Question

In cities with rent control, the city government sets the maximum rent that a landlord  can charge for an apartment. The 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 rent-controlled. 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, the 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.

The 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.

71．This passage shows that setting maximum rent may ________.

A. encourage the construction of more apartments

B. reduce the shortage of apartments

C. discourage the renting of apartments as homes

D. result in a shortage of apartments

72．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

73．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

74．The passage is mainly about economists disagreement on ________.

A. the possible results of government controls

B. the urgency of getting rid of government controls

C. the relationship between supply and demand

D. the effectiveness of government controls

75．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

Answer 1

书面表达

One possible version:

    With the improvement of living conditions, the number of private cars is increasing rapidly ．But this brings about a lot of problems．One of the problems is that more and more cars running in streets often result in heavy traffic jams．Besides, as most of the drivers are beginners, traffic accidents happen frequently due to their unskilled driving．What's worse, the larger the number of cars is, the more serious the pollution of the atmosphere will become．Also, more energy are consumed when more cars are used．

    Considering the problems above, I suggest that administrative authorities take some measures．For example, they should have a special sign stuck on a beginner's car and limit its speed．They can even make a policy like "One family, one car．" to slow down the increase of the number of private cars．（120 words）