单选题
As Texas begins to recover from two weeks of devastating storms, a generally hidden truth about its economy will come to light again. Most of the builders and electricians who will have to repair the houses, remake the roads and re-establish the electrical power lines will have to take on undocumented workers in order to meet their contracts. In 1996 the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) conservatively estimated that Texas had over 600,000 undocumented immigrants doing the jobs no one else wants: hauling carcasses in packing plants, picking fruit, cleaning hotel rooms, or sorting out the unspeakable damage caused by natural disasters. Mention the issue of these workers to a Texan, and he is liable to fall uncharacteristically silent. Even state legislators avoid the issue. They know that many of their constituents employ undocumented workers. They also know that the booming Texas economy is driven in part by the ready supply of cheap, diligent, illegal labour. Dallas is one magnet for undocumented workers. The city's politicians oppose INS crackdowns fearing they will damage the local economy and bankrupt small companies. Houston is another. There a dawn drive past some of the city's 36 informal day-labour sites shows the size of the undocumented workforce. Young Mexicans wait on the pavement, ready to jump into the back of any pick-up truck that slows down to take them. Houston police estimate that over 150,000 labourers, about 85% of them undocumented, gather every day in search of a job. It is a testament to the vitality of the Texas economy that most of them get hired usually to mix cement and shift bricks. No questions are asked, no papers signed. Most workers do not even know their employer's name. They are paid in cash, around 40 dollars a day while the average American earns more than twice as much.
单选题
According to the passage, the presence of immigrant workers in Texas ______. A. is seen as a problem by local authorities B. is tolerated given that it helps the local economy C. can be considered evidence of the failing economy D. is a source of racial conflict
单选题
Some of the jobs that the illegal immigrants do as mentioned in the article include the following ______. A. harvesting crops, working in hotels, repairing roads and packaging meat B. harvesting crops, managing restaurants, cleaning roads and packaging meat C. rebuilding homes, picking apples, cleaning roads and cutting meat D. repairing power lines, working in hotels, and working in parks
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题可参照文章的第一段，其中有两处提到非法移民工人在Texas都做些什么工作。B项不正确，managing restaurants，cleaning roads是文中没有提到的；C项不正确，cleaning roads and cutting meat不对；D项中working in parks不正确。因此只有 A项为正确答案。
单选题
The illegal workers are ______. A. hard-working but costly B. lazy but cheap C. hard-working and ambitious D. hard-working and cheap
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题可参照第三段最后的“by the ready supply of cheap，diligent，illegal labor”，从中可知，这些非法工人廉价、勤快。因此D项为正确答案。
单选题
Which of the following was NOT stated in the passage? A. Many illegal workers look for work in areas near major cities. B. Employers never supply transportation to the place of work. C. Illegal workers do not present any documents in order to get the job. D. The illegal workers do jobs that others would consider undesirable.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 从文章比喻Dallas和Houston是吸引非法移民的磁铁可以看出，非法移民多数在主要城市找工作；所以A项在文中是间接提出的；在文章第三段讲到“There a dawn drive past．．．slows down to take them．”只是说这些移民准备跟任何想雇用他们的人走，而雇主是否提供去上班的交通工具并没有提及；根据文中的“no questions are asked，no papers signed”可知，C项在文中被提及过；D项在第一段就提到“undocumented immigrants doing the jobs no one else wants”。因此正确答案为B。
单选题
According to the passage, the relationship between employer and illegal worker is best described as ______. A. admirable B. amicable C. difficult D. impersonal
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的依据句是最后一段中的“Most workers do not even know their employer's name．”从中可知雇主和这些非法移民工人之间的关系是“非个人的”。因此D项为正确答案。