2020考研英語閱讀理解精讀100篇：Unit 12

Unit 12

In 1999, as soon as he completed high school and following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Lionel Hamilton enlisted to serve his country. He worked as a helicopter mechanic before ultimately becoming a pilot. He flew a Blackhawk and helped save countless lives by transporting soldiers out of danger.

Lionel still works on flying machines. Today, he oversees assembly at a GE jet engine testing facility in Peebles, Ohio. Lionel Hamilton is doing something else, too. He is answering a key question in the debate on how we build a growing and sustainable American economy. That question is not whether companies are hiring again. Manufacturing companies, large and small, are ready to hire. The question is: where can these companies find the qualified, skilled workers required for the high-tech jobs that define advanced manufacturing today?

It turns out that many companies are looking, with great success, at veterans like Lionel, both those just transitioning back to civilian life and those who have made that transition but are still looking for meaningful work. That is why the Manufacturing Institute, companies like GE, Alcoa, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, community colleges, veterans organizations, and others are launching a coalition to bolster the manufacturing talent pipeline by training veterans for jobs in advanced manufacturing. Our reason is not patriotism alone.

Manufacturing currently employs about 12 million people, and both the pay and benefits in those jobs exceed the national average. Approximately seven out of every 10 dollars of our country’s R&D investments support manufacturing. The point is that while the methods of manufacturing have changed, it remains a critical component of our country’s economic future. We know that there are 600,000 open high-tech jobs, just waiting to be filled. With transition support and training, vets can succeed in these jobs.

Manufacturers need skilled workers. More than two and a half million workers will retire in the next decade. The number has recently decreased slightly, but there are still nearly one million unemployed veterans, many of whom are young and looking to start a meaningful career. When you add the technical proficiency and the list of intangible qualities from leadership to loyalty that they bring with them to the job, veterans are a perfect fit.

The need is obvious. The challenge is matching their skills to job openings, to help them find the right jobs now. According to new research, veterans and active duty soldiers who will be soon transitioning into civilian life are confident that they can contribute. They worry, however, that they will be undervalued and that their skills may not readily transfer to the workforce.

注（1）：本文選自The New York Times；

注（2）：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對象為2011年真題Text 2。

1. All of Lionel Hamilton’s deeds can best be described as being ______.

A) obedient

B) patriotic

C) impulsive

D) capable

2. According to Paragraph 3, manufacturing companies may be ready to ______.

A) hire experienced workers

B) set up new manufacturing companies

C) define advanced manufacturing today

D) train veterans to be qualified and skilled workers

3. The word “bolster” （Line 5, Paragraph 3） most probably implies that ______.

A) manufacturing is a high-income and high-profit sector

B) the coalition advocates patriotism

C) manufacturing companies support the training of veterans

D) high-tech jobs are just waiting to be filled

4. It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that ______.

A) veterans are becoming more and more undervalued

B) intangible qualities are more valuable than technical proficiency

C) veterans are entirely optimistic to find suitable jobs

D) there are both opportunities and challenges along the road

5. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A) Manufacturing: We are ready to hire experienced workers.

B) Today’s advanced manufacturing

C) Veterans: What can we do after transition?

D) Veterans are the best choice for high-tech jobs in manufacturing.

篇章剖析

本文主要講述了讓退伍軍人做高技術(shù)含量的工作的問題。第一、二段以退伍軍人萊昂內(nèi)爾·漢密爾頓為例，介紹了退伍軍人具備過硬的技能以及高技術(shù)人才短缺的現(xiàn)狀；第三段指出，公司希望通過培訓(xùn)退伍軍人來支撐起制造業(yè)高端人才的培養(yǎng)渠道；第四、五段進一步分析了退伍軍人廣闊的就業(yè)前景；最后一段指出了退伍軍人對于再就業(yè)的憂慮。

詞匯注釋

enlist /?n?l?st/ v. 從軍；獲得支持

mechanic /m??kæn?k/ n. 技工，機修工

assembly /??sembli/ n. 裝配；集會

veteran /?vet?r?n/ n. 老兵；老手

transition /træn?z??n/ v. / n. 過渡；轉(zhuǎn)變

coalition /?k????l??n/ n. 聯(lián)合；結(jié)合

proficiency /pr??f??nsi/ n. 精通，熟練

intangible /?n?tænd??bl/ adj. 無形的，觸摸不到的

undervalued /??nd??vælju?d/ adj. 被低估的；貶值的；估值偏低的

難句突破

It turns out that many companies are looking, with great success, at veterans like Lionel, both those just transitioning back to civilian life and those who have made that transition but are still looking for meaningful work.

主體句式：It turns out that many companies are looking at veterans...

結(jié)構(gòu)分析：該長句修飾成分較多，因此結(jié)構(gòu)看似復(fù)雜。It turns out that...句式表示“結(jié)果是…”。插入語with great success作主句的伴隨狀語，并列連詞both...and...所引導(dǎo)的部分為名詞veterans的同位語，對退伍軍人進行了補充說明，而who所連接的從句作those的定語，具體限定了退伍軍人的范圍。

句子譯文：事實證明，很多公司都非常成功地找到了像萊昂內(nèi)爾這樣的退伍軍人。這些人當中有的剛轉(zhuǎn)業(yè)，有的已經(jīng)轉(zhuǎn)業(yè)卻仍舊在尋找有意義的工作。

題目分析

1. D 推理題。該題目要求概括萊昂內(nèi)爾·漢密爾頓的所有行為，屬于總結(jié)性提問，雖然子承父業(yè)參軍報國體現(xiàn)了一定的孝順和愛國熱情，但并不能概括他的所有行為，因此A、B選項不全面。C選項文中并未提及。只有D選項具有總括性，他能夠在任何崗位上都做出成績正說明他很有能力。故答案為D。

2. D 細節(jié)題。第三段指出，公司希望通過培訓(xùn)退伍軍人來支撐起制造業(yè)的人才培養(yǎng)渠道。B、C選項文中并未提及。而A選項中雇用有經(jīng)驗的工人與文中培訓(xùn)退伍軍人的說法不符，只有D選項說法正確。

3. C 細節(jié)題。bolster意為“支撐”，文中指出，這就是為什么制造業(yè)協(xié)會和通用、美鋁、波音、洛克希德·馬丁等公司，社區(qū)學(xué)院，退伍軍人聯(lián)合會以及其他機構(gòu)聯(lián)合的原因，他們希望通過培訓(xùn)退伍軍人從事高端制造業(yè)來支撐起制造業(yè)人才培養(yǎng)渠道。A、B項與原文不符。D選項雖然說法正確但與題意不符，故答案為C。

4. D 推理題。第五段進一步分析了退伍軍人廣闊的就業(yè)前景和優(yōu)勢，最后一段指出了退伍軍人對于再就業(yè)的顧慮。由原文可知A、B項的說法與原文不符。C選項中的entirely一詞擴大了范圍，言過其實，故排除。答案為D。

5. D 主旨題。文章重點介紹了退伍老兵從事高技術(shù)含量工作的優(yōu)勢，指出這是發(fā)展高端制造業(yè)和解決退伍老兵就業(yè)問題的關(guān)鍵。綜合全文可知，D為最佳答案。

參考譯文

1999年，萊昂內(nèi)爾·漢密爾頓高中一畢業(yè)就追隨其父親和祖父的腳步參軍報效祖國。他開始時擔任直升機技師一職，直到最終成為了一名飛行員。他曾駕駛“黑鷹號”，運送士兵們脫離危險，拯救了無數(shù)人的生命。

目前，萊昂內(nèi)爾仍舊從事著與飛行器有關(guān)的工作。今天，他正在俄亥俄州皮布爾斯監(jiān)管通用噴氣發(fā)動機實驗設(shè)備的裝配工作。他也做其他一些事情。在關(guān)于如何構(gòu)建可持續(xù)發(fā)展的美國經(jīng)濟的辯論中，他正在回答一個關(guān)鍵問題。這個問題不是公司是否會再次招聘，無論大型的還是小型的制造公司都會招聘。而是，在以高科技工作定義先進制造業(yè)的今天，這些公司去哪里找合格的、技術(shù)過硬的工人，來勝任這些高技術(shù)含量的工作。

事實證明，很多公司都非常成功地找到了像萊昂內(nèi)爾這樣的退伍軍人。這些人當中有的剛轉(zhuǎn)業(yè)，有的已經(jīng)轉(zhuǎn)業(yè)卻仍舊在尋找有意義的工作。這就是為什么制造業(yè)協(xié)會和通用、美鋁、波音、洛克希德·馬丁等公司，社區(qū)學(xué)院，退伍軍人聯(lián)合會以及其他機構(gòu)聯(lián)合的原因，他們希望通過培訓(xùn)退伍軍人從事高端制造業(yè)來支撐起制造業(yè)人才培養(yǎng)渠道。我們這樣做并不僅僅是因為愛國。

目前制造業(yè)雇用了大約1200萬人，這些工作給受雇者帶來的收入和補助金超過了國家平均水平。約70%的國家科研投資都被用來支持制造業(yè)的發(fā)展。問題是盡管制造方式已經(jīng)改變，它依然是關(guān)乎國家經(jīng)濟前景的關(guān)鍵部分。我們知道有60萬個高科技類工作崗位有待填補。通過轉(zhuǎn)業(yè)支持和培訓(xùn)，退伍軍人可以勝任這些工作。

制造商需要技術(shù)型人才。在未來十年，將有超過250萬工人退休。雖然這一數(shù)字最近有小幅下降，但是我們還有將近100萬未就業(yè)的退伍軍人，他們大多年富力強并期望找到一份有意義的工作。當你把技術(shù)嫻熟度和他們所具備的一系列的無形品質(zhì)（無論是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力還是忠誠度）加在一起的時候，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)退伍軍人是最適合這些工作的人選。

需求是顯而易見的。目前的挑戰(zhàn)是將他們的技能和空缺崗位對號入座，幫助他們找到合適的工作。最新調(diào)查顯示，退伍軍人和一些快要轉(zhuǎn)業(yè)的現(xiàn)役士兵都堅信自己能夠做出貢獻。但是，他們也擔心自己的價值會被低估，而且自己的技能也許不會很容易就轉(zhuǎn)化為勞動力。