雅思阅读第103套P1:Coming of AgeReading Passage 1
You should spend about 20minutes on Questions 1 - 13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Coming of Age
A. Three striking facts highlight thedramatic shift in recent years in the relative economic balance of“first-world” and “third-world” economies. Last year, according to ourestimates, emerging economies produced slightly more than half of world outputmeasured at purchasing-power parity. Second, they also accounted for more thanhalf of the increase in global GDP in current-dollar terms. And third, perhapsmost striking of all, the 32 biggest emerging economies grew in both 2004 and2005. Every previous year during the past three decades saw at least onecountry in recession - if not a deep crisis. Some economies will inevitablystumble over the coming years, but, thanks to sounder policies, most can lookforward to rapid long-term growth. The young emerging economies have grown upin more ways than one.
B. Such happenings are part of the biggestshift in economic strength since the emergence of the United States more than acentury ago. As developing countries and the former Soviet block have embracedmarket-friendly economic reforms and opened their borders to trade andinvestment, more countries are industrialising than ever before - and morequickly. During their industrial revolutions, America and Britain took 50 yearsto double their real incomes per head; today China is achieving that in asingle decade. In an open world, it is much easier to catch up by adoptingadvanced countries’ technology than it is to be an economic leader that has toinvent new technologies in order to keep growing. The shift in economic powertowards emerging economies is therefore likely to continue. This is returningthe world to the sort of state that endured throughout most of its history.People forget that, until the late 19th century, China and India were theworld’s two biggest economies and today’s “emerging economies” accounted forthe bulk of world production.
C. Many bosses, workers, and politicians inthe rich world fear that the success of these newcomers will be at their ownexpense. However, rich countries will gain more than they lose from theenrichment of others. Fears that the third world will steal rich-world outputand jobs are based on the old fallacy that an increase in one country’s outputmust be at the expense of another’s. But more exports give developing countriesmore money to spend on imports - mainly from developed economies. Faster growthin poor countries is therefore more likely to increase the output of theirricher counterparts than to reduce it. The emerging economies are helping tolift world GDP growth at the very time when the rich world’s ageing populationswould otherwise cause growth to slow.
D. Although stronger growth in emergingeconomies will make developed count lies as a whole better off, not everybodywill be a winner. Globalisation is causing the biggest shift in relative prices(of labour, capital, commodities, and goods) for a century, and this in turn iscausing a significant redistribution of income. Low-skilled workers indeveloped economies are losing out relative to skilled workers. And owners ofcapital are-grabbing a bigger slice of the cake relative to workers as a whole.
E. As a result of China, India, and theformer Soviet Union embracing market capitalism, the global labour force hasdoubled in size. To the extent that this has made labour more abundant, andcapital relatively scarcer, it has put downward pressure on wages relative tothe return on capital. Throughout the rich world, profits have surged to recordlevels as a share of national income, while the workers’ slice has fallen.Hence, Western workers as a whole do not appear to have shared fully in thefruits of globalisation; many low-skilled ones may even be worse off. However,this is only part of the story. Workers’ wages may be squeezed, but asconsumers they benefit from lower prices. As shareholders and futurepensioners, they stand to gain from a more efficient use of global capital.Competition from emerging economies should also help to spur rich-worldproductivity growth and thus average incomes,
F. To the extent that rich economies as awhole gain from the new wealth of emerging ones, governments have more scope tocompensate losers. Governments have another vital role to play, too. Theintensifying competition from emerging economies makes flexible labour andproduct markets even more imperative, so as to speed up the shift from oldindustries to new ones. That is why Europe and Japan cannot afford to dragtheir heels over reform or leave workers ill-equipped to take up tomorrow’sjobs. Developed countries that are quick to abandon declining industries andmove upmarket into new industries and services will fare best as the emergingeconomies come of age. Those that resist change can look forward to years ofrelative decline. Those that embrace it can best share in the emergingeconomies’ astonishing new wealth.
SECTION 1: QUESTIONS 1-13
Questions 1-4
The text has 6 paragraphs (A- F).
Which paragraph contains eachof the following pieces of information?
E
D
B
C
A
F
1 ________________ Advice for developed countries
2 ________________ The reason that it is faster to developnowadays
3 ________________ The fact that in the 30 years before 2004,not all large developing economies grew
4 ________________ The fact that domination of the globaleconomy by Western countries is unusual in global history
Questions 5-8
Complete the followingsentences using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each gap.
Developing economies can catchup with developed ones faster because they don’t have to 5 _________________
Growth in developing countrieshelps developed economies because of spending 6 _________________
Capital is being used moreefficiently because it is 7_________________
Economic 8 _________________ is required in many developed economies.
Questions 9-13
Do the following statementsagree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 9 - 13 on youranswer sheet, write
TRUE
if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE
if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN
If there is no information on this
9 _________________ Large developing economies should not have any problems in thefuture.
10 _________________ If one country increases production, another country will have toreduce its production.
11 _________________ Globalisation is causing greater differences in income.
12 _________________ Low-skilled workers in developed economies are earningless.
13 _________________ GIVEN Japan is not spending enough on education.
答案
雅思阅读第103套P1-Coming of Agehttp://www.tuonindefu.com/?p=2770雅思阅读第103套P1:Coming of Age
