“I’m a little worried about my future,” said Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate. He should be luck. All he had to worry about was whether to have an affair with Mrs. Robinson. In the sixties, that was the sum total of post-graduation anxiety syndrome.
Hoffman’s modern counterparts are not so fortunate. The Mrs. Robinsons aren’t sitting around at home any more, seducing graduates. They are out in the workplace, doing the high-powered jobs the graduates want, but cannot get. For those fresh out of university, desperate for work but unable to get it, there is a big imbalance between supply and demand. And there is no narrowing of the gap in sight.
The latest unemployment figures show that 746,000 of 18-24 year-olds are unemployed—a record rate of 18 per cent. Many of those will have graduated this summer. They are no panicking yet, but as the job rejections mount up, they are beginning to feel ashamed.
Of course, it is easy to blame the Government and, in particular, the target that Labour has long trumpeted—50 per cent of school-leavers in higher education. That was not too smart. The Government has not only failed to meet its target—the actual figure is still closer to 40 per cent—but it has raised expectations to unrealistic levels.
Parents feel as badly let down as the young people themselves. Middle-class families see their graduate offspring on the dole queue and wonder why they bothered paying school fees. Working-class families feel an even keener sense of disappointment. For many such families, getting a child into university was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. It represented upward social and financial mobility. It was proof that they were living in a dynamic, economically successful country. That dream does not seem so rosy now.
Graduate unemployment is not, ultimately, a political problem ready to be solved. Job-creation schemes for graduates are very low down in ministerial in-trays. If David Cameron’s Conservatives had a brilliant idea for guaranteeing every graduate a well-paid job, they would have unveiled it by now. It is a social problem, though a more deep-seated social problem than people perhaps realize.
26. The author begins with an episode from The Graduate in order to ______.
27. With regard to job opportunities for young graduates, the author sounds ______.
28. The author is ______ the Labour Government’s target: 50% of school leavers in higher education.
29. Which of the following statements about parents’ feelings is correct?
30. Towards the end of the passage, the author implies that ______.
问题1选项
A.support the fact that more women are working now
B.show that few graduates started working right after graduation
C.demonstrate that these were much fewer graduates than now
D.emphasize the sharp contrast between now and then
问题2选项
A.pessimistic
B.hopeful
C.indifferent
D.furious
问题3选项
A.in favour of
B.doubtful about
C.strongly critical of
D.mildly critical of
问题4选项
A.Working-class parents feel just as disappointed.
B.Parents and their children feel equally disappointed.
C.Middle-class parents feel more disappointed.
D.Parents feel more disappointed than their children.
问题5选项
A.there will be job-creation schemes for graduates
B.graduate unemployment is more of a political issue
C.graduate unemployment is both a political and a social issue
D.the Conservatives are doing far from enough to solve the issue
第1题:D
第2题:A
第3题:D
第4题:B
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
The author begins with an episode from The Graduate in order to ________. 作者以《毕业生》中的一段插曲作为开头,是为了________。
A. support the fact that more women are working now A. 支持现在有更多女性工作这一事实
B. show that few graduates started working right after graduation B. 说明很少有毕业生一毕业就开始工作
C. demonstrate that these were much fewer graduates than now C. 说明当时的毕业生要比现在少得多
D. emphasize the sharp contrast between now and then D. 强调现在和那时之间的鲜明对比
【答案】D
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据关键词The Graduate定位到第一段,文章开头以电影《毕业生》为例,指出60年代毕业生对将来只是有点担心,而且担心的并不是找不到工作;第二段紧接着指出,现代社会的毕业生们就没有霍夫曼那么幸运了,因为类似“罗宾逊太太”的女士们占据着毕业生们渴望而又无法得到的高职,供需之间严重失衡。综合可推断,这是过去与现在就业形势的强烈对比,D项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项是为了进行对比,并不是题干的目的,属于以偏概全;
B选项定位第二段倒数第二句中的“渴望工作却又找不到工作(desperate for work but unable to get it)”可知,B项与原文相反,属于反向干扰;
C选项没有提及,属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
With regard to job opportunities for young graduates, the author sounds ________. 关于年轻毕业生的就业机会,作者听起来________。
A. pessimistic A. 很悲观
B. hopeful B. 很有希望
C. indifferent C. 很冷漠
D. furious D. 很愤怒
【答案】A
【考查点】观点态度题。
【解题思路】定位第二段最后两句“对于那些刚走出大学校门、渴望工作却又找不到工作的人来说,供需之间存在着巨大的失衡(big imbalance)。目前还没有缩小这一差距的迹象。”,从此可见,作者对年轻毕业生就业机会的态度是悲观的,A项正确。
【干扰项排除】
B、C选项不符合原文,属于曲解原文;
D选项也属于曲解原文,文中没有字眼表明作者情绪激烈到愤怒的程度。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The author is ________ the Labour Government’s target: 50% of school leavers in higher education. 作者________工党政府的目标:50%的高中毕业生接受高等教育。
A. in favour of A. 支持
B. doubtful about B. 怀疑
C. strongly critical of C. 强烈批评
D. mildly critical of D. 温和批评
【答案】D
【考查点】观点态度题。
【解题思路】定位到第四段第一句“当然,指责政府很容易,尤其是工党长期吹嘘(trumpeted)的目标:50%的高等教育毕业生”,从trumpeted一词,可知作者对工党的做法的嘲讽和不屑之情;结合第二句“那不太聪明(not too smart)”可知,作者对工党政府的批评还是比较温和,D项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项与原文相反,属于反向干扰;
B选项属于曲解原文,文中作者明确指出“并未达到该目标(failed to meet its target)”,所以这并不是怀疑的态度;
C选项也属于曲解原文,作者虽然批评工党的做法,但文中并没有出现批评的过激字眼,strongly并没有体现出来。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following statements about parents’ feelings is correct? 以下关于父母感受的陈述哪一个是正确的?
A. Working-class parents feel just as disappointed. A. 工薪阶层的父母也同样感到失望。
B. Parents and their children feel equally disappointed. B. 父母和他们的孩子同样感到失望。
C. Middle-class parents feel more disappointed. C. 中产阶级的父母感到更失望。
D. Parents feel more disappointed than their children. D. 父母比孩子更失望。
【答案】B
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】定位文章倒数第二段首句“父母和年轻人一样感到非常失望”,可知,B项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项定位第五段第三句“工薪阶层家庭的失望感更加强烈(an even keener sense of disappointment)”可知,该项属于反向干扰;
C选项定位第二句“中产阶级家庭看到他们的毕业生子女在领取失业救济金的队伍中,不明白他们为什么要付学费”,第一句讲的是“父母和孩子一样失望”,所以中产阶级父母同样感到失望,该项属于反向干扰;
D选项与原文相反,也属于反向干扰。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Towards the end of the passage, the author implies that ________. 在文章的最后,作者暗示________。
A. there will be job-creation schemes for graduates A. 将会有为毕业生创造就业的计划
B. graduate unemployment is more of a political issue B. 大学生失业更多的是一个政治问题
C. graduate unemployment is both a political and a social issue C. 大学生失业既是一个政治问题,也是一个社会问题
D. the Conservatives are doing far from enough to solve the issue D. 保守党在解决这个问题上做得还远远不够
【答案】C
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】定位到最后一段第一句“从根本上说,毕业生失业并不是一个有待解决的政治问题(a political problem ready to be solved)”,换句话说,毕业生失业是一个政治问题,但是不容易解决;最后一句又说“这是一个社会问题(a social problem),尽管这个社会问题比人们可能意识到的更根深蒂固”,所以毕业生失业问题既是一个政治问题也是一个社会问题,C项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项定位最后一段第二句“为毕业生创造就业机会的计划在政府部门的公文中处于非常低的位置”可知,为毕业生创造就业的计划暂时没有,该项属于反向干扰;
B选项不全面,属于以偏概全;
D选项作者明确指出,这个问题不是想解决就能解决的政治问题,所以属于曲解原文。
【文章来源】《英语泛读教程(第2册)》2013
【参考译文】
“我有点担心我的未来,”达斯汀•霍夫曼在《毕业生》中说。他应该是幸运的。他所担心的只是是否要和罗宾逊太太搞外遇。在60年代,这是毕业后焦虑综合症的总和。
霍夫曼的现代同行就没那么幸运了。罗宾逊太太不再坐在家里引诱毕业生了。他们在工作场所,做着毕业生们想要却得不到的高级工作。对于那些刚从大学毕业,急于找工作但又找不到工作的人来说,供需之间存在着严重的不平衡。在我们的视野中,这种差距没有缩小的迹象。
最新的失业数据显示,在18-24岁的年轻人中,有74.6万人失业,失业率达到了创纪录的18%。其中许多人将于今年夏天毕业。他们还没有感到恐慌,但随着工作被拒绝的次数增多,他们开始感到羞愧。
当然,指责政府很容易,尤其是工党长期鼓吹的目标——50%的高等教育毕业生。这样做不太明智。政府不仅未能实现其目标(实际数字仍接近40%),而且还将预期提高到了不切实际的水平。
父母和年轻人一样感到失望。中产阶级家庭看到他们毕业的子女排队领救济金,不禁要问他们为什么要支付学费。工人阶级家庭的失望情绪更为强烈。对于许多这样的家庭来说,让孩子上大学是他们毕生梦想的实现。它代表着向上的社会和经济流动。这证明他们生活在一个充满活力、经济成功的国家。这个梦想现在看来不那么美好了。
从根本上说,毕业生失业并不是一个待解决的政治问题。为毕业生创造就业机会的计划在部长的公文中排名很靠后。如果戴维•卡梅伦领导的保守党有一个保证每位毕业生都有一份高薪工作的好主意,他们现在早就公布了。这是一个社会问题,尽管它比人们可能意识到的更为根深蒂固。