单选题
单选题
What is the main topic of the lecture?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[听力原文] 6-11
P OK, so today we're going to start on the "introduction to Trade" topic. I want to start by looking at what exactly we know about trade. What IS trade? Can anyone tell me?
S Um ... well, it's an exchange. An exchange of goods or services between two regions or countries.
P Yes, that's right. Historically, well ... the original form of trade was "barter". I'm sure you've all heard that word before, but nowadays, "barter" is used to mean "to haggle" or "to bargain" but bartering was originally the exchange of one good or service for another. It's used a lot in societies where no monetary system exists or in countries where the economy is really unstable. Nowadays traders usually carry out transactions using some medium of exchange, such as money. OK. So we have a basic idea of WHAT trade is, but trade has become such an integral part of our society that few people stop to ask WHY trade exists. What are the benefits of trade? Why do we trade? Any suggestions?
S Maybe because different places specialize in producing different products? Or because different raw materials are available in different countries?
P Yes, that is part of it, but I want to think more in terms of how each party benefits from trade. OK, let's take a simple example. Imagine two men have just come adrift on a desert island. One of the men is in his late sixties, he's been ... let's say a bank clerk all of his working life and isn't particularly sporty, OK? The other guy's in his twenties and has been brought up working on a farm. He's strong, fast and well-informed when it comes to the great outdoors. The two men decide to organize the chores that need to be done. They need to collect water, build shelter, maybe go fishing and collect fruit. It's clear that the younger man can do all of these tasks better and faster than the older man. He has what's known as an "absolute advantage" in all of the activities. We use the term "absolute advantage" if a country can produce a particular product or good more cheaply than another or if it can produce more of the good than another country can, with the same resources. OK, so back to our happy campers on the island. The younger man has an "absolute advantage" and could do all of these activities single-handedly, without having to share the results. But he doesn't. Why not?
S Maybe because ... well, even though the old man can't work as fast as the young man, he still contributes something. I mean, he can still help and that contributes to the overall production. You know ... many hands make light work! So the young guy could do what he was best at, and the older man could do what he wasn't so bad at. They could both specialize in one thing. Maybe the young man could carry the water and the old man could go fishing which is less strenuous.
P Great, yes! You're definitely thinking along the right lines! Let's look at that concept in more detail. What you've just mentioned there is what we call "comparative advantage". "Comparative advantage" is central to modern trade theory and is most commonly used in international trade. "Comparative advantage" is also known as "Ricardo's Law" and it explains why it's beneficial for two parties to trade even though one of them may be able to produce every item more cheaply than the other. It's the ratio between how easily two countries can produce different goods that's important and not the absolute cost of production. The theory of "comparative advantage" is attributed to David Ricardo although it was first described by Robert Torrens in 1815 in an essay on the corn trade, but we'll look at that later on. Let's consider the example Ricardo used. Ricardo used an example involving England and Portugal. Producing both wine and cloth does not require as much work in Portugal as it does in England. In England, it's not easy to produce cloth and even less so to produce wine. By contrast, Portugal can produce both easily. At first glance, it's difficult to see why Portugal would want to trade with England but look at it this way. If Portugal just concentrates on producing wine and produces enough to be able to export it to England, and if England focuses on making cloth and exchanges that for cheaper Portuguese wine, both countries benefit. Portugal doesn't have the cost of making cloth and England benefits from cheaper Portuguese wine. So, according to comparative and not absolute advantage, the younger man on the desert island should concentrate on the activities that he excels at and the older man on the activity he finds the least challenging. In this way, together they increase total production and decrease total labor.
S They could both specialize in one thing: Maybe the young man could carry the water and the old man could go fishing which is less strenuous.
p Great, yes! You're definitely thinking along the right lines! Let's took at that concept in more detail.
What can be inferred about the student based on the professor's comment?
[解析] 主旨题 教授在讲座的前半部分以贸易入门为主要内容进行了介绍，整个讲座通过讲述绝对优势和比较优势的概念介绍了贸易合作的好处。因此，对讲座内容进行了正确概括的应该是C项。无人岛和英国及葡萄牙之间的贸易是为了阐述主要内容而举出的具体实例。讲座只是在介绍比较优势理论的由来时提到了玉米贸易。
P OK, so today we're going to start on the "introduction to Trade" topic. I want to start by looking at what exactly we know about trade. What IS trade? Can anyone tell me?
S Um ... well, it's an exchange. An exchange of goods or services between two regions or countries.
P Yes, that's right. Historically, well ... the original form of trade was "barter". I'm sure you've all heard that word before, but nowadays, "barter" is used to mean "to haggle" or "to bargain" but bartering was originally the exchange of one good or service for another. It's used a lot in societies where no monetary system exists or in countries where the economy is really unstable. Nowadays traders usually carry out transactions using some medium of exchange, such as money. OK. So we have a basic idea of WHAT trade is, but trade has become such an integral part of our society that few people stop to ask WHY trade exists. What are the benefits of trade? Why do we trade? Any suggestions?
S Maybe because different places specialize in producing different products? Or because different raw materials are available in different countries?
P Yes, that is part of it, but I want to think more in terms of how each party benefits from trade. OK, let's take a simple example. Imagine two men have just come adrift on a desert island. One of the men is in his late sixties, he's been ... let's say a bank clerk all of his working life and isn't particularly sporty, OK? The other guy's in his twenties and has been brought up working on a farm. He's strong, fast and well-informed when it comes to the great outdoors. The two men decide to organize the chores that need to be done. They need to collect water, build shelter, maybe go fishing and collect fruit. It's clear that the younger man can do all of these tasks better and faster than the older man. He has what's known as an "absolute advantage" in all of the activities. We use the term "absolute advantage" if a country can produce a particular product or good more cheaply than another or if it can produce more of the good than another country can, with the same resources. OK, so back to our happy campers on the island. The younger man has an "absolute advantage" and could do all of these activities single-handedly, without having to share the results. But he doesn't. Why not?
S Maybe because ... well, even though the old man can't work as fast as the young man, he still contributes something. I mean, he can still help and that contributes to the overall production. You know ... many hands make light work! So the young guy could do what he was best at, and the older man could do what he wasn't so bad at. They could both specialize in one thing. Maybe the young man could carry the water and the old man could go fishing which is less strenuous.
P Great, yes! You're definitely thinking along the right lines! Let's look at that concept in more detail. What you've just mentioned there is what we call "comparative advantage". "Comparative advantage" is central to modern trade theory and is most commonly used in international trade. "Comparative advantage" is also known as "Ricardo's Law" and it explains why it's beneficial for two parties to trade even though one of them may be able to produce every item more cheaply than the other. It's the ratio between how easily two countries can produce different goods that's important and not the absolute cost of production. The theory of "comparative advantage" is attributed to David Ricardo although it was first described by Robert Torrens in 1815 in an essay on the corn trade, but we'll look at that later on. Let's consider the example Ricardo used. Ricardo used an example involving England and Portugal. Producing both wine and cloth does not require as much work in Portugal as it does in England. In England, it's not easy to produce cloth and even less so to produce wine. By contrast, Portugal can produce both easily. At first glance, it's difficult to see why Portugal would want to trade with England but look at it this way. If Portugal just concentrates on producing wine and produces enough to be able to export it to England, and if England focuses on making cloth and exchanges that for cheaper Portuguese wine, both countries benefit. Portugal doesn't have the cost of making cloth and England benefits from cheaper Portuguese wine. So, according to comparative and not absolute advantage, the younger man on the desert island should concentrate on the activities that he excels at and the older man on the activity he finds the least challenging. In this way, together they increase total production and decrease total labor.
S They could both specialize in one thing: Maybe the young man could carry the water and the old man could go fishing which is less strenuous.
p Great, yes! You're definitely thinking along the right lines! Let's took at that concept in more detail.
What can be inferred about the student based on the professor's comment?
[解析] 主旨题 教授在讲座的前半部分以贸易入门为主要内容进行了介绍，整个讲座通过讲述绝对优势和比较优势的概念介绍了贸易合作的好处。因此，对讲座内容进行了正确概括的应该是C项。无人岛和英国及葡萄牙之间的贸易是为了阐述主要内容而举出的具体实例。讲座只是在介绍比较优势理论的由来时提到了玉米贸易。
单选题
According to the lecture, what is "bartering"?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题 教授在讲座的前半部分提到，贸易原来的形态就是物物交换，也就是用一种商品或者服务与其他东西相交换。因此，B项是正确答案。物物交换在经济情况不稳定的国家中多有发生，但不是将现象本身命名为物物交换，因此C项也是不正确的。
单选题
What did the professor not cover that she originally intended to?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题 教授在讲座中提到，比较优势的概念虽然在1815年Robert Torrens的玉米贸易中第一次出现，但是教授仍然认为这一概念出自David Ricardo，并表示以后再深入探讨这个问题。但在讲座的后半部分，教授通过David Ricardo列举的英国和葡萄牙之间的贸易实例来阐述比较优势，而并不是在介绍Robert Torrens。
问答题
In the lecture, the professor discusses "comparative advantage" and "absolute advantage". Indicate which of the following statements corresponds to either category of advantage.
Click in the correct box for each statement.
[*]
Click in the correct box for each statement.
[*]
【正确答案】
[*]
[*]
【答案解析】[解析] 内容连接题 教授阐述了“绝对优势”的概念：当一个国家比另一个国家能生产出更低廉的特定商品，或是用同样的资源生产出更多的商品时，这个国家所具有的是“绝对优势”。所谓的“比较优势”是指每个国家都生产对自己有利的产品，其他产品则依赖于进口，这样有利于各个国家自身的发展。
单选题
What can be inferred about the student based on the professor's comment?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题 考生重复收听的内容是教授为了让学生进一步理解与绝对优势相对应的比较优势的概念时提出的问题，并让学生阐述自己的意见。这与教授试图说明的内容正好相符，所以也有了思考的方向。学生对比较优势理论已经有了一定的理解，因此A项是正确答案。
多选题
According to the lecture, what are some of the advantages of comparative advantage?
Click on 2 answers.
Click on 2 answers.
- A. A reduction in overall labor.
- B. Reduced exportation costs.
- C. Sharing the results of production.
- D. A rise in overall production.
【正确答案】
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题 讲座的最后通过对无人岛两个男人的责任分配重新阐明了比较优势的概念，同时用归纳比较优势的好处结束了讲座。从最后一句In this way, together they increase total production and decrease total labor可以看出，提高生产力和节约劳动力是比较优势的好处。