单选题Gordon Kent is the kind of tough English northerner who runs things his own way. Contrary to what is normal in big corporations today, his company has no remuneration committee, it is short on part-time directors and it has no qualms about employing family members. Mr Kent is chairman and chief executive of the engineering fu'm William Kent, which has been a family business since the middle of the last century. Until a week ago none of this would have made the headlines. But a rival engineering company has changed this with its ~58 million hostile takeover bid, putting Kent's management style in the spotlight. Kent is a fighter: "All my career, I've battled. I've had to battle with customers and suppliers and management."This will certainly not be his first fight. In 1980, when borrowing money was costing more than 20 per cent, his father was in favour of closing the business. Gordon was not; he forced his father off the board of directors and saved the company. He says, "A difference of views arose. I said the company could either be run by me, or by him, but I couldn't stay there and implement his policy. There was a board meeting and he was persuaded to withdraw."He says his toughest battle was not taking on his father, but forcing his 160-strong workforce to accept automation at the factory in 1982. "I was really in a difficult position then. The management were against me, the men were against me. The change meant they would have to work a lot harder. I got them all together, and I just said, 'We've got to make this work - it's all our livelihoods at stake.' I was determined to make this business work to save the British steel foundry industry." He won that battle too. Rationalisations, cost-cutting, and a string of 14 acquisitions followed, and the lossmaking family business became a recognised leader in the steel castings industry.Kent makes running William Kent sound like a military operation, and there is something in his clipped language which is irresistibly reminiscent of the army. His management style is unashamedly autocratic. "I have a very loyal team, and, yes, they have to work hard but they relish it," he says. But unusually for a publicly quoted company, his loyal staff include his wife, Alison, a lawyer who works as a consultant for the company. "I'm not frightened of having to justify this," he says. The shareholders are getting a good deal out of his wife, he reckons, as the company would probably have to pay double for the same services from any other consultant.Kent robustly defends his own pay and the generous terms of his contract. He reckons he is worth it. "There is a ￡5 million 'key man' insurance policy on me, and some of our banking arrangements are dependent on me staying with the company. So the outside world reckons I'm fairly important - that isn't just my opinion."He describes himself as being like the captain of a ship, and he has a firm belief in experience rather than management theory. "You've got to learn your management skills by practical experience; otherwise you confuse delegating with passing the buck and you don't know when people are talking rubbish. I have the strength to fight off this takeover bid. For me it's war. I am autocratic, because that's how you win. When you cut out all the emotion, it's down to money. William Kent is worth much more than this most inferior rival company has suggested. And I know I will be able to convince the shareholders of this.\

单选题Task One-Jobs ·For questions 13-17, match the extracts with the jobs, listed A- H. ·For each extract, decide what the job the speaker is talking about. ·Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the extract. A lawyer B manager C secretary of boss D driver E engineer F secretary of R & D G accountant H shift supervisor

单选题Online Ads After a decade of experimentation, companies have yet to find a reliable way to burnish their brands online. Research shows barely more than 1 in 1000 people click on banner ads. What's more, they rarely hang around long enough to absorb a brand message. Former Madison Avenue hotshot Matt Freeman aims to change all that. Freeman's company, Betawave, is developing ways to boost visitor "engagement" and plans to charge advertisers not just by each click or view but also by people's attentiveness. The concept is untested, but it has generated excitement. Several venture capital shops in December put $ 22.5 million into Betawave. "Matt's ahead of the curve," says Sean Finnegan, chief digital officer at Starcom Media Vest, which buys ads for Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Nintendo, and others. Mad Ave was shocked when Freeman quit as Tribal DDB Wordwide's boss in June to run a small company called GoFish. Tribal is widely considered to be one of the most successful creators of online ads anywhere. GoFish, on the other hand, sold ads on a handful of lesser kids' sites, such as Mini-clip, which hosts online video games, and Cartoon Doll Emporium, where kids play dress-up with avatars. Yes, GoFish, known in the industry as an ad network, had a good reputation among advertisers looking for a cheaper alternative to sites run by Disney and Nickelodeon. But it was in debt, its stock traded over the counter, and it was losing millions a year. Freeman, who has since renamed the company Betawave, says he took the job because he saw unrealized potential. "GoFish was a tiara in the toilet. "he says, noting that the sites Betawave represents share a valuable audience: kids aged 6 to 17 and their rooms. The 25 million people who stop by Betawave sites each month spend an average of 15 minutes per visit vs. nine at Facebook, according to industry tracker Comscore. That "stickiness" has prompted Dellogg, Hasbro, Nintendo, and others to buy ads. Still, Freeman knows companies want more evidence to prove that their ads are working. " Advertisers always say, 'why am I paying for reach when what I want is people's attention?'" That's why he aims to charge not only for clicks on ads but also for how long people spend on a page and for how much they interact with the brand on a deeper level. To make that happen, Freeman is borrowing from television, which has been shoring up its prospects with "band integrations"—advertisers can veave their products and messages into the shows themselves. In midFebruary, Freeman launched something called Betawave TV. Essentially an online video player, the links of which can be found on many sites, it provides a distribution platform through which clients can integrate their messages into original shows. For the first such experiment, Freeman has enlisted Raven Symone. The Disney twin star will appear in a video and provide style tips that likely will include nods to certain products. Viewers will be directed to WeeWorld, where they will be able to conduct a makeover on a Symone avatar. Freeman plans to charge sponsors a production fee to set up sites like the Symone makeover game. Advertisers also would pay based on the number of people who log in, the number of games played, or a combination of the two. Betawave's success depends on whether visitors are drawn into the branded games and other content or simply watch what they want and move on. But for now, at least, Freeman has the advertising world's attention.

单选题A. Following the company's poor annual results in November, the share price plunged and has since remained around 200p. Analysts now believe that the company is seriously undervalued by the stock market. The company's biggest problems were in Germany and France last year where supply outstripped demand, leading to a 20 million loss for the year. However, the company has recently appointed a new chairman who has a first-rate track record of reviving failing companies. It is believed that he will be successful in turning round the company's fortunes. B. Analysts are impressed with the company's recent performance. In the last six months, it has managed to increase prices by 3 per cent without adversely affecting sales. In such a low-margin, high-sales sector, this ought to translate directly into increased profits. The company's recent sale of its packaging division has eliminated all its debts. Shares have risen in the past month from 80p to 100p. Despite these promising. Signs, it must be remembered that the company is trading in an extremely volatile market. C. For some weeks, there has been widespread expectation that the company will announce the sale of its troubled newspaper-and-magazine distribution arm. Speculation came to an end when this was firmly ruled out as a possibility at the annual general meeting last week. Profits from this division were down from 13 million to 8 million. However, this drop was more than offset by an improvement in the company's retail division, which has taken the innovative step of opening stores in places such as hospitals and colleges. Profits in this division rose from D. The company has had steady growth prospects since it opened four more upmarket hotels and several health and fitness clubs. This move has come at a time when the market is particularly buoyant. There were rumors that the company might become the subject of a takeover bid by one of the large American corporations. However, this has not materialized, and it now seems unlikely that any such bids will be made in the immediate future. This is expected to lead to E. The company has always been popular with shareholders as, for the past ten years, it has consistently provided them with above average returns. Profits for the first half of the year were up by 15 per cent. Development profits from some 30 projects around the country will provide a balanced stream of earnings in the second half of the year. Given this, and the sale of a loss-making division in Bradford, pre-tax profit forecasts have been increased to 21 million and

单选题HOW NEGOTIATION-SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS SHAPE THE PROCESSDifferent cultures will influence expectations as to what the specific process and outcome will look like. The expectations revolve around four key areas:Underlying View of the Process. People may view the negotiation process as cooperative (win- win) or competitive (win-lose). Some people will seek (21) advantage; others won't Making assumptions about which view the other side will take can be misleading and even dangerous.Approach to Building Agreement. US negotiators often seek agreement on specifics first, building up toward an (22) deal. Their Chinese counterparts often focus first on what seems to many Americans to be a very general historical and national frame for discussion. Then, as many French negotiators do, they seek agreement on general principles, later working through the details. This tendency also (23) itself in thought processes: Many Chinese tend to reason about the whole while Westerners often (24) by breaking the whole into parts and reasoning incrementally.Form of Agreement. In many parts of East Asia, negotiators are (25) with a fairly broad agreement that focuses on general principles rather than detailed roles. By contrast, North American and European executives often (26) on a detailed contract in which as many contingencies as possible are foreseen.Implementation of Agreement. Is (27) to an agreement expected or contingent? US negotiators generally expect to (28) with the letter of the contract; treating renegotiation as a very unusual even aberrant event. In many other cultures, an agreement is merely a starting point in what is expected to be an evolving relationship; renegotiation may occur as warranted (29) that all contingencies cannot possibly be foreseen. The precise terms am expected to (30) as the process does.

单选题Tax avoidance is a legal activity while tax evasion is an illegal activity. A. True B. False

单选题Why would policy makers need to regulate all firms that produce differentiated products?

单选题What'sthemainreasonforthecandidatetoplantoleavehispresentcompany?

单选题· Read the following extract from an article about French bank and answer the questions.· For each question 15-20, mark one letter A, B, C or D for the answer you choose. If you are buying a property in France, whether for a permanent or a holiday home, if is important to open a French bank account. Although it is possible to exist on traveller's cheques, Eurocheques and credit cards issued by British banks, the fees for these services can be expensive. The simplest way to pay regular bills, such as electricity, gas, or telephone, particularly when you are not in residence, is by direct debit from your French account. To open a current account, you will need to show your passport and birth certificate and to provide your address in native country. You will be issued with a cheque book within weeks of opening the account. In France it is illegal to be overdrawn. All accounts must be operated in credit. However, there are no bank charges. Note that cheques take longer to clear in France than in Britain, and can only be stopped if stolen or lost. The easiest way to transfer money from a British bank to a French one is by bank transfer: simply provide your British bank with the name, address and number of your French bank account. The procedure takes about a week and costs between ￡ 25 and ￡ 40 for each transaction, depending on your British bank. Alternatively, you can transfer money via a French bank in London. You can also send a sterling cheque (allow at least 12 days for the cheque to be cleared), Eurocheques or traveller's cheques. Finally, it is a good idea to make a friend of your French bank manager. His help can prove invaluable.

单选题What was the research primarily based on?

单选题HowistherelationshipbetweenDellandRollins?

单选题In 1929 it looked as though the sun would never set on the American economy. For eight years in a row, the U. S. economy had been expanding rapidly. During the Roaring Twenties the typical American family drove its first car, bought its first radio, and went to the movies for the first time. With factories running at capacity, virtually anyone who wanted to work readily found a job. Under these circumstances everyone was optimistic. In his acceptance address of November 1928, President-elect Herbert Hoover echoed this optimism by declaring: "We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land... We shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation. " The booming stock market seemed to confirm this optimistic outlook. Between 1921 and 1927, the stock market's value more than doubled, adding billions of dollars to the wealth of American households and businesses. The party ended abruptly on October 24, 1929. On what came to be known as Black Thurs day, the stock market crashed. In a few hours, the market value of U. S. corporations fell abruptly, in the most frenzied selling ever seen. The next day President Hoover tried to assure America's stockholders that the economy was "on a sound and prosperous basis. " But despite his assurances and the efforts of leading bankers to stem the decline, the stock market continued to plummet. The following Tuesday ( October 29) the pace of selling quickened. By the end of the year, over $ 40 billion of wealth had vanished in the Great Crash. Rich men became paupers overnight; ordinary families lost their savings, their homes, and even their lives. The devastation was not confined to Wall Street. The financial flames engulfed the farms, the banks, and industry. Between 1930 and 1935, millions of rural families lost their farms. Auto mobile production fell from 4.5 million cars in 1929 to only 1.1 million in 1932. So many banks were forced to close that newly elected President Roosevelt had to declare a "bank holiday" in March 1933 to stem the outflow of cash to anxious depositors. Throughout these years, the ranks of the unemployed continued to swell. In October 1929, only 3 percent of the workforce was unemployed. A year later over 9 percent of the workforce was unemployed. Still, things got worse. By 1933 over one-fourth of the labor force was unable to find work. People slept in the streets, scavenged for food, and sold apples on Wall Street. The Great Depression seemed to last forever. In 1933 President Roosevelt lamented that one-third of the nation was ill-clothed, ill-housed, and ill-fed. Thousands of unemployed workers marched to the Capitol to demand jobs and aid.

单选题When a cost of production remains unchanged regardless of how many units are produced, it is referred to as ______ A．variable. B．semi-finished. C．fixed. D．in process. E．terminal.

单选题Matching Prices to Demand—in Real Time Can an ice cream shop charge more for a cone on a hot day? Should a parking space get (21) as the garage fills up? Boston Consulting Group senior adviser George Stalk believes business can—and should—charge according to (22) The idea builds on a longtime strategy most (23) the airline industry, called yield management, in which carriers (24) prices as planes fill up. The consultant, who in the late 1980s coined the term" time-based competition", the notion that (25) is a strategic weapon, thinks far more companies could take similar steps to match prices to real-time customer demand. Such moves are especially (26) following a year when oil and commodities prices swung wildly, he notes, "companies couldn't change prices as fast as they needed to. " Stalk says existing technologies such as radio-frequency identification, GPS, and wireless networks could someday make what he calls dynamic pricing a reality. He points to Ohio auto insurer Progressive, which is expanding its MyRate program that offers discounts in return (27) demonstrably safe driving habits. Customers who (28) to the program can plug a device into their cars' diagnostic ports, often situated beneath the steering wheel. The devices then wirelessly (29) data to Progressive on how many miles customers travel, how fast they drive, and other factors. Progressive uses the information to offer policyholders discounts every six months for safe behaviour and, in states where it's allowed by laws, to tack (30) surcharges for risky driving.

单选题· For each question 23-30, mark one letter A, B or C for the correct answer.

单选题Which one of the following is consistent with a government"s policy objective to expand the level of economic activity?