重庆大学考博英语.docx

重庆大学考博英语.docx

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重庆大学考博英语

重庆大学考博英语

2011年GMAT考试阅读材料5（附答案）

Howmanyreallysufferasaresultoflabormarketproblems?

Thisisoneofthemostcriticalyetcontentioussocialpolicyquestions.Inmanyways,oursocialstatisticsexaggeratethedegreeofhardship.Unemploymentdoesnothavethesamedireconsequencestodayasitdidinthe1930’swhenmostoftheunemployedwereprimarybreadwinners,whenincomeandearningswereusuallymuchclosertothemarginofsubsistence,andwhentherewerenocountervailingsocialprogramsforthosefailinginthelabormarket.Increasingaffluence,theriseoffamilieswithmorethanonewageearner,thegrowingpredominanceofsecondaryearnersamongtheunemployed,andimprovedsocialwelfareprotectionhaveunquestionablymitigatedtheconsequencesofjoblessness.Earningsandincomedataalsooverstatethedimensionsofhardship.Amongthemillionswithhourlyearningsatorbelowtheminimumwagelevel,theoverwhelmingmajorityarefrommultiple-earner,relativelyaffluentfamilies.Mostofthosecountedbythepovertystatisticsareelderlyorhandicappedorhavefamilyresponsibilitieswhichkeepthemoutofthelaborforce,sothepovertystatisticsarebynomeansanaccurateindicatoroflabormarketpathologies.

Yettherearealsomanywaysoursocialstatisticsunderestimatethedegreeoflabor-market-relatedhardship.Theunemploymentcountsexcludethemillionsoffullyemployedworkerswhosewagesaresolowthattheirfamiliesremaininpoverty.Lowwagesandrepeatedorprolongedunemploymentfrequentlyinteracttounderminethecapacityforself-support.Sincethenumberexperiencingjoblessnessatsometimeduringtheyearisseveraltimesthenumberunemployedinanymonth,thosewhosufferasaresultofforcedidlenesscanequalorexceedaverageannualunemployment,eventhoughonlyaminorityofthejoblessinanymonthreallysuffer.Foreverypersoncountedinthemonthlyunemploymenttallies,thereisanotherworkingpart-timebecauseoftheinabilitytofindfull-timework,orelseoutsidethelaborforcebutwantingajob.Finally,incometransfersinourcountryhavealwaysfocusedontheelderly,disabled,anddependent,neglectingtheneedsoftheworkingpoor,sothatthedramaticexpansionofcashandin-kindtransfersdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatthosefailinginthelabormarketareadequatelyprotected.

Asaresultofsuchcontradictoryevidence,itisuncertainwhetherthosesufferingseriouslyasaresultoflabormarketproblemsnumberinthehundredsofthousandsorthetensofmillions,and,hence,whetherhighlevelsofjoblessnesscanbetoleratedormustbecounteredbyjobcreationandeconomicstimulus.Thereisonlyoneareaofagreementinthisdebate—thattheexistingpoverty,employment,andearningsstatisticsareinadequateforonetheirprimaryapplications,measuringtheconsequencesoflabormarketproblems.

1.Whichofthefollowingistheprincipaltopicofthepassage?

（A）Whatcauseslabormarketpathologiesthatresultinsuffering

（B）Whyincomemeasuresareimpreciseinmeasuringdegreesofpoverty

（C）Whichofthecurrentlyusedstatisticalproceduresarethebestforestimatingtheincidenceofhardshipthatisduetounemployment

　　（D）Wheretheareasofagreementareamongpoverty,employment,andearningsfigures

　　（E）Howsocialstatisticsgiveanunclearpictureofthedegreeofhardshipcausedbylowwagesandinsufficientemploymentopportunities

2.Theauthoruses“labormarketproblems”inlines1-2torefertowhichofthefollowing?

　　（A）Theoverallcausesofpoverty

　　（B）Deficienciesinthetrainingoftheworkforce

　　（C）Traderelationshipsamongproducersofgoods

　　（D）Shortagesofjobsprovidingadequateincome

　　（E）Strikesandinadequatesuppliesoflabor

　　3.Theauthorcontraststhe1930’swiththepresentinordertoshowthat

　　（A）morepeoplewereunemployedinthe1930’s

　　（B）unemploymentnowhaslesssevereeffects

　　（C）socialprogramsaremoreneedednow

　　（D）therenowisagreaterproportionofelderlyandhandicappedpeopleamongthoseinpoverty

　　（E）povertyhasincreasedsincethe1930’s

　　4.Whichofthefollowingproposalsbestrespondstotheissuesraisedbytheauthor?

　　（A）Innovativeprogramsusingmultipleapproachesshouldbesetuptoreducethelevelofunemployment.

　　（B）Acompromiseshouldbefoundbetweenthepositionsofthosewhoviewjoblessnessasanevilgreaterthaneconomiccontrolandthosewhoholdtheoppositeview.

　　（C）Newstatisticalindicesshouldbedevelopedtomeasurethedegreetowhichunemploymentandinadequatelypaidemploymentcausesuffering.

　　（D）Considerationshouldbegiventothewaysinwhichstatisticscanactaspartialcausesofthephenomenathattheypurporttomeasure.

　　（E）Thelaborforceshouldberestructuredsothatitcorrespondstotherangeofjobvacancies.

5.Theauthor’spurposeincitingthosewhoarerepeatedlyunemployedduringatwelve-monthperiodismostprobablytoshowthat

　　（A）thereareseveralfactorsthatcausethepaymentoflowwagestosomemembersofthelaborforce

　　（B）unemploymentstatisticscanunderestimatethehardshipresultingfromjoblessness

　　（C）recurrentinadequaciesinthelabormarketcanexistandcancausehardshipsforindividualworkers

　　（D）amajorityofthosewhoarejoblessatanyonetimetonotsufferseverehardship

　　（E）therearefewerindividualswhoarewithoutjobsatsometimeduringayearthanwouldbeexpectedonthebasisofmonthlyunemploymentfigures　

6.Theauthorstatesthatthemitigatingeffectofsocialprogramsinvolvingincometransfersontheincomeleveloflow-incomepeopleisoftennotfeltby

　　（A）theemployedpoor

　　（B）dependentchildreninsingle-earnerfamilies

　　（C）workerswhobecomedisabled

　　（D）retiredworkers

　　（E）full-timeworkerswhobecomeunemployed

7.Accordingtothepassage,onefactorthatcausesunemploymentandearningsfigurestooverpredicttheamountofeconomichardshipisthe

　　（A）recurrenceofperiodsofunemploymentforagroupoflow-wageworkers

　　（B）possibilitythatearningsmaybereceivedfrommorethanonejobperworker

　　（C）factthatunemploymentcountsdonotincludethosewhoworkforlowwagesandremainpoor

　　（D）establishmentofasystemofrecord-keepingthatmakesitpossibletocompilepovertystatistics

　　（E）prevalence,amonglow-wageworkersandtheunemployed,ofmembersoffamiliesinwhichothersareemployed

8.Theconclusionstatedinlines33-39aboutthenumberofpeoplewhosufferasaresultofforcedidlenessdependsprimarilyonthepointthat

　　（A）intimesofhighunemployment,therearesomepeoplewhodonotremainunemployedforlong

　　（B）thecapacityforself-supportdependsonreceivingmoderate-to-highwages

　　（C）thoseinforcedidlenessinclude,besidestheunemployed,bothunderemployedpart-timeworkersandthosenotactivelyseekingwork

　　（D）atdifferenttimesduringtheyear,differentpeopleareunemployed

　　（E）manyofthosewhoareaffectedbyunemploymentaredependentsofunemployedworkers

　　9.Whichofthefollowing,iftrue,isthebestcriticismoftheauthor’sargumentconcerningwhypovertystatisticscannotproperlybeusedtoshowtheeffectsofproblemsinthelabormarket?

　　（A）Ashort-termincreaseinthenumberofthoseinpovertycanindicateashortageofjobsbecausethebasicnumberofthoseunabletoacceptemploymentremainsapproximatelyconstant.

　　（B）Forthosewhoareinpovertyasaresultofjoblessness,therearesocialprogramsavailablethatprovideaminimumstandardofliving.

　　（C）Povertystatisticsdonotconsistentlyagreewithearningsstatistics,wheneachistakenasameasureofhardshipresultingfromunemployment.

　　（D）Theelderlyandhandicappedcategoriesincludemanywhopreviouslywereemployedinthelabormarket.

　　（E）Sincethelabormarketisglobalinnature,poorworkersinonecountryarecompetingwithpoorworkersinanotherwithrespecttothelevelofwagesandtheexistenceofjobs.

　　参考答案：

EDBCBADEA

Modernmanufacturers,whoneedreliablesourcesofmaterialsandtechnologicallyadvancedcomponentstooperateprofitably,faceanincreasinglydifficultchoicebetweenowningtheproducersoftheseitems（apracticeknownasbackwardintegration）andbuyingfromindependentproducers.Manufacturerswhointegratemayreapshort-termrewards,buttheyoftenrestricttheirfuturecapacityforinnovativeproductdevelopment.

Backwardintegrationremovestheneedforsomepurchasingandmarketingfunctions,centralizersoverhead,andpermitsmanufacturerstoeliminateduplicatedeffortsinresearchanddevelopment.Wherecomponentsarecommodities（ferrousmetalsorpetroleum,forexample）,backwardintegrationalmostcertainlyboostsprofits.Nevertheless,becauseproductinnovationmeansadoptingthemosttechnologicallyadvancedandcost-effectivewaysofmakingcomponents,backwardintegrationmayentailaseriousriskforatechnologicallyactivecompany-forexample,aproducerofsophisticatedconsumerelectronics.

Acompanythatdecidestomakeratherthanbuyimportantpartscanlockitselfintoanoutdatedtechnology.Independentsuppliersmaybeunwillingtoshareinnovationswithassemblerswithwhomtheyarecompeting.Moreover,whenanassemblersetsouttomasterthetechnologyofproducingadvancedcomponents,theresultingdemandsonitsresourcesmaycompromiseitsabilitytoassemblethesecomponentssuccessfullyintoendproducts.Long-termcontractswithsupplierscanachievemanyofthesamecostbenefitsasbackwardintegrationwithoutcompromisingacompany’sabilitytoinnovate.

However,movingawayfrombackwardintegrationisnotacompletesolutioneither.Developinginnovative