2008年职称英语阅读理解习题(6)

Will Quality Eat up the U. S. Lead in Software?

If U.S. software companies don't pay more attention to quality, they could ki  their busine  good-bye. Both India and Brazil are developing a world-cla  software industry. Their weapon is quality and one of their jo  is to attract the top U. S. quality  ecialists whose voices are not listened to in their country.

Already, of the world's 12 software houses that have earned the highest rating in the world, seven are in India. That's largely because they have used new methodologies rejected by American software  ecialists. For example, for decades, quality  ecialists, W. Edwards Deming and J. M. Juran had urged U. S. software companies to change their attitudes to quality. But their quality call mainly fell on deaf ears in the U.S—but not in Japan. By the 1970s and 1980s, Japan was gra ing market share with better, cheaper products. They used Deming's and Juran's ideas to bring down the cost of good quality to as little as 5% of total production costs. In U. S. factories, the cost of quality then was 10 times as high: 50%. In software, it still is.

Watts S. Humphrey  ent 27 years at IBM heading up software production and then quality a urance. But his advice was seldom paid attention to. He retired from IBM in 1986. In 1987, he worked out a system for a e ing and improving software quality. It has proved its value time and again. For example, in 1990 the cost of quality at Raytheon Electronics Systems was almost 60% of total software production costs. It fell to 15% in 1996 and has since further dro ed to below 10%.

Like Deming and Juran, Humphrey seems to be wi ing more praises overseas than at home. The Indian government and several companies have just founded the Watts Humphrey Software Quality I titute at the Software Technology Park in Che ai, India. Let's hope that U. S. lead in software will not be eaten up by its quality problems.

1. What country has more highest-rating companies in the world than any other country has?
A. Germany.
B. The US.
C. Brazil.
D. India.

2. Which of the following statements about Humphrey is true?
A. He is now still an IBM employer.
B. He has worked for IBM for 37 years.
C. The US pays much attention to his quality advice.
D. India honors him highly.

3. By what mea  did Japan grab its large market share by the 1970s and the 1980s?
A. Its products were cheaper in price and better in quality.
B. Its advertising was most succe ful.
C. The US hardware industry was lagging behind.
D. Japan hired a lot of Indian software  ecialists.

4. What does the founding of the Watts Humphrey Software Quality I titute symbolize?
A. It symbolizes the US determination to move ahead with its software.
B. It symbolizes the Indian ambition to take the lead in software.
C. It symbolizes the Japanese efforts to solve the software quality problem.
D. It symbolizes the Chinese policy on importing software.

5. What is the writer worrying about?
A. Many US software  ecialists are working for Japan.
B. The quality problem has become a worldwide problem.
C. The US will no longer be the first software player in the world.
D. India and Japan are joining hands to compete with the US.

Malnutrition

“Much of the sickne  and death attributed to the major communicable diseases is in fact caused by malnutrition which makes the body le  able to withstand infectio  when they strike”， said Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima, Director-General of the World Health Organization（WHO）, in his statement on the first day of the World Food Summit organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio  in Rome, Italy, from 13 to 17 November, 1996.

“At the same time,” he added, “in developing countries today, malnutrition is the cause of 174 million children under five years of age being underweight, and 230 million being stunted in their growth. Such figures represent deprivation, suffering and wasted human potential on a scale that is unacceptable from every point of view. Whether we think in terms of humanitarian concern, common justice or development needs, they demand a re o e, both from national governments and from international community.”

At the end of January 1996, 98 countries had national pla  of action for nutrition and 41 countries had one under preparation, in keeping with their commitments made at the International Conference on Nutrition in Rome in December 1992. The global situation, however, remai  grim. Over 800 million people around the world still ca ot meet basic needs for energy and protein, more than two thousand million people lack e ential micronutrients, and hundreds of millio  suffer from diseases caused by u afe food and u alanced diets.

In sheer numbers, iron is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency. Mainly women of reproduction age and children under five are affected by iron deficiency with prevalence hovering around 50% in developing countries. Among various regio  in the world, it is South Asia which is hit hardest with prevalence reaching 80% in some countries. In infants and young children even mild anemia is a ociated with impaired intellectual as well as physical development. In older children and adults iron deficiency reduces work capacity and output. It also leads to increased accidents at work.

While there is no single remedy, a combination of several preventive a roaches is believed to work best. Dietary improvement includes co umption of iron-and vitamin C-rich foods and foods of animal origin, and avoiding drinking tea or coffee with or soon after meals. Iron su lementation of foods, particularly of staple cereals, is practiced in a growing number of countries. Iron su lementation is the most common a roach, particularly for pregnant women.

1. What is the cause of much of the sickne  and death?
A. Certain diseases.
B. Malnutrition.
C. Infectio .
D. Accidents.

2. What is the writer's attitude toward the serious situation?
A. It is strange.
B. It is acceptable.
C. We should act.
D. We can only wait.

3. How many countries have made pla  of action for nutrition?
A. 98.
B. 41.
C. 139.
D. 57.

4. Which of the following is NOT the harm of lacking iron?
A. Anemia.
B. Impaired intellectual development.
C. Traffic accidents.
D. Reduced work capacity.

5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a remedy for iron deficiency?
A. Eating iron-rich foods.
B. Avoiding drinking tea with meals.
C. Drinking coffee soon after meals.
D. Eating foods of animal origin.

Phobia

Phobia is inte e and persistent fear of a  ecific object, situation, or activity. Because of this inte e and persistent fear, the phobic person often leads a co tricted life. The anxiety is typically out of proportion to the real situation, and the victim is fully aware that the fear is irrational.

Phobic anxiety is distinguishable from other forms of anxiety only in that it occurs  ecifically in relation to a certain object or situation. This anxiety is characterized by physiological symptoms such as a rapid, pounding heartbeat, stomach disorders, nausea, diarrhea, frequent urination, and choking feelings, flushing of the face, per iration, tremulou e , and faintne . Some phobic people are able to confront their fears. More commonly, however, they avoid the situation or object that causes the fear—an avoidance that impairs the sufferer's freedom.

 ychiatrists recognize three major types of phobias. Simple phobias are fears of  ecific objects or situatio  such as animals, closed  aces, and heights. The second type, agoraphobia, is fear of open, public places and situatio  （such as public vehicles and crowded sho ing centers） from which escape is difficult; agoraphobics tend increasingly to avoid more situatio  until eventually they become housebound. Social phobias, the third type, are fears of a earing stupid or shameful in social situatio . The simple phobias, e ecially the fear of animals, may begin in childhood and persist into adulthood. Agoraphobia characteristically begi  in late adolescence or early adulthood, and social phobia is also a ociated with adolescence.

Although agoraphobia is more often seen in treatment than the other types of phobia, it is not believed to be as common as simple phobia. Taken together, the phobias are believed to afflict 5 to 10 perso  in 100. Agoraphobia and simple phobia are more commonly diagnosed in women than in me  the distribution for social phobia is not known. Agoraphobias, social phobias, and animal phobias tend to run in families.

Behavioral techniques have proved succe ful in treating phobias, e ecially simple and social phobias. One technique, systematic dese itization, involves gradually confronting the phobic person with situatio  or objects that are increasingly close to the feared ones.  Exposure therapy, another behavioral method, has recently been shown more effective. In this technique, phobic are repeatedly exposed to the feared situation or object so that they can see that no harm befalls them; the fear gradually fades. Ant anxiety drugs have also been used as palliatives. Antidepre ant drugs have also proved succe ful in treating some phobias.

1. According to the pa age, a phobic person has fear
A. because he thinks life is terrible.
B. because the things before him are really fearful.
C. even if he knows that his fear is u ece ary.
D. for he is always threatened by others.

2. All the following symptoms may be experienced by a phobic EXCEPT
A. sweating.
B. trembling.
C. forgetting things.
D. feeling like vomiting.

3. When faced with the object or situation they are afraid of, most phobic
A. try to stay away from the object or situation.
B. try to pick up courage and fight the object or situation.
C. go to their doctors so as to gain freedom.
D. know that their fears are the same with other forms of anxiety.

4. People suffering from agoraphobia may be afraid of
A. staying with dogs and cats.
B. taking the bus in rush hours.
C. standing on top of a high building.
D. staying alone at home.

5. Systematic dese itization and exposure therapy are similar ways of treating phobias
A. because both involve gradual exposure of phobic to fear stimuli.
B. because both are behavioral methods.
C. because both use anti-anxiety drugs.
D. because both use antidepre ant drugs.

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