tself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly（垄断）of power. In contrast to one, all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers' dollar, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which si a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe, then, that competition is as important, or even more important, that democracy in preserving freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on family background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic（贵族的）idea of inherited privilege.
26. The statement "The business of America is business" probably means "________".
A) The business institutions in America are concerned with commerce
B) Business problems are of great importance to the American government
C) Business is of primary concern to Americans
D) America is a great power in world business
27. Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only ________.
A) when given equality of opportunity
B) through doing business
C) by protecting their individual freedom
D) by way of competition
28. Who can benefit from business competition?
A) Honest businessmen.
B) Both businessmen and their customers.
C) People with ideals of equality and freedom.
D) Both business institutions and government.
29. Government is believed to differ strikingly from business in that government is characterized by ________.
A) its absolute control of power
B) its function in preserving personal freedom
C) its role in protecting basic American values
D) its democratic way of exercising leadership
30. It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes _________.
A) Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries
B) in many countries success often depends on one's social status
C) American businesses are more democratic than those in other countries
D) businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those in America
Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:
The appeal of advertising to buying motives can have both negative and positive effects consumers may be convinced to buy a product of poor quality or high price because of an advertisement. For example, some advertisers have appealed to people's desire for better fuel economy for their cars by advertising automotive products that improve gasoline mileage. Some of the products work. Others are worthless and a waste of consumers' money.
Sometimes advertising is intentionally misleading. A few years ago a brand of bread was offer to dieters（节食者）with the message that there were fewer calories（热量单位，大卡）in every slice. It turned out that the bread was not dietetic（适合于节食的）, but just regular bread. There were fewer calories because it was sliced very thin, but there were the same number of calories in every loaf.
On the positive side, emotional appeals may respond to a consumer's real concerns. Consider fire insurance. Fire insurance may be sold by appealing to fear of loss. But fear of loss is the real reason for fire insurance. The security of knowing that property is protected by insurance makes the purchase of fire insurance a worthwhile investment for most people. If consumers consider the quality of the insurance plans as well as the message in the ads, they will benefit from the advertising.
Each consumer must evaluate her or his own situation. Are the benefits of the product important enough to justify buying it? Advertising is intended to appeal to consumers, but it does not force them to buy the product. Consumers still control the final buying decision.
31. Advertising can persuade the consumer to buy worthless products by _________.
A) stre
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