《考研英語(yǔ)閱讀理解100篇 基礎(chǔ)版》第5章　法律類 Unit 66

After five years of litigation，the World Trade Organisation （WTO）is about to deliver its preliminary ruling on America's complaint against the provision of prohibited subsidies to Europe's commercial aircraft industry．The United States alleges that this support was worth $200 billion over 20 years．In a few months the WTO will rule on a counter-claim by the European Union that Boeing received about $24 billion in subsidies over the past two decades as well as large，non-repayable benefits from military and space contracts. Both rulings are subject to appeal．This first ruling is a potential thunderbolt that could ignite a damaging trade dispute between America and Europe at a time when both economies need to present a united front on trade，to prevent a slide towards protectionism. 
The origins of the dispute lie in America's decision，at Boeing's prompting，to withdraw in 2004 from a 12-year-old bilateral agreement with Europe governing trade in large civil aircraft．The agreement banned direct production and sales subsidies，but let governments continue to funnel money into new aircraft projects．It permitted both repayable direct state aid（the European approach）covering up to a third of all development costs，known as launch aid，and indirect state aid（the American approach）if limited to 3% of the domestic industry's sales volume．Boeing，however，says it expected the deal to lead to a gradual reduction in subsidies to Airbus．When this failed to materialise，it withdrew．What caused its patience to run out? Two things: the success of Airbus in achieving rough market-share parity at the end of the 1990s，and resentment over launch aid for the A380，the superjumbo designed to bring to an end the long reign of the 747. 
Boeing is right to argue that all subsidies distort competition．But although the subsidies that Airbus receives are different from Boeing’s，they are not necessarily much worse．At least they are transparent—and Europe claims that by 2007 Airbus had repaid 40% more than it had been given．Nor has the effect of the subsidies received by both firms been anti-competitive．Boeing and Airbus fight like rats in a sack for every sale，with the consequence that airlines have been able to buy cheaper and better aircraft than if one firm had been dominant. 
Two other points should be borne in mind．The first is that it is out of date to see either firm as a national champion．The size and riskiness of large commercial-aircraft projects has forced even Boeing to create extended international supply chains．Second，the aircraft-makers’ subsidies pale by comparison with those doled out by governments on both sides of the Atlantic in the past year．Leaving aside the trillions of dollars spent on preventing financial collapse，industrial subsidies of a kind almost certainly illegal under WTO rules have mushroomed. 
Both sides should therefore hold their fire until the WTO rules on Europe's complaint．Then，putting further litigation to one side，they should head for the negotiating table．The aim should be to secure a new deal along the lines of the old agreement，but this time with an explicit goal of phasing out the most egregious subsidies within a reasonable period．The alternative of an escalating tit-for-tat trade dispute between Europe and America does not bear thinking about. 
注（1）：本文選自Economist； 
注（2）：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對(duì)象：第1、2、3、5、4題分別模仿1995年真題Text 3第1、2、3、5題和Text 4 第1題。 
1．The word“thunderbolt”（Line 6，Paragraph 1）most probably means ______. 
A) thunderstorm 
B) cause 
C) disaster 
D) danger 
2．The main problem concerning the dispute between American and European air industries is ______. 
A) the breach of their bilateral agreement 
B) the different approaches of governmental subsidies 
C) whether the governmental assistance they receive is legal 
D) whether governmental subsidies would affect market competition 
3．From the passage we can infer that ______. 
A) it was because of Boeing that America decided to withdraw the bilateral agreement 
B) by withdrawing the bilateral agreement，Boeing expected to realize a gradual reduction in subsidies to Airbus 
C) the form of subsidy that Boeing receives is superior than that Airbus receives 
D) subsidies received by Boeing and Airbus have significantly affected a fair market order 
4．According to the author，Boeing's argument is not quite correct because of the following reasons EXCEPT ______. 
A) in this case subsidies do not completely distort the market competition 
B) Boeing itself is no longer a national but a multinational company 
C) the subsidy dispute will lead to a war between America and Europe 
D) governmental subsidies are becoming increasingly common 
5．We can learn from the last paragraph that ______. 
A) the best way to solve the problem is to wait for WTO's ruling 
B) both litigation and negotiation should go ahead shoulder by shoulder 
C) both parties should start negotiating to reach a new deal in place of the old one 
D) both parties cannot afford a long-term vicious cycle of sue and counter-sue