In an essay, entitled "Making It in America," in the latest issue of The Atlantic, the author Adam Davidson relates a joke from

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问题     In an essay, entitled "Making It in America," in the latest issue of The Atlantic, the author Adam Davidson relates a joke from cotton country about just how much a modern textile mill has been automated: The average mill has only two employees today, " a man and a dog. The man is there to feed the dog, and the dog is there to keep the man away from the machines. "
    Davidson’s article is one of a number of pieces that have recently appeared making the point that the reason we have such stubbornly high unemployment and sagging middle-class incomes today is largely because of the big drop in demand because of the Great Recession, but it is also because of the quantum advances in both globalization and the information technology revolution, which are more rapidly than ever replacing labor with machines or foreign workers.
    Yes, new technology has been eating jobs forever, and always will. As they say, if horses could have voted, there never would have been cars. But there’s been an acceleration. As Davidson notes, " In the 10 years ending in 2009, factories shed workers so fast that roughly one out of every three manufacturing jobs—about 6 million in total—disappeared. "
    Besides, what the new technology won’t do in an above average way a Chinese worker will. Consider this paragraph from an article in The Times about why Apple does so much of its manufacturing in China: "Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly-line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the Chinese plant near midnight. A foreman immediately roused 8.000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day. ’ The speed and flexibility is breathtaking,’ the executive said. ’ There’s no American plant that can match that.’"
    There will always be change—new jobs, new products, new services. But the one thing we know for sure is that with each advance in globalization and the I. T. revolution, the best jobs will require workers to have more and better education to make themselves above average. Here are the latest unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for Americans over 25 years old: those with less than a high school degree, 13. 8 percent; those with a high school degree and no college, 8. 7 percent; those with some college or associate degree, 7. 7 percent; and those with bachelor’s degree or higher, 4.1 percent.
    In a world where average is officially over, there are many things we need to do to buttress employment, but nothing would be more important than passing some kind of G. I. Bill for the 21st century that ensures that every American has access to post-high school education.
In the author’s opinion, in order to boost employment, the most important thing to do is______.

选项 A、stimulate demand inside America
B、impose restriction on immigration
C、guarantee access to university education
D、provide more on-the-job training

答案C

解析 本题考查对文章最后两段内容的理解,作者在最后两段中具体阐述了要改变美国现状,提升美国就业率的办法。作者认为,在这样一个内忧外患的时代,唯一可以确定的就是“the best jobs will requireworkers to have more and better education to make themselves above average”,“最好的工作要求员工具有超出一般劳动力的知识和技能”。并且列举了一系列的数据说明学历高的人比学历低的人就业率高。最后一段中作者也明确指出“…but nothing would be more important than passing some kind of G.I.Billfor the 21st century that ensures that every American has access to post—high school education”;“……没有什么比通过《退伍军人权利法案》等诸如此类的法律法规,以确保在21世纪每个美国人都有机会接受高等教育更为重要的了。”G.I.Bill即《退伍军人权利法案》,最先于二战末期起草生效,给退伍美军军人提供免费的大学或者技校教育,以及一年的失业补助。因此,在作者的眼中,要提升就业率的最重要的事情就是保证美国公民接受高等教育的途径。正确答案选[C]。
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