题目材料
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the dollar value of finished goods and services produced by an economy during a given period, serves as the chief indicator of the economic well-being of the United States. The GDP assumes that the economic significance of goods and services lies solely in their price, and that these goods and services add to the national well-being, not because of any intrinsic value they may possess, but simply because they were produced and bought. Additionally, only those goods and services involved in monetary transactions are included in the GDP. Thus, the GDP ignores the economic utility of such things as a clean environment and cohesive families and communities. It is therefore not merely coincidental, since national policies in capitalist and noncapitalist countries alike are dependent on indicators such as the GDP, that both the environment and the social structure have been eroded in recent decades. Not only does the GDP mask this erosion, it can actually portray it as an economic gain: an oil spill off a coastal region "adds" to the GDP because it generates commercial activity. In short, the nation`s central measure of economic well-being works like a calculating machine that adds but cannot subtract.
Which of the following best describes the function of the second sentence of the passage (highlight text) in the context of the passage as a whole?
- AIt describes an assumption about the GDP that is defended in the course of the passage.
- BIt contributes to a discussion of the origins of the GDP.
- CIt clarifies a common misconception about the use of the GDP.
- DIt identifies a major flaw in the GDP
- EIt suggests a revision to the method of calculating the GDP.
显示答案
正确答案: D