资料：Thepovertylineistheminimumi-名校题库网

资料： The poverty line is the minimum income that people need for an acceptable standard of living. People with incomes below the poverty line are considered poor. Economists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.

As the general standard of living in the country rises, the poverty line does, too. Therefore, even with today’s relatively high standard of living, about 10 percent of the people in the United States are below the poverty line. However, if these people had stable jobs, they could have an acceptable standard of living. Economists suggest several reasons why poor people do not have jobs.

For one thing, more than half of the poor people in the United States are not qualified to work. Over 40 percent of the poor. People are children. By law, children less than 16 years old cannot work in many industries. A large number of poor people are Old. Many companies do not hire people over 65 years old, the normal retirement age.

Some poor adults do not look for jobs for a variety of personal reasons: they are sick, they do not have any motivation, they have family problems, or they do not believe that they can find a job.

Other poor people look for a job but cannot find one. Many poor adults never went to high school. Therefore, when they look for jobs, they have few skills that they can offer.

At the present time, the government thinks it can reduce poverty in the country in the following ways. First, if the national economy grows, businesses and industries hire more workers. Some of the poor who are qualified to look for jobs may find employment. Then they will no longer be below the poverty line. Second, if society invests in the poor, the poor will become more productive. If the government spends money on social programs, education, and training for poor people, the poor will have the skills to offer. Then it is more likely that they can find jobs.

Finally, if the government distributes society's income differently, it raises some poor people above the poverty line. The government collects taxes from the non－poor and gives money to the poor. These payments to the poor are called welfare. In 1975 over 18 million people in the United States received welfare.

Some economists are looking for better solutions to the poverty problem. However, at the present time, many people depend on welfare for a minimally acceptable standard of living.

The author’s main purpose to write this article is_____

A.to give several possible solutions to the problem of poverty
B.to explain why some people in the United States are below the poverty line
C.to show sympathy for those poor people
D.to give the definition of “poverty line”

查看答案纠错

答案： A

本题解析：

本题考查的是主旨大意。

【关键词】main purpose;to write this article

【主题句】第一段Economists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.经济学家为了找到问题解决方法，研究了贫困的原因。

第二段Economists suggest several reasons why poor people do not have jobs. 经济学家提出了几个为什么穷人没有工作的原因。倒数第三段 At the present time, the government thinks it can reduce poverty in the country in the following ways. 目前，政府认为它可以通过以下方式减少该国的贫困。最后一段 Some economists are looking for better solutions to the poverty problem. However, at the present time, many people depend on welfare for a minimally acceptable standard of living. 一些经济学家正在寻求更好的解决贫困问题的办法。但是，目前很多人依靠福利来达到最低限度的可接受的生活水平。

【解析】题干问“作者写这篇文章的主要目的是什么？”。本道题考察对于全文主旨大意的理解。A选项意为“给出一些可能的贫困问题解决方法” B选项意为“解释为什么一些美国人生活在贫困线以下”C选项意为“表达了对于穷人的同情”；D选项“解释什么是贫困线。” 根据主题句可知，文章主要围绕着贫困问题，从贫困标准线、贫困原因、解决贫困问题措施依次展开，重点是要探索如何找到更好地解决贫困问题的方法，选项B中引用美国情况只是作为案例分析，不是根本写作目的；选项C未提及；选项D只是在开头交代，不符合题意。