How things have changed! In 1995 the United States can look back on five years of solid growth while Japan has been struggling. Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle. Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride." American industry has changed its structure, has gone on a diet, has learnt to be more quick-witted," according to Richard Cavanagh, executive dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government," It makes me proud to be an American just to see how our businesses are improving their productivity, says Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC. And William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School believes that people will look back on this period as" a golden age of business management in the United States."

　　53. What can be inferred from the passage?

　　[A] It is human nature to shift between self-doubt and blind pried.

　　[B] Intense competition may contribute to economic progress.

　　[C] The revival of the economy depends on international cooperation.

　　[D] A long history of success may pave the way for further development.

　　[答案] B

　　[解题思路]

　　本题需要将各选项与原文进行一一比较。A选项对应于原文第四段的第四句话“Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride”(到如今，对自我怀疑已被盲目乐观所取代)，但却与选项的表述风马牛不相及。C选项的说法看似有道理，却与原文并没有关系。D选项对应于文章的第一句话“A history of long and effortless success can be a dreadful handicap, but, if properly handled, it may become a driving force”(长期轻而易举地获得成功的历史可能成为一种可怕的不利因素，但若处理得当，这种不利因素也有可能转化为一种积极的推动力)，这句话提出两个可能性的结果，但选项表述则过于绝对。B选项则是正确答案，因为文中指出美国经济在80年代经历滑坡，第三段最后一句指出“Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growing competition from overseas”(在美国人那些有时耸人听闻的发现中，充满了对来自海外的经济竞争的警告之词)，而下一段美国在海外竞争的压力下又迎头赶上，因此B选项与原文的意思相符。

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