不才对 GMAT 新题63篇 第二篇 “不是自由市场造就了美国神话，而是追求变化的开拓精神造就了神话”的解释，与大家分享，有异者请指正

Jae230

Passage 2 (2/63)
Woodrow Wilson was referring to the liberal idea of the economic market when he said that the free enterprise system is the most efficient economic system. Maximum freedom means maximum productiveness; our “openness” is to be the measure of our stability. Fascination with this ideal has made Americans defy the “Old World” categories of settled possessiveness versus unsettling deprivation, the cupidity of retention versus the cupidity of seizure, a “status quo” defended or attacked. The United States
, it was believed, had no status quo ante. Our only “station” was the turning of a stationary wheel, spinning faster and faster. We did not base our system on property but opportunity—which meant we based it not on stability but on mobility. The more things changed, that is, the more rapidly the wheel turned, the steadier we would be. The conventional picture of class politics is composed of the Haves, who want a stability to keep what they have, and the Have-Nots, who want a touch of (a touch of: 有一点) instability and change in which to scramble for (scramble for: v.争夺, 勉强拼凑) the things they have not. But Americans imagined a condition in which speculators, self-makers, runners are always using the new opportunities given by our land. These economic leaders (front-runners) would thus be mainly agents of change. The nonstarters were considered the ones who wanted stability, astrong referee to give them some position in the race, a regulative hand to calm manic speculation; an authority that can call things to a halt, begin things again from compensatorily staggered “starting lines.”
“Reform” in America has been sterile because it can imagine no change except through the extension of this metaphor of a race, wider inclusion of competitors, “
a piece of the action[U1],” as it were, for the disenfranchised. There is no attempt to call off the race. Since our only stability is change, America seems not to honor the quiet work that achieves social interdependence and stability. There is, in our legends,no heroism of the office clerk(office clerk: n.职员), no stable industrial work force of the people who actually make the system work. There is no pride in being an employee (Wilson asked for a return to the time when everyone was an employer). There has been no boasting about our social workers—they are merely signs of the system’s failure, of opportunity denied or not taken, of things to be eliminated. We have no pride in our growing interdependence, in the fact that our system can serve others, that we are able to help those in need; empty boasts from the past make us ashamed of our present achievements, make us try to forget or deny them, move away from them. There is no honor but in the Wonderland (wonderland: n.仙境, 奇境)race we must all run, all trying to win, none winning in the end (for there is no end[U2]).
[U1]一块儿行动的意思


[U2]全文中心，先讲了free， change 的好处，最后说目前人们忘了change造就了现在，以至于开始避免

这篇文章难点在于对于主旨的把握，该文章与常见的GMAT文章有所不同，因为作者把主旨放在了最后，如文中红色高亮部分，注意作者的语气。意思为“社会工作者们不应得到表扬，因为他们是社会系统失败的象征，因为他们没有抓住机会。我们不应该因为社会日益增强的内部依赖性而自豪，因为我们有能力去服务外部的人，去帮助有需要的人，而不是满足于内部的自足。吹嘘过去让我们面对今天的成就感到羞愧，让我们从已经取得的成就逃离，忘掉他们。除了继续奋斗、奔跑，没有什么是值得骄傲的，因为永无止境。”

而在开头的部分，作者又提到：美国人痴迷于自由市场，认为是自由市场造就了美国神话。作者又说：其实是美国追求变化造就了神话

从加粗的部分 infer 出 作者其实是在“讽今”，用赞扬追求变化（美国神话靠的是追求变化，永不满足，而不是靠的自由主义），开拓创新，永不止步的精神来讽今。呼吁大家不要沉溺于过去的成就，要继续努力。

在理解了主旨的基础上我们再来看题：
1.The primary purpose of the passage is to 【A】

(A) criticize the inflexibility of American economic mythology

(B) contrast “Old World” and “New World” economic ideologies

(C) challenge the integrity of traditional political leaders

(D) champion those Americans whom the author deems to be neglected（A）

(E) suggest a substitute for the traditional metaphor of a race

主旨已经理解了，那么这道主旨题显然答案是A
2.According to the passage, “Old World” values were based on 【B】


(A) ability

(B) property

(C) family connections

(D) guild hierarchies（B）

(E) education
回原文定位： “Old World” categories of settled possessiveness versus unsettling deprivation

说明旧社会是靠“财富”来说话的。选B
3.In the context of the author’s discussion of regulating change, which of the following could be most probably regarded as a “strong referee” (line 30) in the United States?
【C】


(A) A school principal

(B) A political theorist

(C) A federal court judge

(D) A social worker（C）

(E) A government inspector
文章定位： strong referee to give them some position in the race
说明是在体制内部寻求工作的人，再看下文的蓝色高亮部分no heroism of the office clerk


     公务员中间是没有heroism的。所以选C：联邦法官
4.The author sets off (set off: to set apart: make distinct or outstanding) the word “Reform” (line 35) with quotation marks in order to 【D】

(A) emphasize its departure from the concept of settled possessiveness

(B) show his support for a systematic program of change

(C) underscore the flexibility and even amorphousness of United States society


(D) indicate that the term was one of Wilson’s favorites
（E）
(E) assert that reform in the United States has not been fundamental
该题比较简单，reform 后面有一句是satile，说明美国的reform是很少的，是不必要的



5.It can be inferred from the passage that the author most probably thinks that giving the disenfranchised “a piece of the action” (line 38) is【B】

(A) a compassionate, if misdirected, legislative measure

(B) an example of Americans’ resistance to profound social change

(C) an innovative program for genuine social reform

(D) a monument to the efforts of industrial reformers（B）

(E) a surprisingly “Old World” remedy for social ills

这题说难也难，说简单也简单。主要是考对“a piece of action” 的理解， 意思是“一起行动”，作者文中的意思是：说剥夺公民权利的“一起行动” ，我们知道人类的类根性-----跟风，就是为了避免风险、损失、变化。 所以该题选B

6.Which of the following metaphors could the author most appropriately use to summarize his own assessment of the American economic system (lines 35-60)? 【C 】

(A) A windmill

(B) A waterfall

(C) A treadmill

(D) A gyroscope（C）

(E) A bellows

考词义理解和文章主旨：
文章主旨是对美国目前情况的批判，说忘记了是对稳定的不满造就了目前的美国，所以说美国现在的问题是：沉溺于过去，沉溺于稳定，避免变化。所以类比应该是C： treadmill----跑步机，单调的工作


7.It can be inferred from the passage that Woodrow Wilson’s ideas about the economic market 【B】

(A) encouraged those who “make the system work” (lines 45-46)

(B) perpetuated traditional legends about America

(C) revealed the prejudices of a man born wealthy

(D) foreshadowed the stock market crash of 1929（B）

(E) began a tradition of presidential proclamations on economics
考主旨
题目意思为：我们可以推断出WW这个人对美国经济市场看法。在开头部分WW就说 自由市场是最有效的，我们的开放自由造就了我们的稳定。所以选B：美国市场使美国神话不朽。perpetuated 使……不朽



8.The passage contains information that would answer which of the following questions? 【C】

I.What techniques have industrialists used to manipulate a free market? 完全没有提到

II.In what ways are “New World” and “Old World” economic policies similar?   讲的是区别而不是相同点

III.Has economic policy in the United States tended to reward independent action?

(A) I only

(B) II only

(C) III only

(D) I and II only（C）

(E) II and III only



9.Which of the following best expresses the author’s main point? 【D】

(A) Americans’ pride in their jobs continues to give them stamina today.

(B) The absence of a status quo ante has undermined United States economic structure.

(C) The free enterprise system has been only a useless concept in the United States.

(D) The myth of the American free enterprise system is seriously flawed.（D）

(E) Fascination with the ideal of “openness” has made Americans a progressive people.


        考主旨： 主旨是 美国人追求变化、不满足于稳定现状造就了美国神话，自由市场使神话得以继续，是辅助条件。即：追求变化早就神话，自由使神话继续。
        所以在文章最后，作者反复说当今美国忘记了到底是什么造就了 “神话”，越活越回去了。

yougushizi

太棒了！
五体投地。
seriously admire~~~~~~

yougushizi

不过真是太难了。。。。
美国人不是喜欢直来直去么。。。这篇怎么搞这么隐晦。。。

Jae230

不过真是太难了。。。。
美国人不是喜欢直来直去么。。。这篇怎么搞这么隐晦。。。

-- by 会员 yougushizi (2011/7/18 15:36:47)

美国人说话时挺容易懂的，但是一涉及到学术问题，就严谨了。学术问题的修辞语法都是来自于拉丁语。非常严谨晦涩。所以才会这样吧。

Trisica

太感谢了，刚做完9个错了7个，咋活啊~~~~~~~
文章读懂了的啊，想不通为啥错那么多。。。

eynl12345

我表示我全看反了.....但是选项居然也全看反了，所以只错了一个。
膜拜LZ

不是什么好饼

lz辛苦。。其实在下角的这篇文章虽然晦涩的让人恶心，但是有好几道题都是可以通过排除法做的。。。我今天第一遍做，错了4个，对的那五个都是在做的时候反复的想文章有木有提到过。。还有楼上那位同学也要膜拜一下！！居然就错了一个

ldmt

看第九题看不懂，找到这里来了：感谢楼主分享先，这里有几处不同想法，大家讨论下
a piece of action
是分一杯羹的意思，就是你虽失败了，但也能得到些安慰
There has been no boasting about our social workers—they are merely signs of the system’s failure, of opportunity denied or not taken, of things to be eliminated.
是说未对social workers给予充分肯定，这是作者所反对的，作者认为应当boasting about our social workers...
We have no pride in our growing interdependence, in the fact that our system can serve others, that we are able to help those in need ——我们未对渐增的互助而自豪，（未对）系统内互助的事实（而自豪），（未对）帮助需要帮助的人（而自豪）
作者用归谬法，最后引申出 “The myth of the American free enterprise system is seriously flawed.”因为“none winning in the end”

karlearner

这是一篇连问题题干都看不懂的神文

miyini

刚刚看完 看的晕头转向的， 感谢CDers的无私奉献