Text4
Many people talked of the 288000new jobs the Labor Department reported for Jure along with the drop in the unemployment take to 6 J percent. at good news. And they were right. For now it appears the economy is creating jobs at a decent pace. We still have a long way to go to get back to full employment but at least we are now finally moving forward at a faster pace。
However there is another important part of the jobs picture that was largely overlooked. There was a big jump in the number of people who report voluntarily working part-time. This figure is now 830000(44 percent)above its year ago level。
Before explaining the connection to the Obamacare it is worth making an important distinction. Many people who work part-time jobs actually want full-time jobs. They take part-time work because this is all they can get. An increase in involuntary part-time work is evidence of weakness in the labor market and it means that many people will behaving a very hard time making ends meet。
There was an increase in involuntary part-time in June but the general direction has been down. Involuntary part-time employment is still far higher than before the recession but it is down by 640000(7.9 percent)from its year ago level。
We know the difference between voluntary and involuntary part-time employment because people tell us. The survey used by the Labor Department asks people if they worked less than 35hours in the reference week. If the answer is “yes。”they are classified as working part-time. The survey then asks whether they worked less than 35 hours in that week because they wanted to work less than full time or because they had no choice. They are only classified as voluntary part-time workers if they tell the survey taker they chose to work less than 35 hours a week。
The issue of voluntary part-time relates to Obamacare because one of the main purposes was to allow people to get insurance outside of employment. For many people especially those with serious health conditions or family members with serious health conditions before Obamacare the only way to get insurance was through a job that provided health insurance。
However Obamacare has allowed more than 12 million people to either get insurance through Medicaid or the exchanges. These are people who may previously have felt the need to get a full-time job that provided insurance in order to cover themselves and their families. With Obamacare there is no longer a link between employment and insurance。
36. Which part of the jobs picture was neglected?
A. The prospect of a thriving job market。
B. The increase of voluntary part-time jobs。
C. The possibility of full employment。
D. The acceleration of job creation。
37. Many people work part-time because they
A. prefer part-time jobs to full-time jobs
B. feel that is enough to make ends meet
C. cannot get their hands on full-time jobs
D. haven' t seen the weakness of the market
38. Involuntary part-time employment in the US
A. is harder to acquire than one year ago
B. shows a general tendency of decline
C. satisfies the real need of the jobless
D. is lower than before the recession
39. It can be learned that with Obamacare 。
A. it is no longer easy for part-timers to get insurance
B. employment is no longer a precondition to get insurance
C. it is still challenging to get insurance for family members
D. full-time employment is still essential for insurance
40. The text mainly discusses 。
A. employment in the US
B. part-timer classification
C. insurance through Medicaid
D. Obamacare’s trouble
Text 4答案及解析:
36 B The increase of voluntary part-time jobs. 细节题定位到第二段第一句和第二句However, there is another important part of the jobs picture that was largely overlooked. 第二句there was a big jump in the number of people who report voluntarily working part time. 选项B是文章内容的同义替换。
37 C cannot get their hands on full-time jobs.细节题定位到第三段的第三句话they take part-time work because this is all they can get.可见C选项是文章内容的同义替换。
38. B: shows a general tendency of decline 细节题根据题干关键词involuntary part-time employment in the US定位到原文第四段,转折词但是总的方向是在下降。同意替换答案B,总的趋势是在下降。
39. B employment is no longer a precondition to get insurance 推断题根据题干关键词obamacare,定位到原文第6段第一句,自愿做兼职工作的问题与奥巴马的医疗政策有关,因为一个主要原因是允许人们在就业之外得到保险,同意替换答案就业不再是得到保险的一个前提。
40 B part-timer classification 主旨题本文主要讲美国人现在选择兼职工作人群分类,并分析其原因。首先,因为全职工作不好找,就业率总体还是在下降;另外,美国人是被迫选择兼职工作;最后,与奥巴马的的医疗政策有关,就业不再是得到保险的一个前提。