Section C

　　Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are .four choices marked A), B) , C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

　　Passage One

　　Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

　　3D glasses help doctors perform invasive surgery when their hands are obscured from view.

　　Moviegoers arent the only ones wearing 3D glasses nowadaysdoctors could benefit from them, too, a new study suggests.

　　In the past, doctors have been skeptical of using 3D technology in their work, preferring to rely on their own experience. But that may change, thanks to improved 3D glasses and even glasses-free systems .Funded by industry sponsors, the study of 50 surgeons using the new technology showed improvements in surgical precision and speed.

　　While the technology still requires some free-tuning, technology without the need to wear special glasses will increase the popularity of 3D systems in operating rooms, study leader Ulrich Leiner of the Fratmhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin said in a statement.

　　Improvements to screens are driving developments in 3D technology. High-definition screens are already available. The next step is ultra-high definition, with a sixteen fold improvement in resolution, according to study co-author Michael Witte of HHI.

　　To evaluate whether new 3D technology was ready for hospital applications, researchers invited surgeons from the Klinikum rechts der Isars surgical hospital to test it out. A leading endoscope manufacturer and an international display company funded the study.

　　The surgeons tested four different systems: 2D, 3D with glasses, 3D without glasses and a mirror-based 3D system. The glasses-free model relied on an eye-tracking camera system that delivered separate images to each eye, creating a 3D effect in the brain.

　　The images came from endoscopic cameras used in surgery. The doctors practiced a simulated, routine surgical procedure in which they sewed up a wound in a model patients stomach using a needle and thread. Just as in a minimally invasive surgery, their hands were obscured from view and they relied

　　on the screen to see what they were doing.

　　The results were astonishing, Hubertus Feuner, of the Klinikum rechts der Isar university hospital in Munich, said in a statement. The winning surgeon performed the procedure in 15 percent less time and with considerably increased precision, Feuner said.

　　The most surprising thing was that not only young surgeons benefited, but experienced surgeons also, according to the researchers. The winning doctor has worked at the hospital for more than 30 years and has conducted thousands of operations.

　　The surgeons in the study rated the 3D glasses system the highest, and the glasses-free system as comparable to the 2D one.

　　Once the technology is widely available, will doctors begin using it. Theres no doubt that 3D will be a commodity in the future. Witte said.

　　The studys findings will be presented at a congress of the Association of German. Surgeons in Berlin in April. The findings have not been published in a scientific peer-reviewed journal.

　　56. What can be inferred about 3D glasses from the second paragraph?

　　A) Doctors usually have a poor eye sight.

　　B) Moviegoers often wear 3D glasses to watch films.

　　C) Some doctors are moviegoers.

　　D) Moviegoers know how to perform surgery.

　　57. What was the doctors attitude toward 3D technology in the past?

　　A) Apathetic.

　　B) Positive.

　　C) Disappointed.

　　D) Doubtful.

　　58. To create a 3D effect in the brain, an eye-tracking camera system

　　A) enabled each eye to receive separate images

　　B) separated images for each eye

　　C) delivered images of each eye through a camera

　　D) delivered to each glass separate images

　　59. The benefits that 3D technology may bring to surgeons are

　　A) less precision and less time

　　B) improved precision and less time

　　C) improved precision and more time

　　D) obscured views

　　60. What can be inferred from the feedbacks of the surgeons?

　　A) 3D glasses system has the highest technology.

　　B) 3D glasses system is no better than 2D one.

　　C) The glasses-free system is superior to the 2D one.

　　D) 3D glasses system is more helpful than the glasses-free system.

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

　　A recent BBC documentary, The Town That Never Retired, sought to show the effects of increasing the state pension age by putting retirees back to work.

　　Although the results were entertaining, they need not have bothered. Away from the cameras, unprecedented numbers of older people are staying in work .Since the start of the recession that began in 2008, the number of 16-to 24-year-olds in work has fallen by 597,000. Over the same period the number of workers over the age of 65 has increased by 240 o000.

　　The graying of the British workforce dates back to around 2001, since when the proportion of older people working has nearly doubled. But it has accelerated since the start of the recession. There are several reasons why. Happily, people are living longer and healthier lives, which makes staying in work less daunting than it was. Less happily, low interest rates, a stagnant stock market and the end of many defined-benefit pension schemes make it a financial necessity. And changing attitudes ,spurred by rules against age discrimination, are making it easier than ever.

　　Most older workers are simply hanging on at the office: 63% of workers over state pension age have been with their employer for more than ten years. Over two-thirds of them work part-time, mostly doing jobs that they once performed full-time. A big advantage is that they do not pay national insurance contributions effectively a second income tax on younger workers.

　　According to Stephen McNair, director of the Centre for Research into the Older Workforce, this flexibility explains why older workers have not suffered so much in the slump. Instead of slashing the workforce, as in previous recessions, many firms have halted recruitment and cut working hours. At small businesses in particular, keeping on older workers is cheaper and less risky than training replacements. Over half of workers over state pension age work for businesses with fewer than 25 employees.

　　Christopher Nipper, who owns David Nipper, a womens wear manufacturer based in Derbyshire, prizes his semi-retired workers, who can be employed at short notice and do not need to work full-time to survive. Retired machinists can fill in if there is a surge in orders; former sales advisers can work as part-time consultants. As his competitors have moved production abroad, depleting the pool of trained labour,retaining older workers and their skills has become even more important.

　　There is scope for the older workforce to expand. Workers over the age of 50 who are made unemployed find it harder to pick up new jobs, which could mean that more oldsters want to work than are able to. That would be good. The Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog, reported on July 12th that an ageing, unproductive population is the biggest long-term threat to Britains economic health.

　　Data from the OECD, a think-tank, shows that employment rates among workers approaching retirement age are split in Europe, with old workers hanging on best in the north. Government credit ratings follow a similar pattern. That Britains ageing workforce more closely resembles Germanys than Italys could prove the countrys salvation.

　　61. Which of the following can be inferred from the BBC documentary The Town That Never Retired?

　　A) What it intends to reveal is contrary to the reality.

　　B) It has received good comments from audience.

　　C) It aims to criticize the poor pension provision in the UK.

　　D) It reflects the current phenomenon of retirees coming back to work.

　　62. According to the passage, it refers to__________.

　　A) age discrimination

　　B) the changing attitude

　　C) a financial necessity

　　D) staying in work after retiring

　　63. According to Paragraph 3, which of the following is TRUE about the older workers in the UK?

　　A) Most of them are loyal to their former employers.

　　B) Most of them rarely challenge themselves by seeking new types of jobs.

　　C) They do not have to pay national income tax.

　　D) 63% of them continue to work over the retirement age.

　　64. According to Christopher Nieper, why are semi-retired workers favored in hiring?

　　A) Because they can fill in the job vacancy in a brief time.

　　B) Because the pool of labour in the UK is drained.

　　C) Because they work harder than the yoking because of economic pressure.

　　D) Because their working hours can be as flexible as they want.

　　65. It can be concluded from the last paragraph that __________.

　　A) Britains ageing workforce is similar to Italys

　　B) Britains credit ratings are higher than Italys

　　C) Britains salvation is better than Germanys

　　D) Britains employment rates of ageing workforce are higher than Germanys

　　56.B)。定位到第二段：Moviegoers arent the only ones wearing 3D glasses nowadaysdoctors could benefit from them，too，a new study suggests.

　　详解 理判断题。本题考查读者对该段言外之意的理解。定位段指出，如今戴着3D眼镜的并非只有电影爱好者，一项新的研究表明3D眼镜也能让医生获益，言外之意就是，电影爱好者经常戴着3D眼镜观看电影，故答案为B)。A)医生视力不好、C)有些医生也是电影爱好者和D)电影爱好者会做手术在文中并未提及，故均排除。

　　57.D) 定位 由题干中in the past定位到第三段第一句：In the past，doctors have been skeptical of using 3D technology in their work，preferring to rely on their own experience.

　　详解 参观点态度题。本题考查过去医生对3D技术的态度。定位句提到，在过去，医生对工作中使用3D技术持怀疑态度，他们更愿意依靠自身的经验，D)为skeptical的近义词，故为答案。A)冷漠的、B)积极的和C)失望的，均排除。

　　58.A)。定位 由题干中的eye.tracking camera system定位到第七段第二句：The glasses.free model relied on all eye-tracking camera system that delivered separate images to each eye，creating a 3D effect in the brain.

　　详解 事实细节题。本题考查视线捕捉摄像系统的功能。定位句提到，无需佩戴眼镜的系统依靠捕捉视线的摄像系统将独立的图像发送到每只眼睛，从而在大脑中形成3D效果，故A)为答案。B)为眼睛分开图像文章并未提及，故排除;C)通过摄像机来传输眼睛的图像是对文章意思的曲解，故排除;D)将独立的图像发送到每个眼镜与文意不符，故排除。

　　59.B)。定位 由题干中的benefits that 3D technology may bring to surgeons定位到第九段第二句：The winning surgeon performed the procedure in l5 percent less time and with considerably increased precision.Feuner said.

　　详解 事实细节题。本题考查3D技术带来的好处。由定位句可知，费斯纳尔说，测试中完成最好的医师不仅少花了15%的时间而且精准性得到大幅提高，即更高的精准性与更少的时间，故答案为B)。同时，排除A)与C);D)模糊的视线文中并未提及，故排除。

　　60.D)。定位 由题干中的feedbacks of the surgeons定位到第十一段：The surgeons in the study rated the 3D glasses system the highest，and the glassesfree system as comparable to the 2D one.

　　详解 推理判断题。由定位句可知，研究项目的外科医生们给3D眼镜系统的分数最高，而无需佩戴眼镜的3D系统和2D系统差不多，D)是对原文的转述，故为答案。A)3D眼镜系统技术含量最高在文中并未提及，故排除;B)3D眼镜系统不比2D系统好和C)无需佩戴眼镜的3D系统比2D系统好与原文逻辑不符,故均挑除。

　　61.A)。定位 由题干中的BBC documentary，The Town That Never Retired定位到第一段第一、二句：A recent BBC documentary，The Town That Never Retired，sought to show the effects of increasing the state pension age by putting retirees back to work.Although the results were entertaining，they need not have bothered.

　　详解 推理判断题。本题考查有关纪录片《永不退休的城镇》的理解。由定位句英国广播公司最近推出一部纪录片《永不退休的城镇》，该纪录片旨在表现通过促使退休人员重回工作岗位来提高国家退休年龄这一政策所带来的影响。片子虽然有趣，但影片制作者们真是杞人忧天了可知，实际情况是人们到了退休年龄会主动要求继续工作，与这部纪录片所要表达的内容相反，故答案为A)。B)这部纪录片得到了观众的好评为过度推断，该段第二句仅指出片子虽然有趣，故排除;C)这部纪录片旨在批评英国糟糕的退休金条款与D)这部纪录片反映出目前退休职工重返工作的现象均未在原文中提及，故排除。

　　62.D)。定位 由题干定位到第二段最后一句：And changing attitudes，spurred by rules against age discrimination，are making it easier than ever.

　　详解 语义理解题。本题考查代词it 的指代。定位句提到，而且在禁止年龄歧视规定的驱动下，人们的态度在慢慢改变，这也使之较以往更容易。该段主题为英国劳动力老龄化及其原因，定位句为劳动力老龄化的最后一点原因，故it指代退休后重返工作岗位，故答案为D)。

　　63.B)。定位 根据题干定位到第三段第一、二句：Most older workers are simply hanging on at the office：63% of workers over state pension age have been with their employer for more than ten years.Over twothirds of them work part-time，mostly doing jobs that they once performed full-time.

　　详解 事实细节题。本题考查英国老年劳动者的情况。定位句提到，大多数老年就业者还是坚守在原来的岗位：在超过国家退休年龄的工作者中，63%的人和雇主共事的时间已超过十年。这些人中，超过三分之二的人现在从事兼职，主要从事他们全职时曾做过的工作。换言之，年长的工作者大都很少挑战新类型的工作，故B)为答案。A)大多数年长的工作者对之前的老板很衷心为过度推断，故排除;C)年长的工作者不用缴纳国家工资税，该段最后一句指出不用再支付国民保险税，而非国家工资税，故排除;D)63%的年长工作者超过退休年龄后继续工作是对原文内容的曲解，故排除。

　　64.A)。定位 由题干中的Christopher Nieper和semi-retired workers定位到第五段第一句：Christopher Nieper，who owns David Nieper，a womenswear manufacturer based in Derbyshire，prizes his semiretired workers.who Can be employed at short notice and do not need to work fulltime to survive.Retired machinists call fill in if there is a surge in orders.

　　详解 事实细节题。本题考查Christopher Nieper珍视他的半退休员工们的原因。由定位句可知，克里斯多夫很珍视他的半退休员工们，这些人可在短时间内上工而且并不需要全职工作来谋生，A)中的fill in the job vacancy和in a brief time分别对应原文的be employed和at short notice，故为答案。B)因为英国劳动力已耗尽，该段最后一句指出抛弃了熟练的工人，而非耗尽了所有的劳动力，故排除;C)由于经济压力，他们比年轻的劳动力更努力工作，定位句指出这些人可在短时间内上工而且并不需要全职工作来谋生，说明他们经济压力不大，与原文不符，故排除;D)因为他们的工作时间自由，可以随意安排为过度推断，故排除。

　　65.B)。定位 由题干提示定位到最后一段.：shows that employment rates among workers approaching retirement age are split in Europe，with old workers hanging Oil best in the north.Government credit ratings follow a similar pattern.That Britains ageing workforce more closely resembles Germanys than Italys could prove the countrys salvation.