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  3. The last time America suffered an economic meltdown in 2008 we came out of it poorly. Yes, the economy and the stock market reco

The last time America suffered an economic meltdown in 2008 we came out of it poorly. Yes, the economy and the stock market reco

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问题     The last time America suffered an economic meltdown in 2008 we came out of it poorly. Yes, the economy and the stock market recovered. So did the banks, with a big assist from Uncle Sam. But millions of homeowners were left with mortgage debts that squeezed their disposable incomes to the vanishing point. How can we avoid a similar shock this time?
    Every depression is distinct, but I’d argue that the victims of the COVTD-19 depression— this year’s version of households drowning in mortgage debt—are America’s small businesses. This time, the economist Ken Rogoff says, "The small businesses are getting slaughtered."
    A decade ago, the subprime crisis blew up the entire economy. 【B1】____________________
    The federal government recently enacted a small business rescue package in the CARES Act. But it’s already exhausted and beset with bureaucratic problems. By contrast, the Federal Reserve’s emergency measures such as buying debt have immediately propped up large corporations.
    【B2】____________________Larger companies can tap capital markets, which are used to translating future prospects into current dollars. Even if McDonald’s isn’t selling as many hamburgers today as it did before, investors know that eventually its business will recover.
    Small businesses, however, are on their own. The corner pizzeria cannot borrow against the future, because by the time the recovery arrives it may not exist. There are some 30 million such businesses in the U.S. (41,000 do sell pizza). Most are tiny, but cumulatively they employ 60 million people. 【B3】____________________Millions of employees would lose their jobs. Thousands of ideas would go up in smoke. Small business is the laboratory for big ideas.
    The cultural fallout would be just as serious. If every coffee shop were rebranded a Starbucks, the caffeine would still be there, but it wouldn’t taste the same or feel the same. Reports from small business around the country—a grocer in New Orleans, newspapers from Oregon to West Virginia, an art gallery in my home city of Boston—suggest that small businesses everywhere are fighting for their lives. In Camden, Me., the lone bookstore shut its doors for good.
    Each of these businesses represents the savings, the sweat and the dreams of an entrepreneur or family. On average, their proprietors earn only about $50,000 a year. But they symbolize something larger—call it the dream of plausible opportunity. 【B4】 ____________________But we don’t have to repeat the mistakes of 2008.
    The good news is that Congress, recognizing the scale of this crisis, was willing to allocate much more money so that small business borrowers would emerge from the crisis with healthy balance sheets. 【B5】_____________________Businesses had to apply for the loans through banks. The banks have been uncertain about the criteria to qualify for the federal guarantee, which has gummed the works.
    [A]   Since these firms account for 44% of the gross domestic product, to lose even a sizable fraction would be an economic catastrophe.
    [B]   Many of the smallest businesses did not apply because they didn’t have working relationships with banks beyond making their weekly cash deposits.
    [C]   But in its eagerness to build in safeguards, it wrapped the program in red tape.
    [D]   This time, the shock to small business has led to a vicious multiplier effect: Those shuttered hair salons aren’t ordering supplies or investing in new hair dryers.
    [E]   Part of that dream got destroyed or badly damaged in the mortgage crisis.
    [F]   Moreover, the loans only cover eight weeks of payroll plus limited expenses for rent and utilities. Many firms need assistance for more than eight weeks.
    [G]   Government aid aside, larger firms are naturally better suited to weathering the storm.
【B3】
选项
答案 A
解析 本题空格位于第五段第五句。第五段首句提到Small businesses，however，are on their own．(但是，小型企业只能靠自己。)第二句至第四句进一步通过诸如披萨店一样的小型企业举例，说明小型企业在当前经济危机下的孤立无援以及所面对的重重难题。空格后的第六句又提到Millions of employees would lose their jobs．(数百万员工将会失业。)可知，第五句话应该围绕小型企业所面临的困难展开。综合所有选项，只有选项[A]Since these firms account for 44％ of the gross domestic product，to lose even a sizable fraction would be an economic catastrophe．(由于这些公司占国内生产总值(GDP)的44％，因此即使损失少部分的份额也将造成经济灾难。)不仅提到了小型企业(these firms)，而且符合前后的逻辑关系，故为答案。本题可能会受选项[B]的干扰。虽然[B]选项中提及了小型企业，但是其中提到的making their weekly cash deposes(每周现金存款)与本段内容无关。
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