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  3. "Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man," wrote Robert Heinlein, a science-fiction writer. Until the 18th ce

"Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man," wrote Robert Heinlein, a science-fiction writer. Until the 18th ce

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问题     "Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man," wrote Robert Heinlein, a science-fiction writer. Until the 18th century, global GDP per person was stuck between $725 and $1,100, around the same income level as the World Bank’s current poverty line of $1.90 a day. But global income levels per person have since accelerated, from around $1,100 in 1800 to $3,600 in 1950, and over $10,000 today.
    Economists have long tried to explain this sudden surge in output. Most theories have focused on the factors driving long-term economic growth such as the quantity and productivity of labor and capital. But a new paper takes a different tack (思路): faster growth is not due to bigger booms, but to less shrinking in recessions. Stephen Broadberry of Oxford University and John Wallis of the University of Maryland have taken data for 18 countries in Europe and the New World, some from as far back as the 13th century. To their surprise, they found that growth during years of economic expansion has fallen in the recent era—from 3.88% between 1820 and 1870 to 3.06% since 1950—even though average growth across all years in those two periods increased from 1.4% to 2.55%.
    Instead, shorter and shallower slumps led to rising long-term growth. Output fell in a third of years between 1820 and 1870 but in only 12% of those since 1950. The rate of decline per recession year has fallen too, from 3% to 1.2%.
    So why have these "growth reversals" decreased in length and depth? In another paper Broadberry and Wallis find that conventional explanations—such as demographic change or a sectoral shift from volatile ( 不稳定的) agriculture to the more stable services sector—do not fully explain the shift.
    More important is the rise of the rule of law, enabling disputes to be settled by impartial courts. Before the modern era, elites would fight between themselves for the spoils of growth and send the economy back to square one through wars, corruption and the like. Respect for courts to resolve disputes prevents this from happening. With populist (民粹主义的) politicians challenging the authority of judges once again across the world, that is food for thought.
What is the author’s purpose in writing the first paragraph?
选项 A、To illustrate the meaning of Robert Heinlein’s words.
B、To describe the poverty of people before 18th century.
C、To introduce the topic of the rising of global income levels per head.
D、To compare the living standard of the past with that of the present.
答案C
解析 推理判断题。由题干定位到第一段。作者在该段第一句引用了罗伯特.海因莱因的话，指出贫穷是人类的常态；第二句则以具体数据表明18世纪时全球人均GDP之低；第三句以But开头，指出全球人均收入水平自18世纪以后加速增长。并且紧接着下文对这一现象进行具体解释和分析。综合考虑，作者写该段的目的是“引出全球人均收入水平的增长”这一话题，故答案为C)。
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