wealthy nation of educated men and women who seem to have lost sight of the fact that everything—from the simplest necessities to the finest luxuries—must be produced through our own collective hard work. We have come to expect automatic increases in our collective standard of living, but we seem to have forgotten that these increases are possible only when our productivity continues to grow.

　　One thing that must change is the rate at which we substitute capital equipment for human labor. Simply put, our labor force has increased at a far greater rate than has our stock of capital investment. We seem to have forgotten that our past productivity gains, to a large extent, were realized from substitutions of capital for human labor. Today, 3 times as many robots are listed as capital assets by Japanese firms as by United States firms.

　　There is no doubt that robots will become a common sight in American factories. Representing a new generation of technology, robots will replace factory labor much as the farm tractor replaced the horse. Robot technology has much to offer. It offers higher levels of productivity and quality at lower costs; in promises to free men and women from the dull, repetitious toil of the factory, it is likely to have an impact on society comparable to that made by the growth of computer technology.

　　21. The word "obsolete"(Para. 1) most probably means_______.

　　A. weak B. old

　　C. new D. out of date

　　22. The author is anxious about_______.

　　A. his people no longer taking the lead in industrial innovation

　　B. his country no longer being a wealthy nation

　　C. his people forgetting to raise their productivity

　　D. his country falling behind other industrial nations

　　23. According to the author, in his country_______..

　　A. the proportion of labor force to capital investment is quite low

　　B. the growth rate of labor force should be greater than that of capital investment

　　C. the productivity increases should be achieved by the increases of labor force

　　D. capital investment should have increased more rapidly than labor force

　　24. So far as the influence on society is concerned, _______.

　　A. robot technology seems to be much more promising than computer technology

　　B. computer technology has less to offer than robot technology

　　C. robot technology can be compared with computer technology

　　D. robot technology cannot be compared with computer technology

　　25. The purpose of the author in writing this passage is to show that_______.

　　A. robots will help increase labor productivity

　　B. robots will rule American factories

　　C. robots are cheaper than human laborers

　　D. robots will finally replace humans in factories

　　21. D 22. C 23. D 24. C 25. A

　　The "standard of living" of any country means the average person's share of the goods and services which the country produces. A country's standard of living, therefore, depends first and foremost on its capacity to produce wealth. "Wealth" in this sense is not money, for we do not live on money but on things that money can buy: "goods" such as food and clothing, and "services" such as transport and entertainment.

　　A country's capacity to produce wealth depends upon many factors, most of which have an effect on one another. Wealth depends to a great extent upon a country's natural resources, such as coal, gold, and other minerals, water supply and so on. Some regions of the world are well supplied with coal and minerals, and have a fertile soil and a favorable climate; other regions possess perhaps only one of these things, and some regions possess none of them. The U. S. A is one of the wealthiest regions of the world because she has vast natural resources within her borders, her soil is fertile, and her climate is varied. The Sahara Desert, on the other hand, is one of the least wealthy.

　　Next to natural resources comes the ability to turn them to use. China is perhaps as well off as the U. S. A. in natural resources, but suffered for many years from civil and external wars, and for this and other reasons was. unable to develop her resources. Sound and stable political conditions, and freedom from foreign invasion, enable a country to develop its natural resources peacefully and steadily, and to produce more wealth than another country equally well served by nature but less well ordered. Another important factor is the technical efficiency of a country's people. Old countries that have, through many centuries, trained up numerous skilled craftsmen and technicians are better placed to produce wealth than countries whose workers are largely unskilled. Wealth also produces wealth. As a country becomes wealthier, its people have a large margin for saving, and can put their savings into factories and machines which will help workers to turn out more goods in their working day.

　　26. A country's wealth depends upon______. ,

　　A. its standard of living

　　B. its money

　　C. its ability to provide goods and services

　　D. its ability to provide transport and entertainment

　　27. The word "foremost" means______.

　　A. most importantly B. firstly

　　C. largely D. for the most part

　　28. The main idea of the second paragraph is that______.

　　A. a country's wealth depends on many factors

　　B. the U. S. A. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world

　　C. the Sahara Desert is a very poor region

　　D. natural resources are an important factor in the wealth or poverty of a country

　　29. The third paragraph mentions some of the advantages which one country may have over another in making use of its resources. How many such advantages are mentioned in this paragraph?

　　A. 2 B. 3

　　C. 4 D. 5

　　30. The second sentence.in Paragraph 3 is______.

　　A. the main idea of the paragraph

　　B. an example supporting the main idea of the paragraph

　　C. the conclusion of the paragraph

　　D. not related to the paragraph

　　26. C 27. A 28. A 29. B 30. B