单选题
It has been a wretched few weeks for America's celebrity bosses. AIG's Maurice Greenberg has been dramatically ousted from the firm through which he dominated global insurance for decades. At Morgan Stanley a mutiny is forcing Philip Purcell, a boss used to getting his own way, into an increasingly desperate campaign to save his skin. At Boeing, Harry Stonecipher was called out of retirement to lead the scandal-hit firm and raise ethical standards, only to commit a lapse of his own, being sacked for sending e-mails to a lover who was also an employee. Carly Fiorina was the most powerful woman in corporate America until a few weeks ago, when Hewlett-Packard (HP) sacked her for poor performance. The fate of Bernie Ebbers is much grimmer. The once high-profile boss of World-Com could well spend the rest of his life behind bars following his conviction last month on fraud charges. In different ways, each of these examples appears to point to the same, welcome conclusion: that the imbalance in corporate power of the late 1990s, when many bosses were allowed to behave like absolute monarchs, has been corrected. Alas, appearances can be deceptive. While each of these recent tales of chief-executive woe is a sign of progress, none provides much evidence that the crisis in American corporate governance is yet over. In fact, each of these cases is an example of failed, not successful, governance. At the very least, the boards of both Morgan Stanley and HP were far too slow to address their bosses' inadequacies. The record of the Boeing board in picking chiefs prone to ethical lapses is too long to be dismissed as mere bad luck. The fall of Messrs Greenberg and Ebbers, meanwhile, highlights the growing role of government—and, in particular, of criminal prosecutors—in holding bosses to account, a development that is, at best, a mixed blessing. The Sarbanes-Oxley act, passed in haste following the Enron and WorldCom scandals, is imposing heavy costs on American companies; whether these are exceeded by any benefits is the subject of fierce debate and may not be known for years. Eliot Spitzer, New York's attorney-general, is the leading advocate and practitioner of an energetic "law enforcement" approach. He may be right that the recent burst of punitive actions has been good for the economy, even if some of his own decisions have been open to question. Where he is undoubtedly right is in arguing that corporate America has done a lamentable job of governing itself. As he says in an article in the Wall Street Journal this week: "The honour code among CEOs didn't work. Board oversight didn't work. Self-regulation was a complete failure." AIG's board, for example, did nothing about Mr Greenberg's use of murky accounting, or the conflicts posed by his use of offshore vehicles, or his constant bullying of his critics—let alone the firm's alleged participation in bid-rigging—until Mr Spitzer threatened a criminal prosecution that might have destroyed the firm.
单选题
In the opening paragraph, the author introduces his topic by ______. A. citing America's celebrity bosses B. listing a number of America's celebrity bosses C. depicting the plight of some reputed American bosses D. writing some most powerful persons in American firms
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 写作方法题。参见文章第一段，作者通过描述五个大名鼎鼎的美国老板的可叹结局，介绍了文章的主题内容：这些昔日名声显赫、大权在握的老板，最终都被戏剧性地驱逐出了公司(dramatically ousted from the firm)。
单选题
From the passage we get to know that ______. A. America's bosses no longer have absolute power B. the conviction of last month declares fraud charges C. there is a crisis in American corporate governance D. the America's celebrity bosses are deceptive
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 主旨大意题。第一段提到五个美国大老板被夺权的厄运，接着得出这样一个结论：the imbalance in corporate power of the late 1990s, when many bosses were allowed to behave like absolute monarchs, has been corrected. (20世纪90年代那种失衡的法人权得到了纠正，当时的大老板像君主那样拥有绝对的权力)，然后又用若干例证加以详述。因此正确答案为A。
单选题
The author's attitude toward ousting the America's celebrity bosses is ______. A. sympathetic B. supportive C. indifferent D. uninterested
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 意图观点题。根据文章的上下文(尤其是第二段)我们不难看出作者对这种做法持支持态度：each of these examples appears to point to the same, welcome conclusion that the imbalance...has been corrected...In fact, each of these cases is an example of failed, not successful, governance。
单选题
What does the author mean by "a mixed blessing" (Lines 5～6, Para. 3)? A. All kinds of good things. B. Something mixed with confusion. C. Something both good and bad. D. Something mixed with optimistic and pessimistic results.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为语义题，答案是C：好坏参半之事。mixed a. 混合的，混杂的；如：mixed economy兼私有与国有经济的混合经济；blessing幸福，可喜的事情；此处的“a mixed blessing”即是“好坏参半之事”。
单选题
As for the issues involved in the economy, Eliot Spitzer would in favor of ______. A. "law enforcement" approach B. decisions open to question C. the honour code among CEOs D. board oversight and self-regulation
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是推论题，答案是A：采用法律的途径。参见文章最后一段，可见Eliot Spitzer倡导将实施法律的途径用于经济。作者认为，他也许是对的，因为惩罚诉讼有利于经济发展(punitive actions has been good for the economy)，故正确答案为A。