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  3. [A] The visa system is not perfect. [B] The selling of visa is on the rise. [C] Auction has many advantages. [D] Sel

[A] The visa system is not perfect. [B] The selling of visa is on the rise. [C] Auction has many advantages. [D] Sel

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问题     [A] The visa system is not perfect.
    [B] The selling of visa is on the rise.
    [C] Auction has many advantages.
    [D] Selling visas is beneficial to Britons.
    [E] Methods to rectify the flaw of visa system.
    [F] Immigration brings negative economic impact.
    [G] Auction may be a solution to current visa system.
    Should the British government be in the business of selling visas? In effect it already is. For years wealthy folk who invest in the country have been given permission to live there. But according to a report released on February 25th by the Migration Advisory Committee, an independent group, Britain could do it better.
   【R1】________
    At present migrants who invest substantial sums in gilts or in British registered companies can apply for permanent residence. A million pounds ($1. 7m) gets them leave to remain after five years; ￡5m reduces the waiting time to three years and ￡10m to two. They need not speak English and can bring their families. Between 2009 and 2013 Britain flogged 1,628 such visas, about half to Chinese and Russians. The market is heating up: 560 went last year.
   【R2】________
    This system is deeply flawed. The minimum investment level has not gone up since 1994. Because the value of an investment must remain above ￡1 m until residency is granted, most applicants pile into low-risk gilts, for which buyers are already plentiful. Investors are likely to sell those gilts when they obtain settlement. Rich foreigners, who prize London’s private schools and England’s legal system, are benefiting more than the country that hosts them, thinks the committee.
   【R3】________
    To redress this, it recommends raising the threshold to ￡2m and expanding the range of qualifying investments to include venture-capital schemes and infrastructure bonds. Gilts might be excluded. The committee also suggests introducing "premium" visas, which would entail quick settlement rights and less onerous residency requirements. These could be auctioned off with a reserve price of ￡2. 5m.
   【R4】________
    An auction would have two clear advantages over the current system: the number of visas could be easily controlled, and they would sell for more. A revenue-maximising government should prefer an auction based on single sealed bids, as the committee suggests. More than an "English" auction, where bids are public, this would play on applicants’ fear of missing out, encouraging high rollers to bid closer to what they are willing to pay, rather than just a fraction more than their competitors, says Paul Klemperer, an auction theorist at Oxford University. To keep people guessing, and prices high, the government could keep the winning bids secret.
    Auctions would also enable would-be settlers to weigh Britain against other countries. Portugal offers residency to those who buy property worth ￠500,000 (￡412,000). Malta offers citizenship for ￠1. 15m in return for a combination of cash, property purchases and investment.
    Still, the committee’s proposals could be improved upon. More than venture capital or private infrastructure investment, and much more than foreign property buyers, Britain needs cold cash. Instead of trying to determine what is and is not a useful investment, it could auction all rich folk visas and spend the proceeds.
   【R5】________
    A government obsessed with cutting immigration is unlikely to follow the committee’s advice, let alone economic theory. But mere talk of selling settlement is healthy. More than half of Britons believe immigrants have a negative economic impact. A bidding war for British visas, with the proceeds going to hospitals and schools, might disabuse diem of that notion. It might even make them feel better about the country where they live.
【R1】
选项
答案B
解析 本段首句的migrants“移民”，permanent residence“永久居住”，倒数第二句的such visas“这类签证”也告诉我们本段讨论关于移民签证的话题，中间两句以数据指出定居英国所需的条件，最后一句明确指出：The market is heating up. “这个市场(指售卖签证的市场)正在升温”，而B项on the rise“正在上升”，故判断该题最佳答案是B项。
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