inflation without causing a reces-

sion and its concomitant increase

line in unemployment? The orthodox

(5)  answer is “no.” whether they

    support the “inertia” theory of

    inflation (that today’s inflation rate

    is caused by yesterday’s infla-

    tion, the state of the economic

(10) cycle, and external influences

such as import prices) or the

“rational expectations” theory

(that inflation is caused by

workers’ and employers’ expec-

(15) tations, coupled with a lack of

credible monetary and fiscal

policies), most economists

agree that tight monetary and

fiscal policies, which cause

(20) recessions, are necessary to

   decelerate inflation. They point

   out that in the 1980’s, many

   European countries and the

   United States conquered high

(25) (by these countries’ standards)

inflation, but only by applying tight

monetary and fiscal policies that

sharply increased unemployment.

Nevertheless, some govern-

(30) ments’ policymakers insist that

direct controls on wages and

prices, without tight monetary and

fiscal policies, can succeed in

decreasing inflation. Unfortu-

(35) nately, because this approach

fails to deal with the underlying

causes of inflation, wage and

price controls eventually col-

lapse, the hitherto-repressed

(40) inflation resurfaces, and in the

meantime, though the policy-

makers succeed in avoiding a

recession, a frozen structure of

relative prices imposes distor-

(45) tions that do damage to the

economy’s prospects for long-

term growth.

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Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen

The author’s conclusion about the use of wage and

price controls?

A. Countries that repeatedly use wage and price

  controls tend to have lower long-term economic

  growth rates than do other countries.

B. Countries that have extremely high inflation

  frequently place very stringent controls on

  wages and prices in an attempt to decrease

  the inflation.

C. Some countries have found that the use of wage

  and price controls succeeds in decreasing

  inflation but also causes a recession.

D. Policymakers who advocate the use of wage

  and price controls believe that these controls

  will deal with the underlying causes of inflation.

E. Policymakers who advocate the use o wage

  and price controls are usually more concerned

about long-term economic goals than about

short-term economic goals

answer:a

第一眼就把a给排除了。

能否帮我把全文都分析一下？谢谢！

(40) inflation resurfaces, and in the

meantime, though the policy-

makers succeed in avoiding a

recession, a frozen structure of

relative prices imposes distor-

(45) tions that do damage to the

economy’s prospects for long-

term growth