Text 3 Robert F. Kennedy once said that a country's GDP measures "everything except that which makes life worthwhile." With Britain voting to leave the European Union, and GDP already predicted to slow as a result, it is now a timely moment to assess what he was referring to.
The question of GDP and its usefulness has annoyed policymakers for over half a century. Many argue that it is a flawed concept. It measures things that do not matter and misses things that do. By most recent measures, the UK's GDP has been the envy of the Western world, with record low unemployment and high growth figures. If everything was going so well, then why did over 17 million people vote for Brexit, despite the warnings about what it could do to their country's economic prospects?
A recent annual study of countries and their ability to convert growth into well-being sheds some light on that question. Across the 163 countries measured, the UK is one of the poorest performers in ensuring that economic growth is translated into meaningful improvements for its citizens. Rather than just focusing on GDP, over 40 different sets of criteria from health, education and civil society engagement have been measured to get a more rounded assessment of how countries are performing.
While all of these countries face their own challenges , there are a number of consistent themes . Yes , there has been a budding economic recovery since the 2008 global crash , but in key indicators in areas such as health and education , major economies have continued to decline . Yet this isn't the case with all countries . Some relatively poor European countries have seen huge improvements across measures including civil society , income equality and the environment.
This is a lesson that rich countries can learn : When GDP is no longer regarded as the sole measure of a country's success, the world looks very different .
So, what Kennedy was referring to was that while GDP has been the most common method for measuring the economic activity of nations , as a measure , it is no longer enough . It does not include important factors such as environmental quality or education outcomes - all things that contribute to a person's sense of well-being.
The sharp hit to growth predicted around the world and in the UK could lead to a decline in the everyday services we depend on for our well-being and for growth . But policymakers who refocus efforts on improving well-being rather than simply worrying about GDP figures could avoid the forecasted doom and may even see progress .
31.Robert F. Kennedy is cited because he
[A]praised the UK for its GDP.
[B]identified GDP with happiness .
[C]misinterpreted the role of GDP .
[D]had a low opinion of GDP .
【答案】[D] had a low opinion of GDP
32.It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that
[A]the UK is reluctant to remold its economic pattern .
[B]GDP as the measure of success is widely defied in the UK .
[C]the UK will contribute less to the world economy .
[D]policymakers in the UK are paying less attention to GDP .
【答案】[B]GDP as the measure of success is widely defied in the UK .
33.Which of the following is true about the recent annual study ?
[A]It is sponsored by 163 countries .
[B]It excludes GDP as an indicator.
[C]Its criteria are questionable .
[D]Its results are enlightening .
【答案】[D]Its results are enlightening .
34.In the last two paragraphs , the author suggests that
[A]the UK is preparing for an economic boom .
[B]high GDP foreshadows an economic decline .
[C]it is essential to consider factors beyond GDP .
[D]it requires caution to handle economic issues .
【答案】[C]it is essential to consider factors beyond GDP .
35.Which of the following is the best title for the text ?
[A]High GDP But Inadequate Well-being , a UK Lesson
[B]GDP Figures, a Window on Global Economic Health
[C]Rebort F.Kennedy, a Terminator of GDP
[D]Brexit, the UK's Gateway to Well-being
【答案】[A]High GDP But Inadequate Well-being , a UK Lesson
Text 4 In a rare unanimous ruling, the US Supreme Court has overturned the corruption conviction of a former Virginia governor, Robert McDonnell. But it did so while holding its nose at the ethics of his conduct, which included accepting gifts such as a Rolex watch and a Ferrari automobile from a company seeking access to government.
The high court's decision said the judge in Mr. McDonnell's trial failed to tell a jury that it must look only at his "official acts," or the former governor's decisions on "specific" and "unsettled" issues related to his duties.
Merely helping a gift-giver gain access to other officials, unless done with clear intent to pressure those officials, is not corruption, the justices found.
The court did suggest that accepting favors in return for opening doors is "distasteful" and "nasty." But under anti-bribery laws, proof must be made of concrete benefits, such as approval of a contract or regulation. Simply arranging a meeting, making a phone call, or hosting an event is not an "official act".
The court's ruling is legally sound in defining a kind of favoritism that is not criminal. Elected leaders must be allowed to help supporters deal with bureaucratic problems without fear of prosecution for bribery." The basic compact underlying representative government," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the court," assumes that public officials will hear from their constituents and act on their concerns."
But the ruling reinforces the need for citizens and their elected representatives, not the courts, to ensure equality of access to government. Officials must not be allowed to play favorites in providing information or in arranging meetings simply because an individual or group provides a campaign donation or a personal gift. This type of integrity requires well-enforced laws in government transparency, such as records of official meetings, rules on lobbying, and information about each elected leader's source of wealth.
Favoritism in official access can fan public perceptions of corruption. But it is not always corruption. Rather officials must avoid double standards, or different types of access for average people and the wealthy. If connections can be bought, a basic premise of democratic society-that all are equal in treatment by government-is undermined. Good governance rests on an understanding of the inherent worth of each individual.
The court's ruling is a step forward in the struggle against both corruption and official favoritism.
36. The undermined sentence (Para.1) most probably shows that the court
[A] avoided defining the extent of McDonnell's duties.
[B] made no compromise in convicting McDonnell.
[C] was contemptuous of McDonnell's conduct.
[D] refused to comment on McDonnell's ethics.
【答案】[C] was contemptuous of McDonnell's conduct.
37. According to Paragraph 4, an official act is deemed corruptive only if it involves
[A] leaking secrets intentionally.
[B] sizable gains in the form of gifts.
[C] concrete returns for gift-givers.
[D] breaking contracts officially.
【答案】[C] concrete returns for gift-givers.
38. The court's ruling is based on the assumption that public officials are
[A] justified in addressing the needs of their constituents.
[B] qualified to deal independently with bureaucratic issues.
[C] allowed to focus on the concerns of their supporters.
[D] exempt from conviction on the charge of favoritism.
【答案】[A] justified in addressing the needs of their constituents.
39. Well-enforced laws in government transparency are needed to
[A] awaken the conscience of officials.
[B] guarantee fair play in official access.
[C] allow for certain kinds of lobbying.
[D] inspire hopes in average people.
【答案】[B] guarantee fair play in official access.
40. The author's attitude toward the court's ruling is
[A] sarcastic.
[B] tolerant.
[C] skeptical.
[D] supportive
【答案】[D] supportive
Part B Directions:
The following paragraphs are given in a wrong order. For Questions 41-45, you are required to reorganize these paragraphs into a coherent article by choosing from the list A-G to filling them into the numbered box. Paragraphs B and D have been correctly placed. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
[A]The first published sketch, "A Dinner at Poplar Walk" brought tears to Dickens's eyes when he discovered it in the pages of The Monthly Magazine. From then on his sketches ,which appeared under the pen name "Boz" in The Evening Chronicle, earned him a modest reputation.
[B]The runaway success of The Pickwick Papers, as it is generally known today, secured Dickens's fame. There were Pickwick coats and Pickwick cigars, and the plump, spectacled hero, Samuel Pickwick, became a national figure.
[C]Soon after Sketches by Boz appeared, a publishing firm approached Dickens to write a story in monthly installments, as a backdrop for a series of woodcuts by the ten-famous artist Robert Seymour, who had originated the idea for the story. With characteristic confidence, Dickens successfully insisted that Seymour's pictures illustrate his own story instead. After the first installment, Dickens wrote to the artist and asked him to correct a drawing Dickens felt was not faithful enough to his prose. Seymour made the change, went into his backyard, and expressed his displeasure by committing suicide. Dickens and his publishers simply pressed on with a new artist. The comic novel, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, appeared serially in 1836 and 1837, and was first published in book form in 1837.
[D]Charles Dickens is probably the best-known and, to many people, the greatest English novelist of the 19th century. A moralist, satirist, and social reformer. Dickens crafted complex plots and striking characters that capture the panorama of English society.
[E]Soon after his father's release from prison, Dickens got a better job as errand boy in law offices. He taught himself shorthand to get an even better job later as a court stenographer and as a reporter in Parliament. At the same time, Dickens, who had a reporter's eye for transcribing the life around him especially anything comic or odd, submitted short sketches to obscure magazines.
[F] Dickens was born in Portsmouth, on England's southern coast. His father was a clerk in the British navy pay office -a respectable position, but wish little social status. His paternal grandparents, a steward and a housekeeper possessed even less status, having been servants, and Dickens later concealed their background. Dicken's mother supposedly came from a more respectable family. Yet two years before Dicken's birth, his mother's father was caught stealing and fled to Europe, never to return. The family's increasing poverty forced Dickens out of school at age 12 to work in Warren's Blacking Warehouse, a shoe-polish factory, where the other working boys mocked him as "the young gentleman." His father was then imprisoned for debt. The humiliations of his father's imprisonment and his labor in the blacking factory formed Dicken's greatest wound and became his deepest secret. He could not confide them even to his wife, although they provide the unacknowledged foundation of his fiction.
[G] After Pickwick, Dickens plunged into a bleaker world. In Oliver Twist, e traces an orphan's progress from the workhouse to the criminal slums of London. Nicholas Nickleby, his next novel, combines the darkness of Oliver Twist with the sunlight of Pickwick. The popularity of these novels consolidated Dichens' as a nationally and internationally celebrated man of letters.
D → 41. → 42. → 43. → 44. → B →45.
【答案】
41. [F] Dickens was born in Portsmouth
42. [E] Soon after his father's release from prison
43. [A]The first published sketch
44. [C]Soon after Sketches by Boz appeared
45. [G] After Pickwick, Dickens plunged into a bleaker world
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