单选题
The rise of multinational corporations (跨国公司), global
marketing, new communications technologies, and shrinking cultural differences
have led to an unparalleled increase in global public relations or PR.
Surprisingly, since modern PR was largely an American invention, the U.
S. leadership in public relations is being threatened by PR efforts in other
countries. Ten years ago, for example, the world's top five public relations
agencies were American-owned. In 1991, only one was. The British in particular
are becoming more sophisticated and creative. A recent survey found that more
than half of all British companies include PR as part of their corporate (公司的)
planning activities, compared to about one-third of U.S. companies. It may not
be long before London replaces New York as the capital of PR.
Why is America lagging behind in the global PR race? First, Americans as a whole
tend to be fairly provincial and take more of an interest in local affairs.
Knowledge of world geography, for example, has never been strong in this
country, Secondly, Americans lag behind their European and Asian counterparts
(相对应的人) in knowing a second language. Less than 5 percent of Bur-son-Marshall's
U.S. employees know two languages. Ogilvy and Mather has about the same
percentage. Conversely, some European firms have half or more of their employees
fluent in a second language. Finally, people involved in PR abroad tend to keep
a closer eye on international affairs. In the financial PR area, for instance,
most Americans read the Wall Street Journal. Overseas, their counterparts read
the Journal as well as the Financial Times of London and The Economist,
publications not often read in this country. Perhaps the PR
industry might take a lesson from Ted Turner of CNN (Cable News Net-work).
Turner recently announced that the word "foreign" would no longer be used on CNN
news broadcasts. According to Turner, global communications have made the
nations of the world so interdependent that there is no longer any such thing as
foreign.
单选题
According to the passage, U.S. leadership in public relations is being
threatened because ______.
A. an unparalleled increase in the number of public relations
companies
B. shrinking cultural differences and new communications technologies
C. the decreasing number of multinational corporations in the U. S.
D. increased efforts of other countries in public relations
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 依据文章第二段第1至第2行。
单选题
London could soon replace New York as the center of PR because ______.
A. British companies are more ambitious than U.S. companies
B. British companies place more importance on PR than U.S. companies
C. British companies are heavily involved in planning activities
D. four of the world's top public relations agencies are
British-owned
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 依据文章第二段第5行开始。
单选题
The word "provincial" (Line 2, Para. 3) most probably means ______.
A. limited in outlook
B. like people from the provinces
C. rigid in thinking
D. interested in world financial affairs
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 该词出现在第三段第2行，依据下文的补充说明“take more of an interest in local affairs”可推断该词和选项A的意思最为接近。
单选题
We learn from the third paragraph that employees in the American PR
industry ______.
A. speak at least one foreign language fluently
B. are ignorant about world geography
C. are not as sophisticated as their European counterparts
D. enjoy reading a great variety of English business publications