单选题 Sometimes, over a span of many Years, a business will continue to grow, generating ever-increasing amounts of cash, repurchasing stock, paying increased dividends, reducing debt, opening new stores, expanding production facilities, moving into new markets, etc., while at the same tune its stock price remains stagnant (or even falls).
When this happens, the average and professional investors alike tend to overlook the company because they become familiar with the trading range.
Take, for example, Wal-Mart. Over the past five years, the retailing behemoth has grown sales by over 80%, profits by over 100%, and yet the stock price has fallen as much as 30% during that timeframe. Clearly, the valuation picture has changed. An investor that read the annual report back in 2000 or 2001 might have passed on the security, deeming it too expensive based on a metric such as the price to earnings ratio. Today, however, the equation is completely different--despite the stock price, Wal-Mart is, in essence, trading at half its former price because each share is backed by a larger dividend, twice the earnings power, more stores, and a bigger infrastructure. Home Depot is in much the same boat, largely because some Wall Street analysts question how fast two of the world's largest companies can continue to grow before their sheer size slows them down to the rate of the general economy.
Coca-Cola is another excellent example of this phenomenon. Ten years ago, in 1996, the stock traded between a range of $36.10 and $54.30 per share. At the time, it had reported earnings per share of $1.40 and paid a cash dividend of $0.50 per share. Corporate per share book value was $2.48. Last year, the stock traded within a range of $40.30 and $45.30 per share; squarely in the middle of the same area it had been nearly a decade prior! Yet, despite the stagnant stock price, the 2006 estimates Value Line Investment Survey estimates for earnings per share stand around $2.16 (a rise of 54%), the cash dividend has more than doubled to $1.20, book value is expected to have grown to $7.40 per share (a gain of nearly 300%), and the total number of shares outstanding (未偿付的, 未完成的) has actually decreased from 2.481 billion to an estimated 2.355 billion due to the company's share repurchase program.

单选题 This passage is probably a part of______
A. Find Hidden Value in the Market B. Become Richer
C. Get Good Bargains D. Identify Good Companies

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 题目问：这篇文章大概是什么的一部分?通过阅读文章可知，当一个公司持续增长，就会产生越来越多的现金，回购股票，支付更多的股息，偿付债务，扩大生产，进入新的市场，等等；同时却发生股票价格停滞不前、甚至下降的局面。究其原因是由于投资者太熟悉贸易范围而忽略了公司的经营状况。这些内容揭示了一个问题：公司要发现市场的隐藏价值。“When this happens，the average and professional investors alike tend to overlook the company because they become familiar with the trading range．”据此可知，应该选择A。

单选题 The italicized word "stagnant" (Line 4, Para. 1) can be best paraphrased as______
A. prominent B. terrible C. unchanged D. progressing

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 题目问：“stagnant”可以转述成哪个单词?“while at the same tune its stock price remains stagnant(or even falls)．”在此句话中，“stagnant”的意思是“停滞的，迟钝的”；四个选项的意思分别是：prominent“卓越的，突出的”；terrible“很糟的，骇人的”：unchanged “无变化的，未改变的”；progressing“前进的，进步的”。所以，应该选择C。

单选题 Wal-Mart is now trading at a much lower price because______
A. it has stored a large quantity of goods
B. it has become financially more powerful
C. it has been eager to collect money to prevent bankruptcy
D. it is a good way to compete with other retailing companies

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 题目问：沃尔玛的股票正以非常低的价格进行交易是因为什么?通过阅读文章可知，沃尔玛现在的股票价格是以前价格的一半，是因为每股股票有更大的红利，两倍的盈利能力，更多的商店，以及更大的基础设施支撑着。“Today,however,the equation is completely diflferent—despite the stock price，Wal—Mart is，in essence，trading at half its former price because each share is backed by a larger dividend，twice the earnings power,more stores，and a bigger infrastructure．”所以，应该选择B。