President Arling has put his long awaited economic restructuring program before the Congress. It provides a coordinated program of investment credits, research grants, education reforms, and tax changes designed to make American industry more competitive. This is necessary to reverse the economic slide into unemployment, lack of growth, and trade deficits that have plagued the economy for the past six years.
The most liberal wing of the President's party has called for stronger and more direct action. They want an incomes policy to check inflation while federal financing helps rebuild industry behind a wall of protective tariffs.
The Republicans, however, decry even the modest, graduated tax increases in the President’s program. They want tax cuts and more open market. They say if federal money has to be injected into the economy, let it through defence spending.
Both these alternatives ignore the unique nature of the economic problem before us. It is not simply a matter of markets or financing. The new technology allows vastly increased production for those able to master it. But it also threatens those who fail to adopt it with permanent second-class citizenship in the world economy. If an industry cannot lever itself up to the leading stage of technological advances, then it will not be able to compete effectively. If it cannot do this, no amount of government protectionism or access to foreign markets can keep it profitable for long. Without the profits and experience of technological excellence to reinvest, that industry can only fall still further behind its foreign competitors.
So the crux is the technology and that is where the President’s program focused. The danger is not that a plan will not be passed, it is that the ideologues of right and left will distort the bill with amendments that will blur its focus on technology. The economic restructuring plan should be passed intact. If we fail to restructure our economy now, we may not get a second chance.
1. The focus of the President's program is on
[A] investment.
[B] economy.
[C] technology.
[D] tax.
2. What is the requirement of the most liberal wing of the Democratic-party?
[A] They want a more direct action.
[B] They want an incomes policy to check inflation.
[C] They want to rebuild industry.
[D] They want a wall of protective tariffs.
3. What is the editor's attitude?
[A] support.
[B] distaste.
[C] Disapproval.
[D] Compromise.
4. The danger to the plan lies in
[A] the two parties' objection.
[B] different idea of the two parties about the plan.
[C] its passage.
[D] distortion.
5. The passage is
[A] a review.
[B] a preface.
[C] a advertisement.
[D] an editorial.
答案详解
1. C 工艺技术。最后一段第一句“问题的症结就在于工艺技术,这就是总统计划的要点所在。”第四段:“对掌握新技术的人来说,新技术使他们大大增产,而新技术对不能掌握它的人来说,在世界经济中他们面临沦为永久性的二等公民的危险。如果不能做到这一点,那么任何政府保护主义,进入国际市场都不能有效地竞争。如果不能有技术优势的利润和经验再投资,工业只能进一步落后于国外竞争对手。”这些都说明总统计划的重点再工艺技术。A.投资。D.税收。只是总统计划的涉及面。B.经济。太笼统了。
2. A 更直接行动。第二段“总统的党内几段自由翼要求更强硬、更直接行动。他们要求用收入(税收)政策来制止通货膨胀;联邦财政在关税保护下,帮助重建工业。”B.他们需要制止通货膨胀。C.重建工业。D.保护关税墙。都只是他们要求中的不分内容,不完整。
3. A支持。第四、五段集中了评论者的观点,支持的理由和论点。B.厌恶。C.不赞成。D.调和妥协。
4. D歪曲。最后一段第二句:“其危险不在于计划将不被通过,而在于左和右的思想理论家们用修正案来歪曲提案,使计划要点蒙尘模糊不清,经济重建计划应原封不动地通过。”这是作者的态度,也是他所担心之处。A.两党的反对。B.两党对计划的不同看法。C.它的通过。
5. D 社论。A.评论。社论也是评论的一种,但它是报纸主编所撰,常常是有关国内外大事评论。B.前言。C.广告。