Question

We regularly hear how important consumer spending is for the economy. The story goes like this：the more consumers spend，the more money circulates in the economy, which contributes to healthy job growth and profits. Keynes, a British economist，went as far as to say that individuals saving their money may actually be hurting the economy. Sounds troubling, doesn’t it?

Fear not. You aren’t actually hurting anyone else by saving money. Strong economic growth only comes from one place：savings. Not consumption. In fact，economic activity should not be mistaken for economic growth. For example，somebody takes their money, walks into a store, and purchases goods. The store increases its revenue.

But what happens to all of those goods and services that people have chosen not to consume by saving their money? Simple：Other people are allowed to consume them. Think of it this way：When you lend out your savings, you are actually saying，“Here, I am not going to consume right now, so why don’t you?” Banks simply play the middleman：they collect lots of people’s savings and then lend out lots of funds.

It takes an unbelievable amount of goods and services to construct a building. It takes food, shelter, and entertainment for all of the workers, as well. Without savings，it is quite impossible to finance such a construction. The coordination(协调)between savings and consumption is a necessary basis for sound economic growth. This coordination is also why consumer lending (say , to borrow a big sum of money to buy a car) is not productive，in a strict sense. It doesn’t increase the net (净的) amount of wealth of an economy. Those savings could have been used to construct, say, factory equipment.

None of this means consumption and spending are “bad” things. They simply do not make us wealthier. After all, the final goal of production and savings is to consume. But to say that consumption is the engine of economic growth is to put the cart before the horse. Or, to rephrase: the consumption of wealth can never make you wealthier. Happier, perhaps. Wealthier, no.

1.What is the author’s attitude towards Keynes’ theory?

A. Approving. B. Reserved(矜持的).

C. Uncertain. D. Critical.

2.The underlined word “revenue” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to‘‘_________”.

A. cost B. reputation

C. interestD. income

3.According to the author, which chart could show the effect of savings on economy?

4.What would be the best title for this passage?

A. The Saving Behavior of the Economy

B. Consumption：a Key Concept in Economy

C. Consumer Spending and Economic Growth

D. The Truth about Savings and Consumption

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.D

3.B

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要讲述作者对“消费”和“存款”在推动经济方面的一些看法。并不认为“消费”能够推动经济的发展，或是使人们变得更富有。

1.A. approving“赞同、支持”；B.reserved“矜持的”；C. uncertain“不确定的，含糊的”D. critical“批判的”。根据第二段前两句话“Fear not. You aren’t actually hurting anyone else by saving money. （不用害怕。你事实上没有因为存钱而伤害到任何人的利益。）”可以看出，作者并不同意在Keynes 所说的“individuals saving their money may actually be hurting the economy.（个人存款将可能损害经济）”。所以，正确答案为：D.critical.

2.A. Cost“花费，代价”；B. Reputation“名声、名誉”；C. Interest“兴趣，利息、利润”；D. Income“收入”。根据前一句话“somebody takes their money, walks into a store, and purchases goods.”，某人拿钱进店买东西，显然该商店会增加“收入”，故正确答案为D. income .

3.Strong economic growth only comes from one place：savings. ”可知，作者的观点是：“存款会推动经济的快速增长。”故正确答案为B.

4.

考点：经济类议论文的阅读