单选题
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Text 3 American?farmers?have?been?complaining?of?labor?shortages?for several?years.?The?complain...
Text 3
American?farmers?have?been?complaining?of?labor?shortages?for several?years.?The?complaints?are?unlikely?to?stop?without?an?overhaul?of immigration?rules?for?farm?workers.
Congress?has?obstructed?efforts?to?create?a?more?straightforward visa?for?agricultural?workers?that?would?let?foreign?workers?stay?longer?in the?U.S.?and?change?jobs?within?the?industry.?If?this?doesn’t?change, American?businesses,?communities,?and?consumers?will?be?the?losers.
Perhaps?half?of?U.S.?farm?laborers?are?undocumented?immigrants.?As fewer?such?workers?enter?the?country,?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’re?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?picking?crops?is?hard?on older?bodies.?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.
Mechanization?isn’t?the?answer,?either—not?yer,?at?least.?Production of?corn,?cotton,?rice,?soybeans,?and?wheat?has?been?largely?mechanized,but?many?high-value,?labor-intensive?corps,?such?as?strawberries,?need labor.?Even?dairy?farms,?where?robots?do?a?small?share?of?milking,?have?a long?way?to?go?before?they’re?automated.
As?a?result,?farms?have?grown?increasingly?reliant?on?temporary guest?workers?using?the?H-2A?visa?to?fill?the?gaps?in?the?workforce. Starting?around?2012,?requests?for?the?visas?rose?sharply;?from?2011?to 2016?the?number?of?visas?issued?more?than?doubled.
The?H-2A?visa?has?no?numerical?cap,?unlike?the?H-2B?visa?for nonagricultural?work,?which?is?limited?to?66,000?a?year.?Even?so, employers?complain?they?aren’t?given?all?the?workers?they?need.?The process?is?cumbersome,?expensive,?and?unreliable.?One?survey?found that?bureaucratic?delays?led?the?average?H-2A?worker?to?arrive?on?the?job 22?days?late.?The?shortage?is?compounded?by?federal?immigration?raids,which?remove?some?workers?and?drive?others?underground.
In?a?2012?survey,?71?percent?of?tree-fruit?growers?and?almost?80 percent?of?raisin?and?berry?growers?said?they?were?short?of?labor.?Some western?farmers?have?responded?by?moving?operations?to?Mexico.?From 1998?to?2000,?14.5?percent?of?the?fruit?Americans?consumed?was imported.?Little?more?than?a?decade?later,?the?share?of?imports?was?25.8 percent.
In?effect,?the?U.S.?can?import?food?or?it?can?import?the?workers?who pick?it.
35.?Which?of?the?following?could?be?the?best?title?for?this?text?
American?farmers?have?been?complaining?of?labor?shortages?for several?years.?The?complaints?are?unlikely?to?stop?without?an?overhaul?of immigration?rules?for?farm?workers.
Congress?has?obstructed?efforts?to?create?a?more?straightforward visa?for?agricultural?workers?that?would?let?foreign?workers?stay?longer?in the?U.S.?and?change?jobs?within?the?industry.?If?this?doesn’t?change, American?businesses,?communities,?and?consumers?will?be?the?losers.
Perhaps?half?of?U.S.?farm?laborers?are?undocumented?immigrants.?As fewer?such?workers?enter?the?country,?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’re?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?picking?crops?is?hard?on older?bodies.?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.
Mechanization?isn’t?the?answer,?either—not?yer,?at?least.?Production of?corn,?cotton,?rice,?soybeans,?and?wheat?has?been?largely?mechanized,but?many?high-value,?labor-intensive?corps,?such?as?strawberries,?need labor.?Even?dairy?farms,?where?robots?do?a?small?share?of?milking,?have?a long?way?to?go?before?they’re?automated.
As?a?result,?farms?have?grown?increasingly?reliant?on?temporary guest?workers?using?the?H-2A?visa?to?fill?the?gaps?in?the?workforce. Starting?around?2012,?requests?for?the?visas?rose?sharply;?from?2011?to 2016?the?number?of?visas?issued?more?than?doubled.
The?H-2A?visa?has?no?numerical?cap,?unlike?the?H-2B?visa?for nonagricultural?work,?which?is?limited?to?66,000?a?year.?Even?so, employers?complain?they?aren’t?given?all?the?workers?they?need.?The process?is?cumbersome,?expensive,?and?unreliable.?One?survey?found that?bureaucratic?delays?led?the?average?H-2A?worker?to?arrive?on?the?job 22?days?late.?The?shortage?is?compounded?by?federal?immigration?raids,which?remove?some?workers?and?drive?others?underground.
In?a?2012?survey,?71?percent?of?tree-fruit?growers?and?almost?80 percent?of?raisin?and?berry?growers?said?they?were?short?of?labor.?Some western?farmers?have?responded?by?moving?operations?to?Mexico.?From 1998?to?2000,?14.5?percent?of?the?fruit?Americans?consumed?was imported.?Little?more?than?a?decade?later,?the?share?of?imports?was?25.8 percent.
In?effect,?the?U.S.?can?import?food?or?it?can?import?the?workers?who pick?it.
35.?Which?of?the?following?could?be?the?best?title?for?this?text?
参考答案: B