Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.
New surveys suggest that the technological tools we use to make our lives easier are killing our leisure time. We are working longer hours, taking fewer and shorter vacations (and when we do go away, we take our cell phones, PDAs, and laptops along). And, we are more stressed than ever as increased use of e-mail, voice mail, cell phones, and the Internet is destroying any idea of privacy and leisure.
Since the Industrial Revolution, people have assumed that new labor-saving devices would free them from the burdens of the workplace and give them more time to grow intellectually, creatively, and socially - exploring the arts, keeping up with current events, spending more time with friends and family, and even just ‘goofing off’.
But here we are at the start of the 21st century, enjoying one of the greatest technological boom times in human history, and nothing could be further from the truth. The very tools that were supposed to liberate us have bound us to our work and study in ways that were inconceivable just a few years ago. It would seem that technology almost never does what we expect.
In ‘the old days’, the lines between work and leisure time were markedly clearer. People left their offices at a predictable time, were often completely disconnected from and out of touch with their jobs as they traveled to and from work, and were off-duty once they were home. That is no longer true. In today's highly competitive job market, employers demand increased productivity, expecting workers to put in longer hours and to keep in touch almost constantly via fax, cell phones, e-mail, or other communications devices. As a result, employees feel the need to check in on what is going on at the office, even on days off. They feel pressured to work after hours just to catch up on everything they have to do. Workers work harder and longer, change their work tasks more frequently, and have more and more reasons to worry about job security.
Bosses, colleagues, family members, lovers, and friends expect instant responses to voice mail and email messages. Even college students have become bound to their desks by an environment in which faculty, friends, and other members of the college community increasingly do their work online. Studies of time spent on instant messaging services would probably show staggering use.
This is not what technology was supposed to be doing for us. New technologies from genetic research to the Internet, offer all sorts of benefits and opportunities. But, when new tools make life more difficult and stressful rather than easier and more meaningful - and we are, as a society, barely conscious of it - then something has gone seriously awry, both with our expectations for technology and our understanding of how it should benefit us.
It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that __________.
A. employees have more freedom to decide what time they start and finish work
B. it is compulsory that employees go to the office, even on days off.
C. employers are more demanding and have efficient means to monitor employees
D. life is more relaxing with cell phones and other technological devices
Chọn C.
Đáp án C.
Dịch câu hỏi: Có thể rút ra từ đoạn văn số 4 rằng ______________.
A. Nhân viên tự do hơn trong việc quyết định thời gian bắt đầu và kết thúc công việc.
B. Bắt buộc nhân viên phải đến cơ quan, thậm chí và vào ngày nghỉ
C. Người sử dụng lao động khắt khe hơn và có nhiều phương tiện hiệu quả để giám sát nhân viên.
D. Cuộc sống thoải mái hơn khi có điện thoại di dộng và các thiết bị công nghệ khác.
Thông tin: “In today’s highly competitive job market, employers demand increased productivity, expecting workers to put in longer hours and to keep in touch almost constantly via fax, cell phones, e-mail, or other communications devices.”
(Trong thị trường việc làm cạnh tranh cao hiện nay, các nhà tuyển dụng yêu cầu tăng năng suất, hy vọng người lao động sẽ làm việc nhiều giờ hơn và giữ liên lạc gần như liên tục qua fax, điện thoại di động, e-mail hoặc các thiết bị liên lạc khác.)