GMAT考试阅读资料(一)

Passage 1　　　
　　Recent years have brought minority-ownedbusinesses in the United States unprecedentedopportunities-as well as new and significant risks.Civil rights activists have long argued that one of（5）　the principal reasons why Blacks， Hispanics， andother minority groups have difficulty establishingthemselves in business is that they lack access tothe sizable orders and subcontracts that are gener-ated by large companies. Now Congress， in appar-（10） ent agreement， has required by law that businessesawarded federal contracts of more than $500，000do their best to find minority subcontractors andrecord their efforts to do so on forms filed with thegovernment. Indeed， some federal and local agen-（15） cies have gone so far as to set specific percentagegoals for apportioning parts of public works con-tracts to minority enterprises.
　　Corporate response appears to have been sub-stantial. According to figures collected in 1977，（20） the total of corporate contracts with minority busi-nesses rose from $77 million in 1972 to $1. lbillionin 1977. The projected total of corporate contractswith minority businesses for the early 1980‘s isestimated to be over 53 billion per year with no（25） letup anticipated in the next decade.　Promising as it is for minority businesses， thisincreased patronage poses dangers for them， too.First， minority firms risk expanding too fast andoverextending themselves financially， since most（30） are small concerns and， unlike large businesses，they often need to make substantial investments innew plants， staff， equipment， and the like in orderto perform work subcontracted to them. If， there-after， their subcontracts are for some reason（35） reduced， such firms can face potentially cripplingfixed expenses. The world of corporate purchasingcan be frustrating for small entrepreneurs who getrequests for elaborate formal estimates and bids.Both consume valuable time and resources， and a（40）　small company’s efforts must soon result inorders， or both the morale and the financial healthof the business will suffer.
　　A second risk is that White-owned companiesmay seek to cash in on the increasing apportion-（45） ments through formation of joint ventures withminority-owned concerns. Of course， in manyinstances there are legitimate reasons for jointventures； clearly， White and minority enterprisescan team up to acquire business that neither could（50） acquire alone. But civil rights groups and minoritybusiness owners have complained to Congress aboutminorities being set up as “fronts” with White back-ing， rather than being accepted as full partners inlegitimate joint ventures.（55）　　　Third， a minority enterprise that secures thebusiness of one large corporate customer often runthe danger of becoming——and remaining-dependent.Even in the best of circumstances， fierce compe-tition from larger， more established companies（60） makes it difficult for small concerns to broadentheir customer bases： when such firms have nearlyguaranteed orders from a single corporate bene-factor， they may truly have to struggle againstcomplacency arising from their current success.