President Arling has put his long awaited economicrestructuring program before the Congress. Itprovides a coordinated program of investmentcredits, research grants, education reforms, and taxchanges designed to make American industry morecompetitive. This is necessary to reverse theeconomic 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 directaction. They want an incomes policy to check inflation while federal financing helps rebuildindustry behind a wall of protective tariffs.
The Republicans, however, decry even the modest, graduated tax increases in thePresident’s program. They want tax cuts and more open market. They say if federal money hasto be injected into the economy, let it through defence spending.
Both these alternatives ignore the unique nature of the economic problem before us. It isnot simply a matter of markets or financing. The new technology allows vastly increasedproduction for those able to master it. But it also threatens those who fail to adopt it withpermanent second-class citizenship in the world economy. If an industry cannot lever itself upto 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 cankeep it profitable for long. Without the profits and experience of technological excellence toreinvest, 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. Thedanger is not that a plan will not be passed, it is that the ideologues of right and left willdistort the bill with amendments that will blur its focus on technology. The economicrestructuring plan should be passed intact. If we fail to restructure our economy now, we maynot 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.
Vocabulary
1. reverse 逆转
2. slide 滑坡
3. plague 瘟疫;折磨，困扰
4. tariff 关税
5. decry 谴责，诋毁
6. lever 杠杆;用杠杆撬动
7. crux 症结
8. ideologue 空想家，思想家
9. intact 原封不动的，完整无损的
10. investment credit 投资信贷
11. research grant 研究基金
难句译注
1. 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.
【参考译文】
写作方法与文章大意
这是一则有关总统向国会提交的经济计划评论。作者采用对比手法来突出其计划之正确性，第一段就讲了计划的涉及面：投资、研究、教育、税收等，目的是制止经济滑坡，提高美国工业竞争力。
第二、三两段叙述了计划遭两方面的反对，总统党内的右翼要求更强硬，更直接的行动，而共和党对即使逐渐稍稍提高一点税收都予以谴责。
第四段提出两者都忽略我们面临经济问题的独特性质。它不是市场或财政问题。掌握新技术的人大量增产，而不能采用新技术的人面临在世界经济中成为二等公民的危险。工业不能达到先进水平，就不能有效地竞争，那么任何保护主义或进入外国市场都不能长期奏效。没有技术优势的经验和利润的再投资，工业经济只能依然落后于外国竞争对手。
最后一段点出总统计划的要点就是工艺技术。作者提出：要求全面通过这一重新建设计划。如果我们不能重建经济，我们可能不会有第二次机会。
答案见下一页》》
