方統計的高失業率。

　　58. Where do most job openings come from?

　　答案：B. Job turnover

解析：本題屬于細節考查題。題干問大部分的職位空缺來自于哪里？根據四個選項，可以用排除法將business expansion排除，因為原文并未提及。再剩下的三個選項中，根據原文第二段的第一句job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much asjob turnover data以及turnovercreates more openings than economic growth does.可以確定人員更替（turnover）提供了更多的職位空缺，因此答案為Job turnover。

　　59. What does the author say about overall job growth?

　　答案：A. It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers.

解析：本題繼續考察作者觀點。題干問作者對于整體就業增長（overall job growth）的態度是怎樣的，可以定位到原文倒數第三段，關鍵是第一句：I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to land a job. 此處用到雙重否定，“我并不是說整體就業增長對一個人找工作沒有絲毫影響”，也就是說“有一定影響，但是沒有那么大”所以答案是A，而BCD選項的confidence，hope，job security原文并未提及。

　　60. What is the key to landing a job according to the author?

　　答案：C. Persistence

解析：本題屬于細節考查題。定位原文倒數第二段第一句But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated. 關鍵詞是stay motivated

　　61. What do we learn from the passage about the unemployment figures in the US?

　　答案：D. They exclude those who have stopped looking for a job.

解析：本題屬于細節考查題。根據倒數第二段的最后一句The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 2.7 million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.可知答案選D，那一部分人已經被排除掉了，所以失業率這個數據是有水分的。

　　Our risk of cancer rises dramatically as we age. So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened for new tumors — or doesn’t it?

　　While such vigilant（警覺的）tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly. With the percentage of people over age 65 expected to nearly double by 2050, it’s important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing.

　　In many cases, screening can lead to additional biopsies and surgeries to remove cancer, which can cause side effects, while the cancers themselves may be slow-growing and may not pose serious health problems in patients’ remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so ingrained that when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74stop screening for breast cancer, it caused a riotous reaction among doctors, patients and advocacy groups.

　　It’s hard to uproot deeply held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data. Certainly, there are people over age 75 who have had cancers detected by routine screening, and gained several extra years of life because of treatment. And clearly, people over age 75 who have other risk factors for cancer, such as a family history or prior personal experience with the disease, should continue to get screened regularly. But for the remainder, the risk of cancer, while increased at the end of life, must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy（預期壽命）.

　　A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening- especially considering the explosion of the elderly that will soon swell our population.

　　It’s not an easy calculation to make, but one that make sense for the whole patient. Dr. Otis Brawley said, “Many doctors are ordering these tests purely to cover themselves. We need to think about the rational use of health care and stop talking about the rationing of health care.”

　　That means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients, and going against the misguided belief that when it comes to health care, more is always better.

　　62. Why do doctors recommend routine cancer screening for elderly people?

　　A. It is believed to contribute to long life.

　　B. It is part of their health care package.

　　C. The elderly are more sensitive about their health.

　　D. The elderly are in greater danger of tumor growth.

　　63. How do some researchers now look at routine cancer screening for the elderly?

　　A. It adds too much to their medical bills.

　　B. It helps increase their life expectancy.

　　C. They are doubtful about necessity.

　　D. They think it does more than good.

　　64. What is the conventional view about women screening for breast cancer?

　　A. It applies to women over 50.

　　B. It is a must for adult women.

　　C. It is optional for young women.

　　D. It doesn’t apply to women over 74.

　　65. Why do many doctors prescribe routine screening for cancer?

　　A. They want to protect themselves against medical disputes.

　　B. They want to take advantage of the medical care system.

　　C. They want data for medical research.

　　D. They want their patients to suffer less.

　　66. What does the author say is the general view about health care?

　　A. The more, the better.

　　B. Prevention is better than cure.

　　C. Better early than late.

　　D. Better care, longer life.

SB_2 答案

　　62. D. The elderly are in greater danger of tumor growth.

　　63. C. They are doubtful about its necessity.

　　64. B. It is a must for adult women.

　　65. A. They want to protect themselves against medical disputes.

　　66. A. The more, the better.

　　【點評】

　　這是一篇有關癌癥篩查的文章。長期以來，人們認為對于老年人來說，隨著年齡的增長，腫瘤生長造成的威脅就越大，所以醫生建議他們進行各類常規的癌癥篩查。但是近來，研究者開始懷疑它的必要性。當他們開始叫停50歲以下和74歲以上的婦女的乳腺癌篩查時，受慣例根深蒂固影響的人們掀起了軒然大波。不過，對于老年人來話說，癌癥的風險還要和預期壽命進行權衡。近期的調查還顯示很多醫生讓病人進行癌癥篩查純粹是為了在醫療事故中保護自己，所以這篇反對了人們長期以來的對健康檢查的誤解，即健康檢查并非多多益善。