Passage 2
Asia, You Cost Too Much
The Asian economic miracle can be best summed up as the biggest price undercut in history. Asia grew because it was the cheapest source for the low-tech consumer goods that the West craves. Hong Kong and Korea didn't invent new or more efficient manufacturing techniques, they simply bought market share with low wages. But now Asia is beginning to cost too much. If you still think Asia is cheap or even a bargain, compare office rents in Shanghai with those in Chicago and Paris. Or try to hold a qualified manager in China against the almost weekly job offers he receives due to the shortage of Chinese professionals. No wonder companies are voting with their feet in response to Asia's rising cost. Germany's Siemens is dumping Singapore in favor of lower cost locations in the region. The way things are going, Siemens may have to move again before too long.
The competition facing Asia is not going to let up, either Local council representatives from Britain are running all over the world advertising tax cuts, giving away state land and slashing bureaucracy in an effort to attract industry. Technological innovations and cost reduction in communications and transport mean that location isn't as important as it once was. Only Singapore seems to understand that keeping up isn't good enough and that being competitive means forging ahead. The Lion City made a concerted effort to open market, cut government regulations and create transparency. But most Asian government just don't seem to understand the relationship between high costs and low competitiveness. Otherwise why would tariffs on agricultural imports be crippling the Korean and Japanese food processing industries? The oligarchical nature of trucking in Malaysia guarantees that high transport costs will drive business away.
Most Asian government learned from Singapore to open markets and cut tariffs.
A、正确
B、错误
【正确答案】：B
【名师解析】:根据文章内容，亚洲经济的增长主要是由于其低廉的劳动力成本，这使得亚洲成为西方所需的低技术消费品的低成本来源。然而，随着成本的上升，亚洲的竞争力正在下降。文章中提到了公司如西门子因为成本上升而选择迁移到成本更低的地区，并且指出了亚洲面临的挑战，包括高昂的办公租金、专业人才短缺以及高运输成本等。此外，文章还提到了英国地方政府为了吸引产业而采取的措施，如减税、提供土地和减少官僚作风，这表明亚洲需要更加努力以保持竞争力。
文章最后提到，大多数亚洲政府从新加坡那里学到了开放市场和削减关税的做法，但并没有提到这些措施是否成功或是否普遍被采纳。因此，题目中的说法"Most Asian government learned from Singapore to open markets and cut tariffs." 并不完全准确，因为文章并没有明确指出大多数亚洲政府已经采取了这些措施，或者这些措施是否普遍有效。所以，正确答案是选项B，错误。
