单选题At current online-ed rates, it is almost impossible for web publishers that create their own content to make money—just ask any of the two dozen, from Z.com to eCountries that have gone bust in the past month alone. The mason for the bloodbath is simple: advertisers are not willing m pay enough for web ads to support the cost of displaying them. To see why, consider a credit-card firm that wants to find customers online. Say it runs a campaign to display its banner ad to 2 million viewers. Using industry averages, one out of every 200 viewers can be expected to click on the ad: one out of every 100 of those will actually sign up for a credit card. Thus, the campaign would yield 100 new customers. Offline. the firm pays about $150 for each customer it acquires, through anything from direct mail to television ads. Using the same rate, it would therefore be willing to pay $15.000 for those 2 million online-ad views, or a cost-per-thousand- views (CPM) rate of $7.50. Now consider the economics of the website that is running those ads. It probably does not have its own ad sales team, so it is getting those credit-card ads from an advertising network such as DoubleClick. The network takes half the revenues, leaving the site with a CPM of $3.75. Imagine that the site is very successful, say among the top few hundred on the web. If so, it may be able to generate 10m page views 'a month. At $3.75 per thousand views, that means revenue of $37,500 a month. Take out hardware, software and bandwidth costs, and enough might be left to support two employees or so.This grim picture can be improved by selling more than one ad per page. but such clutter often comes at the cost of a lower rate of "click-throughs" and, eventually, even lower CPMs. The site can try to charge higher CPMs by providing more information about viewer demographics, to help advertisers target their ads, or by claiming that it has a sign that may justify a fee for brand-building advertisers. But advertisers are skeptical. The biggest web portals get their content almost for free—a mixture of material from other-sites and content created by viewers—and attract so much traffic that they can support huge organizations on low CPMs. But for most smaller websites, there is no way out. Those that cannot find revenue sources beyond advertising will either go bust or be forced to admit that their site is a non-profit enterprise. If truth-in-advertising rules were enforced, most dotcoms would be dotorgs.

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} The Tuscan town of Vinci, birthplace of Leonardo and home to a museum of his machines, should fittingly put on a show of the television-robot sculptures of Nam Jun Paik. This Korean-born American artist and the Renaissance master are kindred spirits: Leonardo saw humanistic potential in his scientific experiments, Mr Paik endeavors to harness media technology for artistic purposes. A pioneer of video art in the late 1960s, he treats television as a space for art images and as material for robots and interactive sculptures. Mr Paik was not alone. He and fellow artists picked on the video cameras because they offered an easy way to record their performance art. Now, to mark video art's coming of age, New York's Museum of Modern Art is looking back at their efforts in a film series called "The First Decade". It celebrates the early days of video by screening the archives of Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), one of the world's leading distributors of video and new media art, founded 30 years ago. One of EAI's most famous alumni is Bill Viola. Part of the second generation of video artists, who emerged in the 1970s, Mr Viola experimented with video's expressive potential. His camera explores religious ritual and universal ideas. The Viola show at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin shows us moving-image frescoes that cover the gallery walls and envelop the viewer in all embracing cycles of life and death. One new star is a Californian, Doug Aitken, who took over London's Serpentine Gallery last October with an installation called "New Ocean". Some say Mr Aitken is to video what Jackson Pollock was to painting. He drips his images from floor to ceiling, creating sequences of rooms in which the space surrounds the viewer in hallucinatory images, of sound and light. At the Serpentine, Mr Aitken created a collage of moving images, on the theme of water's flow around the planet as a force of life. "I wanted to create a new topography in this work, a liquid image, to show a world that never stands still," he says. The boundary between the physical world and the world of images and information, he thinks, is blurring. The interplay of illusion and reality, sound and image, references to art history, politics, film and television in this art form that is barely 30 years old can make video art difficult to define. Many call it film-based or moving-image art to include artists who work with other cinematic media. At its best, the appeal of video art lies in its versatility, its power to capture the passing of time and on its ability to communicate both inside and outside gallery walls.

单选题As the baby-boomer generation contemplates the prospect of the Zimmer frame there has never been more interest in delaying the process of ageing. One consequence has been a(n) (1) rise in the popularity of brain-training games. But how (2) really is a daily dose of cryptic crossword? Robert Wilson, a neuropsychologist at Rush University in Chicago, and his colleagues decided to (3) out, (4) following a group of people without dementia. Participants were asked to (5) how frequently they engaged in cognitively (6) activities. The researchers were looking for such things as reading newspapers, books and magazines, (7) challenging games like chess, listening to the radio and watching television, and (8) museums. The good news, as they report in Neurology, is that (9) activity of this sort seems to slow the rate of (10) decline in those without cognitive (11) . The bad news is that in those who do then develop Alzheimer's disease it is associated with a more rapid (12) decline. What seems to be happening is that cognitive stimulation helps (13) the effect of the neurodegenerative lesions associated with dementia. It does not, (14) , make them go away. They continue to (15) , so that when the disease does eventually take (16) there are more of them around than there otherwise would be, which results in a more (17) cognitive fall off. That is not a message of despair, (18) , because the length of time someone suffers from dementia is thus (19) and their healthy life prolonged. So the message is, (20) on with the crosswords.

单选题We can learn from the last paragraph, zero growth

单选题Mourning the death of one of its own is perhaps the entertainment industry's most time-honored traditions. After an agonizing and prolonged decline, the long-suffering Vertically Integrated Media Conglomerate passed away. It's an idea that was born when Time Inc. merged with Warner Communications Corp. in 1989, to form Time Warner. It endured as the industry's prevailing business model for nearly a generation, spawning such clones and mongrel breeds as Viacom, News Corp and GE's NBC Universal. The vertically integrated media conglomerate was—or was supposed to be—many amazing things, giving a handful of companies unprecedented power over the media—and the chance to earn outsized profits in the process. But its defining characteristic was its sheer size, earning it a fitting nickname. Big Media. But the theory behind the strategy relied on more than size. Housed under one roof, a single Big Media entity would control the means of producing and distributing media content, from magazine and books to television shows and movies, from cartoons and theme parks to sports franchises and the cable networks that carry the games to recorded music labels and music publishers. In Time Warner's prototype of the model, it would control everything from the first letter of a Time magazine story or Warner Books novel to the last alphabet of the credits at the end of a Warner Brothers flick or HBO series based on the magazine story or the book division's fiction. For a time, Time Warner boasted a wide array of media assets. No more. On April 29, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes officially announced the death of Big Media. Having sliced off Warner Music Group a few years ago and Time Warner Cable this year, Bewkes notified the SEC that he intended to soon spin off AOL—its greatest expansionary effort to achieve media greatness, a move that proved lethal. And now, even the corporate namesake, the magazine company Time Inc., has a funereal atmosphere about it. The entertainment industry is only the latest in which the idea of vertical integration failed to live up to its promise. Consider the experiences of the auto industry. Henry Ford was a huge believer in the concept. His River Rouge plant, which once built the Model A, had its own electricity plant and its own mill for turning iron ore into steel; the vast majority of the components that went into its cars were made onsite. Over time, however, this soup-to-nuts strategy came to be seen as inefficient, companies could obtain better prices and more flexibility by dealing with a competing band of outside suppliers. Over time, once vertically-integrated companies like Ford and General Motors have spun off their internal supply division to form standalone companies, in an attempt to try to create the flexible, leaner supply chains created by Honda and Toyota. So what was Big Media's legacy? It's bad form, of course, to speak ill of the departed, but the model has left mostly a negative mark on the media landscape and corporate America.

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} Should anyone much care whether an American boy living overseas gets six vicious thwacks on his backside? So much has been argued, rejoined and rehashed about the case of Michael Fay, an 18-year-old convicted of vandalism and sentenced to a caning in Singapore, that an otherwise sorry little episode has shaded into a certified International Incident, complete with intercessions by the U. S. head of state. An affair has outraged American libertarians even as it has animated a general debate about morality East and West and the proper functioning of U.S. law and order. Which, to all appearances, is what Singapore wanted. The question of whether anyone should care about Michael Fay is idle. though Singapore officials profess shock at the attention his case had drawn, they know Americans care deeply about the many sides of this issue. Does a teenager convicted of spraying cars with easily removable paint deserve half a dozen powerful strokes? At what point does swift, sure punishment become torture? By what moral authority can America, with its high rates of lawlessness and license, preach of a safe society about human rights? The caning sentence has concentrated minds wondrously on an already lively domestic debate over what constitutes a due balance between individual and majority rights. Too bad Michael Fay has become a focus for this discussion. Not only does he seem destined to be pummeled and immobilized, but the use of Singapore as a standard for judging any other society, let alone the {{U}}cacophonous{{/U}} U. S. , is fairly worthless. To begin with, Singapore is an offshore republic that tightly limits immigration. Imagine crime-ridden Los Angeles, to which Singapore is sometimes contrasted, with hardly any inflow of the hard-luck, often desperate fortune seekers who flock to big cities. Even without its government's disciplinary measures, Singapore more than plausibly would be much the same as it is now. An academic commonplace today is that the major factor determining social peace and prosperity is culture--a sense of common identity, tradition and values. Unlike Singapore, though, the U. S. today is a nation in search of a common culture, trying to be a universal society that assimilates the traditions of people from all over the world. Efforts to safeguard minority as well as individual rights have produced a gridlock in the justice system. Its troubles stem more from the decay of family life than from any government failures. Few societies can afford to look on complacently. As travel eases and cultures intermix, the American experience is becoming the world's. The circumstances of this affair--evidently no Singaporean has ever been punished under the Vandalism Act for defacing private property--suggest that Singapore has used Fay as an unwilling point man in a growing quarrel between East and West about human rights.

单选题The moral high ground has always been female territory because

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} When a customer claimed to have found a severed finger in a bowl of chilli served at a Wendy's fast-food franchise in California, the chain's sales fell by half in the San José area where the incident was reported. Wendy's brand and reputation were at risk, until the claim was exposed as a hoax in late April and the company, operator of America's third-biggest hamburger chain, was vindicated. Yet the share price of Wendy's International, the parent company, rose steadily through March and April, despite the finger furore and downgrades from analysts. One reason was heavy buying by hedge funds, led by Pershing Square Capital. This week Pershing made its intentions public, saying that it was worried by market rumours that Wendy's might soon buy more fast-food brands, and arguing that the firm should be selling assets instead. Pershing's approach indicates rising pressure on American restaurant companies to perform, at a time when the industry's growth prospects look increasingly tough. The hit on customers' wallets from higher petrol prices and rising interest rates will probably mean that year-on-year sales growth across the American restaurant industry slows to just 1% by the fourth quarter of 2005, down from a five-year historic average of 5.6%, say UBS, an investment bank, and Global Insight, a forecasting group. Looking further ahead, says UBS's David Palmer, the industry may have to stop relying on most of the long-term trends that were behind much of its recent growth. Three-quarters of Americans already live within three miles of a McDonald's restaurant, leaving little scope for green-field growth. [Obesity is a growing issue in America, and with it come the threat of liability lawsuits against big restaurant chains and, perhaps, legal limits on advertising.] This week America's biggest food trade group, the Grocery Manufacturers' Association, was said to be preparing tougher guidelines on the marketing of food to children, in the hope of staving off statutory controls. Home cooking may also be making a comeback, helped by two factors. The percentage of women joining America's workforce may have peaked, and supermarket chains such as Wal-Mart have been forcing down retail food prices. Expansion overseas is one option for American restaurant chains. Burger King, the privately owned number two hamburger chain, opened its first outlet in China last month, apparently aiming to maintain strong growth ahead of an initial public offering next year. McDonald's has 600 outlets in China and plans 400 more. But at home, the future seems to hold only an ever more competitive and cost-conscious restaurant industry. Fast-food chains are trying to poach customers from "casual dining" chains (such as Applebee's Neighborhood Grill), while those chains are squeezing out independent restaurants unable to compete on cost or in marketing clout. Business conditions, not severed fingers, are the real threat to the weaker firms in the restaurant business.

单选题{{B}}Part A{{/B}}{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points){{B}}Text 1{{/B}} The Federal Communications Commission is not alone in worrying about television stations that air corporate advertisements masquerading as news stories. In fact, the FCC requires that broadcast stations disclose the corporate backers of "video news releases" or face a maximum fine of $32,500 for each violation. Enough violations and a station could lose its license. The FCC sets out a clear policy: All outside news reporting must be identified, disclosing the source of any video news release aired on a news program. There are occasional declines. A nonprofit consumer watchdog group reported to the FCC that 77 stations broadcast video features about products from 49 companies without pointing out that they were produced by public relations firms representing these corporations. Public relations firms have one goal: to make their video news releases look as if they are legitimate news reports, not propaganda. However, PR-produced video news releases merely are the tip of the iceberg. Ever since newspapers began, special-interest groups have tried to influence the quality and quantity of the news printed. Often, in exchange for advertising revenue, newspapers would print glowing stories of their sponsors and suppress any news that might hurt their heavy advertisers. Those without the ability to inform the press, either through news releases or contacts usually are ignored unless they commit a crime or act in attention-getting ways. For most of the 20th century, women and people of color found it almost impossible to break the special-interest news barriers. Their stories were ignored unless there was a sensational or unique element. Usually, though, items concerning these minorities required an enormous wrongdoing, such as the murder of someone in the white community or some attack on the status quo that threatened the peace and quiet, as well as the productivity, of a neighborhood. There have been splendid exceptions, but not many. One reason the Hispanic news media has been so successful is that it caters to its audience in the same manner all media does. While its bias may seem different, it actually is the same bias all media has: an overwhelming concern to keep its supporters happy. So, while the hue and cry over PR-created video news releases are well and good, they really do not attack the problem of biased news, and appeals to a specific group that shares the same prejudices and concerns about the present and future. All of this is one key reason Americans so often are surprised when the news outlets are forced to report stories that do not please advertisers or consumers. Better to continue, when possible, a steady supply of news about the latest celebrity baby or yet another piece about sex offenders or restaurant health violations.

单选题Which conclusion can NOT be drawn from the first three paragraphs?

单选题The food you eat does more than provide energy. It can have a dramatic effect on your body's ability to fight off heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and weak bones. With remarkable consistency, recent research has found that a diet high in plant-based foods—fruits, vegetables, dried peas and beans, grains, and starchy staples such as potatoes—is the body's best weapon in thwarting many health-related problems. These foods work against so many diseases that the same healthy ingredients you might use to protect your heart or ward off cancer will also benefit your intestinal tract and bones. Scientists have recently estimated that approximately 30 to 40 percent of all cancers could be averted if people ate more fruits, vegetables, and plant-based foods and minimized high-fat, high-calorie edibles that have scant nutritional value. Up to 70 percent' of cancers might be eliminated if people also stopped smoking, exercised regularly, and controlled their weight. In the past, researchers had linked fat consumption with the development of cancers, but they currently believe that eating fruits, vegetables, and grains may be more important in preventing the disease than not eating fat. "The evidence about a high-fat diet and cancer seemed a lot stronger several years ago than it does now," says Melanie Polk, a registered dietitian and director of nutrition education at the American Institute for Cancer Research. The road to strong bones is paved with calcium-rich food. Leafy green vegetables and low-fat dairy products are excellent sources of calcium, the mineral that puts stiffness into your skeletal system and keeps your bones from turning rubbery and fragile. Your body uses calcium for more than keeping your bones strong. Calcium permits cells, to divide, regulates muscle contraction and relaxation, and plays an important role in the movement of protein and nutrients inside cells. If you don’t absorb enough from what you eat to satisfy these requirements, your body will take it from your bones. Because your body doesn't produce this essential mineral, you must continually replenish the supply. Even though the recommended daily amount is 1,200mg, most adults don't eat more than 500mg. One reason may have been the perception that calcium-rich dairy products were also loaded with calories. "In the past, women, in particular, worried that dairy products were high in calories," says Letha Y. Griffin, M. D. , of Peachtree Orthopaedics in Atlanta. "But today you can get calcium without eating any high-fat or high-calorie foods by choosing skim milk or low-fat yogurt." Also, low-fat dairy products contain phosphorous and magnesium and are generally fortified with vitamin D, all of which help your body absorb and use calcium. If you find it difficult to include enough calcium in your diet, ask your doctor about supplements. They're a potent way to get calcium as well as vitamin D and other minerals. But if you rely on pills instead of a calcium-rich diet, you won't benefit from the other nutrients that food provides. Getting the recommended vitamin D may be easy, since your body makes the vitamin when your skin is exposed to the sun's rays.

单选题Besides applying for breathing space from creditors, managers in American firms can also