Question

1 

Made in the USA: An Export Boom

In his State of the Union address two years ago, President Obama argued that in order to recover from the economic recession, one of the few things the U．S. needed to do was to export more goods around the world. That night, the president unveiled a new goal: to double U．S. exports over the next five years. It would be an increase that the president said would “support two million jobs in America.”

Most economists dismissed the promise at the time as something unrealistic, but two years later, the U．S. is on pace to meet that goal. American exports are up 34 percent since the president gave that speech, and the number continues to rise.

Competitive In A Global Market

Marlin Steel, a metal working business in Baltimore, makes parts that ship all across the world.“ We export to 36 countries，” owner Drew Greenblatt tells All Things Considered Host Guy Raz. “We're working around the clock, and we're growing.”

It's not just advanced manufacturing exports on the rise, but pork, cattle and all kinds of agricultural exports are up as well. Even American craft beer has found an export market.

Flying Dog CEO Jim Caruso says that increasingly, people all over the world are trying the beer from the Maryland-based brewery. Caruso says，“Even in those top beer-producing countries, a competitive American product is finding a market.”

Services Are Exports, Too

Another place exports are coming from is New York City—in particular, the 30^th floor of a Manhattan skyscraper on 5^th Avenue and 52^nd Street. That's where the consulting firm Kurt Solomon lies. It doesn't actually produce a product for export; it provides management advice and strategy.

“Four out of every five Americans is now employed in the service industry，” the nation's top trade official, Ron Kirk says, “Services are a significant part of our exports, and make up about a quarter of our exported goods.” These services can include everything from legal consulting, finance, information technology and even engineering.

And There Are Other Factors

So why has there been an increase of more than 30 percent for exports in almost everything? Part of the increase, at least for the manufacturing side, is due to better technology, says Tyler Cowen, an economist. “A lot of it is being driven by smart machines，” he tells Raz，“The U．S. has high wage rates, which is a disadvantage, but if machines are doing a lot of the work, that doesn't matter.”

China factors a lot in America's export economy, too. “Wages in China have been going up as the country becomes more productive. Thus China is losing the cheap labor advantage it has held for some time.” Cowen says.

Will Jobs Grow, too?

“Companies have become more productive by dismissing workers and lowering costs.” Cowen says, “So I don't view exporting as a way of creating a very large number of jobs, but it will create more profits.”

So not every business or worker is necessarily benefiting from the export boom in the U．S., and Cowen says that could ultimately lead to a polarization(兩極) of economic outcomes.

Made In the USA: An Export Boom

Outline	Details
The purpose of  increasing exports	*To help America make a (71)______ from the economic recession *To help raise the nation's (72)______ rate
The current situation	*American exports have risen (73)______ thirty-four percent up to now *There has been an increase in exports in everything *The export boom does not necessarily (74)______ every business or worker
(75)______ contributing to the export boom	(76)______products	Even in those top beer-producing countries, people try craft beer from Flying Dog, a brewery (77)______ in Maryland.
Various products	A variety of products are provided around the world，services (78)______ for 25%
Lower costs	*(79)______ take the place of labor, helping companies reduce wages *China, who used to take (80)______ of cheap labor, has given way to America in exports to some extent because of its increasing production

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

  recovery　

  employment　

 . by　

 . benefit　

  Factors　

  Competitive

 . located/based　

 . accounting　

  Machines　

  advantage

【解析】

試題分析：

 由recover from the economic recession可知，是要幫助美國經濟復蘇

  由文章可知，是提高就業率

 由American exports are up 34 percent since the president gave that speech, and the number continues to rise.可知

  由文章可知，應是不一定使每個公司和人員都獲益

 根據表格大意和結構，根據文意，這里應是導致繁榮的因素

 由Competitive In A Global Market可知

 由people all over the world are trying the beer from the Maryland-based brewery. Caruso says，“Even in those top beer-producing countries, a competitive American product is finding a market.”可知

 根據文意，這里應是“服務占了25％”

 由Part of the increase, at least for the manufacturing side, is due to better technology, says Tyler Cowen, an economist. “A lot of it is being driven by smart machines，” he tells Raz，“The U．S. has high wage rates, which is a disadvantage, but if machines are doing a lot of the work, that doesn't matter.”可知

 由Wages in China have been going up as the country becomes more productive. Thus China is losing the cheap labor advantage it has held for some time可知，中國過去式以廉價勞動力為優勢的

考點：考查任務型閱讀

點評：任務型閱讀要求考生在文章的篇章結構有很好的理解，同時對表格的結構也很清晰。注意詞性和詞形的變化，也要注意同義詞，近義詞的轉換。