2014年12月四级深度阅读真题详解.docVIP

2014年12月大学英语四级深度阅读真题答案解析 第一套 Passage One Question 56 to 60 are based on the following passage. 56-60 ACBDB Children are a delight(=hapiness/joy). They are our future. (56)But sadly, hiring someone to take care of them while you go to work is getting more expensive by the year. Earlier this month, it was reported that the cost of enrolling an infant or small kid at a childcare center rose 3% in 2012, faster than the overall cost of living. There are now large strips(狭长地带) of the country where daycare for an infant costs more than a tenth of the average married couple's income. (57)This is not necessarily a new trend,but it is a somewhat puzzling one. The price of professional childcare has been rising since the 1980s. Yet during that time, pay for professional childcare workers has stood still. Actually(=in fact) caregivers make less today, in real terms(扣除物价因素；按实质计算), than they did in 1990. Considering that labor costs are responsible for up to 80% of a daycare center's expenses, one would expect flat wages to have meant flat prices. So who's to blame for higher childcare costs? Childcare is a carefully regulated industry. States lay down rules about how many children each employee is allowed to watch over, the space care centers need per child, and other minute details. (58)And the stricter the regulations, the higher the costs. If it(保育中心) has to hire a caregiver for every two children, it can't really achieve any economics of scale on labor to save money (通过压缩劳动力成本来省钱)when other expenses go up. (59) In Massachusetts, where childcare centers must hire one teacher for every three infants, the price of care averaged more than $16,000 per year. In Mississippi, where centers must hire one teacher for every five infants, the price of care averaged less than $5,000. Unfortunately, I don't have all the daycare-center regulations handy. (60)But I wouldn't be surprised if as the rules have become more elaborate, prices have risen. The trade off(交换)might be wort