Nobody Benefits

NEW YORK—America has been experi-encing the longest economic increase in its history. Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings.

But just a short walk from Manhattan's skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel.

Brown is homeless — one of the 2.3 mil-lion people in the US who end up on the street.

During the day. Brown collects alumini-um cans and sells them for five cents a piece. At night, he sleeps on the street.

"I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that," said the 62-year-old former construction worker.

Brown admits he's had problems with al-cohol and has smoked cocaine. But he said he still wants a more stable (稳定的) housing ar-rangement. He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available.

However, he sees no hope of finding af-fordable housing in New York.

With the strong economy and unemploy-ment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand.

A US report shows rents in New York city rose more than 27 per cent between 1984 and 1999, from US $549 to US $700 a month.

One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up.

The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help.

But few housing companies have been built for the poor. Many small apartments in the city now rent for US $1,500 a month or more.

Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her. She is angry about his drinking and won't allow it in her house.

Smiling, he said he also has seven grand-children whom he'd like to see more often.

"All I've got to do is clean up my act," he said.

1. What kind of life does George Brown lead?

A. Homeless and dangerous. B. Homeless and childish.

C. Homeless and miserable. D. Homeless and sleepless.

2. From George Brown's life we can find that

A. old Americans lead a hard life

B. old Americans want to live alone

C. American cities are full of poor people

D. bad habits play a role in poor people's Life

3. It can be inferred from this passage that

A. America is short of housing companies

B. the poor can't benefit from the increas-ing economy

C. poor people in America will become rich

D. housing companies will build more houses for the poor

4. If this passage comes from a paper, on which page would it be?

A. Society. B. Science. C. Economy. D. Business.

5. What character does George Brown have?

A. Selfish. B. Lazy. C. Warm-hearted. D. Open-hearted.

Key: 1. C 2. D 3. B 4. A 5. D