阅读理解 President Coolidge's statement, "The business of America is business," still points to an important truth today-that business institutions have more prestige (威望) in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions possess this great prestige? One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual , equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected. Competition protects the 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 is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of 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, than democracy in preserving . 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 and expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic(贵族的) idea of inherited privilege.1. The statement "The business of America is business" probably means"________".A. The business institutions in America are concerned with commerceB. Business problems are of great importance to the American governmentC. Business is of primary concern to AmericansD. America is a great power in world business2. Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only_____ .A. when given equality of opportunity B. through doing businessC. by protecting their individual D. by way of competition3. Who can benefit from business competition?A. Honest businessmen. B. Both businessmen and their customers.C. People with ideals of equality and D. Both business institutions and government.4. Government is believed to differ strikingly from business in that government is characterized by ____.A. its absolu te control of power B. its function in preserving personal C. its role in protecting basic American values D. its democratic way of exercising leadership5. 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 statusC. American businesses are more democratic than those in other countriesD. businesses in other c ountries are not as competitive as those in America