①A history of long and effortless success can be a dreadful handicap,but,if properly handled,it may become a driving force.②When the United States entered just such a glowing period after the end of the Second World War, it had a market eight times larger than any competitor, giving its industries unparalleled economies of scale.③Its scientists were the world’s best; its workers the most skilled.④America and Americans were prosperous beyond the dreams of the Europeans and Asians whose economies the war had destroyed.

effortless  a. 轻松的，不费力的

dreadful  a. 极其的，极其大的

handicap  n. 障碍，阻碍

properly  ad. 适当地

handle  v. 处理，应付

driving force  动力，推动力

glowing  a. 光彩照人的，辉煌的

competitor  n. 竞争者

unparalleled  a. 无比的，空前的

skilled  a. 熟练的

prosperous  a. 繁荣的

beyond the dreams of  做梦也无法想象

a dreadful handicap  一个极大的障碍

enter a glowing period  进入一段辉煌时期

unparalleled economies of scale  无与伦比的规模经济

①一段毫不费力就获得的长久成功史可能会成为一种极大的障碍，但若处理得当，它也可能转化为一种推动力。②二战结束后，美国恰好进入了这样一段辉煌时期，当时，它拥有相当于任何竞争者八倍的市场，使其产业达到无与伦比的规模经济。③它拥有世界上最优秀的科学家和技术最娴熟的工人。④美国的国富民强是那些经济遭到战争破坏的欧亚诸国做梦也无法想象的。

①It was inevitable that this primacy should have narrowed as other countries grew richer.②Just as inevitably, the retreat from predominance proved painful.③By the mid-1980s Americans had found themselves at a loss over their fading industrial competitiveness.④Some huge American industries, such as consumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in the face of foreign competition.⑤By 1987 there was only one American television maker left, Zenith.(Now there is none: Zenith was bought by South Korea’s LG Electronics in July.)⑥Foreign-made cars and textiles were sweeping into the domestic market.⑦America’s machine-tool industry was on the ropes.⑧For a while it looked as though the making of semiconductors, which America had invented and which sat at the heart of the new computer age, was going to be the next casualty.

inevitable  a. 必然的，不可避免的

it was inevitable that...  难以避免的是……

primacy  n. 第一位，首位，卓越

narrow  v. 变窄，变小

retreat  n. 后退

predominance  n. 主导地位，优势

at a loss  困惑，不知所措

at a loss over  面对……不知所措

retreat from  撤退，衰退

competitiveness  n. 竞争力

consumer electronics  消费电子产品

shrink  v. 变小，减少

vanish  v. 消失

textile  n. 纺织品

sweep into  涌向

domestic  a. 国内的

machine-tool industry  机床制造工业

industrial competitiveness  产业竞争力

in the face of  面对

looked as though  好像，看起来

sit at the heart of  居于……中心

a crisis of confidence  信心危机

on the ropes  岌岌可危

for a while  曾经有那么一段时间

semiconductor  n. 半导体

at the heart of  处于……的中心位置

casualty  n. 受害者，牺牲品

随着其他国家日益强盛，美国的这一领先优势逐渐缩小，这是不可避免的。领先优势的后撤同样不可避免地令人感到痛苦。到了20世纪80年代中期，面对其日益衰退的产业竞争力，美国人感到不知所措。面对国外竞争，某些大型美国产业，如消费电子业，已经萎缩甚至倒闭。到1987年，美国只剩下Zenith这一家电视生产商（现在一家也没有了：Zenith已于7月被韩国LG电器公司收购）。外国制造的汽车和纷织品正在大举进入美国国内市场。美国的机床产业也发发可危。半导体是美国人发明的，并在计算机新时代处于核心地位，《但）有那么一段时间，半导体制造业似乎要成为下一个“受害者”。.

①All of this caused a crisis of confidence.②Americans stopped taking prosperity for granted.③They began to believe that their way of doing business was failing, and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall as well.④The mid-1980s brought one inquiry after another into the causes of America’s industrial decline.⑤Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growing competition from overseas.

cause a crisis of confidence  引发一场信心危机

prosperity  n. 繁荣，成功

take... for granted  认为……理所当然

way of doing business  商业经营方式

shortly  ad. 不久，很快

inquiry  n. 调查，查问

decline  n. 衰退

sensational  a. 哗众取宠的，耸人听闻的

warning  n. 警告，告诫

overseas  ad. 海外

industrial decline  产业衰退

所有这一切引发了一场信心危机。美国人不再视繁荣为理所当然之事。他们开始相信自己的商业经营方式不灵了，也相信不久他们的收入会因此而下降。20世纪80年代中期，人们对美国产业衰退的原因展开一次又一次的调查。偶尔一些耸人听闻的调查结果充斥着对海外竞争压力日益增长的警告之词。

①How things have changed!②In 1995 the United States can look back on five years of solid growth while Japan has been struggling.③Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle.④Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride.⑤“American industry has changed its structure, has gone on a diet,has learnt to be more quick-witted,” according to Richard Cavanagh,executive dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.⑥“It makes me proud to be an American just to see how our businesses are improving their productivity,” says Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC.⑦And William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School believes that people will look back on this period as “a golden age of business management in the United States.”

solid  a. 稳固的，稳定的

struggle  v. 挣扎

attribute  v. 把……归因于

solely  ad. 仅仅

devalued  a. 贬值的

cycle  n. 周期，循环期

self-doubt  n. 自我怀疑

yield  v. 屈服，让步

blind pride  盲目自豪

go on a diet  节食，引申为“精简”

quick-witted  a. 机敏的，机智的

improve one's productivity  提高生产力

think-tank  n. 智囊团

a golden age  黄金时代

solid growth  稳固发展

a devalued dollar  美元贬值

the turning of the business cycle  经济周期的循环

情况变化如此之大！1995年，当日本还在奋力挣扎的时候，美国却可以对五年的稳固发展(稳定增长）作一回顾了。很少有美国人将此仅仅归因于美元贬值或经济周期的循环这些显而易见的原因。于是，自我怀疑被盲目自豪所取代。用哈佛大学肯尼迪管理学院执行院长理查德·卡佛纳的话说就是：“美国产业已经调整了结构，进行了精简，反应也更敏捷了。”华盛顿特区的智囊团——卡托研究院的史蒂芬·莫尔也说：“我们的企业正在提高生产率，作为一名美国人，我感到自豪。”哈佛商学院的威廉·萨尔曼相信人们回顾这段时期时，将把它视为“美国企业管理的黄金时代”。

11. The U.S. achieved its predominance after World War II because_______.

A：it had made painstaking efforts towards this goal

B：its domestic market was eight times larger than before

C：the war had destroyed the economies of most potential competitors

D：the unparalleled size of its workforce had given an impetus to its economy

12. The loss of U.S. predominance in the world economy in the 1980s is manifested in the fact that the American         .

A：TV industry had withdrawn to its domestic market

B：semiconductor industry had been taken over by foreign enterprises

C：machine-tool industry had collapsed after suicidal actions

D：auto industry had lost part of its domestic market

13. What can be inferred from the passage?

A：It is human nature to shift between self-doubt and blind pride.

B：Intense competition may contribute to economic progress.

C：The revival of the economy depends on international cooperation.

D：A long history of success may pave the way for further development.

14. The author seems to believe the revival of the U.S. economy in the 1990s can be attributed to the      .

A：turning of the business cycle  

B：restructuring of industry

C：improved business management  

D：success in education

CDBA

11、根据题干关键词achieved its predominance after World War II（ 二战后获得霸主地位）可直接定位至第一段。该段句群②③④句描绘了“二战后美国毫不费力获得了成功：国富民强”并于④句中隐晦传达出“这一国富民强的获取是建立在二战对欧亚国家经济摧毁的基础之上的”，由此可知，[C]正确。

12、根据题干关键词The loss of US predominance in the world economy in the 1980s定位至第二段。该段⑥句明确指出：外国制造的汽车和纺织品正在大举进入国内市场，言外之意即为，美国汽车工业、纺织业已失去了部分国内市场，[D]正确。

13、