Yet there are also many ways our social statistics underestimate the degree of labor-market-related hardship. The unemployment counts exclude millions of fully employed workers whose wages are so low that their families remain in poverty. Low wages and repeated or prolonged unemployment frequently interact to undermine the capacity for self-support. Since the number experiencing joblessness at some time during the year is Several times the number unemployed in any month, those who suffer as a result of forced idleness can equal or exceed average annual unemployment, even though only a minority of the jobless in any month really suffers. For every person counted in the monthly unemployment tallies, there is another part-time working because of the inability to find fulltime work, or else outside the labor force but wanting a job. Finally, income transfers in our country have always focused on the elderly, disabled, and dependent, neglecting the needs of the working poor, so that the dramatic expansion of cash and in kind transfers does not necessarily mean that those failings in the labor market are adequately protected.
As a result of such contradictory evidence, it is uncertain whether those suffering seriously as a result of labor market problems number in the hundreds of thousands or the tens of millions, and, hence, whether high levels of joblassness can be tolerated or must be countered by job creation and economic stimulus. There is only one area of agreement in this debate—that the existing poverty, employment, and earnings statistics are inadequate for one of their primary applications, measuring the consequences of labor market problems.
Which of the following does "labor market problems" (Line 1, Para. 1) refer to?
A. Shortage of jobs providing adequate income.
B. Deficiencies in the training of the work force.
C. Trade relationships among producers of goods.
D. The overall causes of poverty.
?Read the article below about selling sandwiches.
?Choose the correct word to fill each gap from A, B or C.
?For each question (29-40), mark one letter (A, B or C).
SANDWICH SUCCESS
Britain's sandwich business is expanding fast. Half the population buy sandwiches at least twice (29) week, and they are spending more (30) them. (31)
sandwiches are made at home, while (32) from shops are selling in growing numbers.
One reason is that packaging keeps sandwiches fresh for up to 48 hours, making (33)
possible to mass-produce them centrally and distribute them widely. (34) reason is that petrol stations, wanting to expand the range of (35) they sell, have quickly become major outlets for sandwiches.
The increase in sandwich sales has also been helped by changing social trends. Many people have stopped (36) family meals at home, and (37) choose the time and place to eat. Time has become more important than price, (38) convenience is the most important reason (39) all.
Taken together, these changes are making the sandwich industry (40) into a very valuable business.
(29)
A. the
B. a
C. this
A.We will not have enough food to eat.B.All the oil that drives our cars will be used
A. We will not have enough food to eat.
B. All the oil that drives our cars will be used up.
C. The earth will become too crowded.
D. There will be little water left on Earth.
听力原文: Going online is a favorite recreation for millions of American children. The Internet both entertains mid educates children, however, there are some possible negative consequences for children who access kid-based websites. Advertising on kid-based websites has become both a rapidly growing mariner for consumer companies and a concern for parents. With a click on an icon, children can link to advertisers and be granted tremendous spending power. Children are an important target group for consumer companies. Children under age 12 spent $14 billion, teenagers another $67 billion, and together they influenced $160 billion of their parents' incomes.
Many critics question the appropriateness of targeting children in Internet advertising and press to require that children be treated as a "special case" by advertisers. Because children lack the analytical abilities and judgment of adults, they may be unable to evaluate the accuracy of information they view, or understand that the information they provide to advertisers is really just data collected by an advertiser.
In return, many advertisers argue that we underestimate the levels of media awareness shown by children. By the age of seven or eight most children can recognize an advertisement and know that its purpose is to sell something and are able to make judgments about the products shown in advertisements. However, as marketers, we should be explicit about our purpose when advertising to children on the Internet.
(30)
A. Children are unable to analyze and judge advertisements.
B. Children are unable to give consent since they are too young.
Children often give off information that may be dangerous to them.
D. Children are not ready to evaluate advertisements or information requests.