Despite a cooling of the economy, high-technology companies are still crying out for skilled workers. The Information Technology Association of America projects that more than 800,000 technology jobs will go unfilled next year. The lack of qualified workers poses a huge threat to the U.S. economy.
The most commonly cited reason for this state of affairs is that the country's agrarian-age(农村时代) education system fails to prepare students in the primary and secondary grades for the 21st century work. Yet an inadequate and outmoded education system is only part of the problem. A less tangible(明确的) but equally powerful cause is an antique(过时的) classification system that divides the workforce into two camps:white-collar knowledge workers and blue-collar manual laborers.
Blue-collar workers emerged in the United States during the Industrial Age as work moved from farms to factories. White-collar office workers became a significant class in the twentieth century, outnumbering(多于) the blue-collar workers by mid-century. Corporations increasingly require a new layer of knowledge worker: a highly skilled multi-disciplined talent, who combines the mind of the white-collar worker with a solid grounding in mathematics and science(physics, chemistry, and biology).
These “gold-collar” workers—so named for their contributions to their companies and to the economy as well as for their personal earning ability—apply their knowledge to technology.The gold-collar worker already exists in a wide range of jobs. The maintenance technician who tests and repairs aircraft systems at American Airlines; the network administrator who manages systems and network operations at Procter & Gamble(宝洁公司); the engineering technologist who assists scientists at Sandia National Laboratories; and the advanced-manufacturing technician at Intel can all be regarded as gold-collar workers.
问题：
1.What does the word “projects” in the first paragraph mean?
A.Throws.
B.Predicts.
C.Concludes.
D.Claims.
【参考答案】B
[考点]词语理解题
【精析】B 根据第一段第二句“…projects that more than 800,000 technology jobs will go unfilled next year.”可知，“明年将会有80多万个技术职位空缺”是还未发生的事情，应该是推测出来的。throw:扔，投掷;predict:预测，预报;conclude:得出结论;claim:声称，认领。故选B。
2.What is a gold-collar worker's advantage over a blue-collar worker?
A.A gold-collar worker is more skillful in technology.
B.A gold-collar worker has received higher education.
C.A gold-collar worker used to be a white-collar worker.
D.A gold-collar worker learnt more in high school.
【参考答案】A
[考点]推理判断题
【精析】A 根据第三段第三句可知，金领能熟练应用多门学科知识，如数学、物理、化学、生物等，并将这些科学运用到技术中去;而蓝领只是一般的技工。由此可推知，对于蓝领来说，金领的优势在于更专业的技术。故选A。
3. How can a person be qualified as a gold-collar worker?
A.He must continue to learn and work hard in his career.
B.He must have the knowledge of more than one subject.
C.He can make a skillful use of his wisdom and his knowledge.
D.He can earn more than a blue-collar worker does.
【参考答案】C
[考点]事实细节题
【精析】C 根据第三段第三、四句“…a new layer of knowledge worker: a highly skilled multi-disciplined talent, who combines the mind of the white-collar worker with a solid grounding in mathematics and science…These ‘gold-collar' workers…apply their knowledge to technology.”可知，金领掌握多门学科知识，并且能将这些知识运用到技术上去，所以C项正确。
4. It can be inferred from the passage that the first group of blue-collar workers were most likely to be _______.
A.migrants
B.educators
C.servants
D.farmers
【参考答案】D
[考点]推理判断题
【精析】D 根据第二段最后一句“…divides the workforce into two camps: white-collar knowledge workers and blue-collar manual laborers.”可知，白领是知识工作者，而蓝领是体力劳动者。再根据第三段第一句“Blue-collar workers emerged…as work moved from farms to factories.”可知，当工作从农业转向工业时，蓝领工作者出现了。由此可推知，第一批蓝领很可能是农民。故选D。
5.What has contributed much to America's lack of qualified skilled workers?
A.The outdated education system.
B.The current new classification of workforce.
C.The fact that most American workers are illiterates.
D.The fact that the blue-collar workers are not used to the factory work.
【参考答案】A
[考点]推理判断题
【精析】A 根据第二段第一、二句“The most commonly cited reason for this state of affairs is that the country's agrarian-age education system…”可推知，导致美国缺乏优质技工的主要原因是过时的教育系统。