Passage 18
In 1919 Britain experienced its largest ever reduction in industrial working hours, to 48 per week. In Dowie’s view the 48-hour week played a central role in Britain’s poor economic performance during the 1920s. Dowie argued that the reduction, together with rapid wage growth, drove up prices. However, Greasly and Oxley found that the First World War (1914-1918) constituted a more powerful negative macroeconomic shock to Britain’s competitiveness. And Scott argues that Dowie’s thesis ignores considerable evidence that hourly productivity improves when hours are reduced from a high base level. Crucially, Dowie’s thesis does not acknowledge that hours were reduced to around 48 hours a week for industrial workers in most industrialized nations at this time so far—undermining any potential impact of reduced hours on industrial productivity relative to other nations.
1. Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for Scott’s argument?
A. Companies have generally found that part-time employees are less productive than full-time ones.
B. When the total number of hours worked at a company increases owing to the addition of more employees, the usual result is improved productivity at the company.
C. When the total hours worked by all employees per week in two companies are equivalent, hourly productivity tends to be equivalent as well.
D. Companies whose employees usually work a high number of hours tend to have greater total costs than do similar companies whose employees work fewer hours.
E. Companies have found that total output per employee is not necessarily changed by reductions in the number of hours worked per employee.
2. It can be inferred from the passage that in the view of Greasley and Oxley
A. a reduced workweek was ultimately beneficial to employees
B. the economic effects of the reduction in working hours in 1919 were brief
C. Britain became less economically competitive in the 1920s
D. reduced working hours were the primary cause of the economic changes observed by Dowie
E. the changes in economic performance in Britain in the 1920s were unforeseen
答案：E C
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