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  3. Global Economy at Low Ebb Causes American Rate of Unemployment Upswing

Global Economy at Low Ebb Causes American Rate of Unemployment Upswing

游客2024-09-28  12
问题       Global Economy at Low Ebb Causes American Rate of Unemployment Upswing
    For many years, unemployment in the United States was lower than in Western Europe, a fact often cited by people who argued that the flexibility inherent in the American system—it is easier to both hire and fire workers than in many European countries—produced more jobs.
    That is no longer the case. The current economic crisis has turned the case for the US model almost entirely on its head.
    In March, the American unemployment rate stood at 8. 5 percent, the same as the average rate for the first 15 members of the European Union. In April, the rate in the United States rose to 8. 9 percent. When the European figures are compiled, it seems likely that the American rate will be higher for the first time since Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency, began publishing unemployment rates in 1993 for the entire European Union and for three countries outside the union, the United States, Japan and Turkey.
    For men, the unemployment rate in the United States surpassed that of the 15 original European union countries in December. By March, it was 9. 5 percent in the United States, compared with just 7. 5 percent for women. The figures for men and women in the 15 European countries, however, are close together, at 8.4 percent and 8.5 percent.
    The March rate for the United States was higher than the rates of 11 of the 15. The exceptions were Portugal, which has the same rate, and Spain, Ireland and France. Eight of the 15 European countries have rates that are lower than three years ago.
    How did that happen during a worldwide recession? First, it appears that the safety nets in many Western European economies made it easier for people to keep their jobs as the economy declined. In Germany, programs allow companies to get government help in paying workers and keeping them employed. If the recession becomes severe enough and long enough, of course, it could turn out that those programs do not so much to avoid the pain as defer it.
    Another factor may be the lack of an economic boom in many European countries, which has left them less vulnerable to recession-related cutbacks.
    There is, and always has been, a large variation in economic performance among Western European countries. Even though workers generally have the right to move between countries in the European Union, doing so presents language and cultural hurdles for many.
    In the United States, there has been more movement of workers from depressed areas to places where the employment outlook is brighter. But the housing crisis appears to be hampering such movement because some workers own homes that are worth far less than the amount they owe on their mortgages. [br] What can be inferred from Para.5?
选项 A、The unemployment problem is less serious in most EU countries than a few years ago.
B、The unemployment rates for 8 EU members are falling.
C、Of all the first 15 EU members, France had the highest unemployment rate in March.
D、Only 3 of the 15 original EU countries had unemployment rates higher than that of the United States.
答案 D
解析 推理判断题。由题干中的Para．5定位到第五段。由第五段前两句可知，三月份美国失业率高于欧盟15国中的11个国家，例外的是葡萄牙、西班牙、爱尔兰和法国，而葡萄牙的失业率与美国相同。由此可推知[D]“最初加入欧盟的15个国家中只有3个国家的失业率高于美国”正确。[A]“多数欧盟成员国的失业问题没有3年前严重”，因为文章是把美国和最早加入欧盟的15国比较，我们无法判断其他欧盟成员国的情况，故排除；[B]“一些欧盟国家的失业率正在下降”，虽然从第五段末句可知“欧盟15国中有8个国家(3月份的)失业率低于3年前”，但这只是3月份数字表现出来的事实，不能代表“正在下降”这个趋势，故排除；[C]“三月份，最早加入欧盟的15个国家中，法国的失业率是最高的”，由第五段可以判断出西班牙、爱尔兰和法国的失业率高于其他12个国家，但这三个国家中谁的失业率最高无法判断，故排除。
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