题文
President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to an important truth today—that business institutions have more prestige（威望）in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions possess this great prestige?One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly（垄断）of power. In contrast to one all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers’ dollars, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe, then, that competition is as important, or even more important, than democracy（民主）in preserving freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic（贵族的）idea of inherited privilege.
小题1:The statement “The business of America is business” probably means ________.A．America is a great power in world businessB．Business is of primary concern to AmericansC．The business institutions in America are concerned with commerceD．Business problems are of great importance to the American government小题2:Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only _______.A．by protecting their individual freedomB．when given equality of opportunityC．by way of competitionD．through doing business小题3:Who can benefit from business competition?A．People with ideals of equality and freedom.B．Both business institutions and government.C．Honest businessmen.D．Both businessmen and their customers.小题4:Government is believed to differ strikingly from business in that government is characterized by ________.A．its role in protecting basic American valuesB．its absolute control of powerC．its democratic way of exercising leadershipD．its function in preserving personal freedom小题5:It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes ___________.A．in many countries success often depends on one’s social statusB．businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those in AmericaC．American businesses are more democratic than those in other countriesD．Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:D
小题4:B
小题5:A
解析
本文介绍了在美国社会商业机构比包括政府在内的其他任何类型的组织,有更多的威望。美国人认为以竞争为基础的商业比其他机构更加坚定。美国人可以通过商业竞争实现他们的个人价值。竞争不仅保护顾客的利益，也会保护商业机构。竞争的工商业与垄断的政府经常形成鲜明对照。在这样的社会体制下，美国人不依靠家庭背景决定社会地位。小题1:语义理解题。第一段的that business institutions have more prestige（威望）in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government.在美国社会商业机构比包括政府在内的其他任何类型的组织,有更多的威望。说明美国人很关注商业。故选B。
小题2:细节理解题。第二段的Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected竞争不仅本身是良好的,它还是保护手段,其他基本的美国价值观如个人自由、机会均等和努力工作是受它的保护。可知美国人可以通过商业竞争实现他们的个人价值。故选C。
小题3:细节理解题。从第三段的 if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly.可知只有公正的对待顾客的商业机构才会在竞争中获胜。可以看出竞争不仅保护顾客的利益，也会保护商业机构。故选D。
小题4:细节理解题。第四段的A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. 竞争的工商业与垄断的政府经常形成鲜明对照。因为工商业是竞争的，政府是all-powerful全能的，垄断的，他们的区别在于权利的操控上。故选B。
小题5:推理判断题。最后一段的Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background.竞争的成功被视为美国人基于家庭背景而产生的社会地位的替代。从中可知美国不依靠家庭背景决定社会地位，反过来，其他国家就要依靠了。故选A。
考点： 考点
据考高分专家说，试题“President Coolidge’s.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
