Passage 2
It is time to junk much conventional wisdom about the US economy. Until recently, most analysts assumed the recovery from recession would remain abnormally weak. And looking further ahead they assume that the US would continue to decline economically relative to other industrial countries, principally Japan and a more unified European Community.
Both assumptions are now looking shaky. A clutch of much stronger than expected data suggests the US recovery is finally beginning to take off. Output per hour increased 2.7percent last year-the fastest productivity growth in 20 years.
With productivity increases translating into impressive gains in corporate profits, US share prices are hitting record high and the dollar is beginning to climb relative to other leading currencies. For internationally mobile capital, the attractions of the US economy are enhanced by worse than expected performance just about everywhere else. Growth throughout Europe is being held back by the strains imposed by German unification and currency instability, Japan, meanwhile, is struggling with its worst financial crisis in decades.
President Mr. Bill Clinton is not only inheriting a lean, productive economy, he is inheriting the most encouraging inflation outlook for a generation. Consumer prices are expected to rise by only about 2.5% to 3% this year and next.
Mr.Clinton, however, in his State of Union address on February 17, is expected to announce an economic stimulus worth about US $ 30 billion, or 0.5 percent of GDP. He will also announce longer term plans to tackle the familiar budget deficit, now running at about $ 300 billion but expected nearly to double within a decade because of runaway growth of spending on health care and other ‘entitlement’ programs.
Statements:
49.Both assumptions are now looking right.
A、True
B、False
【正确答案】：B
【名师解析】:题目中提到的两个假设是：1) 从经济衰退中恢复的力度会异常弱；2) 美国相对于其他工业国家，特别是日本和更统一的欧洲共同体，经济会继续下滑。然而，文章指出这两个假设现在看起来都不稳定。因为出现了比预期强得多的数据，表明美国的复苏终于开始加速。每小时产出增加了2.7%，这是20年来最快的生产率增长。生产率的提高转化为公司利润的显著增长，美国股价创下新高，美元相对于其他主要货币开始攀升。对于国际流动资本来说，美国经济的吸引力因其他地方的表现比预期差而增强。整个欧洲的增长因德国统一和货币不稳定而受到阻碍，与此同时，日本正在努力应对几十年来最严重的金融危机。因此，根据文章内容，这两个假设现在看起来是错误的，所以题目的答案是B.False。
