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  3. Anyone who doubts that global financial markets control national economies need only look at the crisis facing the "tigers" of t

Anyone who doubts that global financial markets control national economies need only look at the crisis facing the "tigers" of t

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问题     Anyone who doubts that global financial markets control national economies need only look at the crisis facing the "tigers" of the Far East. Last year, the value of their currencies dropped rapidly, after investors decided that their economic policies were not strong enough; now the region is suffering slower growth, lower living standards and rising unemployment.
    The situation in Asia shows how power has shifted from individual governments to the markets. In theory, governments are free to set their own economic policies; in practice, they must conform to a global economic model or risk being penalized by the markets.
    Adjusting to this new "economic order" is proving difficult. In the developed world, and in particular the European Union, globalization is facing widespread public resistance. Critics complain that, without the protection of trade barriers, jobs are being lost to workers in poorer countries, and wages for employees in rich countries are falling. Opponents in the European Union point to the effects that globalization has had in the U.S. and Britain. In those countries, wages are stagnant — except for a few privileged — and taxes and welfare benefits have been reduced to help companies compete with industries in the developing world.
    Those in favor of globalization accuse their critics of being shortsighted protectionists. They claim that a more integrated global economy will ultimately benefit everyone because it will enable countries to specialize in those areas where they perform best. Developing countries, with their higher populations and lower wages, will concentrate on labor-intensive industries. The richer countries, on the other hand, will diversify into high-tech industries, where high productivity and specialist knowledge are paramount. The effect of this will be to improve productivity in all countries, leading to higher living standards. The free movement of capital will also help poorer countries develop so that they can play a full and active role in the world economy.
    But how close are we to a truly global economy? For those in favor of globalization, probably too close. But in terms of real economic integration, there are still many problems to be solved. A global economy would mean complete freedom of movement of goods and services, capital, and labor. Yet, even ignoring the tariffs and other restrictions still in place, cross-border trade remains tiny as compared with the volume of goods and services traded within countries; foreign investment is also extremely small, amounting to little more than five percent of the developed world’s domestic investments.
    But what is really holding globalization back is the lack of labor mobility. Labor markets remain overwhelmingly national, even in areas like the European Union, where citizens can live and work in any EU country. The main reasons for this are language and cultural barriers; the lack of internationally recognized qualifications; and, in some cases, strict immigration controls.
The author suggests in the passage that in order to realize a truly global economy, great efforts should be made in all the following aspects EXCEPT______.
选项 A、elimination of language and cultural barriers
B、permission of free labor mobility
C、increase in the volume of goods and services traded beyond border
D、reduction of tariffs and loosening of other restrictions
答案A
解析 这是一道推论题。题干中的信号词为a truly global economy，出自于文章第五段第一句话中。文章第五段指出：谈到真正的经济一体化，仍然有许多问题有待解决；全球化经济意味着商品、服务、资本以及劳动力可以完全自由流动；不过，即使忽略关税和其他仍然恰当的限制，与国内商品和服务的交易额相比，跨国的贸易额却仍然很小；外国的投资也非常少，不到发达国家国内投资的5％。由此可知，B，C和D都是实现经济全球化应该付出的努力。文中提到language and culturalbarriers时说“劳动力市场主要还是受各国政府的控制，其中的主要原因是语言和文化障碍”，而这是造成劳动力不能自由流动的原因，不是实现经济全球化应该付出的努力，所以A不对。
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