Almost a decade ago, the federal government dropped $10 million for an Earth-monitoring satellite that never made it into space. Today it sits in a closet in Maryland. Cost to taxpayers for storing it: $1 million a year. And that's just what's hiding in one closet. Who knows what's in the rest of them?
Because we think the government should be held to at least the same standards as a publicly traded company, and because as taxpayers, we're America's shareholders, we performed an audit （财务检查）of sorts of the federal books. We're not economists, but we do have common sense. We tried to get help from Congressional staffers from both parties, as well as various watchdog groups and agencies. In the end, we found that the federal government wastes nearly $1 trillion every year.
That's roughly equal to the amount collected annually by the Internal Revenue Service in personal income taxes. Put another way, it's also equal to about one-third of the country's $2.9 trillion total annual budget. And reclaiming that lost trillion could help wipe out the country's annual budget deficit（赤字）, improve education, and provide health insurance for those who don't have it.
So how do you define "waste"? David Walker of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a federal watchdog agency, calls it "the government's failure to give taxpayers the most for their money." For our part, we used the kind of household test you would use on a piece of meat sitting in your refrigerator: If it smells rotten, it's waste. Our government regularly pays for products and services it never gets, wildly overpays companies to do things it could do more cheaply itself, loses money outright due to lax（不严格的）accounting and oversight, and spends money randomly on unnecessary programs.
How exactly does the federal government waste your hard-earned tax dollars? We've identified what we consider ten of the worst ways.
【小题1】The underlined sentence in Paragraph1 really means        .

Almost a decade ago, the federal government dropped $10 million for an Earth-monitoring satellite that never made it into space. Today it sits in a closet in Maryland. Cost to taxpayers for storing it: $1 million a year. And that's just what's hiding in one closet. Who knows what's in the rest of them?

Because we think the government should be held to at least the same standards as a publicly traded company, and because as taxpayers, we're America's shareholders, we performed an audit （财务检查）of sorts of the federal books. We're not economists, but we do have common sense. We tried to get help from Congressional staffers from both parties, as well as various watchdog groups and agencies. In the end, we found that the federal government wastes nearly $1 trillion every year.

That's roughly equal to the amount collected annually by the Internal Revenue Service in personal income taxes. Put another way, it's also equal to about one-third of the country's $2.9 trillion total annual budget. And reclaiming that lost trillion could help wipe out the country's annual budget deficit（赤字）, improve education, and provide health insurance for those who don't have it.

So how do you define "waste"? David Walker of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a federal watchdog agency, calls it "the government's failure to give taxpayers the most for their money." For our part, we used the kind of household test you would use on a piece of meat sitting in your refrigerator: If it smells rotten, it's waste. Our government regularly pays for products and services it never gets, wildly overpays companies to do things it could do more cheaply itself, loses money outright due to lax（不严格的）accounting and oversight, and spends money randomly on unnecessary programs.

How exactly does the federal government waste your hard-earned tax dollars? We've identified what we consider ten of the worst ways.

1.The underlined sentence in Paragraph1 really means         .

A．there are many other closets     B．there are some other satellites

C．there is something else in the closets    D．the waste may be quite amazing

2.Which of the following can best describe the feeling of the author?

    A．Annoyed.       B．Calm.          C．Surprised.     D．Not concerned.

3.Which of the following statements may be right?

    A．The country’s annual budget is usually decided by the public.

    B．The government failed in launching the satellite.

    C．The government is only wasting money in space experiments.

    D．The amount collected annually in personal income taxes is equal to the country’s budget.

4.The best title for the passage would be         .

    A．Protecting Our Rights!          

    B．Our Country Is In Danger!

    C．The Government Is Wasting Our Tax Dollars!

    D．How to Prevent Government from Wasting Money!

5.What might be talked about if the passage is continued?

    A．The government’s taking some steps to stop wasting taxes.

    B．Presenting people’s feelings against the government’s wasting taxes.

    C．Giving suggestion to help the government solve the financial problem.

    D．Listing how the government is wasting taxes.

 As taxpayers, they felt that they could no longer tolerate ___ a say in the government．

       A．not to have        B．not having        C．having not      D．to have not

Tell our story, make your mark
Havering is one of London’s largest towns. It is a place of contrasts, from the shopping and nightlife of Romford to the cultural quarter of Hornchurch; from the industrial Thames riverside in Rainham to the ambitious regeneration(复兴) project in Harold Hill. The London Borough of Havering has a great story to tell, and we’re looking for the right people to tell it.
Campaigns and Marketing Manager
A creative strategist(战略家) is needed to plan and deliver campaigns that change behaviour across the town and form Havering’s reputation beyond its borders.
Media Manager
An experienced professional is required, who fully understands how the news media works and works well under pressure. You will manage a team of three, as well as our media message.
Communications Business Manager
As a senior member of the communications team, you will be part salesperson and part business strategist, with wide-ranging power to increase our commercial potential as much as possible and save taxpayers’ money.
Senior Media Officers
Two experienced persons are needed to turn the stories that we talk about into the stories that everyone is talking about.
Community Newspaper Journalist (12month contract at the beginning)
Our community newspaper, Living, is being expanded as an energetic publication once every two weeks. We need an editor and a journalist or writer who produces brilliant copy, even against the tightest deadlines.
Pay & grading award are yet to be decided for all posts.
Full details are available on our website. For an informal conversation about these positions, please contact Mark Leech, Head of Communications, by calling 01708 434373.
Any disabled applicants, meeting the necessary standards set out in the profile(简介) for a job, will be guaranteed an interview.
Please apply online via the Council's website at www.havering.gov.uk or contact the Recruitment Team at 01708 433039.
Closing date for completed applications is Friday, 18th April 2008.
Interviews will be scheduled for the week beginning 28th April 2008.
【小题1】Havering is in need of high-level personnel ________.