自学测验考试英美国家概况十八.docx

自学测验考试英美国家概况十八.docx

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自学测验考试英美国家概况十八

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Chapter

18

The,Economy

TheUnited*Statesisbyfarthebiggestindustrialcountryinthe

world.Itisbothaneconomicandtechnologicalgiant.Itisfirstin

suchadvancedfieldsascomputers,space,nuclearenergy,andelec-

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tronics.Itproducesamajorportionoftheworld'smachinery,auto-

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mobiles,oil,electricalenergy,andchemicals,althoughitsshareis

decreasingrapidly.ThevalueofAmericanexportsincreasedfrom

$97billioninthe70sto$393.5billionin1990,andthevalueof

importsrosefrom$100billionto$495.3billionduringthesame

period.America'sGrossNationalProduct（GNP）rosefrom2,626

billionin1981to$5,465billionin1990andthepercapitaincome

rosefrom$10,949to$19,220inthesameperiod.NowAmerica

hasmorethanhalfoftheEuropeanmarketintransistors,-oilrefin-

ing,farmproducts,telecommunications,andcomputers.The

Americanpeopleenjoyabetterstandardoflivingthanmostofthe

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nationsintheWOTId.

TheUnitedStateshaslessthan6%oftheworld'spopulation.

Yetitproducesabout25%ofthetotalworldoutput.Ithasexperi-

encedremark4bleeconomicgrowth.Theachievementhasnotcome

aboutsimplybychance.Thisfastgrowthhasbeenattributableto

manyfactors.First,thegeographicallocation.oftheUnitedStates

providesverygoodconditionsforthecountrytogrowandbecome

strong.Second,theUnitedStateshasbeenblessedbybeingaland

300

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richinmineralresourcesandfertilefarmsoil,togetherwithamod-

erateclimate.Third,Americahasbeenfortunateinhavingenough

peopletoprovidethelabournecessaryforaconstantlyexpandinge-

conomy.Afourthfactoristhequalityofavailablelabour-TheUnit-

edStateshasaskilfulandwillinglabourforce.TheAmericanlabour

forceisnotonlyhard-working,butalsowillingtoexperiment,to

changeandtolearnnewtechnologies.

LTheEconomicSystemoftheUnitedStates

TheUnitedStateshasafree-marketeconomywithadominant

privatesector.Theprivatelyownedandoperatedbusinesses,includ-

ingfarms,produceabout85%ofthetotaloutputofgoodsandser-

vices.Peopleinindependentprofessionalpractice,suchasdoctors,

lawyersandaccountants,produceabout3%ofthetotal.Govem-

mententerprisesaccountfortherest.Industriessuchascoal,steel,

motorvehicleandshipbuilding,areallprivatelyowned.Thepostal

service（butnotthetelephone）.theroadsystemand,ofcourse,na-

tionaldefensearegovernment-runatthefederal,stateor/andlocal

levels.Only25%ofelectricityandrailwaysarestate-owned.Inthe

UnitedStatesprivateownershipaccountsforalargershareofthee-

conomythaninanyotherdevelopedcountry.

However,thegovernmenthasalwaysbeenanimportantelement

intheAmericaneconomy.Traditionally,leadersoftheUSgovern-

menthavebeenreluctanttobecomeinvolvedintheprivatesector,

exceptfortransportation.Thisattitudebegantochangeduringthe

latterpartofthe19thcentury,whenfarmandlabourmovements

begantoaskthegovernmenttointercedeontheirbehalf.Aftera

periodofprosperity（1920-1929）,governmentinvolvementinthe

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economyincreasedduringtheGreatDepression（1929-1937）.Gov-

ernmentundertookmassivepublicworksprogramsandthecomplete

overhaulandregulationofbankingtohelptheeconomytorecover.

Inthepostwaryearsgovernmentinvolvementwasagainemphasized

whentheUnitedStatesadoptedtheKeynesiantheoryinrunningthe

economy.However,bytheendofthe1970s,economicgrowthhad

decreased.Unemploymentandinflationhadcontinuedtorise.The

Americaneconomywasplaguedbystagflation.Intheearly1980s,

undertheReaganAdministration,thetraditionalKeynesianap-

proachwasreplacedbynewmonetaristpolicies.Suchpoliciessought

tofightinflationbyincreasingsupplyandreducingdemand.Onthe

onehand,taxeswerecuttoincreaseeconomicdynamism.Onthe

otherhand,interestrateswereraisedtoreducethesupplyofmon-

ey.ThesepolicieslastedforabouttenyearsintheUnitedStates.As

.aresult,inflationandunemploymentwerebroughtundercontrol.

However,theseeconomicpoliciesalsoledtoabigincreaseinpublic

borrowingandtradedeficit.ApartfromstagnationtheAmericane-

conomyisnowfacinganotherproblemofincreasingforeigndebts

andtradedeficit.

TheAmericaneconomyischaracterizedbyahighdegreeof

monopoly.Manyofthenation-'sbasicindustriesarerepresentedby

onlyafewmajorcorporations.Forexample,intheautomobilein-

dustrythere-arethreegiants.TheyareGeneralMotors,Fordand

Chrysler.Inthefieldofelectricalsupplies,GeneralElectriccontrolsa

majorshareofthebusiness.Incomputers,InternationalBusiness

Machineshasthedominantposition.Inrecentyearsmanycorpora-

tionshavechosentobecomeconglomerates.Conglomeratesarebig

companiesthatownseveralsmallerbusinesseswhoseproductsand

servicesareusuallyverydifferent.

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11

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NaturalResources

Fertilesoilisoneofthemostimportantnaturalresourcesinthe

UnitedStates.Therichsoilsoftheinteriorplainsproducecropsof

wheatandcorn.Inareasthathavepoorsoils,irrigation,fertiliza-

tion,andotherscientificfanningmethodsareusedtoincrease

productivity.

America'sforestr

urces.areamongtheworld'slargest.When

thefirstEuropeansarrivedinAmericatheyfoundthatthecountry

wasenclosedbyhugeforests.Softwoodforestsincludingvaluable

whitepinesarefoundintheeastandtallandgiantredwoodtrees

andDouglasfirsarefoundthroughoutthecoastrangesofthePacif-

ic.However,whentheybegantosettledown,manyoftheseforests

werecutdowntomakeroomforfarmsandcitiesandtoprovide

shelterandfuel.AsAmericagrew,theneedfortimberincreased

•.

andtreeswerecutdowninvastquantities.Wood,resinandother

forestproductsarethebasicrawmaterialsofseveralofthenation's

largestindustries.Despitetheheavyuseofforestproducts,forests

stillaccountfor31%ofthetotalland-Thisisabigportionascom-

paredwithothercountnesintheworld.

Anothernaturalresourcethatcontributestothewelfareofthe

countryiswater.Theearlydevelopmentofanagriculturalsystem

andthelaterdevelopmentofanindustrialbaseweremadepossible

largelybyvastwaterresources.Someareas,suchastheNortheast,

havegoodrainfallexceptinseasonsofdrought.Inotherareasfarm-

ingisusuallypossiblewithoutirrigation-Agriculturecandependan

naturalrainfallwestwardtothe100thmeridianandalsointhePa-

303

cificNorthwest.InthevastareafromtheGreatPlainswestwardto

California,however,cropsmustbeirrigated.TheMississippiand

otherriversprovideexcellentinlandwaterroutes.Watersupplies

fromundergroundsources,lakes,andstreamsarealsolarge.

TodaytheriversandstreamsofAmericafurnish63%ofthewa-

tersupplyforcities,townsandfarmlands,93%ofthewaterused

byindustriesandalmostallofthewaterusedtogenerateelectricity.

TheUnitedStatesisrichinmostofthemineralsneededtosupply

itsbasicindustries.MineralresourcesoftheUnitedStatesarewell

developed.Coal,ironore,copper,,Oil,sulfur,lead,andzincare

foundinlargequantities.TheUnitedStatesisamongtheworld

leadersintheproductionofalltheseminerals.Otherminerals,such

asuranium,gold,silver,potashandbuildingstone,arealsofound

inlargequantitiesintheUnitectStates.Majormineralresourcesthat

arescarcearetin,manganese,andnickel.

Althoughmuchofthehigh-gradeorehasbeenused,low-grade

.

orereservescanlastforcenturies.Coalreservesarealsosufficientto

lasthundredsofyears.Theproduction,processingandmarketingof

suchpetroleumproductsasgasolinemakeuponeofAmerica's

largestindustries.TheAlaskapipeline,completedin1977,stretch-

esfor1,2

kilometres,andpipes1.2millionbarrelsofpetroleuma

dayfromthenorthernoilfieldstoaportonthesouthcoast.

Ill.AmericanAgriculture

ThevarietyofclimateandtopographyoftheUnitedStatesmakes

itpossibleforthepeopletogrowmanykindsofcropsandmechniza-

tionandscientificfarmingenabletheAmericanfarmerstobevery

productive.ThecultivatedlandintheUnitedStatesmakesup21%

304

ofthetotalland,andpeoplewhoareengagedinfarmingmakeup

only2.7%ofthetotalpopulation.YettheUnitedStatesgrows

nearlyonefourthoftheworld'sgrainandsuppliesahalfofallthe

exportsofgrainintheworld.Itistheworld'sleadingexporter

ofagriculturalproducts.Itranksfirst,second,orthirdinthe

productionandexportofcorn,wheat,rice,soybeans,oranges,

meat,milk,apples,oats,cotton,tobacco,peanutsandedibleveg-

etableoil.

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equipmentafarmercanmanage200ormorehectareswithouthelp.

Machinesareusedtodoalmostallthefarmwork.Withmodern

IntheAmericanSouthonemechanicalcottonpickercandothework

offortymen.Airplanesareusedtoseedandfertilizethericefields.

Aslabourisscarcefarmersdonotmindloweryieldsperhectareifit

meansthattheycanfarmwithmachinery.Farmingisalsoscientif-

ic.Differentfarmingmethodsareusedindifferentregionstomake

thebestpossibleuseofthesoil.Farmersusecroprotationtoim-

provetheland.Cropdiversityhasenabledmuchbetteruseofthe

land,labourandmodemtechnique.InthoseareasintheWest

whererainfallisscarce,bothirrigatedfarminganddryfarmingare

carriedontomaketheland'moreproductive.

TheUnitedStatesproducesnearly50%ofthecornintheworld.

Comisgrowninever