Which of the following statements best describes the organization of the author's discussion of the role political knowledge in the formation of political ideology during adolescence?
A. He acknowledges its importance, but then modifies his initial assertion of that importance.
B. He consistently resists the idea that it is important, using series of examples to support his stand.
C. He wavers in evaluating it and finally uses analogies to explain why he is indecisive.
D. He takes care not to make an initial judgment about it, but later confirms its critical role.
Section A
Directions: In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.
President Coolidge's statement, "The business of America is business", still points to an important truth today that business institutions have more prestige 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 freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly 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 freedom 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 freedom.
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 an expression of the ideal of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic idea of inherited privilege.
Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only by way of______.