There is widespread belief that the emergence of giant industries has been accompanied by an equivalent surge in industrial research. A recent study of important inventions made since the turn of the century reveals that more than half were the product of individual inventors working alone, independent of organized industrial research. While industrial laboratories contributed such important products as nylon and transistors, independent inventors developed air conditioning, the automatic transmission, the jet engine, the helicopter, insulin, and streptomycin. Still other inventions, such as stainless steel, television, silicones, and Plexiglas were developed through the combined efforts of individuals and laboratory teams.
Despite these finding, we are urged to support monopolistic power on the grounds that such power creates an environment supportive of innovation. We are told that the independent inventor, along with the small firm, cannot afford to undertake the important research needed to improve our standard of living while protecting our diminishing resources; that only the giant corporation or conglomerate, with its prodigious assets, can afford the kind of expenditures that produce the technological advances vital to economic progress. But when we examine expenditures for research, we find that of the more than $35 billion spent each year in this country, almost two-thirds is spent by the federal government. More than half of this government expenditure is funneled into military research and product development, accounting for the enormous increase in spending in such industries as nuclear energy, aircraft, missiles, and electronics. There are those who consider it questionable that these defense-linked research projects will either improve our standard of living or do much to protect our diminishing resources.
Recent history has demonstrated that we may have to alter our longstanding conception of the process actuated by competition. The price variable, once perceived as the dominant aspect of the process, is now subordinate to the competition of the new product, the new business structure, and the new technology. While it can be assumed that in a highly competitive industry not dominated by a single corporation, investment in innovation — a risky and expensive budget item — might meet resistance from management and stockholders concerned about cost-cutting, efficient organization, and large advertising budgets, it would be an egregious error to equate the monopolistic producer with bountiful expenditures on research. Large-scale enterprises tend to operate more comfortably in stable and secure circumstances, and their managerial bureaucracies tend to promote the status quo and resist the threat implicit in change. Moreover, in some cases, industrial giants faced with little or no competition seek to avoid the capital loss resulting from obsolescence by deliberately obstructing technological progress. By contrast, small firms undeterred by large investments in plant and capital equipment often aggressively pursue new techniques and new products, investing in innovation in order to expand their market shares.
The conglomerates are not, however, completely except from strong competitive pressures. There are instances in which they too must compete with another industrial Goliath, and then their weapons may include large expenditures for innovation.
1.The primary purpose of the passage is to （ ）.
2.According to the passage, important inventions of the twentieth century （ ）.
3.Which of the following best describes the organization of the second paragraph of the passage?
4.With which of the following statements would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?
5.Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the author’s main point?
问题1选项
A.advocate an increase in government support of organized industrial research
B.point out a common misconception about the relationship between the extent of industrial research and the growth of monopolistic power in industry
C.describe the inadequacies of small firms in dealing with the important matter of research and innovation
D.show that America’s strength depends upon individual ingenuity and resourcefulness
问题2选项
A.were produced largely as a result of governmental support for military weapons research and development.
B.came primarily from the huge laboratories of monopolistic industries
C.were produced at least as frequently by independent inventors as by research teams
D.have greater impact on smaller firms than on conglomerates
问题3选项
A.Expenditures for various aspects of research are listed.
B.Reasons for supporting monopolistic power are given and then questioned.
C.Arguments are presented for minimizing competitive bidding for research.
D.Resources necessary for research are defined.
问题4选项
A.Monopolistic power creates an environment supportive of innovation.
B.Governmental expenditure for military research will do much to protect our dwindling resources.
C.Industrial giants, with their managerial bureaucracies, respond more quickly to technological change than smaller firms do.
D.Firms with a small share of the market aggressively pursue innovations because they are not locked into old capital equipment.
问题5选项
A.In the last decade, conglomerates have significantly increased their research budgets for defense technology.
B.Tax restructuring permits smaller firms to write off a larger percentage of profits against research.
C.A ten-year study of the extent of resources devoted to research by smaller enterprises reveals a steady decline.
D.Military research is being directed more extensively to space technology than to short-range missiles.
第1题:B
第2题:C
第3题:B
第4题:D
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
The primary purpose of the passage is to______. 这篇文章的主要目的是______。
A. advocate an increase in government support of organized industrial research A. 提倡政府增加对有组织的工业研究的支持
B. point out a common misconception about the relationship between the extent of industrial research and the growth of monopolistic power in industry B. 指出对工业研究程度和工业垄断力量增长之间关系的普遍误解
C. describe the inadequacies of small firms in dealing with the important matter of research and innovation C. 描述小公司在处理重要的研究和创新方面的不足
D. show that America’s strength depends upon individual ingenuity and resourcefulness D. 表明美国的力量取决于个人的聪明才智和足智多谋
【考查点】主旨目的题。
【解题思路】文章第一段是全文的主题段，前两句的对比指出了文章的主旨，“人们普遍认为，巨型工业的出现伴随着工业研究的激增。最近对世纪之交以来的重要发明进行的一项研究表明，半数以上的发明者是独立于有组织的工业研究而独自工作的个人发明者的产物。”（There is widespread belief that the emergence of giant industries has been accompanied by an equivalent surge in industrial research. A recent study of important inventions made since the turn of the century reveals that more than half were the product of individual inventors working alone, independent of organized industrial research.）即大型工业的发展不代表工业研究投入的增加。因此本题正确答案为选项B。
【干扰项排除】
A选项对应文中第二段“政府支出的一半以上用于军事研究和产品开发”；
C选项对应文中第三段“小公司往往会积极追求新技术和新产品，投资创新以扩大其市场份额”；
D选项与原文无关，属于曲解原文；这三个选项都不能代表全文主旨。
第2题:
【选项释义】
According to the passage, important inventions of the twentieth century______. 根据文章，二十世纪的重要发明______。
A. were produced largely as a result of governmental support for military weapons research and development. A. 主要是由于政府对军事武器研究和发展的支持的结果
B. came primarily from the huge laboratories of monopolistic industries B. 主要来自垄断行业的巨大实验室
C. were produced at least as frequently by independent inventors as by research teams C. 独立发明家和研究团队制造的频率至少是一样高的
D. have greater impact on smaller firms than on conglomerates D. 对小公司的影响大于对大企业集团的影响
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词important inventions可精确定位到原文第一段第二句“最近一项关于世纪之交以来重要发明的研究显示，超过一半的发明是独立于有组织的工业研究的单个发明家的发明。”（A recent study of important inventions made since the turn of the century reveals that more than half were the product of individual inventors working alone, independent of organized industrial research. ），因此本题正确答案为选项C。
【干扰项排除】
A选项属于曲解原文，政府对军事研究的支持没有使得所有的研究发明增加；
B选项从原文第一段可知，是个人与团队对半分；
D选项小公司并没有影响到大公司，而是小公司会负担不起支出。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following best describes the organization of the second paragraph of the passage? 下列哪项最好地描述了文章第二段的结构？
A. Expenditures for various aspects of research are listed. A. 研究的各个方面的支出都列了出来。
B. Reasons for supporting monopolistic power are given and then questioned. B. 给出了支持垄断的理由，然后质疑。
C. Arguments are presented for minimizing competitive bidding for research. C. 提出了最小化研究竞标的论点。
D. Resources necessary for research are defined. D. 确定了研究所需的资源。
【考查点】细节推理题。
【解题思路】根据题干可精确定位到原文第二段，第二句中“我们被告知，独立发明人和小公司无法承担在保护我们日益减少的资源的同时提高我们的生活水平所需的重要研究；只有拥有巨额资产的大型公司或企业集团才能负担得起产生对经济进步至关重要的技术进步的支出。”（...only the giant corporation or conglomerate, with its prodigious assets, can afford the kind of expenditures that produce the technological advances vital to economic progress.）指出，用于改善生活标准的研究只能由大型企业承担，但在第三句“但当我们检查研究支出时，我们发现，在这个国家每年超过350亿美元的支出中，近三分之二是由联邦政府支出的。”（But when we examine expenditures for research, we find that of the more than $35 billion spent each year in this country, almost two-thirds is spent by the federal government.）又指出，研究发现政府支出的用于工业研究的资金有一大部分用于防御项目，有人对这些研究是否会提高生活标准提出质疑。因此本题正确答案为选项B。
【干扰项排除】
A选项原文并没有把各项支出都列出来；
C选项原文没有提出最小化研究竞标论点；
D选项原文并没有提出研究所需的资源；三项均属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
With which of the following statements would the author of the passage be most likely to agree? 文章的作者最可能同意下列哪一种说法？
A. Monopolistic power creates an environment supportive of innovation. A. 垄断权力创造了一个支持创新的环境。
B. Governmental expenditure for military research will do much to protect our dwindling resources. B. 政府用于军事研究的开支将大大有助于保护我们日益减少的资源。
C. Industrial giants, with their managerial bureaucracies, respond more quickly to technological change than smaller firms do. C. 工业巨头和他们的管理官僚机构对技术变化的反应比小公司更快。
D. Firms with a small share of the market aggressively pursue innovations because they are not locked into old capital equipment. D. 市场份额小的公司积极追求创新，因为它们没有被困在旧的资本设备中。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干，可从第三段最后一句“相比之下，小公司不受大型工厂和资本设备投资的阻碍，往往积极追求新技术和新产品，投资于创新，以扩大其市场份额。”（By contrast, small firms undeterred by large investments in plant and capital equipment often aggressively pursue new techniques and new products, investing in innovation in order to expand their market shares. ）中得出答案，因此本题正确答案为选项D。
【干扰项排除】
A选项对应文中第二段“我们仍被敦促支持垄断权力，因为这种权力创造了支持创新的环境”，但并不是作者的态度，属于张冠李戴；
B选项对应文中第二段最后一句“要么会对保护我们日益减少的资源起到很大作用，这一点值得怀疑”，属于曲解原文；
C选项对应第三段最后一句“小公司不受大型工厂和资本设备投资的阻碍”，所以小公司对技术变化的反应更快，属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the author’s main point? 如果正确的话，下列哪一项最能削弱作者的主要观点？
A. In the last decade, conglomerates have significantly increased their research budgets for defense technology. A. 在过去10年里，大企业集团大幅增加了国防技术的研究预算。
B. Tax restructuring permits smaller firms to write off a larger percentage of profits against research. B. 税收重组允许小公司从研究中冲销更大比例的利润。
C. A ten-year study of the extent of resources devoted to research by smaller enterprises reveals a steady decline. C. 一项对小型企业用于研究的资源规模的十年研究表明，其投入在稳步下降。
D. Military research is being directed more extensively to space technology than to short-range missiles. D. 军事研究正更广泛地转向太空技术，而不是短程导弹。
【考查点】细节判断题。
【解题思路】通过阅读文章后发现，作者的主要观点是看好小公司的发展前途，所以削弱的话，必然是对小公司进行负面评价，因此本题正确答案为选项C。
【干扰项排除】
A选项表达的是对大公司的评价；
B选项表达的是小公司的优势；
D选项文中并没有提到军事研究的方向。
