英語四級(jí)難度提升閱讀訓(xùn)練 Text 13

Text 13

A history of long and effortless success can be a dreadful handicap, but, if properly handled, it may become a driving force. When the United States entered just such a glowing period after the end of the Second World War, it had a market eight times larger than any competitor, giving its industries unparalleled economies of scale. Its scientists were the world's best, its workers the most skilled. America and Americans were prosperous beyond the dreams of the Europeans and Asians whose economies the war had destroyed.

It was inevitable that this primacy should have narrowed as other countries grew richer. Just as inevitably, the retreat from predominance proved painful. By the mid-1980s Americans had found themselves at a loss over their fading industrial competitiveness. Some huge American industries, such as consumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in the face of foreign competition. By 1987 there was only one American television maker left, Zenith. (Now there is none: Zenith was bought by R.O. Korea's LG Electronics in July.) Foreign-made cars and textiles were sweeping into the domestic market. America's machine-tool industry was on the ropes. For a while it looked as though the making of semiconductors, which America had invented and which sat at the heart of the new computer age, was going to be the next casualty.

All of this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans stopped taking prosperity for granted. They began to believe that their way of doing business was failing, and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall as well. The mid-1980s brought one inquiry after another into the causes of America's industrial decline. Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growing competition from overseas.

How things have changed! In 1995 the United States can look back on five years of solid growth while Japan has been struggling. Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle. Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride. "American industry has changed its structure, has gone on a diet, has learnt to be more quick-witted," according to Richard Cavanagh, executive dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. " It makes me proud to be an American just to see how our businesses are improving their productivity," says Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, a think-tank in Washington, and William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School believes that people will look back on this period as "a golden age of business management in the United States."

1.The U.S. achieved its predominance after World War because_______.

A.it had made painstaking efforts towards this goal

B.its domestic market was eight times larger than before

C.the war had destroyed the economies of most potential competitors

D.the unparalleled size of its workforce had given an impetus to its economy

2.The loss of U.S. predominance in the world economy in the 1980s is manifested in the fact that the American_______.

A.TV industry had withdrawn to its domestic market

B.semiconductor industry had been taken over by foreign enterprises

C.machine-tool industry had collapsed after suicidal actions

D.auto industry had lost part of its domestic market

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

A.It is human nature to shift between self-doubt and blind pride.

B.Intense competition may contribute to economic progress.

C.The revival of the economy depends on international cooperation.

D.A long history of success may pave the way for further development.

4.The author seems to believe the revival of the U.S. economy in the 1990s can be attributed to the_______.

A.turning of the business cycle　　B.restructuring of industry

C.improved business management　D.success in education

5.Which industry in America could only still keep prosperous by 1987?

A.Television.　B.Car.　C.Textile.　D.Machine-tool.

長難例句分析

［長難例句］For a while it looked as though the making of semiconductors, which America had invented and which sat at the heart of the new computer age, was going to be the next casualty.

［結(jié)構(gòu)分析］本句中，as though（=as if）引導(dǎo)的是狀語從句。在這個(gè)狀語從句中，the making of semiconductors was going to be the next casualty是句子的主干，which引導(dǎo)了一個(gè)非限制性定語從句，用來修飾從句中的主語。

［參考譯文］曾有一段時(shí)間，似乎半導(dǎo)體制造是另一個(gè)瀕臨覆滅的產(chǎn)業(yè)，要知道半導(dǎo)體正是美國人所發(fā)明的，它在計(jì)算機(jī)時(shí)代起著核心作用。

全文參考譯文

擁有一段不經(jīng)努力就獲得成功的歷史可能會(huì)成為一種可怕的不利因素，但是，如果處理得當(dāng)，亦可能成為一種推動(dòng)力。二戰(zhàn)結(jié)束后，美國剛好進(jìn)入了這樣一段輝煌的時(shí)期，其市場比任何競爭者的至少大8倍，這為美國工業(yè)經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展提供了從未有過的規(guī)模。美國科學(xué)家是世界上最棒的，其工人也是技術(shù)最熟練的。美國的繁榮是那些經(jīng)濟(jì)被戰(zhàn)爭摧毀的歐亞諸國做夢也沒有想到的。

但隨著其他國家日趨富強(qiáng)，（美國）這種龍頭地位江河日下是顯然的。優(yōu)勢漸遠(yuǎn)的感覺讓人痛苦亦是必然的。至20世紀(jì)80年代中期，美國人對(duì)日趨衰退的工業(yè)競爭能力迷惑不解。一些像消費(fèi)電子產(chǎn)品之類的大工業(yè)在面對(duì)國外的競爭時(shí)已經(jīng)萎縮或逐漸消失。到1987年，僅剩下Zenith一家電視制造商（而如今一家也沒有了；Zenith于當(dāng)年7月被韓國LG電器公司收買）。外國制造的轎車和紡織品正蜂擁進(jìn)入美國市場。美國機(jī)床工業(yè)處于危難之中。曾有一段時(shí)間，似乎半導(dǎo)體制造是另一個(gè)瀕臨覆滅的產(chǎn)業(yè)，要知道半導(dǎo)體正是美國人所發(fā)明的，它在計(jì)算機(jī)時(shí)代起著核心作用。

所有這一切導(dǎo)致了一種信心危機(jī)。美國人不再把繁榮當(dāng)成是理所當(dāng)然的事。他們開始認(rèn)為自己缺乏經(jīng)濟(jì)頭腦，他們認(rèn)為他們的收入不久亦將下跌。在20世紀(jì)80年代中期，對(duì)美國工業(yè)走下坡路的原因作了一次又一次的調(diào)查。驚人的發(fā)現(xiàn)不時(shí)地在他們耳邊充斥的是這樣的警告——海外的競爭壓力愈來愈烈。

情況改變得多快呀！1995年當(dāng)日本還在奮力拼搏的時(shí)候，美國就可以追憶這5年來穩(wěn)固發(fā)展的歷史了。很少有美國人把這一巨變完全歸咎于美元貶值和商業(yè)周期的循環(huán)這些明顯原因。人們不再自我否定，取而代之的是盲目的驕傲。借用哈佛大學(xué)肯尼迪管理學(xué)院行政院長Richard Cavanagh的話說：“美國的工業(yè)改變了結(jié)構(gòu)，消除了臃腫，學(xué)得更加明智?！眮碜匀A盛頓特區(qū)的智囊團(tuán)——卡托研究院的Stephen Moore說：“當(dāng)我看到我們的企業(yè)在提高生產(chǎn)率時(shí)，作為一個(gè)美國人我感到驕傲?！惫鹕虒W(xué)院的William Sahlman認(rèn)為，人們將會(huì)把這個(gè)時(shí)期當(dāng)做美國企業(yè)管理的“黃金時(shí)代”來追憶。

題目答案與解析

1.美國于第二次世界大戰(zhàn)后取得了領(lǐng)先地位的原因是，________。

A.它為實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)付出了艱苦努力

B.它的國內(nèi)市場比以前大8倍

C.第二次世界大戰(zhàn)摧毀了大多數(shù)潛在競爭對(duì)手的經(jīng)濟(jì)

D.它的空前規(guī)模的勞動(dòng)大軍促進(jìn)了經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展

【答案】C

【解析】本題可參照文章的第一段。C項(xiàng)與文中America and Americans were prosperous beyond the dreams of the Europeans and Asians whose economies the war had destroyed的意思相符，因此C項(xiàng)為正確答案。

2.美國于20世紀(jì)80年代失去了在世界經(jīng)濟(jì)中的領(lǐng)先地位，美國的_______的事實(shí)證實(shí)了這一點(diǎn)。

A.電視產(chǎn)業(yè)已經(jīng)萎縮到國內(nèi)市場　　　B.半導(dǎo)體產(chǎn)業(yè)已經(jīng)被外國公司取代

C.機(jī)床產(chǎn)業(yè)在采取自殺行動(dòng)后崩潰了　D.汽車制造業(yè)失去了部分國內(nèi)市場

【答案】D

【解析】本題可參照文章的第二段。從中可知，由于其他國家逐漸富強(qiáng)起來，美國的領(lǐng)先地位不可避免地被削弱了；到20世紀(jì)80年代中期，美國人發(fā)覺自己對(duì)其日趨衰退的產(chǎn)業(yè)競爭力無計(jì)可施；面對(duì)國外的競爭，一些大型產(chǎn)業(yè)已經(jīng)萎縮或倒閉，比如消費(fèi)電子業(yè)；到1987年時(shí)，美國的電視制造業(yè)只剩下Zenith一家（如今，連一家也沒有了：韓國的LG電子集團(tuán)于7月收購了Zenith）；外國制造的汽車和紡織品也在涌入美國的國內(nèi)市場；美國的機(jī)床產(chǎn)業(yè)也岌岌可危；美國的半導(dǎo)體制造業(yè)也似乎要崩潰。據(jù)此可知，20世紀(jì)80年代，美國失去了在世界經(jīng)濟(jì)中的領(lǐng)先地位，許多企業(yè)受到影響，外國制造的汽車和紡織品涌入美國國內(nèi)市場，使其失去了部分國內(nèi)市場。D項(xiàng)與文章意思相符，因此為正確答案。

3.我們從本文可以推知什么？

A.在自我懷疑和盲目驕傲之間來回轉(zhuǎn)變是人的本性。

B.激烈競爭可以促進(jìn)經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展。

C.經(jīng)濟(jì)的復(fù)蘇取決于國際合作。

D.持續(xù)成功的歷史可能為進(jìn)一步的發(fā)展鋪平道路。

【答案】B

【解析】從文章第二段的內(nèi)容可知，由于其他國家逐漸富強(qiáng)起來，美國的領(lǐng)先地位不可避免地被削弱了；到20世紀(jì)80年代中期，美國人發(fā)覺自己對(duì)其日趨衰退的產(chǎn)業(yè)競爭力無計(jì)可施；從第三段的內(nèi)容可知，所有這一切引發(fā)了美國人的信心危機(jī)；美國人不再把繁榮看成是理所當(dāng)然的事，他們開始認(rèn)為自己缺乏經(jīng)濟(jì)頭腦，開始相信自己的收入不久也會(huì)因此而下降；20世紀(jì)80年代中期，對(duì)美國經(jīng)濟(jì)走下坡路的原因作了一次又一次的調(diào)查，驚人地發(fā)現(xiàn)不時(shí)在他們耳邊充斥的是這樣的警告——來自海外的競爭壓力越來越大。據(jù)此可知，一個(gè)國家的經(jīng)濟(jì)是衰退還是繁榮都是由于競爭所導(dǎo)致的。B項(xiàng)與文章的意思相符，因此為正確答案。

4.作者好像認(rèn)為，美國20世紀(jì)90年代經(jīng)濟(jì)的復(fù)興可能歸因于________。

A.商業(yè)周期循環(huán)的轉(zhuǎn)變　B.產(chǎn)業(yè)重組

C.企業(yè)管理的改善　　　D.教育方面的成功

【答案】A

【解析】本題可參照文章的第四段。從中可知，1995年，美國的經(jīng)濟(jì)已連續(xù)5年穩(wěn)步增長，而日本卻一直在苦苦掙扎；幾乎沒有美國人把這些增長僅僅歸因于美元的貶值或者商業(yè)周期循環(huán)這些顯而易見的原因；人們不再自我懷疑，開始盲目驕傲；Richard Cavanagh說，“美國已經(jīng)改變了它的產(chǎn)業(yè)結(jié)構(gòu)，消除了臃腫，學(xué)得更加明智”；William Sahlman認(rèn)為，回顧歷史時(shí)，人們會(huì)把這段時(shí)期看成是“美國企業(yè)管理的黃金時(shí)代”。據(jù)此可知，作者認(rèn)為美國經(jīng)濟(jì)的復(fù)興可能是因?yàn)槊涝馁H值或者商業(yè)周期的循環(huán)。A項(xiàng)與文章的意思相符，因此為正確答案。

5.在1987年前美國只有什么行業(yè)仍能保持繁榮？

A.電視?！.轎車。　C.紡織品?！.機(jī)床。

【答案】A

【解析】本文考查對(duì)細(xì)節(jié)部分的理解。第二部分的后面部分提供了信息。