阅读理解。     At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key quest

阅读理解。     At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key quest

题型:北京模拟题难度:来源:
阅读理解。     At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key question: are immigrants good or bad
for the economy? The American public overwhelmingly thinks they"re bad. Yet the consensus among
most economists is that immigration, both legal and illegal, provides a small net boost to the economy.
Immigrants provide cheap labor, lower the prices of everything from farm produce to new homes, and
leave consumers with a little more money in their pockets. So why is there such a discrepancy between
the perception of immigrants" impact on the economy and the reality?
     There are a number of familiar theories. Some argue that people are anxious and feel threatened by
an inflow of new workers. Others highlight the strain that undocumented immigrants place on public
services, like schools, hospitals, and jails. Still others emphasize the role of race, arguing that foreigners
add to the nation"s fears and insecurities. There"s some truth to all these explanations, but they aren"t quite
sufficient.
     To get a better understanding of what"s going on, consider the way immigration"s impact is felt. Though
its overall effect may be positive, its costs and benefits are distributed unevenly. David Card, an economist at UC Berkeley, notes that the ones who profit most directly from immigrants" low-cost labor are businesses and employers - meatpacking plants in Nebraska, for instance, or agricultural businesses in California.
Granted, these producers" savings probably translate into lower prices at the grocery store, but how many consumers make that mental connection at the checkout counter? As for the drawbacks of illegal
immigration, these, too, are concentrated. Native low-skilled workers suffer most from the competition of
foreign labor.      According to a study by George Borjas, a Harvard economist, immigration reduced the wages of American high-school dropouts by 9% between 1980-2000.
     Among high-skilled, better-educated employees, however, opposition was strongest in states with
both high numbers of immigrants and relatively generous social services. What worried them most, in
other words, was the fiscal (财政的)burden of immigration. That conclusion was reinforced by another
finding: that their opposition appeared to soften when that fiscal burden decreased, as occurred with
welfare reform in the 1990s, which curbed immigrants" access to certain benefits.
     The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect (净效应) of immigration is minimal. Even
for those most acutely affected - say, low-skilled workers, or California residents - the impact isn"t all that dramatic. "The unpleasant voices have tended to dominate our perceptions," says Daniel Tichenor, a
political science professor at the University of Oregon. "But when all those factors are put together and
the economists calculate the numbers, it ends up being a net positive, but a small one." Too bad most
people don"t realize it.1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?A. Whether immigrants are good or bad for the economy has been puzzling economists.
B. The American economy used to thrive on immigration but now it"s a different story.
C. The consensus among economists is that immigration should not be encouraged.
D. The general public thinks differently from most economists on the impact of immigration.2. In what way does the author think ordinary Americans benefit from immigration?A. They can access all kinds of public services.
B. They can get consumer goods at lower prices.
C. They can mix with people of different cultures.
D. They can avoid doing much of the manual labor.3. Which of the following words has the closest meaning to "curb" in paragraph four?A. strengthen          
B. deny          
C. encourage        
D. limit4. What is the irony about the debate over immigration?A. People care too much about something of small impact.
B. Those who are opposed to it turn out to benefit most from it.
C. Even economists can"t reach a consensus about its impact.
D. There is no essential difference between seemingly opposite opinions.
答案
1-4: DBDA  
举一反三
阅读理解。     London started its first major bike hire scheme (方案) on July 30th. Transport For London (TFL),
the agency responsible for moving people around England"s capital, put 5,000 bicycles in 400 different
locations around the city.
     The idea is to cut traffic, reduce pollution and provide a greener way of getting around London"s
streets. The scheme had a few small problems on its first day as people could not lock the bikes properly
once they had finished riding them. As a gesture of goodwill, London Mayor Boris Johnson announced
all rentals (租金) on the first day would be free of charge. The bikes are available for free for the first 30 minutes but costs go up sharply since then. Renters have to pay $1.60 for the first hour and $78 for 24
hours. The bikes are clearly designed for very short trips.
     TFL says it sees a "cycle revolution" happening in London. It predicts there will be around 40,000
new cycle journeys every day on the rental bikes. Mr. Johnson says he wants to see a return to the turn
of the 20th century, when 20 per cent of journeys in London were made by bicycle. The scheme has
received a lot of positive feedback (反馈) in the first two days.
     Many Londoners believe it is a great alternative (替代品) to London"s overcrowded and overpriced
trains and buses. One person, Andy Clark, told the Reuters news agency, "It"s a great idea. I"ve seen it
operating in Paris and Barcelona and thought why don"t we have one?" The Londonist Blog said the
bikes were very strong and were "designed to bear a beating from both careless cyclists and drunken
people".1. What"s the main idea of the passage?A. London starts a new bike hire scheme.
B. London needs better measures to cut traffic.
C. London encourages people to buy bikes.
D. London decides to protect the environment.2. At the beginning of the scheme, there was some difficulty with the ____. A. rental  
B. time      
C. distance    
D. lock3. Which of the following is NOT the purpose of the bike rental scheme?A. To reduce traffic pressure.      
B. To protect nature.
C. To decrease pollution.          
D. To beautify the city.4. It can be learned from the passage that ____.A. the bikes are designed for long journeys in London
B. it costs nearly $80 to rent one of the bikes for a day
C. London is the first city to start the bike rental scheme
D. All Londoners approve of the scheme
题型:湖北省期末题难度:| 查看答案
阅读理解。     During the years after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, structural engineers have been
trying hard to solve a question that would otherwise have been completely unthinkable: Can building be
designed to stand catastrophic blasts (攻击) by terrorists?
     Soon after the terrorist attacks on the twin towers, structural engineers from the University at Buffalo
and the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) traveled to ground zero
as part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation. They spent two days beginning the task
of formulating (构思) ideas about how to design such structures and to search for clues on how to do so
in buildings that were damaged, but still are standing.
     "Our objective in visiting ground zero was to go and look at the buildings surrounding the World
Trade Center, those buildings that are still standing, but that sustained damage," said M. Bruneau, Ph.D. "Our immediate hope is that we can develop a better understanding as to why those buildings remain
standing, while our long-term goal is to see whether earthquake engineering technologies can be married
to existing technologies to achieve enhanced performance of buildings in the event of terrorist attacks,"
he added.
     Photographs taken by the investigators demonstrate the monumental damage to the World Trade
Center towers and buildings nearby. One building a block away from the towers remains standing, but
was badly damaged. "This building is many meters away from the World Trade Center and yet we see
a column (柱子) there that used to be part of that building," explained A. Whittaker, Ph.D. "The column
became a missile that shot across the road, through the window and through the floor."
     The visit to the area also brought some surprises, according to the engineers. For example, the floor
framing (框架) system in one of the buildings was quite strong , allowing floors that were pierced by tons
of falling debris (残砾) to survive. "Good framing systems may provide a simple, but reliable strategy for
blast resistance," he added. Other strategies may include providing alternate paths for gravity loads in the
event that a load-bearing column fails. "We also need a better understanding of the mechanism of collapse," said A. Whittaker. "We need to find out what causes a building to collapse and how you can predict
it."
     A. Reinhorn, Ph.D. noted that "earthquake shaking has led to the collapse of buildings in the past.
Solutions developed for earthquake-resistant design may apply to blast engineering and terrorist-resistant
design. Part of our mission now is to transfer these solutions and to develop new ones where none exist
at present."1.The question raised in the first paragraph is one _____ .A. that was asked by structural engineers a month ago
B. that is too difficult for structural engineers a month ago
C. that was never thought of before the terrorist attack
D. that terrorists are eager to find a solution to2. The column mentioned by Dr. Whittaker _____ .A. was part of the building close to the World Trade Center
B. was part of the World Trade Center
C. was shot through the window and the floor of the World Trade Center
D. damaged many buildings near the World Trade Center3. A surprising discovery made by the investigators during their visit to ground zero is that _____.A. floors in the faraway buildings remained undamaged
B. some floor framing systems demonstrate resistance to explosion
C. complex floor framing systems are more blast resistant
D. floors in one of the buildings were pierced by tons of debris4. What Dr. Reinhorn said in the last paragraph may imply all the following EXCEPT that _____.A. blast engineers should develop new solutions for terror-resistant design
B. blast engineering can borrow technologies developed for terror-resistant design
C. solutions developed for earthquake-resistant design may apply to terrorist-resistant design
D. blast engineering emerges as a totally new branch of science
题型:湖北省模拟题难度:| 查看答案
任务型阅读。
     阅读下列短文,根据所读内容在文章后的表格中填人 恰当的单词。
     注意:表格中的每个空格只填1 个单词.    The farm economy of the United States has changed a lot in the last seventy years. In the 1930s,
twenty-five percent of the nation"s population lived on farms. Today less than one percent of Americans
do.
       Farm incomes have changed over the years, too. For example,in 1933,people living and working on
farms had much less money to spend than other Americans. At that time,farm families had about one-third
the income of non- farmers after all necessary expenses had been paid. By the late  1970s, however, that  difference  had  almost disappeared. In 2004,farmers had their best year ever. The average farm family
earned about eighty-one thousand dollars. That was more than the average American family, which
earned about sixty thousand dollars.
   The Department of Labor measures the pay of industrial workers differently. It measures the average
hourly and weekly pay for industrial workers. This is because factory workers are generally paid by the
hour unlike farmers who earn income from their farm businesses. Generally, the average hourly pay for
all
industrial workers is about sixteen dollars. And the average weekly pay,about five hundred fifty dollars.
     Industrial workers were about twenty-three percent of the labor force in the 1970s. But that number
has been decreasing. Most Americans have jobs that provide services. Professional,technical and other
services employ about eighty-six percent of the labor force.


题型:同步题难度:| 查看答案
阅读理解。     The African ancestors of today"s black Americans were brought
to the US as slaves in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth
century, They worked on farms, especially the large farms in the
southern states. Slowly they became a necessary part of the economic
system (经济体系) of the South.
      Slaves did not have the right of people;according tO the law,
they were a" thing" which belonged to the person who bought them.
They had to obey the orders of their owners without question. They
were not allowed to learn to read ; their owners feared the educated
slaves would begin to think about the injustice of the system and
would learn to struggle for their freedom. Slaves had to work long
hours in very unhealthy conditions. Their owners had complete power
over them. They could be bought and sold like animals. At the
slave markets, black children were separated from their parents and
never saw them again. Slave owners had the right to punish the
slave who broke the rule or was against the system. Slaves were often
beaten by their owners or killed. After the Civil War, one free
slave reported that his owner killed an older slave who was teaching
him to read. In theory, an owner who treated a slave badly could be
punished. In practice, however, the taw meant nothing.
      The opposition to slavery began very early in the history of the
US-in 1671-but little progress was made until the beginning of
the nineteenth century. By 1804, slavery was illegal in the northern
states. But it continued and even grew, in the southern states, which
depended on cotton for their economic health. Slavery ended in the
South only after the Civil War. For blacks,however,the end of slavery
was only a beginning, the beginning of a long and difficult struggle for
true justice.1. What is the main topic of this passage?    A. African ancestors of today"s black Americans.
B. The opposition to slavery in the United States.
C. Slavery in the United States.
D. The right of black Americans.2. According to the writer,why couldn"t slaves learn to read?   A. Because reading was not something which they needed for their work.
B. Because their owners were afraid that books would give them advanced ideas.
C. Because they did not have enough time to read.
D. Because they were so poor that they could not go to school.3. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?  A. Many people from other countries became US citizens in the 1700s.
B. The US government paid much attention to freedom.
C. There were some laws that successfully protected the rights of slaves.
D. The opposition to slavery in the United States began in the seventeenth century.
题型:同步题难度:| 查看答案
阅读理解。     Toyota Motor Corp, Japan"s biggest carmaker, said on Friday it will recall 1,489 Lexus sedans (高级轿车) sold in China. "It will take us some time to ship the fuel tanks and vent pipes to China to change
those in these Lexus sedans for customers free of charge, if problems are found," said Yang Hongjian, a
spokes- woman of Toyota"s China representative office.
     The expected recall will affect Lexus LS430 sedans made in Japan from July 29, 2003 to January 14,
2004, the representative office said in a statement. Toyota has not received complaints from Chinese
customers, according to the statement. The move will be part of Toyota"s global recall of 18,200 Lexus
LS430s. It will be the third car recall in China in two weeks. Although automobile recall is a common
practice in developed markets, it remains new to Chinese customers. The Chinese government published
long-awaited automobile recall rules on March 15, which will be officially carried out at the beginning of
October.
     China"s auto market is forecast to reach 10 million units by 2010. Automakers, especially Chinese
producers, will face greater pressure from automobile recalls, which could be very costly sometimes, and
should be in full preparations, according to the expert. The Japanese carmaker sold 1, 549 Lexus
vehicles on the Chinese mainland during the first five months of this year, according to Yang. Lexus sales
on the mainland reached 4,000 units last year, up from 1,600 units in 2002. (China Daily July 3, 2004)1. What can we learn from the text?A. Chinese customers are not satisfied with Toyota Lexus LS430 sedans.
B. Chinese car market has seen car recalls three times so far.
C. Toyota will have a worldwide recall of Lexus LS430 sedans.
D. Toyota Motor start to recall Lexus Sedans due to the problems with fuel tanks.2. The carmakers were unwilling to recall their cars in the past mainly because ______.A. they were not fully prepared
B. they couldn"t afford the cost for their car recalls
C. their products could not meet the required standard
D. there were no related rules and little pressure3. It is implied in the passage that ______.A. sales of homemade automobiles will grow even faster
B. automobile recalls will take place in China more frequently
C. China"s car market is forecast to be the biggest by 2010 in the world
D. Toyota is likely to sell the most Lexus Sedans in China in the future4. Which of the following is the best tide of this passage?A. Toyota to Recall Its Lexus Sedans Sold in China
B. China Prepares to Recall Cars
C. The Problems in China"s Car Market
D. Costly Japanese Car Recalls
题型:同步题难度:| 查看答案
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