Poverty is not first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japan. After all, there are no children begging on the streets in major cities here. You do not often see Japanese citizens publicly letting out their complaints over the country’s economic decline. But senior government researcher Aya Abe says Japan has the fourth highest rate of child poverty among developed countries.
She says she sees that poverty in schools where students admit to only bathing once a week. Some cannot afford to buy pencils for class.
“They may not be on the streets begging or they may not be turning into criminals, but it’s there. It’s just that we have to open our eyes and see,” Abe said.
Abe owes the increase in child poverty to the country’s changing demographics(人口統計), struggling economy and high social security premiums(保險費). She says fewer people live in three-generation households, where the parents and grandparents work. The number of single mothers has increased. The salary for young fathers has declined with the economic downturn. Social security premiums have increased in the last 20 years, putting families on the edge of poverty.
Abe says studies conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD ) point to rising poverty in Japan before the global economic crises in 2008. But the Japanese government and the public refused to acknowledge it until then partly because of the shame associated with poverty.
“It was very unpopular for Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty,” said Abe. “Even though OECD Japan announced it in Japanese, Japanese media didn’t make it into the articles.”
Abe says new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has taken one important step to help alleviate (緩解) the problem. Next year, his Democratic Party of Japan plans to double monthly child care allowances given to families.
But Abe wants the government to expand its financial help even more. She wants it to simplify the process to apply for public assistance and provide educational grants for students struggling to pay for tuition at high schools and colleges. The country now only offers loans.
Abe also says the government must act quickly because she says the problem will only get worse in the next few years.
1. The passage is intended to _________.
A. report the result of the studies conducted by OECD
B. tell us about the increase in Japanese child poverty
C. prove that Japan is no longer a developed country
D. introduce Aya Abe, a senior government researcher
2. It seems to be hard to associate Japan with poverty because _______.
A. no children are seen begging in the streets of main cities in Japan
B. its citizens never complain about the country’s economic decline
C. it is one of the few wealthiest countries in the world
D. its government and public refused to acknowledge it
3. According to Abe, several things contribute to the rising child poverty except________.
A. high social security premiums
B. the increase of the number of single mothers
C. the decrease of the salary for young fathers
D. the expansion of three-generation households
4. Why was it unpopular for Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty?
A. The Japanese public didn’t think it true.
B. It was forbidden by the Japanese government.
C. The Japanese public regarded it shameful to be poor.
D. OECD Japan had already announced it in Japanese.
5. Which of the following is NOT the author’s suggestion for alleviating this problem?
A. Doubling monthly child care allowances given to families.
B. Expanding government’s financial help even more.
C. Providing educational grants for poor students.
D. Simplifying the process to apply for public assistance.
科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：
And if poverty is less of a problem and people are better educated，_______is a good chance that we will see less violence and fewer wars
A.there B.that C.it D.this
查看答案和解析>>
科目：高中英語 來源：浙江省嘉興一中09-10學年高一下學期期中試題英語 題型：閱讀理解
Every year, it costs British students more and more to attend university. Students are graduating with larger and larger debts. So is a college degree really worth it?
In 2006, the UK government started to allow universities in England and Wales to charge British students tuition fees (學費). As a result, more than 80 percent of students in England and Wales now take out a student loan (貸款) in order to go to university.
They use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses. Although the interest on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan.
The average student in England and Wales now graduates from university with a debt of around $12,000 (122,952yuan). It means graduates have to struggle to pay rent on a flat, because they have to start paying back the student loan when they reach the April after graduating. If you start to earn over $ 15,000 (153,639yuan) a year, the government takes repayments directly from your monthly salary.
You might think that a person with a degree would find it easy to get a well-paid job. However, most people in “white collar jobs” seem to have a degree, so there is a lot of competition. Also, British companies tend to value work experience over a piece of paper.
All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a university degree is really worth the money. Even before the credit crisis started, the BBC stated: “The number of British students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in recent history, from 1.97 million in 2007 to 1.96 million last year (2008).”
“Student poverty” is now considered a real problem. Meanwhile, the British universities offer more and more of the available places to richer international students rather than poorer British students. What does the future hold for British higher education?
61. What makes British students question the worth of a university degree?
A. Higher university expenses. B. Lower education quality.
C. A higher interest rate on student loans D. Grater difficulty obtaining student loans.
62. According to the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. University tuition fees in all parts of Britain have been on the rise since 2006.
B. Interest on a student loan starts as soon as the student receives it.
C. People have always questioned the worth of a university degree.
D. University graduates need to pay off their loans right upon graduation.
63. Which of the following is NOT a factor that concerns a British university graduate?
A. Fierce competition in the job market. B. The burden of a large debt.
C. Lack of experience. D. Fewer job openings.
64. What is the title of this passage?
A. Student poverty B. Is college worth it?
C. The UK government started to charge students tuition fees.
D. British students use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses.
查看答案和解析>>
科目：高中英語 來源：2013屆天津市十二校高三第二次模擬聯考英語試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解
Poverty today is a major global issue. Although there are all kinds of definitions used to explain it, in simple words, it means the inability of a person to even get his basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, safe drinking water, health and education. Poverty can be found in each and every corner of the world, although the causes may differ from country to country. Given below are the main causes of poverty in the world today.
Overpopulation is one of the main causes behind the threatening of poverty on an individual level as well as a social level. This is simple math. If there are more mouths to feed and less income, definitely much will remain poor.
Another theory which is used as an explanation for poverty is lack of education. If you look at any of the underdeveloped countries, you will find that the level of education there is very low. Lack of education means lack of employment opportunities, thus leading to unemployment coupled with poverty in the future.
Moving away from one’s own homeland to another city or country in search of employment leads to poverty too. It may take these people a lot of time to find jobs. Meanwhile they live in bad conditions. The cost of living in the city or country is most of the time too high for them.
There may be other causes of poverty like the change in business. For example, in America, a couple of decades ago, heavy industry flourished, which employed a lot of African-American people. But now, the focus is more on information technology and health care, both of which employ only skilled and trained people. This has led to unemployment among African-Americans.
Poverty has many ill effects on society. That’s why steps should be taken to get rid of it!
【小題1】What’s the meaning of the underlined word “flourished” in Paragraph 5?
(No more than 5 words)
【小題2】Why is overpopulation a cause of poverty today? (No more than12 words)
【小題3】What’s the situation of education in underdeveloped countries? (No more than 8 words)
【小題4】What does the passage mainly talk about? (No more than 10 words)
【小題5】In your opinion, what’s the most significant cause of poverty today? Please give your reason. (No more than 25 words)
查看答案和解析>>
科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學年天津市高三畢業班聯考（二）英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解
Poverty today is a major global issue．Although there are all kinds of definitions used to explain it, in simple words, it means the inability of a person to even get his basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, safe drinking water, health and education．Poverty can be found in each and every comer of the world, although the causes may differ from country to country．Given below are the main causes of poverty in the world today．
Overpopulation is one of the main causes behind the threatening of poverty on an individual level as well as a social level．This is simple math: If there are more mouths to feed and less income, definitely much will remain poor．
Another theory which is used as an explanation for poverty is lack of education．If you look at any of the underdeveloped countries, you will find that the level of education there is very low．Lack of education means lack of employment opportunities, thus leading to unemployment coupled with poverty in the future．
Moving away from one's own homeland to another city or country in search of employment leads to poverty too．It may take these people a lot of time to find jobs．Meanwhile they live in bad conditions．The cost of living in the city or country is most of the time too high for them．
There may be other causes of poverty like the change in business．For example, in America, a couple of decades ago, heavy industry flourished, which employed a lot of African-American people．But now, the focus is more on information technology and health care, both of which employ only skilled and trained people．This has led to unemployment among African-Americans．
Poverty has many ill effects on society．That's why steps should be taken to get rid of it!
1.What's the meaning of the underlined word "flourished" in Paragraph 5?
（No more than 5 words）
2.Why is overpopulation a cause of poverty today? （No more thanl2 words）
3.What's the situation of education m underdeveloped countries? （No more than 8 words）
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?（No more than 10 words）
5.In your opinion, what's the most significant cause of poverty today? Please give your reason．（No more than 25 words）
查看答案和解析>>
科目：高中英語 來源：浙江省09-10學年高一下學期期中試題英語 題型：閱讀理解
Every year, it costs British students more and more to attend university. Students are graduating with larger and larger debts. So is a college degree really worth it?
In 2006, the UK government started to allow universities in England and Wales to charge British students tuition fees (學費). As a result, more than 80 percent of students in England and Wales now take out a student loan (貸款) in order to go to university.
They use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses. Although the interest on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan.
The average student in England and Wales now graduates from university with a debt of around $12,000 (122,952yuan). It means graduates have to struggle to pay rent on a flat, because they have to start paying back the student loan when they reach the April after graduating. If you start to earn over $ 15,000 (153,639yuan) a year, the government takes repayments directly from your monthly salary.
You might think that a person with a degree would find it easy to get a well-paid job. However, most people in “white collar jobs” seem to have a degree, so there is a lot of competition. Also, British companies tend to value work experience over a piece of paper.
All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a university degree is really worth the money. Even before the credit crisis started, the BBC stated: “The number of British students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in recent history, from 1.97 million in 2007 to 1.96 million last year (2008).”
“Student poverty” is now considered a real problem. Meanwhile, the British universities offer more and more of the available places to richer international students rather than poorer British students. What does the future hold for British higher education?
61. What makes British students question the worth of a university degree?
A. Higher university expenses. B. Lower education quality.
C. A higher interest rate on student loans D. Grater difficulty obtaining student loans.
62. According to the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. University tuition fees in all parts of Britain have been on the rise since 2006.
B. Interest on a student loan starts as soon as the student receives it.
C. People have always questioned the worth of a university degree.
D. University graduates need to pay off their loans right upon graduation.
63. Which of the following is NOT a factor that concerns a British university graduate?
A. Fierce competition in the job market. B. The burden of a large debt.
C. Lack of experience. D. Fewer job openings.
64. What is the title of this passage?
A. Student poverty B. Is college worth it?
C. The UK government started to charge students tuition fees.
D. British students use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses.
查看答案和解析>>
湖北省互聯網違法和不良信息舉報平臺 | 網上有害信息舉報專區 | 電信詐騙舉報專區 | 涉歷史虛無主義有害信息舉報專區 | 涉企侵權舉報專區
違法和不良信息舉報電話：027-86699610 舉報郵箱：58377363@163.com
