Passage Three

这是一篇人文社会题材的文章。通过一个大学毕业生从事临时工的经历，使我们大致了解美国劳工部为还没有找到工作的大学毕业生提供临时工作岗位的原因以及他们从事这类工作时的心态。

When 23- year-old Eric Atienza graduated from college last year, he didn’t have a job. ①Not wanting to give up his apartment and move back with his parents, he did what many young Americans are doing: he signed up with a temp agency, which places workers on short-term jobs. Temporary workers such as Atienza comprise 20 percent of the US workforce. In 1985, 417,000 workers were classified as temporary help. In 2005, there are more than 2.5 million, according to Labour Department data. ②

Using temporary workers allows companies to increase or decrease the number of staff as their workloads change. It also allows companies to avoid the costs involved in hiring and firing long-term employees.

Many temp agency owners and career specialists say temping is a good way for recent graduates to get experience. “Short-term jobs let graduates try out different companies to find the best fit,” said Pegi Wheatley, owner of McCall Staffing, a San Francisco temp agency.

But things don’t always work out that way. “When I started temping, I had this notion that a temporary job could turn full-time. It worked for a friend of mine, but that didn’t happen for me,” ③, said Atienza, who quickly became bored with his office work. Atienza stayed with the temp agency because he could earn US $ 10 an hour doing office work. Other short-term jobs, such as working as a store clerk or in a café, pay about US $ 7.④

But there were trade-offs for the higher pay. Because in the US, health insurance is provided through employer, most temps are not eligible for workplace health benefits. ⑤Atienza ran the risk that an accident or illness would land him in the hospital with no way to pay the bill. Other drawbacks, though less serious, still mean that temping for most graduates is exactly what its name implies ---- a temporary choice. Instability, gaps between contracts, lack of vacation time and isolation from other employees are often- cited negatives.

“Temping gave me the time to figure out what I wanted to do, because I could pay off my bills. But none of that came from the jobs themselves,” said Atienza, who quit temping last month in favor of a full-time job.

注释：

① 当23岁的艾里克爱坦扎去年从大学毕业的时候，他还没有找到一份工作。

② 根据美国劳工部的统计，2005年从事临时性工作的劳工总数超过250万。

③ “当我开始干临时工时，我还在想临时工终究会成为全职工。我的一个朋友就碰上了这样的好运，但我没有。”

④ 爱坦扎一直求助于这个临时工介绍所，因为他可以得到一个工资为每小时10美元的办公室工作，而其它短期工作，如商店店员或咖啡店服务生，每小时工资只有7美元。

⑤ 因为在美国，健康保险是经由雇主提供的，而大多数提供临时性工作的单位不能为临时工提供健康福利。

41. Atienza took a short-term job mainly because _______.

A. he didn’t want to give up his apartment

B. he liked to try out different companies

C. he wanted to get more experience

D. he couldn’t find a long-term job

42. According to the passage, in the year of 2005, the United States had a workforce of more than ______.