单选题 Anyone who doubts that global financial markets control national economies need only look at the crisis facing the "tigers" of the Far East. Last year, the value of their currencies dropped rapidly, after investors decided that their economic policies were not strong enough; now the region is suffering slower growth, lower living standards and rising unemployment.
The situation in Asia shows how power has shifted from individual governments to the markets. In theory, governments are free to set their own economic policies; in practice, they must conform to a global economic model or risk being penalized by the markets.
Adjusting to this new "economic order" is proving difficult, in the developed world, and in particular the European Union, globalization is facing widespread public resistance. Critics complain that, without the protection of trade barriers, jobs are being lost to workers in poorer countries, and wages for employees in rich countries are falling. Opponents in the European Union point to the effects that globalization has had in the U.S. and Britain. In those countries, wages are stagnant--except for a few privileged--and taxes and welfare benefits have been reduced to help companies compete with industries in the developing world.
Those in favor of globalization accuse their critics of being shortsighted protectionists. They claim that a more integrated global economy will ultimately benefit everyone because it will enable countries to specialize in those areas where they perform best. Developing countries, with their higher populations and lower wages, will concentrate on labor-intensive industries. The richer countries, on the other hand, will diversify into high-tech industries, where high productivity and specialist knowledge are paramount. The effect of this will be to improve productivity in all countries, leading to higher living standards. The free movement of capital will also help poorer countries develop so that they can play a full and active role in the world economy.
But how close are we to a truly global economy? For those in favor of globalization, probably too close. But in terms of real economic integration, there are still many problems to be solved. A global economy would mean complete freedom of movement of goods and services, capital, and labor. Yet, even ignoring the tariffs and other restrictions still in place, cross-border trade remains tiny as compared with the volume of goods and services traded within countries; foreign investment is also extremely small, amounting to little more than five percent of the developed world's domestic investments.
But what is really holding globalization back is the lack of labor mobility. Labor markets remain overwhelmingly national, even in areas like the European Union, where citizens can live and work in any EU country. The main reasons for this are language and cultural barriers; the lack of internationally recognized qualifications; and, in some cases, strict immigration controls.

单选题 The main reason why some Asian countries are suffering from economic depression is that they ______.
A. doubt that global financial markets will control national economies
B. fail to follow a global economic model adequately
C. have set their own free economic policies
D. have their power interfere with the markets
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】这是一道细节题。题干中的信号词为economic depression，出自于文章第一段第一句话中。文章第一段指出：任何怀疑“全球金融市场控制国家的经济需求”的人只要看一下远东的“四小虎”所面临的危机就可以知道是怎么回事了：去年，当投资者断定四小虎的经济政策不够有效后，这几个地区的货币就迅速贬值；如今，该地区的经济增长更缓慢，生活水平更低，失业人数上升。第二段接着指出：理论上，政府可以自由制定自己的经济政策；但实际上，政府必须遵循全球经济模式，否则就要冒被市场惩罚的风险。这说明，原因是这些国家没有遵循全球的经济模式。 B说“没有充分遵循全球的经济模式”，这与文章的意思相符。文中没有说“一些亚洲国家怀疑全球金融市场将控制国家的经济”，所以A不是原因；文中是说“理论上，政府可以自由地制定自己的经济政策”，但这并不是亚洲国家正在遭遇经济危机的主要原因，所以C不对；文中没有提到D。
单选题 The main opposition to globalization is that ______.
A. taxes and welfare in the developed countries are reduced without protection of trade barriers
B. there are too great economic differences between rich and poor countries
C. globalization is beneficial to the developing countries only
D. high productivity and specialist knowledge are not suitable to labor-intensive industries
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】这是一道细节题。题干中的信号词为opposition to globalization，出自于文章第三段第二句话中。文章第三段指出：在发达国家，尤其是在欧盟，全球化遭到公众的普遍反对；批评者抱怨说，没有了贸易壁垒的保护，工作机会被让给穷国的工人，富裕国家工人的工资在减少。这说明，反对经济全球化的主要理由是：没有了贸易壁垒的保护，税收和福利将被减少。A说“没有贸易壁垒的保护，发达国家的税收和福利将被减少”，这与文章的意思相符。文中没有提到B和D。文章第四段第二句话指出：一个更一体化的全球经济最终会给每个人带来好处，因为一体化的经济会使每个国家在其最擅长的领域实行专门化；这说明C不对。
单选题 What does the sentence "wages are stagnant" (Paragraph 3) most probably mean?
A. Wages stop rising.
B. Wages are so high that there is no need to rise.
C. There is a pause in wages, but they will soon rise.
D. Wages begin to fall.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】这是一道词义题。题干中的信号词出自于文章第三段最后一句话中。文章第三段最后两句话指出：欧盟的反对人士提到了全球化给美国和英国带来的影响；在这两个国家，除了少数特权阶层，工资水平徘徊不前，税收和福利已经减少，以便帮助国内企业与发展中国家的企业竞争。这说明，该句话最可能的意思应该是“工资没有增长”。A说“工资停止了增长”，这与文章的意思相符。B明显与文章的意思不符；文中没有提到工资将会增长，所以C不对；D不准确。
单选题 The word "paramount" (Paragraph 4) may be replaced by ______.
A. vital B. more important C. less important D. similar
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】这是一道词义题。题干中的信号词出自于文章第四段第四句话中。文章第四段指出：由于人口更多，工资更低，发展中国家将集中发展劳动密集型产业；相反，更富裕的国家可以发展多种高新技术产业，这些产业中，高生产率、专业化知识是极为重要的；其结果将是提高全球所有国家的生产率，导致人民的生活水平更高。这说明，该单词最可能的意思应该是“极为重要的”。A说“至关重要的”，这与文章的意思相符。该单词所在的句子并不是在比较，所以B不对；C与文章的意思相反；D不准确。
单选题 The author suggests in the passage that in order to realize a truly global economy, great efforts should be made in all the following aspects EXCEPT ______.
A. elimination of language and cultural barriers
B. permission of free labor mobility
C. increase in the volume of goods and services traded beyond border
D. reduction of tariffs and loosening of other restrictions
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】这是一道推论题。题干中的信号词为a truly global economy，出自于文章第五段第一句话中。文章第五段指出：谈到真正的经济一体化，仍然有许多问题有待解决；全球化经济意味着商品、服务、资本以及劳动力可以完全自由流动；不过，即使忽略关税和其他仍然恰当的限制，但是，与国内商品和服务的交易额相比，跨国的贸易额仍然很小；外国的投资也非常少，不到发达国家国内投资的5%。由此可知，B、C和D都是实现经济全球化应该付出的努力。文中提到language and cultural barriers时说“劳动力市场主要还是受各国政府的控制，其中的主要原因是语言和文化障碍”，而这是造成劳动力不能自由流动的原因，不是实现经济全球化应该付出的努力，所以A不对。