2014年考研英语模拟阅读十
PassageThepovertylineistheminimumincomethatpeopleneedforanacceptablestandardofliving.Peoplewithincomesbelowthepovertylineareconsideredpoor.Economistsstudythecausesofpovertyinordertofindsolutionstotheproblem.
Asthegeneralstandardoflivinginthecountryrises,thepovertylinedoes,too.Therefore,evenwithtoday'srelativelyhighstandardofliving,about10percentofthepeopleintheUnitedStatesarebelowthepovertyline.However,ifthesepeoplehadstablejobs,theycouldhaveanacceptablestandardofliving.Economistssuggestseveralreasonswhypoorpeopledonothavejobs.
Foronething,morethanhalfofthepoorpeopleintheUnitedStatesarenotqualifiedtowork.Over40percentofthepoorpeoplearechildren.Bylaw,childrenlessthan16yearsoldcannotworkinmanyindustries.Alargenumberofpoorpeopleareold.Manycompaniesdonothirepeopleover65yearsold,thenormalretirementage.
Somepooradultsdonotlookforjobsforavarietyofpersonalreasons:theyaresick,theydonothaveanymotivation(动力).theyhavefamilyproblems,ortheydonotbelievethattheycanfindajob.
Otherpoorpeoplelookforajobbutcannotfindone.Manypooradultsneverwenttohighschool.Therefore,whentheylookforjobs,theyhavefewskillsthattheycanoffer.
Atthepresenttime,thegovernmentthinksitcanreducepovertyinthecountryinthefollowingways.
First,ifthenationaleconomygrows,businessesandindustrieshiremoreworkers.Someofthepoorwhoarequalifiedtolookforjobsmayfindemployment.Thentheywillnolongerbebelowthepovertyline.
Second,ifsocietyinvestsinthepoor,thepoorwillbecomemoreproductive.Ifthegovernmentspendsmoneyonsocialprograms,education,andtrainingforpoorpeople,thepoorwillhavetheskillstooffer.Thenitismorelikelythattheycanfindjobs.
Finally,ifthegovernmentdistributessociety'sincomedifferently,itraisessomepoorpeopleabovethepovertyline.Thegovernmentcollectstaxesfromthenon-poorandgivesmoneytothepoor.Thesepaymentstothepoorarecalledwelfare.In1975over18millionpeopleintheUnitedStatesreceivedwelfare.
Someeconomistsarelookingforbettersolutionstothepovertyproblem.However,atthepresenttime,manypeopledependonwelfareforaminimallyacceptablestandardofliving.
1.Theauthor'smainpurposetowritethisarticleis.
A)todefinewhatthepovertylineis
B)toexplainwhysomepeoplelivethepovertyline
C)tofindsolutionstotheproblemofpoverty
D)toshowsympathyforthosepoorpeople
2.WhichofthefollowingisNOTtrue?
A)TenpercentoftheAmericansliveapoorlife.
B)Poorpeoplearethosewholovebelowthepovertyline.
C)Thepovertylinerisesasthegeneralstandardoflivingrises.
D)Thepovertylinetendstobeatthesamelevel.
3.Morethan40percentofthepoorpeoplearechildren.Thisismainlybecause.
A)theydonothaveenoughmotivation
B)theyaresoyoungthattheyaredeprivedofchancestowork
C)theyfailtogetenougheducation
D)theyareverypoorinhealth
4.MostoftheAmericanpoorpeoplearenotqualifiedforemploymentbecause.
A)theytonothaveanymotivationtowork
B)theyarenotveryself-confident
C)theyaretooyoungortoooldtowork
D)theyhavephysicalandfamilyproblems
5.Wemayconcludefromthepassagethat.
A)bettersolutionstothepovertyproblemarenotyetfound
B)welfarewillenablepeopletoberich
C)poorpeopleareboundtogooutofthepovertylineiftheyhavechancestodobusiness
D)employmentisthebestsolutiontothepovertyproblem
Answer
1.C2.D3.B4.C5.A
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