Hunting for a job late last year, lawyer Gant Redmon stumbled across CareerBuilder, a job database on the Internet. He searched it with no success but was attracted by the site's "personal search agent".It's an interactive feature that lets visitors key in job criteria such as location, title, and salary, then E-mails them when a matching position is posted in the database. Redmon chose the keywords legal, intellectual property, and Washington, D.C. Three weeks later, he got his first notification of an opening. "I struck gold," says Redmon, who E-mailed his resume to the employer and won a position as in-house counsel for a company.
With thousands of career-related sites on the Internet, finding promising openings can be time-consuming and inefficient. Search agents reduce the need for repeated visits to the databases. But although a search agent worked for Redmon, career experts see drawbacks. Narrowing your criteria, for example, may work against you: "Every time you answer a question you eliminate a possibility." says one expert.
For any job search, you should start with a narrow concept — what you think you want to do — then broaden it. "None of these programs do that," says another expert. "There's no career counseling implicit in all of this." Instead, the best strategy is to use the agent as a kind of tip service to keep abreast of jobs in a particular database; when you get E-mail, consider it a reminder to check the database again. "I would not rely on agents for finding everything that is added to a database that might interest me," says the author of a job-searching guide.
Some sites design their agents to tempt job hunters to return. When CareerSite's agent sends out messages to those who have signed up for its service, for example, it includes only three potential jobs — those it considers the best matches. There may be more matches in the database; job hunters will have to visit the site again to find them — and they do. "On the day after we send our messages, we see a sharp increase in our traffic," says Seth Peets, vice president of marketing for CareerSite.
Even those who aren't hunting for jobs may find search agents worthwhile. Some use them to keep a close watch on the demand for their line of work or gather information on compensation to arm themselves when negotiating for a raise. Although happily employed, Redmon maintains his agent at CareerBuilder. "You always keep your eyes open," he says. Working with a personal search agent means having another set of eyes looking out for you.
41. How did Redmon find his job?
[A] By searching openings in a job database.
[B] By posting a matching position in a database.
[C] By using a special service of a database.
[D] By E-mailing his resume to a database.
42. Which of the following can be a disadvantage of search agents?
[A] Lack of counseling.
[B] Limited number of visits.
[C] Lower efficiency.
[D] Fewer successful matches.
43. The expression "tip service" (line 3, paragraph 3) most probably means ________.
[A] advisory
[B] compensation
[C] interaction
[D] reminder
44. Why does CareerSite's agent offer each job hunter only three job options?
[A] To focus on better job matches.
[B] To attract more returning visits.
[C] To reserve space for more messages.
[D] To increase the rate of success.
45. Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A] Personal search agents are indispensable to job-hunters.
[B] Some sites keep E-mailing job seekers to trace their demands.
[C] Personal search agents are also helpful to those already employed.
[D] Some agents stop sending information to people once they are employed.
第一段共六句话，中心句在第二句“He searched it with no success but was attracted by the site's "personal search agent””这里有一个句群，由第二、三、四、五句组成，即：He searched it ……of an opening。其中第三、四、五句和第二句说的是同一个问题"personal search agent”，而且是补充和说明的。这样的句群只要掌握其主要句子的意思就可以啦，阅读时其他的补充说明的句子可以不看，这样整个这一段就变成了：Hunting for a job late last year, lawyer Gant Redmon stumbled across CareerBuilder, a job database on the Internet. He searched it with no success but was attracted by the site's "personal search agent"."I struck gold," says Redmon, who E-mailed his resume to the employer and won a position as in-house counsel for a company.这样以来，整个这段文字的理解也简洁明了了许多，更神奇的是把画线部分的句子连起来理解的话，后面的41题的问题很容易就可以得出正确答案了。（详细下回谈技巧再说）
第二段中有个转折词“But”，前部分讲了搜索代理的优点“reduce the need for repeated visits to the databases”，但是紧接着“But”…… career experts see drawbacks.在理解上，作者强调的是But后面的部分。接着，作者用两个专家的话“says one expert”， “says another expert”解释补充了 drawbacks。（这里的第二段和第三段在逻辑上应该是一个整体，不应该分开成两段的。）同样这里也有个句群：But although a search agent worked for Redmon, career experts see drawbacks. ……says one expert.……says another expert. "There's no career counseling implicit in all of this.。把这里当做一个句群理解话，42题的答案就迎刃而解了。
第三段的第三句又是一个转折词“Instead”，这里的转折是为了和前面的drawbacks相呼应的。这句话里有个标点符号“分号”，从分号的意义来看，其前后部分的意思应该是一致的，故可知the best strategy is to use the agent as a kind of tip service to keep abreast of jobs in a particular database和when you get E-mail, consider it a reminder to check the database again意思相近，有了这样的认识后，43题的解答就相对容易多了， tip service= reminder！！！
第四段的中心句就是首句“Some sites design their agents to tempt job hunters to return”，稍微理解一下后面的几句话，不难发现这后面几句都是说明补充这个中心句的，也就是一个句群。理解了句群的中心句，句群的意思也基本上就理解了。理解了句群的意思，至于其他句子具体是什么意思，根本就无所谓。反正整个句群就是在说中心句的内容“一些网络是如何让代理诱惑寻职者成为回头客的”，有了这样的认识，44题的答案你还会选错吗？
第五段和第四段一样，中心句很好找，就是第一句“Even those who aren't hunting for jobs may find search agents worthwhile.”同样稍微理解一下，就可以知道后面几句都是围绕这个中心句来补充说明的。也就是一个句群。同样也只要理解句群的中心句就可以啦。句群的那几个句子都在传递着中心句所表达信息：“即使非求职的人士也会发现搜索代理值得一览”。这样的话，45题你还会选错吗？