【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 e variety of vegetation Ⅲ. Paleoclimatologists need to make parisons with data collected in other regions.A. I only B. Ⅱ onlyC. I and Ⅱ onlyD. I and Ⅲ only 15. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the study of past climates in arid and semiarid regions?A. It is sometimes more difficult to determine past climatic conditions in arid and semiarid regions than in temperate regionsB. Although in the past more research has been done on temperate regions, paleoclimatologists have recently turned their attention to arid and semiarid regions.C. Although more information about past climates can be gathered in arid and semiarid than in temperate regions, dating this information is more difficult.D. It is difficult to study the climatic history of arid and semiarid regions because their climates have tended to vary more than those of temperate regions. Passage ThreeQuestions 1622 are based on the following passage:While there is no blueprint for transforming a largely governmentcontrolled economy into a free one, the experience of the United Kingdom since 1979 clearly shows one approach that works: privatization, in which stateowned industries are sold to private panies. By 1979, the total borrowings and losses of stateowned industries were running at about ￡3 billion a year. By selling many of these industries, the government has decreased these borrowings and losses, gained over ￡34 billion from the sales, and now receives tax revenues from the newly privatized panies. Along with a dramatically improved overall economy, the government has been able to repay percent of the net national debt over a twoyear period.In fact privatization has not only rescued individual industries and a whole economy headed for disaster, but has also raised the level of performance in every area. At British Airways and British Gas, for example, productivity per employee has risen by 20 percent. At associated British Ports. labor disruptions mon in the 1970’s and early 1980’s have now virtually disappeared. At British Tele, there is no longer a waiting list—as there always was before privatization—to have a telephone installed.Part of this improved productivity has e about because the employees of privatized industries were given the opportunity to buy shares in their own panies. They responded enthusiastically to the offer of shares。 at British Aerospace 89 percent of the eligible work force bought shares。 at Associated British Ports 90 percent。 and at British Tele 92 percent. When people have a personal stake in something, they think about it, care about it, work to make it prosper. At the National Freight Consortium, the new employeeowners grew so concerned about their pany’s profits that during wage negotiations they actually pressed their union to lower its wage demands. Some economists have suggested that giving away free shares would provide a needed acceleration of the privatization process. Yet they miss Thomas Paine’s point that “what we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly” In order for the farranging benefits of individual ownership to be achieved by owners, panies, and countries, employees and other individuals must make their own decisions to buy, and they must mit some of their own resources to the choice.16. According to the passage all of the following were benefits of privatizing state owned industries in the United Kingdom EXCEPT A. Privatized industries paid taxes to the government B. The government gained revenue from selling stateowned industriesC. The government repaid some of its national debtD. Profits from industries that were still stateowned increased 17. According to the passage, which of the following resulted in increased productivity in panies that have been privatized?A. A large number of employees chose to purchase shares in their panies.B. Free shares were widely distributed to individual shareholders.C. The government ceased to regulate major industries.D. Unions conducted wage negotiations fro employees. 18. It can be inferred from the passage that the author considers labor disruptions to be A. an inevitable problem in a weak national economyB. a positive sign of employee concern about a panyC. a predictor of employee reactions to a pany’s offer to sell shares to them D. a deterrence to high performance levels in an industry. 19. The passage supports which of the following statements about employees buying shares in their won panies?A. At three different panies, approximately nine out ten of the workers were eligible to buy shares in their panies.B. Approximately 90%of the eligible workers at three different panies chose to buy shares in their panies. C. The opportunity to buy shares was discouraged by at least some labor unions.D. Companies that demonstrated the highest productivity were the first to allow their employees the opportunity to buy shares.20. Which of the following statements is most consistent with the principle described in L2526?A. A democratic government that decides it is inappropriate to own a particular industry has in no way abdicated its responsibilities as guardian of the public interest.B. The ideal way for a government to protect employee interests is to force panies to maintain their share of a petitive market without government subsidies.C. The failure to harness the power of selfinterest is an important reason that stateowned industries perform poorlyD. Governments that want to implement privatization programs must try to eliminate all resistance to the freemarket system. 21. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the privatization process in the United Kingdom?A. It depends to a potentially dangerous degree on individual ownership of shares.B. It conforms in its most general outlines to Thomas Paine’s prescription for business ownership.C. It was or