Question

According to the passage, the American government is going to

• A. make Saddam Hussain's future think about his uncertain future.
• B. make sure Saddam Hussain's future remains uncertain.
• C. follow the example of alleged evil doers everywhere
• D. punish corporate crime expeditiously and decisively.
• A. I only
• B. III only
• C. I, II and III
• D. I and II only
• A. Too many businessmen are being too hastily prosecute
• B. Like Saddam Hussain, Big Business is in trouble.
• C. Electronic accounting systems have proved their inadequacy.
• D. Western business ethics have never been exemplary.
• A. hauling in of John Rigas and his two sons
• B. arrest of World Com executives.
• C. Public display of men in handcuffs.
• D. Confiscating their movable and immovable properties.
• A. senior officials having high profiles collars.
• B. Thursday and Friday being auspicious days.
• C. Claims that the system works in creating investor confidence
• D. Big help forthcoming from big business sources.
• A. midterm congressional dictions delay arrests
• B. House and Senate members have immunity
• C. Getting conviction is the hardest part of prosecution
• D. Even spectacles can be incriminating evidence.
• A. is preparing a list of invitations to a party
• B. plans postponements due to hearing problems
• C. has started investigating Global Crossing and In Clone
• D. regards TIME as a reliable source of information.
• A. offer copy hospitality in the White House
• B. seize Democratic Party members if they oppose
• C. hire Harken Energy and Hallibuton to placate them
• D. adopt an active rather than a passive form of law enforcement.
• A. World Com
• B. Quest
• C. Warnaco
• D. ImClone
• A. the same size
• B. complete and thorough
• C. metric system
• D. imperial system

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

This question requires us to identify the main action the American government is planning to undertake according to the given passage. Let's dissect the passage and interpret the intended meaning.

1. Understanding the Passage: The passage discusses the Bush Administration's approach towards dealing with corporate crime, emphasizing a strong stance. The idea is to hold CEOs accountable for any misconduct such as falsifying financial statements. President Bush is quoted as saying this effort targets those who "fudge the books" to improve their appearance.
2. Evidence in Passage: The passage illustrates that several high-profile arrests and actions are part of a broader strategy to restore investor confidence and maintain political control. This is mainly achieved by aggressively pursuing corporate wrongdoings.
3. Analyzing Options:
   • make Saddam Hussain's future think about his uncertain future.
     : This option does not align with the passage, which does not discuss Saddam Hussain's future but rather focuses on corporate accountability.
   • make sure Saddam Hussain's future remains uncertain.
     : Similarly, this option is unrelated to the passage's contents about corporate governance.
   • follow the example of alleged evil doers everywhere
     : This option is misleading. The passage criticizes rather than follows alleged wrongdoing.
   • punish corporate crime expeditiously and decisively.
     : This option is correct as it precisely reflects the passage's description of the government's proactive measures against corporate crimes.
4. Conclusion: Based on the analysis of the passage and the options provided, the correct answer is that the American government is going to punish corporate crime expeditiously and decisively. This approach aligns with the Bush Administration's posture as detailed in the passage.

Answer 2

To solve the question regarding President Bush's statement about actions against corrupt businessmen, it's important to analyze the provided passage carefully. Let's break down the passage and determine the reasoning behind the correct answer.

The passage outlines President Bush's determination to address misconduct in the business sector. He explicitly mentions the following actions:

• Tracking down criminals – This implies that officials will actively search for individuals involved in criminal activities, as indicated by "we're going to find you."
• Detaining them – The phrase "we're going to arrest you" clearly indicates that the intention is to detain these individuals.
• Verifying transactions – While the passage does not explicitly state "verifying transactions," the context provided by the involvement of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and DOJ (Department of Justice) in investigations refers implicitly to this kind of action to ensure financial integrity.

Each of these actions aligns with items I, II, and III as stated in the question prompt:

1. Track down criminals
2. Detain them
3. Verify transactions

Reviewing the given options:

• I only: This option is incorrect because the passage also mentions detaining (arrests).
• III only: This option is incorrect as the passage extensively discusses tracking and detaining as well.
• I, II and III: This option is correct as all three actions are implied in the passage.
• I and II only: This option is incorrect because it excludes the transactional reviews, which are implied in the passage through regulatory actions.

Therefore, the correct choice is I, II and III, as inferred from President Bush's emphasis on tackling corporate misconduct comprehensively.

Answer 3

To determine which statement best conveys the overall idea of the passage, we must analyze the passage and the options provided.

The passage discusses the Bush Administration's aggressive stance towards alleged wrongdoing in big businesses, comparing its approach to dealing with Saddam Hussein. The passage emphasizes the administration's intent to punish CEOs who engage in fraudulent activities, as evidenced by several high-profile arrests of corporate executives from prominent companies. Despite these actions aimed at boosting investor confidence, it's noted that the market did not respond positively. Additionally, political motivations are suggested, with implications of pre-election maneuvers and the administration's links to corporate entities taking center stage.

The given options are:

1. Too many businessmen are being too hastily prosecuted.
2. Like Saddam Hussein, Big Business is in trouble.
3. Electronic accounting systems have proved their inadequacy.
4. Western business ethics have never been exemplary.

Let's analyze each option:

• Option 1: This option suggests hasty prosecutions. While the passage mentions high-profile arrests, it does not critique the pace or process as being overly hasty.
• Option 2: This option draws a parallel with Saddam Hussein, suggesting that big businesses are under severe scrutiny and in trouble. The passage contains this narrative, comparing the administration's action against corporate crime to its approach towards Saddam Hussein.
• Option 3: The passage does not mention electronic accounting systems, nor does it link them to the discussed scandals.
• Option 4: While discussing ethics, the passage focuses specifically on the U.S. government's actions rather than the historical ethics of Western businesses in general.

Conclusively, Option 2 best captures the theme of the passage, highlighting the major troubles faced by big businesses akin to the political troubles with Saddam Hussein. This is the correct answer, accurately reflecting the intended message of the author.

Answer 4

The question requires identifying the action that the FBI did not take as mentioned in the passage. Let's analyze the options based on the content of the passage:

1. Hauling in of John Rigas and his two sons: The passage mentions that the FBI apprehended John Rigas and his two sons, implying a clear affirmative action. Therefore, this statement is true based on the passage.
2. Arrest of WorldCom executives: The passage discusses the arrest of former WorldCom executives, Scott Sullivan and David Myers. This indicates that the FBI indeed arrested these individuals, making this statement true.
3. Public display of men in handcuffs: The passage describes the FBI's action of parading the executives in handcuffs, which suggests that this event occurred as per the description. Thus, this statement is also true.
4. Confiscating their movable and immovable properties: The passage does not mention any action related to confiscating movable or immovable properties by the FBI. Since this action is not discussed, it is the exception among the options presented.

Based on the above analysis, the correct answer is Confiscating their movable and immovable properties as it is the only action not fulfilled by the FBI as per the passage's content.

Answer 5

To determine the correct answer to the given question, let's analyze the provided passage and the options:

1. The passage details actions taken by the Bush Administration against corporate misdeeds, highlighting high-profile arrests of executives and investigations into big businesses as a part of creating investor confidence.
2. The passage mentions that despite these actions purportedly helping investor confidence, the stock market fell on Thursday and Friday.
3. The specific excerpt from the passage is:

   "We didn't have anything to do with it," a senior administration official says of the high-profile collars. "But of course, they're a big help. It means the system is working, and that helps with [investor] confidence. "If so, that wasn't reflected in the stock market, which swooned on Thursday and Friday."

4. From this, we identify that the actions (arrests and indictments) were meant to create confidence in the system and imply that the system works.
5. The correct option should directly relate to this part of the passage where it is mentioned that "the system is working" to boost investor confidence.
6. Analysis of Options:
   • Option 1: "Senior officials having high profile collars." - This relates to the arrests but does not connect to investor confidence claims.
   • Option 2: "Thursday and Friday being auspicious days." - The passage does not mention anything about these days being auspicious.
   • Option 3: "Claims that the system works in creating investor confidence" - Directly correlates with the information in the passage about the system working and creating investor confidence.
   • Option 4: "Big help forthcoming from big business sources." - The passage mentions help from arrests, not directly from business sources.
7. Thus, Option 3: "Claims that the system works in creating investor confidence" is the correct answer, as it accurately reflects the passage's content.

Therefore, the stock market swooned on Thursday and Friday despite the claims that the system works in creating investor confidence.

Answer 6

To solve this question, we need to analyze the context provided by the passage and the options available. The passage discusses the efforts of the Bush Administration to hold corporate executives accountable for financial misconduct. The emphasis is on the intensity of arrests and indictments against high-profile business executives, reminiscent of the actions taken during the Wall Street scandals of the 1980s.

• The passage mentions that arrests and indictments during the Wall Street scandals of the 1980s did not necessarily lead to convictions.
• This suggests that while it might be relatively straightforward to arrest and indict individuals, securing a conviction is considerably more challenging.

Now, let's consider the options provided:

1. Midterm congressional decisions delay arrests: This option is incorrect as there is no mention of midterm congressional elections directly affecting the timing of arrests in the passage.
2. House and Senate members have immunity: This option is incorrect as there is no information in the passage indicating immunity for House and Senate members in the context of Wall Street scandals.
3. Getting conviction is the hardest part of prosecution: This option aligns with the part of the passage explaining that arrests and indictments do not necessarily result in convictions, which was a notable aspect of the 1980s Wall Street scandals.
4. Even spectacles can be incriminating evidence: This option is incorrect as the passage does not suggest that spectacles serve as incriminating evidence.

Upon evaluating these options against the passage, it is clear that the correct answer is:

Getting conviction is the hardest part of prosecution

This understanding is supported by the passage's indication that arrests and indictments during the 1980s did not always result in convictions, highlighting the difficulty in obtaining convictions in such cases.

Answer 7

To solve the question regarding the actions of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, we need to refer to the provided passage. The passage highlights the government's response to corporate wrongdoing in the early 2000s under President Bush's administration.

1. The passage describes a harsh response to corporate scandals, with the government taking legal actions, such as arresting executives from companies like Adelphia and WorldCom as part of dealing with alleged corporate fraud.
2. Further into the passage, it's mentioned that the House Energy and Commerce Committee is actively considering additional hearings, which might involve inviting companies suspected of wrongdoing, specifically naming Global Crossing and Imclone as potential targets of these hearings.
3. The correct option should logically align with the information about the committee's involvement in these investigations.

Analyzing the options given:

• Option 1: "is preparing a list of invitations to a party" - There is no context in the passage suggesting this social activity. It refers only to hearings, which are formal investigations.
• Option 2: "plans postponements due to hearing problems" - This option misinterprets "hearings" as related to auditory issues, rather than the formal investigative sessions referred to in the passage.
• Option 3: "has started investigating Global Crossing and In Clone" - This option directly aligns with the passage, which mentions the intent to hold hearings involving these companies.
• Option 4: "regards TIME as a reliable source of information" - Although the passage references TIME, it does not state that the committee regards it as a reliable source; it merely quotes a committee source in the TIME publication.

Thus, the correct answer is: "has started investigating Global Crossing and In Clone."

Answer 8

The question focuses on identifying the approach the Bush Administration decided to adopt in dealing with the alleged misconduct within big businesses, as described in the provided passage.

1. Analyzing the Passage:
   • The passage discusses the strategy by the Bush Administration in dealing with corporate misconduct, emphasizing active measures such as arrests and legal action.
   • The passage mentions the administration's firm stance against corporate wrongdoers, with a commitment to holding them accountable through legal and enforcement actions.
   • The statement, "if you're a CEO and you think you can fudge the books... we're going to find you, we're going to arrest you and we're going to hold you to account," highlights the proactive and aggressive approach adopted.
   • This approach aligns with an active form of law enforcement rather than passive measures.
2. Evaluating the Options:
   • Offer copy hospitality in the White House: This option is irrelevant as the passage doesn’t mention any hospitality strategies.
   • Seize Democratic Party members if they oppose: The passage does not indicate any intention to target political opponents related to business misconduct.
   • Hire Harken Energy and Halliburton to placate them: This is mentioned as a critique of the administration's corporate ties, not as a law enforcement strategy.
   • Adopt an active rather than a passive form of law enforcement: As previously analyzed, this is directly supported by the passage's emphasis on aggressive legal action against corporate malpractices.
3. Conclusion:
   • The correct answer is: "adopt an active rather than a passive form of law enforcement."
   • This aligns with the passage’s description of the administration's proactive measures in addressing corporate crime.

Answer 9

The question asks about a discrepancy of more than a billion dollars in the accounts of a company and relates it to certain corporations mentioned in the options. To identify the correct company, we'll refer to the provided passage and general knowledge about the corporate scandals of the early 2000s.

The passage specifically mentions several companies, including WorldCom and others that were under investigation for financial wrongdoings around the same period. Let’s examine the options provided:

1. WorldCom: The passage highlights WorldCom as a significant player in a financial scandal. The company was involved in one of the largest accounting scandals in history, with an overstatement of its assets by approximately $11 billion. This directly ties to the mention of a "billion dollars" discrepancy in their accounts.
2. Quest: Although mentioned in the passage, Qwest was under investigation and reconsidering its earnings, but it is not the primary focus of the question regarding a billion-dollar discrepancy. The passage suggests Qwest being close to restating earnings, but not as significantly as WorldCom.
3. Warnaco: The company was noted to be in the SEC’s focus but was not described as having a billion-dollar discrepancy of accounts.
4. ImClone: Like Warnaco, ImClone was involved in legal troubles, particularly insider trading, but lacked the mention of a billion-dollar accounting discrepancy.

From the above details, the correct answer is WorldCom, as it directly relates to massive financial inaccuracies amounting to over a billion dollars, as detailed both in the passage and external historical records of the early 2000s corporate scandals.

This understanding indicates how the logical crackdown on companies by government administrations (specifically in this instance, the Bush administration) was part of a broader attempt to handle corporate malfeasance, thereby aiming to restore investor confidence.

Answer 10

To understand the meaning of "full-scale" in the context of the passage, we should analyze how it's used within the given text. The term is part of the phrase: "the best defense is a full-scale offensive." Here, "full-scale" qualifies "offensive," indicating the extent and seriousness of the approach.

Let's examine the options and why "complete and thorough" is the correct choice:

1. The same size - This option generally refers to physical dimensions and doesn't fit the context where "full-scale" describes an approach or strategy, not a physical object.
2. Complete and thorough - This option aligns well with how "full-scale" is used in the passage. It suggests a comprehensive and wholehearted attempt or effort, which fits the idea of the Bush administration conducting a major offensive against corporate corruption.
3. Metric system - This is a measurement system and is unrelated to the context of strategy or thorough approaches in the given passage.
4. Imperial system - Similar to the metric system option, this also refers to a measurement system and is irrelevant to the executory nature of "full-scale" described in the text.

Thus, given the passage, "full-scale" most accurately means complete and thorough, fitting the context of an extensive and all-encompassing approach to handling corporate wrongdoing.