Many people believe that the only way to make our communities safer is to build more prisons. But there's a way better protect cities and towns by doing just the opposite. In many countries throughout the world, prison populations have risen dramatically over the past decade. One of the main reasons for this is the large number of repeat offenders; that is people who break the law again once freed from jail. Statistics show that about one in four prisoners freed every year return to jail within three years. This is partly because ex-prisoners face huge difficulty finding employment. More than a third of them cannot find any job at all. Data show that having a job greatly reduces the chances that a person will commit a crime again or commit one in the first place. Released prisoners who do manage to find steady employment are 50 percent less likely to return to prison. Rather than harming a community, having a job helps ex-prisoners to change their ways and make a positive and productive contribution to their communities. What's more, helping these men and women find jobs would also save taxpayers a lot of money. Few prisoners would save governments millions or possibly even billions of dollars annually: the costs of building and operating jails. There are many things that the government can do to help ex-prisoners find work. More job training programs should be introduced to provide prisoners with work skills before they are freed. Companies and factories should also be given tax benefits if they employ ex-prisoners. Such programs have been shown to work in several countries. Such policies of course assure that freed criminals actually want to work. But shouldn't they be given the chance? Our goal, after all, shouldn't be to incarcerate as many prisoners as possible, but to build a society that doesn't need to put such a large percentage of its population in jail. We should take a step in that direction and help prisoners find self-respect and purpose through work. What percentage of freed prisoners returns to prison within three years? A) 65% B) 50% C) 33% D) 25%
D
(Question)
One night, the first floor of the house suddenly caught fire. The fire was big, and soon became a sea of fire. On the second floor lived a little girl and her grandmother; the little girl's parents had died, and she lived together with her grandma. In order to rescue the little girl, the grandmother was burned to death, leaving the little girl crying for help loudly. How could people enter the house? At the very moment, a man carrying a ladder rushed to the flames and got into the window. When he appeared again in the eyes of the people, the little girl was in his arms. He gave the child to the crowd, and then disappeared into the night. This little girl had no family. Two months later a meeting was held to find a person to adopt the girl. A teacher was willing to adopt this child, and said she could give her the best education; a farmer wanted to adopt this child, saying that village life would let the child grow up healthily and happily; a rich man said, "I can give the child everything that others can do." A lot of people who wanted to adopt this child said about many benefits of their adopting the child. But the little girl's face had no expression. At this time, a man, through the crowd, walked straight in front of the little girl, and opened his arms for the little girl. People were puzzled, and they found that the man had terrible scars on his arms. The little girl let out a cry, "This is the man who saved me!" She suddenly jumped up, and buried her face in his arms and sobbed. Naturally the man adopted the girl. What did the man do when he had saved the little girl? A) He returned to his work. B) He left the girl to the crowd and left quickly. C) He was injured and went to the hospital. D) He took the girl home.
(Answer)
B
Ques: After a week-long vacation, U.S. President Barack Obama will focus on proposals to strengthen the still-recovering American economy. The agenda includes the reform of the nation's health care system. The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as some call it, expands federal health care programs for the needy and encourages Americans of all income groups to purchase private health care insurance. "If you do not have insurance, beginning on October 1st, private plans will actually compete for your business. You can comparison--shop in an online marketplace, just like you would for cell phone plans or plane tickets. You may be eligible for new tax credits to help you afford the plan that's right for you. And if you are in the up to half of all Americans who have been sick or have a preexisting condition, this law means that beginning January 1st, insurance companies have to cover you," Obama said. Health-care spending accounts for one-seventh of U.S. economic activity, and is projected to increase to one-fifth in coming years. The cost has a direct bearing on America's economic and financial well--being. Drawn up in 2010, the Affordable Care Act aims to control costs and expand access to health care. The effort is a big failure, according to Republican law makers like Tim Griffin and Todd Young. "Republicans will continue to do everything we can to protect all Americans from the president's top-down, one-size-fits-all, Washington-knows-best approach to health care that is driving up costs and hurting our economy," said Griffin. "The sooner we can delay, oppose and cancel the president's health-care law, the sooner we can get people back to work and focus on expanding opportunity for everyone." The president accuses Republicans of putting partisanship ahead of Americans' health-care needs. "A lot of Republicans seem to believe that if they can gum up the works and make this law fail, they will somehow be sticking it to me. But they would just be sticking it to you. Your health insurance is not something to play... What does Obama accuse Republicans of according to the passage? A) They don't know what Americans are in need of. B) They tend to put their own benefit ahead of Americans'. C) They know nothing about health insurance and economy. D) They like to play politics with economy and health insurance
Ans: B
Question: With the growth of the European Union and increased globalisation, English is increasingly the lingua franc a in European businesses, and those who speak it have become the elite of the workforce. In the past, only a few specialists in a company were needed to communicate with foreign businesses.However, in these days of multinational companies, where workers are required to communicate with other employees from several countries, a common language is essential and English has become the logical choice. Nowadays, even blue-collar workers in many companies are required to speak English.For example, just over three years ago, a Dutch company.United Pan-European Communications (UPC), was contracted to build a TV studio in Amsterdam.The job involved many electricians--more than the company could find in the Netherlands.There were plenty of qualified electricians in nearby France and Belgium, but the American and Dutch executives of UPC wanted everyone on the job to speak and understand the same language.So, the UPC hired British electricians and flew them to Amsterdam every Monday, accommodating them in hotels all over the city, and flying them home on Friday evenings. Increasingly, workers who can speak English earn salaries 25-35% higher than those who can' t.They are also eligible for a wider range of high-level jobs. The problem is that, while the ability to speak English is fast becoming essential for getting a good job, there is a shortage of people who can speak it.According to a recent European Commission report, only about 41% of continental Europeans can speak English, and only 29% speak it well enough to carry on a conversation.Many companies are solving this problem by setting up English language schools within the workplace.English language schools all over Europe are expanding at a huge rate, and governments are looking at ways to improve English tuition in schools. One result of this modem urge to learn English is that a generation gap is appearing. According to a European Union study, 67% of... Why did the UPC hire the British electricians? A) There were not enough electricians in nearby France and Belgium. B) British electricians were more qualified than those in the Netherlands. C) The UPC wanted all the employees to speak English. D) The UPC meant to show they were rich enough to accommodate and fly them.
Answer:
C