Text 3 The provision of positive incentives to work in the new society will not be an eas

Text3Theprovisionofpositiveincentivestoworkinthenewsocietywillnotbeaneasytask.Butthemostd ifficulttaskofallistodevisetheultimateandfinalsanctiontoreplacetheultimatesanctionofhunger—theeconomicwhipoftheolddispensation.Moreover,inasocietywhichrightlyrejectsthepretenceofseparatingeconomicsfrompoliticsanddeniestheautonomyoftheeconomicorder,thatsanctioncanbefoundonlyinsomeconsciousactofsociety.Wecannolongerasktheinvisiblehandtodoourdirtyworkforus.

IconfessthatIamlesshorror-str uckthansomepeopleattheprospect,whichseemstomeunavoidable,ofanultimatepowerofwhatiscalleddirectionoflabourrestinginsomearmofsociety,whetherinanorganofstateoroftr adeunions.IshouldindeedbehorrifiedifIidentifiedthisprospectwithareturntotheconditionsofthepre-capitalistera.Theeconomicwhipoflaissez-faireundoubtedlyrepresentedanadvanceontheserf-likeconditionsofthatperiod:inthatr elativesense,theclaimofcapitalismtohaveestablishedforthefirsttimeasystemof“free”labourdeservesrespect.ButthedirectionoflabourasexercisedinGreatBritainintheSecondWorldWarseemstometorepresentasgreatanadvanceovertheeconomicwhipoftheheydayofcapitalistprivateenterpriseastheeconomicwhiprepresentedoverpre-capitalistserfdom.

Muchdependsontheeffectivenessofthepositiveincentives,much,too,onthesolidarityandself-disciplineofthecommunity.Afterall,underthesystemoflaissez-fairecapitalismthefearofhungerremainedanultimatesanctionratherthanacontinuouslyoperativeforce.Itwouldhavebeenintolerableiftheworkerhadbeennormallydriventoworkbyconsciousfearofhunger;nor,exceptintheearlyandworstd aysoftheIndustr ialRevolution,didthatnormallyhappen.Similarlyinthesocietyofthefuturethepowerofdirectionshouldberegardednotsomuchasaninstr umentofdailyusebutr atherasanultimatesanctionheldinreservewherevoluntarymethodsfail.Itisinconceivablethat,inanyperiodorinanyconditionsthatcannowbeforeseen,anyorganofstateinGreatBritainwouldbeinaposition,evenifithadthewill,tomarshalanddeploythelabourforceoverthewholeeconomybymilitarydisciplinelikeanarmyinthefield.This,likeothernightmaresofatotallyplannedeconomy,canbelefttothosewholiketofrightenthemselvesandotherswithscarecrows.

第31题：1.Theword“sanction”(Line2,Paragraph1)isclosestinmeaningto______.

［A］correctivemeasures

［B］encouragingmethods

［C］preventiveefforts

［D］revolutionaryactions

本题考查词义的理解。对sanction一词的理解依赖于对整个第一段的理解。第一段第二句提到sanctionofhunger，其上文即第一句提到positiveincentives（正面激励），第二句以but为标志出现转折。因此，sanctionofhunger与“正面激励”应该是相对照的。第一段最后一句又提到，不能再要求这只无形的手替我们做“惹人讨厌的工作”了。这里“无形的手”指的是上文提到的“sanctionofhunger”，由此可知它做的是“惹人讨厌的工作”。综合以上线索，sanction应是一种“负面手段”，通过比如饥饿这样的处罚来达到改善、改进的目的。因此该词最接近的含义是［A］。