In Japan many workers who work in large corporations have a guarantee of lifetime employment. During their employment, they will not be laid off during recessions(经济萧条) or when the tasks they perform are taken over by robots. To some observers, this is what they call capitalism at its best, because workers are treated as people not things. Others see it as necessarily inefficient and they also believe it cannot continue if Japan is to remain competitive with foreign corporations by being more concerned about profits and less concerned about people.
Defenders of the system argue that those who call it inefficient do not understand how it really works. In the first place not every Japanese worker has the guarantee of a lifetime job. The lifetime employment system includes only “regular employees”. Many employees are not included in this category, including all women. All businesses have many part-time and temporary employees. These workers are hired and laid off during the course of the business cycle just as employees in the United States are. These “irregular workers” make up about 10 percent of the non-agricultural work force. Additionally, Japanese firms keep some flexibility through the large-scale use of subcontractors（转承包者）. This practice is much more common in Japan than in the United States.
The use of both subcontractors and temporary workers has increased remarkably in Japan since the 1974-1975 recessions. All this leads some people to argue that the Japanese system is not all that different from the American system. During recessions Japanese corporations lay off temporary workers and give less business to subcontractors. In the United States, corporations lay off those workers with the least seniority(资历). The difference then is probably less than the term “lifetime employment” suggests, but there still is a difference. And this difference cannot be understood without looking at the values of Japanese society. The relationship between employer and employee cannot be explained in purely contractual(合同的) terms. Firms hold on to the employees and employees stay with one firm. There are also practical reasons for not jumping from job to job. Most retirement benefits come from the employer. Changing jobs means losing these benefits. Also, teamwork is an essential part of Japanese production. Moving to a new firm means adapting to a different team and at least temporarily, possessing lower productivity and lower pay.
61.It is stated in the second paragraph that ____.
A. defenders themselves do not appreciate the system
B. about 90% of “irregular workers” are employed in agriculture
C. the business cycle occurs more often in Japan and in the U.S.
D. not all employees can benefit from the policy
62. During recessions those who are to be fired first in the U.S. corporations are ____.
A. regular employees B. part-time workers
C. junior employees D. temporary workers
63. According to the passage, Japanese firms are remarkably different from American firms in that the former ____.
A. use subcontractors in larger amount
B. are less flexible in terms of lifetime employment
C. hold on to the values of society
D. are more efficient in competition than the latter
64. Which of the following does NOT account for the fact that a Japanese worker is unwilling to change his job?
A. He will probably be low-paid.
B. He will not be able to possess some job benefits.
C. He has got used to the teamwork.
D. He will be looked down upon by his prospective employer.
65. Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
A. The guarantee of employment in Japan
B. The consequence of the Japanese system
C. The advantages of lifetime employment in Japan
D. The expectations of capitalism