问答题 Listen to the following passage. Altogether the passage will be read to you four times. During the first reading, which will be read at normal speed, listen and try to understand the meaning. For the second and third readings, the passage will be read sentence by sentence, or phrase by phrase, with intervals of 15 seconds. The last reading will be read at normal speed again and during this time you should check your work. You will then be given 2 minutes to check through your work once more.
Please write the whole passage on ANSWER SHEET ONE.

【正确答案】

【答案解析】[解析] Why Some People Are Poor
The poverty line is the minimum income that people need for an acceptable standard of living. / People with incomes below the poverty line are considered poor. /
As the general standard of living rises, / the poverty line does, too. / Therefore, even with today"s relatively high standard of living, / about 10 percent of the people in the United States are below the poverty line. / Economists suggest several reasons. /
For one thing, more than half of the poor people are not qualified to work. / By law, children less than 16 years old can not work in many industries; / many companies do not hire people over 65 years old, / which is considered the normal retirement age. /
Some poor adults do not look for jobs for a variety of personal reasons. / Other poor people look for a job but can"t find one. / Many poor adults never went to high school. /Therefore, when they look for jobs, they have few skills that they can offer.