关于Passage 2.Woodrow Wilson's free enterprise system的文章主旨分析&问题解析

zoeysnowy

LZ 刚刚开始刷G的时候就选择从RC的63篇开始入手，然后就遇到了这篇鬼畜至极的文章，在结合了杨鹏长难句和吧里各位NN的见解，得出了自己觉得比较通顺的逻辑解释，在这里和大家分享一下。

介于原文网上特别多，这里就不贴了；对于文中长难句和词汇有问题的童鞋，可以去看下《杨鹏长难句》。


————————


私以为这篇文章虽然非常恶心，但读懂时态是理解文章的关键，尤其文中的现完和过去式的转变，是可以看出作者态度的。

第一段：

作者以ww的free enterprise system的理论开始，叙说了美国的front-runners曾受益于这个FES制度，并通过“always using the new opportunities given by our land（此处的our land其实可以理解为美国开放的市场经济环境）”，给美国带来了一段辉煌。美国社会繁荣的根本，在于不止步于眼前所得，而追求新的变革与机遇。

  -"Woodrow Wilson was referring to……be the measure of our stability."：引入FES理论，并从理论上解释why it worked——FES向市场提供了开放与自由。下文会说到，美国的飞黄腾达离不开寻求changes&opportunities的精神，而文首提到的FES理论其实是为changes&opportunities创造了条件的。

  -"Fascination withthis ideal has made……compensatorily staggered ‘starting lines.’ "：叙说在过去一段时间里（PS. 注意了过去式），美国的front-runners在free enterpise system提供的开放与自由环境中，通过把握机遇自我努力，超越了欧洲的conventional class politics统治下的property-valued old world. [PS. old world 经常被美国用来指代欧洲]。

这一段中作者提到了美国过去的繁盛时期的两类人，一类是刚刚提到的front-runner，一类是nonstarter. front-runners are mainly agents(动因) of change，而change又是美国社会进步的源泉。这里可以推断出的一条重要implication是：过去美国的繁荣，是少数的front-runners在FES环境下勇于开拓创造出的legends；但是美国社会中的大部分人，其实还是nonstarters，FES对于他们而言，只不过是有了企业向他们提供岗位而已。这条信息非常重要，也是作者第二段主要抨击的事实依据。

第二段：


“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,” as it were, for the disenfranchised.

先说这个“Reform”到底指的是什么，这是解开这篇文章逻辑脉络的关键。根据上一段的解说可以推理得到：美国的发展重在寻求变革，过去的变革依靠了front-runner；所以这里的“Reform”其实和上一段中的“Change”是一回事，可以理解为促成美国经济发展的各种“变革”。美国经济发展的“变革”本质上，其实是需要让更多的nonstarter拥抱变化而成为front-runner，从而帮助美国社会革新改变。

但是这些nonstarters在干嘛？“take pride in being an employee……boasting about our social workers……pride in our growing interdependence” 这其实是美国free enterprise发展到当前时期的弊端了，人们从seek to create free enterprise变成了simply want to be an employee，所以现在美国的EFS制度不像过去那么work了；作者想要抨击的是，缺乏了革新精神的美国人，沉湎于过去front-runner所建立的秩序，而不再成为runners，美国EFS的神话就此终结。

总结全文观点：

1. 作者认为美国的发展源于把握机遇寻求变革，过去的繁荣归功于front-runners，（而ww推崇的FES制度不是主因，只能说起到了辅助作用→这点没有明说，但表达的意思就是这样的。）
2. 作者对于ww's FES政策的态度，基本还是肯定的，FES为front-runners提供了良好的环境，推动了美国经济变革和繁荣；但是当前的美国FES已经出现了问题，"Reform has been sterile"。当美国步入繁盛时代后，enterprise system带来了超级多的employee，越来越多的employee安于现状故步自封，成为了nonstarts/never-starters。
3. 其实相比ww的FES理论，作者更想抨击和唤醒的还是nonstarters或者固步自封的美国当前经济体本身。因此作者表态，FES什么的都是有缺陷的，不足以让美国经济持续繁荣的，呼吁大家在这场民族比赛中要永无止境地奔跑。



————————

以下贴出一些争议题的解释，个人的见解，希望对各位有借鉴和参考作用。


1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(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
(E) suggest a substitute for the traditional metaphor of a race

正确答案【A】inflexibiliy：Something that is inflexible cannot be altered in any way, even if the situation changes. 选项A的意思是美国经济社会陷入了固步自封疲于改变的境况中，economic mythology “经济神话”其实是种夸大和讽刺。第二段开头点明“Reform” in America has been sterile。结合刚才对文章主旨的分析应该不难理解了。这题网上好多观点说，是因为作者抨击ww的FES理论，说他的理论是inflexible的经济理论；LZ感觉这个解释非常的牵强了，自由企业理论怎么看都是个flexible的理论，inflexible的是美国经济体本身的现状才对。

2. According to the passage, “Old World” values were based on
(A) ability
(B) property
(C) family connections
(D) guild hierarchies
(E) education

正确答案【B】old world 指代欧洲，“We did not base our system on property but opportunity—which meant we based it not on stability but on mobility.” 这句直接明了给了答案。

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 11) in the United States?
(A) A school principal
(B) A political theorist
(C) A federal court judge
(D) A social worker
(E) A government inspector

正确答案【C】这题对应的关键句应该很好找：“a strong 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”，正确选项显然要满足这个并列句的所有特性，即“强有力的裁判/推荐人”，“对躁动的投资市场有管理调控手段”，“说停就停，说开始就开始的权威”。
来看选项，A是校长，校长和市场离得太远了；B是政治理论家，理论家没有实权的；D不可能；E是监管者，没有裁判权，也没有说开始结束的权利。

4. It can be inferred from the passage that the author most probably thinks that giving the disenfranchised “a piece of the action” (line 14) is
(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
(E) a surprisingly “Old World” remedy for social ills

正确答案【B】首先是这句话的翻译：“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,” as it were, for the disenfranchised. 美国的变革都是没有结果的，因为除了扩展竞争在名义上的范围，除了把更多竞争者囊括到这场竞争中，除了给那些无权无依的nonstarters分一点点好处以外，整个美国社会经济没有任何改变。这句话的言下之意其实是，当今美国社会中的disenfranchised已经不像以前的front-runners那样，不顾自己是不是有property，把握机遇去Reform了；而是给点"a piece of the action"，就满足了，那Reform自然也都是名存实亡地只是属于早就富足起来的front-runner的游戏了。

所以说给dienfranchised的"a piece of the action"不是A同情，不是C创新，不是给的D reformer的，也不是E 欧洲社会的补偿机措施，就是拿着微薄工资的美国公民B resistance to profound social change。

5. Which of the following metaphors could the author most appropriately use to summarize his own assessment of the American economic system (lines 13-22)?
(A) A windmill
(B) A waterfall
(C) A treadmill
(D) A gyroscope
(E) A bellows

正确答案【C】文中的线索还是比较多的：一直快速转动着，供runners running的
①“Our only “station” was the turning of a stationary wheel, spinning faster and faster. ”
②“The more things changed, that is, the more rapidly the wheel turned, the steadier we would be.”
③“There is no attempt to call off the race. ”
④“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. ”
⑤“ There is no honor but in the Wonderland (wonderland: n.仙境, 奇境) race we must all run”

然后为什么其他选项不对。A 风车，乍一看结合①好像是挺对的，但如果美国经济体制是风车，那其中的人是什么？很难解释对不对。其次风车不像是no attempt to call off的存在。B瀑布，除了水流可能很快以外找不到任何对应的喻体。D，陀螺仪，LZ一开始选了D 陀螺仪，感觉陀螺转得越快越稳，但查了wiki才发现陀螺仪当然不是陀螺了，gyroscope is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity；之后再对比C选项，也是找不到经济体中的人该怎么比喻，果断排除了。E 风箱，没有任何想象空间了。

6. It can be inferred from the passage that Woodrow Wilson’s ideas about the economic market
(A) encouraged those who “make the system work” (lines 16-17)
(B) perpetuated traditional legends about America
(C) revealed the prejudices of a man born wealthy
(D) foreshadowed the stock market crash of 1929
(E) began a tradition of presidential proclamations on economics


正确答案【B】这题问ww的经济理论怎么样了？其实ww的free enterprise system本身谋求自由市场竞争，是没有任何问题的，作者没有任何反对，而且还在第一段中分析了，美国过去的繁荣（对应选项中的traditional legends）是如何由front-runners借助free market的环境，通过一些列变革创造出来的。网上很多素材说作者反对ww理论的，在这道题的解释上就会显得非常矛盾了；事实上作者没有想要怼ww的理论，自由企业制度对美国经济发展还是功不可没的。

来看A，文中一直在抨击social worker了，不是像网上说的反讽ww的理论有问题，就是直白地抨击。C，说富贵人家很傲慢，明明人家是先驱。D，预测股票市场危机，文中没有半毛钱提到这个。E，开启了总统干预经济的传统，没有提到过。

7. The passage contains information that would answer which of the following questions?
I. What techniques have industrialists used to manipulate a free market?
II. In what ways are “New World” and “Old World” economic policies similar?
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
(E) II and III only

正确答案【C】
I. free enterprise system就是自由市场了，没有industrialists去操纵自由市场，文中更没有提到任何“techniques”，所以我们不知道“what techniques”
II. 文中只说了new world different from old world，没有提到任何similar，所有我们不知道“what ways”
III. 这题只需要回答“Yes”or“NO”，美国的经济政策是不是对independent action有更多的犒赏？是啊，“Since our only stability is change, America seems not to honor the quiet work that achieves social interdependence and stability.” 对quiet work 和 interdependence不支持，那就是tend to reward independent action啊~

8. Which of the following best expresses the author’s main point?
(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.
(E) Fascination with the ideal of “openness” has made Americans a progressive people.

正确答案【D】美国在自由企业体制下的经济神话，目前出现了严重缺陷。这个缺陷就是安于先驱的硕果而不思改变。

A选项，美国人对于自己工作的骄傲，在如今依旧能给他们带来恒心；文中是说负面的不思变革，不是正面的恒心。B选项，美国经济的变动，损伤了美国经济结构，反了。C选项，FES对美国是个没用的概念，瞎说，美国的过往繁荣还是得益于FES的，只是国家发展至今，FES出现了缺陷。E选项，经济开放使得美国成为了积极进取的民族。驱动因素错了，美国人寻求变革的本质才使得美国成为了积极进取的民族，这是作者通篇都在强调的；EFS只不过是帮助front-runner成功的辅助工具罢了。

————————
最后这篇文章还是非常晦涩的，LZ的理解可能也还是有出入，欢迎各位NN一起讨论~ 谢谢！

Goprpr

顶一下！感谢分析！刚看完这篇文章感到很头大

90210

from gmatclub https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-winters-v-united-states-1908-the-supreme-court-held-that-the-ri-67133.html hope it helps too
The first paragraph is a bit daunting (the 3rd sentence is 8 lines long!). Rather than getting stuck in the details, think about why that paragraph is there. Is it simply to tell us about the Supreme Court decision in Winters v. United States (1908)? No, the larger purpose of the paragraph is to tell us that, CITING Winters v US, later decisions established that courts can find federal rights to reserve water for particular purposes if certain criteria are met. In other words, the author wants us to realize that the Winters v US case was an important precedent for later cases involving federal rights to reserve water for particular purposes.

As for the second paragraph, is the main purpose to educate readers on the reserved water rights of Pueblo Indians? Or to tell us about the Arizona v. California (1963) decision? No, these examples serve a larger purpose, which is to show that the Winters doctrine has been used to establish water rights even when the waters were not part of a legally defined reservation. In other words, as long as an area was TREATED like a reservation in practice, the courts can consider that area a reservation and thus apply the Winters doctrine to reserve water for particular purposes.

The main purpose of the passage is not to tell us about specific court decisions. Rather, taken together, the two paragraphs are meant to tell us about the legal water rights of American Indian tribes.

袁玲玲

Mark一下！               

Aprilyyy

谢谢分享，第三题，很tricky

beatokc

感谢分享 刚看完 太头大了

cherly_feather1

太感谢了，这篇看到绝望

isabellezhu

分析的太好了！

MONICAMMAA

太感谢了！！！

LeoDan

感谢分享！