Passage 4
By the mid-nineteenth century, in addition to its natural resources, the United States had accumulated enough capital in the form of factories to productively employ a large amount of labor, or human resources. A nation that still consisted largely of independent farmers could not provide an adequate labor supply for heavy industrialization. But millions of new workers came to the United States from abroad.
As we are all aware, not all these workers arrived voluntarily. Slaves were brought from Africa to the South; they were put to work on plantations to extract maximum harvests from the cotton fields. But in the North, the machines that turned that cotton into textiles were worked by massive waves of immigrants who came willingly from one part of Europe after another. This vastly expanded pool of labor allowed from large leaps in our national output.
A nation can’t grow forever by finding more natural resources and attracting more workers; thus, a country’s extensive growth will eventually slow. But intensive growth gradually appears as better use is made of the labor force. In the United States, in the mid-nineteenth century many of the newly arrived immigrants were unskilled and illiterate, but the education policy of their new land meant that their children all received an education, and many were trained in a skill. If a society gives workers more knowledge, they will be able to use machines in a more complex way and to follow more complex instructions, yielding manufactured goods of greater value; this process is often known as investing in human capital. In the late twentieth century, our physical capital is so abundant and our natural resources so limited that we are beginning to appreciate the importance of improving our human resources if we are to continue to grow.
66. This passage mainly discuss the national output in terms of ________ A the labor force B natural resources C factories D immigration
67. We can infer from the passage (paragraph 2) that the South’s contribution to the growth of industry in the mid-nineteenth century was mainly ________
A raw materials B skilled labor C manufactured goods D industrial sites 68. The phrase “massive waves of immigrants” in line 9 of the passage means that ____ A many immigrants came by ship. B immigrant families stayed together.
C groups of immigrants came at different times. D groups of immigrants were greeted enthusiastically. 69. From the passage, which of the following can be inferred about the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century?
A It was producing large amounts of manufactured goods. B It was largely agricultural.
C It was fully industrialized D It was low in natural resources
70. We can infer from the passage that intensive growth of a nation’s economy requires ____ A expansion of resources B better use of the labor force C attracting unskilled labor D limiting the human resources.
71.According to the passage, what is the end goal of an investment in human capital? A Providing more valuable manufactured goods. B Educating immigrant families. C Training in use of complex machines. D Developing literacy for all.
72. We can infer from the passage (paragraph 3) that in the mid-nineteenth century the United States placed a high value to ___
A European trade B education C agriculture D development of natural resources. Passage 5
Economists have received the unfair reputation of being unable to agree on anything. The image of economists in disagreement is part of our folklore. An English commentator wrote: “If parliament were to ask six economists for an opinion, seven answers could come back---two no doubt from the volatile Mr. Keynes.” The London Times laments the “rise in skepticism about what economists can tell us,” and Business week complains about
“the intellectual bankruptcy of economics profession.”
