The Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, was supposed to transform American health insurance. Critics have long feared that it would do much more. Republicans have cast Obamacare as a job-killing, economy-crushing villain. On February 4th they appeared to get more ammunition from the Congressional Budget Office(CBO). The CBO, as part of its projection of economic growth over the next decade, estimates that Obamacare will lower full-time employment by 2. 3m in 2021, compared with what might have been without reform, and by 2. 5m in 2025. The main reason is not that firms are already slashing jobs to avoid the burden the law imposes, as Republicans have complained, but that Americans will choose to work less. The insight that Obamacare would lower the supply of labour is not new, but the magnitude of the CBO"s estimate is—the 2. 3m drop in 2021 is nearly three times larger than the CBO"s earlier projection. Many factors account for the decline. Chief among them is the effect of subsidies for health insurance. To help Americans buy coverage on new health "exchanges" , Obamacare offers tax credits to those earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty line(about $ 11,500 to $ 46,000 for a single adult). Those tax credits are offered on a sliding scale, by income, so workers in effect pay a higher tax rate as their wages rise. This may dissuade them from trying to earn more. The White House, mining the report for good news, argued that Obamacare liberates American workers. "At the beginning of this year, we noted that as part of this new day in health care, Americans would no longer be trapped in a job just to provide coverage for their families, and would have the opportunity to pursue their dreams," the White House press secretary said in a statement. "This CBO report bears that out. " The supply-side effects are not all bad. Some Americans, no longer tied to their employer-provided insurance, may feel freer to take better jobs or start their own businesses. But this effect is unlikely to offset the ranks of people who choose to work less, or not at all. And although leisure is often agreeable, does America really want to encourage its citizens to put their feet up?

单选题 The CBO predicts that______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：根据CBO定位到第一段结尾，再根据predicts定位到第二段开头：The CBO，aspart of its projection of economic growth over the next decade，estimates that Obamacare will lowerfull—time employment by 2．3 m in 2021…其中，predicts对应estimates，故本题答案来自estimates后面的内容，其中lower full-time employment(减少全职就业人员)对应[D]unemployment ratemay be higher in the next decade(在未来十年，失业率有可能更高)。故选项[D]为答案。

单选题 The main cause of employment decline is______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：根据main cause，employment decline和出题顺序定位到第三段。该段第二句和第三句指出：Many factors account for the decline．Chief among them is the effect of subsidies forhealth insurance．其中的decline就是指employment decline；Chief among them相当于题干中的main cause，故确定答案来自该句Chief among them之后的内容。即答案为：effect of subsidiesfor health insurance(医疗保险补助金的影响)。四个选项分别为：[A]国家政策，[B]经济危机，[C]医疗保险，[D]卫生保健体系。与subsidies for health insurance最接近、也是最直接的一项是[C]medical insurance，故该项为答案。

单选题 American workers may work less because______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：根据American workers定位到第三段最后两句：…so workers in effect pay a highertax rate as their wages rise．This may dissuade them from trying to earn more．其中This may dissuade them from trying to earn more对应题干American workers may work less，而原因就是This前面提到的workers in effect pay a higher tax rate as their wages rise(实际上工人支付的税率随着工资上涨而增加)，即该题答案为选项[A]the more they earn，the more tax they pay。

单选题 Which one is NOT benefit brought by Obamacare?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：根据Obamacare定位到第四段。选项[A]“美国工人有更多自由时间”对应第一句：Obamacare liberates American workers．(奥巴马医保法案解放了美国工人。)故选项[A]是好处之一，故不是答案。选项[B]意为“大量美国人不需要工作”，文章只是说美国人有更多自由时间，而没有说大量美国人都不需要工作，该项不合原文，表述是错误的。选项[C]“美国人有更多机会追求他们的梦想”和选项[D]“美国人再也不用被限制在一份工作中来养家糊口”对应“Americans would no longer be trapped in a job just to provide coverage for their families，andwould have the opportunity to pursue their dreams”，这两项与该句话的表述一致，因此这两项表述是正确的。故该题答案为选项[B]。

单选题 The author"s attitude towards the effects of health insurance is______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：根据出题顺序以及题干中的effects可以定位到最后一段。作者的观点往往喜欢出现在一些转折、虚拟、情态动词处，该段能够体现作者观点态度的是But一句：But this effect is unlikely to…这句话告诉我们作者对于this effect的态度是否定的，故选项[A]“接受的”和选项[B]“赞成的”都与作者观点态度相悖，故不选。根据But一句以及最后的“does America…”这个反问句我们知道作者的态度是怀疑的，故选项[C]为答案。