Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension(35 minutes)

Passage OneQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:

The American economic system is organize around a basically private enterprise, market oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most. Private businessmen, striving to make profits, produce these goods and services in competition with others businessmen; , operating under competitive pressures. Largely determines how these goods and services are produced. Thus, in the American economic system it is the demand of individual consumers, coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to , that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it.

An important factor of a market oriented economy is the mechanism¹ by which consumer demands can be expressed and responded to buy producers. In the American economy, this mechanism is provided by a price system, a process in which prices rise and fall producers, which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product. Thus, price is the regulating mechanism in the American economic system. The important factor in a private enterprise economy is that individuals are allowed to own productive resources (private property), and they are permitted to hire labor², gain control over natural resources, and produce goods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy, the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights, including the fight to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual.

21.In Para. 1, “the desire of individuals to ” means ____.
A） Americans are never satisfied with their incomes
B） Americans tend to overstate their incomes
C） Americans want to have their incomes increased
D） Americans want to increase the purchasing power of their incomes

22.The first two sentences in the second paragraph tell us that____.
A） producers can satisfy the consumers by mechanized production
B） consumers can express their demands through producers
C） producers decide the price of products
D） supply and demand regulate price

23.According to the passage, a private enterprise economy is characterized by ____.
A） private property and rights concerned.
B） manpower and natural resources control
C） ownership of productive resources
D） free contracts and prices

24.The passage is mainly about ____.
A） how American goods are produced
B） how American consumers buy their goods
C） how American economic system works.
D） how American businessmen make their profits.

25.The word “embrace”(Sent. 2, Para. 3) may convey the meaning of ____.
A) hugs B) includesC) excludes D) demands

内容概要:本文主要讲美国的经济体制是怎样依靠私有企业来运转，又是如何通过供求关系来调控市场价格和产品的生产的。

21.【答案】D。
【译文】美国人想提高他们的收入以此来提高他们的购买能力。
【试题分析】词语理解题。
【详细解答】“maximize”意为“使最大化，充分利用”，根据四个选项判断只有D符合。故选D。

22.【答案】D。
【译文】供求关系调控价格。
【试题分析】句意理解题。
【详细解答】文章中第二段前两句的意思是“价格的涨落与消费者需求和生产商供应相呼应。”从四个选项中判断，只有D的意思最恰当。故选D。

23.【答案】A。
【译文】私有财产和特权。
【试题分析】推理引申题。
【详细解答】根据文章最后一段的最后一句话，可推出私有企业经济的两大特点就是关于私有财产和特权这两方面的。因此该题选A。

24.【答案】C。
【译文】美国经济体系是如何运作的。
【试题分析】主旨大意题。
【详细解答】首段讲美国经济体系构成，第二段讲市场调节的具体操作，末段讲私人企业中的基本内容。纵观全文其主旨为：美国经济体系如何运行。

25.【答案】B。
【译文】包括，包含。
【试题分析】词汇理解题。
【详细解答】这是一道词汇理解题，题目中给出的embrace 有拥抱，包括，包含等意思，但是在第三段第二句找个具体的语境中，这个词的意思是“包括”。四个选项中只有B. include最合适。故选B。