Most Americans get what money they have from their work; that is, they earn an income from wages or salaries. The richest Americans, however, get most of their money from what they own -- their stocks, bonds, real estate, and other forms of property, or wealth. Although there are few accurate statistics to go by, wealth in American society appears to be concentrated in very few hands. More than 20 percent of everything that can be privately owned is held by less than one percent of the adult population and more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults. The plain fact is that most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes, automobiles, and a small amount of savings. Income in the United States is not as highly concentrated as wealth. In 1917 the richest 10 percent of American families received 26.1 percent of all income, while the poorest 10 percent received 17 percent, mainly from Social Security and other government payments. The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War II. Although economic growth has roughly doubled real disposable family income (the money left after taxes and adjusted for inflation) over the last generation, the size of the shares given to the rich and the poor is about the same. By any measure economic inequality is great in the United States. The reality behind these statistics is that a large number of Americans are poor. In 1918, 14 percent of the population was living below the federal government's poverty line, which at that time was an annual income of $ 9 287 for a nonfarm family of two adults and two children. In other words, about one out of seven Americans over 31 million people was officially considered unable to buy the basic necessities of food, clothes, and shelter. The suggested poverty line in 1981 would have been an income of about $11, 200 for a family of four. By this relative definition, about 20 percent of the population or more than 45 million... From the last two sentences we can see that 1981 government's poverty line _ . A) was of no good for the poor B) was officially approved C) was not helpful to the poor D) was not put into operation then
D
If you have ever been sad because of failure,please remember,for often,achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing. A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house.As he was working,a couple of older boys stopped by to watch."What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors."I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!" the boy answered excitedly.The older boys began to laugh,telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible.After a while,the boy picked up a jar.He showed it to the visitors.It was full of spiders,worms and other insects.Then he said quietly and confidently,"Even if I can't dig all the way through the earth,look what I found along the way!" The boy's goal was far too difficult,but it did cause him to dig.And that is what a goal is for--to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen,in other words,to cause us to dig! Not every goal will be fully achieved.Not every job will end successfully.Not every dream will come true.Not every love will last.But when you fall short of your aim,maybe you can say,"Yes,but look what I found along the way!Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!" It is in the digging that life is lived.And I believe it is joy in the journey that really matters. Why did the boy show the jar to the older boys? A) To show how beautiful the insects were. B) To share what he found while digging. C) To attract them to join him in the work. D) To fight against them.
B
Q: Finding time to enjoy life is becoming harder and harder. As the average workweek lengthens, leisure time drops. Yet some of the world's busiest people are able to develop rewarding careers and also make time for family and leisure activities. Here is their best advice plus that of time-management experts: 1. Use your peak hours wisely. People tend to be most alert in late morning and midevening. Afternoon brings an increase in sleepiness. Use your high-efficiency hours to handle difficult jobs or engage in creative thinking. For low-efficiency times, concentrate on cleaning up or sorting your mail. By adapting to your mental condition, you can accomplish more in less time. 2. Make a plan. Just 20 minutes of organizing can save an hour of extra effort remembering what must be done. "Don't try to carry your life around in your head," says Lucy Hedrick, author of Five Days to an Organized Life. "Write things down so you can free your brain for more inventive pursuit ." 3. Discourage drop-ins. The person who welcomes every visitor will get plenty of conversation but won't accomplish much. The trick is to develop harmless ways to protect yourself from minute-stealing interruptions. David E. Levy, a public-relations consultant , uses an alternative to the open-door policy by keeping his door half open. The message is clear: he really doesn't want you to come in, but you can if it is important. 4. Tame the telephone. Few devices save more minutes--or waste so many more--than the telephone. Signal the end of your conversation with a phrase such as "Before we hang up..." You can save even more time by not taking every incoming call. Keep a record of when people you call regularly are least busy and call them at those times. Even better, make appointments to call important contacts. To help us gain an extra hour every day, a clockmaker in Dallas has created a timer measuring each minute at 57.6 seconds. The 2.5 seconds borrowed from each minute add up to an extra 60 minutes at the end of each day. Why does David E. Levy keep his door half open? A) To show drop-ins are not welcome at all. B) To tell drop-ins to come if they want. C) To keep unimportant visitors from dropping in. D) To indicate he is expecting a visitor.
A: C
Hobbs was an orphan . He worked in a factory and every day he got a little money. Hard work made him thin and weak. He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn to paint pictures, but he did not think he could pay off the debts. One day a lawyer said to him, "One thousand dollars, and here is the money." As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded. He didn't know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, "I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I'd like to do: painting pictures. I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place in the factory and have no money to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it's too much for one and too little for the other." "Here is the reading of your uncle's will ," said the lawyer, "telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it." "Yes, I see. I'll do that," said the young man. Hobbs was asked to _ . A) tell the lawyer what he did with the money after spending it B) read his uncle's will C) tell the lawyer what was to be done with the money D) buy some pictures
A