题文
At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key question: are immigrants good or bad for the economy? The American public overwhelmingly thinks they’re bad. Yet the agreement among most economists is that immigration, both legal and illegal, provides a small net boost to the economy. Immigrants provide cheap labor, lower the prices of everything from farm produce to new homes, and leave consumers with a little more money in their pockets. So why is there such a discrepancy between the perception of immigrants’ impact on the economy and the reality?There are a number of familiar theories. Some argue that people are anxious and feel threatened by an inflow of new workers. Others highlight the stress that undocumented immigrants place on public services, like schools, hospitals, and jails. Still others emphasize the role of race, arguing that foreigners add to the nation's fears and insecurities. There’s some truth to all these explanations, but they aren’t quite sufficient.
To get a better understanding of what’s going on, consider the way immigration’s impact is felt. Though its overall effect may be positive, its costs and benefits are distributed unevenly. David Card, an economist at UC Berkeley, notes that the ones who profit most directly from immigrants’ low-cost labor are businesses and employers —meatpacking plants in Nebraska, for instance, these producers’ savings probably translate into lower prices at the grocery store, but how many consumers make that mental connection at the checkout counter? As for the drawbacks of illegal immigration, these, too, are concentrated. Native low-skilled workers suffer most from the competition of foreign labor. According to a study by George Borjas, a Harvard economist, immigration has reduced the wages of American high-school dropouts by 9%.
Among high-skilled, better-educated employees, however, opposition was strongest in states with both high numbers of immigrants and relatively generous social services. What worried them most, in other words, was the financial burden of immigration. That conclusion was reinforced by another finding: that their opposition appeared to soften when that financial burden decreased, as occurred with welfare reform in the 1990s, which curbed immigrants’ access to certain benefits.
The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect of immigration is minimal. Even for those most acutely affected — say, low-skilled workers, or California residents — the impact isn’t all that dramatic. “The unpleasant voices have tended to dominate our perceptions,” says Daniel Tichenor, a professor at the University of Oregon. “But when all those factors are put together and the economists calculate the numbers, it ends up being a net positive, but a small one.” Too bad most people don’t realize it.
小题1:What can we learn from the first paragraph?A．Whether immigrants are good or bad for the economy has been puzzling economists.B．The American economy used to thrive on immigration but now it’s a different story.C．The agreement among economists is that immigration should not be encouraged.D．The general public thinks differently from most economists on the impact of immigration.小题2:What is the chief concern of native high-skilled, better-educated employees about the inflow of immigrants?A．It may change the existing social structure.B．It may pose a threat to their economic status.C．It may decrease .their financial burden.D．It may place a great pressure on the state budget.小题3:What is the irony about the debate over immigration?A．Even economists can’t reach an agreement about its impact.B．Those who are opposed to it turn out to benefit most from it.C．People are making too big a fuss about something of small impact.D．There is no essential difference between seemingly opposite opinions.小题4:Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?A．A debate about whether to immigrate.B．A debate about the impact of illegal immigrants. C．The great impact of immigrants on the economy.D．Opposition to illegal immigration. 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:D
小题3:C
小题4:B
解析
本文论述了正反两方对于移民对本国的影响到底有多大，不同的人有不同的观点，文章最后Daniel Tichenor教授指出，其实移民给本国带来的是经济的一个很小的增长，只不过，有的人认识不到这一点。
小题1:这是概括大意题。这里指出，美国大众绝大多数认为移民对经济的影响是不好的。然而，大多数经济学家却一致认为，不管是合法还是非法移民，都为经济带来了小幅的净增长。由此可见，对于移民经济的影响问题，大众多多数经济学家存在分歧，故答案为D。
小题2:这是细节理解题。根据Among high-skilled, better-educated employees, however, opposition was strongest in states with both high numbers of immigrants and relatively generous social services. What worried them most, in other words, was the financial burden of immigration.他们主要担心财政负担重，故选 D。
小题3:这是细节理解题。根据The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect of immigration is minimal. Even for those most acutely affected — say, low-skilled workers, or California residents — the impact isn’t all that dramatic. 移民对各方面的影响很小，没有必要过于谈论它，故选C。
小题4:这是标题归纳题。根据从开头及整篇文章的内容来看，是主要谈论的移民的影响，故选B。
点评：文章标题是文章的点睛之笔。标题归纳题在英语阅读理解题中属深层理解题，它要求考生在通读全文的基础上，准确把握文章大意及作者的写作意图。一般说来，标题应该具有概括性、针对性、简洁性三个突出特点。其中概括性，是指标题应最大程度地覆盖全文，囊括文章的主要内容，体现文章的主题；针对性，是指标题的含义要直接指向文章的主要特点；而简洁性，则是指标题应言简意赅，能吸引读者的注意力，并唤起读者对文章的阅读兴趣等。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“At the heart of the .....”主要考查你对 [社会现象类阅读 ]考点的理解。社会现象类阅读
社会现象类阅读概念：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。
社会现象类阅读解题技巧：
这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。阅读这类文章要理清思路。
1、浏览试题，明确要求。
在阅读文章前，最好先浏览一下文章后面的题干和选项。知道了问题后再去看文章，可使思路更敏捷，而且也便于阅读时留意文中出现的与选项有关的信息。
2、通读全文，抓住主要内容。
在不影响理解的前提下，尽可能地阅读以便在尽可能短的时间内理解文章或段落的内容。阅读时，如遇到不熟悉的单词、词组或一时看不懂的句子，不要停下来苦思冥想，继续读下去，通过上下文的词语和句子可能就理解了。
3、抓住中心思想和段落大意。
通读全文时，要特别注意主题句。每篇文章或每个段落都有与文章有关的句子，尤其是科技、政论性文章的主题句一般都在文章的开头或结尾，插在中间的很少。所以，文章的第一段或开头的第一、二个句子往往包含着文章的中心思想、作者的意图或全文的概述，因此要特别注意，彻底理解。
4、有针对性地仔细阅读，找寻所需信息。
在前面的基础上，可进行有针对性地阅读了。把与问题无关的内容一扫而过，而对于和问题有关的内容认真阅读，还可以用笔在下面做出记号。再把这些信息与问题的要求结合起来，逐条分析，综合判断，找出正确答案。
5、进行合理的推理判断。
对文章有了全面的了解之后，可以按照文章要求以及上下文之间的关系，做出推理判断。在进行推理判断的时候，需要综合考虑句型、语法、句子之间的逻辑关系、文化背景等方面的因素。
6、认真复读，验证答案。
要用全文的中心思想统帅各个题目，研究其内在联系和逻辑关系，并依次审核那些还未打上的题目，确保理解无误。
