專八閱讀訓練：Federal Government’s Help
Federal efforts to aid minority businesses began in the 1960’s when the Small Business Administration (SBA) began making federally guaranteed loans and government-sponsored management and technical assistance available to minority business enterprises. While this program enabled many minority entrepreneurs to form new businesses, the results were disappointing, since managerial inexperience, unfavorable locations, and capital shortages led to high failure rates. Even 15 years after the program was implemented, minority business receipts were not quite two percent of the national economy’s total receipts.
Recently federal policymakers have adopted an approach intended to accelerate development of the minority business sector by moving away from directly aiding small minority enterprises and toward supporting large, growth-oriented minority firms through intermediary companies. In this approach, large corporations participate in the development of successful and stable minority businesses by making use of government-sponsored venture capital. The capital is used by a participating company to establish a Minority Enterprise Small Businesses that have potential to become future suppliers of customers of the sponsoring company.
MESBIC’s are the result of the belief that providing established firms with easier access to relevant management techniques and more job-specific experience, as well as substantial amounts of capital, gives those firms a greater opportunity to develop sound business foundations than does simply making general management experience and small amounts of capital available. Further, since potential markets for the minority businesses already exist through the sponsoring companies, the minority businesses face considerably less risk in terms of location and market fluctuation. Following early financial and operating problems, sponsoring corporations began to capitalize MESBIC’s far above the legal minimum of $500,000 in order to generate sufficient income and to sustain the quality of management needed. MESBIC’s are now emerging as increasingly important financing sources for minority enterprises.
Ironically, MESBIC staffs, which usually consist of Hispanic and Black professionals, tend to approach investments in minority firms more pragmatically than do many MESBIC directors, who are usually senior managers from sponsoring corporations. The latter often still think mainly in terms of the ‘social responsibility approach’ and thus seem to prefer deals that are riskier and less attractive than normal investment criteria would warrant. Such differences in viewpoint have produced uneasiness among many minority staff members, who feel that minority entrepreneurs and businesses should be judged by established business considerations. These staff members believe their point of view is closer to the original philosophy of MESBIC’s and they are concerned that, unless a more prudent course if followed, MESBIC directors may revert to policies likely to re-create the disappointing results of the original SBA approach.
1. Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?
[A] The use of MESBIC’s for aiding minority entrepreneurs seems to have greater potential for success than does the original SBA approach.
[B] There is a crucial difference in point of view between the staff and directors of some MESBIC’s.
[C] After initial problems with management and marketing, minority businesses have begun to expand at a steady rate.
[D] Minority entrepreneurs wishing to form new businesses now have several equally successful federal programs on which to rely.
2. According to the passage, the MESBIC approach differ s from the SBA approach in that MESBIC’s
[A] seek federal contracts to provide market for minority businesses.
[B] Encourage minority businesses to provide markets for other minority businesses.
[C] Attempt to maintain a specified rate of growth in the minority business sector.
[D] Rely on the participation of large corporations to finance minority businesses.
3. Which of the following statements about the SBA program can be inferred from the passage?
[A] The maximum term for loans made to recipient businesses was 15 years.
[B] Business loans were considered to be more useful to recipient businesses than was management and technical assistance.
[C] The anticipated failure rate for recipient businesses was significantly lower than the rate that actually resulted.
[D] Recipient businesses were encouraged to relocate to areas more favorable for business development.
4. The author refers to the ‘financial and operating problems’ encountered by MESBIC’s primarily in order to
[A] broaden the scope of the discussion to include the legal considerations of funding MESBIC’s through sponsoring companies.
[B] call attention to the fact that MESBIC’s must receive adequate funding in order to function effectively.
[C] show that sponsoring companies were willing to invest only $500,000 of government-sponsored venture capital in the original MESBIC’s.
[D] Compare SBA and MESBIC limits on minimum funding.
5. It can be inferred from the passage that the attitude of some MESBIC staff member toward the investments preferred by some MESBIC directors can be best described as
[A] disappointing.
[B] Indifferent.
[C] Shocked.
[D] Defensive.
答案詳解：
1. A 運用MESBIC來幫助少數民族企業(yè)似乎比原來SBA的方法更具成功的可能性。文章一開始就點名SBA(小型企業(yè)管理局)向少數民族企業(yè)提供聯(lián)邦保證貸款，政府資助管理和技術方面的幫助，結果令人失望。組建成的少數民族新企業(yè)由于管理上缺乏經驗、地點不佳、資金短缺而導致失敗的情況很多。其他見難句譯注1、2、3。總之在MESBIC支持下：為它的潛在市場提供大量資金等，使它們在地點和市場流通方面風險小的多，從而帶來足夠的收入和保持所需的管理質量。這一切都說明MESBIC比SBA的成功可能性大。
B.MESBIC中的領導者和職工方面在觀點上有著至關重要的分歧。C.經歷了早期管理和市場問題后，少數民族企業(yè)已開始穩(wěn)步發(fā)展。D.希望組建新公司的少數民族企業(yè)家已有好幾個成功的聯(lián)邦計劃可依靠。
2. D 依靠打工四向少數民族企業(yè)投資。見第二段第二句：大公司利用政府資助的風險資本參與成功而又穩(wěn)固的少數民族企業(yè)的發(fā)展。參與的大公司用這筆資金建立了“少數民族小型企業(yè)投資公司”(MESBIC)
A.尋求為少數民族企業(yè)提供市場聯(lián)邦合同。B.鼓勵少數民族企業(yè)為其他少數民族企業(yè)提供市場。C.試圖在少數民族部門保持特定的增長率。
3. C 預期加入SBA項目中的公司的失敗率比實際失敗率低得多。文內沒有直接點出，而是從(見第一題注釋)SBA幫助的企業(yè)失敗率很高――令人失望，從而推斷C項結論。
A.給企業(yè)貸款最高期限為15年。B.商業(yè)貸款對企業(yè)來說遠筆管理和技術幫助重要。D.鼓勵接受貸款企業(yè)重新尋找利于企業(yè)發(fā)展的地區(qū)。
4. B 為的是引人注意這一實際情況：MESBIC必須取得足夠的資金才能有效地運轉。這在第三段最后一句：在經歷了早期財政和運行問題后，贊助公司給MESBIC注入的資金遠遠超過了50萬美元的法定最低限額，以獲得足夠的收入并保持所需的管理質量。MESBIC現(xiàn)在正成為日益重要的少數民族企業(yè)的資金來源。這說明沒有足夠的資金是難以有效運轉的。
A.擴大討論范圍以包括通過贊助公司投資MESBIC的合理性。C.表明贊助公司愿意在原來的MESBIC只投資50萬政府資助的風險資本。D.對比SBA和MESBIC最低投資限額。
5. A 失望。文章最后一段MESBIC的職工――一般是拉美和黑人專業(yè)人員在少數民族公司的投資上比MEBSIC的領導者更切實際。這些高級經理從社會責任角度看問題，會選擇更具風險性，不太吸引人的項目。觀點分歧使許多少數民族職工感到不安，他們認為應以公司的業(yè)務爆出來評價少數民族企業(yè)家及其企業(yè)。者充分說明MEBSIC的職工對領導所青睞的投資項目不滿意和失望。
B.漠不關心。C.震驚。D.持保留態(tài)度。
詞匯：
1. implement 執(zhí)行，履行
2. growth-oriented 增長潛力的，有發(fā)展性的
3. intermediary company 中介公司，中間公司
4. venture capital 風險資本
5. entrepreneur 企業(yè)家，創(chuàng)業(yè)者
6. fluctuation 波動，漲落，起伏
7. pragmatically 實用地
難句譯注：
1. Even 15 years after the program was implemented minority business receipts were not quite two percent of the national economy’s total receipts.
【參考譯文】甚至在這個計劃執(zhí)行后15年，少數民族工業(yè)的收入還不到全國總收入的2%。
2. Recently federal policy makers have adopted an approach intended to accelerate development of the supporting large, growth oriented minority firms through intermediary companies.
【參考譯文】最近，聯(lián)邦決策者采取一項措施，旨在加速少數民族工商業(yè)的發(fā)展，他們不再直接幫助小型的少數民族企業(yè)，而是轉向通過中間公司來支持規(guī)模較大、有發(fā)展?jié)摿Φ纳贁得褡骞尽?/p>
3. By making use of government-sponsored venture capital.
【參考譯文】利用政府資助的風險資本。
4. The MESBIC then provides capital and guidance to minority businesses that have potential to become future suppliers or customers of the sponsoring company.
【參考譯文】然后再由MESBIC向那些少數民族企業(yè)提供資金、進行指導。這些企業(yè)是有成為贊助公司的未來供應商或客戶的潛力的。
5. MESBIC – minority enterprise small business investment company
【參考譯文】少數民族小型企業(yè)投資公司。
6. MESBIC’s are the result of the belief that providing established firms with easier access to relevant management techniques and more job-specific experience, as well as substantial amounts of capital, gives those firms a greater opportunity to develop sound business foundations than does simply making general management experience and small amounts of capital available.
【參考譯文】MESBIC的建立基于這種信念：為已建公司提供方便，使它更容易獲得相關的管理技術更具體的工作經驗以及大筆資金要比簡單地給予一般管理經驗和小筆資金更能使它們獲得機會去建立穩(wěn)固的商業(yè)基礎。
7. The latter often still think mainly in terms of the ‘social responsibility approach’ and thus seem to prefer deals that are riskier and less attractive than normal investment criteria would warrant.
【參考譯文】后者――高級經理們――在有大多數情況下，仍然常常從“社會責任的角度”來考慮問題，因此，他們似乎更傾向于選擇那些比正常投資標準更具風險性，而不太引人注目的項目。
寫作方法與文章大意：
文章主要采用因果以及對比的寫作方法。先點出SBA計劃――聯(lián)邦政府對少數民族企業(yè)的贊助的失敗及其原因。
為此，聯(lián)邦決策者改變方法，通過中介公司，建立MESBIC。由它來幫助少數民族企業(yè)――使其獲得相應的管理技術、具體工作經驗和大量資金，甚至潛在的市場――取得了成功。
可內部存在問題，MESBIC的職工和領導者之間的意見分歧，職工的投資觀點更切實際，而領導者仍從“社會責任的角度”來考慮問題，若不改變，有可能重蹈SBA之覆轍。
