Question

One of the most difficult questions to answer is how much a job is worth. We naturally expect that a doctor’s salary will be higher than a bus conductor’s wages. But the question becomes much more difficult to answer when we compare a miner with an engineer, or an unskilled man working on an oil-rig（鉆探平臺）with a teacher in a secondary school. What the doctor, the engineer and the teacher have in common is that they have devoted several years to studying in order to obtain the necessary qualifications for their professions. We feel instinctively that these skills and these years should be rewarded. At the same time we recognize that the work of the miner and the oil-rig laborer is both hard and dangerous, and that they must be highly paid for the risks they take.
　　Another aspect we must take into consideration is how socially useful a man’s work is. Most people would agree that looking after the sick or teaching children is more important than, say, selling second-hand cars. Yet it is almost certain that the used-car salesman earns more than the nurse and the schoolteacher.
　　Indeed, this whole question of just rewards can be turned on its head. You can argue that a man who does a job which brings him personal satisfaction is already receiving part of his reward in the form of a so-called “psychic（精神的）wage”, and that it is the man with the boring, repetitive job who needs more money to make up for the soul-destroying repetitiveness of his work. It is significant that the jobs like nursing and teaching continue to be poorly paid, while others, such as those in the world of sport or entertainment, carry financial rewards out of all proportion to their social worth.
Although the amount of money that people earn is largely determined by market forces, this should not prevent us from seeking some way to decide what is the right pay for the job. A starting point would be to try to decide the ratio（比率）which ought to exist between the highest and the lowest paid. The picture is made more complicated by two factors: firstly by the welfare benefits which every citizen receives, and secondly by the taxation system which is often used as an instrument of social justice by taxing high incomes at a very high rate indeed. Most countries now regard a ratio of 7:1 as socially acceptable. If it is less, the highly-qualified people carrying heavy responsibilities will become disappointed, and might even end up by leaving for another country. If it is more, the difference between rich and poor will be so great that it will lead to social unrest.
【小題1】Why do people naturally expect that doctors should be well-paid?

A．Their work requires greater intelligence.

B．They are under constant pressure at work.

C．They work harder than most other people.

D．They have studied for years to get qualified.

【小題2】In Paragraph 2 and 3, the author indicates that __________.

A．the talented should do more important work

B．unskilled jobs have less social responsibility

C．those with more socially useful jobs earn less

D．people want to pay more to important services

【小題3】Which of the following statements would the author agree?

A．It’s difficult to define the social value of a job.

B．The market will decide what the right pay is for a job.

C．People should find a proper ratio between high and low pay.

D．Those receiving high salary should carry heavy responsibilities.

Answer 1

【小題1】D
【小題2】C
【小題3】C

解析試題分析：文章討論的是社會上工資分配問題，到底什么樣的工作應該得到高工資？作者認為最低工資和最高工資應該有個適當的比率。
【小題1】細節題：從第一段的句子：What the doctor, the engineer and the teacher have in common is that they have devoted several years to studying in order to obtain the necessary qualifications for their professions. 可知醫生經過多年的學習才有醫師資格，所以人們認為他們應該拿高工資。選D
【小題2】細節題：從第二段的句子：Yet it is almost certain that the used-car salesman earns more than the nurse and the schoolteacher. 可知對社會有用的工作反而得到的工資很少。選C
【小題3】細節題：從第四段的句子：A starting point would be to try to decide the ratio（比率）which ought to exist between the highest and the lowest paid. 可知作者認為人們應該在最低工資和最高工資有個適當的比率。選C
考點：考查社會現象類短文
點評：首段主題由most difficult question引出，可見其后的內容都是圍繞工資展開。第二段的主題句也很明顯，顯然就是對影響工資的另一個因素的討論。而第三段indeed后面引出的才是作者真正的觀點，即人的工資的有一部分是“精神工資”，只有算上這部分工資，才能衡量一個人真正應得的報酬。結構是很清楚的，題目設置都是細節題。可以在文章中直接找到與答案有關的信息?或是其變體。搜查信息在閱讀中非常重要它包括理解作者在敘述某事時使用的具體事實、數據、圖表等細節信息。