2015英语四级辅导仔细阅读真题册.docVIP

2014年12月 Passage One Children are a delight. They are our future. 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 centre rose 3 % in 2012, faster than the overall cost of living. There are now large strips of the country where daycare for an infant cost much more than a tenth of the average married couple’s income. This is not necessarily a new trend, but it is 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 caregivers make less today, in real terms, than they did in 1990. Considering that labor costs are responsible for up to 80%? of a daycare center’s expenses, one would expect flat wages to have meant flat prices. So who’s 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. And as the stricter the regulations, the higher the costs. If it has to hire a caregiver for every two children, it can’t really achieve any economies of scale on labor to save money when other expenses go up. In Massachusetts, where childcare centers must hire one teacher for every three infants, the price of care averaged more than $16000 per year. In Mississippi, where centers must hire one teacher for every five infants, the price of care averaged less than $5,000. Unfortunately, I dont have all the daycare-center regulations handy. But I wouldnt be surprised if as the rules have become more elaborate, prices have risen. The tradeoff (交换) might be worth it in some cases; after all, the?health?and safety of children should probably come before cheap service. But certainly it doesnt seem to be an accident that some of the che