Henry Ford, the famous U.S. inventor and car manufacturer, once said, “The business of America is business.” By this he meant that the U.S. way of life is based on the values of the business world.

　　Few would argue with Ford’s statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much peoplein the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations arereported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as “the entertainment industry” or “show business.”

　　The positive side of Henry Ford’s statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U.S. life. One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance (大量地) because the U.S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system crates more wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life.

　　The negative side of Henry Ford’s statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to meanbig business. And the term big business—referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U.S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the fight to form unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing—the laying off of thousands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high—creates feelings of insecurity for many.

　　練習(xí)題：

　　Choose correct answers to the question:

　　1. The United States is a typical country ________.

　　A. which encourages free trade at home and abroad

　　B. where people’s chief concern is how to make money

　　C. where all businesses are managed scientifically

　　D. which normally works according to the federal budget

　　2. The influence of business in the U.S. is evidenced by the fact that ________.

　　A. most newspapers are run by big businesses

　　B. even public organizations concentrate on working for profits

　　C. Americans of all professions know how to do business

　　D. even arts and entertainment are regarded as business

　　3. According to the passage, immigrants choose to settle in the U.S., dreaming that ________.

　　A. they can start profitable businesses there

　　B.they can be more competitive in business

　　C. they will make a fortune overnight there

　　D. they will find better chances of employment

　　4. Henry Ford’s statement can be taken negatively because ________.

　　A. working people are discouraged to fight for their fights

　　B. there are many industries controlled by a few big capitalists

　　C. there is a conflicting relationship between big corporations and labor

　　D. public services are not run by the federal government

　　5. A company’s efforts to keep expenses low and profits high may result in ________.

　　A. reduction in the number of employees

　　B. improvement of working conditions

　　C. fewer disputes between labor and management

　　D. a rise in workers’wages

　　答案解析

　　1.[B] 推理判斷題。根據(jù)第2段第2句“隨便翻下一家日?qǐng)?bào)就可美國(guó)人有多么重視商業(yè)”可推斷出B符合題意。

　　2.[D] 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。第2段大量列舉了 business的影響的例子，特別是根據(jù)最后一句“藝術(shù)和娛樂界就常被稱為‘娛樂業(yè)’或‘展覽業(yè)’ ”可知D正確，而A、B、C均與原文信息不符。

　　3.[D] 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。第3段第2句談到“如此多的人從世界各地來美國(guó)生活，其最重要的原因之一就是夢(mèng)想找到一份更好的工作”，故選D。

　　4.[C] 推理判斷題。本文第4段是在講Henry Ford的言論的消極面，根據(jù)該段中的the biggest companies... in opposition to labor可看出C與之相符，故選C。

　　5.[A] 事實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章的最后一句，可知downsizing—the laying off of thousands of workers正是一些公司節(jié)約成本提高利潤(rùn)的手段，A為原文該句的同義改寫，故選A。

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