2. 考研
  3. Much of the language used to describe monetary policy, such as "steering the economy to a soft landing" or "a touch on the brake

Much of the language used to describe monetary policy, such as "steering the economy to a soft landing" or "a touch on the brake

admin2015-01-15  4
问题     Much of the language used to describe monetary policy, such as "steering the economy to a soft landing" or "a touch on the brakes", makes it sound like a precise science. Nothing could be further from the truth. The link between interest rates and inflation is uncertain. And there are long, variable lags before policy changes have any effect on the economy. Hence the analogy that likens the conduct of monetary policy to driving a car with a blackened windscreen, a cracked rear view mirror and a faulty steering wheel.
    Given all these disadvantages, central bankers seem to have had much to boast about of late. Average inflation in the big seven industrial economies fell to a mere 2. 3 % last year, close to its lowest level in 30 years, before rising slightly to 2. 5% this July. This is a long way below the double digit rates which many countries experienced in the 1970s and early 1980s.
    It is also less than most forecasters had predicated. In late 1994, the panel of economists which The Economist polls each month said that America’s inflation rate would average 3. 5% in 1995. In 1995, in fact, it fell to 2. 6% in August, and expected to average only about 3% for the year as a whole. In Britain and Japan inflation is running half a percentage point below the rate predicted at the end of last year. This is no flash in the pan; over the past couple of years, inflation has been consistently lower than expected in Britain and America.
    Economists have been particularly surprised by favorable inflation figures in Britain and the United States, since conventional measures suggest that both economies, and especially America’s, have little productive slack. America’s capacity utilization, for example, hit historically high levels earlier this year, and its jobless rate(5. 6% in August)has fallen bellow most estimates of the natural rate of unemployment—the rate below which inflation has taken off in the past.
    Why has inflation proved so mild? The most thrilling explanation is, unfortunately, a little defective. Some economists argue that powerful structural changes in the world have up-ended the old economic models that were based upon the historical link between growth and inflation.
The passage shows that the author is______the present situation.
选项 A、critical of
B、puzzled by
C、disappointed at
D、amazed at
答案D
解析 本题中，A项和C项之意明显与文章的意思不符。B项不正确，文中是说对良好的通胀率感到惊异，并不是说感到困惑。从文章第2段的内容可知，通胀率比许多国家20世纪70年代和80年代早期经历过的两位数的通胀率要低很多。从文章第4段的内容可知，英、美两国良好的通胀率尤其令经济学家感到惊异，两国的经济，尤其是美国的经济，几乎没有停滞。从文章最后一段的内容可知，为什么通货膨胀率增长得如此和缓呢?不幸的是，即使最令人振奋的解释也不怎么完美。据此可知，作者认为当前的经济形势出人意料。D项与文中意思相符，因此D项为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/tvhi777K
0

在职申硕（同等学力）英语

相关试题推荐
随机试题
最新回复(0)