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Recent years have brought minority-owned businesses in the United States unprecedented opportunities—as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack access to the sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that businesses awarded federal contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.
Corporate response appears to have been substantial. According to figures collected in 1977, the total of corporate contracts with minority businesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to $1.1 billion in 1977.The projected total of corporate contracts with minority businesses for the early 1980’s is estimated to be over 53 billion per year with no letup anticipated in the next decade. Promising as it is for minority businesses, this increased patronage poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large businesses, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company’s efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.
A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as “fronts” with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.
Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often runs the danger of becoming—and remaining—dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from larger, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases: when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor, they may truly have to struggle against complacency arising from their current success.
2. The passage supplies information that would answer which of the following questions?
(B) To which government agencies must businesses awarded federal contracts report their efforts to find minority subcontractors?（黑体字部分）
(E) What is one set of conditions under which a small business might find itself financially overextended?
答案是E，没问题。但是B从原文中对应的地方也能找到问题的答案，我觉得这个government agencied就是就是congress，为什么不对呢
还没有人回答，我自己又看了一下，觉得之所以选B不正确，是因为这句话的意思理解错了.文章并没有详细提到哪个gouvernment agency。不知这个理解是否正确，请版主或其他热心人发表一下意见吧
7. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the author’s assertion that, in the 1970’s, corporate response to federal requirements was substantial(绿色部分)
(B) Between 1970 and 1972, corporate contracts with minority-owned businesses declined by 25 percent.
(E) The $1.1 billion represented the same percentage of total corporate spending in 1977 as did $77 million in 1972.
答案是E,我选了B
E：1977年的1.1b占当年合同总额的百分比与77m占1972年合同总额百分比相同，能推出，合同总额是从1972到1977年间上升了。和少数民族企业的合作合同并没有关系，所以没有weaken作者的判断。
B则是假设1970－1972年间，和少数民族企业的合同下降了25％。如果这个假设是真的，就和作者说的70年代corporate response was substantial（绿色部分）的结论相矛盾了。所以我选了B
这道题还是没琢磨明白，等待指点中，多谢多谢
[此贴子已经被作者于2006-2-15 12:54:58编辑过] | 
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发表于 2006-2-12 22:53:00
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