题文
While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states-at least in getting people off welfare. It’s estimated that more than 2 million people have left the rolls since 1994.In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens County have been cut in half. But 15 percents of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour. The resuit: The Athens County poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent-twice the national average.
For advocates (代言人) for the poor, that’s an indication that much more needs to be done.
“More people are getting jobs, but it’s not making their lives any better,” says Kathy Lairn,a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and policy Priorities in Washington.
A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, female-headed households were earning money on their own, but that average income for these households actually went down.
But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory.
“Welfare was a poison. It was a toxin(毒素) that was poisoning the family,” says Robert Rector, a welfarereform policy analyst. “The reform is changing the moral climate in lowincome communities. It’s beginning to rebuild the work ethic(道德观), which is much more important.”
Mr. Rector and others argued that once “the habit of dependency is cracked, ”then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards.
13.From the passage, it can be seen that the auther .
A.believes the reform has reduced the government’s burden
B.insists that welfare reform is doing little good for the poor
C.is overenthusiastic about the success of welfare reform
D.considers welfare reform to be fundamentally successful
14.Why aren’t people enjoying better lives when they have jobs?
A.Because many families are divorced. B.Because government aid is now rare.
C.Because their wages are low. D.Because the cost of living is rising.
15.What is worth noting from the example of Athens County is that .
A.greater efforts should be made to improve people’s living standards
B.15 percent of the people there have been employed for two years
C.50 percent of the population no longer relies on welfare
D.the living standards of most people are going down
16.From the passage we know that welfare reform aims at_______ .
A.saving welfare funds B.rebuilding the work ethics(观念)
C.providing more jobs D.cutting government expenses 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
13-16 DCAB解析
13. 纵观全文，作者十分客观地分析了福利制度改革的利与弊。改革成功地减少了靠福利救济生活的人数，尽管它并没能提高穷人的生活水平，但改变了低收入者的思想观念，使人们不再心安理得地接受救济。这本身就
是一胜利。可见作者仍然认为福利制度改革利大于弊。
14. 文章第二段第二句指出，第二年不再接受救济的人中，有15％找到了工作．但报酬每小时不到6美元。可见收入过低使他们生活贫困。
15. 作者列举Athens County这个实例，是为了说明福利制度改革虽然使多数人重新开始工作，但由于收入低，人们的贫困状况仍然没有改变。文章第三段暗示了作者举例的意图：Athens County提供的事实表明,人们为改善低收入者贫困生活所做出的努力还远远不够。可见，作者在呼吁政府作出更多的努力来改善人们的生活。
16. 文章第七段末句指出，改革正在重塑人们的工作观，这是最重要的。可见，福利制度改革旨在改变人们的思想观念
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“While still in its e.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
