The International Monetary Fund(IMF)is the most powerful financial instituti

游客2023-11-01  35

问题     The International Monetary Fund(IMF)is the most powerful financial institution on the planet, capable of dictating economic policy to governments: Liaquat Ahamed is the author of a best-selling portrait of central banking in the Great Depression, "Lords of Finance". Putting the two together ought to be a match made in heaven.
    Sadly, the result is a rather bland book filled with photographs that are about as exciting as one would expect pictures of IMF officials and meetings to be. As Mr. Ahamed admits, the IMF gave him permission to follow them around since he was "unlikely to be a troublemaker". Having accompanied fund officials on a mission to Ireland, he was prevented by Irish government staff from attending the private talks. As a result, Mr. Ahamed has no real dirt to dish: he clearly admires the work that the fund does and believes in the dedication of its workforce.
    What he does possess is a thorough knowledge of economic history, and those who want a general idea of the IMF’s activities will find this book a useful primer(入门书). The fund was part of the post-war institutional arrangement established at Bretton Woods, and it still retains a slight touch of the colonial era(for example, in the convention that a European should be in charge). But those who believe the IMF to be solely a tool of Western capitalism might be surprised to learn that two of the leaders of the Irish mission were Indians, and that the head of the mission in Mozambique was from Brazil. The fund is able to recruit the best and brightest from all over the world: the money is good and a job with the IMF is a very useful addition to any economist’s resume.
    The fund has taken a lot of criticism over the years, notably for its handling of the Asian crisis in the late 1990s and for its more recent about-face on the effectiveness of austerity(节俭,朴素). As Mr. Ahamed explains, its staff treat their unpopularity in some parts of the world "almost as a badge of honour, seeing themselves as economic doctors willing to prescribe harsh but necessary medicine". A more critical author might have conducted a forensic(适合辩论的)examination of that case. Should unelected bureaucrats have so much power when economics is such an inexact science? But then a harsher critic would not have been given the access to write this book. [br] Which of the following would best summarize the author’s comment on the book?

选项 A、It hasn’t brought the desired result but contains useful knowledge.
B、It is quite boring without pictures the readers expect it to display.
C、It properly presents the outstanding work the IMF has completed.
D、It turns out to be a book introducing the historical work of the IMF.

答案 A

解析 细节题。由题干定位至文章第一、二、三段。第一段最后一句中指出,书的对象和作者本是a match made in heaven,但第二段中指出结果却是这本书很乏味,可见未能达到所预期的效果,但作者在第三段第一句又指出作者还是介绍了一些非常有用的知识,故[A]是对原文的正确概括。
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