Is there a nationwide shortage of nurses? It’s hard to say.However, some characteristic symptoms often indicate that there is indeed a shortage.
One symptom is the vacancy rate, or the percentage of budgeted positions that are unfilled.New England’s hospitals currently report that an average of 7 to 12 percent of their registered nurse positions are vacant, the highest level since the last shortage in the late 1980s.Vermont has a relatively low vacancy rate, at 7.8 percent.But its vacancies were at 1.2 percent just five years ago.
Another symptom is the increased use of stopgap measures to fill empty positions.For instance, many nurses report an upswing in how frequently they are asked to stay past their shifts.According to Murphy, working in the St.Elizabeth’s Hospital, “The shortage has definitely created a lot of opportunities of overtime for our nurses, whether they want them or not.” Similarly, a national survey of registered nurses shows that in an average week, nurses in the U.S.work 2.4 more hours than they are scheduled to.Much of this extra time is voluntary, as nurses earn overtime pay when they stay to fill in blanks in the schedule.
When they can’t fill open positions by more traditional means, health care providers hire temporary staff to tide them over.Travelling workers are the largest part of the temporary health care workforce, hired for thirteen-week reduction at health care facilities facing short-term lack of workers.Temporary workers, mainly nurses, cost hospitals $ 7.2 billion in 2000.
“Any successful solution to the shortage depends on convincing more people to become nurses, and that is not an easy goal to reach.To achieve it,” says Buerhaus, “society needs to place more value on nursing.Legislation (法规) can’t do that – it should come from people.” And if this continues, we might have to learn to care for ourse
lves in the hospital.
【小题1】The temporary staff hired by a hospital _______.
| A.cost a large part of the hospital’s budget |
| B.meet the need for nurses in the hospital for a short time |
| C.should work on a weekly basis and on a scheduled timetable[来源:学科网ZXXK] |
| D.ought to work passively for thirty continuous weeks |
| A.To convince people of the benefits of being a nurse. |
| B.To ask the government for help to work out specific legislation. |
| C.To publicize the past achievements of nurses. |
| D.To make people aware of the importance of being a nurse. |
| A.Symptom | B.Decrease | C.Increase | D.Figure |
| A.Worried | B.Indifferent | C.Doubtful | D.Optimistic |
Every year there are hundreds of earthquakes in different parts of the world. In September, 1923, Tokyo and Yokohama were
both destroyed by an earthquake and the fires that followed it. They had to be completely rebuilt. One of the most serious earthquakes was in
China’s Shanxi province in 1556. It killed almost one million people.
We measure an earthquake’s strength on the Richter Scale. The Richter Scale was introduced in 1935 in Southern California in the USA. It measures earthquakes on a scale of one to ten. Any earthquake measuring five or more is usually serious.
The Earth’s crust(地壳) is made up of rock called plates. As these plates move, they sometimes crash against each other, causing the crust to quake. In cities such as Tokyo, where small quakes happen quite often, many modern buildings are designed to be flexible so when the Earth moves, they move with it.
Earthquakes can also break up gas and oil pipes. This can cause fires to break out, which can do as much damage as the earthquake itself.
Another effect of earthquakes is tsunamis. These are huge waves created by earthquakes beneath the sea. They can be many meters high and cause great damage to coastal towns and cities, China, Japan, Russia and the USA have the highest occurrence(发生) of earthquakes in the world.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about .
| A.scientists who study earthquakes | B.the way of measuring earthquakes |
| C.a usual natural disaster | D.what people should do in the earthquake |
| A.happened in 1556 | B.killed one million people |
| C.was the only earthquake in China | D.caused a lot of damage |
| A.don’t cause much damage | B.are not serious |
| C.most possibly happen in Japan | D.happen all over the world |
| A.can cause earthquakes |
| B.are caused by earthquakes |
| C.only happen on land |
| D.are a way of measuring earthquakes |
E
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Every boy and every girl expects their parents to give them more pocket money. Why do their parents just give them a certain amount? 51
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. 52 Some children get weekly pocket money. Others get monthly pocket money.
First of all, children are expected to make a choice between spending and saving. Then parents should make the children understand what is expected to pay for with the money. At first, some young children may spend all of the money soon after they receive it. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until it is the right time. 53
In order to encourage their children to do some housework, some parents give pocket money if the children help around the home. Some experts think it not wise to pay the children for doing that. 54
Pocket money can give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with
themoney. They can spend it by giving it to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. 55 Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice. Saving can also open the door to future saving and investing for children.
| A.They can save it for future use. |
| B.Timing is another consideration. |
| C.As helping at home is a normal part of family life. |
| D.Some children are not good at managing their pocket money. |
F. One main purpose is to let kids learn how to manage their own money.
G. By doing so, these children will learn that spending must be done with a budget(预算).