Unit 21
As colleges and universities send another wave of graduates out into the world this spring, thousands of other job seekers with liberal-arts degrees like Martin’s find themselves in a similar bind. True enough, this is an era of record-breaking lows in unemployment. But technology companies, which are contributing the lion’s share of new jobs, are simultaneously declaring a shortage of qualified workers. The emphasis is on the word qualified.
It’s no surprise that high-tech companies rarely hire liberal-arts graduates. “Our p.r. people, our marketers, even our attorneys have technical talent,” says Tracy Koon, director of corporate affairs at Intel. The need for technical expertise is so pervasive that even retailers are demanding such skills. “Company-wide, we’re looking for students with specific information-systems skills,” says David McDearmon, director of field human resources at Dollar Tree Stores. “Typically we shy away from independent-college students who don’t have them.”
Fortunately for Martin, some invaluable help was at hand when he needed it. The Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, a network of 15 liberal-arts colleges in the state, has teamed up with local companies to bridge the learning gap faced by its members’ graduates. VFIC invited 30 companies, including First Union and Electronic Data Systems, to link the needs of businesses with the skills being taught in college classrooms. With grants from corporate sponsors like AT&T, VFIC asked 20 information-technology managers to help its members create an exam, based on the work students will be expected to do in the real world, to test and certify their technological proficiency.
The result, Tek.Xam, is an eight-part test that requires students to design a website, build and analyze spreadsheets, research problems on the Internet and demonstrate understanding of legal and ethical issues. Says Linda Dalch, president of VFIC: “If an art-history major wants a job at a bank, he needs to prove he has the skills. That’s where this credential can help.” This year 245 students at VFIC’s member colleges have gone through the program. The long-term hope is that Tek.Xam will win the same kind of acceptance as the LSAT or CPA for law or accounting students. “To know a student has taken the initiative and passed could mean that less training is needed,” explains John Rudin, chief information officer at Reynolds Metals, one of the corporations that helped create the test.
All this begs an important question: Has the traditional liberal-arts curriculum become obsolete? College presidents naturally argue that the skills their schools provide are invaluable. A B.A. degree, says Mary Brown Bullock of Atlanta’s Agnes Scott College, “gives graduates the ability to reinvent themselves time and time again...and the knowledge and thinking skills that transcend a particular discipline or time frame.”
Martin is finding that to be the truth. “It would be nice to have computer classes on my transcript,” he says, but Tek.Xam has armed him with the power to learn those skills on his own—and a credential to show he has done so. He’s now waiting to hear when his job as a network-support assistant for a large Boston firm will start.
注（1）：文选自Time；
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2002年真题Text 3。
1. The main problem many liberal-arts students face in job seeking is ______.
A) too much competition in the job market
B) their lack of technical expertise
C) some companies’ discrimination against liberal-arts students
D) the recording-breaking unemployment rate
2. It can be inferred from the text that ______.
A) in the modern era, technical talent means everything in securing a job
B) independent colleges are not giving their students proper education
C) retailers are following the fashion only to promote sales
D) there is a big demand for students with technical skills
3. Tek.Xam is designed to ______.
A) offer VFIC members’ graduates more job opportunities
B) compete with LSAT and CPA
C) help students cope with real world problems
D) test students’ technical skills
4. We can draw a conclusion from the text that ______.
A) liberal arts education still proves valuable to students
B) Tek.Xam is gaining wide acceptance among employers and students alike
C) technology companies are eager to promote Tek.Xam
D) computer classes will be excluded from the curriculum of liberal-arts students
5. From the text we can see that the writer’s attitude to Tek.Xam seems ______.
A) positive
B) suspicious
C) pessimistic
D) disapproving
篇章剖析
本篇文章是说明文，主要介绍当前就业市场对技术知识的巨大需求以及为应对这种需求而设立的“技术考试”。文章第一段介绍了用人单位所面临的问题，即缺少合格的员工；第二段说明文科生在就业市场不受青睐的原因：他们缺少技术知识；第三段交代了“技术考试”设立的背景；第四段介绍了“技术考试”的内容，设立考试的目的，考试举办情况以及考试前景；第五段提出文科教育是否过时的问题；最后一段以一个具体例子说明二者结合的好处。
词汇注释
bind /baɪnd/ n. 困扰；困境
lion’s share 最大或最好的部分
pervasive /pɜːˈveɪsɪv/ adj. 遍布的；普遍的
shy /ʃaɪ/ v. （常与away from连用）躲避，避免
proficiency /prəˈfɪʃənsi/ n. 熟练，精通
spreadsheet /ˈspredʃiːt/ n. 【计】电子制表软件，电子数据表
credential /krɪˈdenʃəl/ n. 文凭；凭证；证书
initiative /ɪˈnɪʃɪətɪv/ n. 主动
obsolete /ˈɒbsəliːt/ adj. 废弃的；过时的
discipline /ˈdɪsɪplɪn/ n. 学科
transcript /ˈtrænskrɪpt/ n. 成绩单
难句突破
But technology companies, which are contributing the lion’s share of new jobs, are simultaneously declaring a shortage of qualified workers.
主体句式：But technology companies are declaring a shortage.
结构分析：本句结构并不算复杂，只包含一个非限定性定语从句，但其中用到的表达“the lion’s share”可能不太容易理解，“the lion’s share”意为“最大或最好的部分”。
句子译文：但同时招聘新岗位最多的技术公司仍然宣称缺少合格的员工。
题目分析
1. B 细节题。从文章第一段和第二段的内容可知，技术公司的用人需求最大，但却缺少合格的员工。在市场上，the need for technical expertise is pervasive。而很多公司不愿意要文科生的原因是they don’t have them，他们因缺少技能而难以找到工作。
2. D 推理题。文章第二段提到对技术知识的需求如此普遍，连零售商都需要这种技能。由此可见，D是正确答案。
3. D 细节题。文章第三段最后一行提到设立这一考试的目的是to test and certify their technological proficiency，所以应选择D。
4. A 推理题。从文章第五段引用大学校长的话，以及第六段提到马丁也赞同校长的话可以推知，文科教育仍然很有价值。
5. A 情感态度题。作者的态度可以从作者的选材角度判断出来。本文提到了Tek.Xam这种考试设立的背景、考试的前景以及带给考生的积极变化。由此可见，作者对这种考试是持肯定态度的。
参考译文
今年春天又有一批毕业生从大学步入社会，与此同时，成千上万名像马丁那样具有文科学历的求职者发现他们面临了一个同样的问题。的确，现在的失业率比以往任何时候都低。但同时招聘岗位最多的技术公司仍然宣称缺少合格的员工。关键就在这个词：合格。
高技术公司很少雇用文科毕业生这不足为奇。“我们的公关人员、市场营销人员，甚至律师都有技术才能，”英特尔公司企业事务部主管特雷茜·库恩说。对于技术专长的需求非常普遍，连零售商都需要具有这种技能。“我们公司各个部门都需要掌握一定信息系统技术的毕业生，”Dollar Tree商店的人力资源总监大卫·麦克德蒙说。“一般我们都不会聘用那些没有这些技能的独立学院毕业生。”
马丁算是比较幸运的，他需要帮助的时候，宝贵的帮助就来了。弗吉尼亚独立学院基金会（VFIC）是该州15所文科大学的网络组织。它同当地公司合作，一起帮助其成员学校的毕业生弥补知识的不足。VFIC邀请了30家公司，包括第一联合国家银行和电子数据系统公司，将企业需求和大学课堂教授的技巧结合起来。在美国电话电报公司（AT&T）等企业的资助下，VFIC邀请了20位信息技术经理来帮助其成员学校举办一个考试，考试内容基于学生在现实世界中所需要做的工作，目的是测试和证明他们对技术的熟练程度。
“技术考试”（Tek.Xam）由此诞生。它分为八个部分，要求学生设计网站，建立和分析电子数据表，在互联网上调查和研究问题以及证明自己对法律和伦理问题的理解等。VFIC的负责人琳达·戴奇说：“如果一个艺术史专业的学生想得到一份银行的工作，他就要证明自己有这方面的技能。这个证书就是要在这方面帮助他。”今年VFIC成员学校的245名学生参加了这一考试。今后“技术考试”也许能够像法律专业学生参加的“法学院入学考试”（LSAT）和会计专业学生参加的“注册会计师考试”（CPA）一样受到广泛认可。“如果某个学生主动参加并且通过了这个考试，那么也就意味着他需要接受的培训相应减少了，”雷诺兹金属公司的信息总监约翰·鲁丁说道。雷诺兹金属公司也参与了创立这一考试的工作。
所有这一切都避开了一个重要问题：传统的文科课程过时了吗？大学校长们自然认为学校所传授的技能是无价的。亚特兰大艾格尼丝·斯考特学院的玛丽·布朗·布洛克说，本科学历“让毕业生有能力不断重新塑造自己…而他们所学的知识和思维技巧超越了任何一个特定的学科或者时期。”
马丁也有同感。“成绩单上有电脑课当然好，”他说，但“技术考试”让他有能力自学这些技能——而且一张证书可以证明他所付出的努力。现在他已经受聘成为波士顿一家大公司的网络支持助理，正在等待上班通知。
