阅读理解
Structural unemployment—the unemployment that remains even at the peak of the economy's upswings—is caused by an imbalance between the types and locations of available employment on the one hand and the qualifications and locations of workers on the other hand. When such an imbalance exists, both labor shortages and unemployment may occur, despite a balance between supply and demand for labor in the economy as a whole. Because technological change is likely to displace some workers, it is a major factor in producing structural unemployment. While technological advance almost invariably results in shifts in demands for different types of workers, it does not necessarily result in unemployment. Relatively small or gradual changes in demand are likely to cause little unemployment. In the individual firm or even in the labor market as a whole, normal attrition may be sufficient to reduce the size of the work force in the affected occupations. Relatively large or rapid changes, however, can cause serious problems. Workers may lose their jobs and find themselves without the skills necessary to obtain new jobs. Whether this displacement leads to structural unemployment depends on the amount of public and private sector resources devoted to retraining and placing those workers. Workers can be encouraged to move where there are jobs, to reeducate or retrain themselves, or to retire. In addition, other factors affecting structural unemployment, such as capital movement, can be controlled. Increased structural unemployment, should it occur, makes it difficult for the economy to achieve desired low rates of unemployment along with low rates of inflation. If there is a growing pool of workers who lack the necessary skills for the available jobs, increases in total labor demand will rapidly generate shortages of qualified workers. As the wages of those workers are bid up, labor costs, and thus prices, rise. This phenomenon may be an important factor in the rising trend, observed for the past two decades, of unemployment combined with inflation. Government policy has placed a priority on reducing inflation, but these efforts have nevertheless caused unemployment to increase.
单选题5.All of the following are mentioned as ways of controlling the magnitude of structural unemployment EXCEPT
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】Supporting idea This question addresses what the passage states directly about how the magnitude of structural unemployment can be controlled. The last few sentences of the second paragraph state several ways in which this control may be exerted. A Correct. The passage mentions using public sector resources, but it does not say that those resources could be used to create jobs. B The passage states that workers can be reeducated or retrained as a way of addressing structural unemployment. C Encouraging workers to retire is one of the options mentioned in the passage for controlling structural unemployment. D Capital movement is one of the factors affecting structural unemployment, and the passage states that controlling this movement can be used as a way of controlling structural unemployment. E The passage indicates that encouraging displaced workers to move where there are jobs is a way to help control structural unemployment. The correct answer is A.
单选题6.The passage suggests that a potential outcome of higher structural unemployment is
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】Supporting idea The third paragraph discusses a potential result of higher structural unemployment: if more workers lack skills that are in demand, there will be shortages of qualified workers. The wages of workers who do have the desired skills will thus rise. A While higher structural unemployment might result in an increased demand for social services, such as job training and the like, the passage does not suggest that the government would in fact respond by spending more on such services. B Nothing in the passage indicates that employers would hire workers who lack necessary skills—indeed, the lack of qualified workers is itself a cause of increased structural unemployment. C Correct. The passage indicates that when growth in demand for workers with certain skills outpaces the growth in the number of workers who possess those skills, the wages of those workers are bid up, resulting in increased pay for the skilled workers. D The passage does not discuss the length of time that jobs are likely to remain unfilled as structural unemployment increases. The amount of time jobs remain unfilled could remain the same, but the number or type of jobs that go unfilled may change. E The passage suggests that certain types of public sector spending (presumably spending as a result of government policy) can help control the magnitude of structural unemployment, but the passage does not indicate whether the government is in fact likely to change policy so as to try to control this magnitude. Furthermore, the passage states that government policy has placed a priority on reducing inflation. Yet there is no suggestion that the government is likely to shift away from this priority in the face of higher structural unemployment. The correct answer is C.
单选题7.It can be inferred from the passage that even when there are unemployed workers, labor shortages are still likely to occur if
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】Inference This question relies on the passage's characterization of structural unemployment — that there is a mismatch between the number of jobs available in a certain location and the number of workers in that location who possess the skills required for those jobs. Even if there is a sufficient number of workers in the area to ill the positions, if those workers had the requisite skills, labor shortages will occur if an insufficient number of those workers lack the required skills. A The passage in the third paragraph explains that structural unemployment and inflation can coexist, but it does not suggest that a high rate of inflation will make labor shortages likely; rather, the passage indicates that structural unemployment may lead to inflation by pushing wages, and thus prices, higher. B The passage indicates that greater technological innovation can produce structural unemployment, not that insufficient technological innovation can. C When there are unemployed workers, labor shortages would be unlikely to occur if the level of structural unemployment is low, because low structural unemployment would mean that no imbalance exists between available employment and workers with requisite skills. Thus, unemployed workers would likely be able to find jobs. D Correct. The labor shortages associated with structural unemployment can, according to the passage, be caused by a mismatch in a certain location between available jobs requiring particular skills and the number of workers possessing those skills. E The passage does not discuss what would happen if some industries' workers are dissatisfied with their pay. Presumably, though, even if those workers were to quit their jobs due to that dissatisfaction, unemployed workers may very well be happy to take those jobs (assuming they are not lacking the requisite skills). So the passage gives us no reason to think that labor shortages would be likely to occur—at least without a situation like that described in answer choice D. The correct answer is D.
单选题8.The passage suggests that the phenomenon of combined unemployment and inflation is
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】Supporting idea This question depends on understanding the phenomenon of combined unemployment and inflation, which is addressed in the third paragraph. That paragraph states that a trend associated with structural unemployment—that of rising labor costs and prices—is responsible for the phenomenon. A The third paragraph indicates that government policy has been unable, thus far, to remedy the problem of combined unemployment and inflation, and it gives no indication whether a nongovernmental solution is available. B Correct. Periods of structural unemployment have, according to the passage, featured both inflation and unemployment. C The passage does not discuss government intervention into management-labor relations. D Certain applications of technology may be responsible for increasing structural unemployment, but the passage provides no way to distinguish between imperfect and other such applications. E The passage discusses the phenomenon of combined unemployment and inflation only in relation to structural unemployment, which the passage suggests is likely to arise only in relation to large or rapid changes in demand for labor. Therefore, it seems unlikely that relatively small changes in the labor force can eliminate the phenomenon of combined unemployment and inflation. The correct answer is B.
单选题9.The passage is primarily concerned with
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】Main idea This question depends on understanding the passage as a whole in order to identify its primary concern. The first paragraph defines structural unemployment (which the passage, in its second paragraph, indicates is a serious problem).The second paragraph describes a major factor that can cause structural unemployment, as well as some steps that might be taken to alleviate it. Finally, the third paragraph identifies possible effects of structural unemployment, including wage and price inflation. A The first paragraph clarifies the definition of structural unemployment, but this definition is not the passage's primary concern. B The passage's second paragraph indicates some ways that an increase in structural unemployment can be mitigated, but nowhere does the passage suggest that the condition can be eliminated entirely. C Correct. The passage discusses the problem of structural unemployment, explaining how it can arise and what some of its consequences may be. D The passage does suggest some ways in which structural unemployment might be alleviated, but this kind of unemployment is not characterized as an effect of a social policy. Rather, it is a state of economic affairs. E The second paragraph identifies some steps that could be taken to correct a particular situation of worker displacement. It does not, however, evaluate those steps. The correct answer is C.
单选题10.According to the passage, small downward shifts in the demand for labor will not usually cause unemployment because
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】Supporting idea This question requires noting that the second paragraph of the passage discusses small changes in demand for labor: their effect on unemployment is likely to be small because normal attrition can reduce the size of the work force accordingly. A The passage does not mention upswings in the economy in relation to small shifts in demand for labor. Furthermore, the passage indicates that structural unemployment can occur even at peaks of economic upswings, so presumably even if small downward shifts in the demand for labor are frequently accompanied by economic upswings, structural unemployment could still result. B The passage suggests that shifts in demand for workers that do not result in unemployment may be small or gradual. Nothing indicates that small changes are also necessarily gradual. C The second paragraph indicates that workers being encouraged to move to where there are jobs would be a reasonable response to large or rapid changes in demand for workers; it does not discuss such encouragement in relation to small shifts in demand. D Correct. The passage identifies normal attrition as a factor that can reduce the work force sufficiently to accommodate small reductions in the demand for labor in particular occupations. E Workers' ability to learn new skills is identified in the passage as a factor affecting whether structural unemployment will grow in response to large or rapid changes, not small changes, in the demand for workers in particular occupations. The correct answer is D.