单选题 With a new Congress drawing near, Democrats and Republicans are busily designing competing economic stimulus packages. The Republicans are sure to offer tax cuts, the Democrats—among other things—financial relief for the states. There is one measure, however, that would provide not only an immediate boost to the economy but also immediate relief to those most in need: a carefully crafted extension of the federal unemployment insurance program. The Senate approved such an extension before it adjourned in November. The House of Representatives refused to go along. It was among the greatest failures of the 107 ^th Congress.
One consequence is that jobless benefits for an estimated 780,000 Americans will abruptly stop tomorrow, even though most recipients have not yet exhausted their benefits. President Bush failed to show any leadership on this matter during the November Congress. Later, he finally asked Congress to extend the program for these workers and to make the benefits effective from Dec. 28.
That"s not enough. The way unemployment insurance typically works is that states provide laid-off workers with 26 weeks of benefits, followed by 13 weeks of federal aid. Under Mr. Bush"s scheme, federal benefits would be extended only for those who were already receiving them on Dec. 28. The extension would not cover the jobless workers who will exhaust their regular state-funded benefits after Dec. 28—an estimated 95,000 every week—but will receive no federal help unless the program is re-authorized. By the end of March, 1.2 million workers could fall into this category.
The Senate saw this problem coming, and under the leadership of Hillary Rodham Clinton for New York and Don Nickles of Oklahoma, passed a bill that would not only have covered people already enrolled in the federal program but provided 13 weeks of assistance for those losing their state benefits in the new year. The House, for largely trivial reasons, refused to go along.
Bill Frist, the new Senate majority leader, says he is looking for ways to put a kinder, gentler face on the Republican Party. Passing the Clinton-Nickles bill would be a good way to begin. The House should then follow suit. One of the House"s complaints last year was that, at $ 5 billion, the Clinton-Nickles bill was too expensive. That"s ridiculous, considering the costs of the tax cuts that House Republicans have in mind.
The unemployment rate last month stood at 6 percent, the highest since mid-1994. The country could use a $ 5 billion shot in the arm right about now. So could a lot of increasingly desperate people.

单选题 According to the author, the proposed extension is

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 该题为细节题。根据第一段最后一句“It was among the greatest failures of the 107 ^th congress.”可知，第107届国会最大的失败之一就是没有实施联邦政府失业保险项目，由此，可以推断出，作者认为下一届政府应该重新考虑实施该项目，故A项正确；根据该段第一至三句“with a new Congress drawing near, Democrats and Republicans are busily designing competing economic stimulus packages. The Republicans are sure to offer tax cuts, ...a carefully crafted extension of the federal unemployment insurance program.”可知，联邦政府失业保险延期项目包含在刺激经济发展政策之中，故B项错误；同时该项目不是由共和党和民主党共同提出的，故D项错误；根据该段第五句“The House of Representatives refused to go along.”可知，众议院不赞同联邦政府失业保险延期项目，由此可以推断出，该项目不是由众议院推出的救济项目，故C项错误。

单选题 What does the author refer to as one of the greatest failures of the 107 ^th Congress?

单选题 Who may benefit from the Clinton-Nickles bill?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 该题为细节题。根据第四段第一句“The Senate saw... and under the leadership... passed a bill that would not only have covered people already enrolled in the federal program but provided 13 weeks of assistance for those losing their state benefits in the new year.”可知，克林顿一尼克斯议案不仅涵盖那些已经在联邦政府失业保险项目中登记人册的人们，并且为那些在新的一年中将丧失州政府失业保险金的人们提供13周的援助，A、B、C三项均不完整，故选D。

单选题 Why did the author say the House"s complaint was ridiculous?

单选题 How does the author feel about the President"s request for the extension and its coverage?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 该题为推理题。根据第二段第二句和第三句“President Bush failed to show any leadership on this matter during the November Congress. Later, he finally asked Congress to extend the program for these workers and to make the benefits effective from Dec. 28.”可以推断出，布什总统关于失业保险金延期项目的请求滞后了；根据第三段第三句和第四句“Under Mr. Bush"s scheme, federal benefits would be extended only for those who were already receiving them on Dec. 28. The extension would not cover the jobless workers who will exhaust their regular state-funded benefits after Dec. 28...”可以推断出布什总统的计划不全面。综合这两方面的分析，只有B项符合文意。