If sustainable competitive advantage depends on workforce skills, American firms have a problem. Human-resource management is not traditionally seen as central to the competitive survival of the firm in the United States. Skill acquisition is considered an individual responsibility. Labour is simply another factor of production to be hired--rented at the lowest possible cost--much as one buys materials or equipment. The lack of importance attached to human-resource management can be seen in the corporate management. In an American firm the chief financial officer is almost always second in command. The post of head of human-resource management is usually a specialized job, off at the edge of the corporate hierarchy. The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic decisions and has no chance to move up to Chief Executive Officer(CEO). By way of contrast, in Japan the head of human-resource management is central--usually the second most important executive, after the CEO, in the firm's hierarchy. While American firms often talk about the vast amounts spent on training their work force, in fact they invest less in the skills of their employees than do either Japanese or German firms. The money they do invest is also more highly concentrated on professional and managerial employees. And the limited investments that are made in training workers are also much more narrowly focused on the specific skills necessary to do the next job rather than on the basic background skills that make it possible to absorb new technologies. As a result, problems arise when new breakthrough technologies arrive. If American workers, for example, take much longer to learn how to operate new flexible manufacturing stations than workers on Germany (as they do), the effective cost of those stations is lower in Germany than it is in the United States. More time is required before equipment is up and running in production, and the need for extensive retraining generates costs and creates bottlenecks that limit the speed... Which of the following applies to the management of human resources in American companies? A) They hire people at the lowest cost with ly best skills. B) They see the gaining of skills as their employees' own business. C) They attach more importance to workers than to equipment. D) They only hire skilled workers because of keen competition.
B
(Question)
My friend Jim was a well-known radio host, who worked at a radio station all his life. All his colleagues knew him about one characteristic: If he's on-air, he is always wearing a suit and a tie. They laughed at him, saying, "No one ever sees you. Why do you dress like that?" But he always turned that into a joke. One day Jim was invited to appear on the TV. There was a show for the oldest radio employees. For the first time his fans, who only knew Jim by his voice, would see him. Before the recording of the show, the director came to Jim and asked, "Usually you arrive on time, but today you are 10 minutes late. It's not terrible, but I still want to know why." "You see," Jim answered, "at the last moment when I was already dressed up, I noticed that I didn't have new socks. For the first time I was invited to the television, and I thought that simply wearing clean socks was not enough. So I needed to go to the store for new socks." The director was surprised. He asked, "Why do you need new socks? You could have come without the socks because we will be filming you only over the waist." " You see, to be perfect, I need to feel myself perfect in everything, starting with the shirt and finishing with the pen in my pocket," Jim said. "And if my socks have holes in them or my shoes are dirty, I'm not spotless anymore. And it may make me less confident." From Para. 1 we can learn that when Jim is on-air, he _ . A) likes telling jokes B) behaves strangely C) always wears the same clothes D) is careful about his dress
(Answer)
D
Ques: There are some new drivers going back to school. Teens who have recently gotten their driver's licenses may be taking the wheel to school this fall. However, parents fear when their teen starts driving. And it turns out that such parental fears are justified, so it's worth reviewing how to keep your teen safe while he or she is behind the wheel. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among US teens. Drivers 16 to 19 years old are at the greatest risk of crashes. In fact, their risk is 4 times greater than that of older drivers. The teens at the greatest risk are those who are male, those carrying other teenage passengers in the car, and those still in their first year of driving. Nearly 50 percent of teen deaths related to automobile crashes happen on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays between the hours of 3 pm and midnight. Why are teens at higher risk of motor vehicle crashes? Development. Teens haven't completely matured mentally and have greater risktaking behaviors, possibly because they tend to underestimate the risk associated with a particular behavior. Teens also have a greater tendency to speed and to drive too close to the cars in front of them. No seatbelts. Teens have the lowest rate of seatbelt use among all driving groups. Alcohol. A least 25 percent of motor vehicle deaths in teens are related to drinking alcohol. Technological distractions .Cellphones,texting,MP3 players,and the like can all distract drivers greatly--and who more than teenagers? Be aware of your teen's driving practices and discuss safe driving habits when opportunities present themselves. Check out the applications and devices now available for restricting your teen's use of technology while driving. Some applications alert you to the danger when your teen is texting while the vehicle is moving. Another device blocks incoming and outgoing texts when the car is running--incoming messages get an automatic reply (eg. "I'm driving right now"), and phone calls go directly to voicemail. You can also get notifications if... What factor is least related to the teen drivers' high risks of crashes? A) Drivers' age. B) Passengers' sex. C) Driving experience. D) Driving time.
Ans: B
Ques:Women's fashions change more rapidly than men's. In the early 1990's, all women wore their skirts to the ankle. Today, some skirts are even longer than before, but some are very short. Women's shoes have also gone through all sorts of boots for women were very common at the beginning of this century. Then for years, they were not considered fashionable. Today, they're back again in all colours, lengths and materials. In fact, today's women can wear all types of clothes on almost any occasion. While all of these changes were taking place in women's fashions, men's clothing remained almost the same until a few years ago. And, in fact, most men are still dressed in the kinds of clothes they used to wear. What kind of skirts do women like to wear today? A) Long skirts. B) Short skirts. C) Both long skirts and short skirts. D) Neither long skirts nor short skirts.

Ans:
C