If you know exactly what you want, the best route to a job is to get specialized training. A recent survey shows that companieslike the graduates in such fields as business and health care who can go to work immediately with very little on-the-job training. That's especially true of booming fields that are challenging for workers. At Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, for example, bachelor's degree graduates get an average of four or five job offers with salaries ranging from the high teens to the low 20s and plenty of chances for rapid advancement. Large companies, especially, like a background of formal education coupled with work experience. But in the long run, too much specialization doesn't pay off. Business, which has been flooded with MBAs, no longer considers the degree an automatic stamp of approval. The MBA may open doors and command a higher salary initially, but the impact of a degree washes out after five years. As further evidence of the erosion of corporate faith in specialized degrees, Michigan State's Scheetz cites a pattern in corporate hiring practices. Although companies tend to take on specialists as new hires, they often seek out generalists for middle-and upper-level management. "They want someone who isn't constrained by nuts and bolts to look at the big picture," says Scheetz. This sounds suspiciously like a formal statement that you approve of the liberal-arts graduate. Time and again labor-market analysts mention a need for talents that liberal-arts majors are assumed to have: writing and communication skills, organizational skills, open-mindedness and adapt-ability, and the ability to analyze and solve problems. David Birch claims he does not hire anybody with an MBA or an engineering degree. "I hire only liberal-arts people because they have a less-than-canned way of doing things," says Birch. Liberal-arts means an academically thorough and strict program that includes literature, history, mathematics, economics, science, human behavior—plus a computer course or two. With that under your belt, you can feel free to specialize. "A liberal-arts degree coupled with an MBA or some other technical training is a very good combination in the marketplace," says Scheetz.
单选题 What kinds of people are in high demand on the job market?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析：细节题。答题依据在文章第一、二段。该部分讨论了当前人才市场上的状况，第二段最后一句话可以被看做是对前两段的总结Large companies，especially，like a back ground of formal education coupled with work experience(coupled with意思是“以及，加上”)。据此，可以确定C项为正确答案。
单选题 By saying "...but the impact of a degree washes out after five years" (Para. 3), the author means______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析：细节题。文章三一五段讨论了公司内部在选拔中高层管理人员过程中是如何看待学位的。分析文章的结构，可以看出事实上四一五段是对作者上述观点的论证。第四段的第二句话Although companies…management意思是说，公司招聘新员工时非常注重学位(即具有专业知识)，但在选拔中高层管理人员时就看重总体素质了。也就是说，持有学位在刚刚进入公司时是必要的，受欢迎的，但若干年后在选拔中高级人才时，学位就不那么重要了，这时看重的是综合素质。根据上述分析，可以确定B项为正确答案。
单选题 According to Scheetz's statement (Para. 4) , companies prefer________.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析：推理题。答题依据在第四段最后一句话They want someone who isn’t constrained by nuts and bolts to look at the big picture。其意思是说，公司需要不受专业知识限制，能够有广阔视野的人才，也就是具有a strategic mind(战略头脑)的人才。根据以上分析，A项为正确答案。
单选题 David Birch claims that he only hires liberal-arts people because________.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析：细节题。答题依据在文章最后一段“I hire only liberal—arts people because they have a less—than—canned way of doing things”。Birch认为他之所以选用文科人才是因为他们处理问题的方法不那么受限制，换言之，他们能灵活地处理各种问题。据此，可看出A项与文章意思相符，为正确答案。
单选题 Which of the following statements does the author support?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析：判断题。首先从文章结构看，一～二段讨论当前人才市场的情况，三～五段讨论公司内部的用人机制。其次，从中心思想看，文章论述了虽然招聘人才时看重专业知识的文凭，但是公司内部选拔管理人员时则要以综合素质为标准。据此，可以判断D项与作者观点相吻合，故为正确答案。