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He left school after taking 0-levels because ______.

A. he did not enjoy school
B. he wanted to work with computers and staying at school did not help him
C. he was afraid of getting too old to start computing
D. he wanted to earn a lot of money

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The Depression-era move was hailed in Factory and Industrial Management magazine as the "biggest piece of industrial news since Henry Ford announced his five-dollar-a-day policy." It's believed that industry and machines would lead to workers' paradises where all would have less work, more free time, and yet still produce enough to meet their needs.
So what happened? Today, instead of working less, our hours have stayed steady or risen- and today many more women work so that families can afford the trappings of suburbia. In effect, workers chose the path of consumption over leisure.
With unemployment at a nine-year high and many workers worded about losing their jobs- or forced to accept cutbacks in pay and benefits -- work is hardly the paradise economists once envisioned.
The modern environment would seem alien to pre-industrial laborers. For centuries, the household -- from farms to "cottage" craftsmen -- was the unit of production. The whole family was part of the enterprise, be it farming, blacksmithing, or baking. "In pre-industrial society, work and family were practically the same thing," says Gillis.
The Industrial Revolution changed all that. Mills and massive iron smelters required ample labor and constant attendance. For the first time, work and family were split. Instead of selling what they produced, workers sold their time. With more people leaving farms to move to cities and factories, labor became a commodity and placed on the market like any other.
Innovation gave rise to an industrial process based on machinery and mass production. The theories of Frederick Taylor, a Philadelphia factory foreman, led to work being broken down into component parts, with each step timed to coldly quantify jobs that skilled craftsmen had worked a lifetime to learn. Workers resented Taylor and his stopwatch, complaining that his focus on process stripped their jobs of creativity and pride, making them irritable. Long before anyone knew what "stress" was, Taylor brought it to the workplace- and without sympathy.
The division of work into components that could be measured and easily taught reached its apex in Ford's River Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Mich., where the assembly line came of age. To maximize the production lines, businesses needed long hours from their workers. But it was no easy to sell.
Labor leaders fought back with their own propaganda. For more than a century, a key struggle for the labor movement was reducing the amount of time workers had to spend on the job.
Between 1830 and 1930, work hours were cut nearly in half, with economist John Maynard Keynes famously predicting in 1930 that by 2030 a 15-hour workweek would be standard. While work had once been a means to serve God, two centuries of choices and industrialization had turned work into an end in itself, stripped of the spiritual meaning that sustained the Puritans who came ready to tame the wilderness.
By the end of the 1970s, companies were reaching out to spiritually drained workers by offering more engagement while withdrawing the promise of a job for life, as the American economy faced a stiff challenge from cheaper workers abroad. By the 1990s, technology made working from home possible for a growing number of people. Seen as a boon at first, telecommuting and the rapidly proliferating "electronic leash" of cell phones made work inescapable, as employees found themselves on call 24/7. Today, almost half of American workers use computers, cell phones, E-mail, and faxes for work during what is supposed to be nonwork time. Home is no longer a refuge but

A. Workers at Kellogg's plant work two hours less every day.
B. Workers at Kellogg's plant get five dollars more every day.
C. Workers at Kellogg's plant get only five dollars each day.
D. Workers at Kellogg's plant work less and earn more.

The best time for transplanting a tree is ______.

A. spring
B. fall
C. winter
D. any season

What a difference Kathleen made in my college life! She was confident where I was shaky. She was disciplined while I was wild. She was responsible; I was lazy. We signed up for all of the same classes. I was so impressed with her. She worked with incredible diligence and with such self-assurance. I started to emulate her. I wanted to impress her.
One day the homework assignment was to create an exciting illustration based on a pair of shoes. I was bursting with ideas and ran home and pulled out my favorite pair of antique thrift shop "old-lady shoes." I concentrated and worked and sweated and created a self-perceived masterpiece !
I called Kathleen and bragged that I'd finished the assignment. "What?!" she exclaimed. "How could you possibly be finished already?" I was so pleased with myself that I asked her if I could run by her apartment and show her my stunning creation. "Sure," she said.
I raced down from my fifth-floor apartment, precious drawing in hand, and headed to her place. When I got there, I held up my paper with such glowing confidence, only to have my swelled cockiness crushed by Kathleen's reaction:
"Is that the only drawing you did?"
"Well, yes," I responded sheepishly. "Why?"
"C'mon," she said. "It's still nice out. Let's go to Washington Square Park and really do some drawings." I was puzzled; but when she led, I willingly followed.
The whole way to the park, Kathleen animatedly talked about form, content, composition and really studying the subjects. She described the shoes in my drawing as the kind you see on the old women that sit in the park and feed pigeons. Her excitement was contagious,
When we got to the park, she surveyed the scene and chirped, "Over there!" She pointed to a bench that was surrounded by discarded, crumpled paper bags, soda cans and empty cigarette packs. An old woman sitting on the bench had fallen asleep. Kathleen handed me her drawing pad and said, "Here. Now, draw the shoes on that woman! Draw them over and over until you really know what they look like."
I drew and drew. I filled the sketchbook pages. They were the best I'd ever done thus far. Kathleen watched, and I felt fueled by my captive audience. I was showing off! It was such fun.
The next day was the class critique. I felt so proud hanging my drawing up on the wall for all to see. I knew I had drawn an illustration to be proud of. As the class discussion circled the room to my piece, I heard my fellow students say, sensitive, accurate, beautifully stylized. I looked over at Kathleen, and she gave me that wink and loving smile of hers. College was going to be a lot more fun with her around.
And it was. She continually inspired me, laughed with me, sketched with me and went out dancing with me. Our works of art were chosen for special exhibits, and we both made the dean's list. We wore our caps and gowns together, and a few years later, I was "best woman" at her wedding. Whatever fears I had going into college about not being able to make new friends were gently washed away when I found my special, best friend.
After we obtained our BFA degrees, the world opened up for both of us. Now we are both successful self-employed artists. I work in my lovely Chelsea cooperative apartment that I bought five years ago as a freelance, illustrator, a graphic designer. Kathleen, a sculptor and mural painter. Oops! I gotta run. Kathleen and I are meeting for dinner and a movie.
"What a difference Kathleen made in my college life" means ______.

A. a big difference
B. somewhat difference
C. no matter what a difference
D. how great a difference

This passage tries to tell you how to ______.

A. avoid mistakes about money and friends
B. size up people
C. avoid mistakes in understanding what people tell you
D. keep people friendly without trusting them

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