52. What does the author think of the experts' claim concerning unemployment?
- A. Self-evident.
- B. Thought-provoking.
- C. Irrational.
- D. Groundless.
答案：D
答案句：But don't bother asking for evidence that justifies this bleak view. There isn't any. … So the evidence contradicts the claim that we're mainly suffering from structural unemployment.
参考译文：但别费心去寻找支持这种悲观观点的证据了。根本没有。……因此，证据与我们所遭受的主要是结构性失业这一说法相矛盾。
定位线索：题干“experts' claim concerning unemployment”→答案句“There isn't any”和“evidence contradicts the claim”；文中“contradicts”对应选项D“Groundless”。
解析：作者对专家关于失业的说法持否定态度。答案句指出没有证据支持这种观点，且证据与说法相矛盾，说明该说法“Groundless”（毫无根据）。选项A“Self-evident”与原文相反，选项B“Thought-provoking”和C“Irrational”均未体现作者的核心态度，属于偷换概念。
53. What does the author say helped bring down unemployment during the Great Depression?
- A. The booming defense industry.
- B. The wise heads' benefit package.
- C. Nationwide training of workers.
- D. Thorough restructuring of industries.
答案：A
答案句：A few years later, a large defense buildup finally provided a fiscal stimulus adequate to the economy's needs-and suddenly industry was eager to employ those “ unadaptable and untrained” workers.
参考译文：几年后，大规模的国防建设最终提供了足以满足经济需求的财政刺激——突然间，工业界急于雇用那些“不适应且未经培训”的工人。
定位线索：题干“helped bring down unemployment during the Great Depression”→答案句“a large defense buildup finally provided a fiscal stimulus”；文中“defense buildup”对应选项A“The booming defense industry”。
解析：题干问大萧条期间什么帮助降低了失业率。答案句明确指出“a large defense buildup”提供了财政刺激，使工业界雇用工人，与选项A“The booming defense industry”对应。选项B、C、D在文中均未提及，属于无中生有。
54. What has caused claims of huge structural problems to multiply?
- A. Powerful opposition to government's stimulus efforts.
- B. Very Serious People's attempt to cripple the economy.
- C. Evidence gathered from many sectors of the industries.
- D. Economists' failure to detect the problems in time.
答案：A
答案句：But now, as then, powerful forces are ideologically opposed to the whole idea of government action on a sufficient scale to jump-start the economy. And that, fundamentally, is why claims that we face huge structural problems have been multiplying: they offer a reason to do nothing about the mass unemployment that is crippling our economy and our society.
参考译文：但现在，和当时一样，强大的势力在意识形态上反对政府采取足够规模的行动来刺激经济。从根本上说，这就是为什么我们面临巨大结构性问题的说法不断增多的原因：它们为对正在摧毁我们经济和社会的失业问题无所作为提供了理由。
定位线索：题干“caused claims of huge structural problems to multiply”→答案句“powerful forces are ideologically opposed to the whole idea of government action”；文中“opposed to government action”对应选项A“Powerful opposition to government's stimulus efforts”。
解析：题干问什么导致结构性问题的说法增多。答案句明确指出“powerful forces are ideologically opposed to the whole idea of government action”，即强大的势力反对政府刺激措施，与选项A对应。选项B“cripple the economy”是结果而非原因，选项C和D在文中均未提及，属于无中生有。
55. What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?
- A. To testify to the experts' analysis of America's problems.
- B. To offer a feasible solution to the structural unemployment.
- C. To show the urgent need for the government to take action.
- D. To alert American workers to the urgency for adaptation.
答案：C
答案句：So what you need to know is that there's no evidence whatsoever to back these claims. We aren't suffering from a shortage of needed skills; we're suffering from a lack of policy resolve. As I said, structural unemployment isn't a real problem, it's an excuse-a reason not to act on America's problems at a time when action is desperately needed.
参考译文：所以你需要知道的是，没有任何证据支持这些说法。我们并非缺乏所需技能；我们缺乏的是政策决心。正如我所说，结构性失业不是真正的问题，而是一个借口——在迫切需要采取行动的时候，不对美国的问题采取行动的理由。
定位线索：题干“purpose in writing the passage”→答案句“action is desperately needed”和“lack of policy resolve”；文中“action is desperately needed”对应选项C“To show the urgent need for the government to take action”。
解析：全文旨在驳斥结构性失业的说法，强调政府需要采取行动。末段总结指出“action is desperately needed”，与选项C“To show the urgent need for the government to take action”对应。选项A与作者观点相反，选项B“feasible solution”文中未提供具体方案，选项D“workers' adaptation”与作者观点相悖，均不正确。