英語四級閱讀長閱讀真題練習一

　　A) Many people today find themselves in unfulfilling work situations. In fact, one in four workers is dissatisfied with their current job, according to the recent “Plans for 2004” survey. Their career path may be financially rewarding, but it doesn’t meet their emotional, social or creative needs. They’re stuck, unhappy, and have no idea what to do about it, except move to another job.

　　B) Mary Lyn Miller, veteran career consultant and founder of the Life and Career Clinic, says that when most people are unhappy about their work, their first thought is to get a different job. Instead, Miller suggests looking at the possibility of a different life. Through her book, 8 Myths of Making a Living, as well as workshops, seminars and personal coaching and consulting, she has helped thousands of dissatisfied workers reassess life and work.

　　C) Like the way of Zen, which includes understanding of oneself as one really is, Miller encourages job seekers and those dissatisfied work or life to examine their beliefs about work and recognize that “in many cases your beliefs are what brought you to where you are today.” You may have been raised to think that women were best at nurturing and caring and, therefore, should be teachers and nurses. So that’s what you did. Or, perhaps you were brought up to believe that you should do what your father did, so you have taken over the family business, or become a dentist “just like dad”. If this sounds familiar, it’s probably time to look at the new possibilities for your future.

　　D) Miller developed a 7-step process to help potential job seekers assess their current situation and beliefs, identify their real passion, and start on a journey that allows them to pursue their passion through work.

　　E) Step 1: Willingness to do something different. Breaking the cycle of doing what you have always done is one of the most difficult tasks for job seekers. Many find it difficult to steer(行駛) away from a career path or make a change, even if it doesn’t feel right. Miller urges job seekers to open their minds to other possibilities beyond what they are currently doing.

　　F) Step 2: Commitment to being who you are, not who or what someone wants you to be. Look at the gifts and talents you have and make a commitment to pursue those things that you love most. If you love the social aspects of your job, but are stuck inside an office or “chained to your desk” most of the time, vow to follow your instinct and investigate alternative careers and work that allow you more time to interact with others. Dawn worked as a manager for a large retail clothing store for several years. Though she had advanced within the company, she felt frustrated and longed to be involved with nature and the outdoors. She decided to go to school nights and weekends to pursue her true passion by earning her master’s degree in forestry(林業學). She now works in the biotech forestry division of a major paper company.

　　G) Step 3: Self-definition. Miller suggests that once job seekers know who they are, they need to know how to sell themselves. “In the job market, you are a product. And just like a product, you must know the features and benefits that you have to offer a potential client, or employer.” Examine the skills and knowledge that you have and identify how they can apply to your desired occupation. Your qualities will exhibit to employers why they should hire you over other candidates.

　　H) Step 4: Attain a level of self-honoring. Self-honoring or self-love may seem like an odd step for job hunters, but being able to accept yourself, without judgment, helps eliminate insecurities and will make you more self-assured. By accepting who you are—all your emotions, hopes and dreams, your personality, and your unique way of being—you’ll project more confidence when networking(溝通) and talking with potential employers. The power of self-honoring can help to break all the falsehoods you were programmed to believe—those that made you feel that you were not good enough, or strong enough, or intelligent enough to do what you truly desire.

　　I) Step 5: Vision. Miller suggests that job seekers develop a vision that embraces the answer to “What do I really want to do?” One should create a solid statement in a dozen or so sentences that describe in detail how they see their life related to work. For instance, the secretary who longs to be an actress describes a life that allows her to express her love of Shakespeare on stage. A real estate agent, attracted to his current job because he loves fixing up old homes, describes buying properties that need a little tender loving care to make them more saleable.

　　J) Step 6: Appropriate risk. Some philosophers believe that the way to enlightenment(啟迪) comes through facing obstacles and difficulties. Once people discover their passion, many are too scared to do anything about it. Instead, they do nothing. With this step, job seekers should assess what they are willing to give up, or risk, in pursuit of their dream. For one working mom, that meant taking night classes to learn new computer-aided design skills, while still earning a salary and keeping her day job. For someone else, it may mean quitting his or her job, taking out a loan and going back to school full time. You’ll move one step closer to your ideal work life if you identify how much risk you are willing to take and the sacrifices you are willing to make.

　　K) Step 7: Action. Some teachers of philosophy describe action in this way, “If one wants to get to the top of a mountain, just sitting at the foot thinking about it will not bring one there. It is by making the effort of climbing up the mountain, step by step, that eventually the summit is reached.” All too often, it is the lack of action that ultimately holds people back from attaining their ideals. Creating a plan and taking it one step at a time can lead to new and different job opportunities. Job-hunting tasks gain added meaning as you sense their importance in your quest for a more meaningful work life. The plan can include researching industries and occupations, talking to people who are in your desired area of work, taking classes, or accepting volunteer work in your targeted field.

　　46. Mary Lyn Miller suggests that job hunters imagine how they could answer the question “What do I really want to do?”

　　47. Many people find it difficult to make up their minds to change their career path, even if it doesn’t feel good now.

　　48. Mary Lyn Miller is an experienced consultant whose job is to advise people on their life and career.

　　49. People should know their gifts and talents and commit themselves to the pursuit of those things that they love most.

　　50. During an interview with potential employers, self-honoring may help a job seeker to show more confidence.

　　51. The job seeker should examine skills and knowledge that he has, and know how they can be used in the ideal job.

　　52. What ultimately prevents people from attaining their own ideals is the lack of action.

　　53. Miller suggests that after knowing themselves, job seekers need to know how to sell themselves.

　　54. Though they have discovered their passion, many people are so frightened of obstacles and difficulties that they can’t pursue their dreams.

　　55. People may have been taught to believe that they should follow in their fathers’ footsteps, so they have taken over the family business.

　　英語四級閱讀長閱讀真題答案一

　　46.I

　　47.E

　　48.B

　　49.F

　　50.H

　　51.G

　　52.K

　　53. G

　　54. J

　　英語四級閱讀長閱讀真題：練習二

　　Passage One

　　Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

　　Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-educated well-off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individuals and society, are profound.

　　The world is facing an astonishing rise in the number of old people. And they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity (長壽) translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.

　　But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers (二戰后生育高峰期出生的美國人) are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.

　　Policy is partly responsible. Many European governments have abandoned policies that used to encourage people to retire early. Rising life expectancy(預期壽命), combined with the replacement of generous defined-benefit pension plans with less generous defined-contribution ones, means that even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding generation. Technological change may well reinforce that shift: the skills that complement computers, from management knowhow to creativity, do not necessarily decline with age.

　　注意：此部分試題請在答題卡2上作答。

　　56. What is happening in the workforce in rich countries?

　　A) Younger people are replacing the elderly.

　　B) Well-educated people tend to work longer.

　　C) Unemployment rates are rising year after year.

　　D) People with no college degree do not easily find work.

　　57. What has helped deepen the divide between the well-off and the poor?

　　A)Longer life expectancies.

　　B) A rapid technological advance.

　　C) Profound changes in the workforce.

　　D) A growing number of the well-educated.

　　58. What do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20th century?

　　A) Economic growth will slow down.

　　B) Government budgets will increase.

　　C) More people will try to pursue higher education.

　　D) There will be more competition in the job market.

　　59. What is the result of policy changes in European countries?

　　A) Unskilled workers may choose to retire early.

　　B) More people have to receive in-service training.

　　C) Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement.

　　D) People may be able to enjoy generous defined-benefits from pension plans.

　　60. What is characteristic of work in the 21st century?

　　A) Computers will do more complicated work.

　　B) More will be taken by the educated young.

　　C) Most jobs to be done will be creative ones.

　　D) Skills are highly valued regardless of age.

　　英語四級閱讀長閱讀真題：答案二

　　56. B) Well-educated people tend to work longer.

　　57. B) A rapid technological advance.

　　58. A) Economic growth will slow down.

　　59. C) Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement.

　　60.D) Skills are highly valued regardless of age.