问答题We live longer lives now. In fact, by 2036, it is estimated that older people 65 years and older will account for 1/5 of the population.

问答题Japan"s once enviable jobless rate will soar to double-digit levels if—and the warning is a big one—firms opt for drastic Western-style layoffs to boost profits. While Japan"s lifetime employment system is visibly unravelling, many economists still doubt whether a scenario of soaring joblessness will occur, given that economic incentives to slash payrolls clash with social and political pressures to save jobs. A kinder, gentler approach to restructuring would soften the social instability many fear would result from doubling the jobless rate, already at a record high.531 Critics believe it would also cap gains in profit margins and stifle economic vitality, especially in the absence of bold steps to open the door to new growth, industries. Some economists believe different methods of counting mean Japan"s jobless rate is already close to 7 per cent by United States standards, not that far from the 7.8 per cent peak hit in the US in 1992 when it began to emerge from a two-year slump.

问答题There"s a time bomb ticking in America"s private pension system. Although the airline industry"s hefty $32 billion in unfunded pensions has captured headlines in recent months, the problem extends much further. Automotive companies, for instance, have about $60 billion in pension shortfalls. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. says U.S. pension underfunding at large companies grew 27% last year, to $354 billion. The deficit for all companies was a staggering $450 billion. Compare that with a total shortfall of less than $50 billion in 2000, and it"s clear that this fast-growing crisis must be addressed while the PBGC—already facing a $23 billion deficit after taking over terminated plans from the likes of Bethlehem Steel and United Airlines—can still shoulder the burden. If this all sounds a bit familiar, it should. In the 1980s, the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corp., the government-sponsored insurance fund for the thrift industry, watched as the nation"s S&Ls fell victim to a toxic brew of skyrocketing interest rates, lax oversight, imprudent lending, and outright fraud. The feds stepped in and the government eventually led a $223 billion (in today"s dollars) bailout of the industry. One reason the taxpayer tab was so high was that the government was slow to react. That"s why Washington should get serious about a pension fix now. First, Congress must bring some sanity to the bedlam of pension contribution rules. Now, companies can be technically current in funding while owing billions in shortfalls, and they can increase benefits even when they haven"t funded existing promises. For example, Bethlehem Steel"s pension plan was 84% funded on a current-liability basis, but only 45% funded when all termination costs were tallied—with a shortfall of $4.3 billion when the company finally handed its plan over to the PBGC in 2002. Yet because of various loopholes, Bethlehem wasn"t required to make any catch-up contributions for years prior to its plan termination and even avoided making any cash contributions in the three years before it ditched the plan. United Airlines" record was even worse. It wasn"t required to make cash contributions to its pilot pension plan from 2000 to 2004, even though that plan was $3 billion in arrears. United"s employee plans were technically fully funded on a current account basis, but only 41% funded at termination." United dumped all its plans on the PBGC earlier this spring for a total shortfall of $9.8 billion—of which the PBGC is on the hook to pay $6.6 billion. To prevent similar abuse of the system, rules are needed that extend tax incentives to companies that prefund pensions when they are financially flush but set tougher timetables for making up shortfalls later. Second, Congress needs to sharply increase the premiums the PBGC can charge underfunded plans. Today there is little difference between what is paid by companies that have adequately funded their plans and those that haven"t. Instead, the PBGC should be allowed to charge higher premiums to companies with shaky finances or large unfunded liabilities. Risk-adjusted pricing is already commonplace in financial products such as mortgages, where buyers who put up higher downpayments on their homes get cheaper rates, and car insurance, where bad drivers pay more. It"s also used by federal bank insurers for setting deposit insurance rates. So applying risk-based pricing to pension insurance premiums isn"t exactly revolutionary. But it"s unpopular with many weak companies and with labor groups that fear employers will simply stop offering defined-benefit pensions if premiums get higher. Yet that argument may already be academic. The number of workers covered by such pensions has been dropping for at least 20 years as employers have shifted toward often cheaper 401 (k)-type plans. Thus, Congress" first priority should be to force companies to fully fund their pensions over the next few years—lessening the hit taxpayers could shoulder if the PBGC becomes overwhelmed with underfunded plans later. Finally, Congress must act to ensure that all workers receive timely, understandable information detailing whether their pension plans are adequately funded. Under current laws, the PBGC receives financial information on the most risky underfunded plans fairly early, but cannot disclose it. Instead, companies can take up to 30 months to report plan finances publicly—often too late for workers to press for more responsible pension management. Greater transparency will also give employees a reality check when companies offer meaningless benefits that they can"t realistically afford. Indeed, the sooner more light is cast on the festering pension mess, the better for workers—and taxpayers.

问答题In the coming decades, Europe's influence on affairs beyond its borders will be sharply limited, and it is in other regions, not Europe, that the 21st century will be most clearly forged and defined. Certainly, one reason for NATO' s increasing marginalization stems from the behavior of its European members. With NATO, critical decisions are still made nationally; much of the talk about a common defense policy remains just that--talk. There is little specialization or coordination. Missing as well are many of the logistical and intelligence assets needed to project military force on distant battlefields. With the Cold War and the Soviet threat a distant memory, there is little political willingness, on a country-by-country basis, to provide adequate public funds to the military. Political and demographic changes within Europe, as well as the United States, also ensure that the transatlantic alliance will lose prominence. In Europe, the E. U. project still consumes the attention of many, but for others, especially those in southern Europe facing unsustainable fiscal shortfalls, domestic economic turmoil takes precedence. No doubt, Europe's security challenges are geographically, politically and psychologically less immediate to the population than its economic ones. Mounting financial problems and the imperative to cut deficits are sure to limit what Europeans can do militarily beyond their continent. It is true that the era in which Europe and transatlantic relations dominated U.S. foreign policy is over.

问答题Bringing the World Cup to Asia was supposed to expand the reach of the global game in a happy confluence of good will and good business. The action on the pitch has certainly been dramatic, and most fans were thrilled. But less than half way through the month-long tournament, the good will is already wearing thin-and business seems relatively slow, with fewer visitors and Cup-related sales than expected. Deeply embarrassed by the image of part-empty stadiums besieged by angry ticket hunters, Japanese prime minister ordered an official investigation into the ticket fiasco. Claiming losses of more than ＄800,000 per game, Korea's soccer federation even threatened to sue Byrom, the official ticket agent, for failing to print and deliver tickets on time. Japan and Korea both hoped to score big points-at home and abroad-with the World Cup. Perhaps it was the memories of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which were considered turning points in their nations' development. Mired in a decade-long slump, Japan longs for anything that might shock its economy back to life. Korea, meanwhile, hopes the Cup will steady its halting recovery from the 1997 Asian financial crisis-and help brand it as Asia's most wired nation. Their plan: inject billions of dollars into new facilities, welcome throngs of tourists and for one glorious month showcase their countries to the biggest television audience in world history.

问答题{{B}}Directions:{{/B}} {{I}}In this part of the test, you will hear 5 sentences in English. You will hear the sentences ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each sentence, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.{{/I}}

问答题Directions : In this part of the test, you will hear 2 passages in English. After you have heard each paragraph, interpret it into Chinese. Start interpreting at the signal...and stop it at the signal...You may take notes while you are listening. Remember you will hear the passages only once. Now let us begin Part A with the first passage.

问答题With a high degree of specialization, the frontiers of knowledge are steadily being pushed back more rapidly than ever before. But this has not been achieved without considerable cost. The scientist, who outside his own particular subject is little more than an idiot, is a modern phenomenon; as is the man of letters who is barely aware of the tremendous strides that have been made in technology. Similarly, specialization has indirectly affected quite ordinary people in every walk of life. Many activities which were once pursued for their own sakes are often given up in despair: they require techniques, the experts tell us, which take a life-time to master. Why learn to play the piano, when you can listen to the world's greatest pianists in your own drawing-room?

问答题许多专家认为，教学改革的当务之急是要改变现在的课程设置和考试办法，不要让孩子只知道“头悬梁，锥刺股，死读书，读死书”。他们指出，教育改革的关键在于使全社会认识到，中、小学教育的目的不只是让学生掌握必要的知识，更应该提高学生整体素质，特别是他们对于人生意义和社会责任这些根本的问题要有比较深入的思考。学校要在这些方面深入研究，选择合适的内容和方式引导和帮助学生形成正确的观点。如果学校只强调知识教育而忽视了人生课程的引导，那么培养出来的只是一批文字或者数字机器，而不是准备进入社会的预备人才。

问答题Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 2 passages in English. You will hear the passages ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each passage, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. You may take notes while you are listening.

问答题The culture of any society is usually thought to be of two kinds: material and nonmaterial. Material culture includes the man-made phenomena which have physical properties such as height, breadth, and weight. A boat, a machine, a house — all these objects are part of the material culture. The nonmaterial culture is that portion of the environment which surrounds man and which has an impact on his behavior but which lacks these material properties: values, beliefs, traditions, and all the other habits and ideas invented and acquired by man as a member of society. Contemporary sociological theory tends to assign primary importance to the nonmaterial culture in choosing problems for study. It assumes, for example, that boats, planes, automobiles, and so forth, are not nearly so important as the traditions we have developed which make their manufacture possible — indeed, which prescribe how we are to use them. The emphasis of contemporary sociology is to insist that the material culture would not exist had not the nonmaterial culture first been available to suggest the ideas which are embodied in the inventions of material culture.

问答题Political and demographic changes within Europe, as well as the United States, also ensure that the transatlantic alliance will lose prominence. In Europe, the E.U. project still consumes the attention of many, but for others, especially those in southern Europe facing unsustainable fiscal shortfalls, domestic economic turmoil takes precedence. No doubt, Europe’s security challenges are geographically, politically and psychologically less immediate to the population than its economic ones. Mounting financial problems and the imperative to cut deficits are sure to limit what Europeans can do militarily beyond their continent. It is true that the era in which Europe and transatlantic relations dominated U.S. foreign policy is over.

问答题Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 2 passages in Chinese. After you have heard each sentence or paragraph, interpret it into English. Start interpreting at the signal ...and stop it at the signal...You may take notes while you are listening. Remember you will hear the passages only once. Now, let us begin Part B with the first passage.

问答题太湖明珠无锡，位于江苏省南部，地处美丽富饶的长江三角洲中心地带。这里气候宜人，物产丰富，风景优美，是中国重点风景旅游城市。与万里长城齐名的古京杭大运河纵贯市区，泛舟河上，能领略水乡的民俗风情。 距市区七公里的太湖梅粱景区是太湖风景之精华，碧波万顷，渔帆点点，湖光山色，令人陶醉。其中的鼋头渚巨石状如鼋头，远眺烟波浩渺的太湖，被诗人郭沫若誉为“太湖佳绝处”。

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问答题 Some Observations on Doing Business in China From watching westerners attempting to work in China, I must conclude that Chinese and westerners are not the same. WE and THEY think differently. Westerners think in "prose", each sentence or paragraph following from the preceding. Chinese think in "poetry". where context or setting determines action. Western thinking is linear, moving from goals to strategy to tactics. or from overview to details (or the reverse). Chinese put everything in a big pot, stir well, and serve whatever comes up. Discussion of a philosophical goal which implies commitment of millions of dollars may be followed by a question on how some minor component will be shipped. In negotiations and other relationships, Americans and Chinese both usually lack sufficient information and cultural background to emphasize well with each other. Chinese businessmen tend to have business negotiations in a rather indirect manner, as opposed to the more direct manner of American businessmen. The Chinese like to take time to learn whether their prospective business contacts are really reliable. American businessmen are straightforward, aggressive and pushy for clear-cut definitions of business terms. They tend to be more concerned about their main objective than details. But when it comes to a large project, they are also prepared for lengthy negotiations. The decision-making process of Chinese companies is generally slow and time-consuming. This is because most Chinese companies keep to the "bottom-up, and then top-down" principle. Although Americans have a reputation for making quick decisions, this is not always true when a corporation is embarking oil a major venture, because many people must be involved in the decision-making. Americans view relationships in terms of "rights"; Chinese in terms of "obligations" —to family, to one's elders, to the country. Contracts are viewed in this light—the relationship between parties creates obligations. Americans tend to be reserved in relating to strangers; Chinese tend to be reserved with those whom they have connections. Chinese perceive Americans don't care about money and waste it; Americans perceive Chinese don't care about time and waste it. Chinese often consider capital investment as "sunk cost", a commitment to do something, rather than a base upon which to earn a certain return. Chinese hear different things in what is said. They tend to interpret questions and answer what they thin k you need. Americans tend to answer questions directly and literally, often ignoring important underlying concerns. Chinese often ask questions to expose a concern, not to get an answer. So what? China will be the largest economy in the world in the near future. No matter what your business, Chinese will comprise a significant portion of your suppliers, your competitors, your customers, your bankers and your stockholders or partners. What is happening in China will have consequences for our entire system。 Today, many American businessmen are eager to learn more about trade and investment opportunities in China, especially after its accession to the WTO. They and their lawyers now understand that they must study the laws, trade practices and culture of China in order to be more effective in doing business with Chinese trading partners. China will not become like US. They will be different. Different than they (or we) are now.

问答题What is the "compromise" supported by Mr. Bush to this situation?

问答题Directions : In this part of the test, you will hear 2 passages in Chinese. After you have heard each sentence or paragraph, interpret it into English. Start interpreting at the signal...and stop it at the signal...You may take notes while you are listening. Remember you will hear the passages only once. Now, let us begin Part B with the first passage.