Question

As graduation draws near, those who haven’t landed a job yet may be desperate to find one. Perhaps some of the job offers they have received are below their skill and experience levels. Is it better to take these offers, or reject them and remain unemployed?

Recently, David Pedulla, a University of Texas sociologist, conducted a study about how taking a job below your skill level could affect your future employment.

In the study, Pedulla developed resumes for imaginary job applicants. The job seekers he created had a few things in common. They had a college degree, worked nearly two years at their first job, and about 4.5 years at their second job. What differed was their third job in the most recent year. They either had a full-time job that matched their skills, a part-time job below their skill levels, or were unemployed.

Then Pedulla submitted 2,420 resumes based on his imaginary job seekers, along with cover letters, to online ads for 1,210 real jobs. Each applicant had a real phone number that employers could contact if they were interested in talking with the applicant further.

The callback rates varied widely based on how the imaginary job seekers had spent their last year. The applicants who had full-time jobs the previous year were called back 10.4 percent of the time. Those whose most recent year of employment was in a job below their skill levels were only called back about 5 percent. Male applicants unemployed for a year were called back 4.2 percent of the time, while the figure is 7.5 percent for unemployed females.

However, Pedulla cautioned that the experiment only measured the initial interest of employers in his fictional job candidates, not whether the employers would hire them or what they would be paid based on their most recent job experiences.

1.The purpose of the first paragraph is ________ .

A. to lead in the topic

B. to present an argument

C. to shock the reader

D. to describe the present situation in job seeking

2.Which statement is NOT true about Pedulla’s experiment?

A. The applicants had some things in common at their first two jobs.

B. The applicants’ resumes and phone numbers are created by Pedulla.

C. The applicants’ most recent job experiences affected the callback rates.

D. Unemployed female applicants got a higher callback rate than males.

3.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A. The applicants with a high callback rate would surely be hired.

B. The applicants’ most recent job experiences would decide their salaries.

C. There are some limits about what lessons can be taken from the study.

D. It is better to take a job offer below one’s skill level than to reject it.

4.In which section may the text appear in a newspaper?

A. Career          B. Science

C. Culture        D. Education

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：工作与水平相称有多重要？你对于自己的第一份工作有何打算？仓促上岗使不得，每份工作都会影响你未来发展的轨迹。

1.A 写作意图题。通读全文可知这篇文章主要介绍了美国一位社会学家做的一份“接受低于自身技能水平的工作，可能会影响未来就业前途”的调查。根据第一段的内容可知其目的主要是引出话题。这篇文章并不是讨论某个议题，故B项是错误的。

2.B 细节理解题。根据第四段第二句话Each of the applicants had a real phone number that employers could contact…可知B项不符合原文；根据第三段的第二、三两句话可排除A；根据倒数第二段的第一句话可排除C；根据倒数第二段的最后一句话可排除D。

3.C判断推理题。根据最后一段的内容，尤其是 “However”, “ cautioned”, “ only measured” 等词语可推出从这个研究中学到的东西有局限性。故C项正确。

4.A 推理判断题。文章主要介绍了美国德克萨斯大学的一位社会学家做的一份“接受低于自身技能水平的工作，可能会影响未来就业前途”的调查。故最有可能在职场版面见到这篇文章。

考点：考查说明文阅读