UKiset考试的第二部分是剑桥英语考试，考察听力和阅读。值得注意的是，这一部分题目是匹配性的 (adaptive)，每一个年龄对应的题目不一样，并且题目难度会随着考生的正确率变化——学生正确回答的问题越多，考试就会越困难。
下面就和小编一起看看今天的阅读模拟练习吧。
In order to “change lives for the better” and reduce “dependency,” George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the “upfront work search” scheme. only if the jobless arrive at the jobcentre with a CV, register for online job search, and start looking for work will they be eligible for benefit-and then they should report weekly rather than fortnightly. What could be more reasonable?
More apparent: reasonableness followed. There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseeker’s allowance. “Those first few days should be spent looking for work, not lookingto sign on.” he claimed. “We’re doing these things because we know they help people say off benefits and help those on benefits get into work faster” Help? Really? On first hearing, this was the socially concerned chancellor, trying to change lives for the better, complete with “reforms” to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the newly unemployed to find work, and subsides laziness. What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for “fundamental fairness”-protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.
Losing a job is hurting: you don’t skip down to the jobcentre with a song in your heart, delighted at the prospect of doubling your income from the generous state. It is financially terrifying, psychologically embarrassing and you know that support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. You are now not wanted; you are now excluded from the work environment that offers purpose and structure in your life. Worse, the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and pay the bills has disappeared. Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and the answer is always: a job.
But in Osborneland, your first instinct is to fall into dependency —permanent dependency if you can get it — supported by a state only too ready to indulge your falsehood. It is as though 20 years of ever-tougher reforms of the job search and benefit administration system never happened. The principle of British welfare is no longer that you can insure yourself against the risk of unemployment and receive unconditional payments if the disaster happens. Even the very phrase “jobseeker’s allowance” — invented in 1996 — is about redefining the unemployed as a “jobseeker” who had no mandatory right to a benefit he or she has earned through making national insurance contributions. Instead, the claimant receives a time-limited “allowance,” conditional on actively seeking a job; no entitlement and no insurance, at ￡71.70 a week, one of the least generous in the EU.
1. George Osborne’s scheme was intended to_____.
[A] provide the unemployed with easier access to benefits.
[B] encourage jobseekers’ active engagement in job seeking.
[C] motivate the unemployed to report voluntarily.
[D] guarantee jobseekers’ legitimate right to benefits.
选项[B]正确。
由题干中的George Osborne's scheme定位到第一段第一句。由该句可知,奥斯本这一计划的目的是“让生活变得更美好”,并降低"依赖性"。第二句指出，失业者只有携简历到就业中心，完成网上求职注册,并开始找工作,才有资格获得救济金。此后，他们还需要每周到求职中心报到一次。结合两句可知，这个计划旨在鼓励失业者积极寻找工作，因此[B]选项正确。
2.The phrase “to sign on”( Para.2) most probably means_____.
[A]to check on the availability of jobs at the jobcentre.
[B]to accept the government’s restrictions on the allowance.
[C]to register for an allowance from the government.
[D]to attend a governmental job-training program.
选项[C]正确。
由题干中的“to sign on"定位到第二段第三句。首先，第三句指出“失业最初几天本应用于找工作，而不是指望sign on" ,可见sign on是"找工作"的反面。再看上下文，第二句提到求职者需要经过一个七天的等待期才能拿到津贴，第四句指出“之所以这样做,是要帮助人们远离救济金”,可确定sign on指“依靠救济、登记领取政府津贴”，因此[C]选项正确。
3.What promoted the chancellor to develop his scheme?
[A]A desire to secure a better life for all.
[B]An eagerness to protect the unemployed.
[C]An urge to be generous to the claimants.
[D]A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.
选项[D]正确。
根据题干设问直接定位到第二段第八句(What motivated him...),其中the chancellor即指英国D财相奥斯本。该句指出,奥斯本计划动机出自对“基本公平”的热情,即:保护纳税者,控制开支并确保只有那些最应资助的申请者才能领到补贴。因此,[D]选项正确。
4.According to Paragraph 3, being unemployed makes one feel_____.
[A]uneasy.
[B]enraged.
[C]insulted.
[D]guilty.
选项[A]正确。
由题干直接定位到第三段。该段集中论述了失业者面临的情况:失业是痛苦的，在经济上是可怕的，在心理上是尴尬的;从而导致失业者渴望早日再就业。综上所述，失业在经济上和心理上对失业者造成了沉重打击,使他们产生了极大的惶悉和不安,[A]选项是对失业者心理的恰当概括。因此,[A]选项正确。
5.To which of the following would the author most probably agree?
[A] The British welfare system indulges jobseekers’ laziness.
[B] Osborne’s reforms will reduce the risk of unemployment.
[C] The jobseekers’ allowance has met their actual needs.
[D] Unemployment benefits should not be made conditional.
选项[D]正确。
文章第一、二段提出并介绍英国财相乔治·奥斯本的"前期工作搜索"计划;第三段分析失业者的心态和压力:第四段作者对奥斯本计划展开批判。结合全文深度理解第四段作者的集中批判可知,作者认同传统的英国福利制度“无条件帮助人们度过失业危机”的原则,对打破这传统的奥斯本计划感到十分不满。因此[D]选项正确。
【微语】留学之际，愿你带着希望与梦想扬帆起航，归来时，熠熠生辉。
