公共英語三級歷年考試真題及答案（閲讀理解）
2016下半年全國英語等級考試時間為9月10、11日，三級是中間級，通過該級考試的考生，其英語已達到高等教育自學考試非英語專業本科畢業水平或符合普通高校非英語專業本科畢業的要求，基本符合企事業單位行政祕書、經理助理、初級科技人員、外企職員的工作，以及同層次其他工作在對外交往中的基本需要。
SECTION III Reading Comprehension Part A(40 minutes)
Text 1
46、根據下列材料，請回答46-60題：
In 1997, 25 Japanese citizens, all older than 60, launched Jeeba (the name means "old man and old woman") to make senior-friendly products. They knew they were making history when they coined their company motto : "Of the elderly, by the elderly and for the elderly. " They do not hire young people, and the oldest of their workers is 75.
Firms run by senior citizens are still a rarity, in Japan and worldwide. But the elderly have numbers on their side. Healthier and longer-living seniors, born immediately after World War II,are reaching retirement age in huge numbers all over the developed world. Extremely low birthrates in those same countries mean there are far fewer young workers to take their place. One likely con-sequence is now clear: shrinking work forces.
While the streamlining effects of international competition are focusing attention on the need to create and keep good jobs, those fears will eventually give way to worries about the growing short-age of young workers. One unavoidable solution: putting older people back to work, whether they like it or not. Indeed, advanced economies like those of Finland and Denmark have already raised their retirement ages. Others are under severe pressure to follow suit, as both the European Com-mission and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have recently warned their members that their future prosperity depends on a growing contribution from the elderly.
Whether these changes are good or bad news to workers depends on whether they anticipate retirement with eagerness or dread. In the United States, half of working-age Americans now expect to work into their 70s, whether by financial necessity or by lifestyle choice, according to a new study by Putnam Investments.
Contrary to still widespread assumptions, there is very little hard evidence to suggest that com-panies cannot stay competitive with a rising share of older workers. At 13ritish hardware chain B&Q, its "elder worker" stores in Manchester and Exmouth were 18 percent more profitable than its regular outlets--due in part, the company says, to six times less employee turnover and 60 per-cent less shoplifting and breakage.
46、Jeeba' s difference from a conventional company mainly lies in
age of its employees
number of its owners
quality of its products
scope of its operations
47、 In the developed world, compared with young people, the elderly
better at business
greater in number
healthier lifestyles
more job opportunities
48、 According to the writer, in the current situation companies are faced with the tough task of
ting good positions
oying retired workers
ing vacant positions
acing unskilled workers
49、 For future prosperity, many European countries will have to
ease the number of young workers
r many senior-friendly jobs
ove services for seniors
e their retirement ages
50、 B&Q' s "elder worker" stores are mentioned to show that the employment of older work-ers
not reduce a company' s competitiveness
not affect older workers' lifestyle Choices
not a usual practice among competitive firms
not good news to those who are eager to retire
Text 2
根據下列材料，請回答51-65題：
Here' s how I want to watch the 2014 Winter Olympics. I want to go to a Web site to see any event I want, whenever I want to watch it, on whatever screen I choose. I' 11 gladly pay.
The technology exists to make this happen today. Yet nearly two decades after the introduction of the World Wide Web, this remains a fantasy. NBC, which broadcasted the Vancouver Olympics in the United States, wouldn' t put videos on its Web site until they had been shown on prime-time TV. So Americans had the weird experience of learning from a news report during the day that something fantastic had just happened, and then having to wait until that night' s broadcast to see it.
Bloggers complained, but NBC wouldn' t give way. Its research shows that people like me, who want to watch the Olympics online, represent only 7 percent of the total audience. The other, bigger concern is: the Internet doesn' t deliver any money. Advertisers remain willing to pay big money to show their commercials on prime-time TV. But on the Internet? Not so much.
So NBC clings to the old way of doing things. As it sees it, the prime-time show is the most important. To make matters worse, NBC was already expecting to lose $ 250 million on the 2010 Vancouver Games. Good luck persuading it to invest in a risky Web project.
It's easy to blame the network executives. But the NBC guys and their like are only doing what makes sense. They're going where the money is.
That needs to change. Yes, selling reporting of Olympic events over the Internet would drain away some of the prime-time audience, but my sense is many of the online subscribers would still watch the prime-time show. And over time, the subscription dollars could become a substantial rev- enue stream. Instead of viewing the Internet as a threat to prime time, the TV networks should see the Web as a way to sell even more of their product to a small but passionate subset of their audi-ence.
I' m hoping that by 2014, that will have changed.
51、 According to the writer, watching the Olympics online as one likes
technologically impossible
still denied to the audience
been a dream for 20 years
no longer be free in 2014
52、 We learn that what Americans saw about the Vancouver Olympics
unavailable online
ered from the news
ed weird to them
first shown on TV
53、 Bloggers complained about NBC' s
ect of those in the minority
ssive online advertisements
y in providing videos online
ted reporting on sports news
54、 After the 2010 Vancouver Games, NBC is likely to
ove its prime-time show
inue its current practice
e its price for advertising
its luck in a web program
55、 The writer thinks the TV networks should view the Web as a potential to help them to
dramatic profits
lop new products
sfy their subscribers
de prime-time revenues
Text 3
根據下列材料，請回答56-70題：
One important thing during the pre-Christmas rush at our house was the arrival of my daughter' s kindergarten report card. She got high praise for her reading, vocabulary and overall en-thusiasm. On the other hand, we learnt that she has work to do on her numbers and facility with the computer, though the detailed handwritten report her teachers prepared is absent of any words that might be interpreted as negative in describing her efforts. A number system indicates how she' s measuring up in each area without any mention of passing or failing.
All of which seems to make my daughter' s school neither fish nor fowl when it comes to the debate over the merits of giving formal grades to kids. At one level, the advantages and disadvanta-ges are obvious. A grade system provides a straightforward standard by which to measure how your child is progressing at school--and how he or she is getting on compared to other children. But as writer Sue Ferguson notes, "Grades can deceive. " The aim should be "to measure learning, not simply what a student can recall on a test. " The two aren' t the same--and if you doubt that as an adult, ask yourself whether you could sit down without any preparation and still pass those high-school-level examinations.
If you' re old enough, you' ve lived through this debate before. At one time, it was considered unfair to put children in direct competition with one another if it could be avoided. The inten-tion behind tha.t may have been good, but it ignored the fact that competition, and the will to come out on top, are essential components of the human condition.
This time around, educators working with a no-grades approach are emphasizing different rea-sons. The thing is, that approach is much more commonplace in the adult workplace than is the tra-ditional pass-fail system we place on our children. Many workplaces conduct regular employee eval-uations. There are usually fairly strict limits to what an employer can tell an employee in those eval-uations-and even then, negative evaluations can be challenged by the employee. No matter where you sit in the debate over the grade system, then, the real question is this: if it' s so good for kids, why isn't that also true for adults?
56、The school report indicates that the writer' s daughter
s interest in her school work
s among the best at language
some trouble with her handwriting
s to improve in math and computer skills
57、 We can learn that the girl' s school tries to deliver the report
a positive way
a scientific way
an attractive way
an enthusiastic way
58、 Sue Ferguson seems dissatisfied with the grade system for its focus on
process of getting the knowledge
capability of memorizing for the test
procedure of measuring learning
standard of comparing schools
59、 The writer would agree that cutting children off from competition is
for human development
for their age and experience
nst a key part of human nature
of consideration for children
60、 It can be learned that today's educators supporting the no-grades approach insist that
be allowed to challenge the negative evaluations
traditional teacher-student relationship be changed
evaluation system for kids be similar to that for adults
ct rules be set up in evaluating school children
SECTION III Reading Comprehension Part B(40 minutes)
61、根據下列材料，請回答61-65題：
Directions:
Read the texts from a magazine in which five people voice their different opinions in response to an article on the issue of praising. For questions 61 to 65, match the name of each person (61 to 65) to one of the statements ( A to G) given below. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1.
Mike :
Praise often and sincerely--it' s as simple as that. Employees want to feel needed and appreci-ated. By offering sincere praise with examples about what they did right, you' ll go far in creating an energetic team. Meanwhile, I don't agree with the assertion that "to focus on what needs im-proving isn' t good management. " In fact, it' s the balance of praise along with constructive criti-cism that drives employees to work smarter and reach higher.
Frank:
This article makes a valid point that needs to be understood, especially for the new generation of workers, my generation. We don' t see ourselves as parts in the machine to be put in the dark to work. My generation needs respect in return from our employer, we need to feel appreciated beyond just a pay check, it' s the difference between being fulfilled at our career and being sad at our job.
Joyce :
One skill missing in today's workplace is the ability to build effective business the core of that relationship is the need for consistent feedback. "How am I doing?" is a ques-tion that should be answered consistently. When you tell an employee once a year what is needed to improve, you have not done your job as a leader--build skills, provide feedback and help the em-ployee grow and develop.
Ellen:
I don' t see a problem with praising employees when it' s truly deserved ( insincere praise is an entirely different story). It' s a cost-free "benefit", if you will, in that it allows employees to see that their efforts are both noticed and valued. In the work world there are always people available to tell that you are doing something wrong and far too few occasions when employees are told that they've done something right!
Diana:
Praise what the employee did. Be specific about why it was helpful. An employee who contin-ually earns your praise also deserves your attention as to how else to reward their behavior. Mean-ingful praise encourages people beyond anything else. Written comments are available for later re-view. They give them confidence that they can "do it again. " I never regretted praising an employ-ee who deserved it but often kicked myself for missing an opportunity.
Now match the name of each person (61 to 65) to the appropriate statement
Note: there are two extra statements.
Statements
[A]Praise combined with criticism is helpful.
[B] Praise can bring about many kinds of desired behavior.
[C] Employees may feel it hard to ncere praise.
[D] Let employees know exactly for what they are praised.
[E] In my opinion, we are not generous enough to give praise.
[F] Employees need helpful advice on a regular basis.
[G] Money alone cannot guarantee a sense of career fulfillment for me.
61、 Mike
62、 Frank
63、 Joyce
64、 Ellen
65、 Diana
參考答案及精析
第三部分閲讀理解
Part A
Text 1
參考譯文：
1997年，年齡均超過60歲的25名日本市民發起了一場Jeeba運動(Jeeba意為老年男性與女性)，生產適合於老年人使用的產品。當他們編撰出 公司的格言“老年人所有，老年人制造，為了老年人”時，他們知道自己正在創造歷史。他們不僱傭年輕人，公司裏最年長的員工年齡高達75歲。
不 管是在日本還是全世界，由高齡者經營的公司仍然為數不多。但是老年人口數量巨大。第二次世界大戰以後出生的人們，現在到了退休年齡，這些老年人更加健康、 長壽，他們人數眾多，遍佈世界各地。在出生率極低的那些發達國家，接替老年人工作的年輕人更少了。一個可能出現的結果現在變得清楚了：勞動力日益縮減。
國際競爭的精簡效應正集中注意力於創造和維持好工作的需求上，這些擔心最終會轉變為對日益缺少的年輕勞動力的擔心。一個不可避免的解決方法是，讓老年人 迴歸工作，不管他們喜不喜歡。確實如此，像芬蘭和丹麥這樣的經濟發達國家，已經延遲了退休年齡。其他一些國家正處在順應潮流的高壓下，因為歐盟委員會和經 濟合作與發展組織最近告誡其成員，他們未來的繁榮依賴於老年人的不斷奉獻。這些改變是否是好消息取決於工人們在退休的時候是懷着急切的還是恐懼的心情。據 百能投資的一項新研究顯示，在美國，不論是由於經濟需要還是生活方式的選擇，現在有一半處在工作年齡的美國人期待着能工作到70多歲。
與一直 廣泛傳播的想法相反，幾乎沒有確鑿的證據表明，公司裏高齡工作者增多會導致公司不再有競爭力。在英國硬件連鎖企業B&Q裏，位於曼徹斯特和埃克斯 茅斯的“高齡者”商店比其一般商店多盈利18%，公司説部分原因是由於其少了6倍的員工流動，少了60%的商店偷竊和商品損壞事件。
46.A【精析】細節題。根據文章第一段可知，Jeeba是由日本的老年市民發起的運動，其目的和公司格言主要體現的是老年人這個特點。由此可知，Jeeba與傳統公司的主要區別就體現在員工的年齡上，故選A。
47.B【精析】細節題。從文章第二段第四句話“Ex-tremely low birthrates in those same countries
mean there are far fewer young workers to take their place.”可以看出：在出生率極低的發達國家，接替退休老年人工作的年輕人的數量少得多。故選B。
48.B 【精析】推斷題。從文章第三段第一、二句話： “While the streamlining effects of international competition are focusing attention on the need to create and keep good jobs，those fears will even-tually give way to worries about the growing short-age of young unavoidable solution：puking older people back to work，whether they like it or not.”和最後一句話：“…their future prosperity depends on a growing contribution from the elderly.”可知，對創造和維持好工作需求的擔憂最終會轉變為對日益缺少的年輕勞動力的擔心，對此擔心的解決方法就是需要讓老年人回到工作崗位，公 司未來的發展繁榮依賴於老年人的不斷貢獻。由此可推測，在當前形勢下，公司面臨的嚴峻任務就是僱傭退休的員工，故選B。
49.D【精析】細節題。文章第三段倒數第二句説像芬蘭和丹麥的發達經濟國家，已經延遲了退休年齡，最後一句繼而説公司的繁榮離不開老年人的貢獻，故選D。
5 0.A【精析】推斷題。從文章最後一段第二句話 “At British hardware chain B&‘elder worker’stores…were l8 percent more profitable than its regular outlets…”可知，B&Q的“高齡者”商店比其一般商店多盈利18%。由此可以推斷，公司僱傭高齡工作者並不會降低公司的競爭力，故選A。
Text 2
參考譯文
下面就是我想要如何觀看2014年冬季奧運會。我想進入一個網站觀看任何我想看的賽事，隨時都能看，什麼樣的屏幕都能看。我很樂意付費。
現在的技術可以讓它變為現實。但是在引進互聯網後將近20年的時間裏，這仍是一個幻想。美國廣播公司在美國黃金時間播出了温哥華奧運會後，才會將視頻放 到其網站上。所以美國人會有這樣奇怪的經歷，白天從新聞報道上 得知一些新奇的事件剛剛發生，然後不得不等到晚上播出時才能看到。
寫博客的人抱怨起來，但美國廣播公司不會讓步。其調查顯示，像我這樣地想在線觀看奧運會的人只代袁了觀眾總數的7%。另外一個更憂心的問題是：網絡不會收費。廣告商仍然願意斥巨資在電視的黃金時段播放他們的廣告。但是在網上播放?他們才不願意付那麼多錢。
因此美國廣播公司沿用過去的老辦法。正如其所看到的一樣，在黃金時段播出的電視節目才是最重要的。更糟糕的是，美國廣播公司已經預計在2010年温哥華冬奧會上將會損失2.5億美元。但願這能夠勸服該公司在冒險的網絡項目上投資。
網絡執行者容易受到指責。但是美國廣播公司和與他們類似的公司只做有意義的事情。他們只是在向錢看。
這需要改變。是的，把奧運會的報道放到網上去會讓一些黃金時段的觀眾流失，但我認為，許多網上付費的觀眾仍然會在黃金時段觀看電視節目。久而久之，網上 訂閲費有可能會變成龐大的收入來源。不應該把網絡看作對電視黃金時段的威脅，電視台應該把網絡當作一種銷售方式，可以把自己的產品更多地賣給那一小撮充滿 激情的觀眾。
我希望到2014年，這一切都會改變。
51.B【精析】推斷題。由文章第二段第一、二句話 “The technology exists to make this happen nearly two decades after the introduc-tion of the World Wide Web，this remains a fan-tasy.”可以看出，當今的技術已經發展到可以讓在線觀看奧運會變為現實。然而，在引進互聯網後將近二十年當中，這仍然是幻想。由此可推斷，觀 眾不能在線觀看奧運會的原因並不是技術方面的問題，而是不被允許， 奧運會仍然是幻想，be denied to意為“…得不到的”，故選B。
52.D【精析】細節題。由文章第二段最後兩句“NBC，which broadcasted the Vancouver Olympics in the United States，wouldn’t put videos on its Web site until they had been shown on prime-time TV.”可知，美國廣播公司會先在電視上播放温哥華奧運會，再把視頻放到網上去。由此可知，美國觀眾觀看温哥華奧運會最先是從電視上看到的，故選D。
53.C【精析】細節題。由文章第三段第一句話可知寫博客的人在抱怨，此段承接第二段，第二段説美國廣播公司會先在電視的黃金時段播放奧運會，再把其放到網上去，故得知寫博客的人抱怨的是美國廣播公司推遲將奧運會視頻放上網，故選C。
54.B【精析】推斷題。由第四段第一句“So NBC clings to the old way of doing things.”可知，美國廣播公司會堅守過去的老辦法，這與B選項意義一致，故選B。
55.A【精析】作者意圖題。由第六段最後一句話 “…the TV networks should see the Web as a way to sell even more of their product to a small but passionate subset of their audience.”可知，作者認為網絡可以幫助美國廣播公司更多地出售他們的產品，更多地盈利，故選A。
Text 3
參考譯文
在繁忙的聖誕節來臨前，我們家一件重要的事情是，收到了女兒 幼兒園的成績單。她在閲讀、詞彙和整體學習熱情方面得到高度評價。另一方面，我們瞭解到，她需要好好練習數字運算和計算機操作，儘管女兒的老師準備的這份 手寫的詳細成績單上沒有出現任何可能顯示女兒消極學習的話語。一項計數法暗示了女兒在每一個學科的成績情況，雖然沒有任何通過或不及格的説明。
當談到給國小生正常評級的好處的爭論時，所有這些似乎表明女兒的學校不倫不類。在一個層面上，優點和缺點不言而喻。評級系統提供了一個直接的標準，通過 這個標準可以衡量你的孩子在學校的進步情況，以及相對於其他孩子來説，自家孩子的表現情況。但正如蘇·弗格森作家寫的那樣“成績是可以欺騙人的”。目的應 該是“衡量學習情況，而不是簡單地測試學生在考試時能記得多少東西。”這兩者並不一樣。如果作為一個成年人，你對此感到質疑，那麼你可以問問你自己，是否 可以在不做任何準備的情況下仍然通過那些高中階段的考試。
如果你足夠大了，你以前就經歷過了這樣的辯論。曾經有人一度認為，在可以避免的情況下，讓孩子們置於彼此之間直接競爭的`環境中是不公平的。這個想法背後的意圖或許是好的，但它忽略了一個事實，競爭和出類拔萃的願望構成了人類生存環境的核心部分。
現在，用不給成績的教育方法工作的教育家們在強調不同的原因。問題是，比起傳統的施加在孩子身上的“過或不過”體系，這個方法在我們成人工作中更普遍。 許多工作採用常規的員工測評方法。在這些測評中，通常有嚴格的規定限制僱主可以告知僱員的內容，即便如此，員工還是可以質疑消極的測評結果。不管你是處在 關於評級體系爭論的哪一方，真正的問題是：如果不給成績的方式對孩子來説有這麼多好處，為什麼對成年人來説卻並非如此呢?
56.D【精析】細 節題。由文章第一段第三句話“on the other hand，we learnt that she has work to do on her numbers and facility with the computer，though the detailed handwritten report her teach-ers prepared is absent of any words that might be interpreted as negative in describing her effort.”
可知，作者從成績單上面瞭解到女兒在數 字和計算機應用能力方面仍有功課要做，言外之意便是女兒需要在這兩方面加強和提高，故D項符合文意。而根據第一段第二句話“She got high praise for her bulary and over-all enthusiasm.”只能得知，作者從成績單上面瞭解到女兒在語言方面得到很高的評價，因此B選項表述與原文不符。其他兩項原文沒有涉及，故選D。
57.A【精析】推斷題。從文章的第一段來看，作者收到女兒學校的成績單，上面寫的全是表揚的話，而作者自己知道，女兒在數字運算等方面還需要學習，由此可推斷女兒學校只是努力從正面的角度讚揚女兒在學校的表現，故選A。
58.B【精析】細節題。從文章第二段第五句“The aim should be‘to measure learning，not simply what a student can recall on a test’”可知蘇·弗格森對評級體系不滿意的原因是它強調測試學生的記憶能力，而非學習本身，故選B。
59.C【精析】細節題。文章第三段 最後一句話“…but it ignored the fact that competition，and the will to come out on top，are essential components of the human condition.”可知，作者認為讓孩子們遠離競爭是違反了人類生存本質的，故選C。
60.B【精析】推斷題。題幹意為“可以知道，贊成 不給成績的教育方式的教育家堅持認為什麼?”通過排除法，A項説允許孩子質疑消極的測評結果，與原文不符，原文是作者拿成年人舉例，並提出疑問，為什麼成 年人不能用不評級的體系，故排除A項和C項。D項説應該建立嚴格的規章制度來測評學生，這個文章中更沒有提及，亦排除，故選B。
Part B
參考譯文
下面這段文字是5個人對一篇關於表揚問題的文章的不同觀點。
麥克：
頻繁且真誠地表揚，就是這麼簡單。僱員希望感受到被需要和賞識。通過用員工做的實際工作舉例來真誠地表揚，你就離創造一個活力四射的團隊不遠了。同時， 我不同意這樣一種説法“密切關注需要改進的方面不是好的管理方法”。事實上，正是表揚和有建設性的批評之間的平衡促使員工工作更有效率，取得更多的進步。
弗蘭克：
這篇文章指出一個需要理解的有效觀點，特別是對我這新一代的工作者。我們不把自己視為放在黑暗角落裏工作的機器的一部分。我這一代人需要從僱主那兒得到尊重作為回報，除了一份工資單，我們需要被賞識。這就是在 事業中感到充實和為工作而痛苦的區別。
喬伊斯：
在當今就業市場缺失的一項技能是建立有效商業關係的能力。這個關係的核心是需要持續不斷的反饋。“我做得怎麼樣?”是一個應該不斷得到回答的問題。當你 一年之中僅有一次告訴一個員工應該改進的方面，你並沒有做 好領導者的本職工作——技能培訓，提供反饋，幫助員工成長和發展。
艾倫：
我認為，當員工應得表揚時去表揚他沒有什麼問題(不真誠的表揚另當別論)。這是個不用成本的“所得”，如果你表揚了，員工便看到了自己的努力得到了關注和重視。在工作領域，總有人告訴你做錯了什麼事，但是幾乎沒人告訴你你做得很好!
戴安娜：
誇獎員工所做的事。具體説明為什麼其所做的事有幫助。經常得到表揚的員工同樣應該受到關注，得到可以犒勞其所為的獎勵。有意義的表揚給人們的鼓勵超過任 何其他的東西。書面形式的評價可以用於將來的回顧。這些評價給了他們“就這麼做”的信心。我從不後悔表揚了應受表揚的員工，但經常責怪自己錯過了表揚的機 會。
61.A【精析】主旨題。麥克認為正是表揚和有建設性的批評之間的平衡促進了員工更有效率地工作，取得更多的進步，故選A。
62.G【精析】主旨題。弗蘭克認為，除了一份工資單，員工還需要被賞識，這是在事業中感到充實和為工作而痛苦的區別。意思與G項“對我來説，金錢本身不能保證事業充實的感覺”，故選G。
63.F【精析】主旨題。喬伊斯説，當你一年之中僅有一次告訴一個員工應該改進的方面，你並沒有做好領導者的本職工作，意思是説一個公司的領導者應該及時地向員工提供反饋，與F項“員工需要定期得到有用的建議”意思相符，故選F。
64.E【精析】主旨題。艾倫最後一句話“在工作領域，總有人告訴你做錯了什麼事，但是幾乎沒人告訴你你做得很好”與E項“我們表揚他人時不夠慷慨”意思相符，故選E。
65.D【精析】細節題。戴安娜前面兩句話“誇獎員工所做的事。具體説明為什麼其所做的事有幫助”與D項“讓員工確切知道為什麼他們受到表揚”意思相符，故選D。
