There he was America’s first President with a MBA, the man who loves to boa

游客2024-05-07  16

问题      There he was America’s first President with a MBA, the man who loves to boast about his business background, whose presidential campaign raised unprecedented sums from corporate wallets and whose cabinet is stuffed with chief executives. But he said fiercely, by executives "breaching trust and abusing power". It was time for "anew ethic of personal responsibility in the business community". He was going to "end the days of cooking the books, shading the truth and breaking our laws".
     Only months ago, the idea that George W Bush would publicly lambaste America’s cooperate bosses was laughable. As a candidate, borne on the wave of a decade-long economic boom and an unprecedented 18-year bull market, he cashed in on American’s love affair with corporate success. But things are different now. The stock market bubble has burst and, despite signs of economic recovery. Wall Street seems to be sunk in gloom. A string of scandals at some of America’s most high-flying firms--including Enron, Xerox. Tyco, Global Crossing and most recently, World Com--has radically changed the public mood.
     As political pressure for reform increases, so too does the heart on Mr. Bush. Is the businessman’s president really prepared to take business on and push hard for reform? Despite the set jaw and aggrieved tone in New York. Probably not. Mr. Bush thinks the current crisis stems from a few bad-apple chief executives rather than the system as a whole. Hence his focus on tough penalties for corrupt businessmen and his plea for higher ethical standards. The president announced the creation of a financial-crimes SWAT team, at the Justice Department to root out corporate fraud, and wants to double the maximum prison sentence for financial fraud from five to ten years. But he offered few concrete suggestions for systemic reform: little mention of changes to strengthen shareholders’ rights, not even an endorsement of the Senate corporate-reform bill.
     There are few signs yet that cleaning up corporate America is an issue that animates the voters. Polls show that Americans have little faith in their business leaders, but politicians do not seem to be suffering as a result. Mr. Bush’s approval ratings have fallen from their sky-highs, but they are still very strong.
     The president, therefore, need do no more than talk tough. This alone will convince ordinary Americans that he is on top of the issue. As the economy rebounds and public outage subsides, the clamor for change will be quieter. Democratic attacks will fizzle, and far-reaching reform bills will be watered down before they become law. Politically, the gamble makes sense. Unfortunately for American capitalism, a great opportunity will be missed.  [br] The phrase "a great opportunity" mentioned in the last paragraph refers to an opportunity to______.

选项 A、carry out reform
B、boom economy
C、animate the voters
D、attack chief executive

答案 A

解析 细节推断题 。此题考查的是对文章最后一句话的理解。正确理解该段有助于理解这句话。该段说,布什只是口头上说要改革。但这足以使他成为讨论的焦点。随着经济反弹,人们的怒气和怨气逐渐乎息,民丰党派的攻击也毫无意义。但同时改革议案也泡汤了。虽然这场改革没有付诸行动,但从政治上来说,这次公司改革有一定意义,因为布什借此捞到了政治资本。但同时美国的资本主义错过了一次改革良机。再结合文章第一、二段作者对布什的反讽,可以看出a good opportunity这里指执行改革的良机,即A 。
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