9．In his 1930 essay"Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren"，John Keynes，a famous economist，wrote that human needs fall into two classes：absolute needs，which are independent of what others have，and relative needs，which make us feel superior to our fellows．He thought that although relative needs may indeed be insatiable （無止境的），this is not true of abolute needs．
Keynes was surely correct that only a small part of total spending is decided by the desire for superiority．He was greatly mistaken，however，in seeing this desire as the only source of insatiable demands．
Decisions to spend are also driven by ideas of quality which can influence the demands for almost all goods，including even basic goods like food．When a couple goes out for an anniversary dinner，for example，the thought of feeling superior to others probably never comes to them．Their goal is to share a special meal that stands out from other meals．
There are no obvious limits to the escalation of demand for quality．For example，Porsche，a famous car producer，has a model which was considered perhaps the best sport car on the market Priced at over $120，000，it handles perfectly well and has great speed acceleration．But in 2004，the producer introduced some changes which made the model slightly better in handling and acceleration．People who really care about cars find these small improvements exciting．To get them，however，they must pay almost four times the prices．
By placing the desire to be superior to others at the heart of his description of insatiable demands，Keynes actually reduced such demands．However，the desire for higher quality has no natural limits．
56．According to the passage，John Keynes Believed thatC．
A．desire is the root of both absolute and relative needs
B．absolute needs come fom our sense of superiority
C．relative needs alone lead to insatiable demands
D．absolute needs are stronger than relative needs
57．What does the word"escalation"paragraph 4probably mean？B
A．Understanding．
B．Incease．
C．Difference．
D．Expectation．
58．The author of the passage argues thatA．
A．absolute needs have no limits
B．demands for quality are not insatiable
C．human desires influence ideas of quality
D．relative needs decide most of our spending．
分析 本文從英國著名經濟學家約翰•梅納德•凱恩斯的一篇文章《我們后代的經濟前景》入手，辯證地指出了他在文中提出的、關于消費需求的正確的和錯誤論點，指出了他的"人類對于優(yōu)越生活的欲望是過度消費的唯一源泉"的錯誤．作者列舉事例，從結婚周年慶的夫婦吃大餐的原因分析，并列舉了保時捷一個成功的營銷戰(zhàn)例，力圖證明消費也是由真實的、對生活質量的需求而決定的．在經濟學上，絕對需求，指的是包括吃、喝、睡、性等一系列與我們的動物屬性相關的對于生存的要求；相對需求，則指衣住行、柴米油鹽、煙酒糖茶…享受類等與心理更為相關的社群性需求．
解答 56．C．細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章內容He thought that although relative needs may indeed be insatiable （無止境的），this is not true of abolute needs．可知，在約翰•梅納德•凱恩斯看來，人類對于奢華生活的相對需求才是造成過度消費的罪魁禍首．這也是作者極力批駁他的地方．故選C．
57．B．細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)上下文內容可知，There are no obvious limits to the escalation of demand for quality．中escalation的意思是"擴大；增加"，句意表示"對生活質量需求的增加"．故選B．
58．A．推理判斷題．按凱恩斯的觀點，人類需求分為"絕對需求"和"相對需求"．從文章第一段可知"He thought that although relative needs may indeed be insatiable （無止境的），this is not true of absolute needs．"（詞組be not true of…對…不適用、不符合…）凱恩斯認為相對需求是無止境的．作者所做的就是辯駁他的論點，應是絕對需求無限，相對需求則和生活質量有關，是可控的、有條件性的和有限的，故選A．
點評 本文是一篇政治經濟類閱讀，題目涉及多道主旨大意題，細節(jié)理解題，推理判斷題．做題時學生應仔細閱讀原文，把握文章主要內容，聯(lián)系文章上下文內容并結合所給選項含義，從中選出正確答案，一定要做到有理有據(jù)，切忌胡亂猜測．
