Part A: Reading Comprehension

Text 4

Many people talked of the 288,000 new jobs the Labor Department reported for June, along with the drop in the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent, as good news. And they were right. For now it appears the economy is creating jobs at a decent pace. We still have a long way to go to get back to full employment, but at least we are now finally moving forward at a faster pace.

However, there is another important part of the jobs picture that was largely overlooked. There was a big jump in the number of people who report voluntarily working part-time. This figure is now 830,000 (4.4 percent) above its year ago level.

Before explaining the connection to the Obamacare, it is worth making an important distinction. Many people who work part-time jobs actually want full-time jobs. They take part-time work because this is all they can get. An increase in involuntary part-time work is evidence of weakness in the labor market and it means that many people will be having a very hard time making ends meet.

There was an increase in involuntary part-time in June, but the general direction has been down. Involuntary part-time employment is still far higher than before the recession, but it is down by 640,000 (7.9 percent) from its year ago level.

We know the difference between voluntary and involuntary part-time employment because people tell us. The survey used by the Labor Department asks people if they worked less than 35 hours in the reference week. If the answer is “yes,” they are classified as working part-time. The survey then asks whether they worked less than 35 hours in that week because they wanted to work less than full time or because they had no choice. They are only classified as voluntary part-time workers if they tell the survey taker they chose to work less than 35 hours a week.

The issue of voluntary part-time relates to Obamacare because one of the main purposes was to allow people to get insurance outside of employment. For many people, especially those with serious health conditions or family members with serious health conditions, before Obamacare the only way to get insurance was through a job that provided health insurance.

However, Obamacare has allowed more than 12 million people to either get insurance through Medicaid or the exchanges. These are people who may previously have felt the need to get a full-time job that provided insurance in order to cover themselves and their families. With Obamacare there is no longer a link between employment and insurance.

36. Which part of the jobs picture was neglected?

[A]

The prospect of a thriving job market. 

[B]

The increase of voluntary part-time jobs. 

[C]

The possibility of full employment. 

[D]

The acceleration of job creation. 

37. Many people work part-time because they

[A]

prefer part-time jobs to full-time jobs. 

[B]

feel that is enough to make ends meet. 

[C]

cannot get their hands on full-time jobs. 

[D]

haven’t seen the weakness of the market. 

38. Involuntary part-time employment in the US

[A]

shows a general tendency of decline. 

[B]

is harder to acquire than one year ago. 

[C]

satisfies the real need of the jobless. 

[D]

is lower than before the recession. 

39. It can be learned that with Obamacare

[A]

it is no longer easy for part-timers to get insurance. 

[B]

full-time employment is still essential for insurance. 

[C]

it is still challenging to get insurance for family members. 

[D]

employment is no longer a precondition to get insurance. 

40. The text mainly discusses

[A]

employment in the US. 

[B]

part-timer classification. 

[C]

insurance through Medicaid. 

[D]

Obamacare’s trouble. 

答案解析 (Answers & Explanations)

36. [B] The increase of voluntary part-time jobs.
解析：第二段首句指出：“然而，就业状况中还有另一个重要部分在很大程度上被忽视了（overlooked）。”紧接着第二句解释道：“报告自愿从事兼职工作（voluntarily working part-time）的人数出现了大幅跳跃（big jump）。” neglected（被忽视）是 overlooked 的同义替换。因此，被忽视的是“自愿兼职工作的增加”，选B。

37. [C] cannot get their hands on full-time jobs.
解析：第三段提到，许多做兼职的人实际上想要全职工作。接着作者指出原因：“他们接受兼职工作是因为这是他们所能得到的全部（because this is all they can get）”。换言之，他们别无选择，也就是“无法获得全职工作（cannot get their hands on full-time jobs）”，选C。

38. [A] shows a general tendency of decline.
解析：第四段第一句明确指出：“六月份非自愿兼职有所增加，但总体方向一直是向下的（the general direction has been down）。” “general direction has been down”完美对应选项A中的“呈现出总体的下降趋势（shows a general tendency of decline）”。

39. [D] employment is no longer a precondition to get insurance.
解析：文章最后一段最后一句作为全文的升华与总结指出：“有了奥巴马医改，就业和保险之间不再有联系（there is no longer a link between employment and insurance）”。也就是说，以前必须通过全职工作才能获得保险，现在不需要了，因此“就业不再是获得保险的先决条件（precondition）”，选D。

40. [A] employment in the US.
解析：主旨题。文章第一段引用美国劳工部的数据引出话题；第二到五段深入剖析了美国就业数据中“非自愿兼职”与“自愿兼职”的区别和趋势；第六、七段则解释了美国“自愿兼职”人数上升的深层原因（奥巴马医改使得人们无需为了保险而死守全职工作）。全篇都是围绕“美国的就业状况及其背后的影响因素”展开论述的，因此最佳标题是“美国的就业（employment in the US）”，选A。

核心长难句精解 (High-Light)

1. 动词短语与宾语从句的嵌套：
"Many people talked of the 288,000 new jobs the Labor Department reported for June, along with the drop in the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent, as good news."
【解析】句子的骨架是 `talked of A as B` (把A谈论/视为B)。其中 A 非常长，包含了 `the 288,000 new jobs`，其后省略了 `that/which`，跟了一个定语从句 `the Labor Department reported for June`。同时，A 还包含了一个伴随状态的短语 `along with the drop in the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent`。

2. 并列的宾语从句解释原因：
"The survey then asks whether they worked less than 35 hours in that week because they wanted to work less than full time or because they had no choice."
【解析】`whether` 引导宾语从句。在从句内部，使用了两个由 `because` 引导的并列原因状语从句，通过 `or` 连接。精确地界定了劳工部在问卷调查中如何区分“自愿”与“非自愿”。

3. 定语从句与目的状语的结合：
"These are people who may previously have felt the need to get a full-time job that provided insurance in order to cover themselves and their families."
【解析】`who` 引导定语从句修饰 `people`。在从句中，`job` 后面又跟了一个 `that` 引导的定语从句。句末的 `in order to` 引导目的状语，解释了他们以前为什么必须找全职工作（为了给家人上保险）。这句话清晰点明了奥巴马医改对就业观念的解放作用。