Section II Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions:

Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)

Text 1

“Reskilling” is something that sounds like a buzzword but is actually a requirement if we plan to have a future where a lot of would-be workers do not get left behind. We know we are moving into a period where the jobs in demand will change rapidly, as will the requirements of the jobs that remain. Research by the World Economic Forum finds that on average 42 per cent of the “core skills” within job roles will change by 2022. That is a very short timeline.

The question of who should pay for reskilling is a thorny one. For individual companies, the temptation is always to let go of workers whose skills are no longer in demand and replace them with those whose skills are. That does not always happen. AT&T is often given as the gold standard of a company that decided to do a massive reskilling program rather than go with a fire-and-hire strategy. Other companies had also pledged to create their own plans. When the skills mismatch is in the broader economy, though, the focus usually turns to government to handle. Efforts in Canada and elsewhere have been arguably languid at best, and have given us a situation where we frequently hear of employers begging for workers, even at times and in regions where unemployment is high.

With the pandemic, unemployment is very high indeed. In February, at 3.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively, unemployment rates in Canada and the United States were at generational lows and worker shortages were everywhere. As of May, those rates had spiked up to 13.3 per cent and 13.7 per cent, and although many worker shortages had disappeared, not all had done so. In the medical field, to take an obvious example, the pandemic meant that there were still clear shortages of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel.

Of course, it is not like you can take an unemployed waiter and train him to be a doctor in a few weeks. But even if you cannot close that gap, maybe you can close others, and doing so would be to the benefit of all concerned. That seems to be the case in Sweden: When forced to furlough 90 per cent of their cabin staff, Scandinavian Airlines decided to start up a short retraining program that reskilled the laid-off workers to support hospital staff. The effort was a collective one and involved other companies as well as a Swedish university.

21. Research by the World Economic Forum suggests ______.

A. a controversy about the “core skills”

B. an increase in full-time employment

C. an urgent demand for new job skills

D. a steady growth of job opportunities

22. AT&T is cited to show ______.

A. an immediate need for government support

B. an alternative to the fire-and-hire strategy

C. the characteristics of reskilling programs

D. the importance of staff appraisal standards

23. Efforts to resolve the skills mismatch in Canada ______.

A. have appeared to be insufficient

B. have driven up labour costs

C. have proved to be inconsistent

D. have met with fierce opposition

24. We can learn from Paragraph 3 that there was ______.

A. a sign of economic recovery

B. a call for policy adjustment

C. a change in hiring practices

D. a lack of medical workers

25. Scandinavian Airlines decided to ______.

A. create job vacancies for the unemployed

B. retrain their cabin staff for better services

C. prepare their laid-off workers for other jobs

D. finance their staff’s college education

【Text 1答案解析】

21.【答案】C(an urgent demand for new job skills)

【解析】本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Research by the World Economic Forum定位到第一段③句，由42 per cent of the “core skills” within job roles will change可知大量工作“核心技能”将发生变化。C项an urgent demand for new job skills(对新工作技能的迫切需求)符合题意。所以本题选C。

22.【答案】B(an alternative to the fire-and-hire strategy)

【解析】本题为例证题。根据题干关键词AT&T定位到第二段④句：AT&T is often given as the gold standard of a company that decided to do a massive reskilling program rather than go with a fire-and-hire strategy。B项an alternative to the fire-and-hire strategy(解雇和雇佣策略的替代方案)是对rather than go with a fire-and-hire strategy(而不是推行解雇和雇佣策略)的同义替换。所以本题选B。

23.【答案】A(have appeared to be insufficient)

【解析】本题为细节题。根据题干关键词skills mismatch、Canada定位到第二段⑦句：Efforts in Canada and elsewhere have been arguably languid at best, and have given us a situation where we frequently hear of employers begging for workers, even at times and in regions where unemployment is high。A项have appeared to be insufficient(似乎不够)是对⑦句中languid(虚弱无力的)，以及“employers begging for workers VS unemployment is high(雇主缺人VS失业率高)”这一困境的合理概括。所以本题选A。

24.【答案】D(a lack of medical workers)

【解析】本题为细节题。根据题干Paragraph 3定位到第三段。本段①句是论点“疫情期间失业率很高”。②③句是数据论据;④句是事例论据，以医疗领域为例，证明人员的紧缺。D项a lack of medical workers(医疗工作者短缺)对应④句there were still clear shortages of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel。所以本题选D。

25.【答案】C(prepare their laid-off workers for other jobs)

【解析】本题为细节题。根据题干关键词Scandinavian Airlines decided to定位到第四段③句Scandinavian Airlines decided to start up a short retraining program that reskilled the laid-off workers to support hospital staff。C项prepare their laid-off workers for other jobs(帮助他们的失业员工为其它工作做准备)对应③句reskilled the laid-off workers to support hospital staff。所以本题选C。