2. 职称英语
  3. Low wages, chronic unemployment and underemployment lead to low income, lack

Low wages, chronic unemployment and underemployment lead to low income, lack

游客2023-12-31  34
问题    Low wages, chronic unemployment and underemployment lead to low income, lack of property ownership, absence of savings, absence of food reserves in the home, and a chronic shortage of cash. These conditions reduce the possibility of effective participation in the larger economic system. As a response to these conditions, we find in the culture of poverty a high incidence of pawning personal goods, borrowing from local money-lenders at higher rates of interest, spontaneous informal credit devices organized by neighbors, the use of second-hand clothing and furniture, and the pattern of frequent buying of small quantities of food many times a day as the need arises.
   People with a culture of poverty produce very little wealth and receive very little in return. They have a low level of literacy and education, usually do not belong to labor unions, are not members of political parties, generally do not participate in the national welfare agencies, and make very little use of banks, hospitals, department stores, museums or art galleries. They have a critical attitude toward some of the basic institutions of the dominant classes, hatred of the police, mistrust of government and those in high position, and a cynicism which extends even to the church. This gives the culture of poverty a high potential for protest and for being used in political movements aimed against the existing social order.
   People with a culture of poverty are aware of middle-class values, talk about them and even claim some of them as their own, but on the whole, they do not live by them. Thus, it is important to distinguish between what they say and what they do. For example, many will tell you that marriage by law, by the church, or by both is the ideal form of marriage, but few will marry. To men who have no steady jobs or other sources of income, who do not own property and have no wealth to pass on to their children, who are present-time-oriented and who want to avoid the expense and legal difficulties involved in formal marriage and divorce, free unions or consensual marriages make a lot of sense. Women will often turn down offers of marriage because they feel it ties them down to men who are immature, punishing and generally unreliable. Women feel that consensual union gives them a better break; it gives them some of the freedom and flexibility that men have. By not giving the fathers of their children legal status as husbands, the women have a stronger claim on their children if they decide to leave their men. It also gives women exclusive rights to a house or any other property they may own. [br] According to the passage, a defining characteristic of poverty is that poor people______.
选项 A、are isolated from the mainstream of society
B、lack the skills to find decent jobs
C、are constantly in a state of crisis
D、are held responsible for their own poverty
答案 A
解析    语义推理。题干问的是“defining characteristic”，即贫穷的典型特点。第一段主要陈述“culture of poverty”的表现，不属于对其特点的界定。第二段第一句“People with a culture of poverty produce very little wealth and receive very little in return”为本段主题句，为了证明这一点，接下来一句提到“…usually do not belong to labor unions，are not members of political parties，generally do not participate in the national welfare agencies…”等，而这些恰恰是主流社会的人们享有的正常生活。由此推知，贫困人群孤立于主流社会之外，即A。【知识拓展】本题没有按照一般规则从第一段开始命题，这对读者的阅读能力是一个考验，需要综合运用略读(skimming)和扫读(scanning)两种技能，快速寻找与问题相关的内容，还要确定原文所问问题的根据。此外，还需要根据题干的要求进行推理，方可得到正确答案。
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