Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C, D. Mark your choice on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)
Text 1
In order to “change lives for the better” and reduce “dependency,” George Orbome, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the “upfront work search” scheme. Only if the jobless arrive at the jobcentre with a CV register for online job search, and start looking for work will they be eligible for benefit-and then they should report weekly rather than fortnightly. What could be more reasonable?
More apparent reasonableness followed. There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseeker’s allowance. “Those first few days should be spent looking for work, not looking to sign on.” he claimed. “We’re doing these things because we know they help people say off benefits and help those on benefits get into work faster” Help? Really? On first hearing, this was the socially concerned chancellor, trying to change lives for the better, complete with “reforms” to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the newly unemployed to find work, and subsides laziness. What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for “fundamental fairness”-protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.
Losing a job is hurting: you don’t skip down to the jobcentre with a song in your heart, delighted at the prospect of doubling your income from the generous state. It is financially terrifying, psychologically embarrassing and you know that support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. You are now not wanted; you support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. You are now not wanted; you are now excluded from the work environment that offers purpose and structure in your life. Worse, the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and pay the bills has disappeared. Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and the answer is always: a job.
But in Osborneland, your first instinct is to fall into dependency —permanent dependency if you can get it — supported by a state only too ready to indulge your falsehood. It is as though 20 years of ever-tougher reforms of the job search and benefit administration system never happened. The principle of British welfare is no longer that you can insure yourself against the risk of unemployment and receive unconditional payments if the disaster happens. Even the very phrase “jobseeker’s allowance” — invented in 1996 — is about redefining the unemployed as a “jobseeker” who had no mandatory right to a benefit he or she has earned through making national insurance contributions.Instead, the claimant receives a time-limited “allowance,” conditional on actively seeking a job; no entitlement and no insurance, at ?71.70 a week, one of the least generous in the EU.
真題解析：文章概括：政府大臣Grorge Osbome提出了一個(gè)項(xiàng)目幫助失業(yè)的人找工作。
21.George Osborne’s scheme was intended to
[A]provide the unemployed with easier access to benefits.
[B]encourage jobseekers’ active engagement in job seeking.
[C]motivate the unemployed to report voluntarily.
[D]guarantee jobseekers’ legitimate right to benefits.
答案：B 細(xì)節(jié)題。本道題的關(guān)鍵是intended to問的是目的，所以我們也應(yīng)該去尋找體現(xiàn)目的性的詞匯，所以在首段首句看到了in order to ,則后面的內(nèi)容即為本題答案，結(jié)合后面找工作的內(nèi)容則選擇B選項(xiàng)。
22.The phrase “to sign on”(Line 3,Para.2) most probably means
[A]to check on the availability of jobs at the jobcentre.
[B]to accept the government’s restrictions on the allowance.
[C]to register for an allowance from the government.
[D]to attend a governmental job-training program.
答案： C 詞義句意題。先根據(jù)題干定位到第二段第三行，to sign on前面有一個(gè)很明顯的not，則我們可以推知，這一定是前面的反義，我們只要讀懂前面半部分就可以了，前面說應(yīng)該spend looking for work，正好和A選項(xiàng)相符醫(yī)學(xué)全.在.線.提供. payment-defi.com，所以我們只要選擇一個(gè)相反的選項(xiàng)即可，則選擇C選項(xiàng)。
23.What promoted the chancellor to develop his scheme?
[A]A desire to secure a better life for all.
[B]An eagerness to protect the unemployed.
[C]An urge to be generous to the claimants.
[D]A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.
答案:A 細(xì)節(jié)題。本道題的關(guān)鍵是題目中的prompted和chancellor，根據(jù)chancellor能定位到二段第五行，再向下尋找則可發(fā)現(xiàn)motivate和prompt是對(duì)應(yīng)的，所以看本句即可發(fā)現(xiàn)和A選項(xiàng)是對(duì)應(yīng)的。
24.According to Paragraph 3, being unemployed makes one one feel
[A]uneasy.
[B]enraged.
[C]insulted.
[D]guilty.
答案: A 細(xì)節(jié)題。本道題根據(jù)unemployed回到文中定位在第三段的最后一句，沒有感覺相關(guān)內(nèi)容，所以需要向前找答案，再根據(jù)本段第一句話中的losing a job即可判定答案在第二句，因此選擇A選項(xiàng)。另我們會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)BCD三個(gè)選項(xiàng)趨于強(qiáng)烈和負(fù)面，所以，我們選擇A選項(xiàng)。
25.To which of the following would the author most probably agree?
[A]The British welfare system indulges jobseekers’ laziness.
[B]Osborne’s reforms will reduce the risk of unemployment.
[C]The jobseekers’ allowance has met their actual needs.
[D]Unemployment benefits should not be made conditional.
答案:B 細(xì)節(jié)題。本題題根據(jù)選項(xiàng)定位。A選項(xiàng)根據(jù)大寫字母The British welfare system定位到最后一段的第三句，原文是“no longer”，選項(xiàng)與原文反向干擾。B選項(xiàng)根據(jù)Osborne’s reforms
定位到第一段第二句，可以得出該項(xiàng)目可減少失業(yè)危險(xiǎn)，所以B為正確答案。C選項(xiàng)根據(jù)題干“the jobseekers’ allowance”定位到最后一段倒數(shù)第二句，該句提到“no fundamental right”，恰與C選項(xiàng)表意相反，所以C是反向干擾。D選項(xiàng)根據(jù)題干“conditional”定位到最后一段最后一句，其中只提到“conditional on actively seeking a job…”，并沒有要說以后應(yīng)該怎樣，所以屬于無中生有。
Text 2
All around the world, lawyers generate more hostility than the members of any other profession---with the possible exception of journalism. But there are few places where clients have more grounds for complaint than America.
During the decade before the economic crisis, spending on legal services in America grew twice as fast as inflation. The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money, tempting ever more students to pile into law schools. But most law graduates never get a big-firm job. Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare.
There are many reasons for this. One is the excessive costs of a legal education. There is just one path for a lawyer in most American states: a four-year undergraduate degree at one of 200 law schools authorized by the American Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam. This leaves today’s average law-school graduate with $100,000 of debt on top of undergraduate debts. Law-school debt means that they have to work fearsomely hard.
Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their customers. Sensible ideas have been around for a long time, but the state-level bodies that govern the profession have been too conservative to implement them. One idea is to allow people to study law as an undergraduate degree. Another is to let students sit for the bar after only two years of law school. If the bar exam is truly a stern enough test for a would-be lawyer, those who can sit it earlier should be allowed to do so.Students who do not need the extra training could cut their debt mountain by a third.The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure of the business. Except in the District of Columbia, non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm. This keeps fees high and innovation slow. There is pressure for change from within the profession, but opponents of change among the regulators insist that keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure to make money rather than serve clients ethically.
In fact,allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improve services to customers, by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on improving firms’ efficiency. After all, other countries, such as Australia and Britain, have started liberalizing their legal professions. America should follow.
26.a lot of students take up law as their profession due to
[A]the growing demand from clients.
[B]the increasing pressure of inflation.
[C]the prospect of working in big firms.
[D]the attraction of financial rewards.
答案：D。該題是因果細(xì)節(jié)題，考察細(xì)節(jié)。首先，根據(jù)段落定位原則模糊定位，定位到前幾段。其次，再精確定位，題干中有關(guān)鍵詞“students”“l(fā)aw”“profession”，回到原文尋找相關(guān)信息。第一段未發(fā)現(xiàn)相關(guān)信息，然后到第二段看到“The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money, tempting ever more students to pile into law schools.”與題干有重合之處，選項(xiàng)D是該句的同義替換。A、B、C三個(gè)選項(xiàng)根據(jù)原文個(gè)別詞匯“clients”“inflation”“big-firm”等進(jìn)行干擾。注意，第一段的But是個(gè)假轉(zhuǎn)折詞，并非答案處。
27.Which of the following adds to the costs of legal education in most American states?
[A]Higher tuition fees for undergraduate studies.
[B]Admissions approval from the bar association.
[C]Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in another major.
[D]Receiving training by professional associations.
答案：C。該題是細(xì)節(jié)題，考察細(xì)節(jié)。首先根據(jù)段落定位原則定位到第三段。其次，根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞“the costs of legal education”精確定位到第三段第二句話“One is the excessive costs of a legal education.”問題是“which of the following adds to the costs of legal education”，因此定位句的下一句就是答案，即“There is just one path for a lawyer in most American states: a four-year undergraduate degree in some unrelated subject, then a three-year law degree at one of 200 law schools accredited by the American Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam.”分析選項(xiàng)可知，選項(xiàng)C恰當(dāng)概況了該句子的涵義。A選項(xiàng)利用三段末尾的“This leaves today’s average law-school graduate with $100,000 of debt on top of undergraduate debts.”進(jìn)行干擾。B選項(xiàng)無中生有。D選項(xiàng)根據(jù)四段最后一句出現(xiàn)的“training”個(gè)別詞匯進(jìn)行干擾。
28.Hindrance to the reform of the legal system originates from
[A]lawyers’ and clients’ strong resistance.
[B]the rigid bodies governing the profession.
[C]the stem exam for would-be lawyers.
[D]non-professionals’ sharp criticism.
答案：B。該題是原因細(xì)節(jié)題，問來源。首先段落定位原則定位到第四段。其次，根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞“the reform of the legal system”定位到第二句“Sensible ideas have been around for a long time, but the state-level bodies that govern the profession have been too conservative to implement them.”選項(xiàng)B即為該句的同義替換。
29.The guild-like ownership structure is considered “restrictive” partly because it
[A]bans outsiders’ involvement in the profession.
[B]keeps lawyers from holding law-firm shares.
[C]aggravates the ethical situation in the trade.
[D]prevents lawyers from gaining due profits.
答案：A。該題為因果細(xì)節(jié)題，問原因。根據(jù)段落定位原則定位至倒數(shù)第二段。其次，題干中出現(xiàn)“the guild-like ownership structure”，精確定位到第二句“Except in the District of Columbia, non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm. This keeps fees high and innovation slow.”此外，在該段最后一句提到“…keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure to make money rather than serve clients ethically.”從而可以得出答案選A。
30.In this text, the author mainly discusses
[A]flawed ownership of America’s law firms and its causes.
[B]the factors that help make a successful lawyer in America.
[C]a problem in America’s legal profession and solutions to it.
[D]the role of undergraduate studies in America’s legal education.
答案：C。該題為文章主旨題，考察文章中心。該篇文章屬于問題解決型文章，前5段均在說美國(guó)法律職業(yè)存在的問題，最后一段提出了解決措施“allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improve services to customers, by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on improving firms’ efficiency.”。因此，該篇屬于問題解決型文章，選C。其他幾個(gè)選項(xiàng)均為文中的個(gè)別細(xì)節(jié)，以偏概全。
