(99年1月)

business：事业，事务。Business is business公事公办
inferior：a.较低的，次要的 n.下级，下属 inferiority：n. 下级，下属，低人一等 feelings of inferiority自卑感
alternative： v.选择（二选一）
inherit：v.继承（财产，头衔等）She inherited a little money from her grangfather.
请大家试着翻译文章中划线句子，结构比较复杂，但是大家一定要动手才会发现自己的不足之处，才能有进步。

Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:

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　　President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to an important truth today-that business institutions have more prestige（威望）in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions posses this great prestige?
　　One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
　　Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly（垄断）of power. In contrast to one, all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers’ dollar, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
　　A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe, then, that competition is as important, or even more important, that democracy in preserving freedom.
　　Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic（贵族的）idea of inherited privilege.

26.The statement “The business of America is business” probably means “________”.
　　A) The business institutions in America are concerned with commerce
　　B) Business problems are of great importance to the American government
　　C) Business is of primary concern to Americans
　　D) America is a great power in world business

27.Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only ________.
　　A) when given equality of opportunity
　　B) through doing business
　　C) by protecting their individual freedom
　　D) by way of competition

28.Who can benefit from business competition?
　　A) Honest businessmen.
　　B) Both businessmen and their customers.
　　C) People with ideals of equality and freedom.
　　D) Both business institutions and government.

29.Government is believed to differ strikingly from business in that government is characterized by ________.
　　A) its absolute control of power
　　B) its function in preserving personal freedom
　　C) its role in protecting basic American values
　　D) its democratic way of exercising leadership

30.It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes _________.
　　A) Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries
　　B) in many countries success often depends on one’s social status
　　C) American businesses are more democratic than those in other countries
　　D) businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those in America

 

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翻译：
　　柯立芝总统说，“美国的事业就是工商业”，今天这句话仍然指出了一个很重要的真理：工商业机构在美国社会比任何其他组织，包括美国政府，威望更高。

答案:CDBAB

　　第一段段尾的？告诉我们文章的结构是现象解释型。第一段给出一个现象，后面来解释。再看这篇文章有五段，一段对应一个题，按顺序来找答案。
　　26.词义题，就是送分题，基本每年都会考一到两个，不要想的太难。根据关键词出现的本句和上下句来推断意思，一般在本句或下句给出解释：“这句话指出工商业机构在美国社会比任何其他组织，包括美国政府，威望更高”选择在对应句子中出现的意思即可。这题不应该错。
　　27.二段开始解释一段的问号。出现关键词American values ，答案就在这一句里面找。“不仅竞争本身好，它还保护美国其他价值观念，如个人自由、机会平等、勤奋工作等的手段”AC是文章中同时列举的两点，可以排除不选。列举一般提3项，如果提到4项或更多，那么这个列举就没有意义，列举常和except题型对应。BD一个是说做生意，一个说竞争。在对应句子中出现的主语是Competition，确定选D。