单选题 With a new Congress drawing near, Democrats and Republicans are busily designing competing economic stimulus packages. The Republicans are sure to offer tax cuts, the Democrats — among other things — financial relief for the states. There is one measure, however, that would provide not only an immediate boost to the economy but also immediate relief to those most in need: a carefully crafted extension of the federal unemployment insurance program The Senate approved such an extension before it adjourned in November. The House of Representatives refused to go along. It was among the greatest failures of the 107th Congress.
One consequence is that jobless benefits for an estimated 780000 Americans will abruptly stop tomorrow, even though most recipients have not yet exhausted their benefits. President Bush failed to show any leader- ship on this matter during the November Congress. Later, he finally asked Congress to extend the program for these workers and to make the benefits effective from Dec. 28.
That's not enough. The way unemployment insurance typically works is that states provide laid-off workers with 26 weeks of benefits, followed by 13 weeks of federal aid. Under Mr Bush's scheme, federal benefits would be extended only for those who were already receiving them on Dec. 28. The extension would not cover the jobless workers who will exhaust their regular state-funded benefits after Dec. 28 — an estimated 95000 every week —but will receive no federal help unless the program is re-authorized. By the end of March, 1.2 million workers could fall into this category.
The Senate saw this problem coming, and under the leadership of Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Don Niekles of Oklahoma, passed a bill that would not only have covered people already enrolled in the federal program but provided 13 weeks of assistance for those losing their state benefits in the new year. The House, for largely trivial reasons, refused to go along.
Bill Frist, the new Senate majority leader, says he is looking for ways to put a kinder, gentler face on the Republican Party. Passing the Clinton-Nickles bill would be a good way to begin. The House should then follow suit. One of the House's complaints last year was that, at $ 5 billion, the Clinton-Nickles bill was too expensive. That's ridiculous, considering the costs of the tax cuts that House Republicans have in mind.
The unemployment rate last month stood at 6 percent, the highest since mid-]994. The country could use a $ 5 billion shot in the arm right about now. So could a lot of increasingly desperate people.

单选题 According to the author, the proposed extension is ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】分析推理题。文章在第一段后半部分提到了提议的延长项目(the proposed extension)。首先，作者对这一项目持的是肯定态度，用not only…but also…说明了这一项目的好处，指出这一项目是解决两大问题的措施；然后，作者批评了第107届国会：1t was among the greatest failures of the 107thCongress(这是第107届国会最大的失败之一)。由此可以推知作者的言下之意，就是下一届国会应当重新考虑并采纳这一项目，故本题选[A]。其余三项中，[B]中的excluded(排除在外的)语出无据；[C]中的by the House和[D]中的by both Republicans and Democrats都与原文不符。

单选题 What does the author refer to. as one of the greatest failures of the 107th Congress?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】细节题。本题实际上考查的是对第一段最后一句中的主语it所指的理解。该段在提出提议的延长项目(the proposed extension)后指出：The Senate approved such an extension before…refused to go along(参议院在11月份休会之前批准了这样一个项目。可众议院却不予支持)。由此可以看出，其后一句中的it指代的就是这种参议院批准而众议院否决该项目的情况，这正是[B]项的意思。其余三项都与原文不符，也无法由原文合理推知。

单选题 Who may benefit from the Clinton-Nickles bill?

单选题 Why did the author say the House's complaint was ridiculous?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】分析推理题。文章第五段后半部分提到了众议院对Clinton-Nickles法案的抱怨．认为这一法案耗资太大。在最后一句中，作者首先表明了自己的看法：That's ridiculous(那种说法很荒唐)，然后用分词状语说明了原因：considering the costs…have in mind(考虑一下众议院中共和党提出的减税计划的代价吧)。其言下之意很明显：众议院共和党提出的减税计划耗资比Clinton-Nickles法案更大，故他们认为后者耗资大才显得荒唐可笑。这与[C]的意思一致。其余三项都与原文不符，也无法由原文推知。

单选题 How does the author feel about the President's request for the extension and its coverage?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】分析推理题。文章第二段最后一句中提到布什总统最后终于要求国会延长该项目，并于12月28日开始发放救济金。因前面已说过对许多失业工人的救济将在明天突然中止(abruptly stop tomorrow)，故据此即可推知布什总统的要求已经太迟了。接着，在第三段第一句作者表明了自己的态度：That's not enough(那还不够)，并详细说明了布什总统的计划的缺陷。由此又可推知，作者认为总统的计划不完善。结合这两个方面可知[B]对。其余三项都无法由原文推知。