单选题 Robert F. Kennedy once said that a country"s GDP measures "everything except that which makes life worthwhile." With Britain voting to leave the European Union, and GDP already predicted to slow as a result, it is now a timely moment to assess what he was referring to.
The question of GDP and its usefulness has annoyed policymakers for over half a century. Many argue that it is a flawed concept. It measures things that do not matter and miss things that do. By most recent measures, the UK"s GDP has been the envy of the Western World, with record low unemployment and high growth figures. If everything was going so well, then why did over 17 million people vote for Brexit, despite the warnings about what it could do to their country"s economic prospects?
A recent annual study of countries and their ability to convert growth into well-being sheds some light on that question. Across the 163 countries measured, the UK is one of the poorest performers in ensuring that economic growth is translated into meaningful improvement for its citizens. Rather than just focusing on GDP, over 40 different sets of criteria from health, education and civil society engagement have been measured to get a more rounded assessment of how countries are performing.
While all of these countries face their own challenges, there are a number of consistent themes. Yes, there has been a budding economic recovery since the 2008 global crash, but in key indicators in areas such as health and education, major economies have continued to decline. Yet this isn"t the case with all countries. Some relatively poor European countries have seen huge improvements across measures including civil society, income equality and the environment.
This is a lesson that rich countries can learn: When GDP is no longer regarded as the sole measure of a country"s success, the world looks very different.
So, what Kennedy was referring to was that while GDP has been the most common method for measuring the economic activity of nations, as a measure, it is no longer enough. It does not include important factors such as environmental equality or education outcomes—all things that contribute to a person"s sense of well-being.
The sharp hit to growth predicted around the world and in the UK could lead to a decline in the everyday services we depend on for our well-being and for growth. But policymakers who refocus efforts on improving well-being rather than simply worrying about GDP figures could avoid the forecasted doom and may even see progress.
单选题 Robert F. Kennedy is cited because he
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。人物观点在考试中通常作为论据出现，并且此题在首题的位置，所以其主要目的在于论证其后的论点。根据题干关键词Robert F. Kennedy定位至第一段。第一句话a country"s GDP measures “everything except that which makes life worthwhile.”(一个国家的GDP可以衡量“任何事物，但是无法衡量什么事物使人们的生活变得有意义”)，被提及的原因重点在于其后的观点，第一段第二句的主干没有给出解答，只说了it is now a timely moment to assess what he was referring to. (是时候去评估这句话的内涵了)；第二段第一句话及第二句话，指出GDP的不足。所以选项D“肯尼迪对GDP评价不高”和原文吻合。
单选题 It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。根据题干关键词Paragraph 2定位至第二段。根据首句The question of GDP and its usefulness has annoyed policymakers for over half a century.(GDP的问题和作用困扰政治家们超过半个世纪之久)和末句If everything was going so well, then why did over 17million people vote for Brexit, despite the warnings about what it could do to their country"s economic prospects?(如果一切都非常顺利的话，那么为什么超过1700万的英国人都支持英国退欧，并对退欧产生恶劣经济影响的警告不管不顾?)及倒数第二句的主干，(由最后一句“if everything was going so well”中的代词“everything”反推到倒数第二句，“英国的GDP呈现出历史新低的就业率和历史新高的经济增长数据，西方国家纷纷对此心生艳羡。”)得出本段重点陈述的内容和选项C“英国公然反对GDP作为其经济衡量手段”相吻合。
单选题 Which of the following is true about the recent annual study?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干中的关键词recent annual study定位到第三段第一句话。A recent annual study of countries and their ability to convert growth into well-being sheds some light on that question. (最近的年度报告研究了部分国家将经济增长转化为国民幸福的能力，其结果阐明了上述问题。)，D项“其结果引人深思”和本句内容直接同义替换，为正确答案。
单选题 In the last two paragraphs, the author suggests that
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。根据题干关键词last two paragraphs定位至文章最后两段。第六段的段落中心为第一句话，因为本句有重点的逻辑关系词so，并且第二句为代词开头。第一句话So, what Kennedy was...呼应第一段第一句，意思是“尽管GDP曾是衡量一个国家经济活力最重要且常规的指标，但是现在仅仅使用这个手段已经不足够了。”故C项“作者指出有必要考虑GDP之外的因素”和本句内涵吻合。原文的no longer enough和选项中的beyond形成同义替换。
单选题 Which of the following is the best title for the text?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 主旨题。纵观全文，第一段使用“抛砖引玉”的方法用人物观点引出全文，第二段首句对人物观点内涵进行解释，落脚点在GDP作为国家成功衡量标准的缺陷，倒数两句以英国为例说明。选项A“英国高的GDP但是低的人民幸福感给各国提供了借鉴”和原文相符；可进一步用末段段落中心But句子“政治家们若能重新努力提升人们的幸福而不仅仅是聚焦于GDP数据，那么他们能够避免可预测到的经济厄运，甚至见证经济的发展”进行验证。