Why doesn’t the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can’t find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that’s not the case. Not now and not ever.

　　On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus.

　　Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don’t find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes （简历）. It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it.

　　So what would today’s Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians’ lowering joblessness?

　　Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as “a complete surprise” though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.

　　For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, “is very much based on our work,” he said.

　　“One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don’t lose their feel for the labor force,” Pissarides told reporters in London. “The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training – it could be as simple as providing work experience.”

According to the writer, which is true about finding jobs?

　　A. It is always difficult to find a job.

　　B. Everyone can find a job in good times.

　　C. Contrary to popular belief, it is easier to find a job in bad times.

　　D. It is possible to find a job even in times as bad as now.

What is it that leads to their winning the prize?

　　A. They have found the reason for unemployment.

　　B. They have put forward a set of ideas to deal with unemployment.

　　C. They have found out why people don’t want to be employed.

　　D. They have long studied the problem of unemployment.

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A. Pissarides thinks his work surprising.

　　B. The work of Pissarides has influenced many economists.

　　C. Some of the winners’ ideas have been put into practice.

　　D. It is probable that unemployed young people in Britain benefit from Pissarides’ work.

According to Pissarides, _________ is effective in dealing with unemployment.

　　A. spending large sums of money on training

　　B. teaching some knowledge of economics

　　C. providing work experience

　　D. keeping people unemployed for some time

Recently divorced(离婚), I had no job and was on my way downtown to go the rounds of the employment offices despite the great   36 . My old umbrella was broken, and I could not   37  another one.
I sat down in the streetcar — and there against the seat was a beautiful silk   38  with a silver handle inlaid (镶嵌) with gold. I had   39  seen anything so lovely.
I   40  the handle and saw a   41 . I got off the streetcar and   42  opened the umbrella to protect myself. Then I searched a   43  book for the name on the umbrella and found it. I called and a lady answered.
Yes, she said in   44 , that was her umbrella, which her parents, now dead, had given her for a birthday present.   45 , she added, it had been stolen at school (she was a teacher) more than a year before.
She was so excited that I   46  I was   47  a job and went directly to her house. She took the umbrella, her   48  filled with tears.
I refused the   49   she gave me. We talked for a while, and I must have given her my address. I don’t remember.
The next six months were   50 . I was able to obtain   51  here and there. l reached the lowest point in my   52 . Unless a miracle happened, I would be homeless in January, foodless, jobless.
Christmas Eve came. No money to buy my daughter a gift. I was sobbing (抽泣) in the cold little kitchen   53  the doorbell rang and my daughter Peggy ran to answer it. He was a postman, and his arms were   54  of parcels. “This is a mistake” I said, but he read the name on the parcels and there were for me.
Peggy and I sat on the floor and opened them. I looked for the name of the sender. It was the teacher. The address was   55  “California”, where she had moved.

People always hate betting on football. __________ to our joy, our legal authority took action at length.

A．Ever　 　 B．Little     C．Much　 　D．Even

There is a feeling _____ me______ we’ll never know what a UFO is --- not ever.

　 A. in; that 　 B. on; which  C. for; for which 　 D. by; what

WILD WEATHERMAN

Name: Sam Champion

Hot job: TV Weatherman

Where: ABC-TV, New York City

When you were a child, did you plan to forecast wind, rain, and snow on TV?

I wanted to be a foreign journalist. I took courses in weather science at Eastern Kentucky University, but I majored in broadcasting news.

How did you finally become a weatherman?

My first job in the early 1980s was at the local TV station in Paducah, Kentucky. I did everything from turning on the lights in the morning to writing and delivering morning news. I put together weather forecasts, and became interested in them.

Back then, how did you forecast weather?

Independent companies collected computer information that showed, for example, how a single weather system might split into snow or snow mixed with rain. The information was often opposite and the job of a weatherman was to study the information and make the best educated guess about the storm.

Has weather forecasting changed much with new technology?

Advanced computers, satellites, and Doppler radar (sound waves used to track storms) have made forecasting more exact. But we still know very little about how weather is shaped. So far, we just have theories.

Any advice for children who'd like to become weather scientists?

To me, weather is the most exciting field in the world. There are still so many more questions about weather than answers. After all, if we can't foresee floods or hurricanes, how safe a society are we? Weather forecasting is wide open for scientists who love to solve puzzling problems. The next generation of meteorologists (weather scientists) will unlock many of Earth's weather secrets. So get a general knowledge of Earth science, and study meteorology in college.

Thanks, Sam.

Judging from the writing style, the text is _________.

A．a diary               B．an interview  

C．a news story           D．an announcement

As a child, ABC-TV's Sam Champion wanted to be a____________.

   A. space scientist          B．weatherman 

C. news reporter           D．meteorologist

Present weather forecasting technology___________.

A．has made weather report more exact than ever

　B．is still not perfect

　C．hasn't changed much in the last 50 years

　D．both A and B

The study of weather science is called____________.

A．meteorology   B．forecasting   C．geography   D．Earth science