Government Management of Business托福听力原文翻译及问题答案, 今天常春藤就来为大家分析这个问题。
一、Government Management of Business 托福听力原文:
M1: The large economic unit called the “corporation” has come to define business activity in a modern industrial-service economy. Even a mid-sized corporation employs thousands of people, serves hundreds of thousands of customers, and controls assets and does business amounting to several million dollars. The growing power of corporations has brought increased intervention by the only body with sufficient strength and scope to match corporate power. And what body is this? What has enough power to control the corporation?
W: The government.
M1: Yes. The federal government. The economic role of the government has grown tremendously over the past century, as more and more corporate activities have come under regulation. Why has this happened?
M2: Well, to prevent fraud against stockholders, for one thing. Also, to protect customers from fraud, like false advertising.
W: To protect the workers. For example, laws against child labor ... and unsafe working conditions.
M1: Yes. These are all reasons why we have government regulation of business. Not just in this country, but in most advanced industrial and service economies, governments have taken on an increasing role in economic affairs. Let’s take a minute to review what we talked about last time. What are the methods that governments use to influence economic activities? Elizabeth?
W: Taxes. Taxes encourage or discourage certain kinds of economic activity. Taxes are also a way for the government to get money to spend on programs.
M1: That’s right. So ... OK, there’s taxes and ... what else? Joshua?
M2: Government spending—the government gives business incentives to produce certain goods or services. Also ... uh ... spending could take the form of a tax break, or it could be a direct payment, like a government contract, or a grant or a subsidy.
M1: Yes, that’s right. Governments intervene in economic activity through taxation and spending. A third method, of course, what we’ve just been talking about: regulation.There’s been a tremendous increase in the laws and regulations governing the economic affairs of complex societies like ours. Beginning in the late 1800s, our political leaders rejected the idea that “government governs best which governs least.” The government started to use its power to police the economic system. One of the first things the government did was to limit the exercise of monopoly power by regulating railroads and public utilities. After that, the government began regulating utility rates—costs for telephone, electricity, fuel, and so on.Since then, a whole set of industries has come under government regulation: financial markets, the airlines, trucking, barge and water traffic, oil and natural gas pipelines, and so on. Also, in recent decades there’s been a rapid growth of social regulation. What do I mean by social regulation?
W: Uh ... things like ... like laws that require a food package to list all the ingredients?
M1: Yes, that’s a good example. There are a number of laws regulating food and cosmetics. Social regulation also includes the laws that were first passed to protect workers in mines, and then workers in general. Now there are laws that protect all of society—for example, regulations for air and water pollution, and for storage and disposal of hazardous materials like nuclear waste. There are also safety standards for automobiles and consumer products, such as car seats for babies. All of these are forms of social regulation.We’ve come a long way since the days of laissez-faire capitalism, when business ran free and unchecked by government. When the political leaders of the nineteenth century first started proposing regulation of business, this was considered a radical idea. However, with the passage of time, the radical ideas of that era became the accepted convictions of today. The general public has come to accept—and even expect—these limits on capitalism.
二、Government Management of Business 托福听力中文翻译:
M1:被称为“公司”的大型经济单位开始定义现代工业服务经济中的商业活动。即使是一家中等规模的公司,也雇用了数千名员工,为数十万名客户提供服务,并控制着数百万美元的资产和业务。随着公司实力的不断增强,唯一有足够实力和范围与公司实力相匹配的机构也加大了干预力度。这是什么尸体?什么有足够的权力控制公司?
W: 政府。
M1:是的。联邦政府。在过去的一个世纪里,随着越来越多的企业活动受到监管,政府的经济作用得到了极大的发展。为什么会发生这种情况?
M2:首先,为了防止针对股东的欺诈行为。此外,保护客户免受欺诈,如虚假广告。
W: 保护工人。例如,禁止童工的法律。。。以及不安全的工作条件。
M1:是的。这些都是我们对商业实行政府监管的原因。不仅在这个国家,而且在大多数发达的工业和服务经济体中,政府在经济事务中的作用越来越大。让我们花一分钟回顾一下我们上次谈论的内容。政府用来影响经济活动的方法是什么?伊丽莎白?
W: 税收。税收鼓励或阻碍某些类型的经济活动。税收也是政府获取资金用于项目的一种方式。
M1:没错。所以好的,有税还有。。。还有什么?约书亚?
M2:政府支出政府鼓励企业生产某些商品或服务。而且嗯支出可以采取减税的形式,也可以是直接付款,如政府合同,或补助金或补贴。
M1:是的,没错。政府通过税收和支出干预经济活动。当然,第三种方法是我们刚才讨论的:监管。管理像我们这样复杂社会的经济事务的法律法规有了巨大的增长。从19世纪末开始,我们的政治领导人拒绝接受“政府治理最好,治理最少”的观点政府开始运用权力来监管经济体系。政府首先做的事情之一是通过监管铁路和公用事业来限制垄断权的行使。此后,政府开始对电话、电力、燃料等公用事业费用进行管制。从那时起,一整套行业都受到了政府的监管:金融市场、航空公司、卡车运输、驳船和水上交通、石油和天然气管道等等。此外,近几十年来,社会监管发展迅速。我所说的社会监管是什么意思?
W: 呃。。。比如。。。就像法律要求食品包装上列出所有成分一样?
M1:是的,这是一个很好的例子。有许多法律规范食品和化妆品。社会监管还包括首先通过的保护矿山工人的法律,然后是一般工人的法律。现在有了保护全社会的法律,例如空气和水污染法规,以及核废料等危险材料的储存和处置法规。还有汽车和消费品的安全标准,如婴儿汽车座椅。所有这些都是社会监管的形式。自自由放任资本主义时代以来,我们已经走过了很长的一段路,当时企业自由经营,政府不加约束。当十九世纪的政治领导人首次提出商业监管时,这被认为是一个激进的想法。然而,随着时间的推移,那个时代的激进思想成为今天公认的信念。普通公众已经接受甚至期待这些对资本主义的限制。
三、Government Management of Business 托福听力问题:
Q1:
What is the discussion mainly about?
A.The history of large corporations
B.The regulation of business by government
C.Why corporations have so much power
D.Ways that governments spend money
Q2:
Why didthe students say this:
A.To recommend against buying stock in a corporation
B.To explain why consumers need to be very cautious
C.To give reasons why governments regulate corporations
D.To complain about negative trends in advertising
Q3:
According to the discussion,governments influence economic activity through which methods?
Click on two answers.
A.Taxation
B.Elections
C.Spending
D.Diplomacy
Q4:
Why does the professor say this?
A.To state his opinion about the role of government
B.To describe a controversial government policy
C.To show that corporations have political power
D.To explain the origins of government regulation
Q5:
According to the professor,what is the function of social regulation?
A.The control of social activities in a corporation
B.The protection of the society’s health and safety
C.The restriction of competition among businesses
D.The establishment of the school curriculum
Q6:
What can be inferred about government regulation of business?
A.Many people agree that the government should regulate business.
B.Capitalism does not succeed if there is government regulation.
C.Attitudes about regulation have changed very little in a century.
D.The government has no right to control how businesses operate.
四、Government Management of Business 托福听力答案:
A1:正确答案:B
A2:正确答案:C
A3:正确答案:AC
A4:正确答案:D
A5:正确答案:B
A6:正确答案:A