考研考试

【单选题】
A、friend of mine had a grandfather who supervised the payroll at a large company long ago. People who knew him say this man was a paragon of virtue when it came to making sure the employees were treated fair and square on every payday.But he also believed that once wages were disbursed, workers should take full responsibility for their financial security. In his view, honest labor and thrifty habits were basic elements of the free-enterprise system. Nobody should expect any money unless they earned it. He opposed company pension plans, and was thoroughly dismayed by the fiscal structure and benefits of Social Security.
I wonder how many people hold the same views now. The debate about changing Social Security is part of a larger question: What obligation, if any, doAmericans feel toward fellow citizens who need help Note, I didn’t say "less fortunate," "disadvantaged," or some other term that might be construed as evidence I’m promoting my own brand of social engineering. I just want to know how much concern people have for what happens outside their own households.
Critics of government assistance programs often say they do more harm than good by creating a cycle of dependency for recipients and a gigantic bureaucracy that demoralizes the rest of society by taking money away from us and creating a welfare state of slackers.
The term I prefer to describe our current situation is "safety-net culture." It has lots of problems, but I also know what life was like before safety nets, because my dad gave me abundant testimony from his 1920s boyhood near San Francisco—it was no Norman Rockwell painting. His father worked for the Southern Pacific RailroadCompany, so they did have a house.But one neighbor lived in a tent on a vacant lot and another was known for owning only one pair of overalls, which his wife laundered in a tub on the stove on Saturdays while he sat by, wrapped in a blanket. My dad’s family often ate boiled rice for breakfast. The beverage of choice was tea, but if that ran out they made "silver tea"— hot water with milk and sugar. Money for college wasn’t in the family budget. My dad got his degree thanks to the GIBill.
Decades of safety-net culture have removed a lot of anxiety from our lives but we’re still not dose to Utopi
A、Amid all the Social Security debate about aging baby boomers and shrinking worker contributions, I’m most compelled by this statistic:Close to 20 percent of retirees get all of their income from Social Security. Should that number be a source of national pride or embarrassment Or perhaps a better question: How do you honestly feel about drinking silver tea during your golden years
The author mentions his family story in paragraph 4 to show that
A、thrifty habits are necessary to make a living.

B、outside assistance is necessary for those in trouble.
C．the slackers got what they deserved in the past.
D．only the diligent people can live a decent life in hard times.

网考网参考答案：B
网考网解析：
本题问作者在第四段中提到自己家里的故事是为了表明什么。第四段“It has lots of problems，but I also know what life was like before safety nets，”承认前段说的社会保障确实会带来很多问题，作者又转而举出了在没有社会保障时他父亲童年时的生活境况：他父亲家还勉强过得去，但也负担不起他的学费；他们的邻居就更惨了。第五段中“Decades of safety-net culture have removed a lot of anxiety from our lives…”表明作者认为社会保障是有必要的。故[B]“处于困境中的人需要外部的援助”正确。 [A]勤俭的习惯对于谋生是很有必要的：作者的这个故事中并没有体现出勤俭的必要性： [C]在过去，懒汉得到了应有的下场：第四段中“one neighbor lived in a tent on a vacant lot and another was known for owning only one pair of overalls，which his wife laundered in a tub on the stove on Saturdays while be sat by， wrapped in a blanket．”说明很多人在那时生活状况很苦，但并没有说他们是懒汉。 [D]只有勤劳的人才能在艰苦的时期过上好生活：这个故事里没有谈论勤劳与否。 document.getElementById("warp").style.display="none"; document.getElementById("content").style.display="block"; 查看试题解析出处>>