Passage 9 新老观点对比型
Most economists in the United States seem 迷恋 by the魅力 of the free market. Consequently, nothing seems good or normal that does not 符合 the requirements of the free market. A price that is determined by the seller or, 进一步说 , established by anyone other than the aggregate of consumers4C
seems 4有害的. Accordingly, it requires 需要下很大决心 to think of 卖方定价 as both normal and having a valuable economic function. In fact, price-fixing is normal in all industrialized societies1E5 because the industrial system itself 允许, as an effortless consequence of its own development, the price-fixing that it requires5B. Modern industrial planning requires and rewards great size. Hence, a comparatively small number of large firms will be competing for the same group of consumers. That each large firm will act with consideration of its own needs and thus avoid selling its products for more than its competitors charge is commonly recognized by advocates of free-market economic theories. But each large firm8 will also act with full consideration of the needs that it has in common with the other large firms competing for the same customers. Each large firm will thus avoid significant price-cutting, because price-cutting would be prejudicial to the common interest in a stable demand for products. Most economists do not see price-fixing when it occurs because they expect8A it to be brought about by a number of explicit agreements among large firms; it is not.第一个论据：企业在决策时要考虑到不能极大地减价为了维持稳定的市场需求，需要卖方定价
第二个论据：其他资本主义国家也搞卖方定价Moreover, those economists who argue that allowing the free market to operate without interference is the most efficient method of establishing prices have not considered the economies of non-socialist countries6 other than the United states. These economies employ 6E有意识的，故意的 price-fixing, usually in an 6E公开的方式. Formal price-fixing by cartel and informal price-fixing by agreements covering the members of an industry are commonplace. Were there something peculiarly the free market and inefficient about price-fixing, the countries that have avoided the first and used the second would have suffered drastically in their economic development. There is no indication that they have.
第三个论据：社会主义也有卖方定价Socialist industry also works within a framework of controlled prices. In the early 1970s7, the Soviet Union began to give firms and industries some of the flexibility7D in adjusting prices that a more informal evolution has the capitalist system. Economists in the United States have hailed the change as a return to the free market. But Soviet firms aresubject to prices established by a free market over which they exercise little influence 两者都不 are capitalist firms; rather, Soviet firms have been given the power to fix prices.
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to主题题
refute the theory that the free market plays a useful role in the development of industrialized societies
suggest methods by which economists and members of the government of the United States can recognize and combat price-fixing by large firms
show that in industrialized societies price-fixing and the operation of the free market are not only compatible but also mutually beneficial
explain the various ways in which industrialized societies can fix prices in order to stabilize the free market
argue that price-fixing1E, in one form or another, is an inevitable part of and benefit to the economy of any industrialized society1E主题句同义变换
2. The passage provides information that would answer which of the following questions about price-fixing?信息题
I. What are some of the ways in which prices can be fixed?Cartel，苏联政府给企业灵活性来定价，等等
II. For what products没提到过 is price-fixing likely to be more profitable that the operation of the free market?
III. Is price-fixing more common没比过 in socialist industrialized societies or in non-socialist industrialized societies?
I only
III only
I and II only
II and III only
I, II, and III
3. The authors attitude toward Most economists in the United States can best be described as态度题
怨恨的，嫉妒的
轻蔑的，攻击的
批评的，谦逊的
矛盾的 but 恭敬的
uncertain but interested
4. It can be inferred from the authors argument that a price fixed by the seller seems pernicious4 because直接事实题：老观点有什么理由
people do not have confidence in large firms
people do not expect the government to regulate prices
most economists believe that consumers as a group should determine prices4C问到文中没有的因果关系，把原话再说一遍
most economists associate fixed prices with communist and socialist economies
most economists believe that no one group should determine prices
5. The suggestion in the passage that price-fixing in industrialized societies is normal5 arises from the authors statement that price-fixing is直接事实题：新观点有什么理由
a profitable result of economic development
an inevitable result5B of the industrial system做法同上题
the result of a number of carefully organized decisions
a phenomenon common to industrialized and non-industrialized societies
a phenomenon best achieved cooperatively by government and industry
6. According to the author, price-fixing in non-socialist countries6 is often直接事实题
accidental but productive
illegal but useful
legal and innovative
traditional and rigid
intentional and widespread6E
7. According to the author, what is the result of the Soviet Unions change in economic policy in the 1970s7?
Soviet firms show greater profit.
Soviet firms have less control over the free market.
Soviet firms are able to adjust to technological advances.
Soviet firms have some authority7D to fix prices.政府给了企业定价的权利
Soviet firms are more responsive to the free market.
8. With which of the following statements regarding the behavior of large firms8 in industrialized societies would the author be most likely to agree?信息题
The directors of large firms will continue to anticipate8A the demand for products.维持稳定的市场需求
The directors of large firms are less interested in achieving a predictable level of profit than in achieving a large profit.
The directors of large firms will strive to reduce the costs of their products.
Many directors of large firms believe that the government should establish the prices that will be charged for products.
Many directors of large firms believe that the price charged for products is likely to increase annually.
9. In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with主题题
predicting the consequences of a practice
criticizing a point of view新老观点对比型
calling attention to recent discoveries
proposing a topic for research
summarizing conflicting opinions
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