阅读理解

Directions: This part consists of two sections. In Section A, there are three passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. In Section B, there are two passages followed by a total of 10 short-answer questions. Read the passages and write your answers on the Answer Sheet. 


Passage 1

Federal efforts to aid minority businesses began in the 1960’s when the Small Business Administration (SBA) began making federally guaranteed loans and government-sponsored management and technical assistance available to minority business enterprises. While this program enabled many minority entrepreneurs to form new businesses, the results were disappointing, since managerial inexperience, unfavorable locations, and capital shortages led to high failure rates. Even years after the program was implemented, minority business receipts were not quite two percent of the national economy’s total receipts.

Recently federal policymakers have adopted an approach intended to accelerate development of the minority business sector by moving away from directly aiding small minority enterprises and toward supporting larger, growth-oriented minority firms through intermediary companies. In this approach, large corporations participate in the development of successful and stable minority businesses by making use of government-sponsored venture capital. The capital is used by a participating company to establish a Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Company or The MESBIC then provides capital and guidance to minority businesses that have potential to become future suppliers or customers of the sponsoring company.

MESBIC’s are the result of the belief that providing established firms with easier access to relevant management techniques and more job-specific experience, as well as substantial amounts of capital, gives those firms a greater opportunity to develop sound business foundations than does simply making general management experience and small amounts of capital available. Further, since potential markets for the minority businesses already exist through the sponsoring companies, the minority businesses face considerably less risk in terms of location and market fluctuation. Following early financial and operating problems, sponsoring corporations began to capitalize MESBIC’s far above the legal minimum of $500,000 in order to generate sufficient income and to sustain the quality of management needed. MESBIC’s are now emerging as increasingly important financing sources for minority enterprises.

Ironically, MESBIC staffs, which usually consist of Hispanic and Black professionals, tend to approach investments in minority firms more pragmatically than do many MESBIC directors, who are usually senior managers from sponsoring corporations. The latter often still think mainly in terms of the “social responsibility approach” and thus seem to prefer deals that are riskier and less attractive than normal investment criteria would warrant. Such differences in viewpoint have produced uneasiness among many minority staff members, who feel that minority entrepreneurs and businesses should be judged by established business considerations. These staff members believe their point of view is closer to the original philosophy of MESBIC’s and they are concerned that, unless a more prudent course is followed, MESBIC directors may revert to policies likely to re-create the disappointing results of the original SBA approach. 

单选题 Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】文章第一段第二句提到“While this program enabled many minority entrepreneurs to form new businesses,the results were disappointing...”，SBA（小型企业管理局） 向少数民族企业提供联邦保证贷款，政府资助管理和技术方面的帮助，结果令人失望。根据第三段第一句“MESBIC’s are the result of the belief that...than does simply making general management experience and small amounts of capital available.可知，MESBIC的诞生是因为人们认为，使已成立的公司更容易获得有关的管理技术、 更具体的工作经验、 以及大量的资本比简单地提供一般的管理经验和少量的资金（SBA的做法） 更能为这些公司提供建立良好的商业基础的机会。所以可以推断本文的思想是MESBIC的做法比SBA的做法更能让少数民族企业获得成功。
单选题 According to the passage, the MESBIC approach differs from the SBA approach in that MESBIC _____.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】根据文章第二段第二、 三句“In this approach, large corporations participate...making use of government-sponsored venture capital. The capital is used by a participating company to establish a...MESBIC.”可知，大公司利用政府资助的风险资本参与成功而又稳固的少数民族企业的发展。参与的大公司用这笔资金建立了“少数民族小型企业投资公司”（MESBIC） 。D项“依靠大公司的参与来资助少数民族企业”与原文意思一致。
单选题 Which of the following does the author cite to support the conclusion that the results of the SBA program weredisappointing?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】第一段最后一句“Even years after the program was implemented, minority business receipts were not quite two percent of the national economy’s total receipts.”的意思是“即使在该计划实施数年后，少数民族企业的收入也不到国民经济总收入的2%。”选项C“少数民族企业在实施计划后所取得的营业收入占全国营业收入的比例很小”与原文意思一致。
单选题 Which of the following statements about the SBA program can be inferred from the passage?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】第一段第二句指出“While this program enabled...the results were disappointing, since managerial inexperience...led to high failure rates.”，管理经验不足、 地理位置不利和资金短缺导致了高失败率，令人非常失望。由此可以推测出，实际失败率超出了预期。因此，C项“预期加入SBA项目中的公司的失败率比实际失败率低得多”与原文意思一致。
单选题 The author’s primary objective in the passage is to _____.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】文章第一段首先介绍了开始于20世纪60年代的联邦对少数民族企业的帮助SBA及其令人失望的后果。第二段便开始介绍近期联邦政府所做出的调整MESBIC。所以通篇来看，本文章的目的在于介绍20世纪60年代以来帮助少数民族企业的政策的变化。
单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that the attitude of some MESBIC staff members toward the investmentspreferred by some MESBIC directors can best be described as _____.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】文章最后一段第三、 四句指出“Such differences in viewpoint have produced uneasiness among many minority staff members...policies likely to re-create the disappointing results of the original SBA approach.”，员工和董事观点上的差异使许多少数民族工作人员感到不安，他们认为应该根据既定的商业考虑来判断少数民族企业家和企业，并且他们很担心董事会重蹈SBA的覆辙。这些充分说明MEBSIC的职工对领导所青睐的投资项目不满意和失望。
单选题 The passage provides information that would answer which of the following questions?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】根据35题可知，本文旨在介绍20世纪60年代以来帮助少数民族企业的政策的变化。主要包括三个信息点： 20世纪60年代以来，少数民族企业和政策变化。D项“自1960年代以来，对少数民族企业使用联邦资金的情况如何变化？ ”完整涵盖了三个信息点。