A
The majority of astronauts（宇航员）from America have been men. At the start of the space programme there was strong resistance from some people against having women in space. However, some women were very keen to become astronauts and in the end they were successful. In 1978, NASA began the first training programme for women astronauts.
Judy Resnick and Christa McAuliffe were both astronauts and they were both women, but in many other ways they were very different. Both of them were on Flight STS-5L-L. Judy Resnick was born in 1949 and studied engineering at university and went on to obtain a PhD in 1977. She was a member of the first group of women selected for astronaut training in 1978, and in 1984, she became the second woman in space. During that flight, she helped to launch three new satellites and she carried out a programme of research. She was, in many ways, a professional astronaut whose whole life was devoted1 to space travel.
Christa McAuliffe was born in 1948 and she was an astronaut almost by accident. In 1984, NASA decided2 to find a teacher who could accompany astronauts into space. They hoped that she would be able to communicate with students from space and encourage every one of them to be interested in space travel. Christa was a secondary teacher in history and social studies. She was a gifted teacher and she was selected from over 11,000 applicants3 to go on flight STS-51-L. She was also a very good communicator and she immediately established a very good relationship with the news mediatests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards. There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not believe either in external examinations or in any controls in schools or on teachers. This would mean that everything would depend on luck since every pupil would depend on the efficiency（实力）,the ideal and the purpose of each teacher.
Without external examinations, employers will look for employees from the highly respected schools and from families known to them - a form of favoritism will replace equality. At the moment, the bright child from an ill - respected school can show certificates（证书）to prove he or she is suitable for a job, while the lack of a certificate shows the unsuitability of a dull child attending a well - respected school. This defence of excellence16 and opportunity would disappear if external examinations were taken away, and the bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school's fame（名誉）,unable to compete for employment with the child from the favoured school.
The opponents（对手）of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils. According to these people, there must be no special, different, academic class. They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area: all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection. The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some computer.
These people are not just against school organisation17, but are at war with the whole idea of modem18 competitive society and they are using children in schools for their destructive（破坏性的）purposes. There is no reason why we should allow such people to determine the way our schools are organised when it is to the obvious disadvantage of the pupils, of the schools and of our society as a whole.
68. According to the passage, the writer thinks that ________.
A. changing the standards could mean the end of equality
B. standards must keep changing in order to achieve equality
C. there would be no standards without external examinations
D. we cannot have standards because examinations are not perfect
69. In the writer's opinion, what would happen if external examinations were taken away?
A. There would be no more opportunities and no more excellence.
B. Children from poor families would not be able to change schools.
C. Going to a favoured school should be the only way to get a good job.
D. Schools for bright children would lose their fame.
70. The situation at the moment is that ________.
A. many children who are suitable for a job have no proof of their suitability
B. a school's fame is not important, as long as a child has a certificate.
C. children attending well - respected schools need not get certificates.
D. a bright child doesn't need a certificate a t all to get a good job.
71. Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
A. Most students from poor families can't get a good job.
B. Some people are using students to destroy our society.
C. The writer thinks it a good way to choose a job by computer.
D. The opponents of the examination want to reorganize schools.
72. The opponents would agree that _________.
A. computers should be selected to take over many jobs
B. particular people should not be chosen for particular jobs
C. well - respected schools should be got rid of as soon as possible
D. the students are not equally treated if they take external examinations
E
He works 10 hours a day, makes more than US $98000 a year, doesn't bother to take holidays, dresses as he pleases, he's never been happier and is looking for another job. This 33-year-old, white, university-educated person is the typical Internet worker, according to a study by the Internet Standard, a San Francisco news magazine.
There is also a reasonable chance that his employer will arrange his dry cleaning, allow him to bring his dog to work, offer him free massages19（按摩） and give him stock options（股票自由交易权）.And he still thinks people in other firms are doing better.
The typical worker, it appears, not only enjoys an income about three times the national average but also enjoys himself. At present 2. 5 million people are employed by Internet firms in the US. The results of the study give plenty of reasons why so many people think the grass is greener in Silicon20 Valley（硅谷）.
Even after tech stocks sharply went down in April, closing many star - ups, there is still a mood of enthusiasm（热情）and special advantage among those still employed. So what makes 52 percent of them very happy?Demanding work is given as the main reason and salaryis unsurprisingly close behind. Those questioned in the study also listed working weekends and long holidays as signs of the pleasures of the workplaces.
only 13 percent were paid for the extra hours worked while 14 percent put in more than 12 hours work on an average day. It wasn't all about moneywrote Maryann Thompson in the introduction to the study,It was fun. What other job could a college and graduate walk into at 10 a. m. wearing shorts and sandals? And spend days with his dog at his feet, working on projects that required real brain power- then leave at 9 p. m. with a belly21 full of free food, a few happy - hour beers and a big fat check? The average income works out at $104000 with the average basic salary at $84700.
73. The job as an Internet worker ______.
A. calls for strict rules B. allows much freedom
C. leaves more time for housework D. requires shorter working hours
74. The phrase a big fat check in the last paragraph means ________.
A. tasty food B. beautiful clothes C. good earnings D. healthy bodies
75. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. employers try many ways to satisfy their Internet workers
B. youths prefer much more freedom in their work
C. Internet workers earn much more than an average worker
D. college graduates are greatly attracted by Internet work
56. C 57. C 58. B 59. A 60. D 61. C 62. C 63. D 64. C 65. C
