《基础英语2001[试卷+答案]》.pdf

北京外国语大学2001 年研究生 入学考试基础英语试卷 Ⅰ A nation divided What to do about the ever widening gulf between rich and poor? Mortimer B. Zuckerman We are becoming two nations. The prosperous are rapidly getting more prosperous and the poor are slowly getting poorer. George W. Bush did well to rebuke his party when House Republicans maneuvered to balance the budget by proposing to delay the earned income tax credit for the working poor—paying it in monthly installments rather than an annual lump sum. “I don’t think they ought to balance the budget on the backs of the poor,” Bush said. Instead, it is time for aspiring leaders to ponder how the two nations might more closely become one. The American economy is growing dramatically. But this prosperity is being distributed very unevenly. The America that is doing well is doing very well indeed. But most benefits have gone to those who work in industries where the main product is information. The losers have been the producers of tangible goods and personal services —even teachers and health care providers. The high-tech information economy has been growing at approximately 10 times the rate of the older industrial economy. It has enjoyed substantial job growth, the highest productivity gains （about 30 percent a year ）, and bigger profits. It can therefore afford bigger wage gains （about four times that of the older economy ）. And this wage gap is likely to widen for years to come. The rich get richer. The concentration of wealth is even more dramatic. New York University economist Edward Wolff points out that the top 20 percent of Americans account for more than 100 percent of the total growth i