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  3. It is becoming increasingly clear that the story of the global economy is a tale of two worlds. In one, there is only gloom and

It is becoming increasingly clear that the story of the global economy is a tale of two worlds. In one, there is only gloom and

admin2012-12-13  58
问题     It is becoming increasingly clear that the story of the global economy is a tale of two worlds. In one, there is only gloom and doom, and in the other there is light and hope. In the traditional centers of wealth and power -- America, Europe and Japan -- it is difficult to find much good news. But there is a new world out there -- China, India, Indonesia, Brazil -- in which economic growth continues to power ahead, in which governments are not buried under a mountain of debt and in which citizens remain remarkably optimistic about their future.
    Compare the two worlds. On the one side is the West (plus Japan), with banks that are over- utilized and thus dysfunctional (无法正常工作的), governments groaning under debt, and consumers who are rebuilding their broken balance sheets. America is having trouble selling its IOUs at attractive prices (the last three Treasury auctions have gone badly); its largest state, California, is heading toward total fiscal collapse; and its budget deficit is going to surpass 13 percent of GDP -- a level last seen during World War Ⅱ. With all these burdens, even if there is a recovery, the United States might not return to fast-paced growth for a while. And it’s probably more dynamic than Europe or Japan.
    Meanwhile, emerging-market banks are largely healthy and profitable. (Every Indian bank, government-owned and private, posted profits in the last quarter of 2008!) The governments are in good fiscal shape. China’s strengths are well known -- $2 trillion in reserves, a budget deficit that is less than 3 percent of GDP -- but consider Brazil, which is now posting a current account surplus. Or Indonesia, which has reduced its debt from 100 percent of GDP nine years ago to 30 percent today. And unlike in the West -- where governments have run out of ammunition (弹药) and are now praying that their medicine will work -- these countries still have options. Only a year ago, their chief concern was an overheated economy and inflation. Brazil has cut its interest rate substantially, but only to 10.25 percent, which means it can drop it further if things deteriorate even more.
    The mood in many of these countries remains surprisingly optimistic. Their currencies are appreciating against the dollar because the markets see them as having better fiscal discipline as well as better long-term growth prospects than the United States. Their bonds are rising. This combination of indicators, all pointing in the same direction, is unprecedented.
    The United States remains the richest and most powerful country in the world. Its military spans the globe. But from the Spanish Empire of the 16th century to the British Empire in the 20th century, great global powers have always found that their fortunes begin to turn when they get overburdened with debt and stuck in a path of slow growth. These are early warnings. Unless the United States gets its act together, and fast, the ground will continue to shift beneath its feet, slowly but surely.
One of the problems that the West faces now is ______.
选项 A、impossible economic recovery
B、debt-dragged governments
C、fiscal breakdown
D、extremely high inflation
答案B
解析 本题考查西方国家所面临的问题，将出处定位到第二段第二句。该句提到，西方世界(包括日本)的银行因过度透支而不能正常运作，政府在债务的重压下呻吟，消费者正在重新整理自己破碎的资产负债表。[B]选项中的debt-dragged governments对应该句中的governments groaning under debt，故答案为[B]。[A]是针对第二段倒数第二句所设的干扰项。[C]是针对该段中的California, is heading toward total fiscal collapse所设的干扰项。[D]是针对第三段倒数第二句中的inflation所设的干扰项。
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