OG11紫色88-89题

lydiajiali

While there is no blueprint for transforming a largely government-controlled economy into a free one，the experience of the United Kingdom since 1979 clearly shows one approach that works：privatization，in which state—owned industries are sold to private companies．By 1979，the total borrowings and losses of state—owned industries were running at about￡3 billion a year. By selling many of these industries，the government has decreased these borrowings and losses，gained over￡34 billion from the sales, and now receives tax revenues from the newly privatized companies． Along with a dramatically improved overall economy，the government has been able to repay 12．5 percent of the net national debt over a two-year period．

In fact, privatization has not only rescued individual industries and a whole economy headed for disaster, but has also raised the level of performance in every area．At British Airways and British Gas，for example，productivity per employee has risen by 20 percent．At Associated British Ports，labor disruptions common in the 1970’s and early 1980’s have now virtually disappeared．At British Telecom，there is no longer a waiting list—as there always was before privatization—to have a telephone installed．

 Part of this improved productivity has come about because the employees of privatized industries were given the opportunity to buy shares in their own companies．They responded enthusiastically to the offer of shares：at British Aerospace，89 percent of the eligible work force    bought shares；at Associated British Ports，90 percent；and at British Telecom，92 percent．  When people have a personal stake in something，they think about it，care about it，work to make it prosper. At the National Freight Consortium，the new employee—owners grew so concerned about their company's profits that during wage negotiations they actually pressed their union to lower its wage demands．

 Some economists have suggested that giving away free shares would provide a needed   acceleration of the privatization process．Yet they miss Thomas Paine's point that＂what we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly．”In order for the far—ranging benefits of individual ownership to be achieved by owners l companies I and countries employees and other individuals must make their own decisions to buy, and they must commit some of their own resources to the choice．

89．  Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the privatization process in the United Kingdom?

(A)  it depends to a potentially dangerous degree on individual ownership of shares．

(B)  It conforms in its most general outlines to Thomas Paine's prescription for business ownership．

(C)  It was originally conceived to include some giving away of free shares．

(D)  It has been successful，even though privatization has failed in other countries．

(E)  It is taking place more slowly than some economists suggest is necessary．

这道题的正确答案是E.但是我觉得这篇文章的最后一段跟前面几段的联系并不紧密。也看了半天不知道起了个什么作用.该题的解释是

Answering this question requires looking at each possible inference to see if it is supported somewhere in the passage．Support for the inference about the pace of privatization is provided by the suggestion of some economists that giving away flee shares would provide a  needed acceleration of the privatization process(fines44—45)．If privatization needs to be accelerated，then it must be going too slowly, at least according to these economists．

E 
                            Correct．The economists’ suggestion comes from what they see as the need to speed up a process that is currently taking too long．

请大家帮忙解释一下

88．  Which of the following statements is most consistent with the principle described in lines 36-38?

(A)  A democratic government that decides it is inappropriate to own a particular industry has in no way abdicated its responsibilities as guardian of the public interest．

(B)  The ideal way for a government to protect employee interests is to force companies to maintain their share of a competitive market without government subsidies．

(C)  The failure to harness the power of self-interest is an important reason that state-owned industries perform poorly．

(D)  Governments that want to implement privatization programs must try to eliminate all resistance to the free-market system．

(E)  The individual shareholder will reap only a minute share of the gains from whatever sacrifices he or she makes to achieve these gains．

答案和解释

First identify the principle involved，and then find the statement that is most compatible with that principle．Lines 36-38 argue that having a personal stake in a business makes employees work to make it prosper．When there is no personal stake，or self-interest，involved，employees do not have the same incentive to work hard to make their industry prosper．Thus，the poor performance of state-owned industries can be ascribed in part to the 1ack of motivation employees suffer when they have no personal stake in the business．

A  The principle involves a personal，rather than governmental，relationship．

B  Self-interest may inspire people to do more；government coercion is not consistent with this principle．

C  Correct．State-owned industries perform poorly in part because employees do not have the powerful motivation of self-interest．

D  The principle has to do with the motivation of individuals, not governments．

E  Lines 36-38 describe the principle of self- interest，not self-sacrifice．

The correct answer is C．

我觉得E为什么不对呢,是不是SACRIFICE用错了。但是我觉得那段话就是说的一些牺牲的意思吧.总之我第一次选肯定是选E.大家能有什么更好的解释吗?

谢谢了。

lukeleng

解释说:

首先要比较各选项,看文中是否有地方支持该选项

文章最后一段开头:

Some economists have suggested that giving away free shares would provide a needed   acceleration of the privatization process

一些经济学家建议说免费发放公司股权会加快企业私有化过程.那就是说对对这些经济学家来讲,企业私有化过程还是慢了,要加快.

除了说名这个观点,与其它段是没什么关系.

[此贴子已经被作者于2007-10-4 12:51:10编辑过]

lukeleng

88

The individual shareholder will reap only a minute share of the gains from whatever sacrifices he or she makes to achieve these gains．

个体持股者,相对与他/她为了得到而作出的牺牲,只得到了一小部分.如果是这样,私有化不会提高效率.

,文章不是为了说明这样的观点

[此贴子已经被作者于2007-10-4 12:52:45编辑过]

lydiajiali

对啊，这个题目又是用了SUGGEST这个词,我就是老忽视这些词.文章都读了个大概意思。而GMAT真正要考的当然不是大概意思。我今天算是开窍了。但是意识到这个,要训练成很敏感还不容易呢。有什么好办法?

lydiajiali

我真是大意。对这些句子的理解到底没有你清楚。谢谢你的帮助。觉得你真是个好老师啊．