Text 1 In order to“change lives for the

考试题库2022-08-02  14

问题 Text 1 In order to“change lives for the better”and reduce“dependency”George Osborne,Chancellor of the Exchequer,introduced the“upfront work search”scheme.Only if the jobless arrive at the jobcentre with a CV,register for online job search,and start looking for work will they be eligible for benefit and then they should report weekly rather than fortnightly.What could be more reasonable?More apparent reasonableness followed.There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseeker’s allowance.“Those first few days should be spent looking for work,not looking to sign on.”he claimed.“We’re doing these things because we know they help people stay off benefits and help those on benefits get into work faster.”Help?Really?On first hearing,this was the socially concerned chancellor,trying to change lives for the better,complete with“reforms”to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the newly unemployed to find work,and subsidises laziness.What motivated him,we were to understand,was his zeal for“fundamental fairness”—protecting the taxpayer,controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.Losing a job is hurting:you don’t skip down to the jobcentre with a song in your heart,delighted at the prospect of doubling your income from the generous state.It is financially terrifying,psychologically embarrassing and you know that support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get.You are now not wanted;you support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get.You are now not wanted;you are now excluded from the work environment that offers purpose and structure in your life.Worse,the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and pay the bills has disappeared.Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and the answer is always:a job.But in Osborneland,your first instinct is to fall into dependency—permanent dependency if you can get it—supported by a state only too ready to indulge your falsehood.It is as though 20 years of ever-tougher reforms of the job search and benefit administration system never happened.The principle of British welfare is no longer that you can insure yourself against the risk of unemployment and receive unconditional payments if the disaster happens.Even the very phrase“jobseeker’s allowance”—invented in 1996—is about redefining the unemployed as a“jobseeker”who had no mandatory right to a benefit he or she has earned through making national insurance contributions.Instead,the claimant receives a time-limited“allowance,”conditional on actively seeking a job;no entitlement and no insurance,at£71.70 a week,one of the least generous in the EU.23.What prompted the chancellor to develop his scheme?A.A desire to secure a better life for all.B.An eagerness to protect the unemployed.C.An urge to be generous to the claimants.D.A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.

选项 A.A desire to secure a better life for all.
B.An eagerness to protect the unemployed.
C.An urge to be generous to the claimants.
D.A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.

答案 D

解析 事实细节根据题干关键词the chancellor,prompted,develop his scheme,我们返回原文迅速定位到文章第二段末句“What motivatedhim,we were to understand,was his zeal for“fundamental fairness”–protecting the taxpayer,controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.”即我们要明白,他的动机在于对“根本公平”的热情,他要保护纳税者,控制开支,而且确保只有最值得的申请者才能获得救助金。题干中prompted正是对原文中motivated的同义替换,从整句话来看,我们可以很容易得出选项D“确保纳税人的公平的热情”为正确答案。选项A、B、C分别讲述的是“所有人”、“失业者”和“申请人”,而文章原文是“ensuring that only the most deserving claimants”,所以该三项典型地扩大了范围,故排除。
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