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  3. "The word ’protection’ is no longer taboo". This short sentence, uttered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy last month, may hav

"The word ’protection’ is no longer taboo". This short sentence, uttered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy last month, may hav

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问题     "The word ’protection’ is no longer taboo". This short sentence, uttered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy last month, may have launched a new era in economic history. Why? For decades, Western leaders have believed that lowering trade barriers and tariffs was a natural good. Doing so, they reasoned, would lead to greater economic efficiency and productivity, which in turn would improve human welfare. Championing free trade thus became a moral, not just an economic cause.
    These leaders, of course, weren’t acting out of unselfishness. They knew their economies were the most competitive, so they’d profit most from liberalization. And developing countries feared that their economies would be swamped by superior Western productivity. Today, however, the tables have turned— though few acknowledge it. The West continues to preach free trade, but practices it less and less. Asian, meanwhile, continues to plead for special protection but practices more and more free trade.
    That’s why Sarkozy’s words were so important: he finally injected some honesty into the trade debates. The truth is that large parts of the West are losing faith in free trade, though few leaders admit it. Some economists are more honest. Paul Krugman is one of the few willing to acknowledge that protectionist arguments are returning. In the short run, there will be winners and losers under free trade. This, of course, is what capitalism is all about. But more and more of these losers will be in the West. Economists in the developed world used to love quoting Joseph Schumpeter, who said that "creative destruction" was an essential part of capitalist growth. But they always assumed that destruction would happen over there. When Western workers began losing jobs, suddenly their leaders began to lose faith in their principles. Things have yet to reverse completely. But there’s clearly a negative trend in a Western theory and practice.
    A little hypocrisy is not in itself a serious problem. The real problem is that Western governments continue to insist that they retain control of the key global economic and financial institutions while drifting away from global liberalization. Look at what’s happening at the IMF (International Monetary Fund). The Europeans have demanded that they keep the post of managing director. But all too often. Western officials put their own interests above everyone else’s when they dominate these global institutions.
    The time has therefore come for the Asians—who are clearly the new winners in today’s global economy—to provide more intellectual leadership in supporting free trade. Sadly, they have yet to do so. Unless Asians speak out, however, there’s a real danger that Adam Smith’s principles, which have brought so much good to the world, could gradually die. And that would leave all of us, worse off, in one way or another.
The Western leaders preach free trade because________.
选项 A、it is beneficial to their economies
B、it is supported by developing countries
C、it makes them keep faith in their principles
D、it is advocated by Joseph Schumpeter and Adam Smith
答案A
解析 本题关键词是Western leaders和free trade，问题是为什么西方国家领导人宣扬自由贸易，定位到第二段。根据第二段第二句，他们知道本国经济最具竞争力，所以能从自由贸易中获利最大 (profit most from liberalization)，由此可见，选项A与原文属于相同含义，为正确选项。选项B属于正反混淆，因为从第二段第三句可知，西方国家是推行自由贸易的，并且是自由贸易的最大受益者，而发展中国家害怕自己的经济会被西方发达国家先进的生产力所吞没(feared that their economies would be swamped by superior Western productivity)，所以可以得出，发展中国家并不支持自由贸易的做法。选项C曲解文意，西方国家领导人是因为对其原则有信心，才大力宣扬自由贸易，而不是通过大力宣扬自由贸易来获取对其自身原则的信心。选项D中两位经济学家的理论确实是西方领导人推行自由贸易的理论基础，但并非根本原因，属于就事论事。第二段：与亚洲国家相反，如今西方国家仍宣扬自由贸易，但实践得越来越少。
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