单选题 Sometimes geopolitical lessons come from the strangest places. With Eric Schmidt stepping down as CEO of Google and replaced by founder Larry Page, I can't help but wonder if world leaders are taking note. Google perfected the horizontal business model. To the delight of enthusiasts of David Ricardo, the comparative economist, the company does one thing really well search and has built an ecosystem for others to flourish using it as a platform.
Contrast this with IBM and AT＆T, long past their expiration dates as successful vertical companies. It's no coincidence that the Soviet Union and IBM, two raging, top-down, command-and-control systems, collapsed at about the same time. What do I mean by vertical? In its heyday, IBM did everything from soup to nuts. Designed chips, wrapped plastic around them, wrote operating systems and applications, and then sold and serviced mainframes. The giant captured half of computer-industry sales and 80 percent of profits until horizontal companies Intel and Microsoft knocked it out at its knees. AT＆T owned phones and switches and long-distance lines until a very horizontal Internet and companies like Skype changed the economics of the phone call. These same dynamics are now driving the world economy into a productive horizontal enterprise. And it's about time.
Economies are about increasing the standard of living of their participants. If you don't have an economic system to create productivity, you end up stealing it from your neighbors. Think Roman Empire. Or the British who colonized large parts of the world to lock up natural resources to plug into their manufactories. Both very vertical. As of 1989, the United States of America became the world's sole superpower. But what is America going to do with this status? Unlike past empires, there's no incentive to take over the rest of the world. Why take over a country and deal with the headaches of a welfare system, and have to fix the plumbing in Uzbekistan, when you can buy its output on the cheap, even ordering its goods over the Web? Despite all the protests, globalization instills peace. Trade now represents 26 percent of world GDP, up from 18 percent in 1990.
Globalization has linked the free world in a smart horizontal alliance. Computers, cell phones, and fiber optics are not made in any single country to be exported worldwide, but instead have components and labor from more than 30 inseparable countries, including China and Vietnam. Horizontal rules!
Without much forethought or planning, the world has structured itself into a horizontal wealth-creating and peace-maintaining system—a productive system that actually increases the standard of living of all the participants, not just those in the United States. America still sits on top of the heap, sure, but wealth has increased for every country, company, and person that contributes. And they get rich not by stealing from the rest of the world, but by adding value to the food chain. Just ask Google.

单选题 A horizontal company is one that
[A] only deals with comparable businesses in its transaction.
[B] focuses its business mainly on what it is outstanding.
[C] has developed a long line of business all the way up.
[D] tries hard to meet the needs of the enthusiasts for its service.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】地缘政治主要研究受地缘影响的国际关系。本文实际上没有谈到国际政治关系，而主要谈的国家间的经济关系，作者认为，在全球化的环境下，国际的经济模式正在由一种纵向模式向着一种横向模式发展。根据第二段的解释，纵向模式指那种从生产到包装再到销售和售后服务无所不包的经营模式，这种模式已经不适应现代社会。根据第一段，横向商业模式指一个公司只集中做自己能做好的事情，如Google只围绕网络搜索发展自己的业务。
单选题 IBM's failure is similar to that of the Soviet Union in that
[A] the downfall of the latter led to the collapse of the former.
[B] both were destroyed by horizontal companies like Google.
[C] both had intended to expand their business around the world.
[D] both developed the vertical model which lacked efficiency.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】第二段对比了IBM和苏联的模式，它们都形成了一个raging和top-down的命令和控制系统。IBM什么业务都做(from soup to nuts是一个习惯用语，意为“从头到尾，一应俱全”)，几乎走到了行业垄断的地步；AT＆T也走过了几乎同样的道路。但他们都被后来的新经营模式击败：Intel和Microsoft击败了IBM，而Skype这样的公司击败了AT＆T，美国击垮了苏联。从第二段最后两句来看，新模式之所以击败了旧的纵向模式，是因为它更加productive(富有成效的，有创造力的)。
单选题 Unlike Britain, the United States
[A] does not intend to conquer the world with military power.
[B] does not exploit natural resources of other countries for its use.
[C] does not want to produce everything for the world to consume.
[D] helps the rest of the world to develop without colonizing them.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】第三段提到古罗马帝国和英帝国的例子，它们像苏联一样都是纵向型的帝国，它们占领其他国家只是为了掠夺那里的自然资源，用来为自己的制造厂提供原材料，然后再把生产出来的产品销售给其他国家。而美国则没有这种企图，美国通过推广全球化过程，帮助在世界范围内建立横向的经济模式。在这种模式下，每一个行业内的产品都可能在不同国家完成，相关国家既是生产者也是消费者，这样，每一个国家都从中受益，提高了本国人民的生活水平。
单选题 What does the author think of globalization?
[A] It benefits those countries who embrace it.
[B] It helps to disseminate freedom around the world.
[C] It opens up new economic colonies for America.
[D] It represents a new way of imperialist expansion.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】从最后两段来看，作者对全球化趋势持积极的肯定态度。在作者看来，全球化的到来非常突然，全球化趋势的发展缺乏严格的计划，但是，它还是为世界带来了财富和和平，通过在发展中国家发展生产，提高了那里人民的生活水平。全球化的到来结束了帝国时代的发展模式，结束了纵向的商业模式，而迎来了一个新的、高效的横向发展模式，参与其中的每一个国家都可能从中受益。
单选题 It is implied in the last paragraph that Google could create miracle because
[A] it has distributed its service to every corner of the world.
[B] it has adapted successfully to the changed economics.
[C] it has helped to raise the living standards of the world.
[D] it has not stolen technology from the rest of the world.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】第一段提到了Google的例子，作者把它看做是一种新的商业模式的典型代表。最后一段介绍了这种新的商业模式为世界带来的好处，其中最后一句说Just ask Google。根据上文，这里的意思是：我们只要看一看Google的运作模式，就能明白这种新的商业模式为整个世界带来的好处。可见，Google之所以成功，它的经营模式从中起到了重要作用，而这种经营模式正是全球化环境下所需要的。