【正文】 $3,355 a year to be above the line of poverty. And in 1977, the average poverty line of the country was slightly more than $6,200 annual ine for a nonfarm family of four. According to the Social Security Act, families of that size below poverty line are eligible to receive benefits from the special welfare program. The average weekly payment of benefits now is equivalent to 36 percent of the worker’s normal wage. And the number of people who receive government benefits is increasing. In 1973, social insurance payments by governments, mainly to old age pensioners and people who had lost their jobs or were off work through illness, amounted to $86,000 million. Those not fully qualified for insurance payments received $29,000 million in public aid. But problems still exist. Many people are not reached by the antipoverty program, because local authorities and agencies do not want to play their part or do not gave the resources to do so. Some poor people will not accept help for various reasons. Of course, there are some more important factors which lie in the structure of the society, but I don’t consider it necessary to dig into them here. Yet we will perhaps agree that social welfare programs have solved to some extent the problems of feeding, clothing and housing those below the poverty line. On the whole, it perhaps might be said that American people are living a better life than people in most other countries. 1. The United States is called a country on wheels because______. A. about onefourth Americans own two cars B. a bit over one out of four households are the owners of two cars C. nearly 8 million new cars drive in the country every year D. 80% Americans have at least one car 2. According to a 1968 survey, ten million Americans found themselves in a difficult health situation chiefly due to _______. A. inadequate feeding B. malnutrition C. unemployment D. automation 3. The author use ”the displaced”(Line 9, Para. 2) to refer to those who are _______. A. unemployed B. disabled C. sick D. poor 4. The word “eligible”(Line 6, ) is synonymous with “_______” A. necessary B. urgent C. needed D. worthy 5. Americans are living a better life than those in most of other countries because, to some degree, _____. A. many Americans receive benefits from the special welfare program B. some poor people can receive help for some reason or other C. there is the antipoverty program in the . D. social welfare programs have some measure settled the problems of those below the poverty line. 參考答案： B C A D D As you all know, the United States is a country on wheels. Nearly eight million new cars are made each year。 nonexperts who teach in related areas and are looking for writings for and by Asian American to include in survey courses are in an even worse position. A plicating factor has been the continuing lack of specialized onevolume reference works on Asian Americans, such as biographical dictionaries or desktop encyclopedias. Such works would enable students taking Asian American studies courses (and professors in related fields) to look up basic information on Asian American individuals, institutions, history, and culture without having to wade through（費(fèi)力的閱讀冗長或艱深的材料） mountains of primary source material. In addition, given such works. Asian American studies professors might feel more free to include more challenging Asian American material in their introductory reading lists, since good reference works allow students to acquire on their own the background information necessary to interpret difficult or unfamiliar material. 1. The author is primarily concerned with ______. A. responding to a criticism B. describing a course of study C. discussing a problem D. evaluating a past course of action 2. The “dilemma”(Line 2, ) can best be characterized as being caused by the necessity to make a choice when faced with a ______. A. lack of acceptable alternatives B. lack of strict standards for evaluating alternatives C. preponderance of bad alternatives as pared to good D. multitude of different alternatives 3. Biographical dictionaries and desktop encyclopedias are _____ A. primary source materials B. introductory texts C. excellent anthologies D. reference materials 4. Which of the following is implied about the introductory courses in Asian American studies a few decades ago? A. The range of different textbooks that could be assigned for such courses was extremely limited B. The texts assigned as readings in such courses were often not very challenging for students C. Students often plained about the texts assigned to them in such courses D. Such courses were offered only at schools whose libraries were rich in primary sources 5. According to the passage, the existence of good onevolume reference works about Asian Americans could result in ______. A. increased agreement among professors of Asian American studies regarding the quality of the sources available in their field B. an increase in the number of students sighing up for introductory courses in Asian American studies C. increased accuracy in writings that concern Asian American history and culture D. the inclusion of a wider range of Asian American material in introductory reading lists in Asian American studies 參考答案： C D D A D As you all know, the United States is a country on wheels. Nearly eight million new cars are made each year。 t stick as badly as they had at first. know from the passage that the inventor of the first practical typewriter is_____. Mill Latham Sholes 39。 t know how to keep the keys from sticking, so his solution was to keep the typis