Passage 2
According to the traditional belief of visitors that Sydney was a good place for a holiday rather than somewhere to make money—an activity better fitted to Singapore and Hong Kong. But “that viewpoint is now outdated,“ says New South Wales Premier Bob Carr. He wants to reposition Sydney as a strategic center for global financial services by taking advantage of international finance restructuring and the recent Asian economic crisis. Becoming a regional hub for mega(巨大的)-banks, funds managers and insurance groups would attract other (telecommunications providers, law firms, chartered accountants), create jobs, stimulate construction. ”We want to become the Wall Street of East Asia,“ says Federal Finance Services Minister Joe Hockey.
Australia traditionally made a living by using its buried treasures rather than its brains. The drive to make Sydney a financial center is part of the country’s shift from resources to knowledge-intensive services. And the politicians are basing their promotional pitch(计划) on the sweeping（大规模的） policy reforms that have turned Australia from one of the world’s most insular and protected economies into one that is open and entrepreneurial. But despite recent tax changes and Hockey calls “the most significant undertaken in our history”, some senior industry figures say Sydney may not have all it takes to outdo the attractions of Australia’s regional rivals. “We are a relatively small country a long way from the major population centers and hence the customers that drive activity,” Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Battelino told a recent Senate hearing on financial services. The politicians disagree: communications technology, they insist, is making Australia’s location irrelevant.
48.Sydney has overwhelming competitiveness than its rivals.
A、True
B、False
【正确答案】：B
【名师解析】:根据文章内容，悉尼的传统观念是作为度假胜地而非赚钱的地方，而新南威尔士州州长Bob Carr希望将悉尼重新定位为全球金融服务的战略中心。他希望通过利用国际金融结构的重组和最近的亚洲经济危机，使悉尼成为大型银行、基金经理和保险集团的区域中心，吸引其他行业如电信提供商、律师事务所、特许会计师等，创造就业机会，刺激建筑业的发展。联邦金融服务部长Joe Hockey甚至表示希望悉尼成为东亚的华尔街。
然而，文章也提到了一些行业资深人士对悉尼成为金融中心的怀疑。澳大利亚储备银行副行长Battelino在一个关于金融服务的参议院听证会上表示，澳大利亚是一个相对较小的国家，远离主要的人口中心，因此也远离驱动活动的顾客。这表明悉尼在成为金融中心方面可能并不具备压倒性的竞争力，与其区域竞争对手相比，悉尼可能并不具有明显优势。
因此，题目中的说法"Sydney has overwhelming competitiveness than its rivals"是错误的，正确答案应该是选项B.False。
