组卷网 > 高中英语综合库 > 主题 > 人与自我 > 工作与职业 > 职业内容
题型:阅读理解-阅读单选 难度:0.65 引用次数:139 题号:10494676

British people work some of the longest hours in Europe, but are among the least productive. Now some companies are shortening the working week to increase efficiency, health and happiness.

Rich Leigh has introduced a four-day week at his PR company. In fact, his entire company has Friday off, because his firm has adopted a four-day week. It is one of several UK businesses that now operate like this: staff still get paid their previous five-day salary, but they work a day less. The company found that they achieved just as much-and there were even signs of growth. “The key to the scheme’s success,” Leigh says, “is how happy our employees now are.”

The average British worker takes only a 34 minute lunch break and works 10 hours overtime each week (more often than not this is unpaid). Yet UK productivity falls seriously behind their European neighbors, who tend to work fewer hours.

British working practices have caused loss and damage to the nation’s health and happiness. More than half a million workers in the UK were signed off with work-related stress or anxiety last year. Moreover, the work landscape itself is changing. Automation and AI will have a significant impact on the labor market, where unsteady work becomes more common.

Britain is the only EU member that allows workers to ignore the EU working time limit and work longer hours. For campaigners, now is the time for a change. O’Grady, an advocate, argues that where businesses have increased their profits (利润)as a result of automation, success should be shared with workers in the form of reduced hours. “It’s time to share the benefits from new technology, not allowing those at the top to grab them for themselves.” she says.

1. We can learn from the passage that ________.
A.British people are the least productive in the world
B.Most companies in Britain have conducted a four-day week
C.PR company has witnessed a rise in employees’ happiness
D.British people work longer and get more payment than other countries
2. Which is the proper description of British working practices?
A.The working time of British workers is within the EU limit.
B.In productivity, Britain is beaten by the United States.
C.Profits gained from new technology are on the decrease.
D.Automation and AI are likely to cause an unsteady work market.
3. Which can be inferred from O’Grady’ s words in the last paragraph?
A.It’s time for employers to share the increased profits created by automation.
B.Workers should benefit from automation in the form of less working hours.
C.New technology should belong to both businesses and workers.
D.Businesses can’t make more profits without new technology.
4. What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?
A.To introduce some British firms’ switch to a four-day working week.
B.To explain the reasons why British workers suffer stress and anxiety.
C.To appeal for more reasonable working conditions.
D.To show the present productivity problem in Britain.

相似题推荐

阅读理解-阅读单选(约340词) | 适中 (0.65)
名校

【推荐1】Growing up in south Florida, Rebecca dreamed of becoming a professional singer, but after a serious illness damaged her voice at college, she settled for the next-best thing.

She couldn't be an artist, but she could become a lawyer for artists. “I knew I'd go to a law school and I'd try to help musicians because even if I didn't have my own voice, I could help them find theirs,” said Rebecca, 19. “There hasn’t been a day when I've questioned my choice,”

That seems to be the case with hundreds of students who have signed up for entertainment law courses at Harvard Law School (HLS) over the last 20 years. It marks a trend among law students to change from the traditional field of corporate law and look to Working in creative industries. The trend, also noticeable at other law schools around the country, has pushed growth in the field of entertainment law.

“These students are propelled by a love for music, the arts, and show business. It's an exciting career for a music lover,” said HLS Clinical Professor of Law Brian Price, who's in charge of the Entertainment Law Clinic.

Price added, “Although entertainment lawyers work behind the scenes, they can have a bigger influence on artists' careers than managers. They review artists’ agreements, deals and contacts, making sure their customers, interests are protected.”

“Artists are becoming wise and want to be involved in the business aspects of their careers,” said Price. “When they ask for legal advice, they want to know their legal rights, and how to make good deals and find ways to make more money.” Most HLS graduates end up working in business or corporate law, though some have had successful careers in the entertainment industry. Among them are Bruce Ramer, 58, who represents customers like George Clooney and Clint East wood; Bert Fields, 52, who represents Michael Jackson.

1. What does the author want to show through the example of Rebecca?
A.The importance of learning entertainment law.
B.Her determination to succeed in the field of law.
C.The rising popularity in the field of entertainment law.
D.Her dull future caused by her serious illness at college.
2. What does the underlined word “propelled” in paragraph 4 mean?
A.Blown.B.Driven.C.Depressed.D.Confused.
3. What can be learned from the last paragraph?
A.HLS is home to many famous artists.
B.Artists are wise enough to learn corporate law.
C.Artists are becoming more focused on legal needs.
D.Famous artists pay no attention to making money.
4. What can be the best title for the text?
A.The Death of Rebecca's Dream.
B.Making It Big behind the Scenes.
C.Helping Musicians Improve Themselves.
D.A Brief Introduction to Entertainment Law.
2021-04-01更新 | 120次组卷
阅读理解-阅读单选(约380词) | 适中 (0.65)

【推荐2】For most of us, work is the central, dominating fact of life. We spend more than half our conscious hours at work, preparing for work, traveling to and from work. What we do there largely determines our standard of living and our status to a considerable extent. It is sometimes said that because leisure has become more important, the injustices of work can be pushed into a comer, and that because most work is pretty intolerable, the people who do it should compensate for its boredom, frustrations and humiliations by concentrating their hopes on the other parts of their lives. For the foreseeable future, however, the material and psychological rewards which work can provide will continue to play a vital part in determining the satisfaction that life can offer.

Yet only a small minority can control the pace at which they work or the conditions where their work is done; only for a small minority does work offer scope for creativity, imagination or initiative.

Inequality at work is still one of the most glaring(明显的)forms of inequality in our society. We cannot hope to solve the more obvious problems of industrial life, many of which arise from the frustrations created by inequality at work, unless we handle it determinedly.

The most glaring inequality is that between managers and the rest. For most managers, work is an opportunity and a challenge. Their jobs engage their interest and allow them to develop their abilities. They are constantly learning. They are able to exercise responsibility. They have a considerable degree of control over their own and others' working lives. Most important of all, they have opportunities to initiate. By contrast, for most manual workers, work is a boring, dull, even painful experience. They spend all their working lives in intolerable conditions. The majority have little control over their work. It provides them with no opportunity for personal development. Many jobs are so routine that workers feel themselves to be mere cogs (齿轮)in the bureaucratic machine. As a direct consequence of their work experience, many workers feel alienated (疏远)from their work and their firm.

1. In the writer's opinion, people judge others mainly by_________.
A.the amount of money they earnB.the type of work they do
C.the time they spend at workD.the place where they work
2. According to the writer, to solve problems in an industrial society, we _________       .
A.have to get rid of the unequal aspects in work
B.should create more working opportunities for the poor
C.had better cancel all managing positions in a company
D.should encourage the manual workers to promote efficiency
3. What advantage does the writer say managers have over workers?
A.They have complete control over themselves.B.They can work at what interests them.
C.They get time off to learn constantly.D.They won't be out of work.
2020-03-30更新 | 27次组卷
阅读理解-阅读单选(约670词) | 适中 (0.65)

【推荐3】It was a bright, clear February afternoon in Gettysburg (葛底斯堡). A strong sun and layers of warm clothes did little to ease the biting cold. From the top of Little Round Top, we looked down on the wheat field where the young men fighting there had fallen so close together that one could not see the ground. A frozen wind whipped tears from our eyes. Despite the cold, it was hard to leave this place.

Driving east out of Gettysburg on a country road, the gray car ahead of us ran into a small truck on the passenger side when it tried to take a left turn at a rural crossroad. We immediately pulled over to investigate. The driver of the car looked fine,but the truck driver was unconscious and starting to turn blue. A young man from a house at the crossroads called an ambulance.

There were six empty beer bottles on the floor of the truck. I could smell beer through the window. I knew I had to move him to open his airway (气管).I had no idea what neck injuries he had suffered. He could easily end up paralyzed (瘫痪的).But he'd be dead before the arrival of the ambulance if I did nothing to help him.

An image flashed before my mind. I could see the truck driver sitting in a wheelchair in the courtroom. I could see his lawyer pointing at me and shouting at title jury: "This young doctor, with still a year left in his residency training, took it upon himself to move this seriously injured man, condemning him forever to this wheelchair…"

What was I going to do?

The response from long hours in the emergency room came to me. I pulled off my overcoat and rolled up my sleeves. The trick would be to keep his head up while I moved his body, so that his probable broken neck and spinal-cord injury wouldn't be made worse.

With Amy's assistance, I lifted him off the window. He was deep blue now; his pulse was rapid. The alcohol turned my stomach, but I tried to blow air down his mouth into his lungs.

Amy brought me a large needle from my car. My numb hands, covered with freezing blood and bits of broken glass,were trying to find the thyroid gland (甲状腺). It was a lucky first shot. I placed a second needle next to the first. Almost immediately, the driver's face turned bright red. After a minute, his pulse slowed down and his eyes moved slightly. An ambulance approached from the distance.

The ambulance captain took down my name and address for his reports. I had just destroyed my career. I would never be able to finish my residency training if the man put the law on me. My life was over.

The ambulance crew had controlled the bleeding and began giving the truck driver a drip (输液). He was slowly waking up. As they loaded him into the ambulance, I saw him move his feet. Maybe my future wasn't lost

A few days later, I went into the office of my senior professor. "You did the right thing medically. But, do you know what you put at risk by doing that?" he said strictly. "What was I supposed to do?" I asked. "Drive on,' he replied. "If that driver had turned out to be paralyzed, you might never practice medicine again. You were a very lucky young man."

The day I graduated from medical school,I took an oath (誓言)to serve the sick and the injured. I remember truly believing I would be able to do just that. But I have found out it isn't so simple. Despite my oath, I would drive on.

1. What did the writer see when he stopped his car to investigate? ______
A.The truck driver was fine.
B.The car driver's face was turning red.
C.The truck driver was unconscious.
D.The car driver had drunk much beer.
2. What happened after the truck driver's eyes moved slightly? ______
A.He was lifted off the window.
B.The writer blew air down his mouth into his lungs.
C.The writer found his thyroid gland.
D.The ambulance crew loaded him into the ambulance.
3. What does the underlined sentence "Maybe my future wasn't lost" mean? ______
A.The writer wouldn't necessarily be taken to court.
B.The driver was so fortunate.as to be saved by the senior professor.
C.The ambulance crew had given the driver the best treatment.
D.The writer would have a promising career after his residency training.
4. What can we infer from the professor's words? ______
A.Offering timely help could have taken the writer to court.
B.The unreasonable law against doctors needs to be changed.
C.The writer's unthoughtful kindness wouldn't affect his future.
D.The writer shouldn't have driven on.
5. Which of the following sentences best reflects the theme of the story? ______
A.You were a very lucky young man.
B.I remember truly believing I would be able to do just that.
C.I could see his lawyer pointing at me and shouting at the jury…
D.I would never be able to finish my residency training if he put law on me.
6. What's the best title of the passage? ______
A.A professor's warningB.A doctor's dilemma
C.An accident in GettysburgD.An oath in the court
2019-05-21更新 | 98次组卷
共计 平均难度:一般