20.What does the writer try to tell us?

A.　　　 Water Authorities Association gives a call to East Britain.　

B.Some water companies are in difficulty.

C.East Britain faces early water restrictions.　

19.From the spokesman, we can infer that _________.

　　　 A.generally Britain has much rainfall all the year round

　　　 B.usually after March or April it begins to rain in Britain

　　　 C.in the worst hit areas underground water remains acute

　　　 D.some areas have failed to pump water from the west to the east

18.From the passage, we learn that before Britain reported its third lowest rainfall________.

A.there was likely to be no rain for a long time

B.there was likely to be an average rainfall

　　　 C.underground and surface water was adequate

　　　 D.surface water was short but underground water adequate

17.What happened in East Anglia?

A. Water restrictions.　　　　　　　　　 B. A severe shortage of water supply.

C. Recovery from a drought.　　　　　　 D. Overflow of underground water.

16.The most important thing for a company to keep its employees loyal and energetic is ____.

　　　 A.to raise their salary from time to time　 B.to maintain an effective management

　　　 C.to be skillful in organizing their work　 D.to pay attention to the development of products

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 E

Underground water reserves in eastern England are critically low and for some people water

　restrictions may only be days away. Areas affected include East Sussex, Kent and Essex. East Anglia is among the worst hit areas, with the situation in Lincolnshire “particularly acute (严重)”.

Yorkshire Water is still trying to recover from a drought last year and water is being pumped from the west of the country to the east to cope with an acute shortage.

The concern over areas which depend heavily on underground water reserves is also reported in the New Civil Engineer. It suggests that ground water levels have sunk to a record low and river flows have fallen as Britain recorded its third lowest rainfall for March and April this century. The journal also claims that some areas could be facing the worst drought in memory.

The problems stem from the dry winter of 1988-89 which preceded (先于) a long summer of drought followed by barely average rainfall in the East of England last winter.

A spokesman for the Water Authorities Association said areas dependent on surface water had made up for two years of dry weather while areas dependent on underground water reserves had never totally recovered.

“I know that some of the water companies in these areas are already giving warnings to customers to use water sensibly as they are already in some difficulty.”

15.If a company wants to hire excellent employees, it should __________.

　　　 A.offer agreeable working conditions to its employees

　　　 B.examine its employees and make selection strictly

　　　 C.take great care of the welfare of their employees

　　　 D.catch up with other companies in providing other benefits than wages

14.Today’s employees know how to protect their benefits by _________.

　　　 A.making comparisons between different companies

　　　 B.examining their agreements with the employer

　　　 C.asking for compensation for what they do　ging their jobs more often than before

13.The writer of this passage advises that_________.

　　　 A.employers should pay their employees as much as possible

　　　 B.employees should know about their working conditions clearly

　　　 C.normal working hours are good for keeping efficiency

　　　 D.safety is the chief concern in improving working conditions

12.Which of the following could probably be the main idea of this passage?

　　　 A.Employees can improve their income in many ways.

B.Employees can hardly be satisfied.

　　　 C.Employers should be skillful in management.　　　

D.Job satisfaction is tied to benefits

11.This passage would most probably be found in __________.

A. an index　　　　 B. a textbook　　　　 C. a newspaper　　 　 D. a catalog

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D

Employees need several kinds of satisfactions if they are to remain productive and

enthusiastic in industry. They need to know that their working conditions are safe and adequate for the kind of work they do. Also, they need reasonable hours of work in order to make their jobs acceptable. If they must work overtime several nights a week, their take-home pay may be higher, but their efficiency and feelings about their jobs will decline(下降).

In addition to agreeable working conditions, employees need to have adequate compensation

(补偿) for the work they do. Today potential employees also examine the benefits package management offers to compare them with other companies. If one company offers stocks, insurance, vacations, and even child care, other industries must follow suit, or they lose out on hiring the best employees.

　 Adequacy of working conditions and financial compensation are hardly enough, however, to keep employees satisfied for long. Employees also need to feel confident of management’s abilities to organize the company. The employer who pays well and has a new modern plant to display their product may still lose the loyalty and devotion of employees through lack of attention to details and disorganization. One recent research study showed that more than half the small businesses failed not due to lack of money but due to the employer’s lack of management skill.