Question

It may not come as a surprise but the world as a whole is getting richer. Some people have more disposable income to spend on luxuries such as holidays, cars, TVs and smartphones. Recent data has shown that the number of people living in extreme poverty has halved in recent decades. So should we celebrate the fact that more of us now have a better standard of living?

Maybe not. While the gap between rich and poor in some countries is narrowing, there is still a lot of inequality in other places-some people have a lot of money and opportunities and others don’t. A recent report by Oxfam and Credit Suisse revealed how divided many of us are when it comes to wealth. A lot of the money in the world is in the hands of very few people. In fact, 48% of global wealth is owned by the richest 1% of the population.

But some countries are attempting to reduce this inequality and make the poor less poor. According to David Bryer from Oxfam, Brazil has been taking “some really sensible measures-measures around having more progressive tax, around investing in a higher minimum wage and investing in central public services.” Having a higher minimum wage(提高最低工资标准), can help people eat better and seek a better education. And more people with more money buy more things-and factories can produce more. In turn, a factory which produces more will need more workers. So, more jobs are created.

Other wealthy individuals are doing their bit to help reduce inequality. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, earned a lot of money from his company but when he retired, he and his wife Melinda, created a foundation to help the poor. He thinks that rich people should, of course, pay their taxes but he also advises that they should all “look at taking their wealth and being philanthropic, both in their own country and to help the global poorest.”

Bill Gates feels that giving money to help poor people is “fulfilling”. But if other super-rich people don’t want to experience this fulfilment then, according to Oxfam, very soon the wealthiest 1% will soon own more money than the rest of the world’s population. Do you think that is fair?

1.According to a recent report by Oxfam and Credit Suisse,      .

A. the gap between the rich and poor is widening gradually

B. increased wealth helps people to reduce the inequality

C. people should be happy about the world’s getting richer

D. a small number of people possess the major world wealth

2.What’s the author’s attitude towards Brazil’s measures?

A. Cautious    B. Approving

C. Doubtful    D. Critical

3.What is the meaning of the underlined word “philanthropic” in Paragraph 4?

A. Broadminded    B. Responsible

C. Realistic    D. Merciful

4.The author develops the article mainly by      .

A. comparing opinions from different fields

B. listing detailed numbers and analyzing them

C. presenting research findings and giving some examples

D. presenting a trend and analyzing its cause and effect

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.C

【解析】整个世界变得越来越富有，这并不奇怪。但还是存在很多不平等收入的地方--有些人有很多钱和机遇，但有些人却没有。事实上，这个世界的金钱还是掌握在少数人手中。好在有些国家在试图缩小这个差距以及让穷人少点贫穷，其他富人也在贡献自己的力量来帮助穷人。

1.D细节理解题。根据第二段，事实上，48%的全球财富是由最富有的1%的人口拥有的。可知，世界上的很多钱都掌握在极少数人手中。选D

2.B作者态度题。作者称巴西增加累进税、提高最低保障工资、投资公共服务等措施为“明智的举措（some really sensible measures）”，作者对巴西政府的做法是赞成的。

3.D 猜测词义题。比尔盖茨和妻子梅琳达，一起创建了一个基金会来帮助穷人。他认为富人不但要纳税还要多正确对待他们的财富和变得乐善好施。philanthropic 慈善，博爱的，乐善好施的。

4.C 写作思路题。作者先是说到世界越来越富有，但是根据一项研究表明财富是集中在少数人手里的，然后举出例子来说明许多国家和富人采取了一些行动来消除贫富差距做出的努力，可以看出作者是通过展示研究成果并举例说明来展开文章的。