Governments all over the world make public reports about the condition of their economies. Most countries, including the United States, have used a measure called the gross national product (国民生产总值)or GNP. It includes all goods and services produced by citizens of the country anywhere in the world.

  Recently the American Commerce Department has started using a new method to measure production. It is known as the gross domestic product（国内生产总值）or GDP. It counts only goods and services that have been produced within the nation’s borders. Money earned by foreign companies operating in the United States is included in the GDP, but money earned by American companies operating in other countries is not.

  Economic experts generally approve of the change. They say that the gross domestic product provides a truer measure of the economy. They also note that most other industrial countries use this method. Therefore it will be easier to study the economies of different countries. Some officials also hope the new system will help them make better economic policy decisions. It will provide them with a clearer understanding of economic activity in the U.S. . The new measure is less likely to be affected by sudden changes in foreign oil prices or in the value of the American dollar in other countries.

  Economic experts believe that the change from GNP to GDP will immediately reduce the value of American production by at least 40,000 million dollars a year. But that is really a very small change in the American economy – less than 1% . The Commerce Department reports the unofficial gross domestic product once every three months. The government also continues to report GNP as it has four times a year since 1941.

1.To report the American GNP, the government should not consider goods and services produced _______.

A. by American companies at home         

B. by American companies in China

C. by American companies in Singapore     

D. by Japanese companies in the United States

2.To report the American GDP, the Commerce Department should count money earned ________.

A. by both American and foreign companies in America

B. by American companies within its own borders

C. by foreign companies in the United States

D. by American companies in its foreign markets

3.GDP is considered better than GNP by some economists because ________.

A. it is something new                     

B. it is used by most countries

C. it is easier to calculate                  

D. it is less likely to be affected by the foreign market

4.What will happen to the value of American economy if GDP is used to replace GNP?

A. It will be seriously affected.                B. It will not be affected.

C. It will come down a little.                   D. It will slightly go up.

5.How often are the reports of GDP issued by the American Commerce Department?

A. once every four months                           B. once every three months

C. once every six months                   D. once a year

写出下列缩略词的完整形式

GNP国民生产总值

GNP国民生产总值

Among rich countries, people in the Untied States work the longest hours. They work much longer than in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity per hour worked is the same in the Untied States as it is in France, Spain and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed.

In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work less. In other words they have decided to “spend” a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in the Untied States. We do not fully know why this is. One reason may be greatly lower taxes in America, which increase the rewards（回报）to work. Another may be more satisfying work, or less satisfying personal lives.

Longer hours do of course increase the GDP（国民生产总值）. So the United States has produced more per worker than, say, France. The United States also has more of its people at work, while in France many more mothers and older workers have decided to stay at home. The overall result is that American GDP per head is 40% higher than in France, even though productivity per hour worked is the same.

It is not clear which of the two situation is better. As we have seen, work has to be compared with other values like family life, which often get lost in its interest. It is too early to explain the different trends（趋势）in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the Untied States happiness had made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with trends in the work-life balance（平衡）?

1.From the text we know that author ________.

    A. says nothing certain about which pattern is better

    B. prefers shorter working hours to longer ones

    C. believes that longer working hours is better

    D. thinks neither of the patterns is good

2.Which of the following countries has more of its people at work?

    A. Spain            B. America          C. Germany          D. France

3.In the last paragraph , the underlined word “which” refers to _______.

    A. family life      B. situations           C. other values     D. trends

4.What message can we get from the text?

    A. People all over the world choose to work less when they are richer.

    B. Americans are happier than Europeans

    C. The GDP of Europe is higher than that of America.

    D. Two possible reasons are given for working longer hours in the US.

5.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

    A. Staying at Home                      B. Work and Happiness

    C. Work and Productivity                D. Americans and Europeans