Japanese firms have achieved the highest levels of manufacturing efficiency in the world automobile industry. Some observers of Japan have assumed that Japanese firms use the same manufacturing equipment (5) and techniques as United States firms but have bene- fited from the unique characteristics of Japanese employees and the Japanese culture. However, if this were true, then one would expect Japanese auto plants in the United States to perform no better than factories (10) run by United States companies. This is not the case, Japanese-run automobile plants located in the United States and staffed by local workers have demonstrated higher levels of productivity when compared with facto- ries owned by United States companies.

　　Automakers could schedule the production of different components or models on single machines, thereby eliminating the need to store the buffer stocks of extra (45) components that result when specialized equipment and workers are kept constantly active.

　　1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

　　(A) present the major steps of a process

　　(B) clarify an ambiguity

　　(C) chronicle a dispute

　　(D) correct misconceptions

　　(E) defend an accepted approach

　　2. The author suggests that if the observers of Japan mentioned in line 3 were correct, which of the following would be the case?

　　(A) The equipment used in Japanese automobile plants would be different from the equipment used in United States plants.

　　(B) Japanese workers would be trained to do several different production jobs.

　　(C) Culture would not have an influence on the productivity levels of workers.

　　(D) The workers in Japanese-run plants would have higher productivity levels regardless of where they were located.

　　(E) The production levels of Japanese-run plants located in the United States would be equal to those of plants run by United States companies.

　　3. Which of the following statements concerning the productivity levels of automakers can be inferred from the passage?

　　(A) Prior to the 1960's, the productivity levels of the top Japanese automakers were exceeded by those of United States automakers.

　　(B) The culture of a country has a large effect on the productivity levels of its automakers.

　　(C) During the late 1970's and early 1980's, productivity levels were comparable in Japan and the United States.

　　(D) The greater the number of cars that are produced in a single lot, the higher a plant's productivity level.

　　(E) The amount of capital investment made by automobile manufacturers in their factories determines the level of productivity.

　　4. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true of Japanese automobile workers?

　　(A) Their productivity levels did not equal those of United States automobile workers until the late seventies.

　　(B) Their high efficiency levels are a direct result of cultural influences.

　　(C) They operate component-specific machinery.

　　(D) They are trained to do more than one job.

　　(E) They produce larger lots of cars than do workers in United States factories.