Passage 1
Automation refers to the introduction of electronic control and automatic operation of productive machinery. It reduces the human factors， mental and physical， in production， and is designed to make possible the manufacture of more goods with fewer workers. The development of automation in American industry has been called the “Second Industrial Revolution.”
Labour's concern over automation arises from uncertainty about the effects on employment， and fears of major changes in jobs. In the main， labour has taken the view that resistance to technical change is unfruitful. Eventually， the result of automation may well be an increase in employment， since it is expected that vast industries will grow up around manufacturing， maintaining， and repairing automation equipment. The interest of labour lies in bringing about the transition with a minimum of inconvenience and distress to the workers involved. Also， union spokesmen emphasize that the benefit of the increased production and lower costs made possible by automation should be shared by workers in the form of higher wages， more leisure， and improved living standards.
To protect the interests of their members in the era of automation， unions have adopted a number of new policies. One of these is the promotion of supplementary unemployment benefit plans. It is emphasized that since the employer involved in such a plan has a direct financial interest in preventing unemployment， he will have a strong drive for planning new installations so as to cause the least possible problems in jobs and job assignments. Some unions are working for dismissal pay agreements， requiring that permanently dismissed workers be paid a sum of money based on length of service . Another approach is the ides of the “improvement factor”， which calls for wage increases based on increases in productivity. It is possible， however， that labour will rely mainly on reduction in working hours in order to gain a full share in the fruit of automation.
21. Though labour worries about the effects of automation， it never doubts that_______
A） automation will eventually prevent unemployment
B） automation will help workers acquire new skills
C） automation will eventually benefit the workers no less than the employers
D） automation is s trend which cannot be stopped
22.The idea of the “improvement factor”（Para.3， Line 8） implies roughly_______
A） wages should be paid on the basis of length service
B） the benefit of the increased production and lower costs should be shared by workers
C） supplementary unemployment benefit plans should be promoted
D） the transition to automation should be brought about with the minimum of inconvenience and distress to workers
23.In order to get the full benefits of automation， labour will depend mostly on_______
A） additional payment to the permanently dismissed workers
B） the increase of wages in proportion to the increase in productivity
C） shorter working hours and more leisure time
D） strong drive for planning new installations
24.Which of the following can best sum up the passage？
A） Advantages and disadvantages of automation.
B） Labour and the effects of automation.
C） Unemployment benefit plans and automation.
D） Social benefits of automation.
Passage 2
Material culture refers to the touchable， material “things” - physical objects that can be seen， held， felt， used-that a culture produces. Examining a culture`s tools and technology can tell us about the group`s history and way of life. Similarly， research into the material culture of music can help us to understand the music-culture. The most vivid body of “things” in it， of course， are musical instruments. We cannot hear for ourselves the actual sound of any musical performance before the 1870s when the phonograph（留声机）was invented， so we rely on instruments for important information about music-cultures in the remote past and their development. Here we have two kinds of evidence： instruments well preserved and instruments pictured in art.
Sheet music or printed music， too， is material culture. Scholars once defined folk music-cultures as those in which people learn and sing music by ear rather than from print， but research shows mutual influence among oral and written sources during the past few centuries in Europe， Britain， and America， printed versions limit variety because they tend to standardize any song， yet they stimulate people to create new and different songs. Besides， the ability to read music notation （乐谱） has a far-reaching effect on musicians and， when it becomes widespread， on the music-culture as a whole.
One more important part of music's material culture should be singled out： the influence of the electronic media - radio， record player， tape recorder， television， and videocassette， with the future promising talking and singing computers and other developments. This is all part of the “information revolution，” a twentieth-century phenomenon as important as the industrial revolution was in the nineteenth. These electronic media are not just limited to modern nations； they have affected music-cultures all over the globe.
1. Research onto the material culture of a nation is of great importance because_______.
A） it helps produce new cultural tools and technology
B） it can reflect the development of the nation
C） it helps understand the nation`s past and present
D） it can demonstrate the nation`s civilization
2. It can be learned from this passage that_________.
A） the existence of the symphony was attributed to the spread of Near Eastern and Chinese music
B） Near Eastern music had an influence on the development of the instruments in the symphony orchestra
C） The development of the symphony shows the mutual influenc3e of Eastern and Western music
