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.
Vocabulary
1. reverse 逆轉(zhuǎn)
2. slide 滑坡
3. plague 瘟疫;折磨，困擾
4. tariff 關(guān)稅
5. decry 譴責(zé)，詆毀
6. lever 杠桿;用杠桿撬動(dòng)
7. crux 癥結(jié)
8. ideologue 空想家，思想家
9. intact 原封不動(dòng)的，完整無損的
10. investment credit 投資信貸
11. research grant 研究基金
難句譯注
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.
【參考譯文】這對(duì)扭轉(zhuǎn)經(jīng)濟(jì)滑坡;滑到失業(yè)高，增長(zhǎng)少和已經(jīng)困擾經(jīng)濟(jì)達(dá)6年之久貿(mào)易赤字來說是必要的。
寫作方法與文章大意
這是一則有關(guān)總統(tǒng)向國(guó)會(huì)提交的經(jīng)濟(jì)計(jì)劃評(píng)論。作者采用對(duì)比手法來突出其計(jì)劃之正確性，第 一段就講了計(jì)劃的涉及面：投資、研究、教育、稅收等，目的是制止經(jīng)濟(jì)滑坡，提 高美國(guó)工業(yè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。
第二、三兩段敘述了計(jì)劃遭兩方面的反對(duì)，總統(tǒng)黨內(nèi)的右翼要求更強(qiáng)硬，更直接的行動(dòng)，而共和黨對(duì)即使逐漸稍稍提 高一點(diǎn)稅收都予以譴責(zé)。
第四段提出兩者都忽略我們面臨經(jīng)濟(jì)問題的獨(dú)特性質(zhì)。它不是市場(chǎng)或財(cái)政問題。掌握新技術(shù)的人大量增產(chǎn)，而不能采用新技術(shù)的人面臨在世界經(jīng)濟(jì)中成為二等公民的危險(xiǎn)。工業(yè)不能達(dá)到先進(jìn)水平，就不能有效地競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，那么任何保護(hù)主義或進(jìn)入外國(guó)市場(chǎng)都不能長(zhǎng)期奏效。沒有技術(shù)優(yōu)勢(shì)的經(jīng)驗(yàn)和利潤(rùn)的再投資，工業(yè)經(jīng)濟(jì)只能依然落后于外國(guó)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手。
最后一段點(diǎn)出總統(tǒng)計(jì)劃的要點(diǎn)就是工藝技術(shù)。作者提出：要求全面通過這一重新建設(shè)計(jì)劃。如果我們不能重建經(jīng)濟(jì)，我們可能不會(huì)有第二次機(jī)會(huì)。
答案詳解
1. C 工藝技術(shù)。最后一段第 一句“問題的癥結(jié)就在于工藝技術(shù)，這就是總統(tǒng)計(jì)劃的要點(diǎn)所在。”第四段：“對(duì)掌握新技術(shù)的人來說，新技術(shù)使他們大大增產(chǎn)，而新技術(shù)對(duì)不能掌握它的人來說，在世界經(jīng)濟(jì)中他們面臨淪為永 久性的二等公民的危險(xiǎn)。如果不能做到這一點(diǎn)，那么任何政府保護(hù)主義，進(jìn)入國(guó)際市場(chǎng)都不能有效地競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。如果不能有技術(shù)優(yōu)勢(shì)的利潤(rùn)和經(jīng)驗(yàn)再投資，工業(yè)只能進(jìn)一步落后于國(guó)外競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手。”這些都說明總統(tǒng)計(jì)劃的重點(diǎn)再工藝技術(shù)。A.投資。D.稅收。只是總統(tǒng)計(jì)劃的涉及面。B.經(jīng)濟(jì)。太籠統(tǒng)了。
2. A 更直接行動(dòng)。第二段“總統(tǒng)的黨內(nèi)幾段自由翼要求更強(qiáng)硬、更直接行動(dòng)。他們要求用收入(稅收)政策來制止通貨膨脹;聯(lián)邦財(cái)政在關(guān)稅保護(hù)下，幫助重建工業(yè)。”B.他們需要制止通貨膨脹。C.重建工業(yè)。D.保護(hù)關(guān)稅墻。都只是他們要求中的不分內(nèi)容，不完整。
3. A支持。第四、五段集中了評(píng)論者的觀點(diǎn)，支持的理由和論點(diǎn)。B.厭惡。C.不贊成。D.調(diào)和妥協(xié)。
4. D歪曲。最后一段第二句：“其危險(xiǎn)不在于計(jì)劃將不被通過，而在于左和右的思想理論家們用修正案來歪曲提案，使計(jì)劃要點(diǎn)蒙塵模糊不清，經(jīng)濟(jì)重建計(jì)劃應(yīng)原封不動(dòng)地通過。”這是作者的態(tài)度，也是他所擔(dān)心之處。A.兩黨的反對(duì)。B.兩黨對(duì)計(jì)劃的不同看法。C.它的通過。
5. D 社論。A.評(píng)論。社論也是評(píng)論的一種，但它是報(bào)紙主編所撰，常常是有關(guān)國(guó)內(nèi)外大事評(píng)論。B.前言。C.廣告。
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