A friend of mine had a grandfather who supervised the payroll at a large company long ago. People who knew him say this man was a paragon of virtue when it came to making sure the employees were treated fair and square on every payday. But he also believed that once wages were disbursed, workers should take full responsibility for their financial security. In his view, honest labor and thrifty habits were basic elements of the free-enterprise system. Nobody should expect any money unless they earned it. He opposed company pension plans, and was thoroughly dismayed by the fiscal structure and benefits of Social Security. I wonder how many people hold the same views now. The debate about changing Social Security is part of a larger question: What obligation, if any, do Americans feel toward fellow citizens who need help? Note, I didn"t say "less fortunate", "disadvantaged", or some other term that might be construed as evidence I"m promoting my own brand of social engineering. I just want to know how much concern people have for what happens outside their own households. Critics of government assistance programs often say they do more harm than good by creating a cycle of dependency for recipients and a gigantic bureaucracy that demoralizes the rest of society by taking money away from us and creating a welfare state of slackers. The term I prefer to describe our current situation is "safety-net culture". It has lots of problems, but I also know what life was like before safety nets, because my dad gave me abundant testimony from his 1920s boyhood near San Francisco—it was no Norman Rockwell painting. His father worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, so they did have a house. But one neighbor lived in a tent on a vacant lot and another was known for owning only one pair of overalls, which his wife laundered in a tub on the stove on Saturdays while he sat by, wrapped in a blanket. My dad"s family often ate boiled rice for breakfast. The beverage of choice was tea, but if that ran out they made "silver tea"—hot water with milk and sugar. Money for college wasn"t in the family budget. My dad got his degree thanks to the GI Bill. Decades of safety-net culture have removed a lot of anxiety from our lives but we"re still not dose to Utopia. Amid all the Social Security debate about aging baby boomers and shrinking worker contributions, I"m most compelled by this statistic: Close to 20 percent of retirees get all of their income from Social Security. Should that number be a source of national pride or embarrassment? Or perhaps a better question: How do you honestly feel about drinking silver tea during your golden years?
单选题
According to the first paragraph, the grandfather resented
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：本题问根据本文第一段祖父厌恶什么。首段"Nobody should expect any money unless they earned it. "表明作者朋友的祖父厌恶"不劳而获"。欺骗自己的同胞：首段中"In his view，honest labor and thrifty habits were basic elements of the free-enterprise system"．表明祖父认为认真工作和节俭是两种基本因素。但文中并未谈及祖父是不是厌恶欺骗自己同胞的行为。没有计划的生活：本项过于泛泛。首段第四句谈到"honest labor and thrifty habits were basic elements…"．这里虽然涉及到生活习惯，但强调的是要靠劳动和节俭生活，而不应该靠政府的救济，并不是强调人生要有计划。贫富差距：首段中"…this man was a paragon of virtue when it came to making sure the employees were treated fair and square on every payday"表明他会保证在薪水上雇员们都能得到公平待遇。但这并不能说明他厌恶贫富差距。
单选题
The critics of the social security system believe that it
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：本题问批评社会保障体系的人的看法。第三段"Critics of government assistance programs often say they do more harm than good by…creating a welfare state of slackers"。表明批评者认为社会保障体系会创造一个懒汉的福利国家。故"建立一个懒汉的国家"正确。对大多数人有利：第三段谈到社会保障体系"demoralizes the rest of society…"，可以看出这些批评者并不认为社会保障体系对大多数人有利。是注定要失败的：批评者指出了社会保障体系的一些弊端，但并没有预测它一定要失败。损害那些不幸的人：那些批评者不是说社会保障损害了不幸的人，而是说社会保障容易使人们变得懒惰。
单选题
The author mentions his family story in paragraph 4 to show that
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：本题问作者在第四段中提到自己家里的故事是为了表明什么。第四段"It has lots of problems，but I also know what life was like before safety nets"，承认前段说的社会保障确实会带来很多问题，作者又转而举出了在没有社会保障时他父亲童年时的生活境况：他父亲家还勉强过得去，但也负担不起他的学费；他们的邻居就更惨了。第五段中"Decades of safety-net culture have removed a lot of anxiety from our lives…"表明作者认为社会保障是有必要的。故"处于困境中的人需要外部的援助"正确。勤俭的习惯对于谋生是很有必要的：作者的这个故事中并没有体现出勤俭的必要性：在过去，懒汉得到了应有的下场：第四段中"one neighbor lived in a tent on a vacant lot and another was known for owning only one pair of overalls，which his wife laundered in a tub on the stove on Saturdays while be sat by，wrapped in a blanket"说明很多人在那时生活状况很苦，但并没有说他们是懒汉。只有勤劳的人才能在艰苦的时期过上好生活：这个故事里没有谈论勤劳与否。
单选题
According to the author, the safety net can
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：本题问根据作者所说，"safety net"的作用是什么。末段"Decades of safety-net culture have removed a lot of anxiety from our live"表明作者认为"safety net"能够减少我们生活中的压力；且从上文得知"silver tea"是生活过得不好时喝的。因此末句"How do you honestly feel about drinking silver tea during your golden years?"用问句的形式表明没有社会保障的晚年是很悲惨的。故"能够减少上了年纪所带来的压力"正确。消除贫困："eliminate"过于绝对。"safety net"作为一种社会保障体系，只能缓解贫困，不可能消除贫困。导致劳动力的减少：取材于本段第二句中的shrinking worker contributions，但原文中并没有指出safety net是劳动力减少的原因。对经济造成一些负面的影响："shrinking worker contributions"不是"safety net"造成的。
单选题
If a person drinks silver tea during his golden years, we can say that