2. 职称英语
  3. The idea of public works projects as a device to prevent or control depressi

The idea of public works projects as a device to prevent or control depressi

游客2025-04-23  41
问题     The idea of public works projects as a device to prevent or control depression was designed as a means of creating job opportunities for unemployed workers and as a "pump-priming" device to aid business to revive. It was conceived during the early years of the New Deal Era (1933--1937). By 1933, the number of unemployed workers had reached about 13 million. This meant that about 50 million people--about one-third of the nation--were without means of support. At first, direct relief in the form of cash or food was provided these people. This made them recipients of government charity.  In order to remove this stigma and restore to the unemployed some measure of respectability and human dignity, a plan was devised to create governmentally sponsored work projects that private industry would not or could not provide. This would also stimulate production and revive business activity.
    The best way to explain how this procedure is expected to work is to explain how it actually worked when it was first tried. The first experiment with it was the creation of the Works Project Administration (WPA). This agency set up work projects in various fields in which there were many unemployed. For example, unemployed actors were organized into theater projects,  orchestras  were  organized for unemployed  musicians,  teaching projects  for unemployed teachers, and even writers’ projects for unemployed writers. Unemployed laborers were put to work building or maintaining roads, parks, playgrounds, or public buildings. These were all temporary "work relief" projects rather than permanent work opportunities.
    More substantial work projects of a permanent nature were organized by another agency, the Public Works Administration (PWA). This agency undertook the planning of construction of schools, houses, post offices, dams, and other public structures. It entered into contracts with private construction firms to erect them, or it loaned money to local or state governments which undertook their construction. This created many jobs in the factories producing the material as well as in the projects themselves, and greatly reduced the number of unemployed.
    Still another agency which provided work projects for the unemployed was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This agency provided job opportunities for youths aged 16 to 20 to work in national parks or forests clearing land, guarding against fires, building roads, or doing other conservation work. In the event of a future depression, the federal government might revive any or all of the above methods to relieve unemployment and stimulate business. [br] By using the expression "pump priming" as a description of public works projects, the author implies that it ______.
选项 A、was useless
B、was pouring money down the drain
C、lowered human dignity
D、provided business with initial impetus which would make it self-sufficient
答案 D
解析 用pump priming(刺激经济的政府投资)这个惯用语描写市政工程项目，作者暗示它为企业提供最初的动力，这种动力会使企业自给自足。根据第一段最后一句，这也会刺激生产并使商业活动恢复生机。
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