UKiset考試的第二部分是劍橋英語(yǔ)考試，考察聽(tīng)力和閱讀。值得注意的是，這一部分題目是匹配性的 (adaptive)，每一個(gè)年齡對(duì)應(yīng)的題目不一樣，并且題目難度會(huì)隨著考生的正確率變化——學(xué)生正確回答的問(wèn)題越多，考試就會(huì)越困難。

下面就和小編一起看看今天的閱讀模擬練習(xí)吧。

In order to “change lives for the better” and reduce “dependency,” George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the “upfront work search” scheme. only if the jobless arrive at the jobcentre with a CV, register for online job search, and start looking for work will they be eligible for benefit-and then they should report weekly rather than fortnightly. What could be more reasonable?

More apparent: reasonableness followed. There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseeker’s allowance. “Those first few days should be spent looking for work, not lookingto sign on.” he claimed. “We’re doing these things because we know they help people say off benefits and help those on benefits get into work faster” Help? Really? On first hearing, this was the socially concerned chancellor, trying to change lives for the better, complete with “reforms” to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the newly unemployed to find work, and subsides laziness. What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for “fundamental fairness”-protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.

Losing a job is hurting: you don’t skip down to the jobcentre with a song in your heart, delighted at the prospect of doubling your income from the generous state. It is financially terrifying, psychologically embarrassing and you know that support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. You are now not wanted; you are now excluded from the work environment that offers purpose and structure in your life. Worse, the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and pay the bills has disappeared. Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and the answer is always: a job.

But in Osborneland, your first instinct is to fall into dependency —permanent dependency if you can get it — supported by a state only too ready to indulge your falsehood. It is as though 20 years of ever-tougher reforms of the job search and benefit administration system never happened. The principle of British welfare is no longer that you can insure yourself against the risk of unemployment and receive unconditional payments if the disaster happens. Even the very phrase “jobseeker’s allowance” — invented in 1996 — is about redefining the unemployed as a “jobseeker” who had no mandatory right to a benefit he or she has earned through making national insurance contributions. Instead, the claimant receives a time-limited “allowance,” conditional on actively seeking a job; no entitlement and no insurance, at ￡71.70 a week, one of the least generous in the EU.

1. George Osborne’s scheme was intended to_____.

[A] provide the unemployed with easier access to benefits.

[B] encourage jobseekers’ active engagement in job seeking.

[C] motivate the unemployed to report voluntarily.

[D] guarantee jobseekers’ legitimate right to benefits.

選項(xiàng)[B]正確。

由題干中的George Osborne's scheme定位到第一段第一句。由該句可知,奧斯本這一計(jì)劃的目的是“讓生活變得更美好”,并降低"依賴性"。第二句指出，失業(yè)者只有攜簡(jiǎn)歷到就業(yè)中心，完成網(wǎng)上求職注冊(cè),并開(kāi)始找工作,才有資格獲得救濟(jì)金。此后，他們還需要每周到求職中心報(bào)到一次。結(jié)合兩句可知，這個(gè)計(jì)劃旨在鼓勵(lì)失業(yè)者積極尋找工作，因此[B]選項(xiàng)正確。

2.The phrase “to sign on”( Para.2) most probably means_____.

[A]to check on the availability of jobs at the jobcentre.

[B]to accept the government’s restrictions on the allowance.

[C]to register for an allowance from the government.

[D]to attend a governmental job-training program.

選項(xiàng)[C]正確。

由題干中的“to sign on"定位到第二段第三句。首先，第三句指出“失業(yè)最初幾天本應(yīng)用于找工作，而不是指望sign on" ,可見(jiàn)sign on是"找工作"的反面。再看上下文，第二句提到求職者需要經(jīng)過(guò)一個(gè)七天的等待期才能拿到津貼，第四句指出“之所以這樣做,是要幫助人們遠(yuǎn)離救濟(jì)金”,可確定sign on指“依靠救濟(jì)、登記領(lǐng)取政府津貼”，因此[C]選項(xiàng)正確。

3.What promoted the chancellor to develop his scheme?

[A]A desire to secure a better life for all.

[B]An eagerness to protect the unemployed.

[C]An urge to be generous to the claimants.

[D]A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.

選項(xiàng)[D]正確。

根據(jù)題干設(shè)問(wèn)直接定位到第二段第八句(What motivated him...),其中the chancellor即指英國(guó)D財(cái)相奧斯本。該句指出,奧斯本計(jì)劃動(dòng)機(jī)出自對(duì)“基本公平”的熱情,即:保護(hù)納稅者,控制開(kāi)支并確保只有那些最應(yīng)資助的申請(qǐng)者才能領(lǐng)到補(bǔ)貼。因此,[D]選項(xiàng)正確。

4.According to Paragraph 3, being unemployed makes one feel_____.

[A]uneasy.

[B]enraged.

[C]insulted.

[D]guilty.

選項(xiàng)[A]正確。

由題干直接定位到第三段。該段集中論述了失業(yè)者面臨的情況:失業(yè)是痛苦的，在經(jīng)濟(jì)上是可怕的，在心理上是尷尬的;從而導(dǎo)致失業(yè)者渴望早日再就業(yè)。綜上所述，失業(yè)在經(jīng)濟(jì)上和心理上對(duì)失業(yè)者造成了沉重打擊,使他們產(chǎn)生了極大的惶悉和不安,[A]選項(xiàng)是對(duì)失業(yè)者心理的恰當(dāng)概括。因此,[A]選項(xiàng)正確。

5.To which of the following would the author most probably agree?

[A] The British welfare system indulges jobseekers’ laziness.

[B] Osborne’s reforms will reduce the risk of unemployment.

[C] The jobseekers’ allowance has met their actual needs.

[D] Unemployment benefits should not be made conditional.

選項(xiàng)[D]正確。

文章第一、二段提出并介紹英國(guó)財(cái)相喬治·奧斯本的"前期工作搜索"計(jì)劃;第三段分析失業(yè)者的心態(tài)和壓力:第四段作者對(duì)奧斯本計(jì)劃展開(kāi)批判。結(jié)合全文深度理解第四段作者的集中批判可知,作者認(rèn)同傳統(tǒng)的英國(guó)福利制度“無(wú)條件幫助人們度過(guò)失業(yè)危機(jī)”的原則,對(duì)打破這傳統(tǒng)的奧斯本計(jì)劃感到十分不滿。因此[D]選項(xiàng)正確。

【微語(yǔ)】留學(xué)之際，愿你帶著希望與夢(mèng)想揚(yáng)帆起航，歸來(lái)時(shí)，熠熠生輝。