Most Americans get what money they have from their work; that is, they earn an i
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Most Americans get what money they have from their work; that is, they earn an income from wages or salaries. The richest Americans, however, get most of their money from what they own — their stocks, bonds, real estate, and other forms of property, or wealth. Although there are few accurate statistics to go by, wealth in American society appears to be concentrated in very few hands. More than 20 percent of everything that can be privately owned is held by less than one percent of the adult population and more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults. The plain fact is that most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes, automobiles, and a small amount of savings.
Income in the United States is not as highly concentrated as wealth. In 1917 the richest 10 percent of American families received 26.1 percent of all income, while the poorest 10 percent received 17 percent, mainly from Social Security and other government payments. The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War II. Although economic growth has roughly doubled real disposable (可自由使用的) family income (the money left after taxes and adjusted for inflation) over the last generation, the size of the shares given to the rich and the poor is about the same. By any measure economic inequality is great in the United States.
The reality behind these statistics is that a large number of Americans are poor. In 1918, 14 percent of the population was living below the federal government’s poverty line, which at that time was an annual income of $ 9 287 for a nonfarm family of two adults and two children. In other words, about one out of seven Americans over 31 million people was officially considered unable to buy the basic necessities of food, clothes, and shelter. The suggested poverty line in 1981 would have been an income of about $11 200 for a family of four. By this relative definition, about 20 percent of the population or more than 45 million Americans are poor.
1. What does the majority of the Americans have in terms of wealth?
A. Their income and savings.
B. Everything they own in their homes.
C. Actually, they have no wealth at all.
D. Their house, cars and small amounts of savings.
2. What is the percentage of wealth that is in the hands of most Americans?
A. More than 25%. B. Less than 25%.
C. More than 75%. D. Less than 20%.
3. Why is economic inequality still great in the US in spite of the economic growth?
A. Because the proportion of income received by the rich and the poor remains almost the same as in 1917.
B. Because the economic growth has widened the gap of the family income between the rich and the poor.
C. Because income in the US is still concentrated in the hands of the richest 10% of American families.
D. Because some Americans made great fortunes during the Second World War.
4. What can we learn from comparison of the two poverty lines in the last paragraph?
A. The poverty line of 1918 is more favorable to the poor than that of 1981.
B. The 1981 line didn’t leave much to the poor.
C. There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1981 line.
D. There were more Americans who were officially poor by the 1918 line.
5. From the last two sentences we can see that 1981 government’s poverty line _______.
A. was of no good for the poor B. was not put into operation then
C. was officially approved D. was not helpful to the poor |
答案
1--5 DBACB |
解析
本文分析了美国财富的分配状况及其存在的问题。
1. D。细节题。根据文章第 1 段最后一句 …most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes, automobiles, and a small amount of savings 可推知此题答案为 D。
2. B。推断题。根据文章第 1 段倒数第 2 句 …more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults 可推知此题答案为 B。
3. A。推断题。根据文章第2段第2句 The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War II 可推知此题答案为 A。
4. C。推断题。文章最后一段说：1981年与1918年所统计的贫困户的数量的比较。由此可知此题答案为 C。
5. B。推断题。根据文倒数第2句的虚拟语气可推知此题答案为 B。 |
举一反三
Self-employed private physicians who charge a fee for each patient visit are the foundation of medical practice in the United States. Most physicians have a contract relationship with one or more hospitals in the community. They send their patients to this hospital, which usually charges patients according to the number of days they stay and the facilities(operating room, tests, medicines that they use). Some hospitals belong to a city, a state or, in the case of veteran"s hospitals, a federal government agency. Others are operated by religious orders(教会) or other non-profit groups.
Some medical doctors are on salary. Salaried physicians may work as hospital staff members, or residents, who are often still in training. They may teach in medical schools, be hired by corporations to care for their workers or work for the federal government"s Public Health Service.
Physicians are among the best paid professionals in the United States. In the 1980s, it was not uncommon for medical doctors to earn incomes of more than $ 100 000 a year. Specialists, particularly surgeons, might earn several times that amount. Physicians list many reasons why they deserve to be so well rewarded for their work. One reason is the long and expensive preparation required to become a physician in the United States. Most would be physicians first attend college for four years, which can cost nearly $ 20 000 a year at one of the best private institutions. Prospective physicians then attend medical school for four years. Tuition alone can exceed $ 10 000 a year. By the time they have obtained their medical degrees, many young physicians are deeply in debt. They still face three to five years of residency(实习阶段) in a hospital, the first year as an apprentice physician. The hours are long and the pay is relatively low.
Setting up a medical practice is expensive, too. Sometimes several physicians will decide to establish a group practice, so they can share the expense of maintaining an office and buying equipment. These physicians also take care of each other"s patients in emergencies.
Physicians work long hours and must accept a great deal of responsibility. Many medical procedures, even quite routine ones, involve risk. It is understandable that physicians want to be well rewarded for making decisions which can mean the difference between life and death.
1. According to the passage, it is very unlikely that an American hospital is owned by _______.
A. a church B. a corporation C. a city D. a state
2. The expenses for becoming a doctor are spent on _______.
A. schooling and retraining B. practice in a hospital
C. facilities he or she uses D. education he or she receives
3. According to the passage, how long does it take for a would-be physician to become an independent physician in the USA?
A. About seven years. B. Eight years.
C. Ten years. D. About twelve years.
4. Sometimes several physicians set up a group medical practice mainly because _______.
A. there are so many patients that it is difficult for one physician to take care all of them
B. they can take turns to work long hours
C. facilities may be too much of a burden for one physician to shoulder
D. no one wants to assume too much responsibility
5. Which of the following statements could fully express the author"s view towards physicians’ payment in the USA?
A. For their expensive education and their responsibility, they deserve a handsome pay.
B. It is reasonable for physicians to have a large income because their work is very dangerous.
C. Physicians should be better paid because they work long hours under bad conditions.
D. Physicians have great responsibility, so it is understandable that they should be well rewarded. |
TOKYO — Our kids, the Japanese government announced, have forgotten how to behave. They can’t be bothered with housework. If they see someone being wronged, they probably look the other way.
Few countries have placed more importance on being well-behaved in public than Japan. The simplest requests for directions often result in guided tours. Smiling shopkeepers are still the rule. Lost wallets usually make their way to their owners.
But according to recent surveys(调查), all that may be going the way of the ancient hair-do(发式). And Japan’s government has gone into something of a crisis mode(危机时刻).
A Japanese Education Ministry Survey formed late in 1999 and made public last month found that Japan moves behind other nations in teaching youngsters right from wrong.
It also reported that Japanese children are less helpful and do far less housework than their foreign peers(同龄人) in all classes. But they are better about taking dirty dishes to the kitchens after dinner.
In addition, Japanese kids are more likely to dry their hair and carry cell phones than American and Chinese kids, according to another survey, by a Tokyo-based tank(专家小组).
Children in about 8 per cent of public school classrooms are so disorderly that teachers cannot hold lessons, further recent reports show. children refuse to sit, to listen or to stop talking.
Older and middle-aged Japanese continue to have a solid sense of good manners and social justice(正义, 公正), says Professor Yoshina Hirano from Shinshu University, who was appointed to direct the ministry’s survey.
Despite the knowledge of good manners among adults, the breakdown in manners may be spreading, he said.
1. From the first paragraph, we can infer that _______.
A. the Japanese government had gone bad
B. kids in Japan have a bad memory
C. kids in Japan seldom help their parents with housework
D. kids in Japan are too busy to help others
2. The second paragraph seems to show us that _______.
A. the education system of Japan is better than that of any other country
B. shopkeepers in Japan are too kind to their customers
C. Japanese kids often find wallets on their way to their schools
D. Japanese adults in public places act politely to each other
3. It is implied(暗含) in this passage that Japanese kids _______.
A. spending much time doing their homework
B. lead an advanced modern life
C. have their hair cut too often
D. often wash dishes after dinner |
The Fifth China International Fair for Investment and Trade is expected to expand the country’s economic relations with the international community when it opens on September 9. The four-day fair will be held in the Economic Zone of Xiamen, a coastal city in East China’s Fujian province. Compared with the previous four fairs held annually since 1997, this year’s fair will provide more detailed information and better services for the participants, according to Xi Jinping, governor of the Fujian province and director of the organizing committee of the fair.
A series of high-level forums will be held on international investment and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization. Since 1997, Xiamen has successfully hosted four sessions of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade, drawing global attention. Xiamen will redouble its efforts to offer better services for all its guests and friends attending the fair, according to ZhuYayan, the mayor. Altogether 9,141 overseas-funded projects have been negotiated at the past four fairs, with a combined overseas investment of US $ 48.3 billion.
Altogether 1,838 projects using foreign investment were negotiated with a total overseas investment of US $ 9,47 billion. The 1,261 contracts signed at the fourth fair registered a combined pledged overseas investment of US $ 5 billion. The total export and import volume reached US $ 786 million.
1. What is the best title for this passage?
A. The Fifth Fair Will Be Held. B. The Fair is Famous.
C. Fairs Attract the World Wide Attention.D. Xiamen is a Trade Zone.
2. How many fingers are there in the logo of the China Fair International Investment and Trade?
A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.
3. Why is the golden key to success designed as the logo of CFIIT?
A. Because the fair will attract overseas investment to China.
B. Because it is a key to our home.
C. Because it is just like a key.
D. Because the fair is held on August 9.
5. What is the average of the overseas investment on one project in the past four fairs?
A. 0.00380 billion. B. 0.00529 billion.
C. 0.00513 billion. D. 0.00397 billion. |
Tales of the supernatural are common in all parts of Britain. In particular there was（and perhaps still is）a belief in fairies. Not all of these fairies are the friendly, people-loving sprites that appear in Disney films. In some folktales they are cruel and cause much human suffering. This is true in the tales about the changeling. These tell the story of a mother whose baby grows sick and pale and is changed so much that it is almost unrecognizable to the parents. It was then feared that the fairies had come and stolen the baby away and replaced the human baby with a fairy changeling. This was most likely to happen between birth and the baby’s baptism. There were many ways to prevent this from happening: hanging a knife over the baby’s head while he slept or covering him with some of his father’s clothes were just two of the recommended（推荐）methods. However, hope was not lost even if the baby had been stolen .In those cases there was often a way to get the real baby back. You could place the changeling on the fire—then it would rise up the chimney, you would hear the sound of fairies’ laughter and soon after you would find your own child safe and sound nearby. Or, if you were more cautious（谨慎）,perhaps there was a magic well in the neighbourhood where you could leave the changeling overnight, and in the morning you would return to find your own baby there without a scratch（划痕）on him.
1. Another word in the passage which is closest in meaning to the underlined word sprites is ______.
A. changeling B. baptism C. folktales D. fairies
2.The writer described ______ways to prevent babies from being stolen and ______ways to save a stolen baby.
A. Many; two B. Two; two C. Two; three D. Two; four
3.Which is not stated but can be inferred from this passage?
A. Some sick babies might have been killed with the recommended methods.
B. There are bad fairies as well as good fairies.
C. Lots of stolen babies were saved with the recommended methods.
D. Fairies would laugh if they found a changeling rise up the chimney. |
A new plan for getting children to and from school is being started by a local government in Eastern England. This could end the worries of many parents fear ful for their children"s safety on the roads.
Until now the local government have only been prepared to provide bus services for children living more than three miles from their school, or sometimes less if special reasons existed. Now it has been decided that if a group of parents ask for help in organizing transport they will be prepared to go ahead, as long as the arrangement will not lose money and children taking part will be attending their nearest school.
The new plan is to be tried out this term for children living at Milton who attend Impington School. The children live just without the three mile limit and the local government have said in the past that they will not undertake to provide free transport to the school. But now they have agreed to offer a sum of money for a bus service from Milton to Impington and back, a plan which has the support of the school"s headmaster.
Between 50 and 60 parents have said they would like their children to take part. Final calculations have still to be carried out, but a government official has said the cost to parents should be less than ￡ 20 a term.
They have been able to arrange the service at a low cost because there is already an agreement with the bus company for a bus to take children who live further away to Impington. The same bus would now just make one more journey to pick up the Milton children. The official said they would get in touch with other groups of parents who in the past had asked if transport could be provided for their children, to see if they would like to take part in the new plan.
1.What is the aim of the plan?
A.To prevent the students" road accident.
B.To relieve the traffic pressure.
C.To save time for the parents and students.
D.To help the parents save money.
2.How can the local government arrange the new bus service at a low cost?
A.By letting the bus run in the morning only.
B.By limiting the number of the students.
C.By obtaining the support from the headmaster.
D.By lining the new bus service with the existing one.
3.The new bus service will be paid for by ________ .
A. the parents B. the local government
C. the bus company D. the local government and the parents
4.Which of the following is possible if the plan is carried out?
A.The bus company will make much more money.
B.The children can choose whatever school they like.
C.The parents can get rid of their worries.
D.The students in Impington School can have free bus rides.
5.This passage is most probably ________ .
A.a personal letter B. a headmaster"s report
C.an advertisement D. a newspaper article |
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