The United States economy has dipped into economic recession (经济衰退). This caused discomfort and hardship in every level of society; but for many of the nation’s poor, discomfort and hardship turned into misery (苦难).
An increase in homelessness is probably the worst result of a nation’s financial disaster. About 3 million Americans were homeless because of a lack of affordable housing. Experts suggest that a family should spend no more than 30 percent of its income on housing. In fact, in some families housing costs make up 50 percent or more. An unexpected event, such as losing work or illness, can quickly push a family into homelessness.
An article in Time magazine tells a story of one such family. A young couple and their three children rented a two-bedroom apartment for about $350 a month. They could hardly go on with the husband’s $920-a-month take-home pay; so when their rent was raised to $500 a month, they could no longer make ends meet.
Another woman was found dead on a street in Washington D.C., the capital, and she died at a bus-stop across the street from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
People become homeless for different reasons. Some may not be able to pay for housing, because they have lost their job and cannot find another place they can afford. Others have mental diseases, or are addicted to drugs or alcohol, many of whom do not live with their family. And what’s more, there are not enough centers for shelter as the government doesn’t pay enough attention to this social problem.
People are making efforts to solve the problem. However, it will not be easy, because it is a personal and economical problem as well as a social problem.
小题1:The passage is mainly about __________ in the US.
A．ways of solving economic problems
B．homeless people being taken good care of
C．different reasons for economic recession
D．economic recession leading to social problems小题2:In the passage the author supported his view by __________.
A．presenting specific figures
B．giving examples
C．explaining in details
D．discussing different opinions小题3: One main result that economic recession has led to is __________
A．an increase of living costs
B．more and more deaths
C．an increase of homeless people
D．less centers for poor people小题4:How many reasons why people become homeless are listed in the passage?
A．2.
B．3.
C．4.
D．5.
小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:C
小题4:B
题目分析：经济衰退造成社会各阶层的不适和苦难。很多人因此无家可归失业和疾病使一个家庭很快就没了家。政府有没有足够的避难所容纳那些人。解决这个问题并非易事。
小题1:段落大意题。根据文章的第一二行可知，美国的经济衰退造成社会各阶层的不适和苦难。故选D。
小题2:文章结构题。第二、三段举例说明人们无家可归的原因和惨状。选B（举例说明）。
小题3:细节理解题。根据An increase in homelessness is probably the worst result of a nation’s financial disaster.可知。无家可归的数量的增加可能是一个国家经济灾难最糟糕的结果。与经济衰退造成的最主要的结果导致了无家可归的人数的增加意思一致。所以选C。
小题4:细节理解题。根据文章最后一句话可知，无家可归的原因有三：个人原因、经济原因、还有社会问题。选B。