商务英语（大一下）阅读试卷2A

1、 PAGE PAGE 13 / 13光华管理学院 20092010 学年第二学期期末考试试题（A 卷）课程名称：商务英语（阅读）任课教师：考试日期：2010年6月30 日考试时间：1.5 小学生类别：本科年级班号：考生姓名：考生学号：考试方式：闭卷试题（注意：答案一律写在答题纸，否则不计分）Reading comprehension (55)Passage ONE (15%)In the Black StuffBarack administration has promised to keep its boot firmly applied to neck. Many people would

2、 be happier if the boot were a blade. Fishermen who worry that their livelihoods are in peril; shareholders who have seen the value of shares plunge; local Democratic politicians who want to make sure they cannot be blamed for reacting too slowly: the list of boot-and-blade wielders is growing longe

3、r by the In practice neck means Haywards. Just a few weeks ago Hayward was one of the most celebrated chief executives, responsible for delivering $5.6 billion in profits in the first quarter of this after the collapse of a rig leased by BP in the Gulf of Mexico, costing lives and threatening enviro

4、nmental catastrophe, he is in the meat grinder of public opprobrium along with Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, and Akio president ofSo far he has done a creditable job of crisis-management. He has been a whirlwind of activity moving to a Ramada Inn in Houma, Louisiana, meeting Mr.

5、 Obamas deputies and giving back-to-back interviews on American television. He has thrown the full might of his companys resources at the problem, sending 2,500 people to help with the clean-up and chartering a sizeable armada. He has accepted “full responsibility” for the disaster but also made it

6、clear that the rig was being operated by a subcontractor, Transocean. Things may yet get worse for BP. The company faces a tidal wave of litigation and an epidemic of stories about oil-drenched sea birds and devastated wetlands. Thefinal bill for the clean-up, which is costing BP about $6m a day, co

7、uld well exceed $10 billion. Mr. Hayward could yet buckle under the pressure. But, if he can keep his head, he is arguably the best man to deal with an impossibly difficult situation.Mr. Hayward took over BP in 2007 as the back-to-basics candidate. His predecessor, John Browne, was in many ways a re

8、markable chief executive, a man who sprinkled pixie dust onto the companys black gold while also boosting its market capitalization ninefold. But Lord Browne focused too much on the soft furnishings and too little on the foundations. He purchased rivals such as Amoco but failed to integrate them pro

9、perly. He lavished more than $200m on rebranding BP as “Beyond Petroleum” but failed to reorganize the companys sprawling bureaucracy. His final years were marred by a succession of devastatingaccidents an explosion at BPs Texas City refinery in 2005 that killed 15 workers and injured 170 others, an

10、d an oil spill a year later that dumped 4,800 barrels of oil at Prudhoe Bay, on the coast of Alaska.Mr. Hayward set out to replace flash and fluff with nuts and bolts. He promised to focus “like a laser on safe and reliable operations”. He streamlined the companys management. He played down the Beyo

11、nd Petroleum rhetoric in favor of a greater emphasis on the companys core business. “BP makes its money by someone, somewhere, every day putting on boots, overalls, a hard hat and glasses, and going out and turning valves,” he argued. “And wed sort of lost track of that.” To be sure, after the spill

12、 in the Gulf this back-to-basics strategy leaves him open to some sharp criticisms. Hasnt the disaster made a mockery of his “focus like a laser” argument? And hasnt he been at the forefront of lobbying for more deep-sea drilling? He has tried to convince the Obama administration that one of the key

13、s to Americas energy security lies in the oil and gas in the deep waters of the Gulf. Last September he even dispatched one of his lieutenants, David Rainey, to Congress to argue that new technology had made possible the “safe and reliable production” of offshoreoil.But against all this he has a num

14、ber of things on his side. One is that the disasters at Texas City and Prudhoe Bay occurred before he took over. A second is that before the current oil spill he had a solid record of improving safety and reducing injuries in the workplace. A third is that the markets have probably over-reacted to t

15、he oil spill: the fact that BPs shares have lost $30 billion in value, three times the likely cost of the clean-up, suggests that they will start to climb back. But thefourth may count for most: that he is an oilman by conviction as well as profession. Mr. Hayward is at his most animated when remini

16、scing about his hands-on experience out in the field working as a geologist on a North Sea platform (his first job with BP) or exploring for oil in Yemen or Papua New Guinea. He won widespread support in the companys lower ranks in the wake of the Texas City disaster when he criticized BP for “a lea

17、dership style that is too directive and doesnt listen sufficiently well”.His immediate challenge is to stanch the flow of oil. But his longer-term problem is to secure the future of deep-sea drilling. BPs business strategy depends on its ability to keep pushing the frontiers of oil exploration: dril

18、ling the worlds deepest wells and probing the corners of the Arctic for deposits. The Gulf already accounts for 10% of the companys worldwide oil production, a share that could be higher in the future. Mr. Hayward needs to salt his apologies for the disaster with some tough arguments about the virtu

19、es of offshore drilling. He needs to demonstrate that its risks are no greater than, say, those of long-haul shipping. (More oil is spilled from tankers than from offshore wells.) He needs to persuade a restive public that there is no magic that can provide them with risk-free energy. This will test

20、 his political skills just as much as the spill in the Gulf is testing his organizationalskills.Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false(F).Tony Hayward reacted rather inactively and slowly to thecrisis.Tony Hayward suggests part of the responsibilities should be shouldered by T

21、ransocean, thesubcontractor.John Browne successfully boosted its market capitalization considerably with the back-to-basicsapproach.Compared with his predecessor, Tony Hayward focuses more on details and BPs corebusiness.Tony Hayward made a lot of efforts to convince the US government of the merits

22、of deepwaterdrilling.To apologize effectively for the crisis, Tony Hayward must drop the argument in favor of deepwater drilling which is toorisky.Find out words used in the passage that mean the following. Numbers in the brackets indicate the paragraphs in which you can find thewords.danger, hazard

23、(1)rented(1)blame, criticism(1)lawsuit(2)wasted, spent exorbitantly(3)damaged(3)sarcasm (4)halt, stop(6)hard to control or persuade(6)Passage TWO (15%)President Bush on Health CareIve had a really good discussion about health care and health care problems with three business owners and employees of

24、the small business with Secretary Leavitt and Mark McClellan and Administrator Preston. I heard a common complaint, that health care is - costs are too high; that small business owners feel very pinched by these high costs; that they dont like the idea of having to make the decision between providin

25、g health care for their employees and not expanding theirbusinesses.And the fundamental question, given these frustrations, is what do we do about it as a nation. There is an interesting debate taking place in Congress, and there is a philosophical divide. Some in Congress believe the best solution

26、to solving the frustrations of uninsured and high costs for small businesses is to expand the role of government. I have a different point of I believe the best way to deal with the frustrations of the high cost of health care and uninsured is to change the tax code, is to make health care in the pr

27、ivate sector more affordable and more available.The debate in Congress is now centering around whats called which is the Childrens Health Care Insurance Program. It was a program initially designed to help poor families afford health care for their children. I support that concept. As a matter of fa

28、ct, the budget I submitted funds health care for poor children. Members of Congress have decided, however, to expand the program to include, in some cases, up to families earning $80,000 a year - which would cause peopleto drop their private insurance in order to be involved with a government insura

29、nce plan.And when you couple that with the idea that some have suggested of reducing the age at which you can be eligible for Medicare, youre beginning to get a sense of a strategy to grow the governments role in the provision of health care. I believe government cannot provide affordable health car

30、e. I believe it would cause - it would cause the quality of care to diminish. I believe there would be lines and rationing over time. If Congress continues to insist upon expanding health care through the S-CHIP program - which, by the would entail a huge tax increase for the American people - Ill v

31、eto thebill.Our proposal is a strategy that says to small business owners and individuals we want you, one, to be in charge of your health care system - health care decisions; and, two, we believe youre discriminated against in the tax code. you work for a large you get a tax break on your health ca

32、re. If you work for a small business and/or youre in the individual market, you dont get the same tax break. And thats unfair and its not right. And, therefore, I have proposed to the United States Congress that we have a $15,000 deductible for families and a $7,500 deductible for individuals, all a

33、imed at encouraging people to be able to afford insurance and aimed at the encouragement of the development of an individual market.I believe strongly that small businesses ought to be afforded the chance to purchase health care across jurisdictional boundaries. Mike owns a small restaurant, he ough

34、t to be able to pool risk with restaurants in or California or anywhere else, so he can better afford insurance. I want patients making decisions, not bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. I want the system to benefit the individual, the small business not large insurancecompanies.And I really do believe

35、that government involvement in health care will lead to less quality care and rationing over time. And, therefore, we proposed a plan. I urge the Congress to work with us on making the tax code I know there are different ideas as to whether or not there ought to be a $15,000 deductible or a credit.

36、Im open-minded, Im willing to listen. But what Im not willing to listen to is a direct expansion of the federal role in providing - a massive expansion of the federal role in providing health care for individuals across theThank you all for having me. Cliff, thank you; you have a very interesting co

37、mpany here. Im proud to be with small business owners. I understand the roleof small businesses in our have worked to reduce taxes on small businesses because we want you to And the fact that you are growing across the country collectively is one reason why our economy is so strong. And this economy

38、 is doing well. The unemployment rate is 4.5 percent. Small businesses are growing. People are working. Stock market is up. Inflation isdown. And were going to keep it that One way you keep it that way is to have good health care policy emanating out of Washington, and another is to keep taxes And t

39、hats what were going to do. So thank youall.Determine whether the following statements true (T) or false(F).Small businesses feel reluctant to provide health care for their employees because they will have less money for businessexpansion.The Congress advocate that the expenses for staff health care

40、 in small businesses should be covered by government, while the President asserts that a better way is to exempt them fromtaxes.The President is against the idea of government providing health care for small business staff on the grounds that it will be too heavy a burden on thegovernment.The Presid

41、ent has proposed to the Congress that there should be a tax reduction of $ 7,500 for individuals and a reduction of $15,000 forfamilies.The President believes that small businesses have contributed a great deal to the economic growth.Find in the passage words that match the meanings givenbelow. : fo

42、rced to live in a frugal way; not having enough money to pay for necessities (para.1) : a feeling of annoyance at being hindered or criticized (para.2) : a serious disagreement between two groups of people (para.2) : qualified for or worthy of being chosen (para.4) : decrease in size, extent or rang

43、e (para.4) : distributing in limited amounts (para.4) : refuse to assent; refuse to endorse (para.4) : treated differently, usually in a worse way (para.5) : a government or administrative official, usu. one who applies rules rigidly (para.6) : a general increase in prices (para. 8)Passage THREE (15

44、%)Icon Acoustics: Bypassing TraditionLike most entrepreneurs, Dave Fokos dreams a lot. He imagines customers eagerly phoning Icon Acoustics in Billerica, Massachusetts, to order his latest, custom-made stereo speakers. 1 Like most entrepreneurs, Dave has taken a long time to develop his dream. 2Dave

45、 discovered that he had a strong interest in audio engineering. He took independent-study courses in this area and by graduation had designed and built a pair of marketable stereo speakers. Following graduation, Dave pursued his interest in audio engineering. He landed a job as a speaker designer wi

46、th Conrad-Johnson, a high-end audio-equipment manufacturer headquartered inFairfaxVirginia.3 _Dave identified a market niche that he felt other speaker firms had overlooked. 4These affluent, well-educated customers are genuinely obsessed with their stereo equipment. Theyd rather buy a new set of spe

47、akers than eat, Daveobserves.Dave faced one major problem how to distribute Icons products. He had learned from experience at Conrad-Johnson that most manufacturers distribute their equipment primarily through stereo dealers. Dave did not hold a high opinion of most such dealers; he felt that they t

48、oo often played hardball with manufacturers, forcing them to accept thin margins. 5 This kept those firms that offered more customized products from gaining access to the market. Perhaps most disturbing, Dave felt that the established dealers often sold not what was best for customers, but whatever

49、they had in inventory thatmonth.Dave dreamed of offering high-end stereo loudspeakers directly to the audio-obsessed, bypassing the established dealer network. 6 “My vision for the future is one where all manufacturers sell their products directly to end users. In this way, even the audiophiles in D

50、ead Horse, Alaska, can have access to all that the audio-manufacturing community has tooffer.” 7Some customers who had gotten to know Daves work becameenthusiastic supporters of his dream and invested $189,000 in Icon. With theirmoney and $10,000 of his own, Dave started Icon in a rented facility in

51、 an industrial park.Approximately 335 stereo-speaker makers compete for a $3 billion annual U.S. market for audio components. About 100 of these manufacturers sell to the low- and midrange segments of the market, which account for 90 percent of the markets unit volume and about 50 percent of its val

52、ue. In addition to competing with each other, U.S. manufacturers also compete with Japanese firms that offer products at affordable prices. The remaining 235 or so manufacturers compete for the remaining 10 percent of the markets unit volume and 50 percent of the value the high end where Dave hopes

53、to find his customers. 8 He has developed two models: The Lumen and the Parsec. The Lumen stands 18 inches high, weighs 26 pounds, and is designed for stand mounting. The floor-standing Parsec is 47 inches high and weighs 96 pounds. Both models feature custom-made cabinets that come in natural or bl

54、ack oak and American walnut. Dave can build and ship two pairs of the Lumen speakers or one pair of the Parsec speakers per day by himself. In order to have an adequate parts inventory, he had to spend $50,000 of his capital on the expensivecomponents.Dave set the price of the Lumen and Parsec at $7

55、95 and $1,795 per pair, respectively. He selected these prices to provide a 50 percent gross margin. He believes that traditional dealers would sell equivalent speakers at retail at twice those prices. Customers can call Icon on a toll-free 800 number to order speakers or to get advice directly from

56、 Dave. Icon pays for shipping and any return freight via Federal Express round-trip freight for a pair of Parsecs costs$486.Dave offers to pay for the return freight because a key part of his promotional strategy is a 30-day, in-home, no-obligation trial. In his ads, Dave calls this The 43,200 Minut

57、e, No Pressure Audition. The trial period allows customers to listen to the speakers in their actual listening environment. a dealers showroom, the customer must listen in an artificial environment and often feels pressure to make a quickdecision.Dave believes that typical high-end customers may buy

58、 speakers for nonrational reasons: They want a quality product and good sound, but they also want an image. Thus, Dave has tried to create a unique image through the appearance of his speakers and to reflect that image in all of the companys marketing. He spent over $40,000 on distinctive stationery

59、, business cards, a brochure, and a single display ad. He also designed a laminated label he placesjust above the gold-plated input jack on each speaker. The label reads: This loudspeaker was handcrafted by the technicians name who assembled the speaker goes here in his/her own handwriting. Made in

60、the United States of America by Icon Acoustics, Inc., Billerica, Mass.To get the word out, Dave concentrates on product reviews in trade magazines and on trade shows, such as the High End Hi-Fi show in New York. Attendees at the show cast ballots to select The Best Sound at the Show. In the ballotin