单选题
Surveys find entrenched (根深蒂固的) pessimism over the
country's economic outlook and overall trajectory (轨道). In the latest Wall
Street Journal poll, 63% of the respondents said the U.S. is on the wrong track.
It's not difficult to see why. Set aside the gridlock in Washington for a moment
and appreciate the weakness of the economic recovery: Households whose finances
were too weak to spend. Large numbers of unemployed workers who couldn't do so
either. Younger Americans who couldn't afford their own homes. Banks that were
too broken to lend. Yet nearly a year ago, I wrote an essay for Time suggesting
that the economy could surprise on the upside. That hypothesis looks even more
valid today. Despite the pessimistic mood, America is
experiencing a profound comeback. Yes, too many Americans are out of work and
have been for far too long. And yes, there is a huge amount of slack to make up.
In fact, if the 2008 collapse had not happened, the U.S. GDP would be $1
trillion— or more than 5%—higher than it is today. But in terms
of the growth outlook, the news is good. Goldman Sachs and many private-sector
forecasters project a 3.3% growth rate for the remainder of 2014. The first half
of 2014 saw the best job-creation rate in 15 years. Total household wealth and
private employment surpassed 2008 levels last year. Bank loans to businesses
exceeded previous highs this year. And income growth will soon improve too.
America is finally returning to where it was seven years ago.
As halting as the U.S. recovery has been, the economy is now leaner and more
capable of healthy, sustained growth through 2016 and beyond. The U.S. outlook
shines compared with that of the rest of the industrialized world, as Europe and
Japan are stagnant. The 2008 economic crisis and Great Recession forced
widespread restructuring throughout the U.S. economy—not unlike a company
gritting its teeth through a lifesaving bankruptcy. Manufacturing costs are
down. The banking system has been recapitalized. The excess and abuse that
defined the housing market are gone. And it's all being turbocharged by an
energy boom nobody saw coming.
单选题
Most respondents of the Wall Street Journal poll ______.
A.are pessimistic about America's general track
B.are optimistic about the country's outlook
C.appreciate America's economic recovery
D.feel that they couldn't afford a house
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。 选项与原文对比。原文：In the latest Wall Street Journal poll, 63% of the respondents said the U.S. is on the wrong track.由on the wrong track知道大多数人对于美国是持悲观态度的，而第一段首句的pessimism也强调了这种态度。故A是正确的。B与事实相反，文章说的是pessimism悲观而非乐观。C文章出现了一句话：...appreciate the weakness of the economic recovery，其中强调了weakness一词。故错误。D原文：Younger Americans who couldn't afford their own homes.文章说的是younger Americans而非most respondents。这是D对文章中该句话的曲解，故错误。
单选题
According to the second paragraph, which one is true?
A.The U.S. GDP has reached $1 trillion in 2008.
B.The 2008 GDP in the U.S. is higher than it is today.
C.America is recovering despite its people's pessimism.
D.So many Americans are out of work that its economy collapsed.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题/推理题。
选项与原文对比。A原文：...if the 2008 collapse had not happened, the U.S. GDP would be $1 trillion...这是一个虚拟语气，说明美国GDP当时没有达到$1 trillion，故A错误。B原文：In fact, if the 2008 collapse had not happened, the U.S. GDP would be $1 trillion—or more than 5%—higher than it is today.前面说了这是虚拟语气，说明和达到1万亿美元一样，higher than it is today这件事也并未发生，故B错误。C原文：Despite the pessimistic mood, America is experiencing a profound comeback.这句话和C选项是同义替换关系，故C正确。D文章提到too many Americans are out of work，也提到2008 collapse，但并没有说是因为太多人失业导致经济崩溃，故D错误。
单选题
Which one is NOT the good news mentioned in the text?
A.Bank loans.
B.Housing price.
C.Income growth.
D.Private employment.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。
选项与原文对比。文章题目设置在第三自然段，第三段第三行先出现了household wealth and private employment surpassed这样的词，说明就业率增加了，是一个好消息。而往下提到bank loans，exceeded这些词，说明银行贷款增加了。最后提到income growth will soon improve too收入也将会增加，所有这些都是本段提到的good news，唯独未提及的是选项B Housing price.故B为答案。
单选题
We learn from the last paragraph that ______.
A.nobody has predicted the energy boom before
B.Europe and Japan's outlook is better than America
C.the 2008 economic crisis has destroyed U.S. Economy
D.the American economy has been stagnant since 2008
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。
选项与原文对比。A原文第四段尾句：And it's all being turbocharged by an energy boom nobody saw coming. 即使当中有些词看不懂，我们至少应该读懂an energy boom nobody saw coming，对这句话的理解至关重要，这句话的意思是：没人预见的能源热潮。与A项的内容相符，故A为答案。B原文：The U.S. outlook shines compared with that of the rest of the industrialized world, as Europe and Japan are stagnant.当中shines(闪闪发光)，以及Europe and Japan are stagnant都表明了美国的前景超过其他国家，而非B项所描述，故错误。C项destroyed一词有误，原文提到2008年的经济危机，但并未说它击垮了美国经济，C错误。D文章出现了stagnant(停滞不前)一词，这是在形容欧洲和日本，而非美国，故D错误。
单选题
What is the author's attitude towards America's outlook?