阅读理解 Economics has often been criticized as a science concerned only with the short term, to the exclusion of the consideration of how short-term goals affect long-term consequences. While it is true that economics is generally focused on achieving short-term maximization of resources, it must be kept in mind that the long-term is never neglected. One of the most intrinsic concepts in the field of economics is game theory, which examines how the choices immediately facing an individual will affect his subsequent breadth of choices that emerge afterward.
For example, consider the case of a manager of a business who must decide whether to create a shoddy product, aware of the fact that ignorant buyers will buy an equal amount of the item regardless of its quality, since they know nothing about it yet. Assume that creating a shoddy product is less expensive than creating merchandise of higher quality. Short-term economics would argue that it is the best course of action for the manager to create the low-quality item, since the same reward would be achieved for a lower price.
More properly applied economics, however, would demand further consideration, taking into account the long-term. While creating a shoddy product in the long term would boost short-term profits, it would also cause buyers not to purchase from the manager's company in the future, resulting in a significant loss in long-term profits. Consequently, the boost in short-term profit would have to be weighed against the loss in long-term profits, providing a more realistic and applicable aspect to the decision making process. When game theory comes into play, economics becomes a more useful tool in real-world situations.
Having examined the way in which game theory is applied, its name now makes sense. Game theory is similar to a chess game, in which the effects of one's choices on the other players in "the game" must be considered prior to action. In that sense, the application of economics to practical decision-making becomes at once more complicated yet more sensible. One must always be thinking ahead and anticipating future scenarios based on current situations, for although economics is concerned with maximization, maximization is a long-term, not a short-term, goal.
单选题 11.According to the text, which of the following is not necessarily true?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】属事实细节题。选项A与第一段第二、三句内容相符(经济学关注的焦点是资源短期收益最大化,但长期目标从未被忽视过。博弈理论就是这样一个例子)。选项B与最后一段第一句意思相符(博弈理论就像在下象棋,一方的决定对对手产生的影响必须在走棋前就考虑清楚)。选项C与文章最后一句意思相符(经济学关注的是效益的最大化,这是一个长期的目标)。选项D与第三段最后两句意思不符(运用博弈理论:和经济学中的短期收益理论,会对做出正确的决策有帮助),因此,选项D是本题答案。
单选题 12.In paragraph 3, "the boost in short-term profit would have to be weighed against the loss in long-term profits" indicates that______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】属信息推断题。相关信息在第三段第三句:如果要想对决策过程有更现实、更可行的帮助的话,就应该对短期收益的增长和长期收益的损失进行利弊权衡。由此可知,选项B正确。其他选项都理解错误,而且在文中也没有涉及。
单选题 13.The text shows that the author views economics as______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】属态度推断题。文章第一段对常见的有关经济学的观点进行批驳;第二、三段以博弈理论为例进行具体阐述,其中第三段第三、四句进行总结。由此可知,选项A正确。选项B(entirely概括太广)与第三段最后一句意思不符:如果运用博弈理论,经济学就会成为现实世界中一个更加有用的工具。选项C与第一段内容不符;选项D(most语气太绝对)与最后一段第二句内容不符:在这个意义上,经济学在实际决策中的应用就变得更加复杂也更加切合实际了。
单选题 14.The main purpose of paragraph 4 is to______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】属主旨思想题。文章第一段第二句指出:经济学既关注短期利益又关注长期收益。第二、三段举例说明博弈理论的应用,最后一段把博弈理论与下象棋相比,总结性地说明它在经济学中的应用。由此可知,选项C正确。
单选题 15.From the text we learn that______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】属信息推断题。第三段最后一句指出:如果运用博弈理论,经济学就会成为现实世界中一个更加有用的工具。由此可知,选项D正确。选项A与本句意思不符(most的语气太绝对);选项B与文章第一句内容不符:人们常常批评经济学,说它是一门只关注短期利益的学科,完全不考虑短期目标对长期结果的影响;选项C与第三段第三句不符(见第17题分析)。