Question

    The factors that cause youth unemployment often differ among regions and labor systems. 1. Since firing full-time workers is so complicated and expensive, employers are unwilling to take on new staff, while people who are already employed, mainly older workers, often keep their jobs for life. In developing countries with high birthrates and very young populations, like the Philippines, growth isn’t strong enough to absorb the wave of youngsters entering the workforce each year. 2. Young people entering the workforce are often the most vulnerable（易受伤害的）in economic downturns — new employees are often the first to get sacked, while college graduates find few employers willing to hire.

3. In Spain, Italy and Japan, for instance, companies looking to gain flexibility in regulated labor markets often offer new, young staffers only short-term contracts. These contracts, which sometimes last for only a few days, usually come with low salaries and few benefits. Since such staff is temporary, employers have little intention to invest in training.

Facing such obstacles, young people everywhere are finding that traditional route to success — education — isn’t paying off as much as in the past. 4. They will often be offered low-skilled jobs from waiters to supermarket clerks. A March report form the UK’s Office for National Statistics showed that the share of recent college graduates in Britain working in lower-skilled jobs rose to nearly 35% in 2011 form less than 27% a decade earlier. 5. Typical is Cairo’s Ahmed Said. He graduated from college with a business degree, and after performing the obligatory（义务的）year of military service, he applied for jobs in accounting and data entry. But Said, 24, had no luck, and today he works as a waiter at a cafe near Tahrir Square. “This was my last choice,” he says, “and this is the job that I got.”

A.Young graduates often find themselves competing with more-experienced workers.

B.More and more college graduates are forced to take jobs below their skill level.

C.They started applying for any positions they could find in other countries.

D.In some parts of the world, such jobs are all that is available to college graduates.

E.Yet youth unemployment also has common roots throughout the world.

F.Those young workers who do find employment are often trapped in awful contracts.

G.In much of Western Europe overemphasized labor protection makes it more difficult for youths to land good jobs.

Answer

1.G

2.E

3.F

4.B

5.D

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章讲述了不同地区和劳动力制度导致年轻人失业的不同因素。

1.根据上一句 The factors that cause youth unemployment often differ among regions and labor systems. 导致年轻人失业的因素在不同地区和劳动力制度之间往往有所不同。可知，此处内容与年轻人工作困难有关，选项G“在西欧大部分地区，过度强调劳动保护使得年轻人更难找到好工作。”符合题意。故选G。

2.根据下一句Young people entering the workforce are often the most vulnerable（易受伤害的）in economic downturns — new employees are often the first to get sacked, while college graduates find few employers willing to hire. 在经济低迷时期，进入职场的年轻人往往是最脆弱的——新员工往往是最先被解雇的，而大学毕业生发现很少有雇主愿意雇佣。可知，此处内容与解释为什么年轻人最容易被解雇或失业有关，选项E“然而，青年失业在世界各地也有共同的根源。”符合题意。故选E。

3.根据下文These contracts, which sometimes last for only a few days, usually come with low salaries and few benefits. 这些合同有时只持续几天，通常工资很低，福利也很少。可知，此处内容与工作的年轻人遇到糟糕的合同有关，选项F“那些找到工作的年轻工人经常陷入糟糕的合同中。”符合题意。故选F。

4.根据下一句They will often be offered low-skilled jobs from waiters to supermarket clerks. 他们经常会得到从服务员到超市店员等低技能工作。可知，此处内容与大学毕业生被迫做低技能的工作有关，选项B“越来越多的大学毕业生被迫从事低于他们技能水平的工作。”符合题意。故选B。

5.根据下一句Typical is Cairo’s Ahmed Said. 典型的是开罗的Ahmed。可知，此处内容与大学毕业生从事低技能工作的现象有关，选项D“在世界上的一些地方，大学毕业生只能找到这样的工作。”符合题意。故选D。