American farmers have been complaining of labor shortages for several years now. Given a multi-year decline in illegal immigration and a similarly sustained pickup in the U.S. job market. The complaints are unlikely to stop without an overhaul of immigration rules for far workers.

labor shortage  劳动力短缺

overhaul  n. （制度或方法的）彻底改革

美国农民抱怨劳动力短缺已经好几年了。鉴于非法移民人数连续多年下降，以及美国就业市场同样持续回升。如果不对远地工人的移民规则进行彻底改革，这些抱怨不太可能停止。

Efforts to create a more straightforward agricultural-workers visa that would enable foreign workers to stay longer in the U. S and change jobs within the industry have so far failed in Congress. If this doesn't change, American businesses, communities and consumers will be the losers.

straightforward  a. 简单的，不复杂的

loser  n. 损失者，受害者

目前为止，美国国会一直在努力创建一个更直接的农业工人签证，使外国工人能够在美国逗留更长的时间，并在该行业内改变工作岗位。如果这种情况不改变，美国企业、社区和消费者将成为输家。

Perhaps half of U. S. farm laborers are undocumented immigrants. As fewer such workers enter the U. S, the characteristics of the agricultural workforce are changing. Today’s farm laborers, while still predominantly born in Mexico, are more likely to be settled, rather than migrating, and more likely to be married than single. They are also aging. At the start of this century, about one-third of crop workers were over the age of 35. Now, more than half are. And crop picking is hard on older bodies. One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it has been all along: Native U.S. workers won't be returning to the farm.

undocumented  a. 非法的，无证的

characteristic  n. 特征

predominantly  ad. 主要地

oft-debated  备受争议的

cure  n. 对策，措施

implausible  a. 似乎不合情理的

all along  自始至终，一直

也许一半的美国农场工人是非法移民。随着越来越少的这样的工人进入美国，农业劳动力的特征正在改变。今天的农业劳动力，虽然仍然主要出生在墨西哥，但更可能定居下来，而不是移民，更可能结婚而不是单身。他们也在变老。在本世纪初，大约三分之一的农作物工人年龄超过35岁。现在，超过一半的人。而且摘庄稼对老年人来说很难。一个经常争论的解决劳动力短缺的方法仍然像一直以来一样不可信：美国本土工人将不会返回农场。

Mechanization is not the answer either----not yet at least. Production of com, cotton, rice, soybeans and wheat have been largely mechanized, but many high-value, labor-intensive crops, such as strawberries need labor. Even dairy farms, where robots currently do only a small share of milking, have a long way to go before they are automated.

mechanization  n. 机械化

high-value  高价值的

labor-intensive  劳动密集型的

dairy  a. 生产乳品的

automated  a. 自动化的

机械化也不是答案——至少还不是。玉米、棉花、水稻、大豆和小麦的生产已基本实现机械化，但许多高价值、劳动密集型作物（如草莓）需要劳动力。即使是目前机器人只完成一小部分挤奶的奶牛场，在实现自动化之前还有很长的路要走。

As a result, farms have grown increasingly reliant on temporary guest workers using the H-2A visa to fill the gaps in the agricultural workforce. Starting around 2012, requests for the visas rose sharply: from 2011 to 2016 the number of visas issued more than doubled.

temporary  a. 暂时的，临时的

guest worker  （尤指来自穷国的）外籍务工者

fill the gaps  填补空缺

sharply  ad. 急剧地，突然大幅度地

issue  v. （正式）发出

因此，农场越来越依赖使用H-2A签证的临时客工来填补农业劳动力的缺口。从2012年前后开始，申请签证的人数急剧上升：从2011年到2016年，签证数量增加了一倍多。

The H-2A visa has no numerical cap, unlike the H-2B visa for nonagricultural work, which is limited to 66,000 annually. Even so, employers frequently complain that they aren't allotted all workers they need. The process is cumbersome, expensive and unreliable. One survey found that bureaucratic delays led H-2A workers to arrive on the job an average of 22 days late. And the shortage is compounded by federal immigration raids, which remove some workers and drive others underground.

numerical  a. 数字的

cumbersome  a. 缓慢复杂的

bureaucratic  a. 官僚的，官僚主义的

compound  v. 加剧

raid  n. 突击搜查

H-2A签证没有数字上限，与非农业工作的H-2B签证不同，后者每年限制在6.6万人。即便如此，雇主们还是经常抱怨说，他们没有分配到他们需要的所有工人。这个过程繁琐、昂贵而且不可靠。一项调查发现，官僚主义的拖延导致H-2A工人平均迟到22天。此外，联邦移民局的突袭行动使劳动力短缺雪上加霜，他们将一些工人转移到地下。

In a 2012 survey, 71 percent of tree-fruit growers and nearly 80 percent of raisin and berry growers said they were short of labor. Some western growers have responded by moving operations to Mexico. From 1998-2000, 14.5 percent of the fruit Americans consumed was imported. Little more than a decade later, the share of imported fruit han increased to 25.8 percent.

raisin  n. 葡萄干

berry  n. 浆果，莓

operation  n. 业务

share  n. （分担的）一部分

在2012年的一项调查中，71%的果树种植者和近80%的葡萄干和浆果种植者表示他们缺少劳动力。一些西方种植者的反应是将种植业转移到墨西哥。从1998年到2000年，美国人消费的水果中有14.5%是进口的。10多年后，进口水果韩寒的份额增加到25.8%。

In effect, the U.S. can import food or it can import the workers who pick it

实际上，美国可以进口食品，也可以进口采摘食品的工人。

31.  What problem should be addressed according to the first two paragraphs?

[A] Discrimination against foreign workers in the U.S.

[B] Biased laws in favor of some American businesses.

[C] Flaws in U.S. immigration rules for farm workers.

[D] Decline of job opportunities U.S. agriculture.

32. One trouble with U.S. agricultural workforce is       .

[A] the rising number of illegal immigrants

[B] the high mobility of crop workers

[C] the lack of experienced laborers

[D] the aging of immigrant farm workers

33.What is the much-argued solution to the labor shortage in U.S. farming?

[A] To attract younger laborers to farm work.

[B] To get native U.S. workers back to farming.

[C] To use more robots to grow high-value crops.

[D] To strengthen financial support for farmers.

34. Agricultural employers complain about the H-2A visa for its        .

[A] slow granting procedures

[B] limit on duration of stay

[C] tightened requirements

[D] control of annual admissions

35. Which of the following could be the best title for this text?

[A] U.S. Agriculture in Decline?

[B] Import Food or Labor?

[C] America Saved by Mexico?

[D] Manpower vs. Automation? 

CDBAB

31、原文第一段第三句The complaints are unlikely to stop without an overhaul of immigration rules for farm workers.可知如果不修改农场工人的移民法规，这种抱怨不太可能会停止。[C]选项意为美国农场工人移民法规的缺陷需要解决，和原文含义一致。

32、原文第三段倒数第二句 And picking crops is hard on older bodies. 可知农作物的活对于老人来说困难，而本句话的前几句提到美国的农场工人年龄上涨，现在一多半人是35岁以上的人，因此可知美国农场劳动力的一个问题是农场工人老龄化。[D]选项为移民农场农人的老龄化，因此[D]正确。

33、根据题干定位到原文第三段最后一句 One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it’s been all along: Native U.S. workers won’t be returning to the farm. [B]选项 To get native U.S. workers back to farming. 和该句属于同义替换。

34、据题干定位到原文第六段第二句Even so, employers complain they aren’t given all the workers they need. 但是我们发现该句只提到了农场雇主抱怨 H-2A visa 的事实，而并没有给出题干所问农场雇主抱怨 H-2A visa 的原因，而第三句The process is cumbersome, expensive, and unreliable. 提到这个过程是耗时的、昂贵的并且不可靠的。点名了农场主抱怨的原因，[A]选项含义为缓慢的颁发流程，因此[A]正确。

35、主旨题。原文首先提到美国农场存在缺乏农场工人的问题，之后讨论了一些解决方法，并指出这些解决方法不可取，目前比较有效的方法是H-2A签证给临时农场工人，但是H-2A签证颁发的流程慢，需要解决，最后指出美国人需要进口食物或者工人。因此可知