In order to "change lives for the better" and reduce "dependency", George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the "upfront work search" scheme. Only if the jobless arrive at the jobcentre with a CV, register for online job search, and start looking for work will they be eligible for benefit—and then they should report weekly rather than fortnightly. What could be more reasonable? More apparent reasonableness followed. There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseeker's allowance. "Those first few days should be spent looking for work, not looking to sign on ," he claimed. "We're doing these things because we know they help people stay off benefits and help those on benefits get into work faster" Help? Really? On first hearing, this was the socially concerned chancellor, trying to change lives for the better, complete with "reforms" to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the newly unemployed to find work, and subsidises laziness. What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for "fundamental fairness"—protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits. Losing a job is hurting: you don't skip down to the jobcentre with a song in your heart, delighted at the prospect of doubling your income from the generous state. It is financially terrifying, psychologically embarrassing and you know that support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. You are now not wanted; you are now excluded from the work environment that offers purpose and structure in your life. Worse, the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and pay the bills has disappeared. Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and the answer is always: a job. But in Osborneland, your first instinct is to fall into dependency—permanent dependency if you can get it—supported by a state only too ready to indulge your falsehood. It is as though 20 years of ever-tougher reforms of the job search and benefit administration system never happened. The principle of British welfare is no longer that you can insure yourself against the risk of unem ployment and receive unconditional payments if the disaster happens. Even the very phrase "jobseeker's allowance" is about redefining the unemployed as a "jobseeker" who had no fundamental right to a benefit he or she has earned through making national insurance contributions. Instead, the claimant receives a time-limited "allowance," conditional on actively seeking a job; no entitlement and no insurance, at ￡71.70 a week, one of the least generous in the EU.

单选题 George Osborne' s scheme was intended to

单选题 The phrase "to sign on"(Para. 2)most probably means

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：含义题。根据题干信息定位到第二段。由第三句Those first few days should be spent looking for work，not looking to sign on可推断出答案应与looking for work语意相反。C项“注册享受政府补贴”，与找工作正好相对，为正确答案。A项“在就业中心寻找工作机会”与looking for work 意思一致，所以不能选。B项“接受政府补贴的限制条件”跟找工作没有必然的对立关系。D项 “参加政府的就业培训项目”文中并未提到。

单选题 What prompted the chancellor to develop his scheme?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干关键词prompt和chancellor定位到第二段。段中tryingto change lives for the better以及后一句What motivated him,…was his zeal for“fundamental fairness”，破折号后列举了“基本公平”的具体表现。A项“保证所有人的美好生活”与trying to change lives for the better一致，为正确答案。B项“保护失业者”，文章主要讲如何鼓励失业者找工作，并不是笼统地 “保护”。C项“慷慨地对待申请人”与ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits不符。D项“保证纳税人的公平”只是A项的补充信息，以偏概全。因此答案为 A项。

单选题 According to Paragraph 3, being unemployed makes one feel

单选题 To which of the following would the author most probably agree?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：态度题。A项是Osborne的主张，不是作者观点；由最后一段的The principle of British welfare is no longer that you can insure yourself against the risk of unemployment and receive unconditional payments if the disaster happens，可知B项错误。由第三段Worse，the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and pay the bills has disappeared．和最后一段at ￡71．70 a week，one of the least generous in the EU，可知C项错误。综合理解最后一段，尤其是全文最后一句中的关键词 Instead，可以推断出作者对有条件限制地申领救济金不满，故确定答案为D项。