05年同等学力申硕学位英语水平考试模考试卷二-5-

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:02:25 08:57:39
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

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part iii: reading comprehension (45 minutes, 25 points, 1 for each)
directions: there are five passages in this part. each passage is followed by five questions or unfinished statements. for each of them there are four choices marked a, b, c and d. choose the best answer and mark the corresponding letter with a single bar across the square brackets on your machine-scoring answer sheet.
passage one
　　a hundred years ago it was assumed and scientifically “proved” by economists that the laws of society made it necessary to have a vast army of poor and jobless people in order to keep the economy going. today, hardly anybody would dare to voice this principle. it is generally accepted that nobody should be excluded from the wealth of the nation, either by the laws of nature or by those of society. the opinions, which were current a hundred years ago, that the poor owed their conditions to their ignorance, lack of responsibility, are outdated. in all western industrialized countries, a system of insurance has been introduced which guarantees everyone a minimum of existence in case of unemployment, sickness and old age. i would go one step further and argue that, even if these conditions are not present, everyone has the right to receive the means to survive, in other words, he can claim this existence minimum without having to have any “reason”. i would suggest, however, that it should be limited to a definite period of time, let’s say two years, so as to avoid the encouraging of an abnormal attitude which refuses any kind of social obligation.
　　this may sound like a fantastic proposal, but so, i think, would our insurance system have sounded to people a hundred years ago. the main objection to such a scheme would be that if each person were entitled to receive minimum support, people would not work. this assumption rests on the fallacy of the inherent laziness in human nature, actually, aside from abnormally lazy people, there would be very few who would not want to earn more than the minimum, and who would prefer to do nothing rather than work.
　　however, the suspicions against a system of guaranteed existence minimum are not groundless from the standpoint of those who want to use ownership of capital for the purpose of forcing others to accept the work conditions they offer. if nobody were forced to accept work in order not to starve, work would have to be sufficiently interesting and attractive to induce one to accept it. freedom of contract is possible only if both parties are free to accept and reject it. in the present capitalist system this is not the case.
　　but such a system would not only be the beginning of real freedom of contract between employers and employees, its principal advantage would be the improvement of freedom in interpersonal relationships in every sphere of daily life.
31. which of the following does not seem to be true of people’s opinions a hundred years ago?
a. it was necessary to have a lot of poor and jobless people.
b. some people should be excluded from the wealth of the nation.
c. the poor should attribute their conditions to their own fault.
d. the existence minimum should be granted to the poor.
32. the existence minimum should be limited to a period because ______.
a. people may adopt a negative attitude toward social obligation
b. the government cannot afford too much existence
c. the country must be industrialized as quickly as possible
d. not all the poor have any reason to claim this existence
33. the opponents of a system of guaranteed existence minimum ______.
a. definitely believe in the inherent laziness in human nature
b. may want to force others to accept unfavorable work with the capital
c. are mainly government officials who are old-fashioned
d. think it necessary to develop the economy by pushing people
34. the main advantage of a system of guaranteed existence is ______.
a. free contract b. more stable society
c. more freedom in interpersonal relationships d. less burden on the government
35. which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
a. on a system of guaranteed existence minimum.
b. on government support.
c. improving the poor people’s conditions.
d. inherent laziness in human nature.