Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump, helping keep joblessness down and then, when the recovery began, allowing employment to rise. Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret. Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour Party, has promised a crackdown on "zero-hours contracts" if he wins the next election. The government has launched a consultation. Zero-hours contracts allow firms to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need, with no prior notice. In theory, at least, people can refuse work. Fully 1. 4m jobs were based on these contracts in January 2014, according to the Office for National Statistics. That is just 4% of the total, but the share rises to a quarter in the hospitality business. The contracts are useful for firms with unstable patterns of demand, such as hotels and restaurants. They have also helped firms to expand during the recovery—allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanent staff, who would be more costly to make redundant if things went wrong. Flexibility suits some workers, too. According to one survey, 47% of those employed on zero-hours contracts were content to have no minimum contracted hours. Many of these workers are in full-time education. The ability to turn down work is important to students, who want to revise at this time of year. Pensioners keen for a little extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours. Yet that leaves more than a quarter of workers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy with their conditions. Some of this is cyclical. During recessions, a dearth of permanent positions forces people into jobs with no contracted hours even if they do not want them. Underemployment is particularly prevalent among these workers, 35% of whom would like more hours compared with 12% in other jobs. As the economy recovers, many should be able to renegotiate their contracts or find permanent jobs. But the recovery will not cause unwanted zero-hours contracts to disappear. Some workers will never have much negotiating power; they are constrained by geography, family commitments and lack of competition for their skills among a small number of big employers. Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labour-market power. Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and maternity pay. Workers are penalised for not being available when requested. And some contracts contain exclusivity clauses which prevent workers from taking additional jobs. These can harm other employers as well as workers, and actually reduce labour market flexibility. That, at least, is worth doing away with.

单选题 According to Paragraph 1, politicians are concerned about______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：细节题。定位到第一段。根据politicians定位到第二句Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret，其中fret表示“使烦恼，担心”，相当于题干are concerned about“担心”，故答案句为one of its bendier bits。而bendy表示“易弯曲的”，引申为“灵活的”，相当于第一句的flexible，答案句的bendier bits指代上文的flexible labour market。故答案为[C]the flexibility of the labour market“劳动市场的灵活性”。其余几项意思分别为：[A]the rise of unemployment rate“失业率上涨”；[B]the disorder of market economy“市场经济混乱”；[D]the severity of economic depression“经济萧条的严重性”；这三项在文中均为无中生有。综上分析，本题选择[C]。

单选题 Zero-hours contracts are characterized by their______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：细节题。定位到第二、三段。第二段首句说：Zero-hours contracts allow firms to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need，with no prior notice．“零时工合同政策允许公司根据需求雇佣员工，时间可长可短而不需要提前通知员工。”该句暗示zero-hours contracts的特点是“灵活”。第三段首句说：The contracts are useful for firms with unstable patterns of demand，such as hotels and restaurants．“零时工合同对酒店和餐馆这类不稳定需求模式的行业十分有用。”其中unstable一词明确指出zero-hours contracts的第二个特点是“不稳定”。接着分析选项。选项[A]reliability and popularity“可靠性和流行性”；[B]flexibility and instability“灵活性和不稳定性”；[C]stability and sustainability“稳定性和可持续性”；[D]adaptability and universality“适应性和普遍性”。显然，符合答案要求的为[B]。

单选题 Who may not be satisfied with zero-hours contracts?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：细节题。定位到第四段。该段第二句提到：According to one survey，47％of those employed on zero-hours contracts were content to have no minimum contracted hours．其中，content=satisfied，zero-hours contracts是原词复现。该句提到“47％签约零时工合同的人感到满意”，后文具体说哪些人会对此满意。下文说：The ability to turn down work is important to students，who want to revise at this time of year．该句暗示“零时工合同”适合学生，因为他们需要灵活安排时间，与该句相关选项为[C]Students doing part-time jobs．“兼职的学生。”；故该项不符合题干not satisfied的要求，该项非答案。接着最后一句说：Pensioners keen for a little extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours．与之相关的选项为[D]Pensioners desiring more income．“想获得更多收入的养老金领取者。”；其中desiring more income=keen for extra income，故[D]项也可以排除。该段首句：Flexibility suits some workers，too．对应选项[B]Workers requiring flexibility．“对灵活性有要求的工人。”故该项也可以排除。原文唯一没提到的是[A]People with specific goals．“有明确目标的人。”故该项符合题目要求，[A]为本题答案。

单选题 Zero-hours contracts may allow employers to______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：细节题。定位到最后一段第三至五行：Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labour-market power．Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and maternity pay．其中zero-hours contracts为原词复现，make it easier for employers to=allow employers to；故答案来自to后面的内容，答案关键有两处，一是abuse their labour-market power“滥用劳动市场的权力”，二是to avoid statutory obligations“避开法定义务”。选项[A]satisfy their need“满足他们的需求”；[B]violate legal provision“违反法律规定”；[C]avoid legal punishment“避免法律惩罚”；[D]fulfill their responsibility“履行他们的义务”。与答案句最接近的选项为[B]，“违反法律规定”虽然不能完全等同，但比较接近“避开法定义务”。许多法定的义务如果我们刻意避免，本身就是一种违反。[B]虽然不算完美答案，但属于最佳答案。在答题过程中，我们在很大程度上都是寻找最佳答案。

单选题 The text mainly focuses on zero-hours contracts'______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：主旨题。本题涉及全文主旨。首段先引出zero-hours contracts“零时工合同”的话题；第二、三、四段讨论其具有灵活性和不稳定性等特点；最后两段讨论“零时工合同”的一些问题。故本文主旨为“零时工合同的特点和问题”。接着分析选项。选项[A]traits and effects“特点和作用”；[B]limits and defects“局限性和缺陷”；[C]merits and impacts“优点和作用”；[D]features and problems“特点和问题”。显然，符合主旨的选项为[D]。