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  3. Everyone complains that corporate America is【C1】______to hire additional workers. Far【C2】______attention has been paid to the fl

Everyone complains that corporate America is【C1】______to hire additional workers. Far【C2】______attention has been paid to the fl

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问题     Everyone complains that corporate America is【C1】______to hire additional workers. Far【C2】______attention has been paid to the flip side of the jobless recovery: the【C3】______improvement in American productivity.
    When the economy【C4】______in 2008, there was little of the fall in labor productivity that normally【C5】______a recession, and this was not just a one-off "batting average" effect (in which average productivity rises because the worst performers are fired). Rather, it was a productivity boost that has continued【C6】______expert predictions that workers can only be【C7】______so hard for a short while.
    In the third quarter of 2011, American labor productivity was 2.3% higher than in the same period a year earlier. Manufacturing productivity in that quarter rose by 2. 9% compared with a year earlier. America’s productivity growth has been more【C8】______than most other rich countries’—a feat【C9】______to its flexible labor market and a culture of enterprise.
    Two things could keep productivity rising. First, workers are terrified of losing their jobs. This makes it easier to persuade them to put in extra hours or【C10】______new tasks. Second, tough times are forcing firms to【C11】______every brain cell to become more efficient. Sealed Air, for example, has made numerous incremental tweaks, such as【C12】______a machine that makes absorbent pads for supermarket meat trays so that its output increased from 400 units per hour three years ago to 550—with the same number of workers.
    The【C13】______of firms to invest in such enhancements has varied【C14】______. Some would rather hoard cash or buy back their own shares【C15】______spend it on more efficient machinery or information technology. Yet there are【C16】______that leading industrial firms are starting to increase their capital spending, says Jeff Sprague of Vertical Research Partners, a research outfit. In particular, he has noticed firms investing in "debottlenecking" which,【C17】______its name suggests, means removing hold-ups in production processes, sometimes with an additional production line.
    【C18】______short, the recession has forced American firms to become more muscular. This should help them【C19】______when the good times return. It should also give them an edge【C20】______foreign rivals.
【C7】
选项 A、smashed
B、crashed
C、squeezed
D、spoiled
答案C
解析 predictions后接that引导的同位语从句，专家们预测生产率的上升只是短暂的趋势，因为他们认为是因为在经济危机下企业一再压榨工人的劳动力才导致生产率提升。[A]、[B]、[C]三个选项的词义都和“挤、压”有一定的关系，[A]选项smashed表示“打碎，粉碎”。[B]选项crashed意思是“碰撞，猛击”。[C]选项squeezed意思是“挤压，压榨”。[D]选项spoiled意思是“破坏，溺爱”。因此，最佳答案应该选[C]。
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