5．One of the most difficult questions to answer is how much a job is worth．We naturally expect that a doctor's salary will be higher than a bus conductor's wages．But the question becomes much more difficult to answer when we compare a miner with an engineer，or an unskilled man working on an oil-rig（鉆探平臺(tái)）with a teacher in a secondary school．What the doctor，the engineer and the teacher have in common is that they have devoted several years to studying in order to obtain the necessary qualifications for their professions．We feel instinctively that these skills and these years should be rewarded．At the same time we recognize that the work of the miner and the oil-rig laborer is both hard and dangerous，and that they must be highly paid for the risks they take．
Another aspect we must take into consideration is how socially useful a man's work is．Most people would agree that looking after the sick or teaching children is more important than，say，selling second-hand cars．Yet it is almost certain that the used-car salesman earns more than the nurse and the schoolteacher．
Indeed，this whole question of just rewards can be turned on its head．You can argue that a man who does a job which brings him personal satisfaction is already receiving part of his reward in the form of a so-called"psychic（精神的）wage"，and that it is the man with the boring，repetitive job who needs more money to make up for the soul-destroying repetitiveness of his work．It is significant that the jobs like nursing and teaching continue to be poorly paid，while others，such as those in the world of sport or entertainment，carry financial rewards out of all proportion to their social worth．
Although the amount of money that people earn is largely determined by market forces，this should not prevent us from seeking some way to decide what is the right pay for the job．A starting point would be to try to decide the ratio（比率）which ought to exist between the highest and the lowest paid．The picture is made more complicated by two factors：firstly by the welfare benefits which every citizen receives，and secondly by the taxation system which is often used as an instrument of social justice by taxing high incomes at a very high rate indeed．Most countries now regard a ratio of 7：1as socially acceptable．If it is less，the highly-qualified people carrying heavy responsibilities will become disappointed，and might even end up by leaving for another country．If it is more，the difference between rich and poor will be so great that it will lead to social unrest．
24．We learn from the passage that a man who does a boring，repetitive jobB．
A．receives far less money than he deserves
B．should receive more money to lessen the bad effect of the hardship of his job
C．can only expect more money if his job is a highly-skilled one
D．has no interest in his work apart from the money he receives for doing it
25．In Paragraph 2and 3，the author indicates thatC．
A．the talented should do more important work
B．unskilled jobs have less social responsibility
C．those with more socially useful jobs earn less
D．people want to pay more to important services
26．Which of the following statements would the author agree？C
A．It's difficult to define the social value of a job．
B．The market will decide what the right pay is for a job．
C．People should find a proper ratio between high and low pay．
D．Those receiving high salary should carry heavy responsibilities．
分析 文章討論的是社會(huì)上工資分配問題，到底什么樣的工作應(yīng)該得到高工資？作者認(rèn)為最低工資和最高工資應(yīng)該有個(gè)適當(dāng)?shù)谋嚷剩?/p>
解答 24．B 25．C 26．C
24．B 根據(jù)You can argue that a man who does a job which brings him personal satisfaction is already receiving part of his reward in the form of a so-called"psychic（精神的）wage"，and that it is the man with the boring，repetitive job who needs more money to make up for the soul-destroying repetitiveness of his work．可知，從事枯燥的，重復(fù)性的工作應(yīng)該獲得更高的報(bào)酬，故答案為B
25．C 細(xì)節(jié)題：從第二段的句子：Yet it is almost certain that the used-car salesman earns more than the nurse and the schoolteacher．可知對(duì)社會(huì)有用的工作反而得到的工資很少．選C
26．C 細(xì)節(jié)題：從第四段的句子：A starting point would be to try to decide the ratio（比率）which ought to exist between the highest and the lowest paid．可知作者認(rèn)為人們應(yīng)該在最低工資和最高工資有個(gè)適當(dāng)?shù)谋嚷剩xC
點(diǎn)評(píng) 首段主題由most difficult question引出，可見其后的內(nèi)容都是圍繞工資展開．第二段的主題句也很明顯，顯然就是對(duì)影響工資的另一個(gè)因素的討論．而第三段indeed后面引出的才是作者真正的觀點(diǎn)，即人的工資的有一部分是"精神工資"，只有算上這部分工資，才能衡量一個(gè)人真正應(yīng)得的報(bào)酬．結(jié)構(gòu)是很清楚的，題目設(shè)置都是細(xì)節(jié)題．可以在文章中直接找到與答案有關(guān)的信息？或是其變體．搜查信息在閱讀中非常重要它包括理解作者在敘述某事時(shí)使用的具體事實(shí)、數(shù)據(jù)、圖表等細(xì)節(jié)信息．
