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Transportation developments have greatly influenced the pace and course of business growth in America. The early turnpike and the canal systems each broadened the market area by lowering costs and speeding distribution. But the influence of railroads dwarfed all of these previous developments. Railroads pioneered many aspects of business administration and enhanced some land values enormously. They also had an important impact on the growth of certain cities. Atlanta, for example, was transformed from a spot in the wilderness to a thriving metropolis as a result of the construction of the Western and Atlantic Railroad.
Railroads also provided a large outlet for savings.Their capital requirements were so great that they provided the first big opening for the investment banker – who by the end of the 19th century was in control of many railroads. Railroads, too, because of the stress of competition, both in construction and operation, were the first big firms to experiment with new forms of business organization such as pools and consolidation. It followed – because railroads were so vital to the nation and because their performance was tied in with the business cycle – that the highways which came later were the first form of business to have their operations regulated in large degree by the government.
Finally, railroads were responsible for a great many jobs, at one time more than 2,000,000 workers. Railroads were easily the nation’s largest employers during the post-Civil War, pre-World War I period. In addition they were responsible, indirectly, for tens of thousand of other jobs in the coal, iron, steel, and engineering industries – in such big enterprises, for example, as the Pullman Palace Car Company and the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. \ The Pullman Company, in 1909, was the eighth largest firm in the nation in terms of assets, and practically all of its output went to American railroads. Railroads, actually, were to the period 1850-1915 what the auto industry is to today in terms of being the pacesetter or bellwether of the economy. The biggest difference is that no one railroad ever dominated the rail industry as Ford and GM once dominated the auto industry.
1. Which of the following can be logically inferred from the passage?
A) Early turnpike and canal systems were not largely regulated by the U.S. government
B) Current automakers directly employ more workers than did the railroad industry
C) The Pullman Car Company had more assets than the Westinghouse Brake Company
D) Railroads dramatically increased the land values in Atlanta
E) Highways are more regulated today than railroads.
2. It can be inferred from the passage that the railroad system:
A. Had a greater influence on American markets than the American highway system
B. Required more capital than any other business before
C. Increased all land values across the U.S.
D. Involved strong competition among the companies that formed it
E. Created more employment than any industry before.
3. During the post-Civil War, pre-World War I period, if the railroad business was declining it could be expected that:
A. Investment banking would decline
B. Land values would decline
C. Production at the Pullman Company would decline
D. U.S. savings would decline
E. Car production would increase
参考答案： ADC
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发表于 2021-6-5 11:51:07
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