Disagreements among economists are legendary,but not on the issue of free trade.A recent survey of prominent economists both con

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问题 Disagreements among economists are legendary,but not on the issue of free trade.A recent survey of prominent economists both conservative and liberal concluded that an economist who argues for restricting international trade is almost as common today as a physician who favors leeching.
    Why the consensus? International free trade,economists agree,makes possible higher standards of living all over the globe.
    The case for free trade rests largely on this principle:as long as trade is voluntary,both partners benefit,otherwise they wouldn’t trade.The buyer of a shirt,for example,values the shirt more than the money spent,while the seller values the money more.Both are better off because of the sale.Moreover,it doesn’t matter whether the shirt salesman is from the United States or Hong Kong(or anywhere else).
    The vast majority of American manufactures face international competition.This competition forces companies to improve quality and cut costs.By contrast,protectionism encourages monopoly,lower quality and higher prices.
  Americans pay an enormous price for protectionism over $60 billion a year,or $1,000 for a family of four.Thanks to protectionism,for example,American consumers pay twice the world price for sugar.
    Free trade also makes the world economy more efficient,by allowing nations to capitalize on their strengths.The United States has an advantage in food production,for instance,while Saudi Arabia has an advantage in oil.The Saudis could undertakemassive irrigation to become self-sufficient in food,but it is more economical for them to sell oil and purchase food from us.Similarly,we could be comeself-sufficient in petroleum by squeezing more out of oil shale.But it is much less costly to buy some of our oil from Saudi Arabia.Trade between our two countries improves the standard of living in both.
    Protectionism is both wasteful and unjust.It taxes most heavily the people who can least afford it.Thus,tariffs that raise the price of shoes burden the poor more than the rich.Despite the powerful case for free trade.the United States and the rest of the world have always been protectionist to some degree.This is because free trade benefits the general public,while protectionism benefits special interest groups,which are better organized,better financed and more informed.To make matters worse,much of what we hear on this issue is misinformation spread by the special interests themselves.
The economists ________ .

选项 A、agree on the restriction of internal trade
B、disagree whether to restrict free trade or not
C、hold different arguments because of theirdifferent interests
D、agree on free trade

答案D

解析 文章第一句指出“经济学家们有分歧是尽人皆知的,但在自由贸易问题上除外”。由此可知,D项“经济学家们在自由贸易问题上观点一致”为正确答案。A项“他们在限制国内贸易方面意见一致”,与本文主旨相反,因为限制贸易与自由贸易是对立的;B项“在是否限制自由贸易上观点不一”,与本文第一句意义相反;C项“因为他们的不同兴趣而各执己见”,与本文主题相悖。
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