单选题 For good or ill, globalization has become the economic buzz-word of the 1990s. National economies are undoubtedly becoming steadily more integrated as cross-border flows of trade, investment and financial capital increase. Consumers are buying more foreign goods, a growing number of firms now operate across national borders, and savers are investing more than ever before in far-flung places.
Whether all of this is for good or ill is a topic of heated debate. One positive view is that globalization is an unmixed blessing, with the potential to boost productivity and living standards everywhere. This is because a globally integrated economy can lead to a better division of labor between countries, allowing low-wage countries to specialize in labor-intensive tasks while high-wage countries use workers in more productive ways. It will allow firms to exploit bigger economies of scale. And with globalization, capital can be shifted to whatever country offers the most productive investment opportunities, not trapped at home financing projects with poor returns.
Critics of globalization take a gloomier view. They predict that increased competition from low-wage developing countries will destroy jobs and push down wages in today's rich economies. There will be a race to the bottom as countries reduce wages, taxes, welfare benefits and environmental controls to make themselves more competitive. Pressure to compete will erode the ability of governments to set their own economic policies. The critic also worry about the increased power of financial markets to cause economic havoc, as in the European currency crises of 1992 and 1993, Mexico in 1994~1995 and South-East Asia in 1997.
单选题 National economies are becoming more integrated as a result of ______.
  • A. increasing flows of cross-border trade, investment and financial capital
  • B. more and more consumers going abroad to buy goods
  • C. many companies establishing new businesses
  • D. savers investing more in developed areas than in developing countries
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】细节题。根据第一段，随着跨国境贸易、投资及金融资本流动的增加，各国经济越来越趋于一体化。B、C、D意思都与文章意思不符。
单选题 Globalization has the potential to boost productivity and living standards everywhere because ______.
  • A. it makes labors work in countries where they are most needed and best used
  • B. it encourages rich countries to provide more economic support to poor countries
  • C. it enables low-wage countries to have more cross-border trade and investment
  • D. it allows firms to establish more branches in low-wage countries
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】细节题。根据第二段，全球化能提高全世界各地的生产力和生活水平，因为劳动力能在各国问进行更好的分工。因此，劳动力得到最佳的利用，即A是本题的正确答案。
单选题 According to the positive view, globalization can ______.
  • A. allow low-wage countries to use workers in more productive ways
  • B. help low-wage countries get rid of labor-intensive economy
  • C. enable firms to exploit bigger economies of scale
  • D. cause capital to shift to countries where there is greatest fund shortage
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】细节题。在第二段中，对全球化的一个乐观观点认为，全球化能使低工资国家从事劳动密集型工作，而能使高工资国家工人更具生产力。另外，它能使公司开发更大的规模经济，使资金流向能取得最大收益的国家，而不是困在国内收益很差的项目中。因此，只有C与此相符。
单选题 As a result of globalization, all of the following might happen EXCEPT ______.
  • A. unemployment rate in rich economies might increase
  • B. competitiveness of low-wage countries might weaken
  • C. environmental problems in some countries might worsen
  • D. economic havoc might occur in some parts of the world
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】是非题。根据第三段，将有越来越多的竞争来自低工资国家，迫使富裕国家失去就业机会、降低工资、减少税收、福利及对环境的控制，以增加竞争力。因此，A、C项内容都有可能发生。文章结尾提到了经济动乱发生的可能性，因此D也非本题答案。
单选题 The author of the passage holds a/an ______ attitude toward globalization.
  • A. optimistic
  • B. pessimistic
  • C. objective
  • D. worried
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】作者态度题。作者只是客观地讲述了现存的对全球化的不同观点，并没明确表明自己的态度，因此只是客观报道，所以C是本题正确选项。