Employees are being flooded with too much information that has little to do with their work, according to a new survey.
On average, white-collar workers spend 51 percent of their work time receiving and processing information. Only one third of it was relevant to their work, the survey found. Information overload for white collar workers has become a global issue. The huge amount of information has already affected their efficiency in management as well as their performance at work.
Buried with e-mails
Every morning, a secretary at the human resources department of an auto parts company opens her e-mail box, only to find it crammed with at least 50 unread mails. For her, even scanning through these e-mails every day takes at least half an hour. Some of her colleagues are not so lucky — they have to read at least 100.
Bothered with calls
Telephone calls are also causing a problem. More than 40 percent white-collar workers chose mobile phones as the preferred way to communicate important and urgent business matters.
Talking saves time and energy over the clicking, reading and replying to e-mails, but phone calls are also more distracting(分心的). While answering a call, a clerk is likely to put away a much more important task at hand and start the business being talked about on the phone.
Solution? Not yet.
Many companies start with providing staff with better computers, better Internet access and more advanced gadgets(裝置). For example, staff members above a certain level in one company will be provided with a blackberry phone for easier access to their e-mails. The company has also organized many lectures on efficient ways of e-mail management. Yet most white-collar workers think their companies can do more.
小題1:What does the new survey find about white-collar workers?
A．They spend 51% of their work time on meetings.
B．Only half of the information they receive is useful.
C．Over 60% of them prefer to use the telephone.
D．Some of them have to read at least 100 e-mails every day.
小題2:Telephone calls cause a problem because ________.
A．they take up the time to receive and send e-mails
B．they are often not answered
C．they are mostly not about business
D．they may lead to the changing of work schedule
小題3:How do some companies try to solve the problem of information overload?
A．They start to give staff a pay rise.
B．They plan to employ more people.
C．They provide employees with more advanced equipment.
D．They organize lectures on how to reduce stress.
小題4:What is the major issue discussed in this text?
A．Poor management leads to inefficiency at work.
B．Junk mail is causing big trouble.
C．White-collar workers suffer from information overload.
D．Better computers are in need in workplaces.

小題1:D
小題1:D
小題1:C
小題1:C
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

They like using the Internet. They have lots of pocket money to spend. And they spend a higher proportion of it online than the rest of us. Teenagers are just the sort of people an online seller is interested in, and the things they want to buy－games, CDs and clothing－are easily sold on the Web.
But paying online is a tricky business for consumers who are too young to own credit cards. Most have to use a parent’s card. They want a facility that allows them to spend money.
That may come sooner than they think: new ways to take pocket money into cyber (網(wǎng)絡(luò)的) space are coming out rapidly on both sides of the Atlantic. If successful, these products can stimulate online sales.
In general, teenagers spend huge amounts: $153bn (billion) in the US last year and ￡20bn annually in the UK. Most teenagers have access to the Internet at home or at school－88 percent in the US, 69 percent in the UK. According to the Jupiter Research, one in eight of those with Internet access has bought something online－mainly CDs and books.
In most cases, parents pay for these purchases with credit cards, an arrangement that is often unsatisfactory for them and their children. Pressing parents to spend online is less productive than pressing on the high street. They are more likely to ask “Why?” if you ask to spend some money online.
One way to help teenagers change notes and coins into cybercash is through prepaid cards such as InternetCash in the US and Smart cards in the UK. Similar to those for pay-as-you-go mobile telephones, they are sold in amounts such as￡20 or $50 with a concealed 14-digit number that can be used to load the cash into an online account.
小題1: What does the word “They” in paragraph 1 refer to?
A．Sellers.B．Buyers.C．Teenagers.D．Parents.
小題2:According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．More than half of the teenagers in the US and the UK have Internet access.
B．Teenagers pay for goods online with their own credit cards.
C．Most teenagers in the US and the UK have bought something online.
D．Teenagers found it easier to persuade parents to buy online than in a shop.
小題3:New way to help teenagers shop online is to use ______.
A．a(chǎn) new machineB．special coins and notes
C．prepaid cardsD．pay-as-you-go mobile phones
小題4:What is the passage mainly about?
A．Online shopping traps.B．Internet users in the US and the UK.
C．New credit cards for parents.D．The arrival of cyber pocket money.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

There are many older people in the world and there will be many more. A little-known fact is that over 60 percent of the older people live in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, by 2020 there will be 1 billion, with over 700 million living in developing countries.
　It is a surprising fact that the population aging is particularly rapid in developing countries. For example, it took France 115 years for the rate of older people to double from 7 percent to 14 percent. It is estimated to take China a mere 27 years to achieve this same increase.
　What are the implications of these increased numbers of older folk? One of the biggest worries for governments is that the longer people live, the more likelihood there is for diseases and for disability. Attention is being paid to the need to keep people as healthy as possible, including during old age, to lessen the financial burden on the state.
　Another significant problem is the need for the younger generations to understand and value the older people in their society. In some African countries, certainly in Asia, older people are respected and regarded as the ones with special knowledge. Yet traditions are fading away daily, which does not make sure the continued high regard of older people. As society changes, attitudes will change.
　Much needs to be done to get rid of age discrimination in employment. Life-long learning programs need to be provided to enable older people to be active members in a country’s development.
　Social security policies need to be established to provide adequate income protection for older people. Both public and private schemes are vital in order to build a suitable safety net.
小題1:The rate of older people________.
A. is bigger in developed countries than in developing countries
B. B. is one-seventh of the population in developing countries
C. C. will increase much faster in China than in France
D. D. will be sixty percent in developing countries by 2020
2.According to passage, which of the following are governments most worried 
About______.
A. The diseases and disability of older people. 
B. The longer life and good health of people. 
C. The loss of taxes on older people. 
D. The increasing respect for older people.
小題2: It is stated directly in the passage that older people should ________.
A．be treated differently in different cultures
B．enjoy a similar lifestyle
C．be ignored as society changes
D．be valued by the younger generations
小題3:Which of the following measure is NOT mentioned to solve the population aging problem?
A．Getting rid of age discrimination in employment.
B．Supplying life-long learning programs to older people.
C．Making sure adequate income protection for older people.
D．Providing free health care for sick older people.
小題4:The author concludes in the last paragraph that ________.
A．governments have spent lots of time in solving the aging problem
B．population aging is a hard problem, but it needs to be solved urgently
C．people are too busy to solve the population aging problem
D．much time and effort will be lost in solving the aging problem

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

What does it mean to say that we live in a world of persuasion? It means that we live among competing interests. Your roommate’s need to study for an exam may take priority（優(yōu)先）over pizza. Your instructor may have good reasons not to change your grade. And the object of your romantic interest may have other choices.
　　In such a world, persuasion is the art of getting others to give fair and favorable consideration to our point of view. When we persuade, we want to influence how others believe and behave. We may not always prevail— other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situation, and the merits of the case. But when we practice the art of persuasion, we try to ensure that our position receives the attention it deserves.
　　Some people, however, object to the very idea of persuasion. They may regard it as an unwelcome interruption into their lives. Just the opposite, we believe that persuasion is unavoidable — to live is to persuade. Persuasion may be ethical（合乎道義的）or unethical, selfless or selfish, inspiring or degrading. Persuaders may enlighten our minds or catch our vulnerability(弱點). Ethical persuasion, however, calls on sound reasoning and is sensitive to the feelings and needs of listeners. Such persuasion can help us apply the wisdom of the past to the decisions we now must make. Therefore, the most basic part of education is learning to resist the one kind of persuasion and to encourage and practice the other.
　　Beyond its personal importance to us, persuasion is necessary to society. The right to persuade and be persuaded is the bedrock of the American political system, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution（美國憲法）.
小題1:According to the passage, persuasion means ________.
A．changing others’ point of view
B．exercising power over other people
C．getting other people to consider your point of view
D．getting people to agree with you and do what you want
小題2:The underlined word in the second paragraph “prevail” means“________”.
A．winB．failC．speakD．listen
小題3:The passage states that some people object to persuasion because they think it is ________.
A．a(chǎn) danger to societyB．difficult to do well
C．unwelcome behaviorD．never successful
小題4:The passage mainly discusses ________.
A．people’s different opinions towards persuasion
B．the reasons why people persuade
C．that persuasion is both good and bad
D．that persuasion is important and it is all around us

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series  of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
小題1:Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.
A．want to be as rich as their neighbours
B．want others to know or to think that they are rich
C．don’t want others to know they are rich
D．want to be happy
小題2:It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.
A．live outside New York CityB．live in New York City
C．live in apartmentsD．have many neighbours
小題3:The underlined word neighbourhood in the second paragraph means ________.
A．a(chǎn) person who lives near anotherB．people living in an area
C．a(chǎn)n area near the place referred toD．a(chǎn)n area in another town or city
小題4: Arthur Momand used the name ‘Jones’ in his series of short stories because’ Jones’ is ________.
A．a(chǎn)n important nameB．a(chǎn) popular name in the United States
C．his neighbour’s nameD．not a good name
小題5:According to the writer, it is       to keep up with the Joneses.
A．correctB．interestingC．impossibleD．good

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

A teddy bear from Cumbria is launching into space to raise cash for charity(慈善)
Terence,an experienced traveller who has been to Iraq,will be the guest of honour on aviation（飛行）legend Burt Rutan’s Spaceship One when it flies above Earth.The mission takes off from California on September 29, and on his return the loveable toy will be auctioned off（拍賣）in aid of the North AIR Ambulance Appeal(北部空中救護(hù)服務(wù)中心).
Spaceship One is the world’s first private spacecraft,and is competing for a prestigious space travel prize.Chief executive of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS),Graham Pickering,said”flying officer”Terence had been handed over to the RAF six months ago and staff had been receiving postcards from him ever since.
He said,“Terence was a fundraising idea that really took off. We have received pictures of him in a U2 craft,trying parachuting and even looking drunk and disorderly.When the RAF finally discharege him he will be a very rare bear indeed?--we just hope he does not bum up on re?entry to Earth”.
GNAAS,which needs charitable donations of more than ￡2m a year,has three air ambulances(空中救護(hù)機(jī)).
Peter Bond,spokesman for the Royal Astronimical Society,said Terence’s safety was not guaranteed. He said,“This is a new experimental craft and this will only be the second time it has flown.During its first voyage it developed technical problems but hopefully they have now been resolved.”
Since May,Terence has spent time with members of 100 squadron（空軍中隊）based at RAF Leeming Basra.Iraq,and at air shows with performing fighter planes.
Spaceship One will fly 100km(62 miles) above the Earth’s surface,just breaking through the planet’s atmosphere.
If it repeats the feat（技藝）inside two weeks,it will claim the $ 10 million Ansari X-Prize set up to encourage the private space flight business.
小題1:Which of the following is the best title?
A．The Toy Bear Will Be Auctioned Off
B．Space Flight
C．Spaceship One to Lift Off
D．Teddy Bear Astronaut to Lift Off
小題2:Terence is      .
A．a(chǎn)n experienced astronaut
B．a(chǎn) toy bear
C．a(chǎn) real bear living in England
D．a(chǎn)n air force officer
小題3:Which of the following is true of Speaceship One?
A．Spaceship One is the world’s first speacecraft.
B．The purpose of its flight is to collect money for the charity.
C．The purpose of its flight is to comepete for a prestigious space travel prize.
D．Spaceship One has never flown.
小題4:We can infer that      .
A．a(chǎn)fter this space flight,Spaceship One will get the $ 10 million Ansari X-prize
B．it is dangerous for a spaceship to re-entre the earth atmosphere
C．Terence will be very safe on the flight
D．Spaceship One is just an ordinary plane

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

For a commuter rushing to catch a train, a minute can mean the difference between dinner with the family and leftovers (剩飯) in the microwave. What most passengers don’t realize is that their minute is already there.
Every commuter train that departs from New York City — about 900 a day — leaves a minute later than scheduled. If the timetable says 8:14, the train will actually leave at 8:15. In other words, if you think you have only a minute to get that train — well, relax. You have two.
The courtesy (禮貌) minute, in place for decades and published only in private timetables for employees, is meant as a grace period（寬限期）for those who need the extra time to get off the platform and onto the train.
“If everyone knows they get an extra minute, they’re going to waste time doing unimportant things,” explained Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for the Metro-North Railroad. Told of this article, Ms. Anders laughed. “Don’t blow our cover!” she said.
Entirely hidden from the riding public, the secret minute is an odd departure from the railroad culture of down-to-the-second accuracy. The railroad industry helped invent the concept of standard time, and time zones were established in the United States in the 1880s, 35 years before they were written into law. And most commuters know their train by the precise minute it departs. The trains quickly make up the minute: at all other stops, the public timetable prevails. The phantom minute does not exist at commuter railroads in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, or San Francisco. But in New York, the secret minute dates back decades.
“That’s been done forever, from my knowledge,” said Jack Swanberg, 70, an unofficial historian of Metro-North. “I was the trainmaster starting in 1970 and I’m sure it’s been the case since 1870 for all I know.”
小題1:The courtesy minute was hidden from the public to _____.
A．prevent the passengers’ idlenessB．help invent the concept of standard time
C．show the railroad company’s considerationD．follow the ancient tradition of New York City
小題2: The underlined part “Don’t blow our cover” in Para. 4 probably means “_____”.
A．Don’t publish the timetableB．Don’t blame commuter trains
C．Don’t make it known by the publicD．Don’t forget our chances of catching trains
小題3:What can we conclude from the passage?
A．The courtesy minute exists in many cities in the US.
B．One minute means a lot for most of the commuters.
C．The courtesy minute has been in place for about ten years.
D．Most railroad staff in New York have no idea of the courtesy minute.
小題4: The passage mainly talks about _____.
A．the railroads in the USB．the secret New York minute
C．the mistake of the railroad industryD．the history of New York commuter trains

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

I have had just about enough of being treated like a second-class citizen, simply because I happen to be that unfairly treated member of society --- a customer. The more I go into shops and hotels, banks and post offices, railway stations, airports and the like, the more I am convinced the things are being run solely to suit the firm, the system, or the union. There seems to be a deceptive (欺騙的) new motto for so-called “service” organizations --- Staff Before Service.
　　 How often, for example, have you queued for what seems like hours at the Post Office or the supermarket because there were not enough staff on duty to man all the service grilles or checkout counters? Surely in these days of high unemployment it must be possible to hire cashiers and counter staff. Yet supermarkets, hinting darkly at higher prices, claim that uncovering all their cash registers at any one time would increase operating costs. And the Post Office says we cannot expect all their service grilles to be occupied “at times when demand is low”.
　　  It is the same with hotels. Because waiters and kitchen staff must finish when it suits them, dining rooms close earlier or menu choice is cut short. As for us guests, we just have to put up with it. There is also the nonsense of so many friendly hotel night porters having been thrown out of their jobs in the interests of “efficiency” and replaced by coin-eating machines which offer everything from lager to laxatives (從貯藏啤酒到通便劑). Not to mention the tea-making kit in your room: a kettle with a mixed collection of tea bags, plastic milk boxes and lump sugar. Who wants to wake up to a raw teabag? I do not, especially when I am paying for “service”.
　　Can it be stopped, this worsening of service, this growing attitude that the customer is always a bore? I angrily hope so because it is happening, sadly, in all walks of life.
　　Our only hope is to hammer home our anger whenever and wherever we can and, if all else fails, bring back into practice that other, older slogan --- Take Our Deal Elsewhere.
小題1:The writer feels that nowadays customers __________.
A．deserve the lowest status in society
B．a(chǎn)re unworthy of proper consideration
C．have received high quality service
D．have become victims of modern organizations
小題2:The writer argues that the quality of service is changing because __________.
A．customers’ demands have greatly changed
B．the staff receive more consideration than customers
C．customers’ needs have become more complex
D．staff members are less considerate than their employers
小題3: According to the writer, long queues at counters are caused by __________.
A．not having enough male staff on duty
B．difficulties in hiring more efficient staff
C．lack of cooperation between staff members
D．not providing enough staff on purpose to reduce budget
小題4:The writer suggests that a customer __________.
A．be patient when queuing before checkout counters
B．put up with the rude manners of the staff
C．try to control his temper when ill-treated
D．go to other places where good service is available

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Hurry! Time to “steal vegetables”
Don't be afraid! We are not encouraging the stealing behavior, but to tell you maybe the most popular topic from white-collars' mouth in cities. Together with "How many vegetables do you steal today," "it's harvest time for your ripe peach," "I bought you a new car today."
Are there so many people in the city really have their own farms, or are they really so rich to buy someone else cars casually?
The answer is obviously negative. They just play some games on Social Network Sites (SNS) like kaixin001.com.
Can you imagine that more than millions of people in Chinese mainland will spend lots of time on SNS to play game and talk to friends, especially white-collars who work in the cities? Take kaixin001.com as an example, the current member of it has already hit 38 million.
However, the great number of people who would like to use such SNS indicates another social problem. That is lots of people choose to escape from the reality. And SNS just offer them a Virtual space to forget the reality.
Kinds of games and various of friends do give netizens lots of fun. Though indulging, dreaming, chatting and playing , it seems like people could really escape from all the upsets in reality. But virtual world is not real and no one can live in it forever, and reality is not that simple like noodling around on the internet.
Since this kind of social phenomenon is so popular on the internet, people start thinking to remove it in the reality.After playing the "happy farm" game on kaixin001.com, would you like to put yourself among the real corps while smelling the fragrance of the countryside? Recently, a farm land service called "happy farm in reality" was opened in the suburbs of Shanghai where white-collar workers from around that region can experience the real farmer's life by themselves
小題1:What is the topic of the passage?
A．It’s time to” steal vegetables.”
B．a(chǎn) computer game called “Happy Farm”
C．open a farm in reality
D．something behind the game “Happy Farm”
小題2:Why are so many people interested in “Happy Farm”?
A．Because they like playing computer games.
B．Because it offers them a virtual space to escape from reality.
C．because they can talk and play with their friends at the same time.
D．because they can harvest peaches.
小題3:Which group are the majority playing the “Happy Farm” game?
A．FarmersB．White-collarsC．workersD．students
小題4:What’s the author’s attitude towards the “ Happy Farm” game?
A．positiveB．worriedC．neutralD．we don’t know

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