In “Relax, We’ll Be Fine”, columnist David Brooks writes, “the fact is, despite all the problems, America’s future is extremly bright.”

Mr. Brooks acknowledges that “According to recent survey, 60 percent of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction. The same percentage believe that the U.S. is in long-term decline. The political system is not functional. A financial crisis looks unavoidable. There are plenty of reasons to be sad.”

But, he writes:

“Demographers(人口學家) predict that over the next 40 years, the U.S. population will increase by an additional 100 million people, to 400 million over all. The population will be determined, hardworking and relatively young. In 2050, only a quarter will be over 60, compared with 31 percent in China and 41 percent in Japan.”

As the rising generation leads an economic recovery, it will also participate in a communal

(of community) one. We are living in a global age of social entrepreneurship(創(chuàng)業(yè)精神).

In sum, the U.S. is on the edge of a demographic, economic and social recovery, built on its historic strengths. The U.S. has always been good at destructive change. And it’s always been good at decentralized community-building, too. Surely a country with this much going for it is not going to wait around passively and let a rotten political culture drag it down.

51．In his article Relax, We’ll Be Fine, David Brooks intends to____________.

A．encourage Americans to be optimistic about their future

B．give Americans courage to face their financial crisis

C．persuade Americans to live happily and generously

D．inspire Americans to lead an economic recovery

52．There are all the reasons for Americans to be unhappy except____________

A．the function-failed political system         B．the increasing population

C．the declining economy                   D．the wrong direction and financial crisis

53．Over the next 40 years, according to David Brooks, Americans will be____________

A．more optimistic and humorous            B．more pessimistic and stronger

C．more energetic and promising             D．more considerate and aggressive

54．In the author’s opinion, America____________.

A．has always benefited from wars            B．has done well by its political system

C．has contributed a lot to human progress     D．has contributed to world’s economy

55．We can learn from the passage that____________

A．American political system and culture are backward

B．Americans are not a nation to give in to difficulties

C．Americans are very destructive and aggressive

D．America has been in an economic and social recovery

Job sharing refers to the situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time job. The people willingly act as part-time workers, enough hours between them to fulfill the duties of a full-time worker. If they each work half the job, for example, they each receive 50 percent of the job’s wages, its holidays and its other benefits.
Job sharing differs from conventional(常規(guī)的) part-time work in that it occurs mainly in the more highly skilled and professional areas, which require higher levels of responsibility and employee commitment.
Job sharing should not be confused with the term work sharing, which refers to increasing the number of jobs by reducing the number of hours of each existing job, thus offering more positions to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing by contrast, is not designed to address the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing, by contrast, is not designed to address unemployment problems; its focus, rather is to provide well-paid work for skilled workers and professionals who want more free time for other activities.
As would be expected, most job sharers are women. A survey carried out in 1988 by Britain’s Equal Opportunities Commission showed that 78 per cent of sharers were female, the majority of whom were between 20 and 40 years of age. Subsequent studies have come up with similar results. Many of these women were re-entering the job market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part-time work because it would have meant lower status. Job sharing also offered an acceptable shift back into full-time work after a long absence.
The necessity of close cooperation when sharing a job with another person makes the actual work quite different from conventional one-position jobs. However, to ensure a greater chance that the partnership will succeed, each person needs to know the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of his or her partner before applying for a position. Moreover, there must be a fair division of both routine tasks and interesting ones. In sum, for a position to be job-shared well, the two individuals must be well matched and must treat each other as equals.
【小題1】In what way is work sharing different from job sharing?

Job sharing refers to the situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time job. The people willingly act as part-time workers, enough hours between them to fulfill the duties of a full-time worker. If they each work half the job, for example, they each receive 50 percent of the job’s wages, its holidays and its other benefits.

Job sharing differs from conventional(常規(guī)的) part-time work in that it occurs mainly in the more highly skilled and professional areas, which require higher levels of responsibility and employee commitment.

Job sharing should not be confused with the term work sharing, which refers to increasing the number of jobs by reducing the number of hours of each existing job, thus offering more positions to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing by contrast, is not designed to address the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing, by contrast, is not designed to address unemployment problems; its focus, rather is to provide well-paid work for skilled workers and professionals who want more free time for other activities.

As would be expected, most job sharers are women. A survey carried out in 1988 by Britain’s Equal Opportunities Commission showed that 78 per cent of sharers were female, the majority of whom were between 20 and 40 years of age. Subsequent studies have come up with similar results. Many of these women were re-entering the job market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part-time work because it would have meant lower status. Job sharing also offered an acceptable shift back into full-time work after a long absence.

The necessity of close cooperation when sharing a job with another person makes the actual work quite different from conventional one-position jobs. However, to ensure a greater chance that the partnership will succeed, each person needs to know the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of his or her partner before applying for a position. Moreover, there must be a fair division of both routine tasks and interesting ones. In sum, for a position to be job-shared well, the two individuals must be well matched and must treat each other as equals.

1.In what way is work sharing different from job sharing?

2.According to paragraph4, young mothers preferred job sharing to conventional part-time work mainly because______.

3.In job sharing the partners should ______.

In “Relax, We’ll Be Fine”, columnist David Brooks writes, “the fact is, despite all the problems, America’s future is extremly bright.”
Mr. Brooks acknowledges that “According to recent survey, 60 percent of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction. The same percentage believe that the U.S. is in long-term decline. The political system is not functional. A financial crisis looks unavoidable. There are plenty of reasons to be sad.”
But, he writes:
“Demographers(人口學家) predict that over the next 40 years, the U.S. population will increase by an additional 100 million people, to 400 million over all. The population will be determined, hardworking and relatively young. In 2050, only a quarter will be over 60, compared with 31 percent in China and 41 percent in Japan.”
As the rising generation leads an economic recovery, it will also participate in a communal
(of community) one. We are living in a global age of social entrepreneurship(創(chuàng)業(yè)精神).
In sum, the U.S. is on the edge of a demographic, economic and social recovery, built on its historic strengths. The U.S. has always been good at destructive change. And it’s always been good at decentralized community-building, too. Surely a country with this much going for it is not going to wait around passively and let a rotten political culture drag it down.
51．In his article Relax, We’ll Be Fine, David Brooks intends to____________.
A．encourage Americans to be optimistic about their future
B．give Americans courage to face their financial crisis
C．persuade Americans to live happily and generously
D．inspire Americans to lead an economic recovery
52．There are all the reasons for Americans to be unhappy except____________
A．the function-failed political system         B．the increasing population
C．the declining economy                   D．the wrong direction and financial crisis
53．Over the next 40 years, according to David Brooks, Americans will be____________
A．more optimistic and humorous            B．more pessimistic and stronger
C．more energetic and promising             D．more considerate and aggressive
54．In the author’s opinion, America____________.
A．has always benefited from wars            B．has done well by its political system
C．has contributed a lot to human progress     D．has contributed to world’s economy
55．We can learn from the passage that____________
A．American political system and culture are backward
B．Americans are not a nation to give in to difficulties
C．Americans are very destructive and aggressive
D．America has been in an economic and social recovery

In “Relax, We’ll Be Fine”, columnist David Brooks writes, “the fact is, despite all the problems, America’s future is extremly bright.”

Mr. Brooks acknowledges that “According to recent survey, 60 percent of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction. The same percentage believe that the U.S. is in long-term decline. The political system is not functional. A financial crisis looks unavoidable. There are plenty of reasons to be sad.”

But, he writes:

“Demographers(人口學家) predict that over the next 40 years, the U.S. population will increase by an additional 100 million people, to 400 million over all. The population will be determined, hardworking and relatively young. In 2050, only a quarter will be over 60, compared with 31 percent in China and 41 percent in Japan.”

As the rising generation leads an economic recovery, it will also participate in a communal

(of community) one. We are living in a global age of social entrepreneurship(創(chuàng)業(yè)精神).

In sum, the U.S. is on the edge of a demographic, economic and social recovery, built on its historic strengths. The U.S. has always been good at destructive change. And it’s always been good at decentralized community-building, too. Surely a country with this much going for it is not going to wait around passively and let a rotten political culture drag it down.

51．In his article Relax, We’ll Be Fine, David Brooks intends to        .

A．encourage Americans to be optimistic about their future

B．give Americans courage to face their financial crisis

C．persuade Americans to live happily and generously

D．inspire Americans to lead an economic recovery

52．There are all the reasons for Americans to be unhappy except        .

A．the function-failed political system

B．the increasing population

C．the declining economy

D．the wrong direction and financial crisis

53．Over the next 40 years, according to David Brooks, Americans will be        .

A．more optimistic and humorous

B．more pessimistic and stronger

C．more energetic and promising

D．more considerate and aggressive

54．In the author’s opinion, America        .

A．has always benefited from wars

B．has done well by its political system

C．has contributed a lot to human progress

D．has contributed to world’s economy

55．We can learn from the passage that        .

A．American political system and culture are backward

B．Americans are not a nation to give in to difficulties

C．Americans are very destructive and aggressive

D．America has been in an economic and social recovery