试卷章节评任务型阅读、书面表达.pptVIP

* * 试卷讲评任务型阅读、书面表达 南京市文枢中学 吴宁 Are immigrants (移民) good or bad for the economy? The American public strongly thinks theyre bad. Yet the opinion among most economists is that immigration provides a small net（净利）increase to the economy. Immigrants provide cheap labor, lower the prices of everything, and leave consumers with a little more money in their pockets. So why is there such a difference between the awareness of immigrants impact on the economy and the reality? There are a number of familiar theories. Some argue that people are anxious and feel threatened by an inflow of new workers. Others highlight the pressure that illegal immigrants place on public services, like schools, hospitals, and jails. Still others emphasize the role of race, arguing that foreigners add to the nations fears and insecurities. Theres some truth to all these explanations, but they arent quite sufficient. To get a better understanding of the issue, consider the way immigrations impact is felt. Though its overall effect may be positive, its costs and benefits are distributed unevenly. David Card, an economist, notes that the ones who profit most directly from immigrants low-cost labor are businesses and employers – meatpacking plants in Nebraska, for instance, or agricultural businesses in California. Indeed, these producers savings probably translate into lower prices at the grocery store, but how many consumers make that mental connection at the checkout counter? As for the drawbacks of illegal immigration, these, too, are concentrated. Native low-skilled workers suffer most from the competition of foreign labor. According to a study by George Borjas, a Harvard economist, immigration reduced the wages of American high-school dropouts by 9% between 1980-2000. Among high-skilled, better-educated employees, however, opposition(敌对) is strongest in states with both high numbers of immigrants and relatively generous social services. What worries them most is the financial burden of immi