CWork and The Young: Generation Jobless “YOUNG people ought not to be idle.It is very bad for them，” said Margaret Thatcher in 1984.She was right: there are few worse things that society can do to its young than to leave them in the state of neglect. Yet more young people are idle than ever.Organization for Economic Co－operation and Development (OECD) (经合组织)figures suggest that 26m 15－to 24－year－olds in developed countries are not in employment. The International Labour Organization reports that 75m young people globally are looking for a job.World Bank surveys suggest that 262m young people are economically inactive.Depending on how you measure them，the number of young people without a job is nearly as large as the population of America (311 m)．(m=million) Two factors play a big part.First，the long slowdown in the West has reduced demand for labour，and it is easier to put off hiring young people than it is to fire older workers.Second，in emerging economies population growth is the fastest in countries with dysfunctional labour markets，such as India and Egypt. One possible way to settle this problem is to reignite growth.That is easier said than done in a world suffering from debt，and is anyway only a partial answer.The countries where the problem is worst (such as Spain and Egypt) suffered from high youth unemployment even when their economies were growing.Throughout the recession (经济不景气) companies have continued to complain that they cannot find young people with the right skills.This underlines the importance of two other solutions: reforming labour markets and improving education. Youth unemployment is often at its worst in countries with rigid (死板的) labour markets.High taxes on hiring，strict rules about firing，high minimum wages: all these help force young people to the street corner.South Africa has some of the highest unemployment south of the Sahara，in part because it has powerful trade unions and rigid rules about hiring and firing.Many countries with high youth unemployment rate have high minimum wages and heavy taxes on labour.India has around 200 laws on work and pay. Deregulating (解除管制) labour markets is thus central to settling youth unemployment.But it will not be enough on its own.Britain has a flexible labour market and high youth unemployment.In countries with better records，governments tend to take a more active role in finding jobs for those who are struggling.Germany，which has the second lowest level of youth unemployment in the rich world，pays a proportion of the wages of the long－term unemployed for the first two years.The Nordic countries provide young people with “personalised plans” to get them into employment or training. Across the OECD，people who left school at the earliest opportunity are twice as likely to be unemployed as university graduates.But it is unwise to conclude that governments should simply continue with the established policy of increasing the number of people who graduate from university.In both Britain and the United States many people with expensive liberal－arts degrees are finding it impossible to get decent jobs.In North Africa university graduates are twice as likely to be unemployed as non－graduates. What matters is not just number of years of education people get，but its content.This means expanding the study of science and technology and closing the gap between the world of education and the world of work—for example by upgrading vocational__education and by establishing closer relations between companies and schools.Germany's long－established system of vocational schooling and apprenticeships(学徒制) does just that.Other countries are following suit: Singapore has boosted technical colleges，and Britain is expanding apprenticeships and trying to improve technical education. The problem of youth unemployment has been getting worse for several years.But there are at last some reasons for hope.Governments are trying to address the mismatch between education and the labour market.Companies are beginning to take more responsibility for investing in the young.The world has a real chance of introducing an education－and－training revolution worthy of the scale of the problem.50.In Paragraph 2，the author highlighted the high youth unemployment rate by ________． A．citing quotations and showing figures B．showing figures and making a comparison C．giving examples and showing figures D．making a comparison and giving examples51．According to the passage，which of the following statements may the author approve of? A．Firms fire more older workers than young people in the economic slowdown. B．As long as the economy grows youth unemployment will soon be settled. C．Powerful trade unions and high minimum wages make for low unemployment. D．A flexible labour market is not enough to raise youth employment.52．In Paragraph 6，the author mentioned the German government's effort in order to show ________． A．deregulating labour markets is the key to settling youth unemployment B．a flexible labour market can not guarantee low unemployment C．governments need to get involved in lowering youth unemployment D．high minimum wages account for high youth unemployment53．Which of the following phrases can replace the underlined phrase “vocational education” in Paragraph 8? A．Technical training. B．Higher education. C．Moral education. D．Business courses.54．The passage mainly talks about ________． A．factors contributing to low youth unemployment B．possible ways to settle global youth unemployment C．the need for labour market revolution D．the relations between education and employment