Australia warns on migrant cuts

Australia may cut the number of immigrants who are allowed into the country if the global financial crisis raises unemployment levels.

Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans said a decision on reducing numbers would be taken after mid-year financial data is published next month.

Around 190, 300 immigrants are forecast to arrive in Australia in 2008/09. Earlier this month, a British minister said the country could reduce migrant flows due to the economic crisis. Mr Evans said the country's current migrant programme, which is aimed at skilled workers, was designed when Australia was forecasting good economic growth and a skills shortage.

"The government will take a calm look at those issues and make a decision when we have got proper information," he told Nine Network television.

"Clearly if the demand for labour comes off, you'd adjust the migration programme appropriately," he said. "We can turn the taps off if we need to. " Mr Evans said that any decision on cutting migrant flows was complex, considering their contribution to the country's economy. "We know that they consume, they buy property, and they're a net positive to the budget, " he said. "And a lot of the skills that are coming in at the moment are in the mining sector, which has allowed us to increase our exports. "

He said there were still industries which had a "strong demand" for labour and the government would analyse the economic situation and consult industry before deciding on what to do.

1.

 Which of the following can we know from this passage?

   A. Australia may decide to increase the number of migrants.

   B. Britain has decided to reduce the number of migrants.

   C. Australia has decided to increase the number of migrants.

   D. Britain has decided to increase the number of migrants.

2. Australia may cut off the number of migrants mainly because ______ .

   A. Britain has decided to reduce the number of migrants

   B. it is forecast Australian will have good economic growth

   C. Australia has no demand for skilled workers in mining

   D. the global economic crisis is getting worse and worse

3. What does Mr Evans imply by saying the underlined sentence?

   A. It is necessary for the country to cut off the number of migrants.

   B. Citizens should turn off the taps when they don’t use the water.

   C. Britain shouldn’t have reduced the number of migrants.

   D. Increasing migrants to the country will consume more water.

4. From the passage, what does Mr Evans think of migrants’ contributions to Australia’s economy?

   A. Negative            B. Doubtful      C. Positive        D. Critical

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They had to move back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
【小题1】Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

A.want others to know or to think that they are rich
B.want to be as rich as their neighbours
C.don’t want others to know they are rich
D.want to be happy
【小题2】It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.
A.live in New York City B.live outside New York City
C.live in apartmentsD.live with many neighbours
【小题3】What’s the author’s attitude to keeping up with the Joneses?
A.Supportive.B.Objective.C.Negative.D.Positive.

A

On the first day of the 11th grade, our new math teacher Mr Washington asked me to go to the blackboard to do a math problem. I told him that I couldn’t do it. He asked, “Why not?” I paused, and then I said, “Because I’m educable mentally retarded (可教育智能迟滞).”

He came from behind his desk and looked at me. “Don’t ever say that again. Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality,” he said.

It was a very special moment for me. Doctors said that I was educable mentally retarded in the fifth grade, and I was put back into the fourth grade. When I was in the eighth grade, I failed again.

But Mr Washington changed my life. This person always gave students the feeling that he had high expectations of them, and then all of the students did their best to live up to what those expectations were. He often said, “You have greatness within you.”

One day, I caught up with him in the parking place and said, “Mr Washington, is there greatness within me, sir?”

He said, “Yes, Mr Brown.”

“But what about the fact that I failed English, math, and history? What about that, sir? I’m slower than most kids.”

“It doesn’t matter. It just means that you have to work harder. Your grades don’t determine who you are or what you can produce in your life.”

“I want to buy my mother a house.”

“It is possible, Mr Brown. You can do that.” And he turned to walk away.

“Mr Washington?”

“What do you want now?”

“Uh, I’m the one, sir. One day you’re going to hear my name. I’m the one, sir.”

School was a real struggle for me. Mr Washington put many demands on me. He made me believe that I could do it. At the end of that year, I was on the honor roll for the first time in my life.

Years later, I produced five programs on public television. When one of my programs was shown on the educational television channel, I had some friends call him. I was sitting by the phone waiting when he called me. He said, “May I speak to Mr Brown, please?”

“Oh, Mr Washington, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me. You were the one, weren’t you?”

“Yes, sir, I was.”

1.What does Mr Washington mean by saying “Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality”?

A.You needn’t have the same opinion as others.

B.You should believe what other people say.

C.What other people say about you may not be correct.

D.The doctor made a mistake.

2. What happened to the author at last?

A.He entered a good university.              B.He earned much honor.

C.He got a good job.                       D.He made television programs.

3. In the passage, the author implies that _________.

A.people shouldn’t believe what doctors say

B.no one can be successful with hard work and confidence

C.no one is really educable mentally retarded

D.a good teacher can change a student’s life

4.The best title for the passage would be “__________”.

A.Don’t believe others                   B.I am the one

C.My best teacher                        D.I succeeded at last

 

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