A history of longand effortless success can be a dreadful handicap, but, if properly handled, itmay become a driving force. When the United States entered just such a glowingperiod after the end of the Second World War, it had a market eight timeslarger than any competitor, giving its industries unparalleled economies ofscale. Its scientists were the worlds best, its workers the most skilled.America and Americans were prosperous beyond the dreams of the Europeans andAsians whose economies the war had destroyed.
It was inevitable that this primacy should have narrowed as othercountries grew richer. Just as inevitably, the retreat from predominance provedpainful. By the mid-1980s Americans had found themselves at a loss over theirfading industrial competitiveness. Some huge American industries, such asconsumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in the face of foreigncompetition. By 1987 there was only one American television maker left, Zenith.Foreign-made cars and textiles were sweeping into the domestic market Americasmachine-tool industry was on the ropes. For a while it looked as though themaking of semiconductors, which America had which sat at the heart of the newcomputer age, was going to be the next casualty。
All of this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans stopped takingprosperity for granted. They began to believe that their way of doing businesswas failing, and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall aswell. The mid-1980s brought one inquiry after another into the causes ofAmericas industrial decline. Their sometimes sensational findings were filledwith warnings about the growing competition from overseas。
How things have changed! In 1995 the United States can look back onfive years of solid growth while Japan has been struggling. Few Americansattribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or theturning of the business cycle. Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride. Americanindustry has changed its structure, has gone on a diet, has learnt to be morequick-witted, according to Richard Cavanagh, executive dean of Harvards KennedySchool of Government,It makes me proud to be an American just to see how our businessesare improving their productivity, says Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, a think-tank inWashington, DC. And William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School believesthat people will look back on this period as a golden age ofbusiness management in the United States。
11. The U.S. achieved its predominance after World War Ⅱbecause_____。
[A]it had made painstaking efforts towards this goal
[B]its domestic market was eight times larger than before
[C]the war had destroyed the economies of most potentialcompetitors
[D]the unparalleled size of its workforce had given an impetus toits economy
12. The loss of U.S. predominance in the world economy in the 1980sis manifested in the fact that the American_____。
[A]TV industry had withdrawn to its domestic market
[B]semiconductor industry had been taken over by foreignenterprises
[C]machine-tool industry had collapsed after suicidal actions
[D]auto industry had lost part of its domestic market
13. What can be inferred from the passage?
[A]It is human nature to shift between self-doubt and blind pride。
[B]Intense competition may contribute to economic progress。
[C]The revival of the economy depends on international cooperation。
[D]A long history of success may pave the way for furtherdevelopment。
14. The author seems to believe the revival of the U.S. economy inthe 1990s can be attributed to the____。
[A]turning of the business cycle
[B]restructuring of industry
[C]improved business management
[D]success in education