第一段
In order to “change lives for the better” and reduce “dependency,” George Osbome,Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the “upfront work search” scheme. Only if the jobless arrive at the job centre with a CV register for online job search, and start looking for work will they be eligible for benefit-and then they should report weekly rather thanfortnightly. What could be more reasonable?
单词&词组搭配
Chancellor [ˈtʃænsələr] n.大臣，长官
Exchequer [ɪksˈtʃekər] n.英国财政部
upfront [ˌʌpˈfrʌnt] adj.预先，预付的
CV(Curriculum Vitae) 个人简历
eligible [ˈelɪdʒəbl]（出现2次）adj.合格的，有资格的
fortnightly [ˈfɔːrtnaɪtli] adv.每两周地
reasonable [ˈriːznəbl]（出现14次）adj.合理的
engagement [ɪnˈɡeɪdʒmənt] n.订婚，约定，战斗
Only if....will...（只有...才能）
register for（登记，注册）
be eligible for（有资格的）
本段翻译
为了“让生活更美好”并降低“依赖”，财政部大臣乔治奥斯本开始推行“先期工作搜索”计划。失业者只有带着简历搭配求知中心，注册网上求职，并开始寻求工作，才有资格领取救济金。此后，他们必须每周而不是每两周汇报一次。还有什么能比这个更合理?
第二段
More apparent reasonableness followed. There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseeker’s allowance. “Those first few days should be spent looking for work, not looking to sign on.” he claimed. “We’re doing these things because we know they help people stay offbenefits and help those on benefits get into work faster” Help? Really? On first hearing, this was the socially concerned chancellor, trying to change lives for the better, complete with “reforms” to an obviously indulgent system that demands too little effort from the newly unemployed to find work, and subsidises laziness. What motivated him, we were to understand, was his zeal for “fundamental fairness”-protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuring that only the most deserving claimants received their benefits.
单词&搭配
allowance [əˈlaʊəns] (出现9次）n.补贴，津贴，零用钱
benefit [ˈbenɪfɪt]（常见词）v.使收益，得益于；n.优势，利益；[僻义] n.救济金，奖金，补贴
indulgent [ɪnˈdʌldʒənt] adj.放纵的，纵容的
subsidise ['sʌbsɪdaɪz] 给……补助和资助
motivate [ˈmoʊtɪveɪt]（出现2次）v.成为...做某事的动机
zeal [ziːl]（出现1次）n.热心
taxpayer [ˈtækspeɪər] n.纳税人
claimant [ˈkleɪmənt] n.申请人
stay off （远离...）
demand sth. from sb.（要求某人做某事）
sign on（登记）
本段翻译
接下来还有更明显的合理性。现在，申请求职者津贴需要经过一个七天的等待期。“最初几天应该用于寻找工作，而不是指望登记”他声称。“我们之所以这么样做，是因为知道这能帮助人们远离救济，且能帮助那些依靠救济的人更快的找到工作。帮助？真的？乍一听，这是这位心系社会的财相在通过“改革”明显具有纵容性的制度——对新失业者找工作的努力几乎不作要求，从而助长懒惰——来努力使人们生活更好。不过我们要明白，真正激励他的是对“基本公平”的热情——保护纳税人，控制开支并确保只有最需要帮助的申请者才可领到救济金。
第三段
Losing a job is hurting: you don’t skip down to the jobcentre with a song in your heart, delighted at the prospect of doubling your income from the generous state. It is financially terrifying psychologically embarrassing and you know that support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. You are now not wanted; you support is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. You are now not wanted; you are now excluded from the work environment that offers purpose and structure in your life. Worse, the crucial income tofeed yourself and your family and pay the bills has disappeared. Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and the answer is always: a job.
单词&词组
prospect [ˈprɑːspekt]（出现12次）n.可能性，展望，前景，机会
psychologically [ˌsaɪkəˈlɑdʒɪkli] adv.心理学上地
embarrassing [ɪmˈbærəsɪŋ] adj.令人尴尬的
extraordinarily [ɛkˌstrɔrdəˈnɛrəli]（出现2次）adv.非常，格外
insult [ˈɪnsʌlt] （出现1次）羞辱，侮辱
enrage [ɪnˈreɪdʒ] v.激怒
double your income（收入翻番）
be excluded from（将排除在...之外）
feed oneself（养活自己）
本段翻译
失去工作令人痛苦：比你不可能是心哼哼小曲、蹦蹦跳跳地走向求职中心，途中你也不会因畅想慷慨的政府会使你的收入翻番而感到兴奋。失业在经济上是可怕的，在心理上是尴尬的，而且你知道救济极少且极难获得。你现在不被需要，被排除在为人们提供目标和结构的工作环境之外。更糟的是，养活你自己及家庭并用来支付账单的重要收入来源不复存在了。问问任何一个刚失业的人他们想要什么，回答永远是：一份工作。
第四段
But in Osborneland, your first instinct is to fall into dependency- permanent dependency if you can get it-supported by a state only too ready to indulge your falsehood. It is as though 20 years of ever- tougher reforms of the job search and benefit administration system never happened. The principle of British welfare is no longer that you can insure yourself against the risk of unemployment and receive unconditionalpayments if the disaster happens. Even the very phrase ‘jobseeker’s allowance’-invented in 1996- is about redefining the unemployed as a “jobseeker” who had no fundamental right to a benefit he or she has earned through making national insurance contributions. Instead, the claimant receives a time-limited “allowance,” conditional on actively seeking a job; no entitlementand no insurance, at £71.70 a week, one of the least generous in the EU.
单词&词组
instinct [ˈɪnstɪŋkt]（出现6次）n.本能，天性
dependency [dɪˈpendənsi] n。依赖性
ready adj.愿意的
falsehood [ˈfɔːlshʊd] n.错误，虚伪
principle [ˈprɪnsəpl]（出现20次）n.道德原则，行为规范，原则，原理
welfare [ˈwelfer]（出现2次）n.福利，社会救济
unconditional [ˌʌnkənˈdɪʃənl] adj.无条件的
entitlement [ɪnˈtaɪtlmənt]（出现2次）n.拥有获得某物的权利
insurance [ɪnˈʃʊrəns]（出现11次）n.保险，保险费，保障
generous [ˈdʒenərəs]（出现2次）adj.慷慨的
本段翻译
但是在奥斯本的世界，你的第一本能是陷入依赖——若能够得到，你希望能永远依赖——它被一个非常愿意纵容你错误的政府支持。这好像二十年来日益严厉的求职和救济管理体系改革从来都没有发生过。英国福利制度的原则不再是“为防失业风险而给自己投保，从而在灾难发生时无条件获得付款。甚至“求职者津贴”这一术语就是意在将失业者定义为不具又领取救济金这一基本权利的“求职者”。而这一权利是他或她通过缴纳国民保险所赢得的。取而代之的是，申请人获得一种具又时限、附带积极寻找工作的条件的“津贴”；没有权利，没有保障，有的只是一周71.7英镑，欧盟最低的补贴。
五道题
21. George Osborne’s scheme was intended to _____.
[A] motivate the unemployed to report voluntarily
[B] provide the unemployed with easier access to benefits
[C] encourage jobseekers’ active engagement in job seeking
[D] guarantee jobseekers’ legitimate right to benefits
22. The phrase “to sign on” (Line 3, Para. 2) most probably means _____.
[A] to register for an allowance from the government
[B] to accept the government’s restrictions on the allowance
[C] to check on the availability of jobs at the jobcentre
[D] to attend a governmental job-training program
23. What prompted the chancellor to develop his scheme?
[A] A desire to secure a better life for all.
[B] An eagerness to protect the unemployed.
[C] An urge to be generous to the claimants.
[D] A passion to ensure fairness for taxpayers.
24. According to Paragraph 3, being unemployed makes one feel _____.
[A] insulted
[B] uneasy
[C] enraged
[D] guilty
25. To which of the following would the author most probably agree?
[A] Unemployment benefits should not be made conditional.
[B] The British welfare system indulges jobseekers’ laziness.
[C] The jobseekers’ allowance has met their actual needs.
[D] Osborne’s reforms will reduce the risk of unemployment.
参考答案
CADBA
