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  3. Minority-owned business in the United States had unprecedented opportunities as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights

Minority-owned business in the United States had unprecedented opportunities as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights

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问题      Minority-owned business in the United States had unprecedented opportunities  as well as new and significant risks. Civil rights activists have long argued that one of the principal reasons why Blacks and other minority groups have difficulty establishing themselves in business is that they lack access to sizable orders and subcontracts that are generated by large companies. Now Congress, in apparent agreement, has required by law that business awarded federal contracts of more than $500,000 do their best to find minority subcontractors and record their efforts to do so on forms filed with the government. Indeed, some federal and local agencies have gone so far as to set specific percentage goals for apportioning parts of public works contracts to minority enterprises.
     Corporate response appear to have been substantial: According to figures collected in 2003. the total of corporate contracts with minority business rose from $77 million in 1998 to $1.1 billion in 2003. The projected total of corporate contracts with minority business for the early 2004 is estimated to be over $3 billion per year with no ceasing anticipated in the next decade.
     Promising as it is for minority business, this increased protection poses dangers for them, too. First, minority firms risk expanding too fast and overextending themselves financially, since most are small concerns and, unlike large business, they often need to make substantial investments in new plants, staff, equipment, and the like in order to perform work subcontracted to them. If, thereafter, their subcontracts are for some reason reduced, such firms can face potentially crippling fixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasing can be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who get requests for elaborate formal estimates and bids. Both consume valuable time and resources, and a small company’s efforts must soon result in orders, or both the morale and the financial health of the business will suffer.
     A second risk is that White-owned companies may seek to cash in on the increasing apportionments through formation of joint ventures with minority-owned concerns. Of course, in many instances there are legitimate reasons for joint ventures; clearly, White and minority enterprises can team up to acquire business that neither could acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minority business owners have complained to Congress about minorities being set up as "fronts" with White backing, rather than being accepted as full partners in legitimate joint ventures.
     Third, a minority enterprise that secures the business of one large corporate customer often runs the danger of becoming--and remaining dependent. Even in the best of circumstances, fierce competition from large, more established companies makes it difficult for small concerns to broaden their customer bases; when such firms have nearly guaranteed orders from a single corporate benefactor. they may truly have to struggle against serf-satisfaction arising from their current success.
What can we infer from Paragraph 2?
选项 A、The number of minority business will increase.
B、Minority business has had and will have more contracts.
C、The increase of corporate contracts with minority business will begin in 2004.
D、The increase of corporate contracts with minority business will stop m next decade.
答案B
解析 根据文章第二段所提供的数字说明少数民族企业签订合同的数量逐年上升，而且这种趋势不会停下来。由此我们可以推断少数民族企业已经得到并且将会得到更多的合同。A文章没有提及。C与文意不符，这种增长不是开始于2004年的。D与文意不符，这种增长也不会在下一个十年中停止。
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