单选题 The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike. Progress in both areas is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political and intellectual development of these and all other societies; however, the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong. We are fortunate that is it, because new educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations. The findings of a research institution have consistently shown that workers in all countries can be trained on the job to achieve radical higher productivity and, as a result, radically higher standards of living. Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States. Not long ago, with the country entering a recessing and Japan at its pre-bubble peak. The U.S. workforce was derided as poorly educated and one of primary cause of the poor U.S. economic performance. Japan was, and remains, the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity. Yet the research revealed that the U.S. factories of Honda, Nissan, and Toyota achieved about 95 percent of the productivity of their Japanese counterparts—a result of the training that U.S. workers received on the job. What is the real relationship between education and economic development? We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education even when governments don't force it. After all, that's how education got started. When our ancestors were hunters and gatherers 10,000 years ago, they didn't have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food. Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other thing. As education improved, humanity's productivity potential increased as well. When the competitive environment pushed our ancestors to achieve that potential, they could in turn afford more education. This increasingly high level of education is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance. Thus poor countries might not be able to escape their poverty traps without political changes that may be possible only with broader formal education. A lack of formal education, however, doesn't constrain the ability of the developing world's workforce to substantially improve productivity for the forested future. On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn' t developing more quickly there than it is.
单选题 The author holds in Paragraph 1 that the importance of education in poor countries______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:细节题。短文第一段中间部分指出“the conventional view that education should be one ofthe very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong.”,即传统观点认为:在贫穷国家,教育是促进经济快速发展重要因素之一。这种观点是错误的。由此可知,作者认为,在贫穷国家,教育的重要性被高估了。故答案为D。
单选题 It is stated that construction of a new education system______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:细节题。短文第一段指出“because new educational systems there and putting enough peoplethrough them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations”,由此可知,作者认为建立一个新的教育系统会花费两到三代人的努力。故答案为B。
单选题 A major difference between the Japanese and U.S workforces is that______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:细节题。短文第二段指出“Japan was,and remains,the global leader in automotive-assemblyproductivity.Yet the research revealed that the U.S.factories of Honda,Nissan,and Toyota achieved about 95percent of the productivity of their Japanese counterparts一a result of the training that U.S.workers received on thejob.”,即在全球,不管过去还是现在,日本一直是汽车组装生产力的领袖。然而,研究表明本田、尼桑和丰田位于美国工厂的生产率大约是日本同行的95%,这是美国工人接受在职培训的结果。这说明日本工人的日本的生产劳动率更高,所以选项B正确。根据“The U.S.workforce was derided as poorly educated…”可排除选项C;选项A,D在文中没有提及,故也可排除。所以选B。
单选题 The author quotes the example of our ancestors to show that education emerged______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:细节题。短文第三段最后一句指出“Only when humanity began to get its food in a moreproductive way was there time for other thing.”,即当人类能够更高效的获取食物时,才有时间做其它的事情.由此可判断出,只有人们不会挨饿了才会有能力去发展教育。故答案为C。
单选题 According to the last paragraph, development of education______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:细节题。作者在最后一段主要叙述了教育、经济和政治改革的关系。根据第一句“Aseducation improved,humanity’s productivity potential increased as well.”,即随着教育的进步,人类的生产潜力也增加了,所以选项C正确。根据“When the competitive environment pushed our ancestors to achieve that potential,they could in turn afford more education.”可判断出竞争的环境只是间接的促进教育进步,故可排除选项A;选项B,D不符合原文表述,也可排除。故选C。