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Passage One
Questions 21 to 24 are based on the following passage:
Automation refers to the introduction of electronic control and automatic operation of pro-
ductive machinery. It reduces the human factors, mental and physical, in production, and is de-
signed 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 employ-
ment, 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, main-
taining, 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. AI~, 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 idea 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 fruits of automation.
21. Though labour worries about the effects of automation, it does not doubt 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 a trend which cannot be stopped
22. The idea of the "improvement factor" ( Line 7, Para. 3)probably implies that
A) wages should be paid on the basis of length of service
B) the benefit of 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) a 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 Two
Questions 25 to 30 are based on the following passage:
The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation. All
high school graduates ought to go, says conventional wisdom and statistical evidence, because
college will help them earn more money, become "better" people, and learn to be more responsi-
ble citizens than those who don't go.
But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone. And now that close to half
our high school graduates are attending, those who don't fit the pattern are becoming more nu-
merous, and more obvious. College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis; college students
interfere with each other's experiments and write false letters of recommendation in the intense
competition for admission to graduate school. Others find no stimulation in their studies, and
drop out- often encouraged by college administrators.
Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselves- they are spoiled and
they are expecting too much. But that's a condemnation of the students as a whole, and doesn'
t explain al
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