Question

   The poverty line is the minimum income that people need for an acceptable standard of living. People with incomes below the poverty line are considered poor. Economists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.

   As the general standard of living in the country rises,the poverty line does,too. There?fore,even with today's relatively high standard of living, about 10 percent of the people in the United States are below the poverty line. However, if these people had stable jobs,they could have an acceptable standard of living. Economists suggest several reasons why poor people do not have jobs.

   For one thing，more than half of the poor people in the United States are not qualified to work. Over 40 percent of the poor people are children. By law,children less than 16 years old cannot work in many industries. A large number of poor people are old. Many companies do not hire people over 65 years old,the normal retirement age.

   Some poor adults do not look for jobs for a variety of personal reasons：they are sick，they do not have any motivation，they have family problems，or they do not believe that they can find a job.

   Other poor people look for a job but cannot find one. Many poor adults never went to high school. Therefore, when they look for jobs, they have few skills that they can offer.

At the present time,the government thinks it can reduce poverty in the country in the fol?lowing ways.

   First, if the national economy grows,businesses and industries hire more workers. Some of the poor who are qualified to look for jobs may find employment. Then they will no longer be below the poverty line.

Second, if society invests in the poor,the poor will become more productive. If the gov?eminent spends money on social programs，education，and training for poor people，the poor will have the skills to offer. Then it is more likely that they can find jobs.

   Finally, if the government distributes society's income differently, it raises some poor people above the poverty line. The government collects taxes from the non-poor and gives money to the poor. These payments to the poor are called welfare. In 1975 over 18 million people in the United States received welfare.

  Some economists are looking for better solutions to the poverty problem. However, at the present time,many people depend on welfare for a minimally acceptable standard of living. 

(       ) 1.The author's main purpose to write this article is        .

   A.to define what the poverty line is

   B.to explain why some people live below the poverty line

   C.to find solutions to the problem of poverty

   D.to show sympathy for those poor people 

(   ) 2. Which of the following is NOT true?

   A.Ten percent of the Americans live a poor life.

   B.Poor people are those who live below the poverty line.

   C.The poverty line rises as the general standard of living rises.

   D.The poverty line tends to be at the same level.

(   ) 3. More than 40 percent of the poor people are children. This is mainly because        .

   A.they do not have enough motivation

   B.they are so young that they don't have the right to work

   C.they fail to get enough education

   D.they are very poor in health

(   ) 4. Most of the American poor people are not qualified for employment because        .

   A.they do not have any motivation to work

   B.they are not self-confident enough

   C.they are too young or too old to work

  D.they have physical and family problems

(   ) 5. We may conclude from the passage that        .

   A.better solutions to the poverty problem are not yet found

   B.welfare will enable them to be rich

   C.poor people are sure to go out of the poverty line if they have chances to do busi?ness

   D.employment is the best solution to the poverty problem

Answer 1

1 ~ 5 CDBCA     

A篇介绍了美国处于贫困线以下的人的情况，并且分析了这些人贫困的原因，还提出了解决贫困问题的办法。

1. C意图揣摩题。主题句位于第一段(Econo?mists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.) 。文章首先提出主题，然后围绕它作了阐述,介绍了美国贫穷人口的一些基本情况:贫困人口的特点，原因等，最后重点讲述了政府目前打算解决贫困问题的一些想法，最后又再次强调经济学家正在努力寻求更好的解决方案。所以C项正确。其他各项均不能概括全文。

2. D事实判断题。由第二段第一句As the general standard of living in the country rises,the poverty does,too可知，随着一个国家人民生活水平提高，贫困线的标准也在提高。

3.B细节理解题。由文章第三段中的By law,children less than 16 years old can't work in many Industries.可以看出儿童在贫困人口中占这么大的比例，是因为美国法律没有给他们工作的权利。

4.C细节理解题。由第三段中的Over 40 per?cent of the poor people are children以及A large number of poor people are old可知，美国相当一部分贫困人口没有工作是因为他们非小(不到法定工作年龄) 即老(到了退休年

龄) 。

5.A逻辑判断题。由文章最后一段可知：经济学家正在寻找更好的解决贫困问题的方案，但目前还没找到，绝大部分贫困人口不得不依靠社会福利和低保维持生计。