00015自考英语教材课程(二)电子版

(完整word版)00015自考英语教材课程(二)电子版(完整word版)00015自考英语教材课程(二)电子版PAGE1PAGE38(完整word版)00015自考英语教材课程(二)电子版contentsUnit1TEXTAHYPERLINKWhatisadecisionTEXTBHYPERLINKAdvantageunfair语法Unit4TEXTAHYPERLINKSlaveryonourdoorstepTEXTBHYPERLINKReturnofthechaingangUnit5TEXTAHYPERLINKDifferenttypesofcomposers语法Unit6TEXTAHYPERLINK\l”o6a”ImprovingindustrialefficiencythroughroboticsTEXTBHYPERLINKPredictingearthquakesUnit7TEXTAHYPERLINK\l”o7a”LeisureandleadershipTEXTBHYPERLINK\l”o7b"Thetimemessage语法Unit8TEXTAHYPERLINKControllingyourconcentrationUnit9TEXTAHYPERLINK\l”o9a”AginginEuropeancountriesTEXTBHYPERLINK\l”o9b"Children'sself-esteem语法Unit10TEXTAHYPERLINKWork，labor，andplayTEXTBHYPERLINKTheseedsofwrath语法Unit15TEXTAHYPERLINK\l”o15a"ThecomputerandthepoetTEXTBHYPERLINK\l”o15b"ChangestocomeinU.S。education语法大学英语自学教程（下)01—A.WhatIsaDecision?Adecisionisachoicemadefromamongalternativecoursesofactionthatareavailable.Thepurposeofmakingadecisionistoestablishandachieveorganizationalgoalsandobjectives.Thereasonformakingadecisionisthataproblemexists，goalsorobjectivesarewrong，orsomethingisstandinginthewayofaccomplishingthem。Thusthedecision—makingprocessisfundamentaltomanagement.Almosteverythingamanagerdoesinvolvesdecisions，indeed，somesuggestthatthemanagementprocessisdecisionmaking.Althoughmanagerscannotpredictthefuture,manyoftheirdecisionsrequirethattheyconsiderpossiblefutureevents。Oftenmanagersmustmakeabestguessatwhatthefuturewillbeandtrytoleaveaslittleaspossibletochance，hutsinceuncertaintyisalwaysthere，riskaccompaniesdecisions.Sometimestheconsequencesofapoordecisionareslight;atothertimestheyareserious。Choiceistheopportunitytoselectamongalternatives.Ifthereisnochoice,thereisnodecisiontobemade。Decisionmakingistheprocessofchoosing,andmanydecisionshaveabroadrangeofchoice。Forexample,astudentmaybeabletochooseamonganumberofdifferentcoursesinordertoimplementthedecisiontoobtainacollegedegree。Formanagers，everydecisionhasconstraintsbasedonpolicies,procedures,laws，precedents,andthelike.Theseconstraintsexistatalllevelsoftheorganization.Alternativesarethepossiblecoursesofactionfromwhichchoicescanbemade.Iftherearenoalternatives,thereisnochoiceand，therefore，nodecision.Ifnoalternativesareseen,oftenitmeansthatathoroughjobofexaminingtheproblemshasnotbeendone.Forexample,managerssometimestreatproblemsinaneither/orfashion;thisistheirwayofsimplifyingcomplexproblems。Butthetendencytosimplifyblindsthemtootheralternatives.Atthemanageriallevel,decisionmakingincludeslimitingalternativesaswellasidentifyingthem，andtherangeisfromhighlylimitedtopracticallyunlimited。Decisionmakersmusthavesomewayofdeterminingwhichofseveralalternativesisbest—-thatis，whichcontributesthemosttotheachievementoforganizationalgoals.AnHYPERLINK\l”太好"太好organizationalgoalisanendorastateofaffairstheorganizationseekstoreach。Becauseindividuals(andorganizations)frequentlyhavedifferentideasabouthowtoattainthegoals，thebestchoicemaydependonwhomakesthedecision.Frequently,departmentsorunitswithinanorganizationmakedecisionsthataregoodforthemindividuallybutthatarelessthanoptimalforthelargerorganization.Calledsuboptimization，thisisatrade—offthatincreasestheadvantagestooneunitorfunctionbutdecreasestheadvantagestoanotherunitorfunction.Forexample，themarketingmanagermayargueeffectivelyforanincreasedadvertisingbudget.Inthelargerschemeofthings,however，increasedfundingforresearchtoimprovetheproductsmightbemorebeneficialtotheorganization.Thesetrade—offsoccurbecausetherearemanyobjectivesthatorganizationswishtoattainsimultaneously。Someoftheseobjectivesaremoreimportantthanothers,buttheorderanddegreeofimportanceoftenvaryfrompersontopersonandfromdepartmenttodepartment。Differentmanagersdefinethesameproblemindifferentterms。Whenpresentedwithacommoncase，salesmanagerstendtoseesalesproblems，productionmanagersseeproductionproblems,andsoon.Theorderingandimportanceofmultipleobjectivesisalsobased,inpart，onthevaluesofthedecisionmaker。Suchvaluesarepersonal;theyarehardtounderstand，evenbytheindividual，becausetheyaresodynamicandcomplex。Inmanybusinesssituationsdifferentpeople'svaluesaboutacceptabledegreesofriskandprofitabilitycausedisagreementaboutthecorrectnessofdecisions.Peopleoftenassumethatadecisionisanisolatedphenomenon.Butfromasystemspointofview,problemshavemultiplecauses,anddecisionshaveintendedandunintendedconsequences。Anorganizationisanongoingentity,andadecisionmadetodaymayhaveconsequencesfarintothefuture。Thustheskilledmanagerlookstowardthefutureconsequencesofcurrentdecisions。-B.SecretsofSuccessatanInterviewThesubjectoftoday’stalkisinterviews。Thekeywordsherearepreparationandconfidence，whichwillcarryyoufar。Doyourhomeworkfirst。Findoutallyoucanaboutthejobyouareapplyingforandtheorganizationyouhopetoworkfor.ManyoftheemployersIinterviewedmadethesamecriticismofcandidates.”Theyhavenoideawhatthedaytodayworkofthejobbringsabout.Theyhavevaguenotionsof”furtheringthecompany’sprospects’orof’servingthecommunity'，buthavenevertakenthetroubletofindouttheactualtaskstheywillberequiredtodo。”Donotletthisbesaidofyou.Itshowsanunattractiveindifferencetoyouremployerandtoyourjob.Takethetimetoputyourselfintotheinterviewer'splace.Hewantssomebodywhoishard—workingwithapleasantpersonalityandarealinterestinthejob.Anythingthatyoufindoutabouttheprospectiveemployercanbeusedtoyouradvantageduringtheinterviewtoshowthatyouhavebotheredtomastersomefactsaboutthepeoplewhoyouhopetoworkfor。Writedown(andremember）thequestionsyouwanttoasktheinterviewer（s)sothatyouarenotspeechlesswhentheyinviteyourquestions。Makesurethatholidaysandpayarenotthefirstthingsyouaskabout。Ifallyourquestionshavebeenansweredduringtheinterview，reply:"Infact,Ididhaveseveralquestions，butyouhavealreadyansweredthemall.”Donotbeafraidtoaskforclarificationofsomethingthathasbeensaidduringtheinterviewifyouwanttobesurewhatwasimplied,butdobepolite。Justbeforeyougototheinterview，lookagainattheoriginaladvertisementthatyouanswered,anycorrespondencefromyourprospectiveemployer,photocopiesofyourletterofapplicationorapplicationformandyourresume。Thenyouwillrememberwhatyousaidandwhattheywant。Thisisveryimportantifyouhaveappliedformanyjobsinashorttimeasitiseasytobecomeconfusedandgiveanimpressionofinefficiency。Makesureyouknowwhereandwhenyouhavetoreportfortheinterview。Gotothebuilding(butnotinsidetheoffice)adayortwobefore,ifnecessary,tofindouthowlongthejourneytakesandwhereexactlytheplaceis.Aimtoarrivefiveortenminutesearlyfortheactualinterview，thenyouwillhavealittletimeinhandandyouwillnotpanicifyouaredelayed。Youstartatadisadvantageifyouarriveworriedandtenminuteslate。Dressinclean，neat，conservativeclothes.NowisNOTthetimetoexperimentwiththepunklookor（girls）towearlow—cutdresseswithminiskirts.Makesurethatyourshoes,handsandhair(andteeth)arecleanandneat。Havetheletterinvitingyouforaninterviewreadytoshowincasethereisanydifficultyincommunication.Youmayfindyourselffacingoneinterviewerorapanel。Thelatterisfarmoreintimidating，butdonotletitworryyoutoomuch.Theinterviewerwillprobablyhaveatableinfrontofhim/her.Donotputyourthingsorarmsonit。Ifyouhaveabagoracase,putitonthefloorbesideyourchair。Donotclutchitnervouslyor，worsestill,dropit,spillingeverything.Shakehandsiftheintervieweroffershishandfirst.Thereislittlelikelihoodthatapaneloffivewantstogothoughtheprocessofallshakinghandswithyouinturn。Soyoudonotbeupsetifnooneoffers.Shakehandsfirmly—-aweakhandsuggestsaweakpersonality，andacrushinggripisobviouslypainful.Donotdropthehandassoonasyourshastoucheditasthiswillseemtoshowyoudonotliketheotherperson.Speakpolitelyandnaturallyevenifyouarefeelingshy.Thinkbeforeyouansweranyquestions。Ifyoucannotunderstand,ask:"Wouldyoumindrephrasingthequestion,please?”Thequestionwillthenberepeatedindifferentwords.Ifyouarenotdefinitelyacceptedorturneddownonthespot，ask:"WhenmayIexpecttoheartheresultsofthisinterview？"Ifyoudoreceivealetterofferingyouthejob,youmustreplybyletter（keepaphotocopy)assoonaspossible.Goodluck！02—A。BlackHolesWhatisablackhole?Well，it’sdifficulttoanswerthisquestion,sincethetermswewouldnormallyusetodescribeascientificphenomenonareinadequatehere。Astronomersandscientiststhinkthatablackholeisaregionofspace（notathing)intowhichmatterhasfallenandfromwhichnothingcanescape?notevenlight.Sowecan'tseeablackhole。Ablackholeexertsastronggravitationalpullandyetithasnomatter.Itisonlyspace--orsowethink。Howcanthishappen?Thetheoryisthatsomestarsexplodewhentheirdensityincreasestoaparticularpoint;theycollapseandsometimesasupernovaoccurs.Fromearth，asupernovalookslikeaverybrightlightintheskywhichshineseveninthedaytime。Supernovaewerereportedbyastronomersintheseventeenthandeighteenthcenturies.SomepeoplethinkthattheStarofBethlehemcouldhavebeenasupernova.ThecollapseofastarmayproduceaWhiteDwarforaneutronstar—-astar,whosematterissodensethatitcontinuallyshrinksbytheforceofitsowngravity。Butifthestarisverylarge(muchbiggerthanoursun）thisprocessofshrinkingmaybesointensethatablackholeresults.Imaginetheearthreducedtothesizeofamarble，butstillhavingthesamemassandastrongergravitationalpull，andyouhavesomeideaoftheforceofablackhole。Anymatterneartheblackholeissuckedin.Itisimpossibletosaywhathappensinsideablackhole。Scientistshavecalledtheboundaryareaaroundtheholethe”eventhorizon."Weknownothingabouteventswhichhappenonceobjectspassthisboundary.Butintheory,mattermustbehaveverydifferentlyinsidethehole。Forexample,ifamanfellintoablackhole，hewouldthinkthathereachedthecenterofitveryquickly.Howeveranobserverattheeventhorizonwouldthinkthatthemanneverreachedthecenteratall.Ourspaceandtimelawsdon'tseemtoapplytoobjectsintheareaofablackhole。Einstein’srelativitytheoryistheonlyonewhichcanexplainsuchphenomena.Einsteinclaimedthatmatterandenergyareinterchangeable,sothatthereisno”absolute"timeandspace.Therearenoconstantsatall,andmeasurementsoftimeandspacedependonthepositionoftheobserver.Theyarerelative。Wedonotyetfullyunderstandtheimplicationsoftherelativitytheory；butitisinterestingthatEinstein’stheoryprovidedabasisfortheideaofblackholesbeforeastronomersstartedtofindsomeevidencefortheirexistence。Itisonlyrecentlythatastronomershavebegunspecificresearchintoblackholes。InAugust1977，asatellitewaslaunchedtogatherdataaboutthe10millionblackholeswhicharethoughttobeintheMilkyWay。Andastronomersareplanninganewobservatorytostudytheindividualexplodingstarsbelievedtobeblackholes，Themostconvincingevidenceofblackholescomesfrownresearchintobinarystarsystems。Binarystars,astheirnamesuggests,aretwinstarswhosepositioninspaceaffectseachother。Insomebinarysystems,astronomershaveshownthatthereisaninvisiblecompanionstar，a"partner"totheonewhichwecanseeinthesky.Matterfromtheonewhichwecanseeisbeingpulledtowardsthecompanionstar。Couldthisinvisiblestar,whichexertssuchagreatforce,beablackhole?Astronomershaveevidenceofafewotherstarstoo,whichmighthaveblackholesascompanions。Thestoryofblackholesisjustbeginning.Speculationsaboutthem.areendless。Theremightbeamassiveblackholeatthecenterofourgalaxyswallowingupstarsataveryrapidrate。Mankindmayonedaymeetthisfate。Ontheotherhand，scientistshavesuggestedthatveryadvancedtechnologycouldonedaymakeuseoftheenergyofblackholesformankind。Thesespeculationssoundlikesciencefiction。Butthetheoryofblackholesinspaceisacceptedbymanyseriousscientistsandastronomers。Theyshowusaworldwhichoperatesinatotallydifferentwayfromourownandtheyquestionourmostbasicexperienceofspaceandtime。02-B。WorldswithinWorldsFirstofallletusconsidertheearth（thatistosay，theworld）asaplanetrevolvingroundthesun。Theearthisoneofnineplanetswhichmoveinorbitroundthesun。Thesenineplanets,togetherwiththesun,makeupwhatiscalledoursolarsystem。Howthiswonderfulsystemstartedandwhatkeptitworkingwithsuchwonderfulaccuracyislargelyamysterybutastronomerstellusthatitisonlyoneofmillionsofsimilarsystemsinspace,andoneofthesmallest。Thestarswhichweseeglitteringintheskyonadarkandcloudlessnightarealmostcertainlythesunsofothersolarsystemsmoreorlesslikeourown,buttheyaresofarawayinspacethatitisunlikelythatweshallevergettoknowverymuchaboutthem。Aboutourownsolarsystem，however,wearelearningmoreeveryday.BeforetheAmericanandRussianastronautsmadetheirthrillingjourneysintoouterspaceitwasdifficultforustorealisewhatourearthlookedlikefromhundredsofthousandsofmilesaway，butthephotographswhichtheastronautswereabletotakeshowustheearthinspacelookingnotverydifferentfromwhatthemoonlookslikewhenwelookatitfromtheearth。Theearthis，however,verydifferentfromthemoon，whichtheAmericanastronautshavefoundtobewithoutlifeorvegetation,whereasourearthisverymuchaliveineveryrespect。Themoon，bytheway,iscalledasatellitebecauseitgoesroundourearthaswellasroundthesun.Inotherwords,itgoesroundthesunwithourearth。Thesurfaceofourearthiscoveredbymassesoflandandlargerareasofwater.Letusconsiderthewaterareasfirst。Thetotalwaterareaisaboutthreetimesaslargeasthelandarea。Theverylargeseparateareasofwaterarecalled”oceans”andthelesserareasarecalled”seas.”Inmostoftheoceansandseassomeofthewaterisfoundtobeflowinginaparticulardirection——thatistosay,fromoneparttowardsanotherpartoftheoceanorseaconcerned.Thewaterwhichisflowinginthismannerissaidtobemovingasa”current。"Therearemanythousandsofcurrentsinthewatersoftheoceansandseas，butonlycertainofthestrongerandbettermarkedcurrentsarespeciallynamedandofgreatimportance。Thesecurrentsareimportantbecausetheyaffecttheclimateofthelandareasclosetowheretheyflowandalsobecausetheycarrylargequantitiesofmicroscopicanimalandvegetablelifewhichformsalargepartofthefoodforfishes.Thenatureandcharacteristicsofthesurfaceofthelandareasoftheearthvaryagreatdealfromareatoareaandfromplacetoplace。Thesurfaceofsomeareasconsistslargelyofhighmountainsanddeepvalleyswhilst,inotherareas，mostofthesurfaceconsistsofplains.IfonemadeajourneyovertheContinentsonewouldfindeverykindofsurfaceincludingmountainranges，plains,plateaux,deserts，tropicalforestlandsandemptyareascoveredpermanentlybyiceandsnow。Whenthinkingandlearningabouttheworldweshouldnotforgetthatourworldisthehomeofaverygreatmanydifferentpeople-—peopleswithdifferentcolouredskins，livingverydifferentlivesandhavingverydifferentideasaboutagreatmanyimportantthingssuchasreligion，government,educationandsocialbehaviour。Thecircumstancesunderwhichdifferentpeoplelivemakeagreatdifferencebetweenthewayinwhichtheyliveandthewayinwhichwelive，anditoughttobeourbusinesstotrytounderstandthosedifferentcircumstancessothatwecanbetterunderstandpeopleofotherlands。Aboveall，weshouldavoiddecidingwhatwethinkaboutpeopledifferentfromourselveswithoutfirsthavinglearnedagreatdealaboutthemandthekindoflivestheyhavetolive。Itistruetosaythatthemorewelearnaboutotherpeople，thebetterweunderstandtheirideasand,asarule，thebetterwelikethosepeoplethemselves.03-A。Euthanasia:ForandAgainst”Wemustn’tdelayanylonger。..swallowingisdifficult.。.andbreathing，that'salsodifficult.Thosemusclesareweakeningtoo.。.wemustn'tdelayanylonger。”ThesewerethewordsofDutchmanCeesvanWendeldeJoodeaskinghisdoctortohelphimdie。Affectedwithaseriousdisease，vanWendelwasnolongerabletospeakclearlyandheknewtherewasnohopeofrecoveryandthathisconditionwasrapidlydeteriorating.VanWendel'slastthreemonthsoflifebeforebeinggivenafinal，lethalinjectionbyhisdoctorwerefilmedandfirstshownontelevisionlastyearintheNetherlands.Theprogrammehassincebeenboughtby20countriesandeachtimeitisshown,itstartsanationwidedebateonthesubject.TheNetherlandsistheonlycountryinEuropewhichpermitseuthanasia，althoughitisnottechnicallylegalthere。However，doctorswhocarryouteuthanasiaunderstrictguidelinesintroducedbytheDutchParliamenttwoyearsagoareusuallynotprosecuted。Theguidelinesdemandthatthepatientisexperiencingextremesuffering,thatthereisnochanceofacure,andthatthepatienthasmaderepeatedrequestsforeuthanasia。Inadditiontothis，aseconddoctormustconfirmthatthesecriteriahavebeenmetandthedeathmustbereportedtothepolicedepartment。Shoulddoctorsbeallowedtotakethelivesofothers?Dr。WilfredvanOijen，CeesvanWendel'sdoctor,explainshowhelooksatthequestion:”Well,it'snotasifI'mplanningtomurderacrowdofpeoplewithamachinegun。Inthatcase,killingistheworstthingIcanimagine.Butthat'sentirelydifferentfrommyworkasadoctor.IcareforpeopleandItrytoensurethattheydon'tsuffertoomuch。That’saverydifferentthing.”Manypeople，though，aretotallyagainstthepracticeofeuthanasia。Dr.AndrewFerguson,ChairmanoftheorganisationHealthcareOpposedtoEuthanasia,saysthat"inthevastmajorityofeuthanasiacases，whatthepatientisactuallyaskingforissomethingelse.Theymaywantahealthprofessionaltoopenupcommunicationforthemwiththeirlovedonesorfamily——there’snearlyalwaysanotherquestionbehindthequestion.”Britainalsohasastrongtraditionofhospices—-specialhospitalswhichcareonlyforthedyingandtheirspecialneeds.CicelySaunders,PresidentoftheNationalHospiceCouncilandafoundermemberofthehospicemovement，arguesthateuthanasiadoesn'ttakeintoaccountthattherearewaysofcaringforthedying.Sheisalsoconcernedthatallowingeuthanasiawouldunderminetheneedforcareandconsiderationofawiderangeofpeople："It’sveryeasyinsocietynowfortheelderly，thedisabledandthedependenttofeelthattheyareburdens,andthereforethattheyoughttooptout.Ithinkthatanythingthatlegallyallowstheshorteningoflifedoesmakethosepeoplemorevulnerable.”Manyfindthisprohibitionofanindividual’srighttodiepaternalistic。Althoughtheyagreethatlifeisimportantandshouldberespected,theyfeelthatthequalityoflifeshouldnotbeignored。Dr.vanOijenbelievesthatpeoplehavethefundamentalrighttochooseforthemselvesiftheywanttodie:"Whatthosepeoplewhoopposeeuthanasiaaretellingmeisthatdyingpeoplehaven’ttheright。Andthatwhenpeopleareveryill,weareallafraidoftheirdeath。Buttherearesituationswheredeathisafriend.Andinthosecases,whynot？But”whynot？"isaquestionwhichmightcausestrongemotion.ThefilmshowingCeesvanWendel'sdeathwasbothmovingandsensitive。Hisdoctorwasclearlyafamilyfriend；hiswifehadonlyherhusband’sinterestsatheart。Some，however,wouldarguethatitwouldbedangeroustousethisparticularexampletosupportthecaseforeuthanasia.Notallpatientswouldreceivesuchahighlevelofindividualcareandattention。03-B。AdvantageUnfairAccordingtothewriterWalterEllis，authorofabookcalledtheOxbridgeConspiracy，Britainisstilldominatedbytheold—boynetwork：itisn’twhatyouknowthatmatters，butwhoyouknow。HeclaimsthatatOxfordandCambridgeAndyet,saysEllis,OxbridgegraduatesmakeuponlytwopercentofthetotalnumberofstudentswhograduatefromBritain’suniversities.OtherresearchesalsoseemtosupporthisbeliefthatOxbridgegraduatesstartwithanunfairadvantageintheemploymentmarket。Inthelaw,arecentlypublishedreportshowedthatoutof26seniorjudgesappointedtotheHighCourtlastyear，allofthemwenttoprivateschoolsand21ofthemwenttoOxbridge.Butcanthisbesaidtoamounttoaconspiracy？NotaccordingtoDr。JohnRae,aformerheadmasterofoneofBritain’sleadingprivateschools，Westminster:"IwouldacceptthattherewasabiasinsomekeyareasofBritishlife，butthatbiashasnowgone.Sometimeago——inthe60sandbefore？entrytoOxfordandCambridgewasnotentirelyonmerit。Now，there’sabsolutelynoquestioninanyobjectiveobserver’smindthat，entrytoOxfordandCambridgeisfiercelycompetitive。”However,manywoulddisagreewiththis。For,althoughoverthree-quartersofBritishpupilsareeducatedinstateschools,overhalfthestudentsthatgotoOxbridgehavebeentoprivate,or”public”schools。IsthisbecausepupilsfromBritain'sprivateschoolsaremoreintelligentthanthosefromstateschools，oraretheysimplybetterprepared?Onaverage,about$5，000ayearisspentoneachprivateschoolpupil，morethantwicetheamountspentonstateschoolpupils。Sohowcanthestateschoolsbeexpectedtocompetewiththeprivateschoolswhentheyhavefarfewerresources?AndhowcantheypreparetheirpupilsforthespecialentranceexamtoOxfordUntilrecently,manyblamedOxfordforthisbiasbecauseoftheuniversity’sspecialentranceexam（Cambridgeabolisheditsentranceexamin1986)。ButlastFebruary，OxfordUniversitydecidedtoabolishtheexamtoencouragemorestateschoolapplicants.Fromautumn1996，However,somearguethatthere’snothingwronginhavingeliteplacesoflearning，andthatbytheirverynature，theseplacesshouldnotbeeasilyaccessible。Mostcountriesarerunbyaneliteandhavecentresofacademicexcellencefromwhichtheelitearerecruited.WalterEllisacceptsthatthisistrue："ButinFrance，forexample，therearesomethinglike40equivalentsofuniversity,whichprovidethiselitethroughamuchbroaderbase。InAmericayou’vegottheIvyLeague,centredonHarvardandYale,withPrincetonandStanfordandothers。Butagain，thoseuniversitiestogether--theeliteuniversities--areabouttenorfifteeninnumber，andarebeingpushedalongfrombehindbyothergreatuniversitieslike,forexample，ChicagoandBerkeley.Soyoudon'thavejustthisnarrowconcentrationoftwouniversitiesprovidingaconstantlyreplicatingelite。”WhenitcomestoOxfordandCambridgebeingelitistbecauseofthenumberofprivateschoolpupilstheyaccept，ProfessorStoneofOxford”Ifcertainschoolsdobetterthanothersthenwejusthavetoacceptit。Wecannotbeaplaceforremedialeducation。It’snotwhatOxfordistheretodo。"However，sinceacademicexcellencedoesappeartoberelatedtotheamountofmoneyspentperpupil,thisdoesseemtoimplythatPrimeMinisterJohnMajor’svisionofBritainasaclasslesssocietyisstillalongwayoff。AnditmaybeworthrememberingthatwhileJohnMajordidn'thimselfgotoOxbridge，mostofhisministersdid。04-A。SlaveryonOurDoorstepThereareestimatedtobemorethan20，000overseasdomesticservantsworkinginBritain(theexactfigureisnotknownbecausetheHomeOffice，theGovernmentdepartmentthatdealswiththis,doesnotkeepstatistics）。Usually，theyhavebeenbroughtoverbyforeignbusinessmen，diplomatsorBritonsreturningfromabroad.Ofthese20，000，justunder2，000arebeingexploitedandabusedbytheiremployers，accordingtoaLondon-basedcampaigninggroupwhichhelpsoverseasservantsworkinginBritain.Theabusecantakeseveralforms.Oftenthedomesticsarenotallowedtogoout，andtheydonotreceiveanypayment。Theycanbephysically，sexuallyandpsychologicallyabused。Andtheycanhavetheirpassportsremoved，makingleavingor”escaping"virtuallyimpossible。Thesadconditionofwomenworkingasdomesticsaroundtheworldreceivedmuchmediaattentionearlierthisyearinseveralhighlypublicisedcases.Inoneofthem,aFilipinomaidwasexecutedinSingaporeafterbeingconvictedofmurder,despiteprotestsfromvariousquartersthatherguilthadnotbeenadequatelyestablished.GroupslikeAnti-SlaveryInternationalsayother，lessdramatic，casesareequallydeservingofattention，suchasthatofLydiaGarcia,aFilipinomaidworkinginLondon：”IwashiredbyaSaudidiplomatdirectlyfromthePhilippinestoworkinLondonin1989。Iwassupposedtobepaid$120butIneverreceivedthatamount。Theyalwaysthreatenedthattheywouldsendmebacktomycountry.”ThenthereisthecaseofKumarifromSriLanka.Themainbreadwinnerinherfamily,sheusedtoworkforaverylowwageatateafactoryinSriLanka。Becauseshefounditdifficulttofeedherfourchildren，sheacceptedajobworkingasadomesticinLondon.ShesaysshefeltlikeaprisonerattheLondonhousewheresheworked：”Nodaysoff--ever,nobreaksatall，noproperfood.Ididn’thavemyownroom;Isleptonashelfwithaspad0ofonlythreefeetaboveme.Iwasn'tallowedtotalktoanybody.Iwasn'tevenallowedtoopenthewindow。MyemployersalwaysthreatenedtoreportmetotheHome