2019年12月四级深度阅读真题详解.pdfVIP

2019 年 12 月四级深度阅读真题详解 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 strip s(狭长地带 ) of the country where daycare for an infant (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 centers expenses, one would expect flat wages to have meant flat prices. So whos 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 cant 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 infant s, the price of care averaged more than $16,000 per year. In Mississippi, where centers must hire one teacher for every five infant s, the price of care averaged less tha