Passage l <z#r3J
In addition to redistributing incomes, inflation may affect the total real income and production of the community. An increase in prices is usually associated with high employment. In moderate inflation, industries are operating efficiently and output is near capacity. There is a great deal of private investment and jobs are plentiful. Such has been the historical pattern. Thus many business persons and union leaders, in evaluating a little deflation and a little inflation, consider the latter to be the lesser of two evils. In mild inflation, the losses to fixed-income groups are usually less than gains to the rest of the community. Even worker with relatively fixed wages are often better off because of improved employment opportunities and greater take-home pay, a rise in interest rates on new securities may partly compensate for any losses to creditor, and increases in pension benefits may partly make losses to retirees. [^"e~
In deflation, on the other hand, the growing unemployment of labor and capital causes the community's total well-being to be less; so in a sense, the gainers get less than the losers lose. As a matter of fact, in a depression, or a time of severe deflation, almost everyone suffers, including the creditor who is left with uncollectible debts. KFA
B
For these reasons an increase in consumption of investment spending is considered good in times of unemployment, even if this tends to increase prices slightly. When the economic system is suffering from severe depression, few people will criticize private or public spending on the ground that this might be inflationary. Actually, most of this increased spending will increase production and create jobs. Once, full employment and full plant capacity have been reached, however, any further increases in spending are likely to be completely wasted in prices increase. 18}L89S>
Y;e@ `.(
41. "Historical patterns" mentioned in the passage means that in mild inflation . V3yO_Iqa
A. there will be more production and employment vD:.1,72
B. private investment will be moderate and people's income influenced PaMi5Pq
C. the bad effects of the two evils will be associated with each other g|"z'_
D. industrial revolution made men and women more equal k ,X)PQc
42. Which of the following happens if there is mild inflation? IhM-a
Y
y5
A. Everyone loses because of the increase of prices. ]
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B. Retired people do experience any influence. s_zZ@azJ
C. Creditors gain rather than lose with a rise in interest rates. xtpD/,2
D. Some people gain more while other lose. E4}MvV=
43. In times of inflation . 6jCg7Su]
A. people like private or public investment B. there is usually full plant capacity P M9HfQU?
C. creditors suffer more than other people D. everyone suffers and no one gains @a%,0 Wn
44. The author's attitude towards investment is that . g|)e3q{M
A. the more the investment, the better the economy ( cC5zv*E
B. private investment is better than public investment "9LPq
C. investment should be set to a limit dMRwQejY{7
D. investment at the time of inflation is considered better than at the time of deflation LFen!FnM
45. Which of the following is clearly the author's own opinion? #0!C3it6c
A. The lesser of the two evils is not deflation but inflation. "D3JdyO_S
B. People's income is influenced by both inflation and deflation. !RiPr(m@y
C. Investment is good in times of deflation and unemployment. Y]Su<t gX?
D. Private and public investment can cause inflation during deflation. qaw5<
J)'
6 z
Passage 2 2q2w o&uK
Perhaps all criminals should be required to carry cards which read: Fragile; Handle with Care. It will never be so, these days to go around referring to criminals as violent thugs. You must refer to them politely as "social misfits". The professional killer who wouldn't think twice about using his club or knife to batter some harmless old lady to death in order to rob her of her meager life-savings must never be given a dose of his own medicine. He is in need of "hospital treatment". According to his misguided defenders, society is to blame. A wicked society breeds evil-or so the argument goes. When you listen to this kind of talk, it makes you wonder why we aren't all criminals. We have done away with the absurdly harsh laws of the nineteenth century and this is only right. But surely enough is enough. The most senseless piece of criminal legislation in Britain and a number of other countries has been the suspension of capital punishment. I*K^,XY+
The violent criminal has become akin of hero-figure in our time. He is glorified on the screen: he is pursued by the press and paid vast sums of money for his "memoirs". Newspapers which specialize in crime reporting enjoy enormous circulations and the publishers of trashy cops and robbers stories or "murder mysteries" have never had it so good. When you read about the achievements of the great train robbers, it makes you wonder whether you are reading about the some glorious resistance movement. The hardened criminal is cuddled and cosseted by the H#w?$?nIWu
sociologists on the one hand and adored as a hero by the masses on the other. It's no wonder he is a privileged person who expects and receives VIP treatment wherever he goes. ~\ie/}zYj
Capital punishment used to be a major deterrent. It made the violent robber think twice before pulling the trigger. It gave the cold-blooded poisoner something to ponder about while he was shaking up or serving his arsenic cocktail. It prevented unarmed policemen from being killed while pursuing their duty by killers armed with automatic weapons. Above all, it protected the most vulnerable members of society, young children, from brutal violence. It is horrifying to think that the criminal can literally get away with murder. We all know that "life sentence" does not mean what it says. After ten years or so of good comfortably, thank you, on the proceeds of his crime, of he will go on committing offences until he is caught again. People are always willing to hold liberal views at the expense of others. It's always fashionable to pose as the defender of under-dog, so long as you, personally, remain unaffected. Did the defenders of crime, one wonders, in their desire for fair-play, consult the victims before they suspended capital punishment? Hardly. You see, they couldn’t, because all the victims were dead. b <=K@I.=
g] (m& O
46. What is the main idea of the text? -z'@Mh|i6l
A. Society is to blame for the rising crime. 1/HPcCsHb
B. All the criminals are to be sympathized. f fE%{B?
C. Crime defenders have done a lot for criminals. {W `/KU?u
D. Severe punishment should be used to prevent crime. zYls>fbp,
47. In the author's opinion, all the following are to blame for crime EXCEPT . _r^&.'q
A. society B. the criminals themselves HnOF_ Twq
C. the suspension of life sentence D. the defender's role /f0_mi,bD
48. The word "deterrent"(Line 1, Para. 3) most probably means" ". 0n(Q@O
A. threat B. delay C. determination D. hindrance <<UlF E 9"
49. What is the tone of the text? }$
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A. Critical. B. Cynical. C. Ironic. D. Humorous. 9^c_^-8n<}
50. What is the author's attitude toward capital punishment? @XmMD6{<
A. Negative. B. Sympathetic. C. Supportive. D. Neutral. J~ c]9t
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Passage 3 k] f 7 3r
The gravitational pull of the Earth and moon is important to us as we attempt to conquer more and more of outer-space. Here's why. [X~H Uk??
As a rocket leaves the Earth, the pull of the Earth on it becomes less and less as the rocket roars out into space. If you imagine a line between the Earth the pull of the Earth and the moon, there is a point somewhere along that line, nearer to the moon than to the Earth, at which the gravitation pull of both the Earth and the moon on an object is just about equal. An object placed on the moon side of that point would be drawn to the moon. An object placed on the Earth side of that point would be drawn to the Earth. Therefore, a rocket need be sent only to this "point of no return" in order to get it to the moon. The moon’s gravity will pull it the rest of the way. :+-s7'!4
The return trip of the rocket to Earth is, in some ways, less of a problem. The Earth's gravitational field reaches far closer to the moon than does the moon's to Earth. Thus it will be necessary to fire an Earthbound rocket only a few thousand miles away from the moon to reach a point where the rocket will drift to earth under the Earth's gravitational pull. }>tUkXlhJ<
The problem of rocket travel is not so much concerned with getting the rocket into space as it is with guiding the rocket after it leaves the Earth's surface. Remember that the moon is constantly circling the Earth. A rocket fired at the moon and continuing in the direction in which it was fired would miss the moon by a wide margin and perhaps continue to drift out into space until "captured" in another planet's gravitational field. To reach the moon, a rocket must be fired toward the point where the moon will be when the rocket has traveled the required distance. This requires precise calculations of the speed and direction of the rocket and of the speed and direction of the moon. WX?|iw
I ~
For a rocket to arrive at a point where the moon's gravity will pull it the rest of the way, it must reach a speed called velocity of escape. This speed is about 25,000 miles per hour. At a speed less than this, a rocket will merely circle the Earth in an orbit and eventually fall back to Earth. kkd<CEz2IM
D ORFK
51. This passage deals mainly with . ?cpID8Z
A. the gravitational pull of the Earth and the moon ?np` RA
B. the factors involved in firing a rocket into the outer-space i 5_g z>
C. the gravitational fields of the Earth and the moon ~Q6ufTGhpM
D. the speed and direction of a rocket traveling in the outer-space +VU,U`W
52. It can be seen that if a rocket misses its target, it keeps on traveling through space until . vWj|[| <rX
A. it burns up >O?EFd >E
B. it is caught in the gravitational field of another planet u
}ab[$Q5
C. it is brought back to the Earth by scientists 3UH=wmG0w
D. it runs out of fuel Ymn0?$,D1=
53. A rocket might miss its target, by a "wide margin". This means the rocket missed the target . UQ hfR}(
A. because of mechanical failure B. by a great deal $/pd[ H[{
C. by a small distance D. because the target moved `FmI?:Cv
54. According to the passage, the most difficult task of firing a rocket is . \hm=AGI0
A. to get the rocket into the space % q:V
B. to calculate the rocket's velocity of escape ob0clJX
C. to guide the rocket after it leaves the Earth's surface w" aD"}3
D. to identify the gravitational fields of the Earth and the moon D5U\~' {L
55. Precise calculations are . Zcf?4{Kd?
A. good guesses B. simple problems C. big errors D. exact H!s &]b
#n0P'@d, r
Passage 4 IY :iGn8R
A hundred years ago it was assumed and scientifically "proved" by economists that the laws of society make it necessary to have a vast army of poor and jobless people in order to keep the economy going. Today, hardly anybody would dare to voice the principle. It is generally accepted that nobody should be excluded from the wealth of the nation, either by the law of nature or by those of society. The opinions are outdated, which were current a hundred years ago, that the poor owed their conditions to their ignorance, lack of responsibility. In all western industrialized countries, a system of insurance has been introduced which guarantees everyone a minimum of subsistence in case of unemployment, sickness and old age. I would go one step further and argue that, even if these conditions are not present, in other words, one can claim this substance minimum without having to have any "reason". I would suggest, however, that it should be limited to a definite period of time, let's say two years, so as to avoid the encouragement of an abnormal attitude which refuses any kind of social obligation. \:O5, wf2
This may sound like a fantastic proposal, but so, I think, our insurance system would have sounded to people a hundred years ago. The main objection to such a scheme would be that if each person were entitled to receive minimum support, people would not work. This assumption rests on the fallacy of the inherent laziness. In human nature, actually, aside from abnormally lazy people, there would be very few who would not want to earn more than the minimum, and who would prefer to do nothing rather than work. o/9 V1"
However, the suspicions against a system of guaranteed subsistence minimum are not groundless from the standpoint of those who want to use ownership capital for the purpose of forcing others to accept the work conditions they offer. If nobody were forced to accept work in order not to starve, work would be sufficiently interesting and attractive in order to induce one to accept it. Freedom of contract is possible only if both parties are free to accept and reject it; in the present capitalist system this is not the case. `` zg |h
But such a system would not only be the beginning of real freedom of contract between employers and employees, its principal advantage would be the improvement of freedom in interpersonal relationships in every sphere of daily life. Jz fz
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56. People used to think that poverty and unemployment were due to . Ag}>gbz ~G
A. the slow development of the economy W;,Jte<'Nm
B. the poor and jobless people's own faults 1 8|H
C. the lack of responsibility on the part of the society whRc Y nJ
D. the large number of people who were not well-educated .dl1sv
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57. Now it is widely accepted that _.
9[8?'`m
A. the present system of social insurance should be improved P\w.:.2
B. everybody should be granted a minimum of subsistence without any "reason" DBVe69/S
C. everybody has the right to share the wealth of country Mi S$Y
D. people have to change their attitude towards the poor &9TG&~(+
58. The author argues that the social insurance system should . lE%0i
fu
A. provide benefits for the old, sick and unemployed nh,N (t 9
B. encourage people to take on more social obligations py@5]n%
C. guarantee everybody the right to be employed <.RgMPi
D. provide everyone the right to a minimum subsistence for a certain period Ugrcy7
59. The word "fallacy" means . <7u*OYjA
A. doubt B. fact C. strong argument D. wrong belief m#DC;(Pn
60. According to the author, a system of guaranteed subsistence minimum . id GM%Faur
A. demands too much from society = V%s ^
B. makes freedom of contract impossible (?)". Q0
C. helps people take interest in their work I O|">a6
D. helps bring about changes in the relationship among people wc B-)Ra
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Passage 5 [V}I34UN
If Sustainable competitive advantage depends on work force skills, American firms have a problem: Human management is not traditionally seen as a central to the competitive survival of the firm in the United States. Skill Acquisition is considered as individual responsibility. Labor is simply another force of production to be hired/rented at the lowest possible cost, which is a must as one buys raw material or equipment. \q%li
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The lack of importance attached to human resource management can be seen in the corporate pecking order. In an American firm the chief financial officer is almost always second in command. The post of head of human resource management is usually a specialized job, off at the edge of the corporate hierarchy. The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic decisions and has no chance to move up to Chief Executive Officer. By way of contrast, in Japan the head of human resource management is central-usually the second most important executive, after the CEO. in the firm's hierarchy. ^;Ap-2Ww
While American firms often talk about the vast amounts spent on training their work force, in fact, they invest less in the skills of their employees than do either Japanese or German firms. The money they do invest is also more highly concentrated on professional or managerial employees. And the limited investments that made in training workers are also much more narrowly focused on the specific skills necessary to do the next job rather than on the basic background skills that make it possible to absorb new technologies. Rq9v+Xq2
As a result, problems emerge when new breakthrough technologies arrive. If American workers, for example take much longer to learn how to operate new flexible manufacturing stations than workers in Germany (as they do), the effective cost of those stations is lower in Germany than it is in the United States. More time is required before equipment is up and running at the speed with which new equipment is up and running at capacity, and the need for extensive retraining generates costs and creates bottlenecks that limit the speed with which new equipment can be employed. The result is a slower pace of technological change. And in the end the skills of the bottom half of the population affect the wages of the top half. If the bottom half can't effectively staff the processes that have to be operated, the management and professional jobs that go these processes will disappear. tAc[r)xFw
zziuj s:
61. Which of the following applies to the human resource management of American companies? rEs,o3h?po
A. They hire people with the least possible money regardless of their skills. ]J:?@}\^
B. They see skill gaining as their employees' own business. h+
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C. They prefer to hire self-trained workers. \oLRNr[F
D. They only hire skilled workers because of keen employment competition. 7bCTR2e\@w
62. What is the position of the executive of human-resource management in American firms? {pE")O7~P
A. He is one of the most important executives of the firm. 3m
B. His position is likely to disappear when new technologies have been introduce& ! E#XmYhX=
C. He has no saying in making important decisions of the firm. f-tjMa /_
D. He is directly under the chief financial executive. 2<
w/GX.
63. The money most American firms put in work force training mainly goes on . <0 k(d:H-
A. technological and managerial staff r,!7TuBl
B. workers who will run new equipment #rF| X6P
C. workers who tack of basic background skills q --NLm@;
D. top executive >A7),6
64. Why is there a slow pace of technological change in American firms? H&6lQ30 /)
A. New equipment is more expensive in America. Xu3
o,k
B. American firms don't pay enough attention to on-the-job training of their workers. ]ta]OK{s"
C. he decision making process in American firms makes them less responsive to technological changes. JyvX
NV,
D. The professional staff of American firms are less paid and so less creative. @;"HslU\Q
65. What is the main idea of the passage? :S{[^ -"
A. American firms' human resource management strategies affect their competitive capacity. #3f\,4K 5
B. Human resource management is a key factor in a firm's survival. {~.h
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C. The cost of work training in America is higher than that in Japan and Germany. 4Fgy<^94`
D. American firms are different from Japanese and German firms in human resource management. gmJiKuAL5
Passage Six GX4# I Rq
The multi-billion-dollar Western pop music industry is under fire. It is being blamed by the United Nations for the dramatic rise in drug abuse worldwide. “The most worrisome development is a culture of drug-friendliness that seems to be gaining prominence, ”said the UN’s 13-member International Narcotics Control Board in a report released in late February 1998. ah U\(=
The 74-page study says that pop music, as a global industry, is by far the most influential trend-setter for young people of most cultures. “Some lyrics advocate the smoking of marijuana(大麻)or taking other drugs, and certain pop stars make statements and set examples as if the use of drugs for non-medicinal purposes were a normal and acceptable part of a person’s lifestyle, ”the study says. W+ Z]
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Surprisingly, says the Board, the effect of drug-friendly pop music seems to survive despite the occasional shock of death by overdose (过量用药). “Such incidents tend to be seen as an occasion to mourn the loss of a role model, and not an opportunity to confront the deadly effect of ‘recreational’ drug use. ”it notes. Since the 1970s, several internationally famous singers and movie stars-including Elvis Presley, Janice Joplin, John Belushi, Jimi Hendrix, Jonathan Melvin and Andy Gibbs-have died of either drug abuse or drug related illnesses. With the globalization of popular music, messages tolerating or promoting drug abuse are now reaching beyond their countries of origin. “In most countries, the names of certain pop stars have become familiar to the members of every household, ”the study says. 3&/5!zOg)
The UN study also blames the media for its description of certain drug issues-especially the use of marijuana and issues of liberalization and legalization, which encourages, rather than prevents, drug abuse. “Over the last years, we have seen how drug abuse is increasingly regarded as being acceptable or even attractive,” says Hamid Ghodse, president of the Board. “Powerful pressure groups run political campaigns aimed at legalizing controlled drugs,” he says. Ghodse also points out that all these developments have created an environment which is tolerant of or even favorable to drug abuse and spoils international drug prevention efforts currently underway. &$ia#j{l
The present study, he says, focuses on the issue of demand reduction and prevention within an environment that has become tolerant of drug abuse. The Board calls on governments to do their legal and moral duties, and to act against the pro-drug messages of the youth culture to which young people increasingly are being exposed. Ps4spy0Fp
q %]0%S?
66. Which of the following statements does the author tend to agree with? KcF2}+iM
A. The use of drugs for non-medicinal purposes is an acceptable part of a person’s lifestyle. !ANv XPp
B. The spreading of pop music may cause the drug abuse to go beyond the boundaries of the country. Qb!9QlW
C. No efforts have been made to prevent the spreading of drug abuse. r77?s?
D. The governments have no ability to act against the pro-drug messages of the youth culture. WJ9Jj69
67. The italicized phrase “under fire” (Par. 1, sentence 1) means__ __ QHUoAa`6v
A. in an urgent situation. B. facing some problems. D"o y l`q
C. being criticized. D. quite popular. hub1rY|No
68. Under the influence of drug-friendly pop music, what might the youth think of the death of some pop stars caused by overdose? L Nms v U
A. They tend to mourn the pop stars as role models. !G.)%+Z
B. They are shocked to know even pop stars may abuse drugs. Q+*o-
C. They try to confront the deadly effect of “recreational” drug use. r]iec{ ^
D. They may stop abusing the drugs. zjs@7LN
69. Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage as a factor that has contributed to creating an environment tolerant of or even favorable to drug abuse? oIdMDp^$
A. The spreading of pop music. A_6b 4T
B. The media. @]" :3
C. Political campaigns run by powerful pressure groups.
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D. The low price of some drugs. ZY-W~p1:G
70. The pop music__ __ ^| 5bK_Z&
A. has a great influence on young people of most cultures. h`F8GNx(
B. only appeals to a small number of young people. M]oO1GM
C. is not a profitable industry. BX;Z t9"*
D. is the only culprit (罪魁祸首)responsible for drug amuse.
