21.Which of the following applies to the management of human resources in American companies?

A) They hire people at the lowest cost regardless of their skills.

B) They see the gaining of skills as their employees’ own business.

C) They attach more importance to workers than equipment.

D) They only hire skilled workers because of keen competition.

22. What is the position of the head of human-resource management in an American firm?

A) He is one of the most important executives in the firm.

B) His post is likely to disappear when new technologies are introduced.

C) He is directly under the chief financial executive.

D) He has no say in making important decisions in the firm.

23.The money most American firms put in training mainly goes to .

A) workers who can operate new equipment

B) technological and managerial staff

C) workers who lack basic background skills

D) top executives

24. According to the passage, the decisive factor in maintaining a firm’s competitive advantage is .

A) the introduction of new technologies

B) the improvement of worker’s basic skills

C) the rational composition of professional and managerial employees

D) the attachment of importance to the bottom half of the employees

25. What is the main idea of the passage?

A) American firms are different from Japanese and Germany firms in human-resource management.

B) Extensive retraining is indispensable to effective human-resource management.

C) The head of human-resource management must be in the central position in a firm’s hierarchy.

D) The human-resource management strategies of American firms affect their competitive capacity.

Questions 26—30 are based on the following passage:

Passage 2

For millions of years before the appearance of the electric light, shift work, all-night cable TV and the Internet, earth’s creatures evolved on a planet with predictable and reassuring 24-hout rhythms. Our biological locks are set for this daily cycle. Simply, our bodies want to sleep at night and be awake during the day. Most women and men need between eight and eight and a half hours of sleep a night to function properly throughout their lives. ( Contrary to popular belief, humans don’t need less sleep as they age.)

But on average, Americans sleep only about seven and a half hours per night, a marked drop from the nine hours they averaged in 1910. What’s worse, nearly one third of all Americans get less than six hours of sleep on a typical work night. For most people, that’s not nearly enough.

Finding ways to get more and better sleep can be a challenge. Scientists have identified more than 80 different sleep disorders. Some sleep disorders are genetic. But many problems are caused by staying up late and by traveling frequently between time ones or by working nights. Dr. James F. Jones at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver says that sleep disorders are often diagnosed as other discomforts. About one third of the patients referred to him with possible chronic fatigue syndrome actually have treatable sleep disorders. “ Before we do anything else, we look at their sleep,” Jones says.

Sleep experts says that most people would benefit from a good look at their sleep patterns “ My motto (座右铭) is ‘ Sleep defensively’,” says Mary Carskadon of Brown University. She says people need to carve out sufficient time to sleep, even if it means giving up other things. Sleep routines—like going to bed and getting up at the same time every day—are important. Pre-bedtime activities also make a difference. As with Elsner, who used to suffer from sleeplessness, a few lifestyle changes—avoiding stimulants and late meals, exercising hours before bedtime, relaxing with a hot bath—yield better sleep.

26 What is TRUE of human sleep?

A. On average, people in the U.S. today sleep less per night than they used to.

B. For most people, less than six hours of sleep on a typical work night is enough.

C. Most people need less sleep when they grow older.