Question

Nobody Benefits

NEW YORK—America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history．Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings．

But just a short walk from Manhattan's skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel．

Brown is homeless — one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street．

During the day, Brown collects aluminium cans and sells them for five cents a piece．At night, he sleeps on the street．

"I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that," said the 62-year-old former construction worker．

Brown admits he's had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine．But he said he still wants a more stable housing arrangement．He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available．

However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York．

With the strong economy and unemployment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand．

A US report shows rents in New York city rose more than 27 percent between 1984 and 1999, from US $549 to US $700 a month．

One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up．

The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help．

But few housing companies have been built for the poor．Many small apartments in the city now rent for US $1,500 a month or more．

Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her．She is angry about his drinking and won't allow it in her house．

Smiling, he said he also has seven grandchildren whom he'd like to see more often．

"All I've got to do is clean up my act," he said．

1.What kind of life does George Brown lead?

A．Homeless and dangerous

B．Homeless and childish

C．Homeless and miserable （痛苦的）

D．Homeless and sleepless

2.From George Brown's life we can find that ______.

A．old Americans lead a hard life

B．old Americans want to live alone

C．American cities are crowded with poor people

D．bad habits play a role in some poor people's Life

3.It can be inferred from this passage that ______.

A．America is short of housing companies

B．the poor can't benefit from the increasing economy

C．poor people in America will become rich

D．housing companies will build more houses for the poor

4.If this passage comes from a paper, on which page would it be?

A．Society．   B．Science．  C．Economy．D．Business

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.C

2.D

3.B

4.A

【解析】

試題分析：文章介紹美國貧窮人的生活狀態(tài)，他們的貧窮與其不良習(xí)慣有關(guān)。雖然美國經(jīng)濟增長很快，但是房價租金也很高，窮人不能受益。

1.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第二、三段的描述，George是一個無家可歸的人，在馬路上做簡單的飯菜，因此我們可確定他過的生活很悲慘。選C

2.細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第六段的“Brown admits he’s had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine”可知，布朗酗酒、吸毒，因此我們可以看出Brown 的貧窮與其不良習(xí)慣有關(guān)。選D

3.細(xì)節(jié)題：從文章的句子：One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up． The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help． But few housing companies have been built for the poor．可知雖然美國經(jīng)濟增長很快，但是房價租金也很高，窮人不能受益。選B。

4.推理判斷題。本文反映了美國社會不平衡的現(xiàn)實，所以是報紙上的生活版，故A正確。

考點：考查社會現(xiàn)象類短文