单选题Kuwait faces an aging population as well as an epidemic of diabetes, heart disease and obesity-related complications that place great demands ______ its health care system. A. with B. for C. to D. on

单选题______ more than 200 houses and buildings are heated by solar energy, not to mention the big cities in this region. A. Alone in the small town B. In the small town alone C. In the small alone town D. In the alone small town

单选题Keep away from people who try to ______ your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. A. peddle B. belittle C. expire D. leverage

单选题They did not want to reconcile themselves to ______ the bankers, industrialists, and ministers back to the modest posts of bookkeepers, engineers, postal clerks, and schoolteachers. A. be sent by B. sending C. send D. being sent by

单选题The organisers of the Formula One motor racing circuit had long ______ that their Grand Prix in Bahrain would be the biggest headache on their 2012 schedule. A. reflected B. anticipated C. projected D. planned

单选题 Questions 23-30 We will hear Goran Hilsson, Managing Director of IKEA UK, talks about the company's corporate culture, you have to complete the sentences(23-30)by choosing the correct answer. Mark one letter A, B or C.

单选题Capacity, Safety and Efficiency Tosca built-in ovens offer the greatest capacity on the market as well as new safety and efficiency features. Built to the toughest quality standards, these ovens stand up to the most rigorous use, thanks to Tosca"s use of highly durable parts, quality-auditing of all parts vendors and 100% quality testing before shipping. Boasting the largest capacity* in the U.S.. Tosca ovens can cook an entire meal at once. Plus, an extra-large viewing window allows you to monitor the progress of meals easily. Whatever life throws at them, Tosca built-in evens can handle it with ease. Safety is important to you. So Tosca ovens offer a recessed top heating element and a concealed bake element. It helps prevent accidental burning when removing dishes.

单选题Though he had failed, he did not ______. A. disappoint B. frustrate C. despond D. despondent

单选题His employer, Lambeth Council, said his behaviour was ______ with the standards it expected. A. incompatible B. contradictory C. antipathic D. discrepant

单选题They are ______ and will do anything for money. A. avaricious B. avarice C. greed D. anxious

单选题Decide which of the choices given below would best complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks. Government subsidies mean considerable cost reduction for major companies and {{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}to around 10 percent of annual world trade. In the year 2000, subsidies through ECAs {{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}up to 64 billion dollars of exports from industrialised countries, {{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}above the official development assistance granted last year {{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}51.4 billion dollars. As well as agriculture, textiles and clothing is another {{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}of many poor countries. But, as {{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}agriculture, the wealthier countries have long held up barriers to prevent being {{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}by poorer country products through subsidies and various "agreements". The {{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}has been far-reaching. Since the 1970s the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) has set bilateral {{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}between importing and exporting countries. This was {{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}to protect the clothing industries of the industrialised world while they adapted to competition from developing countries. {{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}there are cases where such protection may be warranted, especially for {{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}periods, the MFA has been in place since 1974 and has been extended five times. Although the MFA has been replaced by the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) which phases {{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}support over a further ten year period —{{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}through a process which in itself is highly inequitable—developing countries are still {{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}the consequences. The total cost {{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}in restrictions on textile imports {{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}, the developed world has been estimated to be some $50 billion a year. Many in the first world imagine the amount of money spent on aid to developing countries is {{U}} {{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}. In fact, it amounts to only 0.03% of GNP of the industrialized nations. In 1995, the director of the US aid agency defended his agency by {{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}to his congress that 84 cents of every dollar of aid goes back into the US {{U}} {{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}in goods and services purchased. For every dollar the United States puts into the World Bank, an estimated $2 actually goes into the US economy in goods and services.

单选题Back in 2000, America had enough ______ natural gas in the ground to provide a little more than 12 years of consumption. A. accessible B. approachable C. affordable D. handy

单选题{{B}}TextA{{/B}}{{B}}BackgroundInformation{{/B}}MarketingisdefinedbytheAmericanMarketingAssociationastheactivity,setofinstitutions,andprocessesforcreating,communicating,delivering,andexchangingofferingsthathavevalueforcustomers,clients,partners,andsocietyatlarge.Thetermdevelopedfromtheoriginalmeaningwhichreferredliterallytogoingtomarket,asinshopping,orgoingtoamarkettobuyorsellgoodsorservices.Marketingpracticetendstobeseenasacreativeindustry,whichincludesadvertising,distributionandselling.Itisalsoconcernedwithanticipatingthecustomers'futureneedsandwants,whichareoftendiscoveredthroughmarketresearch.Seenfromasystem'spointofview,salesprocessengineeringviewsmarketingasasetofprocessesthatareinterconnectedandinterdependentwithotherfunctions,whosemethodscanbeimprovedusingavarietyofrelativelynewapproaches.Tocarryoutthefunctionsofmarketing,themarketersmustdevelopacomprehensiveplanorstrategycoveringthefollowingmajorareas,i.e.,product,price,placeandpromotion,usuallysummarizedas"the4P's"ofmarketing.{{B}}AMarketingStuntDoneRight{{/B}}OnApril1,1996afullpageadappearedinsixmajorAmericannewspapers(ThePhiladelphiaInquirer,NewYorkTimes,WashingtonPost,ChicagoTribune,DallasMorningNews,andUSAToday)announcingthatthefastfoodchainTacoBellhadpurchasedtheLibertyBell.Thefulltextoftheadread:TacoBellBuysTheLibertyBellInanefforttohelpthenationaldebt,TacoBellispleasedtoannouncethatwehaveagreedtopurchasetheLibertyBell,oneofourcountry'smosthistorictreasures.Itwillnowbecalledthe"TacoLibertyBell"andwillstillbeaccessibletotheAmericanpublicforviewing.Whilesomemayfindthiscontroversial,wehopeourmovewillpromptothercorporationstotakesimilaractiontodotheirparttoreducethecountry'sdebt.Inaseparatepressrelease,TacoBellexplainedthattheLibertyBellwoulddivideitstimebetweenPhiladelphiaandtheTacoBellheadquartersinIrvine.Itcomparedthepurchasetotheadoptionofhighwaysbycorporations.TacoBellarguedthatitwassimply"goingonestepfurtherbypurchasingone"ofthecountry'sgreatesthistorictreasures."Thecompanyboasted,"TacoBell'sheritageandimageryhaverevolvedaroundthesymbolismofthebell.Nowwe'vegotthecrownjewelofbells."ResponseTacoBell'sannouncementgeneratedanenormousresponse.ThousandsofworriedcitizenscalledbothTacoBell'sheadquartersandtheNationalParkServiceinPhiladelphiatofindoutiftheBellhadreallybeensold.ElaineSevy,aParkServicespokeswoman,wasquotedassaying,"Wewereshocked.Wehadnoideathiswashappening.Wehavejustbeengettinghammeredwithphonecallsfromthepublic."ThePhiladelphiabranchoftheNationalParkServicearrangedamidmorningnewsconferencetoassurethepublicthattheBellhadnotbeensold."TheLibertyBellissafe.It'snotforsale,"aspokeswomanannounced.Infact,theBellcouldnothavebeensoldbythefederalgovernment,astheadimplied,becausethefederalgovernmentdidnotowntheBell.ItwasthepropertyoftheCityofPhiladelphia.AtnoononApril1st,TacoBellissuedasecondpressreleaseinwhichtheyconfessedtothehoax,describingitas"TheBestJokeoftheDay."Thecompanyalsoannouncedthatitwoulddonate$50000fortheupkeepoftheLibertyBell.EventheWhiteHousegotinonthejokethatsamedaywhenpresssecretaryMikeMercurytoldreportersthat,aspartofitsongoingprivatizationefforts"We'llbedoingaseriesofthese.FordMotorCo.isjoiningtodayinanefforttorefurbishtheLincolnMemorial.ItwillbetheLincolnMercuryMemorial."ControversySomeofthepeoplewhocalledtheParkServiceorTacoBelldidnotrealizetheannouncementwasajoke.However,thereweremanycriticswhodidrealizeitwasajoke,butneverthelessfeltitwasinbadtaste.NationalParkServiceDirectorRogerKennedydescribedtheadasbeing"asfalseasitischeesy."TheNewYorkDailyNewssaidit"fellflatasadumbbell."LawprofessorRonaldCollinsquestionedhowfartheadvertisingpracticesofcorporationsshouldbeallowedtogo:"They[TacoBell]nowhavegottenthemselvesnamerecognitionorassociationwithanationalsymbol.Wheredowedrawtheline?Ifthisismerelybeingplayful,youhavetowonderifnexttime,someonemightdothesamethingwithacrucifix."TacoBellspokesmanJonathanBlumofferedthisdefenseofthehoax:"Forthosewhodidn'tgetthejokeandcareaboutthebell,justthinkabouthowmuchmorerecognitionwe'vegivenitinthisoneday.There'sbeenaterrificresponseamongpeopleItalkedto,andsomeofthemevensaid,'Hey,thanksformakingmeawareofhowweneedtotakecareofourmonuments.'"However,scholarshavenotedthattherewasnothingnewabouttheLibertyBellbeingusedinadvertising.RobeyCallahanhaswritten,"itsimagecanbefoundinadvertisementsforeverythingfrominsurancetobutter,cosmeticstobeer,sportsappareltoboardgames."PullingOfftheHoaxThehoaxwasdreamedupbyateamatTacoBellthatincludedJonathanBlum,theVicePresidentofPublicAffairs.InaninterviewwiththePhiladelphiaInquirer,Blumclaimedthatpullingitoffwasnotdifficult.Hesaidthattheteambeganfine-tuningtheideaandputtingtheadtogetherinmid-March.Fearingthehoaxwouldbeleaked,theyinstructedtheiradagency,Paine&Associates,tosendtheadtonewspapersonlytwodaysbeforepublication.BecausePaine&Associateswasawellknownagency,thisdidnotraiseanyredflags.Nordidthenewspapersexaminetheadoncetheyreceivedit.AspokesmanfortheInquirersaidthatiftheyhadseenthead"itprobablywouldnothaverun."FreePublicityTheCEOofTacoBell(left)poseswithanactorplayingBenjaminFranklinnexttoareplicaoftheLibertyBell.Paine&AssociateslaterboastedthatthehoaxearnedTacoBellmillionsofdollarsoffreepublicity."Morethan650printoutletsand400broadcastoutletscoveredtheTacoLibertyBellstory,featuringmentionsofthe"NothingOrdinaryAboutIt"adcampaign.Morethan70millionAmericanswereexposedtothemediaevent,throughradio,printandtelevisioncoverage,includingNBC"NightlyNews,""TheTodayShow,"CBS"ThisMorning,"CNNandUSAToday.Additionally,morethan50newspapersnationwideutilizedawhimsicalAPphotooftheTacoBellCEOnexttoareplicaofthe.LibertyBell.FreepublicitysurroundingtheTacoLibertyBellstorygeneratedtheequivalentof$25millioninadvertisingforTacoBell."AccordingtoTacoBell'smarketingdepartment,theirsalesspikedupwardsbyoverhalfamilliondollarsduringtheweekofApril1st,comparedtotheweekbefore.{{B}}Exercises{{/B}}

单选题It is proposed that ______ a vote of gratitude for their distinguished service. A. they were given B. they be given C. they given D. they giving

单选题For decades Douglass North, a Nobel-laureate economic historian, has been harping on the importance of integrating into economic explanations the beliefs or "mental models" that ______ the way culturally-embedded individuals mentally represent and order their choices. A. account for B. account to C. account on D. count for

单选题The "present" is a time-based referent, a point in the ______ from past to future where we happen to be. A. continuum B. reservoir C. gradation D. continua

单选题What complicates the coverage is the ______—even antipathy—that some of the demonstrators have toward traditional media outlets. A. delirium B. convulsion C. ambivalence D. delusion

单选题{{B}}Background Information{{/B}} Culture diversity in the workplace is a worldwide concept that continues to evolve as more industries move into the global market. Most people try and hold the belief that all people are of equal stature and deserve all of the same opportunities invariant of their race, age, gender, disability, religion or sexual preference. This concept which is becoming multi-faceted is leading to changes in the American workforce, creating equal privileges and opportunities for every human being. The idea of diversity in the workplace is the business reaction to sociological changes and pressure from social rights groups. In creating a diverse work setting there must be an atmosphere where all employees feel that they are valued by and contributing to an organization. {{B}}Cultural Diversity—IBM Style{{/B}} Cultural diversity initiatives can provide organizations with a number of benefits, however there are a number of variables that can impact upon the success of such initiatives. Kylie Nicolson looks at the history of cultural diversity within IBM Australia, examines the business case for establishing diversity strategies and shares some of the initiatives employed by IBM. It's tempting for organizations in Australia to assume that employee communities generally reflect multicultural Australia. Certainly the experiences at IBM Australia during the past few years have taught me the value of reality-checking assumptions about what it means to be a culturally diverse organization. Formal statements relating to diversity at IBM can be found as far back as 1953 by the then CEO Thomas J Watson, who said: "It is the policy of IBM to hire people who have the personality, talent and background necessary to fill a given job, regardless of race, color or creed." More recently, in 2001, IBM Australia's bi-annual employee opinion survey included questions to enable us to better understand how different ethnicities within the corporate culture of the company. The study findings presented some variation between ethnic groups in individual levels of satisfaction with particular variables. Cultural issues did make an impact on how staff felt about IBM, especially where differences impeded clear communication, for example, between a line manager and staff member. The decision to develop a strategy for cultural awareness and acceptance within IBM Australia was driven by corporate values, legal requirements and the business case. IBM's thinking on cultural diversity did not develop in a vacuum. It is a long-held view that by valuing diversity, IBM uncovers new perspectives taps different knowledge and experience and generates innovative ideas, suggestions and methods. Making the business case for diversity IBM's employee opinion survey(EOS)provided the hard data to substantiate the business case for cultural diversity. Modem organizations face a skills quandary. On the one hand, their workforce is ageing and skilled workers are in increasingly short supply, while the demands of clients driven by globalization and advanced technologies are becoming more complex. So any organization that fails to maximize opportunities for all employees will fall into a talent gap and miss business opportunities. Part of the business case was about retention, particularly retaining people with languages other than English as their first language. Such employees are crucial to IBM's ability to serve its international clients. For example, an IBM Information Technology helpdesk, based in Brisbane, mainly deals with Japanese clients. Another case reflected the global business market in which IBM operates. Employees must recognize and act on global opportunities. They must be able to operate effectively in a variety of cultural and business environments, whether traveling overseas or operating at home. Making cultural diversity part of IBM Australia "s DNA Our most effective diversity programs combine "push and pull" strategies. We've made good top down practices such as formalized training or policies like floating cultural holidays(exchanging an Australian public holiday for another significant cultural holiday). However the truly great progress has come about through the momentum generated by individuals who are passionate about diversity issues and truly want to make it happen. Aside from IBM's diversity team within human resources, three other groups within IBM have formally identified roles in the implementation of the company's overall diversity strategy. These are IBM's Diversity Council, diversity contact officers and diversity champions. The Diversity Council IBM's Diversity Council, chaired by our CEO Philip Bullock, ensures that IBM visibly encourages and values the contributions and differences of employees from various backgrounds. Its key objectives are to heighten employee awareness, increase management awareness, and encourage the effective use of IBM's diverse workforce. It does so through key initiatives such as developing attraction and recruiting strategies along with retention and awareness strategies(which includes the education of managers and employees). Once the business case for cultural diversity was established, it became a focus for the council and IBM's HR director, Robert Orth. In this capacity, Orth works with a team of senior IBM managers who champion particular diversity programs within IBM. This is achieved through personal commitment, regular communication, by gaining support for the program from other IBM managers and influencing decision making that may impact on the program. Under the guidance of the Diversity Council, a series of cultural diversity employee roundtables have been held to gather more face-to-face feedback and ideas from staff. These meetings have generated many practical ideas for increasing awareness of cultural diversity within IBM, such as the suggestion for a cross cultural communication course. Others, such as a networking and cultural evening with the Vietnamese community in Brisbane, were one-off events. Diversity contact officers Diversity contact officers are regular permanent employees who volunteer to be conduits of information relating to diversity, are trained as work/life balance coaches, and help to integrate people with a disability into the IBM workforce. They include men and women from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities and people who are gay or lesbian, transgender or bisexual, to reflect the diversity of our organization. Diversity champions Our internal diversity awards recognize and celebrate individuals whose actions encapsulate our diversity principles. They help to raise awareness of the diversity program and establish cultural diversity as the "norm" within the company. The power of internal awards for diversity champions lies in bringing to life the actions of "real" employees. The diversity team works closely with internal communications and public relations to communicate success stories. Ensuring that stakeholders outside the company know about the diverse culture within IBM directly supports recruitment efforts and forming commercial relationships, reinforcing the business case. Professional Development IBM manager's "Quick Views" are, as the name suggests, intranet-based resources designed to give managers essential and accessible information to conduct business successfully with clients or colleagues from another country. Topics include: culture and globalization, culture and business and diversity and multicultural management. So if a manager is called upon to travel suddenly to a new culture, Quick Views offer handy hints on business meeting protocol. Another professional development initiative is IBM's "Shades of Blue"—a more in-depth program for managers who are engaged in cross-cultural business interactions or have multicultural teams. Shades of Blue are a unique learning experience in developing cross-cultural competence. The courses cater to individual managers or members of an established multicultural team and are designed to heighten awareness of each person's own cultural biases and increase their sensitivity to other cultures. The shades experience can be a powerful team-building exercise for multicultural teams to transcend cultural differences and become a high-performing team. General staff awareness and policies IBM's cultural diversity strategy relies on raising the general level of awareness of different cultures within the organization. General initiatives include: Celebration of Chinese New Year for Sydney employees. Publication of a diversity calendar, showing various dates of cultural significance that might be relevant to employees and business relationships. Introduction of a floating holiday program where employees can exchange a public holiday for a significant cultural holiday. Employee representation at an IBM global conference on multicultural people in technology.{{B}}Exercises{{/B}}

单选题{{B}}Background Information{{/B}}Business communication is used to promote a product, service, or organization; relay information within the business: or deal with legal and similar issues. It is also a means of relaying between a supply chain, for example, the consumer and manufacturer. At its most basic level, the purpose of communication in the workplace is to provide employees with the information they need to do their jobs. Business communication encompasses a variety of topics, including Marketing, Branding, Customer relations, Consumer behavior, Advertising, Public relations, Corporate communication, Community engagement, Research & Measurement, Reputation management, Interpersonal communication, Employee engagement, Online communication, and Event management. It is closely related to the fields of professional communication and technical communication. Business is conducted through various channels of communication, including the Internet, Print(Publications), Radio, Television, Ambient media, Outdoor, and Word of mouth. {{B}}Midnight Apps Had Failed{{/B}} A small little application called Cha-Ching, developed by Midnight Apps, was offering licenses for its next version in the Macheist bundle. Users would be invited to beta test the next version of Cha-Ching if they bought the bundle and all was glorious. Unfortunately, what happened was a complete failure of Midnight App's communication strategy for the application. It really starts with this thread on the Macheist forums. While the developer did respond in this forum, you can sense the frustration stemming from a lack of progress updates from the developers. In fact, in the thread where people are wondering where the beta application is, the conversation starts to turn against the company. The conversation gets so heated, that users begin recommending other applications. One forum poster takes a stab at Midnight Apps by recommending Moneywell: the reason given-- "developers are committed". The commentator "rookie" even goes so far as to say "So I take it, we've given up on ever seeing Cha-Ching 2.0?" This hostility then pours out to their own forum where people post threads like this one. Midnight Apps had failed to meet their promise of a beta, and then failed to communicate why. The users were revolting, but they weren't just angry, they started recommending other products. So why did many of the forum users recommend Moneywell? What was the difference? Communication is the only way The answer was quite simple.Kevin Hoctor, the developer of Moneywell, is a master of support and communication. You can take one quick glance at nearly every single post on the Moneywell user forums and see that Kevin is involved in nearly every one. This approach constrains his time and his resources, but the man is still able to release builds and fixes. While Moneywell is not updated weekly, his customers feel confident in their software choice. This is what lead disenchanted Cha-Ching users to point others in his direction, and his communication efforts explain one of the modem tenants of good business and why Midnight Apps created a mess for themselves. Steady communication builds steady/loyal customers Communication, and a steady channel of communication, is what turns a good company into a fantastic company. It is one of the key tenants of modem web applications, where the principle concept is "ask the users" . People feel more invested in their software, their design and their website if they are constantly reminded of your awareness of them. There are always exceptions to the communication rule, and there are instances of constant user feedback ruining communication. However, most websites, software, and pretty much any consumer/business relationship benefits from having a steady stream of updates. It builds consumer trust and lets the user know their co-existence with your product is valid. There is a happy ending to this story The great news is that Midnight Apps realized their stream of non-communication was not worth the productivity time it gave them. They could generate more users and carve out more interest in their application by opening themselves up and talking about what happened. They even asked "How are we doing?" to extremely positive reviews after their communication efforts increased 100-fold. This goodwill has spread to their business and applications, as Cha-Ching for iPhone is an excellent application. Constant communication, even if you feel like you have nothing to say, makes everyone feel involved in the process. Don't waste it just saying hello, or talking about the weather, but explain what you're doing and what's happening. Don't wait for the juicy update, give micro-updates. People will always want to know more about what's coming, but a taste of what's happening now will appease them. It doesn't take a lot of effort to send out a weekly email, but its reward is almost 1 000%. So, get on with it.{{B}}Exercises{{/B}}

单选题If your income doubles but the prices of the goods you consume also doubles, you are no ______. A. abundant B. affluent C. better off D. luxurious