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  3. Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market

Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market

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问题 Text 2 Britain's flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump,helping keep joblessness down and then,when the recovery began,allowing employment to rise.Yet one of its bendier bits is causing politicians to fret.Ed Miliband,the leader of the Labour Party,has promised a crackdown on"zero-hours contracts"if he wins the next election.The government has launched a con8ultation.Zero-hours contracts allow finns to employ workers for as few or as many hours as they need,with no prior notice.In theory,at least,people can refuse work.Fully l.4m jobs were based on these contracts in January 2014,according to the Office for National Statistics.That is just 4%of the total,but the share rises to a quarter in the hospitality business.The contracts are useful for finns with unstable pattems of demand,such as hotels and restauranLs.Ihey have also helped firms to expand during the recovery-allowing them to test new business lines before hiring permanem stafir,who would be more costly to make redundani if things went wrong.Flexibility suits some workers,too.According to one survey,47%of those employed on zerohours conUacts were content to have no nunimum contracted hours.Many of these workers are in full-time education.The ability to tum down work is important to students,who want to revise at this time of year.Pensioners keen for a liLtle extra income can often live with the uncertainty of not having guaranteed hours.Yet that leaves more than a quarter of workers on zero-hours contracts who say they are unhappy wirh their condirions.Some of this is cyclical.During recessions,a dearth of permanent positions forces people into jobs with no contracted hours even if they do not want them.Underemployment is pfuticularly prevalent among these workers,35%of whom would like more hours compared with 12qo in offier jobs.As the economy recovers,many should be able to renegotiate their contracts or find permanent jobs.But the recovery will not cause unwanted zero-hours contracts to disappear.Some workers will never have much negoLiating power:they are constrained by geography,family commitments and lack of competition for their skills among a small number of big employers.Zero-hours contracts make it easier for employers to abuse their labour-market power.Some use them to avoid statutory obligations such as sick and matenuty pay.Workers are penalised for not being available when requested.And some contracts contain exclusivity clauses which prevent workers from taking additional jobs.These can harm other employers as well as workers,and actually reduce labour market flexibility.That,at least,is worth doing away with.The text mainly focuses on zero-hours contracts_____A.traits and effectsB.llmits and defectsC.merits and impactsD.features and problems
选项 A.traits and effects
B.llmits and defects
C.merits and impacts
D.features and problems
答案 D
解析 主旨题。本题涉及全文主旨。首段先引出zero-hours contracts“零时工合同”的话题：第二、三、四段讨论其具有灵活性和不稳定性等特点；最后两段讨论“零时工合同”的一些问题。故本文主旨为“零时工合同的特点和问题”。接着分析选项。选项[A）traits and effects“特点和作用”：[B]limits and defects“局限性和缺陷”；[C]merits and impacts“优点和作用”；[D]features and problems“特点和问题”。显然，符合主旨的选项为[D]。
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