单选题Northern Ireland ______.A has a relatively minor problem with unemployment.B is enduring great economic loss at the moment.C is receiving more aid from EU.D is economically better off than the eastern European countries.

Text 4 The great recession may be over,but this era of high joblessness is probably beginning.Before it ends,it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults.And ultimately,it is likely to reshape our politics,our culture,and the character of our society for years.No one tries harder than the jobless to find silver linings in this national economic disaster.Many said that unemployment,while extremely painful,had improved them in some ways:they had become less materialistic and more financially prudent;they were more aware of the struggles of others.In limited respects,perhaps the recession will leave society better off.At the very least,it has awoken us from our national fever dream of easy riches and bigger houses,and put a necessary end to an era of reckless personal spending.But for the most part,these benefits seem thin,uncertain,and far off.In The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth,the economic historian Benjamin Friedman argues that both inside and outside the U．S.,lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more meanspirited and less inclusive,and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms.Antiimmigrant sentiment typically increases,as does conflict between races and classes.Income inequality usually falls during a recession,but it has not shrunk in this one.Indeed,this period of economic weakness may reinforce class divides,and decrease opportunities to cross them—especially for young people.The research of Till Von Wachter,the economic at Columbia University,suggests that not all people graduating into a recession see their life chances dimmed:those with degrees from elite universities catch up fairly quickly to where they otherwise would have been if they had graduated in better times;it is the masses beneath them that are left behind.In the Internet age,it is particularly easy to see the resentment that has always been hidden within American society.More difficult,in the moment,is discerning precisely how these lean times are affecting society's character.In many respects,the U.S.was more socially tolerant entering this recession than at any time in its history,and a variety of national polls on social conflict since then have shown mixed results.We will have to wait and see exactly how these hard times will reshape our social fabric.But they certainly will reshape it,and all the more so the longer they extend.
The research of Till Von Wachter suggests that in the recession graduates from elite universities tend to____

A.lag behind the others due to decreased opportunities
B.catch up quickly with experienced employees
C.see their life chances as dimmed as the others'
D.recover more quickly than the others

Text 4 The great recession may be over,but this era of high joblessness is probably beginning.Before it ends,it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults.And ultimately,it is likely to reshape our politics,our culture,and the character of our society for years.No one tries harder than the jobless to find silver linings in this national economic disaster.Many said that unemployment,while extremely painful,had improved them in some ways:they had become less materialistic and more financially prudent;they were more aware of the struggles of others.In limited respects,perhaps the recession will leave society better off.At the very least,it has awoken us from our national fever dream of easy riches and bigger houses,and put a necessary end to an era of reckless personal spending.But for the most part,these benefits seem thin,uncertain,and far off.In The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth,the economic historian Benjamin Friedman argues that both inside and outside the U．S.,lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more meanspirited and less inclusive,and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms.Antiimmigrant sentiment typically increases,as does conflict between races and classes.Income inequality usually falls during a recession,but it has not shrunk in this one.Indeed,this period of economic weakness may reinforce class divides,and decrease opportunities to cross them—especially for young people.The research of Till Von Wachter,the economic at Columbia University,suggests that not all people graduating into a recession see their life chances dimmed:those with degrees from elite universities catch up fairly quickly to where they otherwise would have been if they had graduated in better times;it is the masses beneath them that are left behind.In the Internet age,it is particularly easy to see the resentment that has always been hidden within American society.More difficult,in the moment,is discerning precisely how these lean times are affecting society's character.In many respects,the U.S.was more socially tolerant entering this recession than at any time in its history,and a variety of national polls on social conflict since then have shown mixed results.We will have to wait and see exactly how these hard times will reshape our social fabric.But they certainly will reshape it,and all the more so the longer they extend.
The author thinks that the influence of hard times on society is____

A.certain
B.positive
C.trivial
D.destructive

共用题干
第三篇

Oil and Economy

Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return?Since OPEC agreed to supplycuts in March,the price of crude oil has jumped to almost $26 a barrel,up from less than$10 last December. This near-tripling of oil prices calls up scary memories of the 1973 oil shock,when prices quadrupled,and 1979一1980,when they also almost tripled.Both previous shocks resulted in double-digit inflation and global economic decline.So where are the headlines warning of gloom and doom this time?
The oil price was given another push up this week when Iraq suspended oil exports.Strengthening economic growth,at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere,could push the price higher still in the short term.
Yet there are good reasons to expect the economic consequences now to be less severe than in the l970s.In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the l970s.In Europe,taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price,so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.
Rich economies are also less dependent on oil than they were,and so less sensitive to swings in the oil price.Energy conservation,a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries have reduced oil consumption.Software,consultancy and mobile telephones use far less oil than steel or car production.For each dollar of GDP(inconstant prices)in rich economies now use nearly 50%less oil than in 1973.The OECD estimates in its latest Economic Outlook that,if oil prices averaged $22 a barrel for a full year,compared with$13 in 1998,this would increase the oil import bill in rich economies by only 0.25％～0.5%of GDP.That is less than one-quarter of the income loss in 1974 or 1980. On the other hand,oil-importing emerging economies一to which heavy industry has shifted一have become more energy-intensive,and so could be more seriously squeezed.
One more reason not to lose sleep over the rise in oil prices is that,unlike the rises in the 1970s,it has not occurred against the background of general commodity-price inflation and global excess demand.A sizable portion of the world is only just emerging from economic decline.The Economist's commodity price index is broadly unchanging from a year ago.In 1973 commodity prices jumped by 70%,and in 1979 by almost 30%.

The estimates in Economic Outlook show that in rich countries_______.
A:heavy industry becomes more energy-intensive
B:income loss mainly results from fluctuating crude oil prices
C:manufacturing industry has been seriously squeezed
D:oil price changes have no significant impact on GDP

Text 4 The EU's faltering progress towards a common system of taxing the huge revenues of the new digital giants lurched forward this morning as Margrethe Vestager,the EU commissioner in charge of competition,declared that Amazon had received unfair state aid from Luxembourg through its tax arrangements,and demanded that it pay￡250m in back taxes.At the same time,Ms Vestager announced that the European commission would haul Ireland up before the European court of justice for its failure to demand￡13bn of unpaid tax from Apple,identi{ied in an earlier investigation.The lwo events illusrrate the gulf between the commission,together with some of the EU's iargest economies,and smaller members such as Ireland and Luxembourg.Both Ireland and Luxembourg defend their tax arrangements.Ireland in particular welcomes the thousands of goocl jobs that the tech giants bring and has no desire to find ways of extracting more tax from thcm in case it drives them away.The Irish government also insists that taxation is a sovereign matter,not an arena for EU interference.（ ）thers are under pressure from voters who are outraged that any company can make so much profit in their country and pay so little tax on it.Revenue from Facebook's UK operations,it has emerged,nearly quadrupled last year t0 842m,through growth in digital ad sales;its corporation tax bill crept up from 4.2m t0 5.Im.The US inland revenue service is also keen to find transparent ways of taxing the new digital economy,and is watching jealously as the European commission draws up its plans,suspicious of any move that might be used by the tech giants to offset their US tax bills.Already,companies such as Google and Amazon hold billions of dollars in offshore funds,where ihey are out of reach of the taxman.The US defensiveness about its own tax revenues points to the need for a global rather than a merely European solution to the question of how,what and whcre to tax the digital economy,but progress through the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development（OECD）is glacial,and would in any event only be advisory.The commission is still hoping to get agreement on a common corporate tax base that would help to identify the parameters of any new tax system,but progress has stalled because of complexities around double taxation.Meanwhile the American Chamber of Commerce in Europe（ACCE）is warning that any attempt to tax the tech giants more would threaten investment and expansion.But across most of the EU discontent is growing,not just over the failure to pay tax-which has already prompted some tech companies to become more transparent,and even pay more-but over many of their practices.The chief executive of the ride-hailing app Uber has been in London this week trying to patch up relations with Transport for London（TfL）.Margrethe Vestager is right:enforcing regulations works.
The U.S.'s close attention to EU's tax plan making is mentioned to stress_____

A.the OECD's failure to fulfill its obligation
B.Google and Amazon's success outside the U.S.
C.U.S.'s jealousy in European progress in tax reform
D.the universality of digital economy taxation problem

Text 4 The great recession may be over,but this era of high joblessness is probably beginning.Before it ends,it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults.And ultimately,it is likely to reshape our politics,our culture,and the character of our society for years.No one tries harder than the jobless to find silver linings in this national economic disaster.Many said that unemployment,while extremely painful,had improved them in some ways:they had become less materialistic and more financially prudent;they were more aware of the struggles of others.In limited respects,perhaps the recession will leave society better off.At the very least,it has awoken us from our national fever dream of easy riches and bigger houses,and put a necessary end to an era of reckless personal spending.But for the most part,these benefits seem thin,uncertain,and far off.In The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth,the economic historian Benjamin Friedman argues that both inside and outside the U．S.,lengthy periods of economic stagnation or decline have almost always left society more meanspirited and less inclusive,and have usually stopped or reversed the advance of rights and freedoms.Antiimmigrant sentiment typically increases,as does conflict between races and classes.Income inequality usually falls during a recession,but it has not shrunk in this one.Indeed,this period of economic weakness may reinforce class divides,and decrease opportunities to cross them—especially for young people.The research of Till Von Wachter,the economic at Columbia University,suggests that not all people graduating into a recession see their life chances dimmed:those with degrees from elite universities catch up fairly quickly to where they otherwise would have been if they had graduated in better times;it is the masses beneath them that are left behind.In the Internet age,it is particularly easy to see the resentment that has always been hidden within American society.More difficult,in the moment,is discerning precisely how these lean times are affecting society's character.In many respects,the U.S.was more socially tolerant entering this recession than at any time in its history,and a variety of national polls on social conflict since then have shown mixed results.We will have to wait and see exactly how these hard times will reshape our social fabric.But they certainly will reshape it,and all the more so the longer they extend.
Benjamin Friedman believes that economic recessions may____

A.impose a heavier burden on immigrants
B.bring out more evils of human nature
C.promote the advance of rights and freedoms
D.ease conflicts between races and classes