PASSAGE 6
　　Computers
　　Before the widespread use of computers， managers could not make full use of large amounts of valuable information about a company's activities. The information either reached managers too late or was too late or was too expensive to be used. Today， managers are facing a wide range of data processing and information instruments. In place of a few financial controls， managers can draw on computer-based information systems to control activities in every area of their company. On any kinds of performance measures， the information provided by these systems helps managers compare standards with actual results， find out problems， and take corrective action before it is too late to make changes.
　　The introduction of computerized information systems has sharply changed management control in many companies. Even a neighborhood shopkeeper may now use computers to control sales， billing， and other activities. In large companies， electronic data processing systems monitr entire projects and sets of operations.
　　Now， there are about 24 million microcomputers² in use in the United States - one for every 10 citizens. It is estimated that by 1996， 61 percent of American managers will be using some sort of electronic work station. In order for managers to be sure that the computer-based information they are receiving is accurate， they need to understand how computers work. However， in most cases they do not need to learn how to program computers. Rather， managers should understand how computerized information systems work； how they are developed； their limitations and costs； and the manner in which information systems may be used. Such an understanding is not difficult to achieve.
　　One research found that business firms were more successful in teaching basic information about computers to business graduates than they were in teaching business subjects to computer science graduates.
　　1. Equipped with computers， managers today operate their firms with higher efficiency and less cost than they used to be.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　2. Today， financial controls are still exercised in some minor³ areas such as billing and vocational training.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　3. It is unnecessary for a neighborhood baker⁴ to use a computer in his shop.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　4. At present about 10% of American citizens possess a microcomputer¹.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　5. One thing that managers do not have to understand is how computers work.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　6. In some case managers have to learn how to write programs so as to work out computerized information systems that suit their own companies best.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　7. Computerized firms would rather employ business graduates than computer science graduates because it is easier to train the former into qualified⁵ employees.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　KEY：ABBABCA
　　PASSAGE 7
　　The Cold Places
　　The Arctic is a polar region. It surrounds the North Pole.
　　Like Antarctica， the Arctic is a land of ice and snow. Antarctica holds the record for a low temperature reading ——125 degrees Fahrenheit⁶ below zero. Reading of 85 degrees below zero are common in both the Arctic and Antarctica. Winter temperatures average 30 d3egrees below zero in the Arctic. At the South Pole the winter average is about 73 degrees below zero.
　　One thing alone makes it almost impossible for men to live in Antarctica and in parts of the Arctic. This one thing is the low temperature —— the killing⁷ chill of far North and the polar South.
　　To survive， men must wear the warmest possible clothing . They must build windproof shelters. They must keep heaters going at al times. Not even for a moment can they be unprotected against the below-zero temperatures.
　　Men have a way of providing for themselves. Polar explorers wrap themselves in warm coats and furs. The cold makes life difficult. But the explorers can stay alive.
　　What about animals？ Can they survive？ Do we find plants？ Do we find life in the Arctic and in Antarctica？ Yes， we do. There is life in the oceans. There is life on land.
　　Antarctica， as we have seen， is a cold place indeed. But this has not always been the case. Expedition scientists have discovered that Antarctica has not always been a frozen continent. At one time the weather in Antarctica may have much like our own.
　　Explorers have discovered coal in Antarctica. This leads them to believe that Antarctica at one time was a land of swamps and forests. Heat and moisture must have kept the trees in the forests alive.
　　EXERCISE：
　　1） The lowest temperature that man has ever known was recorded in Antarctica.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　2） Winter temperatures average 85 degrees below zero in Antarctica.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　3） The Arctic and Antarctica are no man's lands because of their notorious coldness.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　4） Polar explorers can stay alive without heaters and windproof shelters.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　5） Despite the hostile environment， both animals and plants can be found in the oceans and on land in polar areas.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioed
　　6） As discovered by expedition scientists， Antarctica has not always been so cold as it is today， so has the Arctic.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　7） At one time， the weather in Antarctica was so warm and damp that trees grew there.
　　A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
　　KEY：
　　A B B B A C

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