阅读理解。 In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent
题型：模拟题难度：来源：
| 阅读理解。 |
In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord can charge for an
apartment. Supporters of rent control argue that it protects people who are living in apartments. Their rent
cannot increase; therefore, they are not in danger of losing their homes. However, the critics say that after
a long time, rent control may have negative effects. Landlords know that they cannot increase their profits.
Therefore, they invest in other businesses where they can increase their profits. They do not invest in new
buildings which would also be rentcontrolled. As a result, new apartments are not built. Many people who
need apartments cannot find any. According to the critics, the end result of rent control is a shortage of
apartments in the city.
Some theorists argue that the minimum wage law can cause problems in the same way. The federal
government sets the minimum that an employer must pay workers. The minimum helps people who generally
look for unskilled, low-paying jobs; However, if the minimum is high, employers may hire fewer workers.
They will replace workers with machinery. Therefore, other things being equal, the number of workers that
employers want decreases. Thus, critics hold the opinion that an increase in the minimum wage may cause
unemployment. Some poor people may find themselves without jobs instead of with jobs at the minimum
wage.
Supporters of the minimum wage say that it helps people keep their dignity. Because of the law, workers
cannot sell their services for less than the minimum. Furthermore, employers cannot force workers to accept
jobs at unfair wages.
Economic theory predicts the results of economic decisions such as decisions about farm production,
rent control and the minimum wage. The predictions may be correct only if "other things are equal".
Economists do not agree on some of the predictions. They also do not agree on the value of different decisions.
Some economists support a particular decision while others criticize it. Economists do agree, however, that
there are no simple answers to economic questions. |
| 1. This passage shows that setting maximum rent may _____. |
A. encourage the construction of more apartments
B. discourage the renting of apartments as homes
C. reduce the shortage of apartments
D. result in a shortage of apartments |
| 2. From the passage, we can infer that rent control _____. |
A. is completely unnecessary
B. will likely bring about undesired results
C. will bring positive effects in the long run
D. is necessary under all circumstances |
| 3. The problem of unemployment may come up when _____. |
A. the minimum wage is set too low
B. the workers are unskilled
C. the minimum wage is set too high
D. people need low-paying jobs |
| 4. This passage is mainly about economists disagreement on _____. |
A. the effectiveness of government controls
B. the urgency of getting rid of government controls
C. the relationship between supply and demand
D. the possible results of government controls |
| 5. We can conclude from the passage that _____. |
A. the results of economic decisions can always be predicted
B. predicting the results of economic decisions is something complicated
C. minimum wage can not protect employees
D. economists usually have the same prediction about an economic decision |
答案
| 1-5 DBCDB |
举一反三
| 阅读理解。 |
When did you last visit a shopping mall? In many places, the answer would be "last weekend." Some
people go even more often. Why? For one thing, malls offer goods and services that people need all in one
place: food, clothing, things for their houses, entertainment, even medical services. So, are malls one of the
highlights of modern civilization? Environmental activists would say No! They would go even further and
say that consumer behavior is causing a huge environmental disaster. They cause consumers of ignorance
of the side effect of their shopping-urban sprawl (扩大).
Social scientists agree that patterns of development have changed the landscape a great deal in the last
half century. Prior to 1950, most people lived in towns or cities and either walked to work or took public
transportation. Only very wealthy people had automobiles. Farmers lived in rural areas or isolated villages
and came into town only when they needed things they couldn"t produce themselves. If you gazed at the
landscape you would see towns surrounded by countryside. Then a massive change occurred.
Automobiles became affordable and people were quick to adopt them. Now ambitious workers could live
in the suburbs, the areas just outside cities, which started to grow rapidly. As long as there was lots of cheap
land in the suburbs, no one paid much attention to the usage of that land. Malls, fast food restaurants, cinemas,
and car dealerships spread out in large, flat buildings. These one-storey buildings and their parking lot took up
a great deal space. Well-meaning farmers thought they were better off selling their land than growing crops.
In ignorance, no one realized that once the land was built up in urban sprawl, the good farming land would
be ruined forever. There was no way to preserve it.
Only in recent years have people come to mourn the old way of life as they have developed insight into the
problems of unconditional grows. Now people realize that urban sprawl has come with serious environmental
problems. The negative aspects of sprawl include air and water pollution, loss of agricultural land, traffic jams,
and the death of businesses in the old town centers. Many scholars think the time has come to analyze the
problems better so we can develop appropriate policies to control further sprawl. Some think the best way to
do is to educate citizens about their priceless environment. |
| 1. What is mainly discussed in the passage? |
A. Weekend Fun.
B. Urban Sprawl.
C. New Automobiles.
D. Isolated Villages. |
| 2. What does the underlined word "They" refer to in the first paragraph? |
A. Malls.
B. Activists.
C. Farmers.
D. Scientists. |
| 3. Who do activists blame for environmental problems? |
A. Endangered animals.
B. Shopping mall owners.
C. Unthinking shoppers.
D. Ambitious farmers. |
| 4. What do scholars think should be done about urban sprawl? |
A. Understand the situations better.
B. Follow customary policies.
C. Start school in shopping mails.
D. Charge polluters a lot of money. |
| 5. What is the scholars" attitude toward urban sprawl? |
A. Respectful.
B. Disapproving.
C. Pessimistic.
D. Doubtful. |
| 阅读理解。 |
Spending beyond one"s means is becoming a national problem for Americans. Borrowing has become so
easy that it takes great willpower for people to refuse it. "I received a number of gold MasterCard and gold
Visa card offers in the mail during the past two months," said one computer engineer at AT&T Bell
Laboratories in Chicago. "I got three of them in one day last week."
Lenders are providing easy credit (信贷) for borrowers. Many banks now offer every borrower a great
variety of credit, a service once offered almost only to big companies. Norwest Bank Minneapolis offers
lending programs for cars and boats that can cut monthly payments nearly in half. Carmakers, too, are
lengthening easier terms. Ford Motor Credit states that 45% of its recent lending has been for sixty months,
rather than the thirty-six-month period that was usual before.
The total consumer debt (债务) in the United States rose 173 percent between 1974 and 1984, as the
debt for each man, woman, and child increased from $10, 264 to $26, 566. Huge debt now is present in our
economy (经济) at all levels. As a nation, we are more than $7 trillion in debt, and the total keeps increasing
astonishingly.
As we have over-borrowed, so have we overspent. In late 1986, the share of after-tax income that
Americans saved sank below 2 percent for a short time, less than half the figure at which we saved only
10 years ago. Americans now are buying from foreigners between about $50 and $100 billion more Mercedes
and Toyotas, Paris fashions, and tours to Europe than the Boeing 747s, agriculture machinery, or Kansas
wheat that the foreigners bought from America The country could not produce and pay for all the things it
wanted.
To make a long story short, we Americans have serious problems in keeping down spending and keeping
up personal savings. It is high time for us American people to learn the basics of long-term money
management. |
| 1. According to the author, what is a main reason for Americans to overspend? |
A. Americans buy a lot of foreign products.
B. It is easy for Americans to manage their debts.
C. Borrowing money has become a simple matter.
D. Americans have more extra money than before. |
| 2. Ford Motor Credit lengthens 45% of its lending to 60 months in order to _____. |
A. help more Americans to settle their debts
B. encourage people to buy foreign cars
C. make better use of its money
D. attract more customers |
| 3. What does the author suggest as a way to deal with over-borrowing? |
A. Teaching people how to manage money.
B. Advising people on what to buy.
C. Limiting the use of credit cards.
D. Reducing average incomes. |
| 4. Which of the following points does the author wish to make? |
A. America should sell more of its products abroad.
B. A healthy society has to learn to live within its means.
C. People"s income determines their money management.
D. Government should prevent people from over-borrowing. |
| 阅读理解。 |
Spending beyond one"s means is becoming a national problem for Americans. Borrowing has become
so easy that it takes great willpower for people to refuse it. "I received a number of gold MasterCard and gold Visa card offers in the mail during the past two months," said one computer engineer at AT&T Bell
Laboratories in Chicago. "I got three of them in one day last week."
Lenders are providing easy credit (信贷) for borrowers. Many banks now offer every borrower a
great variety of credit, a service once offered almost only to big companies. Norwest Bank Minneapolis
offers lending programs for cars and boats that can cut monthly payments nearly in half. Carmakers, too,
are lengthening easier terms. Ford Motor Credit states that 45% of its recent lending has been for sixty
months, rather than the thirty-six-month period that was usual before.
The total consumer debt (债务) in the United States rose 173 percent between 1974 and 1984, as
the debt for each man, woman, and child increased from $10, 264 to $26, 566. Huge debt now is
present in our economy (经济) at all levels. As a nation, we are more than $7 trillion in debt, and the
total keeps increasing astonishingly.
As we have over-borrowed, so have we overspent. In late 1986, the share of after-tax income that
Americans saved sank below 2 percent for a short time, less than half the figure at which we saved only
10 years ago. Americans now are buying from foreigners between about $50 and $100 billion more
Mercedes and Toyotas, Paris fashions, and tours to Europe than the Boeing 747s, agriculture machinery,
or Kansas wheat that the foreigners bought from America The country could not produce and pay for all
the things it wanted.
To make a long story short, we Americans have serious problems in keeping down spending and
keeping up personal savings. It is high time for us American people to learn the basics of long-term
money management. |
| 1. According to the author, what is a main reason for Americans to overspend? |
A. Americans buy a lot of foreign products.
B. It is easy for Americans to manage their debts.
C. Borrowing money has become a simple matter.
D. Americans have more extra money than before. |
| 2. Ford Motor Credit lengthens 45% of its lending to 60 months in order to _________. |
A. help more Americans to settle their debts
B. encourage people to buy foreign cars
C. make better use of its money
D. attract more customers |
| 3. What does the author suggest as a way to deal with over-borrowing? |
A. Teaching people how to manage money.
B. Advising people on what to buy.
C. Limiting the use of credit cards.
D. Reducing average incomes. |
| 4. Which of the following points does the author wish to make? |
A. America should sell more of its products abroad.
B. A healthy society has to learn to live within its means.
C. People"s income determines their money management.
D. Government should prevent people from over-borrowing. |
| 阅读理解。 |
China reported blistering growth for the last three months of 2009 ,raising expectations of interest rate
increases and other measures to head off inflation.
China has declared that it is recovering from the global economic crisis.
Ma Jiantang, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, said Thursday the country"s economy grew by
10.7 percent in the last three months of 2009.
Ma says China has managed to quickly hold back what he described as "the sliding of the national
economy". He says China has become the first country, on the whole, to achieve economic recovery and
stabilization.
According to previous estimates, Ma says China"s gross domestic product for 2009 rose 8.7 percent,
to nearly five trillion dollars.
This goes beyond the official growth rate target of eight percent. The government has long considered
eight percent growth essential to create enough jobs for the country"s more than one billion people.
At the same time, Ma says some problems and contradictions are natural.
Ma says the Chinese government will give more priority to restructuring economic and improving
peoples" livelihood.
To reduce the effects of the global economic crisis that began in 2008 ,China loosened lending
practices, cut interest rates and began massive spending programs. But the government wants to make
sure those measures do not contribute to inflation, which can be politically sensitive in a country where
hundreds of millions of people remain poor.
Beijing resident Ms Wang says she is worried. She says she thinks prices are rising really fast. She
points to the price of cabbage, which has increased more than 10 times in the past year.
The head of the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission, this week said the government will step up
monitoring of banks and rein in lending to prevent speculative bubbles (投机泡沫) in real estate ( 房地
产) and other assets.
The World Bank on Thursday released a report that predicts China"s economy will grow by nine
percent this year. This contrasts with forecasts of 2.5 percent growth rate for the United States and one
percent growth for European economies in , because of weaknesses remaining from the global financial
crisis. |
| 1.What does the underlined phrase in the first paragraph mean? |
A. Prevent.
B. Begin.
C. Continue.
D. Reduce. |
| 2. How many measures did China take to reduce the sliding of the national economy? |
A. 2.
B. 3.
C. 4.
D. 5. |
| 3.The global economy in will ________. |
A. increase more quickly than in 2009
B. recover immediately if proper measures are taken
C. remain weak as a result of the global financial crisis
D. remain the same standard as that in 2009 |
| 4.The passage is mainly about ________. |
A. jobs created for more than one billion people
B. lending practices loosened in China in the new year
C. rapid growth of Chinese economy in last months of 2009
D. fast growth in economy leading to inflation |
| 阅读理解。 |
The first-ever meeting of G-20 foreign ministers will discuss pressing global issues including
governance, trans-national crime, green growth, climate change and food security, US officials have
said.
Organised by Mexican Foreign Minister, Ms Patricia Espinosa, in the Mexican resort town of Los
Cabos, the meeting is to be attended by among others, the US Secretary of State, Ms Hillary Clinton,
German Foreign Minister, Mr Guido Westerwelle, and European Union foreign policy chief, Ms
Catherine Ashton.
Several other G-20 countries including France, China, Brazil and India will be represented at a lower
level. Mexico is the current chair of the G-20 countries and the meeting will be hosted on June 18-19.
A senior state department official said that the meeting is informal so it will not result in any formal
statements.
"This meeting reflects, in many ways, the evolution of the G-20 since the first summit (峰会) of
Washington in the fall of 2008, which was designed to deal with the global financial crisis," the official
said.
"This is going to focus on broad non-financial global issues, some of which have been discussed by
G-20 leaders in the past, but some of which are new to the G-20 process or at least have not been
emphasized to any great degree, including some broad economic governance issues, some
environmental issues, development policy, and green growth," the official said.
During her meetings, Ms Clinton will be emphasizing some themes that are included in the broad
G-20 rights. Although, she will not be going to get into the details of the G-20 financial part of the
process, she will call for an open, free, transparent, and fair global economic system.
Ms Clinton will address things like anti-competitive government practices or interference, which
include the ways in which governments artificially distort (歪曲) markets or create uneven economic
playing fields, the official said.
Among other things, she will also highlight issues like climate change, freedom of navigation and
shipping and sailing security to promote a well-functioning global economy; besides governance issues
like fight against corruption. |
| 1. The passage mainly tells us about _____. |
A. some pressing global issues
B. issues to be talked about by Ms Clinton
C. the possible results of the meeting
D. the meeting of G-20 foreign ministers to be held in June |
| 2. Which will not be discussed at the meeting? |
A. The evolution of G-20.
B. Issues discussed by G-20 leaders in the past.
C. Environmental issues.
D. Green growth. |
| 3. The aim of the first summit of Washington was to _____. |
A. settle the global financial crisis
B. deal with economic governance issues
C. increase the evolution of G-20
D. promote fair global economic system |
| 4. We can infer from the fifth and the sixth paragraphs that G-20 _____. |
A. hasn"t changed through these years
B. is currently concerned with more than financial issues
C. holds a meeting every year
D. never discusses old issues |
| 5. Ms Clinton will do the following except _____. |
A. call for an open, free, and fair global economic system
B. talk about some details of the G-20 financial part of the process
C. highlight issues of climate change
D. call on G-20 to fight against corruption and bribery |
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