At the heart of the debate over illegal immigration lies one key question: are immigrants good or bad for the economy? The American public overwhelmingly thinks they're bad. Yet the agreement among most economists is that immigration, both legal and illegal, provides a small net boost to the economy. Immigrants provide cheap labor, lower the prices of everything from farm produce to new homes, and leave consumers with a little more money in their pockets. So why is there such a discrepancy between the perception of immigrants' impact on the economy and the reality? There are a number of familiar theories. Some argue that people are anxious and feel threatened by an inflow of new workers. Others highlight the stress that undocumented immigrants place on public services, like schools, hospitals, and jails. Still others emphasize the role of race, arguing that foreigners add to the nation's fears and insecurities. There's some truth to all these explanations, but they aren't quite sufficient. To get a better understanding of what's going on, consider the way immigration's impact is felt. Though its overall effect may be positive, its costs and benefits are distributed unevenly. David Card, an economist at UC Berkeley, notes that the ones who profit most directly from immigrants' low-cost labor are businesses and employers --meatpacking plants in Nebraska, for instance, these producers' savings probably translate into lower prices at the grocery store, but how many consumers make that mental connection at the checkout counter? As for the drawbacks of illegal immigration, these, too, are concentrated. Native low-skilled workers suffer most from the competition of foreign labor. According to a study by George Borjas, a Harvard economist, immigration has reduced the wages of American high-school dropouts by 9%. Among high-skilled, better-educated employees, however, opposition was strongest in states with both high numbers of immigrants and relatively generous social services. What worried them most, in other words,... What is the chief concern of native high-skilled, better-educated employees about the inflow of immigrants? A) It may change the existing social structure. B) It may pose a threat to their economic status. C) It may decrease .their financial burden. D) It may place a great pressure on the state budget.
D
(Question)
I remember the first time that I was extremely happy. I was about 8 years old when for the first time, there was a computer in the classroom. I remember that my teacher allowed each student to take turns playing various educational games on the computer. One day, I found the source code for one of these games. Without knowing or being taught any programming language, I was able to figure out some _ of the BASIC code. Anyone who knows a bit of programming can tell you that I just give myself an infinite number of lives in the game, so I can continue playing forever. This was also my first introduction to algebra , and I didn't even know it at the time. This was a decisive moment in my life. For the first time that I can remember, I was quite happy because of what I was learning and what I was able to do. As a result, I became enthusiastic for the rest of my life about self-learning and computers, and I was quite happy doing them, too. I've noticed that people who are truly content with life are enthusiastic in what they do. This enthusiasm, along with good health, is the key to being happy. It also leads to self-confidence and fulfillment in life, too. It may also lead to success, wealth, and achievements. Yes, success, wealth, or achievements seem to bring some people happiness, too. Yet, I don't think they can indeed make people happy. I know plenty of people who are successful and wealthy. However, I also know several of the people with successful businesses are not happy with what they are doing. I know people who continuously buy themselves new toys, cars, computers, and televisions, yet they never seem content for too long. Please remember that happiness comes from enthusiasm, and happiness is the journey of life, not the destination. What did the writer's teacher ask the students to do on the computer? A) To play various educational games. B) To figure out the BASIC code. C) To get the knowledge of algebra. D) To read some latest news.
(Answer)
A
Ques: History is rich with 'eureka' moments: scientists from Archimedes to Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are said to have had flashes of inspiration while thinking about other things. But the mechanisms behind this psychological phenomenon have remained unclear. A study now suggests that simply taking a break does not bring on inspiration -- rather, creativity is fostered by tasks that allow the mind to wander. The discovery was made by a team led by Benjamin Baird and Jonathan Schooler, psychologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The researchers presented 145 undergraduate students with two 'unusual uses' tasks that gave them two minutes to list as many uses as possible for everyday objects such as toothpicks, clothes hangers and bricks. After the two minutes were over, participants were given a 12-minute break, during which they rested, undertook a demanding memory activity that required their full attention or engaged in an undemanding reaction-time activity known to elicit mind-wandering. A fourth group of students had no break. All participants were then given four unusual-uses tasks, including the two that they had completed earlier. Those students who had done the undemanding activity performed an average of 41% better at the repeated tasks the second time they tried them. By contrast, students in the other three groups showed no improvement. "We've traditionally found that rapid-eye-movement sleep grants creative insight. That allowing the mind to wander does the same is absolutely fascinating. I think they are on to something really interesting here, " says Sara Mednick, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside. Participants who engaged in the undemanding task did not do any better than others on unusual-uses tasks that they encountered for the first time in the second round. "The implication is that mind-wandering was only helpful for problems that were already being mentally chewed on. It didn't seem to lead to a general increase in creative problem-solving... The word "zone out"in italics is the nearest in meaning to _ . A) dream while sleeping B) die away in a secret way C) get the solution suddenly D) be unable to think clearly
Ans: D
There is one thing that everyone wants more than anything else. Some people try to get it by making money. They think that when they have enough money to buy such things as houses, farms, and cars, they will have the one thing that everyone wants. Other people believe that if they know enough they will find this thing. They study all their lives in search of it. Still others think that if they have power,they will find this thing. They keep telling themselves:When I am a boss,I will no longer have to search for this thing. What is it that everyone wants more than anything else?What is it that all of us keep working and striving for each day?It is happiness.Happiness is a strange thing. It does not mean the same to all men. What _ will _ make _ one _ man _ happy _ may _ not _ make _ another _ man _ happy. Some men say that happiness comes from helping others;other men say that happiness comes from making life more pleasant for everyone. What do you mean when you say: "That makes me happy." Read what different people have said about happiness. Perhaps you will learn something that will bring you peace of mind, comfort, money or it may be what you search for--happiness. When I am a boss,I will no longer have to search for this thing. This sentence means " _ ". A) When I have power,I will have happiness B) Being a boss is more important than feeling happy C) When I become a boss,I will never search for happiness D) Boss and this thing mean the same to boss and I
A