Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then,when the recovery began,allowing employment to rise.Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret.Ed Miliband,the leader of th

题目
Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then,when the recovery began,allowing employment to rise.Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret.Ed Miliband,the leader of the Labour Party,has promised a crackdown on"zero_hours contracts"if he wins the next election.The government has launched a consultation.Zero-hours contracts allow firms to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need,with no prior notice.In theory,at least,people can refuse work.Fully l.4m jobs were based on these contracts in January 2014,according to a snapshot taken by the Office for National Statistics.That is just 4%of the total,but the share rises to a quarter in the hospitality business.The contracts are useful for firms with erratic pattems of demand,such as hotels and restaurants.They have also helped firms to expand during the recovery-allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanent staff,who would be more costly to make redundant if things went wrong.Flexibility suits some workers,too.According to'one survey,47%of those employed on zero-hours contracts were content to have no minimum contracted hours.Many of these workers are in full-time education.The ability to tum down work is important to students,who want to revise（or sit in the sun）at this time of year.Pensioners keen for a little extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours.Yet that leaves more than a quarter of workers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy with their conditions.Some of this is cyclical.During recessions,a dearth of permanent positions forces people into jobs with no contracted hours even if they do not want them（the govemment has just said that unemployed people who refuse to accept zero-hours contracts could be cut off from benerits）.Underemployment is particularly prevalent among these workers,35%of whom would like more hours compared with 12%in other jobs.As the economy recovers,many should be able to renegotiate their contracts or find permanent jobs.But the recovery will not cause unwanted zero hours contracts to disappear.Some workers will never have much negotiating power:they are constrained by geography,family commitments and lack of competition for their skills among a small number of big employers.Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labour-market power.Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and maternity pay.Workers are penalised for not being available when requested.And some contracts contain exclusivity clauses which prevent workers from taking additionaljobs.These can harm other employers as well as workers,and actually reduce labour market flexibility.That,at least,is worth doing away with.
Which ofthe following is the best title ofthis text?

A.Zero-hours Contract-Lack of Flexibility
B.Zero-hours Contract-an Out-of-date Policy
C.Zero-hours Contract-an Illegal Policy
D.Zero-hours Contract-a Challenging Way Against Permanent Job
相似考题

1.The recession of 2007–2009 is considered to be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and the subsequent economic recovery one of the weakest.()此题为判断题(对，错)。

2.When loading a tanker，you should ______．A.load only one tank at a timeB.keep the seamen on watch on standby in the mess roomC.keep a strain on the loading hosesD.close valves by closing them down，reopening one or two turns，and re-closing

3.请阅读短文，完成此题。 It is frequently assumed that the mechanization of work has a revolutionary effect on the livesof the people who operate the new machines and on the society into which the machines have beenintroduced. For example, it has been suggested that the employment of women in industry takethem out of the. household, their traditional sphere and fundamentally alter their position in society.In the nineteenth century, when women began to enter factories, Jules Simon, a French politician,warned that by doing so, women would give up their femininity. Fredrich Engels, however,predicted that women would be liberated from the"social, legal, and economic subordination" ofthe family by technological developments that made possible the recruitment of "the whole femalesex .., into public industry." Observers thus differed concerning the social desirability ofmechanization's effects, but thev agreed that it would trmsiorm women's lives. Historians, particularly thnse investigating the history of women, now seriously question thisassumption of transforming power. They conclude that such dramatic technological innovations asthe spinning jenny, the sewing tnachine, the typewriter, and the vacuum cleaner have not resultedin equally dramatic social changes in women's economic position or in the prevailing evaluation ofwomen's work. The employment of young women in textile mills during the Industrial Revolutionwas largely and extension of an older pattern of employment for young, single women as domestics.It was not the change in office technology, but rather the separation of secretarial work, previouslyseen as an apprenticeship for beginning managers, from administrative work that in the 1880'screated a new class of "dead end" jobs, thenceforth considered "women's work". The increase inthe numbers of married women enployed outside the home in the twentieth century, had less to dowith the mechanization of housework and an increase in leisure time for these women than it didwith their own economic necessity and with high marriage rates that shrank the available pool ofsingle women worke, previously, in many cases, the only women employers would hire. Women's work has changed considerably in the past 200 years, moving from the household tothe ofiice or the factory, and later becoming mostly white-collar instead of blue-collar work. Fundamentally, however, the conditions under which women work have changed little since the Industrial Revolution: the segregation of occupatious by gender, lower pay for women as a group,jobs that require relatively low levels of skill and offer women little opportunity for advancement all persist, while women's household labour remains demanding. Recent historical investigation has led to a major revision of the notion that lec.hnology is always inherently revolutionary in its effectson society. Mechanization may even have slowed any change in the traditional position of womeu both in the labour market and in the home.The underlined word "innovations" in Para.2 may be replaced by 查看材料A．efficiency B．productivity C．innovations D．transforming

4.in the 1 970s，with the soaring price of oil and high rates of inflation，britain went through a bad period.in 1 979，the labour party had to step down from the government. ()

参考答案和解析
答案：A
解析：
主旨大意题。解决该题目的关键是，通过做完前四道题大体知道文章的中心，再次通读各段首句，验证中心。整个文章都是在围绕着零时工合同的影响来说，在结尾处明确地说明了零时工合同并不灵活，而与这个信息相对应的选项为A项Zero-hours Contract-Lack of Flexibility（零时工合同——缺乏灵活性），所以A项为正确选项。【干扰排除】剩余的选项分别为零时工合同过时、非法、挑战固定工作，这些信息在个别段落虽然有提及，但是不足以说明文章的中心，属于以偏概全，故均可排除。
更多“Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then,when the recovery began,allowing employment to rise.Yet one of its bendier bits is ”相关问题

  • 第1题：

    请阅读短文，完成此题。
    It is frequently assumed that the mechanization of work has a revolutionary effect on the livesof the people who operate the new machines and on the society into which the machines have beenintroduced. For example, it has been suggested that the employment of women in industry takethem out of the. household, their traditional sphere and fundamentally alter their position in society.In the nineteenth century, when women began to enter factories, Jules Simon, a French politician,warned that by doing so, women would give up their femininity. Fredrich Engels, however,predicted that women would be liberated from the"social, legal, and economic subordination" ofthe family by technological developments that made possible the recruitment of "the whole femalesex .., into public industry." Observers thus differed concerning the social desirability ofmechanization's effects, but thev agreed that it would trmsiorm women's lives.
    Historians, particularly thnse investigating the history of women, now seriously question thisassumption of transforming power. They conclude that such dramatic technological innovations asthe spinning jenny, the sewing tnachine, the typewriter, and the vacuum cleaner have not resultedin equally dramatic social changes in women's economic position or in the prevailing evaluation ofwomen's work. The employment of young women in textile mills during the Industrial Revolutionwas largely and extension of an older pattern of employment for young, single women as domestics.It was not the change in office technology, but rather the separation of secretarial work, previouslyseen as an apprenticeship for beginning managers, from administrative work that in the 1880'screated a new class of "dead end" jobs, thenceforth considered "women's work". The increase inthe numbers of married women enployed outside the home in the twentieth century, had less to dowith the mechanization of housework and an increase in leisure time for these women than it didwith their own economic necessity and with high marriage rates that shrank the available pool ofsingle women worke, previously, in many cases, the only women employers would hire.
    Women's work has changed considerably in the past 200 years, moving from the household tothe ofiice or the factory, and later becoming mostly white-collar instead of blue-collar work. Fundamentally, however, the conditions under which women work have changed little since the Industrial Revolution: the segregation of occupatious by gender, lower pay for women as a group,jobs that require relatively low levels of skill and offer women little opportunity for advancement all persist, while women's household labour remains demanding. Recent historical investigation has led to a major revision of the notion that lec.hnology is always inherently revolutionary in its effectson society. Mechanization may even have slowed any change in the traditional position of womeu both in the labour market and in the home.

    Why did the numbers of married women employers increase in the 20th century?
    查看材料

    A．The mechanization of housework.
    B．The married women have much spare time.
    C．The employers don't want to hire the single women.
    D．Because of their own economic uecessity and high marriage rates.

    答案：D
    解析：
    根据题于中的“the numbers ofmarried women employers increase in the 20th century,’可定位至第二段末句“llle increase in the numbers of married women employed outside the home in the twentieth century had less to do with the mechanization of housework and an increase in leisure time for these women than it did with their own economic necessity and with high marriage rates that shrank the available pool of single women workers，previously，in many cases，the only women employers would hire．”由此可知，20世纪已婚妇女职员的增加是因为她们经济上的必需性，以及结婚率的升高。D项符合。

  • 第2题：

    请阅读短文，完成此题。
    It is frequently assumed that the mechanization of work has a revolutionary effect on the livesof the people who operate the new machines and on the society into which the machines have beenintroduced. For example, it has been suggested that the employment of women in industry takethem out of the. household, their traditional sphere and fundamentally alter their position in society.In the nineteenth century, when women began to enter factories, Jules Simon, a French politician,warned that by doing so, women would give up their femininity. Fredrich Engels, however,predicted that women would be liberated from the"social, legal, and economic subordination" ofthe family by technological developments that made possible the recruitment of "the whole femalesex .., into public industry." Observers thus differed concerning the social desirability ofmechanization's effects, but thev agreed that it would trmsiorm women's lives.
    Historians, particularly thnse investigating the history of women, now seriously question thisassumption of transforming power. They conclude that such dramatic technological innovations asthe spinning jenny, the sewing tnachine, the typewriter, and the vacuum cleaner have not resultedin equally dramatic social changes in women's economic position or in the prevailing evaluation ofwomen's work. The employment of young women in textile mills during the Industrial Revolutionwas largely and extension of an older pattern of employment for young, single women as domestics.It was not the change in office technology, but rather the separation of secretarial work, previouslyseen as an apprenticeship for beginning managers, from administrative work that in the 1880'screated a new class of "dead end" jobs, thenceforth considered "women's work". The increase inthe numbers of married women enployed outside the home in the twentieth century, had less to dowith the mechanization of housework and an increase in leisure time for these women than it didwith their own economic necessity and with high marriage rates that shrank the available pool ofsingle women worke, previously, in many cases, the only women employers would hire.
    Women's work has changed considerably in the past 200 years, moving from the household tothe ofiice or the factory, and later becoming mostly white-collar instead of blue-collar work. Fundamentally, however, the conditions under which women work have changed little since the Industrial Revolution: the segregation of occupatious by gender, lower pay for women as a group,jobs that require relatively low levels of skill and offer women little opportunity for advancement all persist, while women's household labour remains demanding. Recent historical investigation has led to a major revision of the notion that lec.hnology is always inherently revolutionary in its effectson society. Mechanization may even have slowed any change in the traditional position of womeu both in the labour market and in the home.

    The best title of the passage may be
    查看材料

    A．The Influence of Mechanization
    B．The Status of Women is Changing
    C．Changes of Women's Work
    D．Are Women and Men Equal

    答案：C
    解析：
    文章开头讲到，工业机械化使妇女从家务这样的传统领域中解脱，即使更多妇女参加工作，进而影响她们的生活和地位，接着文章讲到从工业革命时期到19世纪80年代，到20世纪妇女工作的发展变化，最后讲到，在过去的200年中，妇女的工作有了相当程度的变化，但仍然存在一些问题。综合全文内容可知，本文主要讲述了妇女工作的发展变化。C项符合。

  • 第3题：

    The colourful chalkboards and baskets of fruit that greet customers at the entrances of Whole Foods Market's shops paint a rosy picture.Yet shares in the American seUer of organic and natural food have fallen by more than 40%since hitting a peak last October,in a period when stock markets have been strong.41.It is not that the retailer is in immediate crisis:its latest quarterly figures,on July 30th,showed sales and profits both up a bit.And it is not that people are going off the idea of paying more for food produced without chemical fertilisers,pesticides or additives:the Intemational Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements reckons that the industry's worldwide revenues were a record of 63 biUion in 2012;and Techsci Research,a market-research firm,predicts that the American market for such foods-the world's largest-may grow by 14%by 2018.42.The problem is that at Whole Foods,shoppers have been paying way over the cost of regular produce,and its success in getting them to do so has now attracted a lot of competitors,from rival organics chains like Sprouts and Trader Joe's to mass-market retailers like Walmart and Costco.As a result,the pnce premium for organic produce is crashing down.On a recent shopping trip,a pound of organic apples cost 2.99 at Wbole Foods but just l.99 at Sprouts and even less at Costco.43.The firm has been trimming costs to keep its margins up,but the slump in its share price reflects investors'expectation that this cannot continue,that profits will suffer and that Whole Foods'dominance of the market is coming to an end.44.That the company has had to recall a number of products-in late July it and other grocers recalled plums and peaches suspected of contanunation with Listeria bacteria-has made it harder to maintain an air of superiority over its competitors.Organic foods'claim to superiority is questionable anyway.Both Britain's Food Standards Agency and the Annals of Internal Medicine,a journal,concluded after reviewing the extensive studies on the issue that there is no substantial difference in the nutriliousness of organics and non-organics.In some respects organics may be bad for the environment,because growing them uses land less efficiendy than non-organics.45.As for"natural"foods,there is no official definition of this,in America at least;so the label,which Whole Foods also applies to many products,is close to meaningless.Alan McHughen,a bota-nist at the University of California,Riverside,argues that the whole industry is"99%marketing;and public perception,"reeling people in through a fabricated concept of a time when food,and life in general,was simple and wholesome.If true,the trick has worked nicely for Whole Foods.But its success has attracted so many imitators that it is losing its uniqueness.Even recent speculation about a takeover bid has failed to lift its shares.It may insist its food is sustainable.But it seem8 its prices are not.43选？

    A.Crisis Seems Far
    B.The Firm Is At Risk
    C.More Rivals Join In
    D.Natural Foods Are Unreal

    答案：B
    解析：
    该段首句出现关键词the firm，文中指全食（即天然健康食品）公司；下文trimming costs“削减成本”，slump“下降、衰落”，suffer“遭受”，coming to an end“结束”等词明显体现出负面色彩，因此选择[B]。该项是唯一复现firm的选项，且该项的aI risk为负面词汇，与整段正负方向、感情色彩一致，故本题选择[B]。

  • 第4题：

    Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then,when the recovery began,allowing employment to rise.Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret.Ed Miliband,the leader of the Labour Party,has promised a crackdown on"zero_hours contracts"if he wins the next election.The government has launched a consultation.Zero-hours contracts allow firms to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need,with no prior notice.In theory,at least,people can refuse work.Fully l.4m jobs were based on these contracts in January 2014,according to a snapshot taken by the Office for National Statistics.That is just 4%of the total,but the share rises to a quarter in the hospitality business.The contracts are useful for firms with erratic pattems of demand,such as hotels and restaurants.They have also helped firms to expand during the recovery-allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanent staff,who would be more costly to make redundant if things went wrong.Flexibility suits some workers,too.According to'one survey,47%of those employed on zero-hours contracts were content to have no minimum contracted hours.Many of these workers are in full-time education.The ability to tum down work is important to students,who want to revise（or sit in the sun）at this time of year.Pensioners keen for a little extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours.Yet that leaves more than a quarter of workers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy with their conditions.Some of this is cyclical.During recessions,a dearth of permanent positions forces people into jobs with no contracted hours even if they do not want them（the govemment has just said that unemployed people who refuse to accept zero-hours contracts could be cut off from benerits）.Underemployment is particularly prevalent among these workers,35%of whom would like more hours compared with 12%in other jobs.As the economy recovers,many should be able to renegotiate their contracts or find permanent jobs.But the recovery will not cause unwanted zero hours contracts to disappear.Some workers will never have much negotiating power:they are constrained by geography,family commitments and lack of competition for their skills among a small number of big employers.Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labour-market power.Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and maternity pay.Workers are penalised for not being available when requested.And some contracts contain exclusivity clauses which prevent workers from taking additionaljobs.These can harm other employers as well as workers,and actually reduce labour market flexibility.That,at least,is worth doing away with.
    What can we infer from the last two paragraphs?

    A.Many workers on zero-hours contracts are often unsatisfied with their conditions.
    B.Many people don't want to join permanent work.
    C.Economic recovery will eventually lead to zero-hours contracts out of date.
    D.Reducing labour-market flexibility is not the original idea of zero-hours contracts

    答案：D
    解析：
    推理判断题。解决此题的关键是通读段落后找到四个选项在段落中的位置，通读第五段可以得出零时工合同的影响即：Yet that leaves more thana quarter ofworkers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy with their conditions．（然而．25%以上的零时合同工对自己的工作环境不满。）25%并不等同于很多，同时第六段结尾处也说了工人的初衷并不是要降低市场灵活性，与这个信息相对应的选项为D项Reducing labour-market flexibility js not the original idea of zero-hours corWacts．“减少劳动力市场的灵活性并不是零时工合同最初的目标”。所以D项为正确选项。【干扰排除】A项的Many与第五段第一句中的more than a quarter of workers不相符；B项与第五段的尾句相反；C项，文中没有提到“过时”，因此应当排除。

  • 第5题：

    Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then,when the recovery began,allowing employment to rise.Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret.Ed Miliband,the leader of the Labour Party,has promised a crackdown on"zero-hours contracts"if he wins the next election.The government has launched a con8ultation.Zero-hours contracts allow finns to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need,with no prior notice.In theory,at least,people can refuse work.Fully l.4m jobs were based on these contracts in January 2014,according to the Office for National Statistics.That is just 4%of the total,but the share rises to a quarter in the hospitality business.The contracts are useful for finns with unstable pattems of demand,such as hotels and restauranLs.Ihey have also helped firms to expand during the recovery-allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanem stafir,who would be more costly to make redundani if things went wrong.Flexibility suits some workers,too.According to one survey,47%of those employed on zerohours conUacts were content to have no nunimum contracted hours.Many of these workers are in full-time education.The ability to tum down work is important to students,who want to revise at this time of year.Pensioners keen for a liLtle extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours.Yet that leaves more than a quarter of workers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy wirh their condirions.Some of this is cyclical.During recessions,a dearth of permanent positions forces people into jobs with no contracted hours even if they do not want them.Underemployment is pfuticularly prevalent among these workers,35%of whom would like more hours compared with 12qo in offier jobs.As the economy recovers,many should be able to renegotiate their contracts or find permanent jobs.But the recovery will not cause unwanted zero-hours contracts to disappear.Some workers will never have much negoLiating power:they are constrained by geography,family commitments and lack of competition for their skills among a small number of big employers.Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labour-market power.Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and matenuty pay.Workers are penalised for not being available when requested.And some contracts contain exclusivity clauses which prevent workers from taking additional jobs.These can harm other employers as well as workers,and actually reduce labour market flexibility.That,at least,is worth doing away with.
    According to Paragraph l,politicians are concemed about_____

    A.the rise of unemployment rate
    B.the disorder of market economy
    C.the flexibility of the labour market
    D.the severity of economic depression

    答案：C
    解析：
    细节题。定位到第一段。根据politicians定位到第二句YeL one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret，其中fret表示“使烦恼，担心”，相当于题干are concemed about“担心”，故答案句为one of its bendier bits。而bendy表示“易弯曲的”，引申为“灵活的”，相当于第一句的flexible，答案句的bendier bits指代上文的flexible labour market。故答案为[C]the flexibility of the labour market“劳动市场的灵活性”。其余几项意思分别为：[A]the rise of unemployment rate“失业率上涨”；[B]the disorder“market economy“市场经济混乱”；[D]the seventy of economic depression“经济萧条的严重性”；这三项在文中均为无中生有。综上分析，本题选择[c]。

  • 第6题：

    Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then,when the recovery began,allowing employment to rise.Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret.Ed Miliband,the leader of the Labour Party,has promised a crackdown on"zero_hours contracts"if he wins the next election.The government has launched a consultation.Zero-hours contracts allow firms to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need,with no prior notice.In theory,at least,people can refuse work.Fully l.4m jobs were based on these contracts in January 2014,according to a snapshot taken by the Office for National Statistics.That is just 4%of the total,but the share rises to a quarter in the hospitality business.The contracts are useful for firms with erratic pattems of demand,such as hotels and restaurants.They have also helped firms to expand during the recovery-allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanent staff,who would be more costly to make redundant if things went wrong.Flexibility suits some workers,too.According to'one survey,47%of those employed on zero-hours contracts were content to have no minimum contracted hours.Many of these workers are in full-time education.The ability to tum down work is important to students,who want to revise（or sit in the sun）at this time of year.Pensioners keen for a little extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours.Yet that leaves more than a quarter of workers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy with their conditions.Some of this is cyclical.During recessions,a dearth of permanent positions forces people into jobs with no contracted hours even if they do not want them（the govemment has just said that unemployed people who refuse to accept zero-hours contracts could be cut off from benerits）.Underemployment is particularly prevalent among these workers,35%of whom would like more hours compared with 12%in other jobs.As the economy recovers,many should be able to renegotiate their contracts or find permanent jobs.But the recovery will not cause unwanted zero hours contracts to disappear.Some workers will never have much negotiating power:they are constrained by geography,family commitments and lack of competition for their skills among a small number of big employers.Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labour-market power.Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and maternity pay.Workers are penalised for not being available when requested.And some contracts contain exclusivity clauses which prevent workers from taking additionaljobs.These can harm other employers as well as workers,and actually reduce labour market flexibility.That,at least,is worth doing away with.
    According to the text,this flexible working ways can help those people who_____.

    A.work in permanent bui want to eam more
    B.have retired but have no pension
    C.study in full-time schooling
    D.have no working experiences

    答案：C
    解析：
    事实细节题。根据定位词定位到文章的第四段，在中间处体现了题目的内容，即The ability to tum downWork is imporlant to students,who want to revise（or sit in the sun）at this time ofyear.（拒绝工作的能力对学生来说非常重要，因为他们想要在每年的这个时候复习功课或者晒太阳。）与这个信息相对应的选项为C项study in full-time schooling“全日制学习的人”，故C项为正确选项。【干扰排除】A项在段落中没有体现。B项在段落中虽然有提到，但是文中的含义为渴望得到一点额外的收入的养老金领取者也可以在没有固定工作时间、充满不确定的情况下游刃有余，这项是概念的偷换。D项在文中没有提及，应当排除。

  • 第7题：

    Text 1 The longest bull run in a century of artmarket history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst,Beautiful Inside My Head Forever,at Sotheby's in London on September 15th,2008.All but two pieces sold,fetching more than￡70m,a record for a sale by a single artist.It was a last victory.As the auctioneer called out bids,in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street,Lehman Brothers,filed for bankruptcy.The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003.At its peak in 2007 it was worth some$65 billion,reckons Clare McAndrew,founder of Arts Economics,a research firm—double the figure five years earlier.Since then it may have come down to$50 billion.But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth,enormous egos,greed,passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries.In the weeks and months that followed Mr Hirst's sale,spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable.In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms.Sales of contemporary art fell by twothirds,and in the most overheated sector,they were down by nearly 90%in the year to November 2008.Within weeks the world's two biggest auction houses,Sotheby's and Christie's,had to pay out nearly$200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them.The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989.This time experts reckon that prices are about 40%down on their peak on average,though some have been far more fluctuant.But Edward Dolman,Christie's chief executive,says:“I'm pretty confident we're at the bottom.”What makes this slump different from the last,he says,is that there are still buyers in the market.Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to sell.The three Ds—death,debt and divorce—still deliver works of art to the market.But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away,waiting for confidence to return.
    The most appropriate title for this text could be____

    A.Fluctuation of Art Prices
    B.Uptodate Art Auctions
    C.Art Market in Decline
    D.Shifted Interest in Arts

    答案：C
    解析：
    主旨题【命题思路】给文章加标题是常见的文章主旨题考查的方式之一。从这篇文章的整体结构来看，段落与段落之间并没有出现明显的转折，因此主旨贯穿全篇文章。考生可以总结每一段的段落大意，然后进行概括总结。【直击答案】本文第一段以赫斯特作品的大卖引出文章的讨论话题，即艺术品市场的低迷与衰退；第二段介绍了艺术品市场在经历了牛市后的衰落；第三、四段分别讨论了当前的艺术品市场形势，并在最后一段对未来趋势做出了预测。因此最合适的标题为C项“艺术品市场的衰退”。【干扰排除】虽然第二段第二、三句提到“价格波动”，但属于细节内容，以偏概全，因此排除A项。B项中的uptodate和文中的contemporary是同义词，文章第一段提及拍卖会是为了引出讨论话题，B项不具有概括性。文章提到艺术品收藏者远离了画廊和拍卖会现场是因为艺术品市场的不景气。D项与原文内容不符，故排除。长难句解析

  • 第8题：

    问答题
    ◆Topic 4: A Year of Economic Recovery　　Questions for Reference:　　1. Many economists say that the year 2009 was a year of economic recovery for China. What was the goal of the annual GDP growth rate set by the Chinese Government?　　2. This recovery was due to the forcefulness of the Chinese government’s policies. The best-known and most effective measure is the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus plan. The major investment was put in infrastructure construction. Could you explain what infrastructure means? Name and describe one or two instances of infrastructure construction in 2009.　　3. The economic recovery in 2009 has also improved the life of ordinary Chinese people. Say something about how you and your family, or your relatives or friends, have benefited from this economic recovery?

    正确答案： 【参考答案】
    My name is…My registration number is…My topic is: A Year of Economic Recovery.
    Many economists say that the year 2009 was a year of economic recovery for China. Judging from the relevant economic data, we can see clear signals that China’s economic recovery is accelerating and broadening and some of the key indicators beat market expectations successfully, which has helped China win applause from home and abroad. Those people who were once showing much worry and concern over China’s economic development are now changing their mind and feel confident again.
    It is not difficult to figure out how great efforts the government has made to ease the situation and maintain social stability over the past year. Many people insist that this recovery was due to the forcefulness of the Chinese government’s policies. The best-known and most effective measure is the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus plan. It was adopted right after the outbreak of the financial crisis and was soon put into operation. The government also adopted many other pro-growth economic policies such as expanding the “home appliances to the countryside” program. The quick implementation of the stimulus package successfully reversed the downward trend of the economy and the quarterly GDP growth picked up remarkably. A rainbow of recovery shows up after the financial storm. Many people believe that so far, this is the world’s most effective economic stimulus program. And with the effective implementation of all these policies and measures, we can find everywhere that the people’s lives have been gradually improved.
    However, as one economist from the Asian Development Bank said, the Chinese government should get ready to deal with more difficult tasks. It is through the economic stimulus plan that Chinese have managed to overcome the crisis in such a short period of time. However, the more severe challenges could be waiting for them. Thus more efforts should be made to promote the Chinese economy’s sustained growth.
    解析： 暂无解析

  • 第9题：

    问答题
    Practice 2　　In those days, Britain's biggest-selling daily paper, the sun, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, was no friend of Labour, indeed it had been Margaret Thatcher's biggest cheerleader. That morning, on its front page, it depicted the bald head of the then Labour leader Neil Kinnock as a light bulb. Alongside ran the headline: “If Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights?” Labour lost. By the next election, Tony Blair was the party's leader and determined to win over, or at least neutralize, The Sun and its owner. He succeeded, moving the Labor Party towards the center ground, and gaining The Sun's endorsement at the last three elections.　　Once in Government, Labour played hardball with the media, relishing its power, and aware that if it did not take charge of the agenda, the media would. Its key figure was the former political editor of the Daily Mirror, Alasdair Campbell, who took charge not just of the Prime Minister's press office but all government press officers, trying to ensure the Government spoke with one voice. Journalists who reported favorably were given privileged access; those who didn't were frozen out.

    正确答案： 【参考译文】
    在那个时期,英国最大的日报卖家是《太阳报》,它是鲁珀特·莫多克传媒帝国的一个组成部分。而这家与工党并不友好的报刊实际上是撒切尔夫人的最大支持者。那天早晨,其头版将当时秃头的工党党魁尼尔·基诺克描绘成电灯泡。旁边的大字标题写着:“如果基诺克今天获胜了,请最后一名离开英国的人将灯关上好吗?”工党最终输了大选。而到了下届大选时,托尼·布莱尔成了工党的党魁,他决心将《太阳报》及其老板都争取过来,或者至少使其保持中立。他成功做到了这一点,将工党推向了中间路线,并在最后三场选举中赢得了《太阳报》的认可。
    一旦掌握了政权,工党就开始品尝起了权力的滋味,对媒体采取了强硬的态度。同时工党也意识到如果它没有将日程接管过来的话,它就会被媒体控制。其主要人物就是《每日镜报》的前任政治编辑阿拉斯泰尔·坎贝尔,为了试图确保政府能对外保持一致,此人不仅掌控首相新闻办公室,而且也掌管着政府所有的新闻官员。进行有利报道的记者会被给与访问特权。反之,则会被逐走。
    解析： 暂无解析

  • 第10题：

    单选题
    During the Clinton presidency, the U.S. enjoyed more than any time in its history peace and economic well being.
    A

    the U.S. enjoyed more than any time in its history peace and economic well being

    B

    the U.S. enjoying more than any other time in its history peace and economic well being

    C

    more peace and economic well being was enjoyed by the U.S. than any other time

    D

    economic peace and well being was enjoyed by the U.S. more so than any other ~ time in the country’s history

    E

    the U.S. enjoyed more peace and economic well being than at any other time in its history


    正确答案： A
    解析：
    原句措辞不恰当。E纠正了这个错误。

  • 第11题：

    单选题
    For many years marine centrifuges were designed for （） operation, that is the machines were run for a period during which solids accumulated in the bowlThe machine was stopped when the accumulated solids began to impair its performance.
    A

    purifying

    B

    batch

    C

    long period

    D

    temporary


    正确答案： B
    解析： 暂无解析

  • 第12题：

    问答题
    What was the percent decrease in the price of MegaTek (MGTK) stock during the market decline of March 1, 2001, to March 1, 2002?　　(1) The price of MGTK was $56.20 on March 1, 2001.　　(2) The price of the stock on January 1, 2002, was only one-quarter of its price as of March 1, 2001.

    正确答案： E
    解析：
    两个条件无法计算出MGTK的股票下降率，故本题选E项。

  • 第13题：

    请阅读短文，完成此题。
    It is frequently assumed that the mechanization of work has a revolutionary effect on the livesof the people who operate the new machines and on the society into which the machines have beenintroduced. For example, it has been suggested that the employment of women in industry takethem out of the. household, their traditional sphere and fundamentally alter their position in society.In the nineteenth century, when women began to enter factories, Jules Simon, a French politician,warned that by doing so, women would give up their femininity. Fredrich Engels, however,predicted that women would be liberated from the"social, legal, and economic subordination" ofthe family by technological developments that made possible the recruitment of "the whole femalesex .., into public industry." Observers thus differed concerning the social desirability ofmechanization's effects, but thev agreed that it would trmsiorm women's lives.
    Historians, particularly thnse investigating the history of women, now seriously question thisassumption of transforming power. They conclude that such dramatic technological innovations asthe spinning jenny, the sewing tnachine, the typewriter, and the vacuum cleaner have not resultedin equally dramatic social changes in women's economic position or in the prevailing evaluation ofwomen's work. The employment of young women in textile mills during the Industrial Revolutionwas largely and extension of an older pattern of employment for young, single women as domestics.It was not the change in office technology, but rather the separation of secretarial work, previouslyseen as an apprenticeship for beginning managers, from administrative work that in the 1880'screated a new class of "dead end" jobs, thenceforth considered "women's work". The increase inthe numbers of married women enployed outside the home in the twentieth century, had less to dowith the mechanization of housework and an increase in leisure time for these women than it didwith their own economic necessity and with high marriage rates that shrank the available pool ofsingle women worke, previously, in many cases, the only women employers would hire.
    Women's work has changed considerably in the past 200 years, moving from the household tothe ofiice or the factory, and later becoming mostly white-collar instead of blue-collar work. Fundamentally, however, the conditions under which women work have changed little since the Industrial Revolution: the segregation of occupatious by gender, lower pay for women as a group,jobs that require relatively low levels of skill and offer women little opportunity for advancement all persist, while women's household labour remains demanding. Recent historical investigation has led to a major revision of the notion that lec.hnology is always inherently revolutionary in its effectson society. Mechanization may even have slowed any change in the traditional position of womeu both in the labour market and in the home.

    Which of the following statement is Not true?
    查看材料

    A．Now the phenomenon of choosing employees by gender does no longer exist.
    B．Women have little opportunity for promotion.
    C．Women are needed to do much housework.
    D．Women always get low pay in their occupations.

    答案：A
    解析：
    A项意为“如今，按性别雇佣员工的现象已经不复存在。”这与第三段第二句中“the segregation of occupations by gender”(按性别区分职业)相矛盾，因此不正确。其他选项均可在第三段第二句中找到依据。

  • 第14题：

    The world economic recession put an ____ end to the steel market upturn that began in 2002.

    A.irregular
    B.illegal
    C.abrupt
    D.absurd

    答案：C
    解析：
    关键词economic recession“经济衰退—，金融危机”，upturn：使转上→情况好转。所以B 与D 选项填入后是格格不入的；A 选项“不规则的”也不符合语义；答案是C，abrupt“陡峭的、突然的”，意义与upturn 是吻合的，所谓的逆势上扬的意思。

  • 第15题：

    Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then,when the recovery began,allowing employment to rise.Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret.Ed Miliband,the leader of the Labour Party,has promised a crackdown on"zero_hours contracts"if he wins the next election.The government has launched a consultation.Zero-hours contracts allow firms to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need,with no prior notice.In theory,at least,people can refuse work.Fully l.4m jobs were based on these contracts in January 2014,according to a snapshot taken by the Office for National Statistics.That is just 4%of the total,but the share rises to a quarter in the hospitality business.The contracts are useful for firms with erratic pattems of demand,such as hotels and restaurants.They have also helped firms to expand during the recovery-allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanent staff,who would be more costly to make redundant if things went wrong.Flexibility suits some workers,too.According to'one survey,47%of those employed on zero-hours contracts were content to have no minimum contracted hours.Many of these workers are in full-time education.The ability to tum down work is important to students,who want to revise（or sit in the sun）at this time of year.Pensioners keen for a little extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours.Yet that leaves more than a quarter of workers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy with their conditions.Some of this is cyclical.During recessions,a dearth of permanent positions forces people into jobs with no contracted hours even if they do not want them（the govemment has just said that unemployed people who refuse to accept zero-hours contracts could be cut off from benerits）.Underemployment is particularly prevalent among these workers,35%of whom would like more hours compared with 12%in other jobs.As the economy recovers,many should be able to renegotiate their contracts or find permanent jobs.But the recovery will not cause unwanted zero hours contracts to disappear.Some workers will never have much negotiating power:they are constrained by geography,family commitments and lack of competition for their skills among a small number of big employers.Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labour-market power.Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and maternity pay.Workers are penalised for not being available when requested.And some contracts contain exclusivity clauses which prevent workers from taking additionaljobs.These can harm other employers as well as workers,and actually reduce labour market flexibility.That,at least,is worth doing away with.
    "Zero-hours contract"would benefit_____

    A.economy recovery
    B.Labor Party
    C.employment
    D.the govemment

    答案：C
    解析：
    事实细节题。根据定位词定位在第一段，定位词在结尾处有体现，而段落开头体现的信息为Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then．when the recovery began，allowing employment to rise（英国经济衰退期间，其灵活的劳动力市场简直就是一个福音，它既保持了英国较低的失业率，也在经济复苏时提高了就业率。）与这个信息相对应的选项为C项employment“就业”，故C项为正确选项．【干扰排除】B项虽然在段落中有提到，但是文中说YeL one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret.（但其所带来的一些革新却让政客们惶恐不安。）与题目的说法相反，剩余的选项在段落中没有提及，因此均应当排除。

  • 第16题：

    Text 2 Far from joining the labour force,women have been falling away at an alarming pace.The female employment rate in India,counting both the formal and informal economy,has tumbled from an already-low 35%in 2005 to just 26%now.Yet nearly 1Om fewer women are in jobs.A rise in female employment rates to the male level would provide India with an extra 235m workers,more than the EU has of either gender,and more than enough to fill all the factories in the rest ofAsia.Imagine the repercussions.Were India to rebalance its workforce in this way,the IMF estimates,the world's biggest democracy would be 27%richer.Its people would be well on their way to middle-income status.Beyond the obvious economic benelits are the incalculable human ones.Women who work are likelier to invest more in their children's upbringing,and to have more say over how they lead their lives.Social mores are startlingly conservative.A girl's first task is to persuade her own family that she should have a job.The in-laws she will typically move in with after marriage are even more likely to yank her out of the workforce and into social isolation.In a survey in 2012,84%of Indians agreed that men have more right to work than women when jobs are scarce.Men have taken 90%of the 36m additional jobs in industry India has created since 2005.And those who say that women themselves prefer not to work must contend with plenty of counter-evidence.Census data suggest that a third of stay-at-home women would WOfk ifjobs were available;govemment make-work schemes attract more women than men.What can be done?Many of the standard answers fall short.Promoting education,a time-tested development strategy,may not succeed.Figures show that the more schooling an Indian woman receives,the less likely she is to work,at least if she has anything less than a university degree.Likewise urbanization,another familiar way to alleviate poverty:city-dwelling women are half as likely as rural ones to have a job.An optimist might argue that more women are not working because India is still paying for the sins of the past,when so many of them were illiterate and high fertility rates bound them to the home.Most measures of female welfare are improving.India has many more girls in classrooms and fewer child brides than it once did.In fact,many fear that all that extra schooling was a parental ploy to improve a daughter's prospects not in the labour market but in the arranged-marriage market,part of the all-important quest to snag a suitable boy.A further push is needed to get Indian women what they really need:a suitablejob.
    Which ofthe following would be the best title ofthe text?

    A.Why Indian Women Don't Work
    B.Why India Needs Women to Work
    C.Why India's Employment Rate Is Low
    D.Why India's Employment Rate Declines

    答案：B
    解析：
    主旨大意题。本文主要讲了印度女性就业率低的原因，印度想要平衡劳动力及女性需要工作的原因，故B项为正确选项。【干扰排除】A项，文中说的是印度女性就业率低，而不是不工作；c项是文章的一部分，不能概括文章主旨；D项，原文并未提及印度就业率下降的原因。故均排除。

  • 第17题：

    Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then,when the recovery began,allowing employment to rise.Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret.Ed Miliband,the leader of the Labour Party,has promised a crackdown on"zero-hours contracts"if he wins the next election.The government has launched a con8ultation.Zero-hours contracts allow finns to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need,with no prior notice.In theory,at least,people can refuse work.Fully l.4m jobs were based on these contracts in January 2014,according to the Office for National Statistics.That is just 4%of the total,but the share rises to a quarter in the hospitality business.The contracts are useful for finns with unstable pattems of demand,such as hotels and restauranLs.Ihey have also helped firms to expand during the recovery-allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanem stafir,who would be more costly to make redundani if things went wrong.Flexibility suits some workers,too.According to one survey,47%of those employed on zerohours conUacts were content to have no nunimum contracted hours.Many of these workers are in full-time education.The ability to tum down work is important to students,who want to revise at this time of year.Pensioners keen for a liLtle extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours.Yet that leaves more than a quarter of workers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy wirh their condirions.Some of this is cyclical.During recessions,a dearth of permanent positions forces people into jobs with no contracted hours even if they do not want them.Underemployment is pfuticularly prevalent among these workers,35%of whom would like more hours compared with 12qo in offier jobs.As the economy recovers,many should be able to renegotiate their contracts or find permanent jobs.But the recovery will not cause unwanted zero-hours contracts to disappear.Some workers will never have much negoLiating power:they are constrained by geography,family commitments and lack of competition for their skills among a small number of big employers.Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labour-market power.Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and matenuty pay.Workers are penalised for not being available when requested.And some contracts contain exclusivity clauses which prevent workers from taking additional jobs.These can harm other employers as well as workers,and actually reduce labour market flexibility.That,at least,is worth doing away with.
    The text mainly focuses on zero-hours contracts_____

    A.traits and effects
    B.llmits and defects
    C.merits and impacts
    D.features and problems

    答案：D
    解析：
    主旨题。本题涉及全文主旨。首段先引出zero-hours contracts“零时工合同”的话题：第二、三、四段讨论其具有灵活性和不稳定性等特点；最后两段讨论“零时工合同”的一些问题。故本文主旨为“零时工合同的特点和问题”。接着分析选项。选项[A）traits and effects“特点和作用”：[B]limits and defects“局限性和缺陷”；[C]merits and impacts“优点和作用”；[D]features and problems“特点和问题”。显然，符合主旨的选项为[D]。

  • 第18题：

    Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then,when the recovery began,allowing employment to rise.Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret.Ed Miliband,the leader of the Labour Party,has promised a crackdown on"zero_hours contracts"if he wins the next election.The government has launched a consultation.Zero-hours contracts allow firms to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need,with no prior notice.In theory,at least,people can refuse work.Fully l.4m jobs were based on these contracts in January 2014,according to a snapshot taken by the Office for National Statistics.That is just 4%of the total,but the share rises to a quarter in the hospitality business.The contracts are useful for firms with erratic pattems of demand,such as hotels and restaurants.They have also helped firms to expand during the recovery-allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanent staff,who would be more costly to make redundant if things went wrong.Flexibility suits some workers,too.According to'one survey,47%of those employed on zero-hours contracts were content to have no minimum contracted hours.Many of these workers are in full-time education.The ability to tum down work is important to students,who want to revise（or sit in the sun）at this time of year.Pensioners keen for a little extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours.Yet that leaves more than a quarter of workers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy with their conditions.Some of this is cyclical.During recessions,a dearth of permanent positions forces people into jobs with no contracted hours even if they do not want them（the govemment has just said that unemployed people who refuse to accept zero-hours contracts could be cut off from benerits）.Underemployment is particularly prevalent among these workers,35%of whom would like more hours compared with 12%in other jobs.As the economy recovers,many should be able to renegotiate their contracts or find permanent jobs.But the recovery will not cause unwanted zero hours contracts to disappear.Some workers will never have much negotiating power:they are constrained by geography,family commitments and lack of competition for their skills among a small number of big employers.Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labour-market power.Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and maternity pay.Workers are penalised for not being available when requested.And some contracts contain exclusivity clauses which prevent workers from taking additionaljobs.These can harm other employers as well as workers,and actually reduce labour market flexibility.That,at least,is worth doing away with.
    "Zero-hours contract"would be helpful for some firms in that_____.

    A.working hours for works should be agreed on
    B.people can refuse work practically
    C.it would bc less costly to cut jobs than hire permanent staff
    D.it would cut cost to scale up the company

    答案：C
    解析：
    事实细节题。根据定位词定位到文章的第二段和第三段，其中第三段的第二句可以体现题目的内容，即They have also helped firms to expand during the recovery-allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanent staff,who would be more costly to make redundant if things went wrong.（它们还有助于公司在经济复苏时扩大规模，其方式是在雇用固定员工前测试应聘者的业务水平。因为一旦雇用同定员工后，如果出现问题，裁员的代价会更高。）而与这个信息相对应的选项C项it would be less costly to cut jobs than hire permanent staff．“缩减岗位比聘用固定员工成本低”所以C项为正确选项。【干扰排除】剩余的选项在段落中没有体现，因此应该排除。

  • 第19题：

    Large numbers of state-run preschools were expediently closed down during the 1990s economic reform and instead,a variety of for-profit private preschools sprung ______ across the country.

    A.by
    B.out
    C.in
    D.up

    答案：D
    解析：
    本题考察介词，题目意为“在20世纪90年代的经济改革中，大量的国营幼儿园被适当地关闭，取而代之的是各种各样的营利性私立幼儿园在全国各地涌现出来。”固定搭配 spring up意为“迅速出现”，sprung为spring的过去式。
    　　

  • 第20题：

    单选题
    They claimed that（）1,000 factories closed down during the economic crisis.
    A

    sufficiently

    B

    approximately

    C

    considerably

    D

    properly


    正确答案： D
    解析： 暂无解析

  • 第21题：

    单选题
    When backing down with sternway，the pivot point of a vessel is（）.
    A

    about one-quarter of the vessel's length from the stern

    B

    at the bow

    C

    about one-third of the vessel's length from the bow

    D

    aft of the propellers


    正确答案： A
    解析： 暂无解析

  • 第22题：

    问答题
    Practice 1The relationship between politicians and the press　　In the seaside town of Brighton in southern England the ruling Labour Party’s annual conference is getting underway. It’s a time for both Mps and grassroots members to take stock of how the party is doing, to discuss policy and to hear, hopefully inspiring speeches. The party delegates will be hoping too for plenty of coverage from the media assembled there.　　Newspapers in Britain have long had great influence over Governments, much to the resentment of the politicians. Almost seventy-five years ago, the then Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin accused the two big press barons, Lords Beaverbrook and Rothermere, of running their papers as “engines of propaganda” for the “personal wishes and personal dislikes of two men”. He famously accused them of seeking “power without responsibility—the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.” It’s hard to imagine the current Prime Minister Tony Blair attacking the tabloid press so publicly.　　The former editor of the Daily Mirror Piers Morgan claimed earlier this year that he met the Labour leader no fewer than fifty-eight times for lunches, dinners or interviews, a statistic which astonished many in Government and the media, who thought a party leader and Prime Minister should have had better ways to spend his time. But Tony Blair has good reason to court the press. In Britain, Labour, left-of-centre governments, have always had problems with national newspapers, most of whose owners traditionally supported the right-of-centre Conservative Party. This came to a head on Election Day in 1992 when Labour seemed set to win power for the first time in eighteen years.　　In those days, Britain’s biggest-selling daily paper, the sun, part of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, was no friend of Labour, indeed it had been Margaret Thatcher’s biggest cheerleader. That morning, on its front page, it depicted the bald head of the then Labour leader Neil Kinnock as a light bulb. Alongside ran the headline: “If Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights?” Labour lost. By the next election, Tony Blair was the party’s leader and determined to win over, or at least neutralize, The Sun and its owner. He succeeded, moving the Labor Party towards the center ground, and gaining The Sun’s endorsement at the last three elections.　　Once in Government, Labour played hardball with the media, relishing its power, and aware that if it did not take charge of the agenda, the media would. Its key figure was the former political editor of the Daily Mirror, Alasdair Campbell, who took charge not just of the Prime Minister’s press office but all government press officers, trying to ensure the Government spoke with one voice. Journalists who reported favorably were given privileged access; those who didn’t were frozen out.　　Mr. Blair maintained his close links with R Murdoch and his newspapers; doing everything he could to maintain their support. Lance Price claims in his diaries that the Government assured the tycoon and his editors that it wouldn’t change its policy on Europe without asking them.

    正确答案： 参考译文
    政客和媒体的关系 执政党工党的年度会议正在英国南部的海滨小镇布莱顿举行。这是下议院议员和基层成员对该党业绩做出判断、讨论政策以及充满希望地听取鼓舞人心演讲的时刻。该党代表也希望聚集在那里的媒体能够对他们进行大幅报道。
    长期以来,英国的报刊对政府一直具有很大的影响。政客们对此非常不满。早在75年前,首相斯坦利·鲍德温就曾指控当时的两大新闻大亨——比弗布鲁克和罗瑟米尔勋爵将其报纸作为“宣传的引擎”来表达“两人的个人意愿和爱好”,称他们寻求“娼妓长期以来享有的特权——只管享受,不负责任”。这一论断非常有名。很难想象现任首相托尼·布莱尔会如此公开地攻击小报媒体。
    《每日镜报》的前任编辑皮尔斯·摩根曾在今年早些时候称他与这位工党党魁在一起共进午餐、晚宴或进行访谈的次数不下于58次。这一数字震惊了政府和媒体界的众多要人,他们认为一位政党党魁兼任国家首相的人应该有更好的方式来利用他的时间。但是托尼·布莱尔讨好媒体是有很好理由的。在英国,中间偏左的工党政府人员总是与国家报纸媒体存在矛盾,因为后者的老板历来拥护中间偏右的保守党。这种倾向在1992年大选中发挥了决定性的作用,尽管工党看起来即将赢来其l8年来的首次竞选胜出。
    在那个时期,英国最大的日报卖家是《太阳报》,它是鲁珀特·莫多克传媒帝国的一个组成部分。而这家与工党并不友好的报刊实际上是撒切尔夫人的最大支持者。那天早晨,其头版将当时秃头的工党党魁尼尔·基诺克描绘成电灯泡。旁边的大字标题写着:“如果基诺克今天获胜了,请最后一名离开英国的人将灯关上好吗?”工党最终输了大选。而到了下届大选时,托尼·布莱尔成了工党的党魁,他决心将《太阳报》及其老板都争取过来,或者至少使其保持中立。他成功做到了这一点,将工党推向了中间路线,并在最后三场选举中赢得了《太阳报》的认可。
    一旦掌握了政权,工党就开始品尝起了权力的滋味,对媒体采取了强硬的态度。同时工党也意识到如果没有将日程接管过来的话,它就会被媒体控制。其主要人物就是《每日镜报》的前任政治编辑阿拉斯泰尔·坎贝尔,为了试图确保政府能对外保持一致,此人不仅掌控首相新闻办公室,而且也掌管着政府所有的新闻官员。进行有利报道的记者会被给与访问特权。反之,则会被逐走。
    布莱尔先生与鲁珀特·默多克及其报刊保持着亲密的私人关系,并尽其权力保住他们的支持。兰斯·普里斯在其日记中说道,政府向这位报业大亨和他的编辑们保证,政府不会在没有询问他们的情况下而改变其欧洲政策。
    解析： 暂无解析

  • 第23题：

    问答题
    Practice 1That Old Greenspan Magic Seems to be Fading　　For the best part of 20 years, Alan Greenspan has been a symbol of the stupidity of ageism. He became chairman of the US Federal Reserve at 61, when plenty of workers have already been tossed on the scrapheap and many others are preparing to wind down for retirement. His golden years in charge of the US economy were when he was pushing 70 and he’s still there aged 78. Greenspan is the doyen of central bankers, still talked about in almost reverential terms by his peers. The fact that the Fed chairman rarely gives interviews and makes public pronouncements that are to economics what Finnegans Wake is to literature only adds to the mystique.　　It is, then, with some trepidation that the question has to be asked: has Big Alan finally lost the plot? At the start of last week, Greenspan presided over a meeting of the Fed which kept interest rates on hold at 1%, the level they have been pegged at for nearly a year. A statement accompanying the decision said the risks to inflation were balanced, which means the Fed thinks there is as much chance of the lost of living going up as going down. On Thursday, new joblessness claims in the US fell to their lowest level in getting on for four years, and the picture of a recovering labour market was underlined by Friday’s non-farm payrolls which showed an increase of 288,000, above what had been expected. The economy is expanding at an annual rate of 4.5%, surveys of both manufacturing and the service sector are strong, the housing market is booming, inflation has started to pick up.　　Hardly surprisingly, Greenspan’s call on inflation is now coming under the microscope, even by those on the Kenyesian left who tend to favor expansionary macroeconomic policies. “Show me something, other than computers, where the price is falling,” says Dean Baker of the Centre for Economic Policy Research in Washington. Baker is right. Clearly, risks to inflation are on the upside, and massively so. The economy has been injected with a cocktail of three growth-inducing drugs-negative real interest rates, a rising budget deficit and a falling currency. Oil prices have touched $40 a barrel and the labour market is tightening. It is hard to believe that Greenspan, a junkie for economic data no matter how seemingly trivial, has not spotted all this. Rates in the US are far below a neutral level, which would probably be around 5%, yet Greenspan is in no hurry to act.

    正确答案： 参考译文
    格林斯潘的魔力正在消失 在过去20多年最风光的时间里,艾伦·格林斯潘代表了一种形象,证明了“人老不中用”的看法是多么的愚蠢。在他61岁那年,他成为了美联储主席,而很多同龄人早已被淘汰,还有很多人正准备着退休。在年近70时他迎来了掌管美国经济的黄金岁月,而现今78岁的他地位依然牢不可破。格林斯潘是中央银行家中的老字辈了,时至今日,同僚们提起他还肃然起敬。这位美联储的主席很少接受采访,也很少在公共场合讲话,如同文学界中神秘的《为芬尼根守灵》一样,这一作风更增添了他在经济界的高深莫测。
    但是,人们还是不禁战战兢兢地要问:难道老谋深算的艾伦最终还是失算了吗?上周初,格林斯潘主持了美联储的一个会议,决定将利率控制在1%的水平,这一水平他们已经坚持了近一年的时间。随着决定发布的一项声明宣称通货膨胀的风险已经被控制住了,这就意味着美联储认为生活水准上升或下滑的几率大致相同。周四公布的失业率已接近四年来的最低水平,而周五非农业就业人数增加了288,000人,劳动力市场呈现出一片复苏的景象,这超出了人们的预期。经济以每年4.5%的速度增长。制造业和服务业的调查表明增长势头强劲,房地产市场愈加繁荣,通货膨胀已经露出了苗头。
    格林斯潘对通货膨胀采取的方式受到百般挑剔也就不足为怪了。甚至于那些倾向于扩张性宏观经济政策的凯恩斯左派人士也加入了挑剔的行业。“除了计算机以外,难道还有其他的东西在降价吗?”华盛顿经济政策研究中心的迪安·贝克问道。贝克是正确的。显而易见,通货膨胀的风险呈上升趋势,而且上升幅度很大。美国经济已经被注入了三合一的增长剂:实际利率的降低,不断增长的预算赤字和货币的贬值。油价已经达到了每桶40美元,劳动力市场也在紧缩。人们还是很难相信像格林斯潘这样一位精通数字的经济学家,不管数字是多么地微不足道,居然没有察觉到这一点。美国利率的中等水平约为5%,而目前的利率远远低于这一标准,但格林斯潘却并不急于采取行动。
    解析： 暂无解析

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