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  3. The Global Economy Imbalances and the US Counterplan The United States must reduce its budget deficit and Asian nations must

The Global Economy Imbalances and the US Counterplan The United States must reduce its budget deficit and Asian nations must

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问题                 The Global Economy Imbalances and the US Counterplan
    The United States must reduce its budget deficit and Asian nations must encourage more consumption in order to prevent a recurrence of the global imbalances that contributed to the financial crisis. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday. Bernanke, speaking at a conference on Asia and the financial crisis, attributed the global crisis in part to a longstanding pattern in which Asians saved too much and spent too little, while Americans spent too much and saved too little. As the global economy starts to recover, the Fed chairman said that " global imbalances may reassert themselves. "
    To keep that from happening, the United States must "increase its national savings rate," Bernanke said at the conference, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The best way to do that, he added, is to reduce the federal budget deficit. While Americans individually started saving more during the recession, the government has boosted spending and increased borrowing dramatically. The national savings rate combines saving by individuals, businesses and the government. "Although we should deploy, as best we can, tools to increase private saving," Bernanke said, "the most effective way to accomplish this goal is by establishing a sustainable fiscal trajectory, anchored by a clear commitment to substantially reduce federal deficits over time."
    When asked later what action the country might take to eliminate those imbalances, he stressed finding ways to wind down efforts to stimulate the economy. "We need to develop a fiscal exit strategy which will involve a trajectory towards sustainability," Bernanke said, which he added is " critically important to maintain confidence in our economy and confidence in our currency."
    Bernanke has repeatedly urged Congress and the Obama administration to chart course toward a lower long-term budget deficit, even as he endorsed the idea of a government stimulus program to try to prop up growth in the short-term. Bernanke usually declines to take a stand on specific tax or spending proposals, saying those matters are outside the bounds of his role as an unelected official. But he has argued openly for bringing taxes and spending into better alignment over time. In Monday’s comments, he made that point more explicitly than before, calling the restoration of global fiscal balance as essential to avoiding a repeat of the current crisis.
    Asian leaders also have to take action, Bernanke said, to encourage their citizens to spend more. Authorities in countries running trade surpluses, which includes most in Asia, "must act to narrow the gap between saving and investment and to raise domestic demand," he said. "In large part, such actions should focus on boosting consumption."
    One step Asian nations could take, he said, would be to strengthen pension systems and government spending on health care and education. That in turn could make Asians feel less inclined to hoard money and more willing to make purchases. Bernanke noted that Asian "policies to contain the crisis and global recession seem to be having their intended effect. In India and Indonesia, he noted, industrial output has already hit new peaks. Generally speaking, the Asian response to the crisis appears thus far to have been effective," Bernanke said.
The phrase "that point" in Paragraph 4 probably refers to______.
选项 A、a lower long-term budget deficit
B、the combination of taxes and spending
C、the rejection of a stand on specific tax
D、those matters outside the rights of his role
答案B
解析 语义理解题。根据题干提示定位到第四段。that point出现在该段末句，由此可推知，其应该是承上指代，而且指代的是某一观点(point)；故联系该段倒数第二句But he has argued openly for bringing taxes and spending into better alignment over time，由其中argued可推知，其宾语bringing taxes and spending into better alignment即为其观点，与下文含义相符，综上可知[B]含义与之相符，故为正确答案。该段首句只是提及他要求议会和奥巴马政府chart a course toward a lower long—term budget deficit，他并未对此进行明确解释，故排除[A]；该段第二句虽提及Bernanke usually declines to take a stand on specific tax，但是与定位词距离偏远，且无承接指代关系，故排除[C]；由该段第二句可知，[D]是其usually declines to take a stand on specific tax的理由，而非下文定位词要说明的，故排除。
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