Scope: YES
Argument: YES in trouble
Organization: Main point: YES trouble + Solution
Para 1: YES in trouble - may be scaled down or dismantled
Para 2: Complaint: Problem in fund distribution
Para 3: Problem 2: How to ensure the truly driving force
Para 4: Solution: Public Relations
Young Enterprise Services (YES) is a federal
program created to encourage
entrepreneurship in 14- to 18-year-olds who
have already shown a clear aptitude for starting
business ventures. The program, started in
2002, has provided loans, grants, and
counseling—in the form of workshops and
individual meetings with established
entrepreneurs—to over 7500 young people.
The future of YES, however, is now in jeopardy.
A number of damaging criticisms have been
leveled at the program, and members of the
congressional agency that provides the funding
have suggested that YES may be scaled down
or even dismantled entirely.
One complaint is that the funds that YES
distributes have disproportionally gone to
young people from economically disadvantaged
families, despite the program’s stated goal of
being blind to any criteria besides merit.
Though no one has claimed that any of the
recipients of YES funds have been undeserving,
several families have brought lawsuits claiming
that their requests for funding were rejected
because of the families’ relatively high levels of
income. The resulting publicity was an
embarrassment to the YES administrators, one
of whom resigned.
Another challenge has been the admittedly
difficult task of ensuring that a young person,
not his or her family, is truly the driving force
behind a venture. The rules state that the
business plan must be created by the youth,
and that any profits in excess of $1,000 be
placed in an escrow account that can only be
used for education, investment in the venture,
and little else, for a period that is determined
by the age of the recipient. Despite this, several
grants had to be returned after it was
discovered that parents—or in one case, a
neighbor—were misusing YES funds to promote
their own business ideas. To make matters
worse, the story of the returned monies was at
first denied by a YES spokesperson who then
had to retract the denial, leading to more bad
press.
In truth, YES has had some real success
stories. A 14-year-old girl in Texas used the
1. Which of the following would be
the most appropriate title for this
passage? Primary purpose
(A) “Recent Difficulties in the YES
Program” Narrow: Only Para 1, 2 & 3
(B) “Federal Entrepreneurship Programs
for Young Adults” Too broad: Only mention YES, not all Federal Prog
(C) “Successes of the YES Program”
(D) “Common Challenges Facing
Federal Programs” Too broad: Only mention YES, not all Federal Prog
(E) “The YES Program: How to
Overcome Recent Challenges”
2. The author of the passage would
most likely describe YES as a
_______.
beyond repair: không thể sửa chữa
(A) failed enterprise that is beyond
repair
(B) noble effort that has been
hampered by external factors
(C) limited success that can be
improved through greater fiscal
responsibility public relations
(D) potentially worthy program that has
been mismanaged
(E) waste of public resources that
should never have received funding
3. All of the following are discussed
in the passage except ______.
4 things discussed, 1 thing not discussed
(A) the resignation of some YES
administrators
(B) bad press resulting from financial
improprieties
(C) lawsuits against YES
(D) the YES program’s stated goals
(E) current levels of YES funding
4. The primary purpose of the
passage is to ______.
Không đề cập tới cách approach
(A) detail the approach that should be
taken in remedying YES’s public
relations problems
(B) defend YES from the various
criticisms that have been leveled
against it Không đề cập tới defend
(C) suggest a way to improve the
program
(D) detail several criticisms and
problems of the YES program
Narrow (Only Para 1, 2 & 3)
knowledge and funding she received through (E) make that case that YES, despite
the program to connect with a distributor who some difficulties, has been quite
now carries her line of custom-designed cell successful for some people who have
phone covers. Two brothers in Alaska have taken part in the program
developed an online travel advisory service for Mục đích của bài là nói về solution cho
young people vacationing with their families. YES bằng public relations!
Both of these ventures are profitable, and both
companies have gained a striking amount of
brand recognition in a very short time.
However, YES has been pitifully lax in
trumpeting these encouraging stories. Local
press notwithstanding, these and other
successes have received little media coverage.
This is a shame, but one that can be remedied. remedy: khắc phục
The administrators of YES should heed the
advice given in one of the program’s own
publications: “No business venture, whatever
its appeal, will succeed for long without an
active approach to public relations.”