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.

what’s the meaning of the word “motivation” in paragraph 4?

A.Confidence
B.Ability
C.Diligence
D.Willpowe

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答案： D

本题解析：

本题考查的是词意判断。

【关键词】meaning; motivation;paragraph 4

【主题句】第四段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. （一些贫困的成年人由于各种个人原因不去找工作；患有疾病，没有任何工作积极性，家庭问题，或者他们不认为自己能找到工作。）

【解析】第3题问“第四段的“motivation”含义是什么？”。首先，motivation的意思是“积极性，干劲”，一般指员工的工作积极性。A选项confidence表示“自信”；B选项ability表示“能力”；C选项diligence表示“勤奋”；D选项willpower表示“毅力，意志力”，只有D选项和motivation指的都是精神方面的动力。