The good news about America’s economy is that jobs are plentiful despite slower growth and the housing blues．Some l80，000 new jobs were created in March and the unemployment rate fell t0 4．4％， three-tenths of a percentage point lower than a year a90．With employment and wage growth stron9， consumers are unlikely to stop spending and throw the economy into recession．
That is not all cause for celebration，however．The drop in the jobless rate at the same time as the economy is slowing implies that the growth in productivity--the amount workers produce in fin hour——is wanin9．①If this proves to be fl permanent shift，slower productivity growth bodes ill for inflation and living standards．
Few associate America with limping productivity．Central to its success over the past decade has been its,productivity miracle”，the sudden acceleration in workers’efficiency in l995．②After advancing at a measly l．5％per year for more than two decades，productivity growth soared to an average of 2．5％ a year in the late l990s and over 3％a year between 2002 and 2004．
This spurt set America apart from other rich countries．But between mid一2004 and the end of 2006． the growth in business output per hour outside agriculture，the most common gauge of worker efficiency， slowed to an annual rate of just l．5％，0n average．Judging by the recent jobs figures．its growth in the first few months of 2007 may be lower still．
Deciding how worrying this is depends on what lies behind the sluggishness．Productivity growth has two components：a long-term trend(set by the quality of the workforce，the pace of capital investment and the speed of innovation)and more volatile short—term fluctuations driven by the business cvcle．④ Early in an expansion，for instance，productivity takes off temporarily as firms squeeze their existing staff harder before hiring new workers．As fin economy slows，it tails off，because firms are loth to sack workers immediately．
This time，temporary factors are almost certainly playing the biggest role．Not only has the business cycle reached the point at which productivity growth usually slows，it also has several characteristics that may have exacerbated temporary productivity swings．
Unusually savage company cost—cutting early in this cycle is another reason why recent productivityswings have been so extreme．
An odd business cycle makes it hard to gauge what has happened to America’s underlying rate of productivity growth．So too do shifts in the sources of productivity growth．In the late l990s workers' efficiency rose thanks both to rapid investment，particularly in information technology(IT)，and to innovation，again mainly in IT．@Hence the conventional view that America's productivitv miracle was based on its ability to harness the power of computers．[454 words]
1．It is true of the text that______．
A．slower economic growth used to result in housing blues
B．new jobs are created more in March than in other months
C．higher unemployment rate is fl sign of economic recession
D．consumers are unlikely to stop spending no matter what happens
2．By sayin9“That is not all cause for celebration”(Line l，Paragraph 2)，the author implies that______．
A．lower unemployment rate isn’t worth celebrating
B．economy recedes in the wake of strong employment growth
C．slower productivity growth has been proven to be a permanent shift
D．slower productivity growth is hardly good news about America’s economy
3．America’s“productivity miracle”in the late l990s was mainly due t0______.
A．its ability to make full use of the power of computers
B．the sudden acceleration in workers’efficiency in l995
C．its advancement at a high rate for more than two decades
D．its success over the previous decade with limping productivity
4．Which of the following contributes most to the recent slower productivity growth? A．The business cycle．
B．The speed of innovation．
C．The quality of the workforce．
D．The pace of capital investment．
5．The proper title for this text should be______．
A．Making More with Less
B．Making Less with More
C．Taking off or Tailing off
D．What Lies behind the Sluggishness
That is not all cause for celebration，however．The drop in the jobless rate at the same time as the economy is slowing implies that the growth in productivity--the amount workers produce in fin hour——is wanin9．①If this proves to be fl permanent shift，slower productivity growth bodes ill for inflation and living standards．
Few associate America with limping productivity．Central to its success over the past decade has been its,productivity miracle”，the sudden acceleration in workers’efficiency in l995．②After advancing at a measly l．5％per year for more than two decades，productivity growth soared to an average of 2．5％ a year in the late l990s and over 3％a year between 2002 and 2004．
This spurt set America apart from other rich countries．But between mid一2004 and the end of 2006． the growth in business output per hour outside agriculture，the most common gauge of worker efficiency， slowed to an annual rate of just l．5％，0n average．Judging by the recent jobs figures．its growth in the first few months of 2007 may be lower still．
Deciding how worrying this is depends on what lies behind the sluggishness．Productivity growth has two components：a long-term trend(set by the quality of the workforce，the pace of capital investment and the speed of innovation)and more volatile short—term fluctuations driven by the business cvcle．④ Early in an expansion，for instance，productivity takes off temporarily as firms squeeze their existing staff harder before hiring new workers．As fin economy slows，it tails off，because firms are loth to sack workers immediately．
This time，temporary factors are almost certainly playing the biggest role．Not only has the business cycle reached the point at which productivity growth usually slows，it also has several characteristics that may have exacerbated temporary productivity swings．
Unusually savage company cost—cutting early in this cycle is another reason why recent productivityswings have been so extreme．
An odd business cycle makes it hard to gauge what has happened to America’s underlying rate of productivity growth．So too do shifts in the sources of productivity growth．In the late l990s workers' efficiency rose thanks both to rapid investment，particularly in information technology(IT)，and to innovation，again mainly in IT．@Hence the conventional view that America's productivitv miracle was based on its ability to harness the power of computers．[454 words]
1．It is true of the text that______．
A．slower economic growth used to result in housing blues
B．new jobs are created more in March than in other months
C．higher unemployment rate is fl sign of economic recession
D．consumers are unlikely to stop spending no matter what happens
2．By sayin9“That is not all cause for celebration”(Line l，Paragraph 2)，the author implies that______．
A．lower unemployment rate isn’t worth celebrating
B．economy recedes in the wake of strong employment growth
C．slower productivity growth has been proven to be a permanent shift
D．slower productivity growth is hardly good news about America’s economy
3．America’s“productivity miracle”in the late l990s was mainly due t0______.
A．its ability to make full use of the power of computers
B．the sudden acceleration in workers’efficiency in l995
C．its advancement at a high rate for more than two decades
D．its success over the previous decade with limping productivity
4．Which of the following contributes most to the recent slower productivity growth? A．The business cycle．
B．The speed of innovation．
C．The quality of the workforce．
D．The pace of capital investment．
5．The proper title for this text should be______．
A．Making More with Less
B．Making Less with More
C．Taking off or Tailing off
D．What Lies behind the Sluggishness