| 对各句进行简单意译。
Most economists in the United States seem captivated by the spell of the free market.
大部分美国经济学家笃信自由市场的威力。 Consequently, nothing seems good or normal that does not accord with the requirements of the free market.
因此，不符合自由市场要求的都是不好或不正常的。 A price that is determined by the seller or, for that matter (for that matter: so far as that is concerned), established by anyone other than the aggregate of consumers seems pernicious.
由卖方定价或由某些情况下由买方之外的任何人定价都是有害的。 Accordingly, it requires a major act of will to think of price-fixing (the determination of prices by the seller) as both “normal” and having a valuable economic function.
因而，需要一定的意志力，才能想通“价格设定”（卖方定价）是正常且具有经济功能的。 In fact, price-fixing is normal in all industrialized societies because the industrial system itself provides, as an effortless consequence of its own development, the price-fixing that it requires.
实际上，“价格设定”在各工业化社会领域是正常的，因为正是工业系统本身产生了适应其要求的“价格设定”。 Modern industrial planning requires and rewards great size.
现代工业规划需要并支持大规模生产。 Hence, a comparatively small number of large firms will be competing for the same group of consumers.
因此，相对少量的大公司竞争同一买方。 That each large firm will act with consideration of its own needs and thus avoid selling its products for more than its competitors charge is commonly recognized by advocates of free-market economic theories.
自由市场经济学一般认为，每个大公司将考虑自身需要并避免以高于其竞争对手的价格出售产品。 But each large firm will also act with full consideration of the needs that it has in common with the other large firms competing for the same customers.
但每个大公司也将考虑其他同业竞争的大公司的共同性。 Each large firm will thus avoid significant price-cutting, because price-cutting would be prejudicial to the common interest in a stable demand for products.
因此，每个大公司避免大幅减价，因为在稳定的产品需求下，减价有损共同利益。 Most economists do not see price-fixing when it occurs because they expect it to be brought about by a number of explicit agreements among large firms; it is not.
大多经济学家不能在“价格设定”发生时看到其存在，因为他们认为它应当由一些大公司间的明确协议来确定；实际上并非如此。 以上，第一段提出“价格设定”的问题，并讨论其正常性。 Moreover, those economists who argue that allowing the free market to operate without interference is the most efficient method of establishing prices have not considered the economies of non-socialist countries other than the United states.
而且，这些坚持自由定价的经济学家没有考虑到美国之外的非社会主义国家的经济体。 These economies employ intentional price-fixing, usually in an overt fashion.
这些经济体常常明显地采用有意的“价格设定”。 Formal price-fixing by cartel and informal price-fixing by agreements covering the members of an industry are commonplace.
卡特尔组织的公司“价格设定”和行业中成员间协议的非正式“价格设定”是普遍的。 Were there something peculiarly efficient about the free market and inefficient about price-fixing, the countries that have avoided the first and used the second would have suffered drastically in their economic development.
如果自由市场特别有效，而“价格设定”特别无效的话，则那些采用“价格设定”的国家的经济发展就会严重受损。 There is no indication that they have.
没有他们受损的情况。 第二段举出例证，提出了深入的分析。 Socialist industry also works within a framework of controlled prices.
再分析社会主义工业。 In the early 1970’s, the Soviet Union began to give firms and industries some of the flexibility in adjusting prices that a more informal evolution has accorded the capitalist system.
70年代早期，苏联开始给予公司企业一些调整价格的自由度。 Economists in the United States have hailed the change as a return to the free market.
美国经济学家为这种被视为向自由市场的回归转变而欢呼。 But Soviet firms are no more subject to prices established by a free market over which they exercise little influence than are capitalist firms; rather, Soviet firms have been given the power to fix prices.
但是，苏联公司被给予定价的权利。 第三段再举社会主义国家一例。 With which of the following statements regarding the behavior of large firms in industrialized societies would the author be most likely to agree? (A) The directors of large firms will continue to anticipate the demand for products.
文中有Each large firm will thus avoid significant price-cutting, because price-cutting would be prejudicial to the common interest in a stable demand for products.因此，他们是可能需要预测demand for products，以判定是否需求稳定。 (B) The directors of large firms are less interested in achieving a predictable level of profit than in achieving a large profit.
文中无相关论述可以推断。 (C) The directors of large firms will strive to reduce the costs of their products.
无法推出此推断。C中的charge是取费，此句是指每个公司都避免以高于其竞争对手的价格出售产品，因此和cost,成本，不是一回事。 (D) Many directors of large firms believe that the government should establish the prices that will be charged for products.（A）
无此相关论述。 (E) Many directors of large firms believe that the price charged for products is likely to increase annually. 没有相关论述。 | 
