小安阅读训练

妮子90

给各位阅读小分队的同学说一声，我还是决定要把考试日期给转到明年了。。所以原先每晚九点的我可能不能参加了。我把阅读资料传上来哈。对不起了

我不敢保证这个方法会对每个人都有效，但不试试怎么知道呢。我只是个GMAT菜鸟，我先报报我的情况吧，我今年大四，英语水品真的不算好，雅思6.5。和许多CDer一样，我也是个有梦想的人，尽管我现在还不够优秀。面对十一月的GMAT，真的很紧迫。。我一个人复习容易没有动力，加的QQ群经常也是比较冷清。所以组建这个队鞭策自己，每天把自己的计划和完成情况写在CD上，算是对自己的监督吧。。

我先说说我的想法吧，欢迎各位补充。。我觉得语法，阅读，逻辑，数学（虽然很多人数学说是个中国人都能得满分，但是我真的不这样认为）都得建立一个小分队。。。我们把自己从现在到考试这段期间的计划都贴出来，白天还是自己忙自己的，按照自己的计划做，毕竟不能要求每个人的进度一样。  晚上咱们把自己弄不明白的题目贴出来，大家相互讨论（不要觉得帮助别人解题是浪费你的时间，其实你也可以学到很多的。）。还有一点，因为阅读能力对这个考试是至关重要的，所以我觉得我们可以规定一个时间（暂定晚上九点）大家统一一起做抓抓他们的阅读小分队的资料，我每天贴几篇上来，大家规定时间一起做，这样就会有紧迫感。读完后大家马上交流文章。。
我暂时想到这么多，欢迎大家补充，咱们以最快的时间建好小分队，开始行动吧

明天晚上我准时帖阅读，希望我们可以一起奋斗（大家觉得是在帖子上问题好还是在QQ上问好？）
有同学说帖子容易被淹掉，所以这样吧：
（1）大家把逻辑，数学，语法自己纠结的题目贴在帖子上，咱们在群里讨论，不然帖子太多，容易被淹没。群外的人也可以加进来，如果不愿意，等群里讨论出结果我就把讨论的结果贴出来。还是在梦之队十一月群群号为（51245300）里问
(2) 阅读我每天准时贴在帖子上，但是咱们在九点钟准时计时读完后，在群里讨论

我先贴上对我的杀鸡计划吧。。。前段时间忙其他事情去了，真的浪费掉好多时间。。今天听了抓抓，毛毛，BAT他们这些大牛的经验真的自愧不如，他们对GMAT就像是朋友一样，非常了解彼此，这也是他们能取得高分的原因吧。。我先把我明天计划写出来吧。。。。全盘的计划，明天认真弄好后贴出。。
。明天 1。结束黄色的陈向东数学，
           2.白勇语法看三章
           3.新东方逻辑看三章。。
           4背阅读词汇和数学词汇
           5晚上九点上CD，贴上抓抓阅读。大家一起计时做。。把白天纠结的题问问大家

一分钟读一段（今天是十月一日，大家都感觉读不完，我也没有读完，坚持肯定就有效。有同学说VOA比较口语化，离考试时间很紧了，从明天开始每天帖economist的文章和一篇小安阅读81。今天自己的任务没完成，现在继续）
十月六日
Passage 4 (4/63)The fossil remains of the first flying vertebrates, the pterosaurs, have intrigued paleontologists for more than two centuries. How such large creatures, which weighed in some cases as much as a piloted hang-glider (hang-glider: n. 悬挂式滑翔机)and had wingspans from 8 to 12 meters, solved the problems of powered flight, and exactly what these creatures were—reptiles or birds—are among the questions scientists have puzzled over.
Perhaps the least controversial assertion about the pterosaurs is that they were reptiles. Their skulls, pelvises, and hind feet are reptilian. The anatomy of their wings suggests that they did not evolve into the class of birds. In pterosaurs a greatly elongated fourth finger of each forelimb supported a wing-like membrane. The other fingers were short and reptilian, with sharp claws. In birds the second finger is the principal strut of the wing, which consists primarily of feathers. If the pterosaurs walked on all fours, the three short fingers may have been employed for grasping. When a pterosaur walked or remained stationary, the fourth finger, and with it the wing, could only turn upward in an extended inverted V-shape along each side of the animal’s body.
The pterosaurs resembled both birds and bats in their overall structure and proportions. This is not surprising because the design of any flying vertebrate is subject to aerodynamic constraints. Both the pterosaurs and the birds have hollow bones, a feature that represents a savings in weight. In the birds, however, these bones are reinforced more massively by internal struts.
Although scales typically cover reptiles, the pterosaurs probably had hairy coats. T. H. Huxley reasoned that flying vertebrates must have been warm-blooded because flying implies a high rate of metabolism, which in turn implies a high internal temperature. Huxley speculated that a coat of hair would insulate against loss of body heat and might streamline the body to reduce drag in flight. The recent discovery of a pterosaur specimen covered in long, dense, and relatively thick hairlike fossil material was the first clear evidence that his reasoning was correct.
Efforts to explain how the pterosaurs became airborne have led to suggestions that they launched themselves by jumping from cliffs, by dropping from trees, or even by rising into light winds from the crests of waves. Each hypothesis has its difficulties. The first wrongly assumes that the pterosaurs’ hind feet resembled a bat’s and could serve as hooks by which the animal could hang in preparation for flight. The second hypothesis seems unlikely because large pterosaurs could not have landed in trees without damaging their wings. The third calls for high waves to channel updrafts. The wind that made such waves however, might have been too strong for the pterosaurs to control their flight once airborne.
1.It can be inferred from the passage that scientists now generally agree that the
(A) enormous wingspan of the pterosaurs enabled them to fly great distances
(B) structure of the skeleton of the pterosaurs suggests a close evolutionary relationship to bats
(C) fossil remains of the pterosaurs reveal how they solved the problem of powered flight
(D) pterosaurs were reptiles
(E) pterosaurs walked on all fours
2.The author views the idea that the pterosaurs became airborne by rising into light winds created by waves as
(A) revolutionary
(B) unlikely
(C) unassailable
(D) probable
(E) outdated
3.According to the passage, the skeleton of a pterosaur can be distinguished from that of a bird by the
(A) size of its wingspan
(B) presence of hollow spaces in its bones
(C) anatomic origin of its wing strut
(D) presence of hooklike projections on its hind feet
(E) location of the shoulder joint joining the wing to its body
4.The ideas attributed to T. H. Huxley in the passage suggest that he would most likely agree with which of the following statements?
(A) An animal’s brain size has little bearing on its ability to master complex behaviors.
(B) An animal’s appearance is often influenced by environmental requirements and physical capabilities.
(C) Animals within a given family group are unlikely to change their appearance dramatically over a period of time.
(D) The origin of flight in vertebrates was an accidental development rather than the outcome of specialization or adaptation.
(E) The pterosaurs should be classified as birds, not reptiles.
5.It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is characteristic of the pterosaurs?
(A) They were unable to fold their wings when not in use.
(B) They hung upside down from branches as bats do before flight.
(C) They flew in order to capture prey.
(D) They were an early stage in the evolution of the birds.
(E) They lived primarily in a forest-like habitat.
6.Which of the following best describes the organization of the last paragraph of the passage?
(A) New evidence is introduced to support a traditional point of view.
(B) Three explanations for a phenomenon are presented, and each is disputed by means of specific information.
(C) Three hypotheses are outlined, and evidence supporting each is given.
(D) Recent discoveries are described, and their implications for future study are projected.
(E) A summary of the material in the preceding paragraphs is presented, and conclusions are drawn.
7.It can be inferred from the passage that some scientists believe that pterosaurs
(A) lived near large bodies of water
(B) had sharp teeth for tearing food
(C) were attacked and eaten by larger reptiles
(D) had longer tails than many birds
(E) consumed twice their weight daily to maintain their body temperature

十月五日
Passage 3 (3/63)No very satisfactory account of the mechanism that caused the formation of the ocean basins has yet been given. The traditional view supposes that the upper mantle of the earth behaves as a liquid when it is subjected to small forces for long periods and that differences in temperature under oceans and continents are sufficient to produce convection in the mantle of the earth with rising convection currents under the mid-ocean ridges and sinking currents under the continents. Theoretically, this convection would carry the continental plates along as though they were on a conveyor belt (conveyor belt: n. 传送带) and would provide the forces needed to produce the split that occurs along the ridge. This view may be correct: it has the advantage that the currents are driven by temperature differences that themselves depend on the position of the continents. Such a back-coupling, in which the position of the moving plate has an impact on the forces that move it, could produce complicated and varying motions.
On the other hand, the theory is implausible because convection does not normally occur along lines, and it certainly does not occur along lines broken by frequent offsets (an abrupt bend in an object by which one part is turned aside out of line)or changes in direction, as the ridge is. Also it is difficult to see how the theory applies to the plate between the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the ridge in the Indian Ocean. This plate is growing on both sides, and since there is no intermediate trench, the two ridges must be moving apart. It would be odd if the rising convection currents kept exact pace with them. An alternative theory is that the sinking part of the plate, which is denser than the hotter surrounding mantle, pulls the rest of the plate after it. Again it is difficult to see how this applies to the ridge in the South Atlantic, where neither the African nor the American plate has a sinking part.
Another possibility is that the sinking plate cools the neighboring mantle and produces convection currents that move the plates. This last theory is attractive because it gives some hope of explaining the enclosed seas, such as the Sea of Japan. These seas have a typical oceanic floor, except that the floor is overlaid by several kilometers of sediment. Their floors have probably been sinking for long periods. It seems possible that a sinking current of cooled mantle material on the upper side of the plate might be the cause of such deep basins. The enclosed seas are an important feature of the earth’s surface, and seriously require explanation because, in addition to the enclosed seas that are developing at present behind island arcs, there are a number of older ones of possibly similar origin, such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Black Sea, and perhaps the North Sea.
1.According to the traditional view of the origin of the ocean basins, which of the following is sufficient to move the continental plates?
(A) Increases in sedimentation on ocean floors
(B) Spreading of ocean trenches
(C) Movement of mid-ocean ridges
(D) Sinking of ocean basins
(E) Differences in temperature under oceans and continents
2.It can be inferred from the passage that, of the following, the deepest sediments would be found in the
(A) Indian Ocean
(B) Black Sea
(C) Mid-Atlantic
(D) South Atlantic
(E) Pacific
3.The author refers to a “conveyor belt” in line 13 in order to
(A) illustrate the effects of convection in the mantle
(B) show how temperature differences depend on the positions of the continents
(C) demonstrate the linear nature of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
(D) describe the complicated motions made possible by back-coupling
(E) account for the rising currents under certain mid-ocean ridges
3.The author regards the traditional view of the origin of the oceans with
(A) slight apprehension
(B) absolute indifference
(C) indignant anger
(D) complete disbelief
(E) guarded skepticism
4.According to the passage, which of the following are separated by a plate that is growing on both sides?
(A) The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan
(B) The South Atlantic Ridge and the North Sea Ridge
(C) The Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic Ridge
(D) The Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Indian Ocean Ridge
(E) The Black Sea and the Sea of Japan
5.Which of the following, if it could be demonstrated, would most support the traditional view of ocean formation?
(A) Convection usually occurs along lines.
(B) The upper mantle behaves as a dense solid.
(C) Sedimentation occurs at a constant rate.
(D) Sinking plates cool the mantle.
(E) Island arcs surround enclosed seas.
6.According to the passage, the floor of the Black Sea can best be compared to a
(A) rapidly moving conveyor belt
(B) slowly settling foundation
(C) rapidly expanding balloon
(D) violently erupting volcano
(E) slowly eroding mountain
7.Which of the following titles would best describe the content of the passage?
(A) A Description of the Oceans of the World
(B) Several Theories of Ocean Basin Formation
(C) The Traditional View of the Oceans
(D) Convection and Ocean Currents
(E) Temperature Differences among the Oceans of the World


十月四日

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, 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, 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,” 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).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
2.According to the passage, “Old World” values were based on
(A) ability
(B) property
(C) family connections
(D) guild hierarchies
(E) education
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?
(A) A school principal
(B) A political theorist
(C) A federal court judge
(D) A social worker
(E) A government inspector
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
(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) assert that reform in the United States has not been fundamental
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
(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
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)?
(A) A windmill
(B) A waterfall
(C) A treadmill
(D) A gyroscope
(E) A bellows
7.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 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
(E) began a tradition of presidential proclamations on economics
8.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
9.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.

Why the setback is likely to be temporary

Illustration by David Simonds

[tr][/tr][td][/td]

YOU hardly need Freedom House in order to get the gist. Most people will already have noticed that these have not been the most inspiring of times for democracy and human rights. December brought the murder of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan and what was almost certainly the stealing of an election in Kenya, one of Africa's relative successes, fast descending into a nightmare of tribal violence. And now comes confirmation from the American think-tank. Freedom House's closely watched annual review confirms that 2007 was the second year in a row during which freedom retreated in most of the world, reversing a democratic tide that had looked almost unstoppable during the 1990s following the collapse of communism and the break-up of the Soviet Union (see article).

Undeniably, the news is grim. But when democracy is the issue, it can be a mistake to extrapolate too much from the advances and retreats of a single year or two. Here, also prompted by recent events, are two brighter observations.

First, most people in most places still want democracy. This near-universal appetite is evident not only in what people say (even in conservative Muslim countries, where God-given sharia can be more popular than any law made by man, people tell opinion pollsters they want to elect their own governments). It is also reflected in what people do. Kenya's voters turned out in droves and queued for hours under a scorching sun. So in recent years, and at huge risk to life and limb, have voters in Afghanistan and Iraq.

All these countries, it is true, are now riven by political violence. But that does not prove that their voters cannot grasp the democratic idea, only that voters' choices can be uncongenial to the few who have power and are prepared neither to yield nor share it. Where the strong are willing to use violence to thwart the popular will, democratic movements can be stopped in their tracks, as in Myanmar, or provoked into a violent reaction of their own, as in Kenya. But the idea itself is harder to squash or suborn. In many newly democratic parts of the world, including most of Latin America, its roots are spreading wider and burrowing deeper.

Which leads to a second reason for optimism. There are many reasons why societies advancing fitfully towards democracy can suffer setbacks. Political transitions are disorderly. If the disorder becomes scary enough, as in Russia or Iraq, people may well come for a time to place less value on freedom and more on basic physical and economic security. But autocracies suffer setbacks too, and usually for one overwhelming reason. As Winston Churchill hinted in his aphorism, rulers who try to govern without democracy eventually discover that none of the alternative systems works as well.

After they've tried all the others

Look no further than the current news. Miss Bhutto was back home campaigning for election because it had become evident to Pervez Musharraf and his American backers that military rule was failing to hold Pakistan together. In Thailand, the generals who pushed out the elected prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, in 2006, have found running the country harder than expected; if they are wise, they will heed the verdict of the people, delivered in December's election, that they want the former lot back. In January 2007 Bangladesh's army intervened to halt the alternation of power between two venal, incompetent but nonetheless elected political dynasties. But after a miserable year holding the ring, the generals would be glad of a way to give back the power they grabbed. Freedom House may well be right that democracy is on the back foot right now. In the longer run, its appeal is undiminished.

十月三日暂停一天哈
十月二日
Passage 1 (1/63)（小安阅读81第一篇）(This passage was written in 1978.)
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 (team up: v.(使)结成一队, 合作, 协作) 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 (a person, group, or thing used to mask the identity or true character or activity of the actual controlling agent)” 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.
1.The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) present a commonplace idea and its inaccuracies
(B) describe a situation and its potential drawbacks
(C) propose a temporary solution to a problem
(D) analyze a frequent source of disagreement
(E) explore the implications of a finding
2.The passage supplies information that would answer which of the following questions?
(A) What federal agencies have set percentage goals for the use of minority-owned businesses in public works contracts?
(B) To which government agencies must businesses awarded federal contracts report their efforts to find minority subcontractors?
(C) How widespread is the use of minority-owned concerns as “fronts” by White backers seeking to obtain subcontracts?
(D) How many more minority-owned businesses were there in 1977 than in 1972?
(E) What is one set of conditions under which a small business might find itself financially overextended?
3.According to the passage, civil rights activists maintain that one disadvantage under which minority-owned businesses have traditionally had to labor (to suffer from some disadvantage or distress “labor under a delusion”) is that they have
(A) been especially vulnerable to governmental mismanagement of the economy
(B) been denied bank loans at rates comparable to those afforded larger competitors
(C) not had sufficient opportunity to secure business created by large corporations
(D) not been able to advertise in those media that reach large numbers of potential customers
(E) not had adequate representation in the centers of government power
4.The passage suggests that the failure of a large business to have its bids for subcontracts result quickly in orders might cause it to
(A) experience frustration but not serious financial harm
(B) face potentially crippling fixed expenses
(C) have to record its efforts on forms filed with the government
(D) increase its spending with minority subcontractors
(E) revise its procedure for making bids for federal contracts and subcontracts
5.The author implies that a minority-owned concern that does the greater part of its business with one large corporate customer should
(A) avoid competition with larger, more established concerns by not expanding
(B) concentrate on securing even more business from that corporation
(C) try to expand its customer base to avoid becoming dependent on the corporation
(D) pass on some of the work to be done for the corporation to other minority-owned concerns
(E) use its influence with the corporation to promote subcontracting with other minority concerns
6.It can be inferred from the passage that, compared with the requirements of law, the percentage goals set by “some federal and local agencies” (lines 14-15) are
(A) more popular with large corporations
(B) more specific
(C) less controversial
(D) less expensive to enforce
(E) easier to comply with
7.Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the author’s assertion that, in the 1970’s, corporate response to federal requirements (lines 18-19) was substantial

(A) Corporate contracts with minority-owned businesses totaled $2 billion in 1979.
(B) Between 1970 and 1972, corporate contracts with minority-owned businesses declined by 25 percent.
(C) The figures collected in 1977 underrepresented the extent of corporate contracts with minority-owned businesses.
(D) The estimate of corporate spending with minority-owned businesses in 1980 is approximately $10 million too high.
(E) The $1.1 billion represented the same percentage of total corporate spending in 1977 as did $77 million in 1972.
8.The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements about corporate response to working with minority subcontractors?
(A) Annoyed by the proliferation of “front” organizations, corporations are likely to reduce their efforts to work with minority-owned subcontractors in the near future.
(B) Although corporations showed considerable interest in working with minority businesses in the 1970’s, their aversion to government paperwork made them reluctant to pursue many government contracts.
(C) The significant response of corporations in the 1970’s is likely to be sustained and conceivably be increased throughout the 1980’s.
(D) Although corporations are eager to cooperate with minority-owned businesses, a shortage of capital in the 1970’s made substantial response impossible.
(E) The enormous corporate response has all but eliminated the dangers of over-expansion that used to plague small minority-owned businesses.

Moneymen or mischief-makers

At first sight this is proof that capitalism works. Money is flowing from countries with excess savings to those that need it. Rather than blowing their reserves on gargantuan schemes, Arab and Asian governments are investing it, relatively professionally. But there are still two sets of concerns. The first has to do with the shortcomings of sovereign-wealth funds. The second, bigger, problem is the backlash they will surely provoke from protectionists and nationalists. Already, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has promised to protect innocent French managers from the “extremely aggressive” sovereign funds (even though none has shown much interest in his country).

Although sovereign-wealth funds hold a bare 2% of the assets traded throughout the world, they are growing fast, and are at least as big as the global hedge-fund industry. But, unlike hedge funds, sovereign-wealth funds are not necessarily driven by the pressures of profit and loss. With a few exceptions (like Norway's), most do not even bother to reveal what their goals are—let alone their investments.

For the bosses at the companies they invest in, that may be a godsend: how nice to be bailed out by a discreet “long-termist” investor who lets you keep your job, rather than be forked out in the Augean clean-up hedge-fund types might demand. A quick glance back at “long-termist” nationalised industries shows what a mess that leads too. And it is not just a matter of efficiency. The motives of the sovereign moneymen could be sinister: stifling competition; protecting national champions; engaging, even, in geopolitical troublemaking. Despite their disruptive market power, their managers have little accountability to regulators, shareholders or voters. Such conditions are almost bound to produce rogue traders.

So far there is no evidence of such “mischievous” behaviour, as the German government calls it (curiously, from another country yet to attract the sovereign-wealth crowd). And weighing the risk of such eventualities against the rewards of hard cash, on the table, right now, makes it clearly daft to raise too much of a stink. America is either in recession or near one; Mr Bernanke has all but promised more aggressive rate cuts, but confidence in the banking system is low. There is a wise old proverb about beggars and choosers.

The relatively friendly welcome sovereign funds have found in America may be temporary. Before the credit crunch American politicians objected to Arabs owning ports and Chinese owning oil firms. On January 15th Hillary Clinton said: “We need to have a lot more control over what they [sovereign-wealth funds] do and how they do it.” Once an emergency has passed, foreign money can often be less welcome. One of Singapore's funds, Temasek, has learned that lesson to its cost in Indonesia.

In politics, appeals to fear usually sell better than those to reason. But the hypocrisy of erecting barriers to foreign investment while demanding open access to developing markets is self-evident. Host countries should not set up special regimes for sovereign wealth. Although every country has concerns about national security and financial stability, most already have safeguards for bank ownership and defence.

Until East and West even out the surpluses and deficits in their economies, sovereign-wealth funds will not go away. Ideally, the high-savings countries of the Middle East and Asia would liberalise their economies, allowing their own citizens to invest for themselves, rather than paying bureaucrats to do it for them. But do not expect miracles. In the meantime, what should be done to keep the rod of protectionism off their—and the world's—backs?

十月一日
U.S. HistoryRSS Feed

American History: US-Japan RelationsBefore World War Two
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STEVEEMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA SpecialEnglish.  I’m Steve Ember.
(MUSIC)
Inrecent programs, we talked about how the rise of Fascist leaders in Europethreatened American neutrality in the nineteen thirties.
(SOUND:Adolf Hitler)
AdolfHitler and the Nazi party in Germany created the most obvious threat. But therewas also Benito Mussolini in Italy and Francisco Franco in Spain. These leaderschallenged both the idea of democracy and the security of some of America'sclosest allies.
Hitler'sinvasion of Poland and the spread of war in Europe in nineteen thirty-nine madeAmericans wonder if they could remain neutral much longer.
TheUnited States would finally go to war against Hitler and the other Axisnations. But its first battle would not be in Europe at all. Instead, the UnitedStates would enter World War Two following a surprise attack by Japan on thelarge American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Relationsbetween the United States and Japan had grown steadily worse throughout thenineteen thirties. Both nations were important industrial powers. But they hadvery different ideas about the economic and political future of East Asia,especially China.
(MUSIC)
Untilthe late eighteen hundreds, Japan had been a nation with ancient politicaltraditions and little contact with the Western world.
Visitsby Commodore Matthew Perry and American warships helped open Japan to tradewith the United States and other nations in the eighteen fifties. And in theyears that followed, Japan took major steps toward becoming a modern industrialnation.

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By the nineteen twenties andthirties, Japan was a strong country. But it lacked oil, rubber and othernatural resources of its own. For this reason, Japanese political leaderslooked with envy at the Dutch, French and British colonies across SoutheastAsia and the Pacific. And Japanese business leaders saw huge markets for theirproducts in nearby countries like Korea and China.
Japan's desire to use East Asia togain natural resources and sell manufactured products was in direct conflictwith American plans for Asia. This was especially true concerning China.Washington created an "Open Door" policy toward China. It wanted tokeep China's natural resources and markets free from control by Japan or anyother nation.
(MUSIC)
For this reason, Americans were veryconcerned when Japanese forces invaded the Manchuria area of China in nineteenthirty-one. And they watched with great interest the efforts of Chinese leaderChiang Kai-shek to oppose the Japanese invaders.
The United States was also veryconcerned about protecting its imports of oil, tin and rubber from SoutheastAsia. This area of the world was a major supplier of these resources in thenineteen thirties. The Middle East had not yet become a leading producer ofoil.
In these ways, the United States andJapan were competing for the same resources and Asian markets. However, therealso was a good deal of trade between the two nations. In fact, Japan dependedon the United States for most of its metal, copper and oil.
This trade with Tokyo became a majorconcern for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Congress in nineteenthirty-seven.
(MUSIC)

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In the summer of that year, moreJapanese troops moved into China. They quickly captured much of the Chinesecoast.
Much of the metal, oil, and othermaterials that Japan used for its war effort in China came from the UnitedStates. Americans did not like selling Japan materials to use against China.But the trade was legal because of a nineteen eleven agreement between Tokyoand Washington.
However, the American government toldJapan in nineteen thirty-nine that it would end the earlier agreement. It wouldno longer sell Japan materials that could be used for war.
(MUSIC)
Washington's decision made theJapanese government think again about its expansionist plans. And theannouncement a month later of a non-aggression treaty between Germany and theSoviet Union gave Tokyo even more cause for concern. The Soviet Union could bea major opponent of Japanese expansion in East Asia. And it appeared free fromthe threat of war in Europe.
These two events helped moderates inthe Japanese government to gain more influence over foreign policy. A moderategovernment took power in January nineteen-forty.
However, this period of moderation inTokyo did not last long.
(MUSIC)
In the spring of nineteen forty,Germany launched its blitzkrieg, or lightning invasion, of Europe. The Naziscaptured Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and finallyFrance.

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Extremistsin the Japanese government saw the German victory as their chance to launchtheir own attack on European colonies in Asia. They quickly began negotiationswith Hitler to form a new alliance. And within months, militant leadersoverthrew the moderate government in Tokyo.
The newJapanese government was headed by a moderate, Prince Konoye. But the ministerof war was an expansionist, General Tojo. Tokyo wasted no time in takingaction. It forced France to give Japan permission to occupy northern Indochina.And Tokyo also demanded that Britain close the Burma Road to the Chinese citythen known as Chungking.
(SOUND)
TheBurma Road was a major route by which the United States was supplying Chinawith munitions as part of the Lend-Lease Act.
Theseevents caused relations between Tokyo and Washington to become even worse.
In thesecond half of nineteen forty, President Roosevelt banned the export of metaland oil products to Japan. His administration also lent money to China.
(MUSIC)
Americabegan to supply Chiang Kai Shek’s government with a fleet of P-40 fighterairplanes with volunteer pilots, led by Army aviator Claire Chennault, to trainChinese pilots. The squadron became known as the Flying Tigers.
Americanrepresentatives quietly began to meet with British and Dutch officials, todiscuss joint defense plans for possible Japanese attacks in the westernPacific.

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Washington and Tokyo held longnegotiations in nineteen forty-one. The American officials hoped thenegotiations might delay Japan from launching an attack to the south. They alsothought that a delay might give more moderate leaders in Japan a chance to gainmore influence. And for a time, the American plan worked. Japan did not makenew acts of aggression.
(MUSIC)
Again, events in Europe caused thissituation to change. Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union in the middle ofnineteen forty-one. This prevented Moscow from doing any fighting on itseastern borders. So Japanese troops were free to invade southern Indochina.
President Roosevelt reacted toJapan's invasion of Indochina by taking three major steps. First, he tookcontrol of all Japanese money in the United States. Second, he brought thearmed forces of the Philippines under American command. And, third, he closedthe Panama Canal to Japanese shipping.
Once again, a conflict developedbetween moderates and extremists in the Japanese government.
More moderate leaders such as PrimeMinister Konoye urged one more effort to reach an agreement with the UnitedStates. But the Japanese army and navy believed that the time had come to go towar to end American and European power in East Asia forever.
Negotiations between Japan and theUnited States continued through the final months of nineteen forty-one. But thetwo nations were on the edge of war. They were as close to hostilities asWashington was with the Nazi government in Berlin.
(MUSIC)
American military officials capturedsecret messages from Japan during this time. They learned that Tokyo wasplanning an attack of some kind unless the United States suddenly changed itspolicies. However, the American officials could not discover exactly where or howthe attack would be made.
Almost everyone in Washingtonexpected that the Japanese would attack south of Japan. They were wrong. Themilitary leaders in Tokyo were planning a surprise attack on America's mainPacific military base, at Pearl Harbor. That will be our story next week.

elvaxiaobai

+1

monster是偶

小分队来顶！！！
明天目标：
单词 list 13 14 15
prep 200-210
OG CR 51-60
杨鹏难句 10句 复习！

嗯，我效率比较低！！在找加快效率的办法！！

xeyyxzty

好棒！！！
我想十二月或者一月考
加上我吧~~~

paige123

顶一个

paige123

我也是11月考

蓝若痕

+1

balapupu

我觉得讨论问题这个想法很好·~~支持。。。

elvaxiaobai

214. 20789-!-item-!-187;#058&013258 The cost of a square slab is proportional to its thickness and also proportional to the square of its length. What is the cost of a square slab that is 3 meters long and 0.1 meter thick?   D
(1) The cost of a square slab that is 2 meters long and 0.2 meter thick is $160 more than the cost of a square slab that is 2 meters long and 0.1 meter thick.
(2) The cost of a square slab that is 3 meters long and 0.1 meter thick is $200 more than the cost of a square slab that is 2 meters long and 0.1 meter thick.
先来道白痴的数学 我怎么看怎么觉得应该选C……

妮子90

咱们的互相鞭策，我觉得杨鹏长难句可以增加数量。。嘿嘿。。个人意见