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Thequestionsinthisgrouparebasedonthecontentofapassage.Afterreadingthepassage,choosethebestanswertoeachquestion.Answerallquestionsfollowingthepassageonthebasisofwhatisstatedorimpliedinthepassage.　　Japanesefirmshaveachievedthehighestlevelsofmanufacturingefficiencyintheworldautomobileindustry.SomeobserversofJapanhaveassumedthatJapanesefirmsusethesamemanufacturingequipmentandtechniquesasUnitedStatesfirmsbuthavebenefitedfromtheuniquecharacteristicsofJapaneseemployeesandtheJapaneseculture.However,ifthisweretrue,thenonewouldexpectJapaneseautoplantsintheUnitedStatestoperformnobetterthanfactoriesrunbyUnitedStatescompanies.Thisisnottheease,Japanese-runautomobileplantslocatedintheUnitedStatesandstaffedbylocalworkershavedemonstratedhigherlevelsofproductivitywhencomparedwithfactoriesownedbyUnitedStatescompanies.　　OtherobserverslinkhighJapaneseproductivitytohigherlevelsofcapitalinvestmentperworker.Butahistoricalperspectiveleadstoadifferentconclusion.WhenthetwotopJapaneseautomobilemakersmatchedandthendoubledUnitedStatesproductivitylevelsinthemid-sixties,capitalinvestmentperemployeewascomparabletothatofUnitedStatesfirms.Furthermore,bythelateseventies,theamountoffixedassetsrequiredtoproduceonevehiclewasroughlyequivalentinJapanandintheUnitedStates.SincecapitalinvestmentwasnothigherinJapan,ithadtobeotherfactorsthatledtohigherproductivity.　　AmorefruitfulexplanationmayliewithJapaneseproductiontechniques.Japaneseautomobileproducersdidnotsimplyimplementconventionalprocessesmoreeffectively:theymadecriticalchangesinUnitedStatesprocedures.Forinstance,themass-productionphilosophyofUnitedStatesautomakersencouragedtheproductionofhugelotsofcarsinordertoutilizefullyexpensive,component-specificequipmentandtooccupyfullyworkerswhohavebeen,trainedtoexecuteoneoperationefficiently.Japaneseautomakerschosetomakesmall-lotproductionfeasiblebyintroducingseveraldeparturesfromUnitedStatespractices,includingtheuseofflexibleequipmentthatcouldbealteredeasilytodoseveraldifferentproductiontasksandthetrainingofworkersinmultiplejobs.Automakerscouldscheduletheproductionofdifferentcomponentsormodelsonsinglemachines,therebyeliminatingtheneedtostorethebufferstocksofextracomponentsthatresultwhenspecializedequipmentandworkersarekeptconstantlyactive.

Thequestionsinthisgrouparebasedonthecontentofapassage.Afterreadingthepassage,choosethebestanswertoeachquestion.Answerallquestionsfollowingthepassageonthebasisofwhatisstatedorimpliedinthepassage.　　Excessinventory,amassiveproblemformanybusinesses,hasseveralcauses,someofwhichareunavoidable.Overstocksmayaccumulatethroughproductionoverrunsorerrors.Certainstylesandcolorsproveunpopular.Withsomeproducts—computersandsoftware,toys,andbooks—lastyear’smodelsaredifficulttomoveevenathugediscounts.Occasionallythecompetitionintroducesabetterproduct.Butinmanycasesthepublic’sbuyingtastessimplychange,leavingamanufacturerordistributorwiththousands(ormillions)ofitemsthattheficklepublicnolongerwants.　　Onecommonwaytodisposeofthismerchandiseistosellittoaliquidator,whobuysascheaplyaspossibleandthenresellsthemerchandisethroughcatalogs,discountstores,andotheroutlets.However,liquidatorsmaypaylessforthemerchandisethanitcosttomakeit.Anotherwaytodisposeofexcessinventoryistodumpit.Thecorporationtakesastraightcostwrite-offonitstaxesandhaulsthemerchandisetoalandfill.Althoughitishardtobelieve,thereisasortofconvolutedlogictothisapproach.Itisperfectlylegal,requireslittletimeorpreparationonthecompany’spart,andsolvestheproblemquickly.Thedrawbackistheremotepossibilityofgettingcaughtbythenewsmedia.Dumpingperfectlyusefulproductscanturnintoapublicrelationsnightmare.ChildrenlivinginpovertyarefreezingandXYZCompanyhasjustsent500newsnowsuitstothelocaldump.ParentsofyoungchildrenarebarelygettingbyandQPSCompanydumps1,000casesofdisposablediapersbecausetheyhaveslightimperfections.　　Themanagersofthesecompaniesarenotdeliberatelywasteful;theyaresimplyunawareofalltheiralternatives.In1976theInternalRevenueServiceprovidedatangibleincentiveforbusinessestocontributetheirproductstocharity.Thenewtaxlawallowedcorporationstodeductthecostoftheproductdonatedplushalfthedifferencebetweencostandfairmarketsellingprice,withtheprovisothatdeductionscannotexceedtwicecost.Thus,thefederalgovernmentsanctions—indeed,encourages—anabove-costfederaltaxdeductionforcompaniesthatdonateinventorytocharity.

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Thefollowingdatasufficiencyproblemsconsistofaquestionandtwostatements,labeled(1)and(2),inwhichcertaindataaregiven.Youhavetodecidewhetherthedatagiveninthestatementsaresufficientforansweringthequestion.Usingthedatagiveninthestatementsplusyourknowledgeofmathematicsandeverydayfacts(suchasthenumberofdaysinJulyorthemeaningofcounterclockwise),youmustindicatewhetherA.Statement(1)ALONEissufficient,butstatement(2)aloneisnotsufficient.B.Statement(2)ALONEissufficient,butstatement(1)aloneisnotsufficient.C.BOTHstatementsTOGETHERaresufficient,butNEITHERstatementALONEissufficient.D.EACHstatementALONEissufficient.E.Statements(1)and(2)TOGETHERareNOTsufficient.

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单选题2. canon