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The school which blames globalization thinks ______.A.trade influences middling wages positivelyB.the labor market becomes more denseC.technology decreases workers' wages at onceD.the reason of capital's rewards outpacing those of labor is uncertain

题目

The school which blames globalization thinks ______.

A.trade influences middling wages positively

B.the labor market becomes more dense

C.technology decreases workers' wages at once

D.the reason of capital's rewards outpacing those of labor is uncertain


相似考题

1.Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning)Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet I. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.Rich Man, Poor ManGluers and sawyers from the furniture factories in Galax near the mountains of Virginia lost their jobs last year when American retailers decided they could find a better supplier in China. At the other end of the furniture industry Robert Nardelli lost his job this month when Home Depot decided it could find a better chief executive in his deputy. But any likeness ends there. Mr. Nardelli's exit was as extravagantly rewarded as his occupation of the corner office had been. Next to his $ 210 million severance pay, the redundant woodworkers packages were mean to the point of provocation (激怒).That's the way it goes all over the rich world. If you look back 20 years, the total pay of the typical top American manager has increased from roughly 40 times the average--the level for four decades -- to 110 times the average now. These are the glory days of global capitalism. The mix of technology and economic integration transforming the world has created unparalleled prosperity. In the past five years the world has seen faster growth than at any time since the early 1970s. Having joined the global labor force, hundreds of millions of people in developing countries have won the chance to escape squalor (肮脏) and poverty. Hundreds of millions more stand to join them.That promises to improve the lot of humanity as a whole incalculably. But in the rich world labor's share of GDP has fallen to historic lows, while profits are soaring. A clamor is abroad that Mr. Nardelli and his friends among the top hundredth -- or even the top thousandth -- of the population are seizing the lion's share of globalization's gains. Meanwhile everyone else -- not just blue-collar factory workers but also the wider office -- working middle class -- shuffles along, grimly waiting for the next round of cost-cuts.Fear and clothingSigns of a backlash abound. Stephen Roach, the chief economist at Morgan Stanley, has counted 27 pieces of anti-China legislation in Congress since early 2005. The German Marshall Fund found last year that, although most people still say they favor free trade, more than half of Americans want to protect domestic companies from foreign competition even if that slows economic growth. In a hint of labor's possible resurgence, the House of Representatives has just voted to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade. Even Japan is alarmed about inequality, stagnant (不景气的) wages and jobs going to China. Europe has tied itself in knots trying to "manage" trade in Chinese textiles.Should you blame your computer?The panic comes in part from a rush to lump all the blame on globalization. Technology -- an even less resistible force -- is also destroying white- and blue-collar tasks in a puff of automation and may play a bigger role in explaining rising wage inequality. The distinctions between technology and globalization count, if only because people tend to welcome computers but condemn foreigners (whether as competitors or immigrants). That makes technology easier to defend.For economists, the debate about whether technology or globalization is responsible for capital's rewards outpacing those of labor is crucial, complicated and unresolved. One school, which blames globalization, argues that the rocketing profits and sluggish middling wages of the past few years are the long-lasting results of trade, as all those new develoA.seemed to be redundantB.irritated themC.satisfied themD.was close to Mr. Nardelli's

3.Passage FourWomen earn less than men do. For example, in 1998 the hourly wages of women in the U. S. were 26% less than those of men.The gap between male and female incomes varies with age. The gap between the labor incomes of young women and young menvaries. It's also clear that jobs in which women are concentrated pay less. The larger the number of workers who are women in ranindustry, the lower the average wages.Why do women earn less than men do? Can the differences be explained by the fact that women are lookeddown upon? If so, the government has to intervene(干预), to force the employers to pay equal wages to equal jobs. However, there is no agreement among economists about the causes ofthe gap. One view argues that women, on the average, have chosen low-paying jobs in which workers enjoy the freedom of entering and leaving the labor force, which reduces their years of experience relativeto men. Other people say the gap can also be explained by the difference in educational background.Much of the gap, however, has not been fully explained. It might be the result of some prejudice (偏见) against women. It is this part that has produced calls for government action. What would happen if the government did intervene toincrease the wages paid to women? One possibility is that incomes for women as a group might actually decline (下降). An increase in wage decreases the quantity of labor imput demanded, resulting in decreased employment as the rate of hiring newworkers declines. The result will be a surplus 过剩) of labor. Those who can find jobs might be better off while those who had jobsmight find themselves out of work.48. Some economists believe women earn less than men partly because______.A. there are more than enough women in the labor forceB. women have more freedom in selecting jobsC. women are only provided with low-paid jobsD. women are less experienced than men

更多“The school which blames globalization thinks ______.A.trade influences middling wages positivelyB.the labor market becomes more denseC.technology decreases workers' wages at onceD.the reason of capital's rewards outpacing those of labor is uncertain”相关问题
  • 第1题:

    What would happen if women's wages were raised?

    A. The imput of labor would be increased.

    B. The unemployment rate would go up.

    C. Those who have jobs would all become better off.

    D. Women as a group would earn more than before.


    正确答案:B

    此题为细节题。文章的最后一段内可以找到句子:The result will be a surplus(过剩)of labor。如果政府干预提高女性的工资待遇,将会导致劳动力过剩,从而引起失业率上升的问题。所以选答案 B

  • 第2题:

    It can be inferred from the passage that early historians of women’s labor in the United States paid little attention to women’s employment in the service sector of the economy because________.

    A.fewer women found employment in the service sector than in factory work

    B.the wages paid to workers in the service sector were much lower than those paid in the industrial sector

    C.women’s employment in the service sector tended to be much more short—term than in factory work

    D.employment in the service sector seemed to have much in common with the unpaid work associated with homemaking


    正确答案:D
    本题和上题的根据同出一处,根据上题答案,选项D正确,服务行业之所以所以少受早期历史学家关注,是因为它看上去和妇女无报酬的家务劳动太相像。

  • 第3题:

    Rising wages -- together with currency fluctuations and high fuel costs -- are eating away the once-formidable"China price" advantage, prompting thousands of factory owners to flee the Pearl River Delta. Much has been written about the more than doubling of wages at the Shenzhen factory of Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer, which produces Apple iPhones and iPads and employs 920,000 people in China alone."One can talk about a world pre- and post- Foxconn," says Victor Fung, chairman of Li & Fung, the world's biggest sourcing company and a supplier of Wal-Mart. "Foxconn is as important as that."
    Foxconn's wage increases are only the most dramatic. Our analysis suggests that, since February, minimum wages have climbed more than 20 percent in 20 Chinese regions and up to 30 percent in some, including Sichuan. At a Guangdong Province factory supplying Honda, wages have risen an astonishing 47 percent. All this is bad news for companies operating in the world's manufacturing hub, and chief executives should assume that double-digit annual rises -- if not on the scale witnessed this year -- are here to stay.
    Looked at another way, however, wage inflation provides companies with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink radically the way they approach global production -- and they should do so sooner rather than later.
    Why the urgency? After all, wage hikes in China are nothing new. Since 1990, they have risen by an average of 13 percent a year in U.S. dollar terms and 19 percent annually in the past five years.
    There are two big reasons the situation is different now. The first has to do with productivity.
    Over the past 20 years, productivity increases have broadly matched wage increase, negating their impact. The pay rises came from a very low base, so while average wages grew 19 percent a year from 2005 to 2010, this amounted to only ¥260 a month per employee, a sum that could be offset by more efficient production or switching to cheaper sources of parts and materials.
    If labor costs continue, however, to increase at 19 percent a year for another five years,monthly wages would grew ¥623 per month, according to BCG estimates. Such an increase would ripple through the economy in the form of higher prices for components, business services, cargo-handling and office staff.
    The second reason relates to societal change. Until now, if has been easy to lure a seemingly unlimited number of young, low-wage workers to the richer coastal regions and house them cheaply in dormitories until they saved enough to return home to their families in the interior provinces. In the future, though, young workers will be harder to recruit. This is partly because there will be fewer of them: Largely because of the country's one-child policy, the number of Chinese aged 15 to 29 will start declining in 2011. Moreover, with living standards rising across China, fewer of today's rural youth will want to go to coastal regions to toil for 60 hours a week on an assembly line and live in a cramped dormitory.
    So what can CEOs do in this fast-changing environment? An instinctive reaction is to search for cheaper labor elsewhere. But this is short-sighted and would provide -- at best -- a short-term fix. Another option is to stay in China and try to squeeze out greater productivity gains.
    In Paragraph 5, the author discusses that ( ).

    A.if labor costs continue to grow, it would ripple through the economy
    B.average wages grow 19 percent from 2005 to 2010
    C.foreign enterprises should switch their manufacturing to cheaper sources
    D.the wage rises over the past 2 decades could be offset by rising production

    答案:D
    解析:
    答案A根据文章大意可排除,B应该是过去的五年时间,C文章中没有提到。

  • 第4题:

    Text l Americans,we are told,believe in competition.But a shockingly large number of workers-30 million-are shackled by what are called"noncompetes,"which are agreements forbidding employees to leave their job to work for a competitor or to start their own competing business.And the number is growing fast.Once reserved for a corporation's most treasured rainmakers,noncompetes are now routinely applied to low-wage workers like warehouse employees,fast-food workers and even dog sitters.Like other anti-competitive practices,they poison our economy in larger,less perceptible ways.A report from the Treasury Department suggests that noncompetes should be banned for all employees,regardless of skill,industry or wage;they simply do more harm than good.Because laws governing noncompetes vary from state to state,we can analyze the effects of these kinds of contracts on wages,competition and labor mobility.The evidence shows wages in states that enforce noncompetes are 10 percent lower than in states that restrict their use.The Treasury Department concluded in its recent report that"by reducing workers'job options,noncompete agreements force workers to accept lower wages in their current jobs,and may sometimes induce workers to leave their occupations entirely,forgoing accumulated human capital."Workers shackled by noncompetes cannot rely on outside offers and free-market competition to fairly value their talents.Without incentives to increase wages in-house,companies can allow salaries to plateau.California and Massachusetts offer a case study within the high-tech industry.California strictly voids all noncompete agreements.Massachusetts,like most other states,enforces noncompetes.Both states enjoyed an early boom within the high-tech market,but California's Silicon Valley has continued growing,while Massachusetts has sputtered.In Massachusetts the enforcement of those agreements kept out new businesses by preventing people most likely to start new businesses-experienced former employees-from staying in the region.Meanwhile,in Silicon Valley,entrepreneurial activity flourished;thanks to California's refusal to enforce all noncompetes(including those from other jurisdictions),it remains the tech center of the world.The best companies already realize the damaging effect of post-employment restrictions.Companies with little turnover risk becoming stagnant and short-sighted.In fact,relying on noncompetes rather than active recruitment and retention creates a market for lemons-a business will end up with employees who stay despite their unhappiness.Smart leaders treat departing employees as alumni,rather than sour exes in a divorce.But too many other employers have become increasingly inclined to bring disagreements with their former employees to court,relying on noncompetes rather than positive incentives to retain the best talent and reduce the competition.The liberty to move in the job market not only supports workers'choice,equality and wage growth but also creates the competition that catalyzes entrepreneurship,innovation and overall economic growth.If we want a healthy and free market,we should not shackle workers to the first business that offers them a job.Let them compete.
    In the author's view,noncompetes should be_____

    A.unconditionally abolished for workers
    B.specifically reserved for high talents
    C.strictly limited to high-tech industries
    D.only banned for those taking first jobs

    答案:A
    解析:
    [信息锁定]第二段末句先借财政部报告指出:应对所有劳动者严禁实行竞业禁止,无论技能、工资或行业;第三段随后分析竞业禁止在薪资、竞争、人才流动三方面的负面影响(不利工资上浮、不利推动竞争、不利人才流动);第四段以麻省、加州对竞业禁止的不同政策从而收获不同经济效益为例说明竞业禁止对竞争、创业的危害;第五段进而指出企业减少竞争的最佳做法:依赖积极正面的激励措施留住人才而非依赖竞业禁止一纸协议;末段最后总结:不该对员工施加竞业禁止束缚,应让其竞争起来。就此可知,作者对竞业禁止持批判态度,与财政部报告站位一致,A.正确。[解题技巧]B.出自第二段①句“过去竞业禁止只用于高级人才,现在却扩大到低薪员工”(据most treasured rainmakers和low-wage workers的对比可知前者属于“高收入/高级人才”),但该句意在强调竟业禁止适用范围扩大,已呈泛滥趋势;C.与第四段文意“竞业禁止不利于高科技产业自由竞争、长期发展”相悖;D.看似与末段②句相符,却未掌握②句实乃“以极端凸显普遍”手法,即以“不能借助竞业禁止协议将劳动者终身捆绑在一个公司”凸显“要给劳动者Ia由进出劳动市场(即工作选择)的权利,不能靠一纸协议来将其束缚住”。

  • 第5题:

    American farmers have been complaining of labor shortages for several years now.Given a multi-year decline in illegal immigration,and a similarly sustained pickup in the U.S.job market,the complaints are unlikely to stop without an overhaul of immigration rules for farm workers.Efforts to create a more straightforward agricultural-workers visa that would enable foreign workers to stay longer in the U.S.and change jobs within the industry have so far failed in Congress.If this doesn’t change,American businesses,communities and consumers will be the losers.Perhaps half of U.S.farm laborers are undocumented immigrants.As fewer such workers enter the U.S.,the characteristics of the agricultural workforce are changing.Today’s farm laborers,while still predominantly born in Mexico,are more likely to be settled,rather than migrating,and more likely to be married than single.They are also aging.At the start of this century,about one-third of crop workers were over the age of 35.Now,more than half are.And crop picking is hard on older bodies.One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it has been all along:Native U.S.workers won’t be returning to the farm.In a study published in 2013,economist Michael Clemens analyzed 15 years of data on North Carolina’s farm-labor market and concluded,“There is virtually no supply of native manual farm laborers”in the state.This was true even in the depths of a severe recession.Mechanization is not the answer either—not yet at least.Production of corn,cotton,rice,soybeans and wheat have been largely mechanized,but many high-value,labor-intensive crops,such as strawberries,need labor.Even dairy farms,where robots currently do only a small share of milking,have a long way to go before they are automated.As a result,farms have grown increasingly reliant on temporary guest workers using the H-2A visa to fill the gaps in the agricultural workforce.Starting around 2012,requests for the visas rose sharply;from 2011 to 2016 the number of visas issued more than doubled.The H-2A visa has no numerical cap,unlike the H-2B visa for nonagricultural work,which is limited to 66,000 annually.Even so,employers frequently complain that they aren’t allotted all the workers they need.The process is cumbersome,expensive and unreliable.One survey found that bureaucratic delays led H-2A workers to arrive on the job an average of 22 days late.And the shortage is compounded by federal immigration raids,which remove some workers and drive otherunderground.Petitioning each year for laborers—and hoping the government provides enough,and that they arrive on time—is no way to run a business.In a 2012 survey by the California Farm Bureau,71 percent of tree-fruit growers and nearly 80 percent of raisin and berry growers said they were short of labor.Some western growers have responded by movingoperations to Mexico.Without reliable access to a reliable workforce,more growers will be tempted to move south.According to a report by the Partnership for a New American Economy,Americans are consuming more fresh produce,which is good.But a rising share of it is grown elsewhere.In 1998-2000,14.5 percent of the fruit Americans consumed was imported.Little more than a decade later,the share of imported fruit had increased to 25.8 percent.Rural U.S.communities that might have benefited didn’t.In effect,the U.S.can import food or it can import the workers who pick it.The U.S.needs a simpler,streamlined,multi-year visa for agricultural workers,accompanied by measures to guard against exploitation and a viable path to U.S.residency for workers who meet the requirements.Otherwise growers will continue to struggle with shortages and uncertainty,and the country as a whole will lose out.
      Agriculture employers complain about the H-2A visa for its____?《》()

    A.slow granting procedures.
    B.limit on duration of stay.
    C.tightened requirements.
    D.control of annual admissions.

    答案:A
    解析:
    本题目为细节题,考察具体细节。题目问的是农场主们抱怨H-2A的原因是什么。根据专有名词定位在第7和8段,又根据题干另一关键词employer可以直接定位在第8段的第二句话:雇主们经常抱怨说他们分配不到所有需要的工人。紧接着就提到了过程很繁琐,昂贵和不可靠。所以,他们不满的就是这个过程,对应到了procedure.

  • 第6题:

    资料:“Our cars are for people who want something different.”
    This has been the slogan for over 50 years of Suprema Cars, a manufacturer of an English sports car. The car is mostly handmade in the company's factory in northern England. Suprema Car produces approximately 500 cars a year. About 5 years ago, the company began to lose sales and market share, and in the last two years, it has made a loss.
    Recently, there have been problems with the labor force. The factory workers have demand higher wages and better working conditions. They are also unhappy because the management is insisting that they increase production, but the workers think this will have a bad effect on the quality of the cars.
    The company still has many loyal customers. People buy Suprema sports cars because they are handmade and have an image of quality and craftsmanship.

    Which of the following is NOT a problem that Suprema Cars is facing?

    A.Customers’ distrust of products.
    B.A financial loss.
    C.Unhappy workers.
    D.Loss on sales and market share.

    答案:A
    解析:
    本题的问题是“以下哪一项不是Suprema汽车面临的问题?”。选项A意为“客户对产品的不信任”;选项B意为“经济损失”;选项C意为“不快乐的工人”;选项D意为“失去销售和市场份额”。根据主题句可知,B、C、D选项均有提及,故选A。

  • 第7题:


    According to this article,which statement is true?( )

    A.The demand of labor is more than the supply of labor
    B.The demand of labor is less than the supply of labor
    C.The demand of labor is equal to the supply of labor
    D.The author is not clear about the relation between the demand of labor and the supply of labor

    答案:A
    解析:
    细节题。根据四个选项的关键词demand of labor和supply of labor可定位到第四、五、六段。第四、五段介绍技术变革和资本积累使劳动力需求增加;第六段提出由于人口增长、技术变革和国内资本积累,劳动力供应增加,最后一句提到“劳动力供给稳步增长,但增速低于劳动力需求”。由此可知,劳动力供不应求。

  • 第8题:

    ()in the labor market,he has enrolled in a computer course.

    ABe competitive

    BBeing more competitive

    CBeing competitive

    DTo be more competitive


    D

  • 第9题:

    问答题
    The effect of governmental expenditures on the total economy varies with both the level of utilization of labor and capital in the economy at the time of the expenditure, and the segment of the economy which receives the expenditure. If the economy as a whole or the segment of the economy which is the focus of the expenditure is operating at capacity or close to capacity, then the expenditure’s major effects will tend to be inflationary, and will not generate much employment of capital and labor. If the economy or sector is operating at much less than full employment, the expenditure will produce a genuine (non-inflationary) rise in the GNP.

    正确答案:
    政府投资对于整个经济的影响作用,受到以下两个因素的制约。第一,政府投资之时劳动力和资本的利用情况;第二,接受投资的经济部分。如果整个经济或接受主要投资的经济部分充分或接近充分发挥效能,那么政府投资的效力不会很大,所以资本和劳动力也不会得到充分利用。而如果经济潜能并未充分发挥,政府投资则会真正促进GNP的增长。
    解析: 暂无解析

  • 第10题:

    单选题
    ()in the labor market,he has enrolled in a computer course.
    A

    Be competitive

    B

    Being more competitive

    C

    Being competitive

    D

    To be more competitive


    正确答案: A
    解析: 暂无解析

  • 第11题:

    单选题
    The US Department of Labor statistics shows that ______.
    A

    many college graduates find it increasingly hard to get suitable jobs

    B

    there is an oversupply of workers and this oversupply is increasing recently

    C

    teachers, engineers, physicists and other specialists are extremely needed

    D

    colleges and graduate schools have become aware of the severe situation in the labor market


    正确答案: A
    解析:
    根据首段第一句The US Department of Labor statistics (统计结果) indicates that there is an oversupply of college-trained workers and that this oversupply is increasing.可知,美国劳动部的统计结果表明大学毕业生供大于求,而且这种供大于求的状况一直在加剧。因此答案为A)“许多大学生发现越来越难找到合适的工作”。

  • 第12题:

    问答题
    Practice 1  Wealth, as Mr. Hobbes says, is power. But the person who either acquires, or succeeds to a great fortune, does not necessarily acquire or succeed to any political power, either civil or military. His fortune may, perhaps, afford him the means of acquiring both, but the mere possession of that fortune does not necessarily convey to him either. The power which that possession immediately and directly conveys to him, is the power of purchasing; a certain command over all the labor, or over all the produce of labor which is then in the market. His fortune is greater or less, precisely in proportion to the extent of this power; or to the quantity either of other men’s labor, or what is the same thing, of the produce of other men’s labor, which it enables him to purchase or command. The exchangeable value of every thing must always be precisely equal to the extent of this power which it conveys to its owner.  But though labor be the real measure of the exchangeable value of all commodities, it is not that by which their value is commonly estimated. It is often difficult to ascertain the proportion between two different quantities of labor. The time spent in two different sorts of work will not always alone determine this proportion. The different degrees of hardship endured, and of ingenuity exercised, must likewise be taken into account. There may be more labor in an hour's hard work than in two hours easy business; or in an hour's application to a trade which it cost ten years labor to learn, than in a month’s industry at an ordinary and obvious employment. But it is not easy to find any accurate measure either of hardship or ingenuity. In exchanging indeed the different productions of different sorts of labor for one another, some allowance is commonly made for both. It is adjusted, however, not by any accurate measure, but by the higgling and bargaining of the market, according to that sort of rough equality which thought not exact, is sufficient for carrying on the business of common life.

    正确答案:
    【参考译文】
    霍布斯说:财富就是权力。但获得或承继大宗财产的人,未必就获得或承继了民政上或军政上的政治权力。他的财产,也许可以提供他一种获得政权的手段,但单有财产未必就能给他政权。财产对他直接提供的权力,是购买力,是对于当时市场上各种劳动或各种劳动生产物的支配权。他的财产的大小与这种支配权的大小恰成比例,换言之,财产的大小,与他所能购买或所能支配的他人劳动量或他人劳动生产物数量的大小恰成比例。一种物品的交换价值,必然恰等于这物品对其所有者所提供的劳动支配权。
    劳动虽是一切商品交换价值的真实尺度,但一切商品的价值,通常不是按劳动估定的。要确定两个不同的劳动量的比例,往往很困难。两种不同工作所费去的时间,往往不是决定这比例的唯一因素,它们的不同困难程度和精巧程度,也须加以考虑。一个钟头的困难工作,比一个钟头的容易工作,也许包含有更多劳动量;需要十年学习的工作做一小时,比普通业务做一月所含劳动量也可能较多。但是,困难程度和精巧程度的准确尺度不容易找到。诚然,在交换不同劳动的不同生产物时,通常都在一定程度上,考虑到上述困难程度和精巧程度,但在进行这种交换时,不是按任何准确尺度来作调整,而是通过市场上议价来作大体上两不相亏的调整。这虽不很准确,但对日常买卖也就够了。
    解析: 暂无解析

  • 第13题:

    Those white workers were not (satisfied) with their wages, and when they were asked to work longer hours, it added fuel to the flames.选择能代替括号里的选项

    A、merry

    B、ideal

    C、happy

    D、delighted


    参考答案:C

  • 第14题:

    Rising wages -- together with currency fluctuations and high fuel costs -- are eating away the once-formidable"China price" advantage, prompting thousands of factory owners to flee the Pearl River Delta. Much has been written about the more than doubling of wages at the Shenzhen factory of Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer, which produces Apple iPhones and iPads and employs 920,000 people in China alone."One can talk about a world pre- and post- Foxconn," says Victor Fung, chairman of Li & Fung, the world's biggest sourcing company and a supplier of Wal-Mart. "Foxconn is as important as that."
    Foxconn's wage increases are only the most dramatic. Our analysis suggests that, since February, minimum wages have climbed more than 20 percent in 20 Chinese regions and up to 30 percent in some, including Sichuan. At a Guangdong Province factory supplying Honda, wages have risen an astonishing 47 percent. All this is bad news for companies operating in the world's manufacturing hub, and chief executives should assume that double-digit annual rises -- if not on the scale witnessed this year -- are here to stay.
    Looked at another way, however, wage inflation provides companies with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink radically the way they approach global production -- and they should do so sooner rather than later.
    Why the urgency? After all, wage hikes in China are nothing new. Since 1990, they have risen by an average of 13 percent a year in U.S. dollar terms and 19 percent annually in the past five years.
    There are two big reasons the situation is different now. The first has to do with productivity.
    Over the past 20 years, productivity increases have broadly matched wage increase, negating their impact. The pay rises came from a very low base, so while average wages grew 19 percent a year from 2005 to 2010, this amounted to only ¥260 a month per employee, a sum that could be offset by more efficient production or switching to cheaper sources of parts and materials.
    If labor costs continue, however, to increase at 19 percent a year for another five years,monthly wages would grew ¥623 per month, according to BCG estimates. Such an increase would ripple through the economy in the form of higher prices for components, business services, cargo-handling and office staff.
    The second reason relates to societal change. Until now, if has been easy to lure a seemingly unlimited number of young, low-wage workers to the richer coastal regions and house them cheaply in dormitories until they saved enough to return home to their families in the interior provinces. In the future, though, young workers will be harder to recruit. This is partly because there will be fewer of them: Largely because of the country's one-child policy, the number of Chinese aged 15 to 29 will start declining in 2011. Moreover, with living standards rising across China, fewer of today's rural youth will want to go to coastal regions to toil for 60 hours a week on an assembly line and live in a cramped dormitory.
    So what can CEOs do in this fast-changing environment? An instinctive reaction is to search for cheaper labor elsewhere. But this is short-sighted and would provide -- at best -- a short-term fix. Another option is to stay in China and try to squeeze out greater productivity gains.
    Which of the following would be the best title for text? ( )

    A.Rising Cost, A Pain in the Neck
    B.The Irreversible Wage inflation
    C.To Rethink Global Production Plans
    D.As Wages Rise, Time to Leave China

    答案:C
    解析:

  • 第15题:

    Text l Americans,we are told,believe in competition.But a shockingly large number of workers-30 million-are shackled by what are called"noncompetes,"which are agreements forbidding employees to leave their job to work for a competitor or to start their own competing business.And the number is growing fast.Once reserved for a corporation's most treasured rainmakers,noncompetes are now routinely applied to low-wage workers like warehouse employees,fast-food workers and even dog sitters.Like other anti-competitive practices,they poison our economy in larger,less perceptible ways.A report from the Treasury Department suggests that noncompetes should be banned for all employees,regardless of skill,industry or wage;they simply do more harm than good.Because laws governing noncompetes vary from state to state,we can analyze the effects of these kinds of contracts on wages,competition and labor mobility.The evidence shows wages in states that enforce noncompetes are 10 percent lower than in states that restrict their use.The Treasury Department concluded in its recent report that"by reducing workers'job options,noncompete agreements force workers to accept lower wages in their current jobs,and may sometimes induce workers to leave their occupations entirely,forgoing accumulated human capital."Workers shackled by noncompetes cannot rely on outside offers and free-market competition to fairly value their talents.Without incentives to increase wages in-house,companies can allow salaries to plateau.California and Massachusetts offer a case study within the high-tech industry.California strictly voids all noncompete agreements.Massachusetts,like most other states,enforces noncompetes.Both states enjoyed an early boom within the high-tech market,but California's Silicon Valley has continued growing,while Massachusetts has sputtered.In Massachusetts the enforcement of those agreements kept out new businesses by preventing people most likely to start new businesses-experienced former employees-from staying in the region.Meanwhile,in Silicon Valley,entrepreneurial activity flourished;thanks to California's refusal to enforce all noncompetes(including those from other jurisdictions),it remains the tech center of the world.The best companies already realize the damaging effect of post-employment restrictions.Companies with little turnover risk becoming stagnant and short-sighted.In fact,relying on noncompetes rather than active recruitment and retention creates a market for lemons-a business will end up with employees who stay despite their unhappiness.Smart leaders treat departing employees as alumni,rather than sour exes in a divorce.But too many other employers have become increasingly inclined to bring disagreements with their former employees to court,relying on noncompetes rather than positive incentives to retain the best talent and reduce the competition.The liberty to move in the job market not only supports workers'choice,equality and wage growth but also creates the competition that catalyzes entrepreneurship,innovation and overall economic growth.If we want a healthy and free market,we should not shackle workers to the first business that offers them a job.Let them compete.
    Concerning departing employees,it Js wise for leaders to_____.

    A.treat them like a traitor
    B.respect their choice willingly
    C.take legal actions against them
    D.manage to persuade them to stay

    答案:B
    解析:
    [信息锁定]第五段④句明确指出:明智的领导者应将即将离职的员工视为毕业校友(该放手就放手).而不是离婚纠纷中态度恶劣的前任(死缠烂打,提各种要求)。可见作者认为领导者应该尊重员工的选择,B.正确。[解题技巧]A.根据④句sour exes推测而出,而该做法是作者抨击的对象.C.是⑤句不明智雇主(too many other employers)的做法,与题干所问不符;D.源自⑤句片段信息to retain talent.但结合④句,作者强调的是之前就要实行激励措施以留住员工,而不是到员工要走了再作徒劳的挽留。

  • 第16题:

    American farmers have been complaining of labor shortages for several years now.Given a multi-year decline in illegal immigration,and a similarly sustained pickup in the U.S.job market,the complaints are unlikely to stop without an overhaul of immigration rules for farm workers.Efforts to create a more straightforward agricultural-workers visa that would enable foreign workers to stay longer in the U.S.and change jobs within the industry have so far failed in Congress.If this doesn’t change,American businesses,communities and consumers will be the losers.Perhaps half of U.S.farm laborers are undocumented immigrants.As fewer such workers enter the U.S.,the characteristics of the agricultural workforce are changing.Today’s farm laborers,while still predominantly born in Mexico,are more likely to be settled,rather than migrating,and more likely to be married than single.They are also aging.At the start of this century,about one-third of crop workers were over the age of 35.Now,more than half are.And crop picking is hard on older bodies.One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it has been all along:Native U.S.workers won’t be returning to the farm.In a study published in 2013,economist Michael Clemens analyzed 15 years of data on North Carolina’s farm-labor market and concluded,“There is virtually no supply of native manual farm laborers”in the state.This was true even in the depths of a severe recession.Mechanization is not the answer either—not yet at least.Production of corn,cotton,rice,soybeans and wheat have been largely mechanized,but many high-value,labor-intensive crops,such as strawberries,need labor.Even dairy farms,where robots currently do only a small share of milking,have a long way to go before they are automated.As a result,farms have grown increasingly reliant on temporary guest workers using the H-2A visa to fill the gaps in the agricultural workforce.Starting around 2012,requests for the visas rose sharply;from 2011 to 2016 the number of visas issued more than doubled.The H-2A visa has no numerical cap,unlike the H-2B visa for nonagricultural work,which is limited to 66,000 annually.Even so,employers frequently complain that they aren’t allotted all the workers they need.The process is cumbersome,expensive and unreliable.One survey found that bureaucratic delays led H-2A workers to arrive on the job an average of 22 days late.And the shortage is compounded by federal immigration raids,which remove some workers and drive otherunderground.Petitioning each year for laborers—and hoping the government provides enough,and that they arrive on time—is no way to run a business.In a 2012 survey by the California Farm Bureau,71 percent of tree-fruit growers and nearly 80 percent of raisin and berry growers said they were short of labor.Some western growers have responded by movingoperations to Mexico.Without reliable access to a reliable workforce,more growers will be tempted to move south.According to a report by the Partnership for a New American Economy,Americans are consuming more fresh produce,which is good.But a rising share of it is grown elsewhere.In 1998-2000,14.5 percent of the fruit Americans consumed was imported.Little more than a decade later,the share of imported fruit had increased to 25.8 percent.Rural U.S.communities that might have benefited didn’t.In effect,the U.S.can import food or it can import the workers who pick it.The U.S.needs a simpler,streamlined,multi-year visa for agricultural workers,accompanied by measures to guard against exploitation and a viable path to U.S.residency for workers who meet the requirements.Otherwise growers will continue to struggle with shortages and uncertainty,and the country as a whole will lose out.
      Which of the following could be the best title for this text?《》()

    A.US Agriculture in Decline.
    B.Import Food or Labor?
    C.America Saved by Mexico?
    D.Manpower vs.Automation?

    答案:B
    解析:
    本题目为主旨题。文章在第一段就提到美国劳动力缺乏,紧接着提到了现状以及解决方案的不足,然后在最后一段进行总结,美国要么进口食品,要么进口劳动力。所以选项B最概括,最全面。

  • 第17题:

    Text l Americans,we are told,believe in competition.But a shockingly large number of workers-30 million-are shackled by what are called"noncompetes,"which are agreements forbidding employees to leave their job to work for a competitor or to start their own competing business.And the number is growing fast.Once reserved for a corporation's most treasured rainmakers,noncompetes are now routinely applied to low-wage workers like warehouse employees,fast-food workers and even dog sitters.Like other anti-competitive practices,they poison our economy in larger,less perceptible ways.A report from the Treasury Department suggests that noncompetes should be banned for all employees,regardless of skill,industry or wage;they simply do more harm than good.Because laws governing noncompetes vary from state to state,we can analyze the effects of these kinds of contracts on wages,competition and labor mobility.The evidence shows wages in states that enforce noncompetes are 10 percent lower than in states that restrict their use.The Treasury Department concluded in its recent report that"by reducing workers'job options,noncompete agreements force workers to accept lower wages in their current jobs,and may sometimes induce workers to leave their occupations entirely,forgoing accumulated human capital."Workers shackled by noncompetes cannot rely on outside offers and free-market competition to fairly value their talents.Without incentives to increase wages in-house,companies can allow salaries to plateau.California and Massachusetts offer a case study within the high-tech industry.California strictly voids all noncompete agreements.Massachusetts,like most other states,enforces noncompetes.Both states enjoyed an early boom within the high-tech market,but California's Silicon Valley has continued growing,while Massachusetts has sputtered.In Massachusetts the enforcement of those agreements kept out new businesses by preventing people most likely to start new businesses-experienced former employees-from staying in the region.Meanwhile,in Silicon Valley,entrepreneurial activity flourished;thanks to California's refusal to enforce all noncompetes(including those from other jurisdictions),it remains the tech center of the world.The best companies already realize the damaging effect of post-employment restrictions.Companies with little turnover risk becoming stagnant and short-sighted.In fact,relying on noncompetes rather than active recruitment and retention creates a market for lemons-a business will end up with employees who stay despite their unhappiness.Smart leaders treat departing employees as alumni,rather than sour exes in a divorce.But too many other employers have become increasingly inclined to bring disagreements with their former employees to court,relying on noncompetes rather than positive incentives to retain the best talent and reduce the competition.The liberty to move in the job market not only supports workers'choice,equality and wage growth but also creates the competition that catalyzes entrepreneurship,innovation and overall economic growth.If we want a healthy and free market,we should not shackle workers to the first business that offers them a job.Let them compete.
    According to Paragraph 3,non-compete agreements

    A.close down workers'job options
    B.weaken workers'bargain power on wage
    C.dissuade workers from staying
    D.disrespect workers'potentials

    答案:B
    解析:
    [信息锁定]第三段②句揭示竞业禁止与低工资的联系;③句明确二者因果关系:竞业禁止减少劳动者就业选择,迫使其接受低工资;④句描述受竞业禁止协议所限的劳动者的遭遇:无法为自身才能合理公正要价。可见该协议导致劳动者很难以其在劳动市场的价值为筹码争取涨工资,B.正确。[解题技巧]A.将③句“减少劳动者就业选择”夸大为“使劳动者失去就业选择”:C.根据③句induce workers to leave their occupa“ons entirely“使得劳动者彻底离开现有职业”而来,却忽视其前may sometimes(极端时候愤然离去,不顾业已积累的资源)及accept lower wages in their current jobs(多数时候原地不动,接受不匹配实际才能的低廉工资)ID.断章取义④句cannot.…value their talent“不能……重视劳动者才能”,而文意实则指“劳动者因竞业禁止协议而丧失与雇主在薪资待遇上的讨价还价能力”而非“竞业禁止协议轻视劳动者潜能”。

  • 第18题:

    共用题干
    The Worker 's Role in Management
    Traditionally,it has been the workers'role to work and management's role to manage.Managers have planned and directed the firm's operations with little thought of consulting the labor force.Managers have rarely felt compelled(被迫的)to obtain the workers ' opinions or to explain their decisions to their employees.At most,companies have provided"suggestion boxes"in which workers could place ideas for improving procedures.In recent years,however,many management specialists have been arguing that workers are more than sellers of labor-they have a vital stake in the company and may be able to make significant contributions to its management.Furthermore,major company decisions profoundly affect workers and their dependents.This is
    particularly true of plant closings,which may put thousands on the unemployment lines.Should workers, then,play a stronger role in management?
    Workers should have a role in management.At the very least,the labor force should be informed of major policy decisions(A common complaint among rank-and-file workers is the lack of information about company policies and actions).Between 1980 and 1985 about five million workers were the victims of plant closings and permanent layoffs(失业),often with no warning.At least 90 days'notice ought to be given in such instances so that workers have time to adjust.Management should consult workers before closing a plant,because the workers might be able to suggest ways of improving productivity and reducing costs and might be willing to make concessions that will help keep the plant operating.
    It should become a general practice to include workers in some managerial decision making.There ought to be representatives of the workers on the firm's board of directors or other major policymaking groups.If rank-and-file workers are given a voice in the planning and management of the work flow,they will help to make improvements,their morale will rise,and their productivity will increase.As a further incentive,they must be given a share in the company's profits.This can be done through employee stock-ownership plans,bonuses,or rewards for efficiency and productivity.Finally,when a plant can no longer operate at a profit,the workers should be given the opportunity to purchase the plant and run it themselves.

    It can be inferred from Paragraph 1 that managers______.
    A:seldom obtained workers'opinions
    B:were not qualified
    C:disliked"suggestion boxes"
    D:never consulted the labor force

    答案:A
    解析:
    由文章第一段第三句“Managershaverarelyfeltcompelled…”可知,管理者很少去关注员工的想法,故选A。
    由文章第一段第五句及其后内容可知,很多管理学专家称工人并不仅仅是劳动力出卖者,他们和公司的利益休戚相关,或许可以为公司的管理做出巨大贡献,所以工人在公司的管理中应该享有发言权。故本题选D。
    根据该词所在句子的内容可知,对公司的决策和行动缺乏知悉度这种情况在基层工人中会出现,故选B。
    由文章第二段第三句可知,在1980到1985年间,大约有500万工人在未被提前告知的情况下成为了工厂停工倒闭的受害者,故选C。
    由文章最后一段第三句的内容可知,如果普通工人能在公司计划以及流程运营中具有发言权,就会使他们进行改进,增长士气,提高生产率,故选A。第三篇本文主要介绍了肥胖症这一世界性的问题。并论述了肥胖对身体产生的危害,以及可以对肥胖采取的预防机制。

  • 第19题:


    According to this article,which statement is true?( )

    A.The demand of labor is more than the supply of labor.
    B.The demand of labor is less than the supply of labor.
    C.The demand of labor is equal to the supply of labor.
    D.The author is not clear about the relation between the demand of labor and the supply of labor.

    答案:A
    解析:
    细节题。根据四个选项的关键词demand of labor和supply of labor可定位到第四、五、六段。第四、五段介绍技术变革和资本积累使劳动力需求增加;第六段提出由于人口增长、技术变革和国内资本积累,劳动力供应增加,最后一句提到“劳动力供给稳步增长,但增速低于劳动力需求”。由此可知,劳动力供不应求。

  • 第20题:

    ()in the labor market,he has enrolled in a computer course.

    • A、Be competitive
    • B、Being more competitive
    • C、Being competitive
    • D、To be more competitive

    正确答案:D

  • 第21题:

    单选题
    A company’s efforts to keep expenses low and profits high may result in _____.
    A

    reduction in the number of employees

    B

    improvement of working conditions

    C

    fewer disputes between labor and management

    D

    a rise in workers’ wages


    正确答案: A
    解析:
    细节推断题。文章末句说公司裁员追求低支出、高利润。A项与原文相符。

  • 第22题:

    问答题
    Minimum wage is the lowest amount that employers can legally pay their workers per hour of labor. The first minimum wage law was passed in New Zealand in 1894. Since then, many other nations have adopted similar policies. In China, different provinces or cities have different minimum wages for their working citizens. These rates are not established randomly. In fact, they are the result of much research in economics, standard of living and inflation. Labor supply and the effects of unemployment are also considered when establishing a minimum wage.  Some people support the policy of minimum wage, while others are against it. The following are opinions from both sides on this issue. Read the excerpts carefully and write your response in about 300 words, in which you should:  1. summarize briefly the opinions from both sides, and then  2. give your comment.  Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.  Many supporters of minimum wage say that it increases the standard of living and keeps people out of poverty. Those who are opposed to it tend to believe that it increases unemployment and harms less skilled workers. Minimum wage laws are established and upheld with certain goals. Those who support the laws believe that these goals are being adequately achieved and that this alone is enough justification to keep the laws in place. Minimum wage was initially established to reduce poverty. Establishing a minimum wage in China insures that people are paid properly for their work. Minimum wage also protects younger workers and minorities from being paid less than others to some extent.  Supporters also believe that minimum wage stimulates consumption and thus puts more money into the economy by allowing low paid workers to spend more. They also believe that it may increase the work ethic of those who are paid little and thus benefit employers. It also encourages people to join the work force, rather than seek illegal means of earning money.  People who are opposed to the idea of minimum wage believe that it is not accomplishing the goals designed to meet. In several instances, employment has decreased more than the increase in wages and thereby overall earnings are still reduced. Businesses are sometimes forced to hire fewer employees because they have to pay minimum wages. Thus, fewer people have jobs. Studies also show that very few low-wage workers actually come from families in poverty. Thus, minimum wage is more often imposed on the newly employed with the first job than on people who would otherwise be unemployed.  Other opponents believe that it can cause inflation as businesses have to raise prices to accommodate the higher wages. They also believe it discourages further education of the poor.

    正确答案:
    【参考范文】
    My View on Minimum Wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the price floor below which workers may not sell their labor. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in many regions, different opinions exist about the benefits and drawbacks of a minimum wage. Supporters of the minimum wage say it increases the standard of living, reduces poverty, protects younger workers and minorities, stimulates consumption, increases the work ethic of those who are paid little and thus benefit employers, and encourages people to join the workforce rather than pursuing money through illegal means. In contrast, opponents of the minimum wage say it increases poverty, increases unemployment, harms less-skilled workers, causes price inflation and discourages further education of the poor.
    As far as I am concerned, minimum wage brings more harm than good. First, it harms some businesses where the labor cost affects the profit a lot. For some businesses which lay on cheap labor, like cleaning services, security companies and retail trade, the minimum wage obviously pushes up their costs. Thus the businesses will probably raise the prices of goods and services. When consumers don’t accept the higher prices, the businesses will run into trouble. If the businesses absorb the cost themselves, they would suffer a reduction of profits, which may lead to bankrupt. Second, minimum wage increases the unemployment rate. In the short term, the salary of the low-skilled workers may be raised, but in the long run, it may lead to an increase in unemployment rate as employers may axe some jobs to minimize cost. They may even reduce their investments in the territory, which will lead to a reduction of job opportunities.
    In conclusion, minimum wage is a critical issue that requires careful consideration. The government should balance the pros and cons to help families suffered from the economic crisis to regain their strength.
    解析:
    【审题构思】
      本篇的写作主题是对设定最低工资的看法,文章可以支持该做法也可以反对该做法,只要言之有理即可。以反对设定最低工资为例,论证时可分别陈述此做法的弊端,如会危及某些企业、提高失业率等。作文要求考生先总结材料中的观点,然后针对该话题发表自己的看法,最后进行总结。

  • 第23题:

    单选题
    When mentioning “the ongoing stock market on Wall Street”, the writer ______.
    A

    is calling attention to the privileges to which baby-boomers are entitled

    B

    is calling for the government to take countermeasures against labor shortage

    C

    is refuting a notion about experienced workers ‘early retirement

    D

    is justifying the ineffectiveness of federal tax and benefit policies


    正确答案: A
    解析:
    细节理解题。答案出自第四段,本段先指出提议:…they disagree with the popular proposal that much older Americans will have to work because Social Security will not support them and that baby boomers are not saving enough for retirement,然后讲出不同意该提议的理由:…the ongoing stock market on Wall Street, and the likelihood of large inheritances, there is evidence that baby boomers will reach age 65 with greater financial assets than previous generations.