In order to “change lives for the better” and reduce “dependency”, George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the “upfront work search” scheme. Only if the jobless arrive at the jobcentre 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 than fortnightly. What could be more reasonable?

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 off benefits 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.

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 are now excluded from the work environment that offers purpose and structure in your life. Worse, the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and pay the bills has disappeared. Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and the answer is always: a job.

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 unconditional payments if the disaster happens. Even the very phrase “jobseeker’s allowance” 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 entitlement and no insurance, at £71. 70 a week, one of the least generous in the EU.

1.George Osborne’s scheme was intended to _________.

A encourage jobseekers’ active engagement in job seeking

B provide the unemployed with easier access to benefits

C guarantee jobseekers’ legitimate right to benefits

D motivate the unemployed to report voluntarily

解析：选A。Ａ细节理解题。根据George Osborne和scheme定位到首段，根据第二句可知只有当失业者带着简历来就业中心，注册在线求职，并开始寻找工作时，他们才有资格领取津贴，然后每周应该报告一次。故选Ａ。

2.The phrase “to sign on” (Para. 2) most probably means _________.

A to check on the availability of jobs at the jobcentre

B to accept the government’s restrictions on the allowance

C to register for an allowance from the government

D to attend a governmental job-training program

解析：选C。C词义猜测题。根据sign on定位到第二段第三句，可知最初的几天应该用来找工作，而不是sign on，可知sign on应该是和找工作相对的，结合上下句可知，和找工作对应的是领取政府津贴，故选C。

3.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.

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据题目定位到第二段最后一句，可知激励他的是对“基本公平”的热情——保护纳税人，控制支出，并确保只有最应该得到救济的人获得津贴。故选D。

4.According to Paragraph 3, being unemployed makes one feel _________.

A uneasy

B insulted

C enraged

D guilty

解析：选A。A推理判断题。根据题目定位到第三段，根据hurting...financially terrifying...psychologically embarrassing...hard to get...not wanted等综合可知，失业让人感到不安，B意为“被侮辱的”，C意为“暴怒的”，D意为“内疚的”，A最符合原文，故选A。

5.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.

解析：选A。A观点态度题。根据第四段第三句及后文可知，英国福利的原则不再是人们可以为失业投保并可以无条件获得赔偿，他们没有享受通过缴纳保险获得福利的基本权利，他们得到有时限的津贴的条件是积极寻找工作，A符合原文，故选A。