题型：任务型阅读 题类：模拟题 难易度：普通
上海市徐汇区2019届高三英语二模试卷（音频暂未更新）
Many people know that trash is a big problem on planet Earth. What many people don't know is that trash has become a problem in outer space too.
Statistically, there are more than 22,000 pieces of junk in space around the earth. And these are just the items that we can see from the surface of the earth by telescopes or radars.
Objects, like bits of old space rockets or satellites, move around the planet at very high speeds, so fast that even a very small piece can break important satellites or become dangerous to people, particularly astronauts. If the tiniest piece of junk crashed into a spacecraft, it could damage the vehicle. That's because the faster an object moves, the greater the impact if the object collides with something else.
To help minimize additional space junk, countries around the world have agreed to limit the time their space tools stay in orbit to 25 years. Each tool must be built to fall safely into the earth's atmosphere, or the mass of gases that surround the earth, after that.
Many scientists are also proposing different ways to clean up space junk. The Germans have been planning a space mission with robots that would collect pieces of space trash and bring them back to Earth so that they can be safely destroyed.
"In our opinion the problem is very challenging, and it's quite urgent as well," said Marco Castronuovo, an Italian Space Agency researcher who is working to solve the problem. Many of these objects are tools that help people use their cell phones or computers.
"The time to act is now; as we go farther in time we will need to remove more and more fragments," he says.
A. One reason that it's urgent is that countries are sending more and more objects into space.
B. There are also millions of smaller pieces of junk that we can't see.
C. Blowing up older satellites with a missile may create thousands of smaller pieces!
D. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, it will burn up.
E. When two objects in space collide, the two objects break into many smaller pieces.
F. Years of space exploration have left tons of "space junk" in orbit around the planet.
Fighting the curse of presenteeism
"It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?" Beyond a certain level, extra effort seems to be selfdefeating. Studies suggest that, after 10 hours a week, employee productivity falls sharply.
But that doesn't stop some managers from demanding that workers stay chained to their desk for long periods. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, recently applauded the "996" model, where employees work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week, as a huge blessing". However, to modern office workers presenteeism is a curse.
There will be days when you do not have much to do, just waiting for someone else to respond to a request. As the clock ticks past 5pm, there may be no purpose in staying at your desk. But you can see your boss hard at work and, more important, they can see you. So you make an effort to look busy.
If bosses do not like to go home before their underlings (下属)and underlings fear leaving before their bosses, everyone is trapped. Staff may feel that they will not get a pay rise, or a promotion, if they are not seen to be putting in maximum effort. This is easily confused with long hours. Managers, who are often no good at judging employees5 performance, use time in the office as a measurement.
But presenteeism has more serious consequences. As well as reducing productivity, this can increase medical expenses for the employer. According to a study, these costs can be six time: higher for employers than the costs of absenteeism among workers. To take one example, research found that Japanese employees with lowerback pain were three times more likely to turn up for work than in Britain. As a result, those workers were more likely to experience greater pain and to suffer from depression. What could be more discouraging than being in pain while feeling trapped at work?
"None of this is to say that employers are not entitled to expect workers to be in the office for a small amount of time. Unavoidably there will be a need for some (preferably short)meetings. Dealing with colleagues face-to-face develops friendships, allows for a useful exchange of ideas and enables workers to have a better sense of their common needs.
With portable smart phones and laptops, we can work at home as easily as in the office. Turning an office into a prison does nothing for the creativity that is increasingly demanded of office workers as routine tasks are automatic. To be productive you need presence of mind, not being present in the flesh.
Fighting the curse of presenteeism | |
{#blank#}1{#/blank#} | Modern office workers stay chained to their desk for long periods. |
Contributing factors | •The staff think it may give them a(n){#blank#}2{#/blank#} to get a pay rise, or a promotion. •Employees' performance is{#blank#}3{#/blank#}in terms of working hours. |
Consequences | •Employees work less {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, some pretending to be busy. •More medical expenses have to be {#blank#}5{#/blank#} by employers for their staff. •Workers have a{#blank#}6{#/blank#}to be both physically and mentally. unhealthy. •It is of no {#blank#}7{#/blank#}to the development of creativity. |
{#blank#}8{#/blank#} of facetoface contact | •It develops friendships. •It makes a useful exchange of ideas {#blank#}9{#/blank#}. •It enables workers to {#blank#}10{#/blank#}each other's needs. |
Conclusion | To be productive you need presence of mind, not being present in the flesh. |
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