单选题 Optimation Ltd. , a polymer packaging and converting specialist, is one small company that is suffering. Its highly specialised engineering work is in great demand but a lack of qualified staff has hindered growth.
"We have a number of potential clients awaiting a visit to discuss new projects, but we are tied up on existing orders because we are short of the necessary skills on the shop floor," Helen Mitchell, the company's founder, says.
And according to Alice Teague, the education and training officer at the Federation of Small Businesses, Ms. Mitchell's experience is not unique. Many small businesses suffer skill shortages--particularly those at the technical craft level such as engineering and construction companies.
"Small companies tend to be more vulnerable to skill shortages because they are unable to offer the same pay or benefits as larger companies so they struggle in the recruitment market."
This is borne out by the experiences of Optimation. "Last year, we lost one of our best engineers to a rival company who offered him a better package. Being able to afford the salaries such skills demand is difficult for us," Ms. Mitchell says.
The government-funded Learning and Skills Council (LSC) says that apprenticeships offer a solution to the skill shortage problem. "By addressing skills gaps directly apprenticeships can make businesses, small or large, more productive and competitive," Stephen Gardner, the LSC's director of worked based learning, says. "Apprenticeships allow businesses to develop the specialist skills they need for the latest technology and working practices in their sector."
There are 160 different apprenticeships available across 80 different industry sectors. They are open to businesses of all sizes and offer work-based training programmes for 16 to 24-year-olds. The training is run in conjunction with the Sector Skills Council to ensure industry specific skills are taught.
Businesses are responsible for the wages of apprentices but the LSC contributes between ￡1,500 and ￡10,000 towards the cost of the training, depending on the industry sector.
Slack ＆ Parr Ltd. , a manufacturer of precision equipment for the aerospace industry, is one small company that has benefited from the scheme. More than 50 percent of the Kegworth-based company's employees started as apprentices.
"We opened an on-site training centre to ensure apprentices benefited from the highest quality of training," Richard Hallsworth, the managing director, says. "Sixteen of our former apprentices are now in management positions. The scheme works for us because it helps keep costly external recruitment to a minimum."
But Ms. Teague of the FSB warns that apprenticeships might not suit all small businesses.
The apprenticeship scheme offers valuable vocational training but often small companies don't have sufficient time or resources to devote to the apprentice. In the past there has also been a problem of poor quality candidates and low completion rates.
"But some of these problems are being addressed. I know the Learning and Skills Council is looking at how small businesses might be able to share apprentices and so lessen the risk. Completion rates also seem to be improving so the scheme is certainly worth investigating. "

单选题 We can learn from the text that

A. there are enough highly specialised engineers in small companies.
B. the most serious situation small companies confront now is the lack of new projects.
C. not a small company is short of skillful staff.
D. larger companies also face the same problem of skill shortages as smaller ones.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】细节题。文章第一段第二句提到，小公司迫切需要大量合格的技术人员，否则就会阻碍公司发展，因此[A]“小公司有足够的高度专业化工程师”是不正确的；文章第二段提到，小公司有许多可接手的新项目，但由于技术人员的缺乏，只能停留在现有水平上，因而缺乏技术人员是最紧迫的问题，所以[B]“小公司目前面临的最严峻的形势是缺乏新项目”也不符合文意；文章第三段提到，Optimation公司缺乏技术人员的现状在同类公司中并非一个特殊现象，因而[C]“不止一家小公司缺少技术人员”是正确的；文章第四段中提到，大公司由于可提供给技术人员丰厚的薪金待遇而较不易面临小公司所遇到的技术缺乏问题，所以[D]“大公司也面临着和小公司一样的技术缺乏问题”也不正确。

单选题 The experiences of Optimation indicate that

A. only the engineering and construction companies may have the problem of skill deficiency.
B. some larger companies always take unjust measures to compete with smaller ones.
C. without skillful engineers, small companies still have the ability to enlarge their scales.
D. small companies are in extreme need of technical personnel with excellent skills.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】推理题。从文章开头几段可以看出，没有技术工程师，小公司是很难扩大其规模的，而大公司采取的高薪拉拢技术人员的做法在市场经济条件下也是一种正当的举措，且文章中并未提及只有在工程和建设公司中才有技术短缺情况。因此，[A]、[B]、[C]三项都不正确。综上可知，Opfimation公司的经历表明了小公司极度需求拥有出色技术的技术人员，即 [D]为正确选项。

单选题 Apprenticeships can bring many benefits to small companies EXCEPT

A. making any kind of companies to be more competitive.
B. saving the wages paid to those employees as apprentices.
C. enabling the specialists in companies to develop their skills.
D. keeping the expensive external recruitment to a minimum.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】细节题。由文章的第六、七、十一段可知学徒项目能够给小公司带来的益处包括使任何一类公司都更富竞争性、使公司的专业人员能改进其技术、使昂贵的外部招聘保持在最小值上，即题目中的[A]、[C]、[D]三项。由第九段可以看出，企业还是需要支付参加项目的员工工资的，只是LSC将依据不同行业资助一些培训的费用而已，所以[曰“可省下作为学徒的员工的那部分工资”是不正确的。

单选题 From the last three paragraphs, the author implies that

A. small companies may always have no sufficient time and money to put into the scheme.
B. all the candidates studying in the scheme can be qualified and skillful finally.
C. the apprenticeship scheme is still very valuable despite some small imperfections
D. all the businesses need to adopt the apprentices to improve their achievements.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】推理题。文章最后三段主要表明了小企业在选择学徒计划时要依据自己的实际情况作出决定，以免带来不好的结果，但从最后一段可以判断出，尽管有一些不足的地方，学徒计划还是很值得投资的，因为其完成申在不断提高，小企业的风险也会由此降低很多。因此，只有[C]“尽管有一些小的不足之处，学徒计划仍然十分有价值”最符合文章的意思。

单选题 The text is chiefly concerned with

A. reminding the small companies to fill the skills gap.
B. analyzing the present difficult situation that small companies are in.
C. showing the priority of larger companies in the market.
D. suggesting the reasons that small companies are suffering.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】主旨题。通读全文可知，本文通过分析小企业正在遭受技术人员短缺的现状和原因，并建议小企业依据自身状况采用学徒项目以改善现有状况，来提醒小公司弥补技术差距。因此，[A]“提醒小公司弥补技术差距”是本文的主旨所在。[B]“分析小公司目前所处的困难形势”，[D]“暗示小公司正受折磨的原因”都是文中的细节，而不是主旨；[C]“表明大公司在市场上的优势”不是文中讨论的内容。