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
Who’s poor in America? That’s a question hard to answer. Hard because there’s no conclusive definition of poverty. Low income ma
Who’s poor in America? That’s a question hard to answer. Hard because there’s no conclusive definition of poverty. Low income ma
admin
2017-07-09
46
问题
Who’s poor in America? That’s a question hard to answer. Hard because there’s no conclusive definition of poverty. Low income matters, though how low is unclear. Poverty is also a state of mind that fosters self-defeating behavior—bad work habits, family breakdowns, and addictions. Finally, poverty results from bad luck: accidents, job losses, disability.
Despite poverty’s messiness, we’ve measured progress against it by a single statistic; the federal poverty line. By this measure, we haven’t made much progress. But the apparent lack of progress is misleading for two reasons.
First, it ignores immigration. Many immigrants are poor and low-skilled. They add to the poor. From 1989 to 2007, about three quarters of the increase in the poverty population occurred among Hispanics(西班牙裔美国人) —mostly immigrants and their children.
Second, the poor’s material well-being has improved. The official poverty measure obscures this by counting only pre-tax cash income and ignoring other sources of support, including food stamps and housing subsidies. Although many poor live from hand to mouth, they’ve participated in rising living standards. In 2005, 91% had microwaves, 79% air-conditioning, and 48% cell phones.
The existing poverty line could be improved by adding some income sources and subtracting some expenses. Unfortunately, the administration’s proposal for a "supplemental poverty measure" in 2011 goes beyond that. The new poverty number would compound public confusion. It also raises questions about whether the statistic is tailored to favor a political agenda.
The "supplemental measure" ties the poverty threshold to what the poorest third of Americans spend on food, housing, clothing, and utilities. The actual threshold will probably be higher than today’s poverty line. Many Americans would find this curious; people get richer, but "poverty" stays stuck.
What produces this outcome is a different view of poverty. The present concept is an absolute one; the poverty threshold reflects the amount estimated to meet basic needs. By contrast, the new measure embraces a relative notion of poverty; people are automatically poor if they’re a given distance from the top, even if their incomes are increasing.
The new indicator is a "propaganda device" to promote income redistribution by showing that poverty is stubborn or increasing. The Census Bureau has estimated statistics similar to the administration’s proposal. In 2008, the traditional poverty rate was 13.2% ; estimates of the new statistic range up to 17%. The new poverty statistic exceeds the old, and the gap grows larger over time.
As senator Daniel Moynihan said, the administration is defining poverty up. It’s reasonable to debate how much we should aid the poor or reduce economic inequality. But the debate should not be swayed by misleading statistics that few Americans could possibly understand. Government statistics should strive for political neutrality. This one fails.
What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
选项
A、Poverty is very often defined as a state of mind.
B、Poverty is a problem hard to tackle in America.
C、Bad work habits and bad luck lead to poverty.
D、There is no consensus on the concept of poverty.
答案
D
解析
段落主旨题。首段提到,美国哪些人属于穷人很难说,因为“贫穷”一词没有明确定义,更没有明确的收入标准;接着文章谈到“贫穷同样是一种心态,会助长自我挫败的行为”。可见首段一直在谈贫穷的含义。D项中concept of poverty为原文中definition of poverty的同义转述;no consensus为no conclusive definition以及unclear的同义转述。所以D项是对首段主旨的概括,故为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/h8bZ777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
【F1】Americansnolongerexpectpublicfigures,whetherinspeechorinwriting,tocommandtheEnglishlanguagewithskillandg
Manyphilosophershavearguedthatpeoplemakedecisionsaboutwhat’srightandwrongbasedonmoralprinciplesandrationaltho
Neverhasagenerationofyoungpeoplespentsomuchmoneyyetunderstoodsolittleabouthowtomanageit.Overthepastdecade
Whatshapesmoralemotionsinthefirstplace?Theanswerhaslongbeenevolution,hutinrecentyearsthere’sanincreasingapp
Whatshapesmoralemotionsinthefirstplace?Theanswerhaslongbeenevolution,hutinrecentyearsthere’sanincreasingapp
Inthefollowingtext,somesentenceshavebeenremoved.ForQuestions1~5,choosethemostsuitableonefromthelistA~Gtofi
Undeniably,manyEuropeansarcsuffering.LevelsofunemploymentarethehighestsincerecordsbeganinFrance(3.2million)and
Undeniably,manyEuropeansarcsuffering.LevelsofunemploymentarethehighestsincerecordsbeganinFrance(3.2million)and
Researchhasuncoveredthatcultureisadeterminingfactorwheninterpretingfacialemotions.Thestudyrevealsthatinculture
随机试题
看英文电影,收看英语电视节目,听英文歌曲,以及在某些特定场合学习英语也是很棒的英语学习方式,因为这样我们可以把所学英语与某些特定的场景联系起来以加深记忆。不要孤立地背英语单词。用心记住那些包含生词的句子或词组,这样我们才能知道怎样运用这些词汇。
DearMr.Suzuki,ThegoodswereceivedonJuly15werefoundnottomatchourorder.ThegoodsweorderedwereItemNo.2345
“有些公务员不是共产党员”这一判断是()。
男性,60岁。既往有心绞痛史,昨晚突然发生心动过速,心率150次/分。查体心左界大,无杂音。入院后静注西地兰0.4mg,10分钟后心率为75次/分,最可能为
在体循环和肺循环中基本相同的是()
建筑工程常用的墙板材料中,在同样厚度条件下,以下哪种板材的耐火极限值为最大?[2005—053]
根据(SL176—1996)《水利水电工程施工质量评定规程(试行)》,用于工程质量检验的计量器具需经()进行检定,并具备有效的检定证书。
假定某企业在4年前以原始费用22000元购买机器A,估计还可以使用6年,第6年末估计残值为2000元,年度使用费为7000元。现在市场上出现了机器B,原始费用为24000元,估计可以使用10年,第10年末残值为3000元,年度使用费为4000元。现有两个
()不属于金融衍生工具。
埃里克森认为,12~18岁的发展任务是培养()
最新回复
(
0
)