Text 4The larger a machine and the more numerous its parts, the greater likelihood of a breakdown and the more expensive to repair. What has been said about market forces and management was necessarily oversimplified. The economies of modern industrial nations are large and very complex. To be sure, there is management, and there are market forces at work, but there are also many other factors that help or hinder economic function.In modern industrial societies’ governments play a large role. There is a great amount of regulation, most of it meant for the protection of the public. All regulations affect the way businesses operate, often increasing their costs and reducing their profits. Lower profits, in turn, reduce the amount of money which is known as working capital that a company can use for expansion. Auto emission standards, for instance, have had a significant impact on the manufacture and pricing of automobiles. Other government policies such as taxation, budget deficits, and regulation of the money supply have an effect on how much money is available for people to spend on goods and services.International crises and other conditions also affect the working of an economy. A severe frost in Brazil can ruin a coffee crop and raise the price of that commodity. War can cut off the supply of such resources as petroleum, chromium, or copper. In the United States environmental protests have slowed the development of nuclear energy capacity and the mining of vast tracts of protected land. Weather affects agriculture, a hot, dry summer can damage the wheat crop; floods can destroy thousands of acres of crops suddenly; and insect pests can devastate cropland with a rapid onslaught.People’s attitudes also have an impact on the marketing of goods. Health-conscious individuals, for example, may stop smoking, curtail their intake of alcohol, and eat less of certain kinds of food. Advertising affects what people buy, and it can create a market where none existed. Style and fashion are significant for many consumers.There are other economic problems that are more difficult to understand. For centuries economies have been subject to periods of prosperity followed by periods of decline. Although periods of prosperity can be explained rather easily, the reasons for panics, recessions, and depressions are of a complex nature. So many factors contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s, for example, that no economist has ever been able to account for all of them.Because the causes of decline are uncertain, the remedies are equally uncertain. In the late 20th century all industrialized societies through their governments have tried to stabilize economies, keep them prosperous, and reduce unemployment. None of the remedies has worked to the extent that was hoped. How economies work and what remedies can be found to keep them operating efficiently are the tasks of economists, who must work together with businessmen and politicians. The example of auto emission standards is here used to make it clear that ().
A. it is harmful for a government to interfere with economic matters
B. state policies tend to lower profits and discourage investment
C. regulation may affect business operation by increasing the cost
D. most regulations are not meant for the protection of the public
The task of being accepted and enrolled in a university begins early for some students. Long (1) they graduate from high school. These students take special (2) to prepare for advanced study. They may also take one of more examinations that test how (3) prepared they are for the university. In the final year of high school, they (4) applications and send them, with their student records, to the universities which they hope to (5) . Some high school students may be (6) to have an interview with representatives of the university. Neatly, (7) and usually very frightened, they are (8) to show that they have a good attitude and the (9) to succeed.When the new students are finally (10) , there may be one more step they have to (11) before registering for classes and (12) to work. Many colleges and universities (13) an orientation program for new students. (14) these programs, the young people get to know the (15) for registration and student advising, university rules, the (16) of the library and all the other (17) services of the college or university.Beginning a new life in a new place can be very (18) . The more knowledge students have (19) the school, the easier it will be for them to (20) to the new environment. However, it takes time to get used to college life. 2()
A. courses
B. disciplines
C. majors
D. subjects
Truth in advertising is a concept central to the American free market economic system. According to this theory, companies that advertise their products to mass audiences must strictly deliver on their promises, and the quality of their goods must live up to the hype put out by the sellers. In order to examine just how important truthful advertising is, let us consider for a moment a world in which there was no such constraint imposed upon sellers. It would be a world where advertisers were free to exaggerate or even lie as they pleased, doing anything to make their products look great, even when it’s of interior quality. Firstly, the unreliability of the goods in question would no doubt shatter consumer confidence. Wary buyers would shop much less, thus decreasing the volume of trade and leading to a weakened overall economy. Further, the market would find itself stagnating, the lack of growth attributable to the fact that everyone is reluctant to buy products of which they are uncertain. Without growth, no progress is achieved.
Why was the woman worried
A. She didn’t feel well.
B. She lost her way.
C. She didn’t know how to ski.
D. She was afraid of strangers.