reading comprehension.doc

Passage 1Prices determine how resources are to be used. They are also the means by which products and services that are in limited supply are rationed among buyers. The price system of the United States is a very complex network composed of the prices of all the products bought and sold in the economy as well as those of a myriad of services, including labor, professional transportation, and public utility services. The interrelationships of all these prices make up the “system” of prices. The price of any particular product or service is linked to a broad, complicated system of prices in which everything seems to depend more or less upon everything else. If one were to ask a group of randomly selected individuals to define “price,” many would reply that price is an amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller of a product of service or, in other words, that price is the money value of a product of service as agreed upon in a market transaction. This definition is, of course, valid as far as it goes. For a complete understanding of a price in any particular transaction, much more than the amount of money involved must be known. Both the buyer and the seller should be familiar with not only the money amount, but with the amount and quality of the product or service to be exchanged, the time and place at which the exchange will take place and payment will be made, the form of money to be used, the credit terms and discounts that supply to the transaction, guarantees on the product or service, delivery terms, return privileges, and other factors. In other words, both buyer and seller should be fully aware of all the factors that comprise the total “package” being exchanged for the asked-for amount of money in order that they may evaluate a given price. 1. What is the best title for the passage? A. The Inherent Weaknesses of the Price System.B. The Complexities of the Price System.C. Credit Terms in Transactions.D. Resource Allocation and the Public Sector. 2. According to the passage, the price system is related primarily to. A. labor and educationB. transportation and insuranceC. utilities and repairsD. products and services 3. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a factor in the complete understanding of price? A. Instructions that come with a product.B. The quantity of a product.C. The quality of a product.D. Warranties that cover a product. 4. In the last sentence of the passage, “they” refers to-. A. return privilegesB. all the factorsC. buyer and sellerD. money 5. The paragraph following the passage most likely discusses. A. unusual ways to advertise productsB. types of payment plans for serviceC. theories about how products affect different levels of societyD. how certain elements of a price “package” influence its market value Passage 2A century ago, the overwhelming majority of people in developing countries worked with their hands: on farms, in domestic service, in small craft shops and (at that time still a small minority) in factories. Fifty years later, the proportion of manual workers in the American labor force had dropped to around half, and factory workers had become the largest single section of the workforce, making up 35% of the total. Now, another 50 years later, less than a quarter of American workers make their living from manual jobs. Factory workers still account for the majority of the manual workers, but their share of the total workforce is down to around 15%-more or less back to what it had been 100 years earlier. Of all the big developed countries, America now has the smallest proportion of factory workers in its labor force. Britain is not far behind. In Japan and Germany, their share is still around a quarter, but it is shrinking steadily. To some extent this is a matter of definition. Data-processing employees or a manufacturing firm, such as the Ford Motor Company, are counted as employed in manufacturing, but when Ford out-sources its data processing, the same people doing exactly the same work are instantly redefined as service workers. However, too much should be made of this. Many studies in manufacturing businesses have shown that the decline in the number of people who actually work in the plant is roughly the same as the shrinkage reported in the national figures.1. The proportion of factory workers in the workforce a century ago was around_. A. 15% B. 50% C. 35% D. 85% 2. It can be inferred from this passage that_.A. most people in developed countries work with their hands.B. workers in American manufacturing are not defined manual workers. C. There are actually fewer factory workers in American industry than has not been reported. D. The proportion of factory workers is seen as a measure of a nations economy. 3. The number of factory workers in other developed countries_. A. is on the rise B. is decreasing gradually C. has remained unchanged D. will surpass that of farm laborers4. “Service workers” (in line 8, paragraph 2) most probably refers to_. A. manual workers in factories B. those who make their living other than by manual work C. farm laborers D. craftsmen in workshops 5. Which of the following statements best summarized the main idea of the passage? A. Manual workers contribution to capitalist development B. Todays conditions for American factory workers C. Evolutions in labor force over a century in developed countries D. Working people in developed countries Passage 3Large companies need a way to reach the savings of the public at large. The same problem, on a smaller scale, faces practically every company trying to develop new products and create new jobs. There can be little prospect of raising the sort of sums needed from friends and people we know, and while banks may agree to provide short-term finance, they are generally unwilling to provide money on a permanent basis for long-term projects. So companies turn to the public, inviting people to lend them money, or take a share in the business in exchange for a share in future profits. This they do by issuing stocks and shares in the business through the Stock Exchange. By doing so, they can put into circulation the savings of individuals and institutions, both at home and overseas. When the saver needs his money back, he does not have to go to the company with whom he originally placed it. Instead, he sells his shares through a stockbroker to some other saver who is seeking to invest his money.Many of the services needed both by industry and by each of us are provided by the Government or by local authorities. Without hospitals, roads, electricity, telephones, railways, this country could not function. All these require continuous spending on new equipment and new development if they are to serve us properly, requiring more money than is raised through taxes alone. The Government, local authorities, and nationalized industries therefore frequently need to borrow money to finance major capital spending, and they, too, come to the Stock Exchange.There is hardly a man or woman in this country whose job or whose standard of living does not depend on the ability of his or her employers to raise money to finance new development. In one way or another, this new money must come from the savings of the country. The Stock Exchange exists to provide a channel through which these savings can reach those who need finance.1. Almost all companies involved in new production and development must .A. rely on their own financial resourcesB. persuade the banks to provide long-term financeC. depend on the population as a whole for financeD. borrow large sums of money from friends and people they know2. The money which enables these companies to go ahead with their projects is .A. repaid to its original owners as soon as possibleB. raised by the selling of shares in the companiesC. exchanged for part ownership in the Stock ExchangeD. invested in different companies on the Stock Exchange3. When the savers want their money back they .A. ask another company to obtain their money for themB. look for other people to borrow money fromC. put their shares in the company back on the marketD. transfer their money to a more successful company4. All the essential services on which we depend are .A. run by the Government or our local authoritiesB. financed wholly by the rates and taxesC. in constant need of financial supportD. unable to provide for the needs of the population5. The Stock Exchange makes it possible for the Government, local authorities and nationalized industries .A. to borrow as much as they wishB. to make certain everybody saves moneyC. to raise money to finance new developmentsD. to make certain everybody lends money to themPassage 4There are three kinds of goals： shortterm，mediumrange and longterm goals. Shortrange goals are those that usually deal with current activities，which we can apply on a daily basis. Such goals can be achieved in a week or less，or two weeks，or possible months. It should be remembered that just as a building is no stronger than its foundation ，out longterm goals cannot amount to very munch without the achievement of solid shortterm goals. Upon completing our shortterm goals，we should date the occasion and then add new shortterm goals that will build on those that have been completed. The intermediate goals build on the foundation of the shortrange goals. They might deal with just one term of school or the entire school year，or they could even extend for several years. Any time you move a step at a time，you should never allow yourself to become discouraged or overwhelmed. As you complete each step，you will enforce the belief in your ability to grow and succeed. And as your list of completion dates grow，your motivation and desire will increase. Longrange goals may be related to our dreams of the future. They might cover five years or more. Life is not a static thing. We should never allow a longterm goal to limit us or our course of action. 1. Our longterm goals mean a lot_. A. if we complete our shortrange goals B. if we cannot reach solid shortterm goals C. if we write down the dates D. if we put forward some plans 2. New shortterm goals are built upon_. A. two years B. longterm goals C. current activities D. the goals that have been completed 3.When we complete each step of our goals ，_. A. we will win final success B. we are overwhelmed C. we should build up confidence of success D. we should strong desire for setting new goals 4.Once our goals are drawn up，_. A. we should stick to them until we complete them B. we may change our goals as we have new ideas and opportunities C. we had better wait for the exciting news of success D. we have made great decision 5.It is implied but not stated in the passage that _. A those who have longterm goals will succeed B. Writing down the dates may discourage you C. the goal is only a guide for us to reach our destination D. every should have a goal Passage 5The economy of the United states after 1952 was the economy of a wellfed，almost fully employed people. Despite occasional alarms，the country escaped any postwar depression and lived in a state of boom. An economic survey of the year 1955, a typical year of the 1950s，may be typical as illustrating the rapid economic growth of the decade. The national output was value at 10 percent above that of 1954 （1955 output was estimated at 392 billion dollars）. The production of manufacturers was about 40 percent more than it had averaged in the years immediately following World War 2. The countrys business spent about 30 billion dollars for new factories and machinery. National income available for spending was almost a third greater than it had been in 1950. Consumers spent about 256 billion dollars, that is about 700 million dollars a day, or about twentyfive million dollars every hour，all round the clock. Sixtyf