Look at the notes below. You will hear a woman giving information about a timetable. Look at the notes below. You will hear a woman giving information about a timetable.

Interlocutor: Now, I'd like each of you to talk on your own for about a minute. I'm going to give each of you two different photographs and I'd like you to talk about them.[1] Candidate A, here are your two photographs. They show two different architectural styles. Please let Candidate B have a look at them.(Hand over picture sheet 1 to Candidate A.)Candidate B, I'll give you your photographs in a minute.Candidate A, I'd like you to compare and contrast these photographs, saying what you think the two pictures indicate. Remember, you have only about a minute for this. So don't worry if I interrupt you. All right?(Candidate A. Approximately one minute.)Interlocutor: Thank you. (Retrievephotographs.) Candidate B, what do you think?(Candidate B. Approximately twenty seconds.)Interlocutor: Thank you.[2] Now, Candidate B, here are your photographs. They show two different ways people spend their holidays. Please let Candidate A have a look at them.(Hand over picture sheet 2 to Candidate B.)Candidate B, I'd like you to compare and contrast these pictures, saying what you think the two pictures indicate. Remember, you have only about a minute for this. So don't worry if I interrupt you. All right? (Candidate B. Approximately one minute.) Interlocutor: Thank you. {Retrieve photographs.)Candidate A, what do you think? (Candidate A. Approximately twenty seconds. ) Interlocutor: Thank you.

Candidate A- How do people make career choices today?- What problems is China Red Cross facing now?- What do you think of in-service education?- What are the benefits of high EQ in career development?- What do you think of house purchasing on mortgage?- How have science and technology changed our life and work?Candidate B- How do people make career choices today?- What problems is China Red Cross facing now?- What do you think of in-service education?- What are the benefits of high EQ in career development?- What do you think of house purchasing on mortgage?- How have science and technology changed our life work?

Read the following text and decide which answer best fits each space. For questions 26~45, mark one letter A, B, C or D on the Answer Sheet. We Really Can Tell If We Are Being Watched Stories about how people somehow know when they are being watched have been going around for years. However, few【C1】______have been made to investigate the phenomenon scientifically. Now, with the completion of the largest ever【C2】______of the so-called staring effect, there is impressive evidence that this is a recognisable and【C3】______sixth sense. The study【C4】______hundreds of children. For the experiments, they sat with their eyes【C5】______so they could not see, and with their【C6】______to other children, who were told to either stare at them or look away. Time and time again the【C7】______showed that the children who could not see were able to【C8】______when they were being stared at. In a【C9】______of more than 18,000 trials carried out worldwide, the children【C10】______sensed when they were being watched almost 70% of the time. The experiment was repeated with the【C11】______precaution of putting the children who were being watched outside the room,【C12】______from the starers by the windows. This was done just in case there was some【C13】______going on with the children telling each other whether they were looking or not. This【C14】______the possibility of sounds being【C15】______between the children. The results, though less【C16】______, were more or less the same. Dr Sheldrake, the biologist who【C17】______the study, believes that the results are【C18】______enough to find out through further experiments【C19】______how the staring effect might actually【C20】______.

You will hear two telephone conversations. Write down one word or number in each of the numbered spaces on the forms below.CONVERSATION 1(Questions 1-4) MESSAGEFrom: Mr.【L1】 1To: Mr. AdamsMessage: He is interested in the secretary position. He has had two years of shorthand training in【L2】 2high school, and has developed a high rate of speed and accuracy in bothshorthand and typing. For the last two months, he has been an administrative assistant at the Riverside Bank. He can begin work anytime next week. He wants to have a personal interview at your【L3】 3. His phone number is【L4】 4. You will hear two telephone conversations. Write down one word or number in each of the numbered spaces on the forms below.CONVERSATION 1(Questions 1-4) MESSAGEFrom: Mr.【L1】 5To: Mr. AdamsMessage: He is interested in the secretary position. He has had two years of shorthand training in【L2】 6high school, and has developed a high rate of speed and accuracy in bothshorthand and typing. For the last two months, he has been an administrative assistant at the Riverside Bank. He can begin work anytime next week. He wants to have a personal interview at your【L3】 7. His phone number is【L4】 8. 【L1】

- The interlocutor gives you and your partner a list of topics. Both of you need to choose one to discuss together. The interlocutor may join in the conversation and ask you questions, but you and your partner are expected to develop the conversation.Topic 1: Music in Modern LifeTopic 2: Importance of MoneyTopic 3: An Extended Family or a Nuclear FamilyTopic 4: Taboos in ChinaTopic 5: Differences between Life in a Big City and in the Country

阅读理解HOW THE CREDIT CARD CAPTURED AMERICA The proliferation of platinum American Express cards in the 1980s spawned rumors of an ultimate, highly exclusive, never publicized "Black Card". Carried by billionaires, it reportedly allowed holders to demand private shopping sprees at the world''s most exclusive shops and to summon helicopters in the middle of Sahara. American express vehemently denies the existence of such a charge card. But the persistence of the myth suggests the social importance credit cards have for so many Americans. As one business writer puts it, "to have one''s credit cards canceled is now akin to being excommunicated by the medieval church." America''s love affair with the credit card began in 1949, when businessman Frank X. McNamara finished a meal in a New York restaurant and then discovered he had no cash. In those days, gasoline and store charge cards were common, but cash was standard for almost everything else. The embarrassed McNamara called his wife, who rushed over to bail him out. His predicament gave him the idea for Diners Club. Within a year some 200 people carried the world''s first multi-use credit card. The problem was to persuade enough people to carry the cards. Diners Club turned to promotions. It gave away a round-the-world trip on a popular television show. The winners charged their expenses and made it "from New York to New York without a die in their pockets". Banks, sensing among less affluent a pent-up desire to spend, began issuing cards of their own. The first to turn a profit was Bank of America''s Bank Americard. Bankers from all over the country descended on its California headquarters to learn the secret of its success—so many that in 1966 Bank Americard, today known as Visa, began forming alliances with banks outside the state. The Bank Americard network soon faced a competitor when Wells Fargo Bank joined with 77 others to create what became Master Charge. After scooping up 1.3 million more "Everything Card" holders from what was then First national City Bank, Maser charge—today''s Master card—became for a while the biggest bank card in the country. Five million holiday credit-card shoppers would have created a bonanza for the banks, but in the rush to market, the banks had been less than cautious in assembling their lists. Some families received 15 cards. Dead people and babies got cards. Even a dachshund named Alice Griffin was sent one that promised she would be welcomed as a "preferred customer" at Chicago''s finest restaurants. Hundreds of Chicagoans discovered they could use or sell a car they "found", and by law, the person whose name appeared on it was liable for the charges—even if he or she had never requested or received the card. When the prime rate hit 20 % in 1981, the banks found that consumers didn''t mind paying rates of 18—22% on their credit-card balance. High interest rates helped attract new players into the credit-card area, including sears'' Discover Card and Visa. Airlines, car and insurance companies, even long-distance phone companies allied themselves with banks to offer credit cards. Experts estimate there are from 15, 000 to 19, 000 different cards available in the country. Of course, credit cards have not only replaced cash for many purposes, but also in effect have created cash by making it instantly available virtually everywhere. The credit-card advance is becoming as ubiquitous as the automated teller machine.

阅读理解Advertisement Too much to read! It''s impossible to find time to read today''s (0) business books—and thousands are published each year. Yet not keeping up with those books could be a serious and (19) mistake. Often the ideas and insights they contain are (20) nowhere else. But how can you even know which (21) are worthwhile—let alone find time to read them? Fortunately, there''s a (22) Soundview Executive Book Summaries. It really works. In fact, it''s guaranteed to (23). It is ingenious and essential. Every month, you receive two or three quick reading, time saving summaries of the best new business books. Each (24) all the key points in the original book. The big (25), instead of 200 to 500 pages, the summary is only several pages. Instead of taking five, ten or more hours to read, it (26) just 15 minutes. Of the thousands of business books published (27), only a (28) are really worth reading. To save your time, our Editorial Board goes (29) them all eliminating 90%. Our (30) are high, and the criteria rigorous. When a book meets all our (31), we prepare a Summary, instead of a review or a digest. You get a skillful distillation that (32) the content ad spirit of the entire books. The titles cover every subject of (33) to business people today. There''s nothing else like Soundview Executive Book Summaries. A. good B. excellent C. first D. top EXAMPLE：The correct answer for blank (0) is D.

阅读理解Robots at Work The newspaper production process has come a (0) way from the old days when the paper was written, edited, typeset and ultimately printed in one building with the journalists working on the upper floors and the printing (19) going on the ground floor. These days the editors, sub-editors and journalists who put the paper together are (20) to find themselves in a totally different building or maybe even in a different city. This is the (21) which now prevails in Sydney. The daily paper is complied at the editorial headquarters, known as the pre-press centre, in the heart of the city but printed far away in the suburbs at the printing centre. Her human beings are in the (22) as much of the work is done by automated machines controlled by computers. (23) the finished newspaper has been created for the next morning''s edition, all the pages are (24) electronically from pre-press centre to the printing centre. The system of transmission is an update on the sophisticated page facsimile system already in use on many (25) newspapers. An image-setter at the printing centre delivers the pages as films. Each page (26) less than one minute to produce, although for color pages four versions are used, one each for black, cyan, magenta and yellow. The pages are then processed into photographic negatives and the film is used to produce aluminum printing plates (27) for the presses. A procession of automated vehicles is busy at the new printing centre where the Sydney morning Herald is printed each day. With (28) flashing and warning horns honking, the robots look for all the world like enthusiastic machines from a science-fiction movie, as they follow their random paths around the (29) busily getting on with their jobs. Automation of this kind is now (30) in all modern newspaper plants. The robots can (31) unauthorized personnel and alert (32) staff immediately if they find an intruder and not surprisingly, tall tales are already being told about the machines starting to take on (33) of their own. A. short B. far C. near D. long EXAMPLE：The correct answer for blank (0) is D.

阅读理解SUCCESSFUL MARKETING After all, you plan to make money by selling a product or a service or both. The reasons people will want to buy from you should give you a clue as to the inherent drama in your product or service. (0). In Mother Nature breakfast cereal, it is the high concentration of vitamins and minerals. Always remember that people buy benefits, not features. People do not buy shampoo; people buy great-looking or clean or manageable hair. (8) Mothers of young kids do not buy cereal? they buy nutrition, though many buy anything at all they can get their kids to eat—anything. So find the major benefit of your offering and write it down. It should come directly from the inherently dramatic feature. (9). There is a world of difference between honesty and believability. You can be 100 percent honest (as you should be) and people still may not believe you. You must go beyond honesty, beyond the barrier that advertising has erected by its tendency toward exaggeration, and state your benefit in such a way that it will be accepted beyond doubt. The company producing Mother Nature breakfast cereal might say, "A bowl of Mother Nature breakfast cereal provides your child with almost as many vitamins as a multi-vitamin pill." (10). The word almost lends believability. People do not pay attention to advertising. They pay attention only to things that interest them. And sometimes they find those things in advertising. So you''ve just got to interest them. (11). I''m sure you''re familiar with advertising that you remember for a product you do not remember. (12). But you can prevent yourself from falling into that trap by memorizing this line: Forget the ad, is the product or service interesting? The Mother Nature company might put their point across by showing a picture of two hands breaking open a multivitamin capsule from which pour flakes that fall into an appetizing-looking bowl of cereal. [A]. This statement begins with the inherent drama, turns it into a benefit, and is worded believably. [B]. And while you''re at it, be sure you interest them in your product or service, not just your advertising. [C]. People do not buy cars; people buy speed, status, style, economy, performance, and power. [D]. Something about your offering must be inherently interesting or you wouldn''t be putting it up for sale. [E]. And even though you have four or five benefits, stick with one or two at most. [F]. Many advertisers are guilty of creating advertising that''s more interesting than whatever it is they are advertising. [G]. All along, you should be using your creative strategy to guide you, to give you hints as to the content of your ad. EXAMPLE：The correct answer for blank (0) is [D].

阅读理解HOW BABY BOOMERS ENVISION THEIR RETIREMENT The Baby Boom generation—the cohort of Americans born between 1946 and 1964—has long commanded the attention of demographers, politicians, marketers, and social scientists. (0). Their mass alone has had an enormous impact on the national psyche, political arena and social fabric. From the youth culture they created in the 1960s and 1970s to the dual-income households of the 1980s and 1990s, this generation has reinterpreted each successive stage of life. (8). Baby Boomers envision a very novel type of retirement. (9). Fully eight in ten Baby Boomers say they plan to work at least part-time during their retirement; just 16% say they will not work at all; a little over a third say they will be working part-time mainly for the sake of interest and enjoyment; about one quarter say they will work part-time mainly for the income it provides; others envision stating their own business or working full-time at a new job or career. The survey findings also provide insight into some other ways Baby Boomers expect to define their retirement years. Close to half say they expect to devote more time to community service or volunteer activities during retirement. (10). Family, it seems, will play an important role in the Baby Boomer retirement: 57% expect to live near at least one of their children? seven in ten say they look forward to being a grandparent. Challenging the conventional wisdom which held that Baby Boomers are only concerned about the present, the study finds strong evidence that they have actually focused quite a lot on the prospect of retirement. (11). (12). Their self-reliance attitude is reflected in that: Fully seven in ten Baby Boomers say they don''t want to depend on their children during retirement; Six in ten feel confident in their ability to adequately prepare for the future; Only about two in ten have the attitude that "the future will take care of itself"? Just 9% believe that people ought to be able to depend on their family financially during retirement. [A]. With life expectancy rising, Boomers will live a long time and want an income as well as an occupation to sustain them. [B]. A strong majority of Baby Boomers (72%) say that they have given a lot or at least some thought to their retirement years, while just over one quarter say they have given only a little thought or none at all to their retirement years. [C]. As the oldest of the Baby Boomers, now 52, approach later adulthood, they are again poised to redefine the next stage, retirement. [D]. Seventy six million strong, Baby Boomers represent the largest single sustained growth of the population in the history of the United States. [E]. More than seven in ten Baby Boomers say they expect to have a hobby or special interest that they will dedicate a lot of time to when they are retired. [F]. A recent survey finds that most Baby Boomers believe that they will still be working during their retirement years. [G]. Baby Boomers'' definition of their retirement seems to include a large measure of self-reliance. EXAMPLE：The correct answer for blank (0) is [D].

阅读理解A Critical Concern in Merger and Acquisition Strategies Mergers and acquisitions as (0) strategies are once again in vogue. This business drama seems to be (19) by recent highly visible mergers between rich and famous players. Even speculation around a low ball offer by Comcast to acquire Disney seems to excite global (20) in corporate marriages. However, like all such (21), long-term success is rarely accomplished by a mere combination of cool stuff and know-how. In the midst of all the hype, a well documented fact is that most merger and acquisition activity rarely (22) the highly anticipated cooperation between companies. Throughout a merger or acquisition, people in an acquired company often (23) that they don''t know what is happening, express fear about (24) their jobs, and feel demoralized as to the future of their contributions. Failed mergers that otherwise have a (25) strategic and financial fit are typically the (26) of the irretrievable loss of intangible, messy-to-measure, and difficult-to-implement human (27) on which the company''s tangible assets ultimately (28). Traditional integration practices have been (29) around consolidating key resources, financial and physical assets, (30) names, and tradable endowments. The most forward-thinking integration strategies also capture key pieces of elusive core competencies, such as a/an (31)''s best practices, skills, knowledge bases, and routines. (32) excluded are critical root strategic assets, which can make or break a union that is otherwise "made in heaven." These root strategic assets (33) collaborative leadership, cultural cohesion and talent retention. A. downsize B. employment C. increase D. growth EXAMPLE：The correct answer for blank (0) is D.

阅读理解Employment Situation Opinion polls are now beginning to show that, whoever is to blame and whatever happens from now on, high unemployment is probably here to say. This means we shall have to find ways of sharing the available employment more widely. But we need to go further. We must ask some fundamental questions about the future work. Should we continue to treat employment as the norm? Should we not rather encourage many ways for self-respecting people to work? Should we not create conditions in which many of us can work for ourselves, rather than for an employer? Should we not aim to revive the household and the neighborhood, as well as the factory and the office, as centers of production and work? The industrial age has been the only period of human history in which most people''s work has taken the form of jobs. The industrial age may now be coming to an end, and some of the changes in work patterns which it brought may have to be reversed. This seems a daunting thought. But, in fact, it could offer the prospect of a better future for work. Universal employment, as its history shows, has not meant economic freedom. Employment became widespread when the enclosures of the 17th and 18th centuries made many people dependent on paid work by depriving them of the use of the land, and thus of the means to provide a living for themselves. Then the factory system destroyed the cottage industries and removed work from people''s homes. Later, as transport improved, first by rail and then by road, people commuted longer distances to their places of employment until, eventually, many people''s work lost all connection with their home lives and the places in which they live. Meanwhile, employment put women at a disadvantage. In preindustrial times, men and women had shared the productive work of the household and village community. Now it became customary for the husband to go out to paid employment, leaving the unpaid work of the home and families to his wife. Tax and benefit regulations still assume this norm today, and restrict more flexible sharing of work roles between the sexes. It was not only women whose work status suffered. As employment became the dominant form of work, young people and old people were excluded—a problem now, as more teenagers become frustrated at school and more retired people want to live active lives. All this may now have to change. The time has certainly come to switch some effort and resources away from the idealist goal creating jobs for all, to the urgent practical task of helping many people to manage without full-time jobs.

阅读理解WHAT IS A BANK (0) For example, there are so-called investment banks, which specialize in underwriting corporate and government securities. These banks purchase securities from the issuer and attempt to resell them in the open market at a reasonable profit. There are industrial banks, which accept smaller consumer savings deposits and make certain types of loans, principally cash loans to wage earners. And there are savings banks, which draw upon individual and family savings as their principal source of funds and invest those funds mainly in mortgages, corporate bonds, and occasionally common stock. Complicating the issue of what a bank is is rapid changes now occurring in the financial services industry. Many financial firms, particularly insurance companies, brokerage firms, and mutual funds, are today offering traditional banking services including liquid savings accounts and transactions accounts (checkable deposits) which can be drafted to make payments. Shares in a money market mutual fund are a well-known example of a recent service innovation by brokerage firms and mutual funds which compete directly with bank savings and transactions accounts. (8). When students in the field of financial institutions use the term bank they usually have a specific meaning in mind, however. (9) —— 1) transactions accounts, which may be used to make payments for purchases of goods and services and are widely accepted by the public for that purpose; and 2) direct loans to business, individuals, and other institutions. (10). Commercial bank checking accounts are the principal means of payment in the economy and are widely accepted as money. While commercial banks do purchase investment securities (such as corporate and government bonds) traded in the open market, their principal asset is loans made directly to business firms, individuals and families, securities dealers, and a host of other borrowers. (11). Commercial banks offer such diverse financial services as time and savings deposits, lease financing, financial advice and counseling, portfolio management, the safe-keeping of valuables, transfer of securities, bookkeeping, and the guaranteeing of credit received from other lenders. (12). However, the essence of banking—what separates this particular financial institution from all the others—is the making of loans and the selling of transactions (or payments) accounts. [A] Basically, a bank is what a bank does, regardless of the name given to the institution by the owners or others. [B] Indeed, so numerous are the services offered today by commercial banks that these institutions are often called financial department stores. [C] A bank in the usual and traditional sense is a financial institution offering two major services to the public. [D] The name of a bank is used very loosely today to describe a wide variety of institutions. [E] A transaction account is essentially equivalent to a checking account. [F] To be sure, banks offer many other services than just transactions accounts and loans. [G] The financial institution comes closest to this definition in the commercial bank. EXAMPLE：The correct answer for blank (0) is [D].

阅读理解PROCESS MANAGEMENT TO QUALITY IMPROVEMENT The examples above illustrate the need for integrated process and quality management, based on well-structured procedures, sensibly applied. For an organization to function effectively, it must have visible and easily understood procedures that assist staff in carrying out their work and provide accountability for all operations. Providing such a system is not trivial, and it cannot be done without considerable thought and hard work. But the results will more than justify the effort. Modern management must deal with degrees of complexity unheard of only a few decades ago. They must integrate many systems—for example, for purchasing, personnel, accounting, stock control, and computing—when each of these systems is itself highly complex. At the same time, they must ensure that they comply with a baffling variety of legal, safety, and regulatory and other requirements relevant to their organization. While struggling with these issues, the manager is under irresistible pressure from global competition to reduce costs to the minimum. With such pressure, we are obliged to provide structure and organization, which enable us to deal with such complexity. We group similar processes, collect similar information into records and classify the various activities that the organization must deal with. We organize staff and computer systems into units that deal with similar types of problems or situations. In all disciplines, the provision of structure of classification is dealt with through a systematic method recognized by the practitioners. In engineering, architecture, medicine and other practical professions, the practitioners learn the relevant methods and then apply them to solve problems. Process and quality management have the same need to approach the problems with a systematic method, which facilitates structuring of problems and produces practical solutions. One of the key criteria for a satisfactory method is that it should be applicable to a wide range of problems and concerns dealt with by the discipline. Once a method is in place, it provides a language and a framework for doing work) therefore, it must have the scope to deal with all problems that may arise. In quality management, the range of problems centers on "conformance to requirements". When this is interpreted most widely, as in TQM, requirements are not just those of the direct customer, but also those in internal departments and the wider requirement of the law and of regulatory agencies. Seen this way, all procedures and operations carried out are deal with all such issues uniformly which will provide an efficient and elegant solution to the problem of quality management. In process management, the problem centers on definition of the objectives of the organization, and the design of processes that support them. Since efficiency and effectiveness are always major objectives, the organization will also require that processes (1) make efficient use of resources, including human and material resources (2) and provide effective results, in terms of meeting the requirements of customers and other stakeholders in the organization. A systematic method must also provide support for these essential process attributes. Finally, the method must support people as they carry out processes. It should enhance their working lives and help them to discover better and more interesting ways of doing their jobs. It should endow empowerment and an involvement in decision-making by everyone involved in the process.

阅读理解WHO WILL BE B2B NO.l? Oracle Corp., a leader in the computer database market, is muscling into the area of business-to-business e-commerce (B2B company, which is selling ways for companies to make or save money by using the Internet). The company is banking that the next best thing on the Web will be virtual marketplaces—open markets on the Web where companies can trade goods at lower prices and share information. It could be a good bet. By 2002, around 70 percent of buyers and sellers will sell their widgets using Internet-based marketplaces, and the still-nascent market should be worth $2.7 trillion by 2004. Moneyed Markets The move into B2B doesn''t appear to signal problems with Oracle''s existing businesses. The firm reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of 17 cents a share on Tuesday, beating by a wide margin the expectations of Wall Street analysis who anticipated 13 cents a share earnings for the quarter. (0) On March 8, for instance, the company announced plans to join with petrochemical company Chevron and a division of Wal-Mart Stores to create an online marketplace for the fragmented convenience store industry, which is made up of a few large players and many thousands of mom and pop stores. (8). The first, with Commerce One, a competing e-commerce company, will be an auto-parts exchange for General Motors, Ford and Daimler Chrysler. The second deal, with Sears and French retailer Carrefour, will focus on the $80 billion in supply chain purchases that Sears and Carrefour make from their 50, 000 suppliers. From Plane to Chalnsaws More marketplaces are on the drawing board, according to an Oracle spokesman. (9) Each exchange will be an online electronic trading community where buyers and suppliers can do business and exchange information. They will also help companies to manage their inventories more efficiently, believes Lou Unkeless, Oracle''s marketing director. "So if there is a major snow storm in the Northeast users can anticipate demand for more snow shovels and make sure they are in the stores a day or two in advance, " he explained. That''s a lot of business for Oracle, which plans to take a cut on every transaction that passes through those marketplaces. The company hasn''t yet decided how it will charge businesses for using its exchange. (10). Online Opponents (11) Oracle is in a good position when it comes to providing end-to-end solutions. But when it comes to building marketplaces the company is playing catch-up. Other online competition could eat into those profits. "Nimbler Web companies are already on track to dominate the space, " says Roskill, a B2B e-commerce researcher. (12). "Can a little dot-com start-up provide service and privacy like this?" asks Unkeless. But an Ariba (a dot-com company) spokesperson retorted: "We have a $30 billion valuation and we''re 100 percent focused on business-to-business." But it''s still early days when it comes to business-to-business on the Web, says Roskill, who added, "We''re still in the first inning of the first game of the World Series." [A]. But before the money starts rolling in there are some hurdles to cross. [B]. As many as 10 will be up and running by May, serving major marketplaces like aerospace and forestry. [C]. Not surprisingly, Oracle doubts the strength of the competition. [D]. Meanwhile, Oracle is signing deals aplenty in hopes of breaking into the lucrative e-commerce business. [E]. By using the Internet, B2Bs could help some other companies reduce their corporate expenses by 19% in the next 10 years. [F]. "It depends on the value and size of each transaction, " says Unkeless. [G]. The company unveiled two similar deals in late February. EXAMPLE：The correct answer for blank (0) is [D].

阅读理解YESTERDAY''S IBM IBM was established in the state of New York on June 15, 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company. (0) . The U.S. Census Bureau knew its traditional methods of counting would not be adequate for measuring the population, so it sponsored a contest to find a more efficient means of tabulating census data. The winner was Herman Hollerith, whose Punch Card Tabulating Machine used an electric current to sense holes in punch cards and keep a running total of data. Capitalizing on his success, Hollerith formed the Tabulating Machine Co. in 1896. (8). The combined Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co., or C-T-R, manufactured and sold machinery ranging from commercial scales and industrial time recorders to meat and cheese slicers and, of course, tabulators and punch cards. Thomas J. Watson joined the company as general manager in 1914, when the diversified businesses of C-T-R proved difficult to manage. Watson boosted company spirit with employee sports teams, family outings and a company band. He preached a positive outlook, and his favorite slogan was "THANK". (9). He understood that the success of the client translated into the success of his company, a belief that, years later, manifested itself in the popular saying, "Nobody was ever fired for buying from IBM." Within 11 months of joining C-T-R, Watson became its president. The company focused on providing large-scale, custom-built tabulating solutions for businesses, leaving the market for small office products to others. During Watson''s first four years, revenues doubled to $2 million. He also expanded the company''s operations to Europe, South America, Asia and Australia. (10). During the Great Depression of the 1930s, IBM managed to grow while the rest of the U.S. economy struggled. Watson took care of his employees. (11). While most businesses had shut down, Watson kept his workers busy producing new machines even while demand was slack. Thanks to the resulting large inventory of equipment, IBM was ready when the Social Security Act of 1935 brought the company a landmark government contract to maintain employment records for 26 million people. It was called "the biggest accounting operation of all time, " and it went so well that orders from other U.S. government departments quickly followed. IBM''s size and success inspired numerous anti-trust actions. A 1952 suit by the Justice Department, settled four years later, forced IBM to sell its tabulating machines—at the time, IBM offered them only through leases—in order to establish a competing, used-machine market. Another federal anti-trust suit dragged on for thirteen years until the Justice Department concluded it was "without merit" and dropped it in 1982. (12). [A]. IBM was among the first corporations to provide group life insurance, survivor benefits and paid vacations. [B]. IBM is the most prominent casualty of the technology spending freeze, but others are suffering as well. [C]. In 1911, Hollerith''s company was merged with two others, Computing Scale Co. , of America and International Time Recording Co. [D]. But its origins can be traced back to 1890, when the United States was experiencing waves of immigration. [E]. IBM''s competitors filed 20 anti-trusts during the 1970s and none succeeded. [F]. In 1924, to reflect C-T-R''s growing worldwide presence, its name was changed to International Business Machine Corp., or IBM. [G]. Watson also stressed the importance of the customer, a lasting IBM principle. EXAMPLE：The correct answer for blank (0) is [D].

阅读理解FAMILY BUSINESSES Many people at some stage in their lives consider setting up a business with their partner or other members of their family. The idea may seem very appealing, but the reality of working with someone close to you can often create unforeseen problem. 80% of family-run businesses think that when times get tough, love, romance or family bonds will see them through. But the fact is that although 70% of businesses are family run, only 40% of these companies survive into the second generation. Why do so many family businesses fail? While money has traditionally been thought of as the root of all difficulties, the major problem is much more basic. In businesses which don''t have family tie or relationships, people find it easier to communicate and to say what is on their mind. In contrast, with family businesses, people often make the mistake of thinking they know what views other family members have without actually discussing with them. There is one strategy which should be employed in all family businesses to protect future problems. As time goes by, one partner may lose interest or not work as effectively as they are expected to. If each partner''s responsibilities are identified from the start so that they know exactly what is required of them, difficulties are less likely to arise as the business develops. It is also recommended to ask yourselves a few "what if" questions before starting a family business. For example, what if one of the partners brought a friend into the business and the others didn''t like this person? What would you all do? To avoid this kind of situation, you should talk it over amongst yourselves. This sort of research can make you aware of both your own attitudes and the attitudes of the other members of the family before problem actually occur. Contracts are another potential problem area. Too many family businesses are run on the most informal terms. People often think it an insult to ask a relative to sign a contract outlining the terms of a business venture. But you should treat the family business like any other business and get a professional to draw up a contract. Whether the business is profitable or not, it is supposed that the shares and who owns them must be clearly defined and written into a formal agreement. It must also be clear who is running the company. Some family businesses take a vote one every decision. Perhaps this exercise in democracy should be applauded, but it created so many complications that in the end the business failed. Even a small committee can sometimes be too large. In matters affecting the entire company, only one of you should be the decision maker. He or she doesn''t have to be the largest shareholder, but should be the one best able to lead the business. Another type of problem arises when a relative decides to join an already established business. In these cases, you should do everything you can to avoid favourism. It is important to avoid putting him straight into any kind of managerial position. Instead, encourage him to learn not only the company but the people who make it work by working on the shop floor on the assembly line. They have to prove to be a valuable asset not to the family but to the business.

阅读理解Tribunal Rules on Smoking at Work Case Employers must take sufficient (0) to protect non-smoking employees from tobacco smoke or they might be faced with legal (19), warns law firm Thomas, Sell & Passmore. Jill Thomas, an employment law specialist with the firm, quotes a recent (20) brought before the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). An employer''s failure to protect its employees against tobacco smoke (21) an employee to quit her job. Whilst working, the employee was (22) to work near four secretaries who smoked and the rooms of three solicitors who smoked cigarettes, cigars and a pipe. All doors were kept open to allow ventilation from smoking rooms. After a series of (23) from the plaintiff and fellow colleagues, the employer consulted staff and agreed that a smoking policy should be (24) up. However, the policy did not go (25) enough to solve the problem for the plaintiff. She was finally told either to (26) up with the smoke or leave, which she did. The EAT ruled that the employer had breached its contractual (27) to deal reasonably and promptly with its employees'' grievances, and to provide a reasonable working (28) suitable for its employees. The plaintiff was awarded (29). But employers are advised to think carefully before they rush into implementing or enforcing smoking ban. Unless they take care, they could be faced with unfair dismissal claims from smokers—(30) what they were trying to avoid with non-smokers. Before introducing a (31) or partial smoking ban, employers are recommended to protect themselves from potential claims by smokers. (32) must be consulted on their views and given reasonable notice of any changes. Employers should then (33) enforce their smoking ban. A. items B. stages C. ways D. steps EXAMPLE：The correct answer for blank (0) is D.

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