Part A: Reading Comprehension

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American farmers have been complaining of labor shortages for several years. The complaints are unlikely to stop without an overhaul of immigration rules for farm workers.

Congress has obstructed efforts to create a more straightforward visa for agricultural workers that would let foreign workers stay longer in the U.S. and change jobs within the industry. If this doesn’t change, American businesses, communities, and consumers will be the losers.

Perhaps half of U.S. farm laborers are undocumented immigrants. As fewer such workers enter the country, the characteristics of the agricultural workforce are changing. Today’s farm laborers, while still predominantly born in Mexico, are more likely to be settled rather than migrating and more likely to be married than single. They’re also aging. At the start of this century, about one-third of crop workers were over the age of 35. Now more than half are. And picking crops is hard on older bodies. One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it’s been all along: Native U.S. workers won’t be returning to the farm.

Mechanization isn’t the answer, either—not yet, at least. Production of corn, cotton, rice, soybeans, and wheat has been largely mechanized, but many high-value, labor-intensive crops, such as strawberries, need labor. Even dairy farms, where robots do a small share of milking, have a long way to go before they’re automated.

As a result, farms have grown increasingly reliant on temporary guest workers using the H-2A visa to fill the gaps in the workforce. Starting around 2012, requests for the visas rose sharply; from 2011 to 2016 the number of visas issued more than doubled.

The H-2A visa has no numerical cap, unlike the H-2B visa for nonagricultural work, which is limited to 66,000 a year. Even so, employers complain they aren’t given all the workers they need. The process is cumbersome, expensive, and unreliable. One survey found that bureaucratic delays led the average H-2A worker to arrive on the job 22 days late. The shortage is compounded by federal immigration raids, which remove some workers and drive others underground.

In a 2012 survey, 71 percent of tree-fruit growers and almost 80 percent of raisin and berry growers said they were short of labor. Some western farmers have responded by moving operations to Mexico. From 1998 to 2000, 14.5 percent of the fruit Americans consumed was imported. Little more than a decade later, the share of imports was 25.8 percent.

In effect, the U.S. can import food or it can import the workers who pick it.

31. What problem should be addressed according to the first two paragraphs?

[A]

Discrimination against foreign workers in the U.S. 

[B]

Biased laws in favor of some American businesses. 

[C]

Flaws in U.S. immigration rules for farm workers. 

[D]

Decline of job opportunities in U.S. agriculture. 

32. One trouble with U.S. agricultural workforce is

[A]

the rising number of illegal immigrants. 

[B]

the high mobility of crop workers. 

[C]

the lack of experienced laborers. 

[D]

the aging of immigrant farm workers. 

33. What is the much-argued solution to the labor shortage in U.S. farming?

[A]

To attract younger laborers to farm work. 

[B]

To get native U.S. workers back to farming. 

[C]

To use more robots to grow high-value crops. 

[D]

To strengthen financial support for farmers. 

34. Agricultural employers complain about the H-2A visa for its

[A]

slow granting procedures. 

[B]

limit on duration of stay. 

[C]

tightened requirements. 

[D]

control of annual admissions. 

35. Which of the following could be the best title for this text?

[A]

U.S. Agriculture in Decline? 

[B]

Import Food or Labor? 

[C]

America Saved by Mexico? 

[D]

Manpower vs. Automation? 

答案解析 (Answers & Explanations)

31. [C] Flaws in U.S. immigration rules for farm workers.
解析：第一段指出如果不“全面改革针对农场工人的移民政策（overhaul of immigration rules for farm workers）”，劳工短缺的抱怨就不会停止。第二段紧接着指出国会阻挠了创造更直接签证的努力，如果这种情况不改变（If this doesn’t change），美国将成为输家。这说明前两段旨在提出应当解决美国农业劳工“移民政策上的缺陷（Flaws in U.S. immigration rules）”，选C。

32. [D] the aging of immigrant farm workers.
解析：第三段在描述美国农业劳动力特征时，明确提到：“他们也正在变老（They’re also aging）。”接着用数据支撑：现在超过一半的作物工人年龄在35岁以上，“而且采摘作物对较老的身体来说很吃力（picking crops is hard on older bodies）”。这指出了劳动力的一个明显问题是“老龄化”，选D。

33. [B] To get native U.S. workers back to farming.
解析：第三段最后一句提到：“对于这种劳动力短缺，一个经常被争论的解决方法（oft-debated cure）仍然和它一直以来一样令人难以置信：美国本土工人不会回到农场（Native U.S. workers won’t be returning to the farm）”。“oft-debated”等同于“much-argued”，该方法就是“让美国本土工人回去务农”，选B。

34. [A] slow granting procedures.
解析：第六段指出，尽管H-2A签证没有数量上限，但雇主们抱怨过程繁琐且不可靠。随后引用调查指出：“官僚主义的拖延（bureaucratic delays）导致H-2A工人平均迟到22天”。这说明他们抱怨的是“缓慢的批准程序（slow granting procedures）”，选A。

35. [B] Import Food or Labor?
解析：主旨标题题。文章全文在讨论美国农业劳动力严重短缺，以及现行僵化的移民政策（限制外籍劳工/劳动力的进口）。最后一段（也是全篇的结论句）直接点题：“实际上，美国可以进口食物（import food），或者它可以进口采摘食物的工人（import the workers）”。选项B“进口食物还是劳动力？”完美契合文章的核心矛盾，选B。

核心长难句精解 (High-Light)

1. 复杂的定语从句嵌套：
"Congress has obstructed efforts to create a more straightforward visa for agricultural workers that would let foreign workers stay longer in the U.S. and change jobs within the industry."
【解析】`to create...` 动词不定式作定语修饰 `efforts`。在这个不定式短语中，又嵌套了一个由 `that` 引导的定语从句，修饰 `visa`。这个长句清晰地解释了受阻的签证改革究竟能带来哪些好处（停留更久、可换工作）。

2. 并列比较结构：
"Today’s farm laborers, while still predominantly born in Mexico, are more likely to be settled rather than migrating and more likely to be married than single."
【解析】主干是 `laborers are more likely to... and more likely to...`。`while...` 是插入的让步状语从句。句中使用了两组鲜明的对比：定居（settled）vs 迁移（migrating），已婚（married）vs 单身（single），刻画了农业劳动力构成的深层变化。

3. 同位语及反义强调：
"One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it’s been all along: Native U.S. workers won’t be returning to the farm."
【解析】冒号后面的部分是对前面 `cure`（解决方法）的同位语解释。但作者用了一个否定句（won't be returning），直接给这个“被热议的方法”判了死刑。这句话起到了承上启下的作用，说明靠本国人没戏，只能靠移民或者机械化（引入下一段）。