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考研真题历年英语二阅读1
Text 4
Many people talked of the 288,000 new jobs the Labor Department reporled for Jure, along with the drop in the unemployment take to 6 J percent. at good news. And they were right. For now it appears the economy is creating jobs at a decent pace. We still have a long way to go to get back to full employment, but at least we are now finally moving forward at a faster pace.
However there is another important part of the jobs picture that was targely ovedookcd. There was a big jump in the number of people who report voluntarily working part-time. This figure is now 830,000(4,4 percent)above its year ago level.
Before explaining the connection to the Obamacare, it is worth making an important distinction. Many people who work part-time jobs actually want full-time jobs. They take part-time work because this is all they can get. An increase in involuntary part-time work is evidence of weakness in the labor market and it means that many people will be having a very hard time making ends meet.
There was an increase in involuntary part-time in June, but the general direction has been down. Involuntary part-time employment is still far higher than before the recession, but it is down by 640,000(7.9 percent)from its year ago level.
We know the difference between voluntary and involuntary part-time employment because people tell us. The survey used by the Labor Department asks people if they worked less than 35 hours in the reference week. If the answer is "yes."they are classified as working part-time. The survey then asks whether they worked less than 35 hours in that week because they wanted to work less than full time or because they had no choice. They are only elassified as voluntary part-time workers if they tell the survey taker they chose to work less than 35 hours a week.
The issue of voluntary part-time relates to Obamacare becanse one of the main purposes was to allow people to get insurance outside of employment. For many people, especially those with serious health conditions or family members with serious health conditions, before Obamacare the only way to get insurance was through a job that provided health insurance.
However, Obamacare has allowed more than 12 million people to either get insurance through Medicaid or the exchanges. These are people who may previously have felt the need to get a full-time job that provided insurance in order to cover themselves and their families. With Obamacare there is no longer a link between employment and insurance.
36. Which part of the jobs picture was neglected?
A. The prospect of a thriving job market.
B. The increase of voluntary part-time jobs.
C. The possibility of full employment.
D. The acceleration of job creation.
37. Many people work part-time because they
A. prefer part-time jobs to full-time jobs
B. feel that is enough to make ends meet
C. cannot get their hands on full-time jobs
D. haven' t seen the weakness of the market
38. Involuntary part-time employment in the US
A. is harder to acquire than one year ago
B. shows a general tendency of decline
C. satisfies the real need of the jobless
D. is lower than before the recession
39. It can be learned that with Obamacare, .
A. it is no longer easy for part-timers to get insurance
B. employment is no longer a precondition to get insurance
C. it is still challenging to get insurance for family members
D. full-time employment is still essential for insurance
40. The text mainly discusses.
A. employment in the US
B. part-timer classification
C. insurance through Medicaid
D. Obamacare's trouble
考研真题历年英语二阅读2
Text 4
When the government talks about infrastructure contributing to the economy the focus is usually on roads, railways, broadband and energy. Housing is seldom mentioned.
Why is that? To some extent the housing sector must shoulder the blame. We have not been good at communicating the real value that housing can contribute to economic growth. Then there is the scale of the typical housing project. It is hard to shove for attention among multibillion-pound infrastructure project, so it is inevitable that the attention is focused elsewhere. But perhaps the most significant reason is that the issue has always been so politically charged.
Nevertheless, the affordable housing situation is desperate. Waiting lists increase all the time and we are simply not building enough new homes.
The comprehensive spending review offers an opportunity for the government to help rectify this. It needs to put historical prejudices to one side and take some steps to address our urgent housing need.
There are some indications that it is preparing to do just that. The communities minister, Don Foster, has hinted that George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, may introduce more flexibility to the current cap on the amount that local authorities can borrow against their housing stock debt. Evidence shows that 60,000 extra new homes could be built over the next five years if the cap were lifted, increasing GDP by 0.6%.
Ministers should also look at creating greater certainty in the rental environment, which would have a significant impact on the ability of registered providers to fund new developments from revenues.
But it is not just down to the government. While these measures would be welcome in the short term, we must face up to the fact that the existing ?4.5bn programme of grants to fund new affordable housing, set to expire in 2015,is unlikely to be extended beyond then. The Labour party has recently announced that it will retain a large part of the coalition’s spending plans if returns to power. The housing sector needs to accept that we are very unlikely to ever return to era of large-scale public grants. We need to adjust to this changing climate.
36. The author believes that the housing sector__
[A] has attracted much attention
[B] involves certain political factors
[C] shoulders too much responsibility
[D] has lost its real value in economy
37. It can be learned that affordable housing has__
[A] increased its home supply
[B] offered spending opportunities
[C] suffered government biases
[D] disappointed the government
38. According to Paragraph 5,George Osborne may_______.
[A] allow greater government debt for housing
[B] stop local authorities from building homes
[C] prepare to reduce housing stock debt
[D] release a lifted GDP growth forecast
39.It can be inferred that a stable rental environment would_______.
[A]lower the costs of registered providers
[B]lessen the impact of government interference
[C]contribute to funding new developments
[D]relieve the ministers of responsibilities
40.The author believes that after 2015,the government may______.
[A]implement more policies to support housing
[B]review the need for large-scale public grants
[C]renew the affordable housing grants programme
[D]stop generous funding to the housing sector
考研真题历年英语二阅读3
Text 4
Europe is not a gender-equality heaven.In particular, the corporate workplace will never be completely family—friendly until women are part of senior management decisions,and Europe,s top corporate-governance positions remain overwhelmingly male .indeed,women hold only 14 percent of positions on Europe corporate boards.
The Europe Union is now considering legislation to compel corporate boards to maintain a certain proportion of women-up to 60 percent.This proposed mandate was born of frustration. Last year, Europe Commission Vice President Viviane Reding issued a call to voluntary action. Reding invited corporations to sign up for gender balance goal of 40 percent female board membership. But her appeal was considered a failure: only 24 companies took it up.
Do we need quotas to ensure that women can continue to climb the corporate Ladder fairy as they balance work and family?
“Personally, I don’t like quotas,” Reding said recently. “But i like what the quotas do.” Quotas get action: they “open the way to equality and they break through the glass ceiling,” according to Reding, a result seen in France and other countries with legally binding provisions on placing women in top business positions.
I understand Reding’s reluctance-and her frustration. I don’t like quotas either; they run counter to my belief in meritocracy, government by the capable. Bur, when one considers the obstacles to achieving the meritocratic ideal, it does look as if a fairer world must be temporarily ordered.
After all, four decades of evidence has now shown that corporations in Europe as the US are evading the meritocratic hiring and promotion of women to top position— no matter how much “soft pressure ” is put upon them. When women do break through to the summit of corporate power--as, for example, Sheryl Sandberg recently did at Facebook—they attract massive attention precisely because they remain the exception to the rule.
If appropriate pubic policies were in place to help all women---whether CEOs or their children’s caregivers--and all families, Sandberg would be no more newsworthy than any other highly capable person living in a more just society.
36. In the European corporate workplace, generally_____.
[A] women take the lead
[B] men have the final say
[C] corporate governance is overwhelmed
[D] senior management is family-friendly
37. The European Union’s intended legislation is ________.
[A] a reflection of gender balance
[B] a reluctant choice
[C] a response to Reding’s call
[D] a voluntary action
38. According ti Reding, quotas may help women ______.
[A] get top business positions
[B] see through the glass ceiling
[C] balance work and family
[D] anticipate legal results
39. The author’s attitude toward Reding’s appeal is one of _________.
[A] skepticism
[B] objectiveness
[C] indifference
[D] approval
40. Women entering top management become headlines due to the lack of ______.
[A] more social justice
[B] massive media attention
[C] suitable public policies
[D] greater “soft pressure”
考研真题历年英语二阅读4
Text 4
It‘s no surprise that Jennifer Senior’s insightful， provocative magazine cover story， “I love My Children， I Hate My Life，” is arousing much chatter – nothing gets people talking like the suggestion that child rearing is anything less than a completely fulfilling， life-enriching experience. Rather than concluding that children make parents either happy or miserable， Senior suggests we need to redefine happiness： instead of thinking of it as something that can be measured by moment-to-moment joy， we should consider being happy as a past-tense condition. Even though the day-to-day experience of raising kids can be soul-crushingly hard， Senior writes that “the very things that in the moment dampen our moods can later be sources of intense gratification and delight.”
The magazine cover showing an attractive mother holding a cute baby is hardly the only Madonna-and-child image on newsstands this week. There are also stories about newly adoptive – and newly single – mom Sandra Bullock， as well as the usual “Jennifer Aniston is pregnant” news. Practically every week features at least one celebrity mom， or mom-to-be， smiling on the newsstands.
In a society that so persistently celebrates procreation， is it any wonder that admitting you regret having children is equivalent to admitting you support kitten-killing ? It doesn‘t seem quite fair， then， to compare the regrets of parents to the regrets of the children. Unhappy parents rarely are provoked to wonder if they shouldn’t have had kids， but unhappy childless folks are bothered with the message that children are the single most important thing in the world： obviously their misery must be a direct result of the gaping baby-size holes in their lives.
Of course， the image of parenthood that celebrity magazines like Us Weekly and People present is hugely unrealistic， especially when the parents are single mothers like Bullock. According to several studies concluding that parents are less happy than childless couples， single parents are the least happy of all. No shock there， considering how much work it is to raise a kid without a partner to lean on; yet to hear Sandra and Britney tell it， raising a kid on their “own” (read： with round-the-clock help) is a piece of cake.
It‘s hard to imagine that many people are dumb enough to want children just because Reese and Angelina make it look so glamorous： most adults understand that a baby is not a haircut. But it’s interesting to wonder if the images we see every week of stress-free， happiness-enhancing parenthood aren‘t in some small， subconscious way contributing to our own dissatisfactions with the actual experience， in the same way that a small part of us hoped getting “ the Rachel” might make us look just a little bit like Jennifer Aniston.
36.Jennifer Senior suggests in her article that raising a child can bring
[A]temporary delight
[B]enjoyment in progress
[C]happiness in retrospect
[D]lasting reward
37.We learn from Paragraph 2 that
[A]celebrity moms are a permanent source for gossip.
[B]single mothers with babies deserve greater attention.
[C]news about pregnant celebrities is entertaining.
[D]having children is highly valued by the public.
38.It is suggested in Paragraph 3 that childless folks
[A]are constantly exposed to criticism.
[B]are largely ignored by the media.
[C]fail to fulfill their social responsibilities.
[D]are less likely to be satisfied with their life.
39.According to Paragraph 4， the message conveyed by celebrity magazines is
[A]soothing.
[B]ambiguous.
[C]compensatory.
[D]misleading.
40.Which of the following can be inferred from the last paragraph?
[A]Having children contributes little to the glamour of celebrity moms.
[B]Celebrity moms have influenced our attitude towards child rearing.
[C]Having children intensifies our dissatisfaction with life.
[D]We sometimes neglect the happiness from child rearing.
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