Multiple choice

According to the passage, the President wants the voluntary principles to be initiated by businesses rather than by politicians or human rights activists because

Directions: The question
is based on the following reading passage.
Choose the best answer to the question on the
basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

            Multinational corporations frequently
            encounter impediments in their attempts
            to explain to politicians, human rights
            groups, and (perhaps most importantly)
(5)        their consumer base why they do business
            with, even seek closer business ties to,
            countries whose human rights records
            are considered heinous by United States
            standards. The CEOs propound that
(10)      in the business trenches, the issue of
            human rights must effectively be detached
            from the wider spectrum of free trade.
            Discussion of the uneasy alliance between
            trade and human rights has trickled down
(15)      from the boardrooms of large multinational
            corporations to the consumer on the street
            who, given the wide variety of products
            available to him, is eager to show support
            for human rights by boycotting the products
(20)      of a company he feels does not  do
            enough to help its overseas workers.
            International human rights organization also
            are pressuring the multinationals to push
            for more humane working conditions in
(25)      other countries and to in effect develop a
            code of business conduct that must be
            adhered to if the American company is to
            continue working with the overseas partner.
            The president, in drawing up a plane for
(30)     what he calls the "e;economic architecture
           of our times,"e; wants economists, business
            leaders, and human rights groups to work
            together to develop a set of principles that
            the foreign partners of United States
(35)      corporations will voluntarily embrace.
            Humans rights activists, incensed at the
            nebulous plans for implementing such
            rules, charge that their agenda is being
            given low priority by the State Department.
(40)      The president vociferously denies their
            charges, arguing that each situation is
            approached on its merits without
            prejudice, and hopes that all the groups
            can work together to develop principles
(45)      based on empirical research rather than
            political fiat, emphasizing that the
            businesses with experience in the field
            must initiate the process of developing
            such guidelines. Business leaders, while
(50)      paying lip service to the concept of these
            principles, fight stealthily against their
            formal endorsement as they fear such
            "e;voluntary"e; concepts may someday be
            given the force of law. Few business
(55)      leaders have forgotten the Sullivan
            Principles, in which a set of voluntary
            rules regarding business conduct with
            South Africa (giving benefits to workers
            and banning apartheid in the companies
(60)      that worked with U.S. partners) became
            legislation.

  1. businesses have empirical experience in the field and thus, know what the conditions are and how they may/should be remedied

  2. businesses make profits from the labor of the workers and thus, have a moral obligation to improve their employees' working conditions

  3. workers will not accept principles drawn up by politicians whom they distrust but may agree to principles created by the corporations that pay them

  4. foreign nations are distrustful of the US political intervention and are more likely to accept suggestions from multinational corporations

  5. political activist groups have concerns that are too dramatically different from those of the corporations for the groups to be able to work together
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

When a question begins with “according to the passage,” you need to go back to the passage and find the exact answer. The answer can be inferred from line number 49 onwards..  Choices (2), (3), (4) and (5) are all judgment calls. You are assuming facts not in evidence, as the lawyers say. Although you personally may believe the statements in these answer choices to be true, they don’t answer the specific question.

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