GMAT考试阅读资料(一)e

Passage 5
　　How many really suffer as a result of labor¹ mar-ket problems？ This is one of the most critical yetcontentious social policy questions. In many ways，our social statistics exaggerate the degree of hard-（5） ship. Unemployment does not have the same direconsequences today as it did in the 1930‘s whenmost of the unemployed² were primary breadwin-ners， when income and earnings³ were usually muchcloser to the margin⁴ of subsistence， and when there（10） were no countervailing social programs for thosefailing in the labor market. Increasing affluence⁵， therise of families with more than one wage earner， thegrowing predominance of secondary earners amongthe unemployed， and improved social welfare pro-（15） tection have unquestionably mitigated⁶ the conse-quences of joblessness. Earnings and income dataalso overstate the dimensions of hardship. Amongthe millions with hourly earnings at or below theminimum wage level， the overwhelming majority（20） are from multiple-earner， relatively⁷ affluent⁸　 families. Most of those counted by the povertystatistics are elderly or handicapped or have familyresponsibilities which keep them out of the laborforce， so the poverty statistics are by no means an（25） accurate indicator⁹ of labor market pathologies.
　　Yet there are also many ways our social statisticsunderestimate the degree of labor-market-relatedhardship. The unemployment counts exclude themillions of fully¹⁰ employed workers whose wages are（30） so low that their families remain in poverty. Lowwages and repeated or prolonged unemploymentfrequently interact to undermine the capacity forself-support. Since the number experiencing jobless-ness at some time during the year is several times（35）the number unemployed in any month， those whosuffer as a result of forced idleness can equal orexceed average annual unemployment， even thoughonly a minority of the jobless in any month reallysuffer. For every person counted in the monthly（40） unemployment tallies¹¹， there is another workingpart-time because of the inability to find full-timework， or else outside the labor force but wanting ajob. Finally， income transfers in our country havealways focused on the elderly， disabled， and depen-（45）dent， neglecting the needs of the working poor， sothat the dramatic expansion of cash and in-kindtransfers does not necessarily mean that those fail-ing in the labor market are adequately protected.As a result of such contradictory¹³ evidence， it is（50） uncertain whether those suffering seriously as aresult of thousands or the tens of millions， and，hence， whether high levels of joblessness can be tol-erated or must be countered by job creation and（55） economic stimulus¹⁴. There is only one area of agree-ment in this debate——that the existing poverty，employment， and earnings statistics are inadequatefor one their primary applications， measuring theconsequences of labor market problems.

1. Which of the following is the principal topic of the　 passage？
　（A） What causes labor market pathologies that result　in suffering
　（B） Why income measures are imprecise in measuring　degrees of poverty
　（C） Which of the currently used statistical¹⁶ procedures　are the best for estimating the incidence of　hardship that is due to unemployment
　（D） Where the areas of agreement are among　poverty， employment， and earnings figures
　（E） How social statistics give an unclear picture of the　degree of hardship caused by low wages and　insufficient¹⁷ employment opportunities

2. The author uses “labor market problems” in lines 1-2　 to refer to which of the following？
　（A） The overall causes of poverty
　（B） Deficiencies in the training of the work force
　（C） Trade relationships among producers of goods
　（D） Shortages of jobs providing adequate income
　（E） Strikes and inadequate¹⁵ supplies of labor

3. The author contrasts the 1930‘s with the present in　order to show that
　（A） more people were unemployed in the 1930‘s
　（B） unemployment now has less severe effects
　（C） social programs are more needed now
　（D） there now is a greater proportion of elderly and　handicapped people among those in poverty
　（E） poverty has increased since the 1930‘s

4.Which of the following proposals best responds to the　issues raised by the author？
　（A） Innovative¹⁸ programs using multiple approachesshould be set up to reduce the level ofunemployment.
　（B） A compromise should be found between the positions of those who view joblessness as an evil greater than economic control and those who　hold the opposite view.
　（C） New statistical indices should be developed to measure the degree to which unemployment and inadequately¹⁹ paid employment cause suffering.
　（D） Consideration should be given to the ways in whichstatistics can act as partial causes of the phenomenathat they purport²⁰ to measure.
　（E） The labor force should be restructured so that itcorresponds to the range of job vacancies²¹.

5.The author‘s purpose in citing those who are repeatedly unemployed during a twelve-month period is most　probably to show that
　（A） there are several factors that cause the payment of low wages to some members of the labor force
　（B） unemployment statistics can underestimate the hardship resulting from joblessness
　（C） recurrent inadequacies in the labor market can exist and can cause hardships for individual workers
　（D） a majority of those who are jobless at any one time to not suffer severe hardship
　（E） there are fewer individuals who are without jobs at some time during a year than would be expected on the basis of monthly unemployment figures

6. The author states that the mitigating²² effect of social programs involving income transfers on the income level of low-income people is often not felt by
　（A） the employed poor
　（B） dependent children in single-earner families
　（C） workers who become disabled
　（D） retired²³ workers
　（E） full-time¹² workers who become unemployed　
　　　
7. According to the passage， one factor that causes　unemployment and earnings figures to overpredict　the amount of economic hardship is the
　（A） recurrence²⁴ of periods of unemployment for a　group of low-wage workers
　（B） possibility that earnings may be received from more than one job per worker
　（C） fact that unemployment counts do not include tose who work for low wages and remain poor
　（D） establishment of a system of record-keeping that makes it possible to compile poverty statistics
　（E） prevalence， among low-wage workers and the unemployed， of members of families in which　others are employed

8. The conclusion stated in lines 33-39 about the　number of people who suffer as a result of forced　idleness depends primarily on the point that
　（A） in times of high unemployment， there are some　people who do not remain unemployed for long
　（B） the capacity for self-support depends on　receiving moderate-to-high wages　
　（C） those in forced idleness include， besides the　unemployed， both underemployed part-time　workers and those not actively²⁵ seeking work
　（D） at different times during the year， different people　are unemployed
　（E） many of those who are affected²⁶ by unemploy-ment are dependents of unemployed workers

9. Which of the following， if true， is the best criticism of　the author‘s argument concerning why poverty　statistics cannot properly be used to show the effects of　　 problems in the labor market？
　（A） A short-term increase in the number of those in　poverty can indicate a shortage of jobs because the basic number of those unable to accept employment　　 remains²⁷ approximately constant.
　（B） For those who are in poverty as a result of　joblessness， there are social programs available that provide a minimum standard of living.
　（C） Poverty statistics do not consistently agree with　earnings statistics， when each is taken as a measure of hardship resulting from unemployment.
　（D） The elderly and handicapped categories include　many who previously²⁸ were employed in the labor market.
　（E） Since the labor market is global in nature， poor　workers in one country are competing with poor workers in another with respect to the level of　　 wages and the existence of jobs.