首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 41-45, choose the most suitable one from the list (A、B、C、
In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 41-45, choose the most suitable one from the list (A、B、C、
admin
2010-05-05
71
问题
In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 41-45, choose the most suitable one from the list (A、B、C、D、E、F、G……) to fit into each of the numbered blank. There are several extra choices, which do not fit in any of the gaps. (10 points)
Anyone paying attention to the debate over Social Security has heard a litany of dates. There’s 2018, when the program is expected to start taking in less in taxes than it pays out in benefits. And there’s 2042 (or 2052 by some estimates), when its trust fund is supposed to run out of money.
(41)______.
For years, the government has collected more in Social Security taxes than it needed to pay current benefits. Those excess collections are credited to the Social Security Trust Fund, ostensibly to pay future retirees. But there is no actual money in the fund. Instead, the government spends the money for other purposes and issues the fund IOUs.
In 2009, the shell game begins to end. The amount by which Social Security taxes exceed benefits starts to shrink. (42)______.
The problem could have been avoided, and it still could be reduced.
If the rest of the budget was in good shape—and particularly if the government had stayed on the path it was on five years ago of buying down the national debt—lawmakers could simply re-borrow the money to pay benefits, They could have a leisurely debate over what, if anything, else to do.
(43)______.
This raises a question: If the biggest immediate problem of Social Security is that it will soon make the deficit worse, wouldn’t it be better to address the underlying deficit? In other words—as the Bush administration embarks on a 60-day, 60-stop tour to promote Social Security overhaul—are we really debating the right problem?
(44)______.
The money that bas been borrowed, or is projected to be borrowed, in President Bush’s two terms alone would come close to solving Social Security’s solvency problems for at least the next 75 years. The Office of Management and Budget projects cumulative borrowing of $2.6 trillion. The Social Security Administration estimates that $3.7 trillion would shore up the program until at least 2080.
(45)______. Exploding Medicare and Medicaid costs, the loss of revenue because of the recent tax cuts and likely changes in the alternative minimum tax (AMT) present a bleak outlook over the next 10 years. Making the Bush tax cuts permanent and fixing the AMT could lead to deficits of about $650 billion to $750 billion by the middle of the next decade.
A. By 2018—sooner, if private accounts are created—the flow reverses. Instead of spending a surplus, the government will need to begin paying off its IOUs. Absent large tax hikes or spending cuts, already astronomical deficits will skyrocket.
B. The bottom line is that Washington, through profligate borrowing and policies that lock in red ink for years to come, is passing the burden to future generations. And the problem is getting worse.
C. But the most important date will arrive sooner—in 2009. That’s when the cost of paying benefits to the first wave of retiring baby boomers will begin exposing the accounting gimmickry that is the true driver of the Social Security "crisis". To the extent a crisis exists, it is not really about Social Security. It is about decades of irresponsible budgeting that threatens future retirees.
D. As bad as the current record deficits look ($427 billion this year alone), they likely will get worse in the next decade as the result of fiscal time bombs hard-wired into government spending and tax plans.
E. Left unchecked, chronic deficits will more than offset any good that comes out of Social Security reform. Deficits make the government more beholden to its creditors, many of them foreign. As the national debt surges, so does the portion of the budget dedicated to paying interest on that debt.
F. But that is not an option given the dire budgetary situation. Social Security will soon become a drain on a government already under tremendous fiscal stress. It’s the difference between having a zero balance on your credit card and being at your credit limit. If you’re maxed out, you lose the flexibility to take on new debt to deal with an expense.
G. This is not to say Social Security reform—with or without the private accounts proposed by Bush—is not worthwhile. But it is only one of many necessary steps to put the nation on a sound fiscal footing and ensure that future generations will have a reasonably comfortable retirement.
选项
答案
F
解析
上段说,如果政府预算健康运作,立法者完全可以再借钱去支付下发的各类补贴费用。选项F转折说,考虑到目前可怕的预算形势,这已不再是可选的方案。选项F与上段语义构成转折关系,为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/PJ44777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
TheU.S.systemofhighereducationiswidelyconsideredtheworld’sbest.Acollegeeducation【C1】________substantialbenefits—a
Itisacommonplaceamongmoraliststhatyoucannotgethappinessbypursuingit.Thisisonlytrueifyoupursueit【C1】________
Couldyoursmartphonepreventacarfromhittingyou?GeneralMotorsandotherresearchersthinkthat’sapossibility【C1】_______
WhenPaulGorski,thefounderofanorganizationcalledEdChange,visitscollegesanduniversitiestoadvisethemoncampusdiv
Overtheyears,pregnantwomenhaveaskedDonaldRedelmeier,atToronto’sSunnybrookHospital,aboutthedangersofdiving,hot
WhentheislandofSingaporebecameanindependentcountryin1965,ithadfewfriendsandevenfewernaturalresources.Howdid
Shortstoriesareduearevival.Inrecentyears,therehavebeencritically【C1】________collectionsbyAmericanwriterssuchas
Economictheorysuggeststhatregionalinequalitiesshoulddiminishaspoorerplacesattractinvestmentandgrowfasterthanric
InearlyJunesevenperformersdancedamong1080fountainstomarktheopeningofanewpublicspaceinLondonGranarySquare,p
ThethirdsentenceofParagraph1impliesthat______.InParagraph5",thepowerless"probablyrefersto______.
随机试题
下列公式中,正确的有()。
中国历史上首开人为造山之先河的是()。
A.丙酮酸B.谷氨酸C.α-酮戊二酸D.草酰乙酸E.甘氨酸(1995年)体内最广泛存在,活性最高的转氨酶是将氨基转移给
属于我国《刑事诉讼法》特有的基本原则之一的是()。
单击“演示文稿”按钮,然后按照题目要求完成下面的操作。注意:以下的文件必须保存在考生文件夹下。“天河二号超级计算机”是我国独立自主研制的超级计算机系统,2014年6月再登“全球超算500强”榜首,为祖国再次争得荣誉。作为北京市第××中学
Mergethefollowingtwoshortsentencesintoonenewsentence.
美国在1940年代崛起为军事和经济强国,他们在各个领域的卓越成就让东方人为之神往。话虽如此,美国人却又一次转向中国文化,以丰富他们的生活。这个趋势方兴未艾。
A、Indifference.B、Criticism.C、Hatred.D、Conservatism.B根据句(9)可知,自从快餐出现以来就饱受人们的诟病。因此答案为[B]。
Itdoesn’tcomeasasurprisetoyoutorealizethatitmakesnodifferencewhatyoureadorstudyifyoucan’trememberit.You
Onthenightoftheplay,Albertwasalreadymade-upand【B1】______inhispoliceman’suniformlongbeforetheendofthefirsta
最新回复
(
0
)