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Fast
Reading
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(
It's time for us to concentrate on fast reading. In this part,
you should finish reading within 5 minutes, and then answer
the comprehension questions. In doing the comprehension exercises,
you will learn how to use context clues for word meanings.
You may get a key to a new word by recognizing its synonym(近义词),
antonym(反义词), definition or restatement(复述). For example,
expressions such as "that's, that's to say" indicate
an explanation, and so does a dash(破折号). If you are aware
of such a hint, you can get the answer correctly. You are
advised to pay special attention to Question 2 and 5 below.
Ok, let's read the following article and have a try. )
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See
translation |
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Time Allowed: 5 minutes
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| Britain has laws to
make sure that women have the
same opportunities as men in education, jobs and training. But
it's still unusual to find women doing
dirty or heavy jobs. |
| Nikki Henriques is
a car maintenance engineer in London. She
used to be a secretary. Batty Phillips, a
journalist with "The Observer", a Sunday newspaper,
asked her why she wanted to work with cars. |
| "My first reason
was independence," she said. "I also wanted to use
my hands, and I like learning about how things work. Many people
prefer to have a woman repair their
cars, too." |
| Nikki
didn't find it easy to become a car maintenance engineer.
She went to a Government Skill Center ─ a special sort of college
where people can learn a new job ─ for twenty weeks. "For
ten weeks I was the only woman among four hundred men, and some
of them were rude to me, just because of my sex. It was
also very tiring ─ from 8 in the morning to 5 at night, with
only 30 minutes for lunch." |
| Now Nikki works free-lance
─ that is, she's self-employed, working for herself and
not for a garage or a company. |
| Batty Phillips also
spoke to Rose, who works as a general
builder in Sheffield, an industrial town in the north
of England. Like Nikki, Rose used to be a secretary. "1
didn't enjoy it at all," she said. "I wanted to do
more practical work, and I wanted to be self-employed." |
| Rose joined a women's
building co-operative, and she learnt her job from other people
and from experience. However, many of the women in her group
have been specially trained. Most of the jobs they do are improvements
to buildings and general repairs. |
| "People often
say, 'Oh, women aren't strong enough,' but I
don't think strength is important," said Rose. "The
important thing is to get used to
doing a different sort of work." |
| Rose would like more
women to come into the building industry. "Everything built
at the moment is a product of man's world. If women become builders,
they will be able to understand the production of their houses
and their towns." |
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(373 words)
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Comprehension
Exercise 
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Key
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| 1. d 2.
d 3. b
4. a 5. d
6. c 7. d |
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1. There are laws in Britain to
help women _____.
a. get higher pay than men
b. enjoy more freedom than men
c. do whatever they like to do
d. have equal chances with men in education and work
2. The job of a car maintenance engineer is to _____.
a. manufacture cars
b. sell cars
c. keep cars for others
d. repair cars
3. In order to become a car maintenance engineer, one has to
______.
a. have a car of his or her own
b. get some special training
c. have a formal college education
d. pass a difficult exam
4. The most important reason for Nikki to be a car maintenance
engineer is that ______.
a. she wants to be independent
b. she has to make her own living
c. she likes to use her hands
d. she wants to get the same pay as men
5. "To work free-lance" means ______.
a. "to work on any day one likes"
b. "to do any job one likes"
c. "to work for a company"
d. "to work for oneself and not for a company"
6. Rose, who works as a general builder, ______.
a. believes women are as strong as men
b. admits women are much weaker than men
c. wants more women to become builders
d. thinks women can learn more from practical work
7. According to Rose, a woman wishing to be a general builder
______.
a. must be specially trained
b. should be strong enough
c. can learn her job either from others or by experience
d. must get used to doing a different sort of work |
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