【正文】
her determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it. An important factor in a marketoriented economy is the mechanism by which consumer demands can be expressed and responded to by producers. In the American economy, this mechanism is provided by a price system, a process in which prices rise and fall in response to relative demands of consumers and supplies offered by sellerproducers. If the product is in short supply relative to the demand , the price will be bid up and some consumers will be eliminated from the market. If, on the other hand, producing more of a modity results in reducing its cost, this will tend to increase the supply offered by sellerproducers, which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product. Thus, price is the regulating mechanism in the American economic system . The important factor in a privateenterprise economy is that individuals are allowed to own productive resources (private progeny) , and they are permitted to hire labor, gain control over natural resources, and produce goods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy, the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights, including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual . 51 . In Line 11 , Para 1 , the desire of individuals to maximize their ines means__. A. Americans are never satisfied with their ines B. Americans tend to oven Tate their ines C. Americans want to have their ines increased D. Americans want to increase the purchasing power of their ines 52. The first two amp。 ntences in the second paragraph tell us that__. A. producers can satisfy the consumers by mechanized production B. consumers can express their demands through producers C. producers decide the prices of products D. supply and demand regulate prices 53 . According to the passage, a privateenterprise economy is characterized by__. A. private property and rights concerned B. manpower and natural resources control C. ownership of productive resources D. free contracts and prices 54. The passage is mainly about__. A. how American goods are produced B. how American consumers buy their goods C. how American economic system works D. how American businessmen make their profits 8 / 8