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  3. The ratio between payments into and out of a country is known as the country’s balance of payments. Besides the value of imports

The ratio between payments into and out of a country is known as the country’s balance of payments. Besides the value of imports

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问题       The ratio between payments into and out of a country is known as the country’s balance of payments. Besides the value of imports and exports (the balance of trade), the balance of payments includes private foreign loans (and interest); loans by governments, central banks, and international organizations; and movements of gold or reserve currencies.
      An international medium of exchange is required for international trade. From the late 1800s until World War I, most countries operated on the gold standard. Gold coins of standard specifications circulated freely between countries, making gold in effect an international currency. This system provided an automatic correction for some trade imbalances, but it had little liquidity (the money supply could not expand as rapidly as required by expanding trade), and it was vulnerable to short-term changes in the gold supply.
     After the financial instability of the 1930s, the international monetary system was rebuilt following World War Ⅱ on the gold-exchange standard. The values of most national currencies were fixed in relation to the U. S. dollar; reserves were kept in dollars, which could be exchanged on demand for gold at a set price (#35 on ounce until 1968). The International Monetary Fund (IMF), a key institution set up under this system, makes international loans with capital subscribed by its members which include most noncommunist states. Voting rights are proportional to the amounts subscribed. The IMF has been able, through its loans, to stabilize fluctuating currencies and to influence the internal financial policies of recipient countries, a frequently criticized practice.
     The success of the gold-exchange standard, however, depended on the superior position of the United States in world trade. In the 1960s, continual balance of payments deficits lowered U. S. gold reserves and fatally undermined the system. In 1968 a two-tiered system was adopted. Government banks maintained fixed gold prices, while non-governmental buyers traded freely. Simultaneously, non-dollar special drawing rights (SDRs) were assigned to IMF members in proportion to their contributions. But these changes did not relieve strain on the U. S. dollar. In 1971 President Richard Nixon announced that dollars would no longer automatically be exchanged for gold, and since then there has been no single international monetary standard.
When the author says that the success of the gold-exchange standard "depended on the superior position of the United States in world trade" (paragraph 4), she is most probably referring to the idea that
选项 A、under this system, the United States was required to lend money to any computer that asked.
B、under this system, the United States was the only country allowed to maintain gold reserves.
C、tying the value of most currencies to any one currency requires that that currency be stable.
D、the gold-exchange standard is less flexible in meeting currency demands than the gold standard.
答案C
解析 本题考查推理判断。从文中可知gold exchange standard(金汇兑本位制)指多数货币与美元挂勾，因此美元必须保持稳定。而只有美国保持其在世界贸易中的优势地位才能使美元保持稳定。故选项 C 为正确答案。选项A 、B 文中未涉及，选项D 文中未加以讨论。
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