单选题 When public sector work nosedived as the austerity drive took hold, one company realised it would have to look elsewhere for the construction-based work on which its fortunes relied. The answer was clear—China.
Anthony Walker & Partners, the Newcastle-based firm of landscape architects, found its workload halved after the coalition scrapped a host of state school building projects in 2010. Forced to close its Manchester office and cut staff from 24 three years ago to 10 now, it urgently needed new business. Now, as it prepares to open an office in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Steve Laws, director and owner of AWP, says the Chinese market has become "almost an essential lifeline ... the Chinese work has given us a light to work towards".
If the UK is to raise its inadequate share of exports to emerging markets, more companies will also have to take the plunge.
Exports are a big coalition priority. George Osborne, chancellor, wants to double UK exports to ￡1tn a year by 2020. On current trends, emerging markets will account for 60 percent of global output by the mid-2020s.
British exports were up 11 percent to ￡50bn last year, including significant increases to Brazil, Russia, South Africa, China and India. But 70 percent still go to North America, the EU, Japan and Switzerland, while fewer than 10 percent go to the 10 largest emerging economies.
A FTSE 100 chief executive says: "I think businesses are being too risk averse, particularly around exports. With the level of sterling ... you would have expected to see a bigger improvement in export activity."
Taking the leap into emerging markets can be daunting, especially for small companies. There are differences in language and culture, as well as pitfalls such as avoiding Chinese {{U}}counterfeiters{{/U}}. Mr Laws, however, has encountered more bureaucracy in the UK than China. "It's very difficult for us to open doors in the UK. Sometimes public sector tendering is quite restrictive, [with] a lot of box-ticking."
For Green Fuels, a Gloucestershire company that makes equipment to turn cooking oil into biofuel, the switch to exports has been dramatic.
The company, co-founded nine years ago by James Hygate, managing director, and his father, at first grew rapidly in the UK, where its equipment is used to make biofuel for the royal train and Prince Charles's Aston Martin.
But, he adds: "If we can get them to understand the British way of doing things. I think we shall do very well."

单选题 What is the main idea of this article?

A. The cultural shock confronting British businessman.
B. The British companies are looking for niche in overseas market.
C. The repercussion of austerity policy.
D. The survival of British companies.

单选题 Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. British encountered less bureaucracy in the UK than China.
B. The public sector work plunged.
C. The Chinese market gives the British a promising future.
D. Emerging markets still lag behind North America in the export proportion of UK.

单选题 Why do the companies look for new overseas market?

A. The domestic market is already saturated.
B. They want to benefit from globalization.
C. Public sector work falls off with the government austerity prevailing.
D. They are seized by ambition and greed.

单选题 What does the FTSE 100 chief executive mean by saying that in Paragraph 6?

A. The British export should outmatch the present level.
B. The British are too risk sensitive to succeed.
C. The British are not aware of their weakness.
D. The export activity is quite normal.

单选题 What is the meaning of the word "counterfeiter"?

A. Businessman.
B. Public servant.
C. Heretic.
D. Forger.