1994 Passage 1
TheAmericaneconomicsystemisorganizedaroundabasicallyprivate-enterprise, market-orientedeconomyinwhichconsumerslargelydeterminewhatshallbeproducedbyspendingtheirmoneyinthemarketplaceforthosegoodsandservicesthattheywantmost. Privatebusinessmen, strivingtomakeprofits, producethesegoodsandservicesincompetitionwithotherbusinessmen; andtheprofitmotive, operatingundercompetitivepressures, largelydetermineshowthesegoodsandservicesareproduced. Thus, intheAmericaneconomicsystemitisthedemandofindividualconsumers, coupledwiththedesireofbusinessmentomaximizeprofitsandthedesireofindividualstomaximizetheirincomes, thattogetherdeterminewhatshallbeproducedandhowresourcesareusedtoproduceit.
Animportantfactorinamarket-orientedeconomyisthemechanismbywhichconsumerdemandscanbeexpressedandrespondedtobyproducers. IntheAmericaneconomy, thismechanismisprovidedbyapricesystem, aprocessinwhichpricesriseandfallinresponsetorelativedemandsofconsumersandsuppliesofferedbyseller-producers. Iftheproductsisinshortsupplyrelativetothedemand, thepricewillbebidupandsomeconsumerswillbeeliminatedfromthemarket. If, ontheotherhand, producingmoreofacommodityresultsinreducingitscost, thiswilltendtoincreasethesupplyofferedbyseller-producers, whichinturnwilllowerthepriceandpermitmoreconsumerstobuytheproduct. Thus, priceistheregulatingmechanismintheAmericaneconomicsystem.
Theimportantfactorinaprivate-enterpriseeconomyisthatindividualsareallowedtoownproductiveresources (privateproperty), andtheyarepermittedtohirelabor, gaincontrolovernaturalresources, andproducegoodsandservicesforsaleataprofit. IntheAmericaneconomy, theconceptofprivatepropertyembracesnotonlytheownershipofproductiveresourcesbutalsocertainrights, includingtherighttodeterminethepriceofaproductortomakeafreecontractwithanotherprivateindividual.
51. Inline 8, paragraph 1, "thedesireofindividualstomaximizetheirincomes" means ________.
[A] Americansareneversatisfiedwiththeirincomes
[B] Americanstendtooverstatetheirincomes
[C] Americanswanttohavetheirincomesincreased
[D] Americanswanttoincreasethepurchasingpoweroftheirincomes
52. Thefirsttwosentencesinthesecondparagraphtellusthat ________.
[A] producerscansatisfytheconsumersbymechanizedproduction
[B] consumerscanexpresstheirdemandsthroughproducers
[C] producersdecidethepricesofproducts
[D] supplyanddemandregulateprices
53. Accordingtothepassage, aprivate-enterpriseeconomyischaracterizedby ________.
[A] privatepropertyandrightsconcerned
[B] manpowerandnaturalresourcescontrol
[C] ownershipofproductiveresources
[D] freecontractsandprices
54. Thepassageismainlyabout ________.
[A] howAmericangoodsareproduced
[B] howAmericanconsumersbuytheirgoods
[C] howAmericaneconomicsystemworks
[D] howAmericanbusinessmenmaketheirprofits
1994年硕士入学考试英语阅读真题附答案详解:TEXT1
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2014年08月04日 09:29:57