Question

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, was the financial burden of immigration. That conclusion was reinforced by another finding: that their opposition appeared to soften when that financial burden decreased, as occurred with welfare reform in the 1990s, which curbed immigrants’ access to certain benefits.

The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect of immigration is minimal. Even for those most acutely affected — say, low-skilled workers, or California residents — the impact isn’t all that dramatic. “The unpleasant voices have tended to dominate our perceptions,” says Daniel Tichenor, a professor at the University of Oregon. “But when all those factors are put together and the economists calculate the numbers, it ends up being a net positive, but a small one.” Too bad most people don’t realize it. 

1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Whether immigrants are good or bad for the economy has been puzzling economists.

B．The American economy used to thrive on immigration but now it’s a different story.

C．The agreement among economists is that immigration should not be encouraged.

D．The general public thinks differently from most economists on the impact of immigration.

2.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.

3.What is the irony about the debate over immigration?

A．Even economists can’t reach an agreement about its impact.

B．Those who are opposed to it turn out to benefit most from it.

C．People are making too big a fuss about something of small impact.

D．There is no essential difference between seemingly opposite opinions.

4.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．A debate about whether to immigrate.

B．A debate about the impact of illegal immigrants.

C．The great impact of immigrants on the economy.

D．Opposition to illegal immigration.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.D

2.D

3.C

4.B

【解析】

試題分析：本文論述了正反兩方對于移民對本國的影響到底有多大，不同的人有不同的觀點，文章最后Daniel Tichenor教授指出，其實移民給本國帶來的是經濟的一個很小的增長，只不過，有的人認識不到這一點。

1.這是概括大意題。這里指出，美國大眾絕大多數認為移民對經濟的影響是不好的。然而，大多數經濟學家卻一致認為，不管是合法還是非法移民，都為經濟帶來了小幅的凈增長。由此可見，對于移民經濟的影響問題，大眾多多數經濟學家存在分歧，故答案為D。

2.這是細節理解題。根據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, was the financial burden of immigration.他們主要擔心財政負擔重，故選 D。

3.這是細節理解題。根據The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect of immigration is minimal. Even for those most acutely affected — say, low-skilled workers, or California residents — the impact isn’t all that dramatic. 移民對各方面的影響很小，沒有必要過于談論它，故選C。

4.這是標題歸納題。根據從開頭及整篇文章的內容來看，是主要談論的移民的影響，故選B。

考點：這是一篇社會現象類的文章。

點評：文章標題是文章的點睛之筆。標題歸納題在英語閱讀理解題中屬深層理解題，它要求考生在通讀全文的基礎上，準確把握文章大意及作者的寫作意圖。一般說來，標題應該具有概括性、針對性、簡潔性三個突出特點。其中概括性，是指標題應最大程度地覆蓋全文，囊括文章的主要內容，體現文章的主題；針對性，是指標題的含義要直接指向文章的主要特點；而簡潔性，則是指標題應言簡意賅，能吸引讀者的注意力，并喚起讀者對文章的閱讀興趣等。