2022-2023年广东省珠海市公共英语五级(笔试)真题(含答案)

2022-2023年广东省珠海市公共英语五级(笔试)真题(含答案)学校:________班级:________姓名:________考号:________

一、1.ListeningComprehension(15题)1.MDhassixdepartmentalmanagersatthemoment．

A.RightB.Wrong

2.Accordingtoanotherexplanation，wheredidthisexpressionprobablycomefrom?

A.Australia．B.Japan．C.Netherland．D.England．

3.HowlongdidittakeforalettersentbyapostridertoreachtheaddresseebetweenNewYorkandBoston?

4.听力原文：M:DidyouhearabouttheaircrashthatoccurredinSouthAmericarecently?Itwasquiteatragicaccident!

W:No,Ididn'tseeanythinginthenewsaboutit.Whathappened?

M:AforeignairlinerwasattemptingtolandatnightinamountainousareainArgentinaandflewintoahill!

W:Thatsoundsreallyterrible!Didanyonesurvive?

M:No,everyoneaboard,includingthecrew,waskilledinstantly.

W:Whatwerethecircumstances?Weretheybadweather,afire,orenginefailure?

M:Apparently,thereweresomelowcloudsinthearea,butmostlyitwasjustmiscommunicationbetweenthepilotsandtheairtrafficcontrollers.

W:Weren'ttheybothspeakinginEnglish,theofficialinternationalaviationlanguage?

M:Yestheywere,butthetransitionfrompoorqualityradioswasslightlydistortedandtheaccentsoftheSpanishspeakingcontrollerswassostrongthatthepilotsmisunderstoodavitalinstruction.

W:Howcouldamisunderstandinglikethatcausesuchaseriousaccident?

M:Thepilotsweretoldtodescendto22,000feet.Theinstructionactuallymeant22,000feet,buttheythoughttheyhearddescend2,000feet.That'sahugedifference,anditshouldhavebeenconfirmed,butitwasnot.Unfortunately,theterrainofthemountainsinNorweijaascendto2,000feet.

W:Sothepilotsdiddescendtothewrongaltitudethen,becausetheywerefollowingtheaircontroller'sinstructions.

M:Sadlyenough,yestheydid.Itwasareallybadmistake.Manypeoplediedasaresultofthesimplymisunderstanding.

W:Wow,that'sapowerfullessononhowimportantitcanbetoaccuratelycommunicatewitheachother.

Whatwasthecauseofthetragedy?

A.Badweather.

B.Humanerror.

C.Breakdownoftheengines.

D.Communicationssystemfailure.

5.Ifaconsumerwantsaquicksettlementoftheproblem,whomisitbettertocomplainto?

A.Ashopassistant.

B.Thestoremanager.

C.Themanufacturer.

D.Apublicorganization.

6.听力原文：M：DidyouhearabouttheaircrashthatoccurredinSouthAmericarecently?Itwasquiteatragicaccident!

W：No,Ididn'tseeanythinginthenewsaboutit．Whathappened?

M：AforeignairlinerwasattemptingtolandatnightinamountainousareainArgentinaandflewintoahill!

W：Thatsoundsreallyterrible!Didanyonesurvive?

M：No，everyoneaboard，includingthecrew，waskilledinstantly．

W：Whatwerethecircumstances?Weretheybadweather,afire,orenginefailure?

M：Apparently，thereweresomelowcloudsinthearea，butmostlyitwasjustmiscommunicationbetweenthepilotsandtheairtrafficcontrollers．

W：Weren'ttheybothspeakinginEnglish，theofficialinternationalaviationlanguage?

M：Yestheywere，butthetransitionfrompoorqualityradioswasslightlydistortedandtheaccentsoftheSpanishspeakingcontrollerswassostrongthatthepilotsmisunderstoodavitalinstruction．

W：Howcouldamisunderstandinglikethatcausesuchaseriousaccident?

M：Thepilotsweretoldtodescendto22,000feet．Theinstructionactuallymeant22,000feet，buttheythoughttheyhearddescend2,000feet．That'sahugedifference．anditshouldhavebeenconfirmed．butitwasnot．Unfortunately，theterrainofthemountainsinNorweijaascendto2,000feet．

W：Sothepilotsdiddescendtothewrongaltitudethen，becausetheywerefollowingtheaircontroller'sinstructions．

M：Sadlyenough，yestheydid．Itwasareallybadmistake．Manypeoplediedasaresultofthesimplymisunderstanding．

W：Wow，that'sapowerfullessononhowimportantitcanbetoaccuratelycommunicatewitheachother．

Whatwasthecauseofthetragedy?

A.Badweather.

B.Humanerror.

C.Breakdownoftheengines.

D.Communicationssystemfailure.

7.Dr.WilsonsuggeststhatWangshouldextendhisstayattheuniversity.

A.RightB.Wrong

8.WhendidtheWomen'sMovementbeginintheU.S.A.?

9.PartC

Directions:Youwillhearatalk.Asyoulisten,answerthequestionsorcompletethenotesinyourtestbookletforQuestions21-30bywritingNOTMORETHANTHREEwordsinthespaceprovidedontheright.YouwillhearthetalkTWICE.

Younowhave1minutetoreadQuestions21-30.

听力原文：Inyouruniversitywork．youwillbeexpectedtogiveoralpresentationsintheform.ofreportsorsimplyintheformsofanswerstoquestions．Thereareseveralthingsyouoraldotomakeyouroralpresentationsclearandeasytounderstand．

Thefundamentalpointtorealizeisthatspeechandwritingaredifferent．Ifyouwanttobebestunderstood．youcan'tsimplyreadyourwrittenreportaloud．Thebiggestdifferencebetweenspokenandwrittenlanguageisthatreaderscanlookbackovertheprintedwordswhentheydon'tunderstand．Inspokenlanguage，however，listenerscan'tgobackandcheckthewords．Theycanrelyonlyonmemory．Sothefirstprincipletokeepinmindwhenyou'replanningtospeakinpublicisthatyouhavetohelpthelistener'smemory．Thismeansthatanoralreportcan'tdeliverinformationasrapidlyasawrittenreport．Thatis，youcan'thaveasmanypiecesofnewinformationpackedintothesamenumberofwords，becausetheywillcomeattoofastarateforthelistenertounderstand．

Inanoralreport，therateofdeliveryhastobeslower．Oneofthebestwaystohelpyouraudienceissimplytospeakslowly．Manypeoplespeaktoofastwhentheyspeaktoagroup．Thisisamistake，especiallyifyouhaveaforeignaccent，becauseitmakeslisteningmoredifficult．Beyondthesimpletechniqueofspeakingmoreslowlywhenyouspeakbeforeagroup，therearewaysoforganizingyourpresentationthatcanhelpthelistenerbeclearandunderstandyourmainpoints．

Theorganizationofyourtalkshouldallowenoughtimeforthelistenertothinkbothbeforeandaftereachnewidea．Thepurposeofthetimebeforethenewinformationistogivetheaudienceachancetounderstandthebackgroundclearly．Knowledgeofthebackground，orsettingoftheinformation，makesitmucheasiertoanticipatewhatkindofinformationiscomingnext．Ifthenewinformationoccurstooearly，withoutenoughbackground，thelistenersshouldnotbepreparedwithenoughbackgroundtobeabletopredictwhat'scoming．

I'vebeendescribingthetimeforthinkingbeforethenewinformation．It'salsoimportanttoprovidetimeforthinkingafterthenewinformation．Thisthinkingtimeallowslistenerstofittheideaintotheirgeneralknowledgeofthesubject．Thinkingtimegivesthelistenerachancetomakesurethattheideawasunderstoodbeforegoingontothenextnewidea．

Therearethreegeneralwaystogivethelistenertimeforthinkingandtimeafterapointofnewinformation．Onewayissimplytopause．Amomentofsilencegivesthelistenertimetotakeinthenewinformation，butthereareotherways．Asecondmethodistouseaparaphrase．Thatis，yousaythesamething，butindifferentwords．Thisparaphrase，orrepetitionoftheidea，helpsthelistenerstofixthethoughtintheirmemory．Athirdwaytogivethelistenertimetothinkistousewordsthatdon'tmeanmuch．Thesearewordsthatconveynoinformation，butjustfillintime．Forinstance，youmightsaysomethinglike“asI'vebeensaying”or“andsoforth”and“andsoon”．Thatkindofexpressiondoesn'treallysayanything．It'sjustmadeofwhatwecall“fillerwords”．Thewordshavenorealmeaning．buttheydoperform.ausefulfunction．sincetheyallowthelistenertimetothink．

Insummary，then，weknowthatorallanguageshoulddeliverinformationataslowerratethanyoucanuseinwrittenlanguage．Newinformationshouldbepresentedmoregradually．Thinkingtimeshouldbeprovidedbothbeforeandaftereachimportantnewitem．Thetimebeforeistoprovideabackgroundsothatthelistenerscanhaveachancetoanticipat

10.PartA

Directions:Youwillhearatalk.Asyoulisten,answerQuestions1-10bycirclingTRUEorFALSE.YouwillhearthetalkONLYONCE.Younowhave1minutetoreadQuestions1-10.

听力原文：DoItYourselfMagazineorganizesacompetitioneverysummertoelectthe“Handymanoftheyear”.ThewinnerofthisyeariSMr．RoyMiller.aSheffieldpostman.Ajournalistandaphotographerhavecometohishouse.ThejournalistisinterviewingMr.Millerforanarticleinthemagazine.

W：Well,I'mveryimpressedbyalltheworkyou'vedoneonyourhouse,Mr.Miller.Howlonghaveyoubeenworkingonit?

M：IfirstbecameinterestedinDo-it-Yourselfseveralyearsago.Yousee,mysonPaulisdisabled.He'sinawheel-chairandIjusthadtomakealterationstothehouse.Icouldn'taffordtopayworkmentodoit.Ihadtolearntodoitmyself.

W：Hadyouhadanyexperienceinthiskindofwork?Didyouhaveanypracticalskills?

M：No.1gotafewbooksfromthelibrarybuttheydidn'thelpverymuch.SoIdecidedtogotoeveningclassessothatIcouldlearnbasiccarpentryandelectricalwiring.

W：Whatsortofchangesdidyoumaketothehouse?

M：Firstofall,practicalthingstohelpPaul.Youneverreallyrealizetheproblemshandicappedpeoplehaveuntilitattacksyourownfamily.Mostgovernmentbuildings,forexample,havestepsuptothedoor.Theydon'tplanbuildingssothatdisabledpeoplecangetinandout.Weusedtoliveinaflat,andofcourse,itwastotallyunsuitable.Justimaginetheproblemsadisabledpersonwouldhaveinyourhouse.WeneededalargerhousewithwidecorridorssothatPaulcouldgetfromoneroomtoanother.Wedidn'thavemuchmoneyandwehadtobuythisone.It'soverninetyyearsoldanditwasinaverybadstateofrepair.

W：Wheredidyoubegin?

M：Theelectrical.IcompletelyrewiredthehousesothatPaulcouldreachalltheswitches.Ihadtolowerthelightswitchesandraisethepower-points.IwentontodothewholehousesothatPaulcouldreachthingsandgowhereheneeded.

W：Whatelsedidyoudo?

M：BythetimeI'dalteredeverythingforPaul,do-it-yourselfhadbecomeahobby.Ireallyenjoyeddoingthingswithmyhands.Look,Ieveninstalledsmoke-alarms.

W：Whatwasthepurposeofthat?

M：Iwasveryworriedaboutfire.Yousee,Paulcan'tmoveveryfast.Ifittedthemsothatwewouldhaveplentyofwarningiftherewereafire.Iputinacompleteburglar-alarmsystem.Ittookweeks．Thefrontdooropensautomatically.andI'mgoingtoputadeviceonPaul'swheelchairsothathe'llbeabletoopenandcloseitwhenhewants.

W：Whatareyouworkingonnow?

M：I'vejustfinishedthekitchen.I'vedesigneditsothathecanreacheverything.NowI'mbuildinganextensionsothatPaulwillhavealargeroomonthegroundfloorwherehecanwork.

W：There'sa$10,000prize.Howareyougoingtospendit?

M：IamgoingtostartmyownbusinesssothatIcanconvertordinaryhousesfordisabledpeople.IthinkI'vebecomeanexpertonthesubject.

ThoughPaulisdisabled,hemanagedtomovearoundinthehouse.

A.RightB.Wrong

11.Withonlyagoodbookweareverylikelytofeellonely.

A.RightB.Wrong

12.PartC

Directions:Youwillhearatalk.Asyoulisten,answerthequestionsorcompletethenotesinyourtestbookletforQuestions21-30bywritingNOTMORETHANTHREEwordsinthespaceprovidedontheright.YouwillhearthetalkTWICE.

Younowhave1minutetoreadQuestions21-30.

听力原文：Inyouruniversitywork,youwillbeexpectedtogiveoralpresentationsintheform.ofreportsorsimplyintheformsofanswerstoquestions.Thereareseveralthingsyoucandotomakeyouroralpresentationsclearandeasytounderstand.

Thefundamentalpointtorealizeisthatspeechandwritingaredifferent.Ifyouwanttobebestunderstood,youcan'tsimplyreadyourwrittenreportaloud.Thebiggestdifferencebetweenspokenandwrittenlanguageisthatreaderscanlookbackovertheprintedwordswhentheydon'tunderstand.Inspokenlanguage,however,listenerscan'tgobackandcheckthewords.Theycanrelyonlyonmemory.Sothefirstprincipletokeepinmindwhenyou'replanningtospeakinpublicisthatyouhavetohelpthelistener'smemory.Thismeansthatanoralreportcan'tdeliverinformationasrapidlyasawrittenreport.Thatis,youcan'thaveasmanypiecesofnewinformationpackedintothesamenumberofwords,becausetheywillcomeattoofastarateforthelistenertounderstand.

Inanoralreport,therateofdeliveryhastobeslower.Oneofthebestwaystohelpyouraudienceissimplytospeakslowly.Manypeoplespeaktoofastwhentheyspeaktoagroup.Thisisamistake,especiallyifyouhaveaforeignaccent,becauseitmakeslisteningmoredifficult.Beyondthesimpletechniqueofspeakingmoreslowlywhenyouspeakbeforeagroup,therearewaysoforganizingyourpresentationthatcanhelpthelistenerbeclearandunderstandyourmainpoints.

Theorganizationofyourtalkshouldallowenoughtimeforthelistenertothinkbothbeforeandaftereachnewidea.Thepurposeofthetimebeforethenewinformationistogivetheaudienceachancetounderstandthebackgroundclearly.Knowledgeofthebackground,orsettingoftheinformation,makesitmucheasiertoanticipatewhatkindofinformationiscomingnext.Ifthenewinformationoccurstooearly,withoutenoughbackground,thelistenersshouldnotbepreparedwithenoughbackgroundtobeabletopredictwhat'scoming.

I'vebeendescribingthetimeforthinkingbeforethenewinformation.It'salsoimportanttoprovidetimeforthinkingafterthenewinformation.Thisthinkingtimeallowslistenerstofittheideaintotheirgeneralknowledgeofthesubject.Thinkingtimegivesthelistenerachancetomakesurethattheideawasunderstoodbeforegoingontothenextnewidea.

Therearethreegeneralwaystogivethelistenertimeforthinkingandtimeafterapointofnewinformation.Onewayissimplytopause.Amomentofsilencegivesthelistenertimetotakeinthenewinformation,butthereareotherways.Asecondmethodistouseaparaphrase.Thatis,yousaythesamething,butindifferentwords.Thisparaphrase,orrepetitionoftheidea,helpsthelistenerstofixthethoughtintheirmemory.Athirdwaytogivethelistenertimetothinkistousewordsthatdon'tmeanmuch.Thesearewordsthatconveynoinformation,butjustfillintime.Forinstance,youmightsaysomethinglike"asI'vebeensaying"or"andsoforth"and"andsoon".Thatkindofexpressiondoesn'treallysayanything.It'sjustmadeofwhatwecall"fillerwords".Thewordshavenorealmeaning,buttheydoperform.ausefulfunction,sincetheyallowthelistenertimetothink.

Insummary,then,weknowthatorallanguageshoulddeliverinformationataslowerratethanyoucanuseinwrittenlanguage.Newinformationshouldbe:presentedmoregradually.Thinkingtimeshouldbeprovidedbothbeforeandaftereachimportantnewitem.Th

13.Whydoesthespeakersuggestwerisewithayawnandstretch?

A.Becauseitwillhelpkeepyourenergyfortheday'swork.

B.Becauseitwillhelpyoutocontrolyourtemperearlyintheday.

C.Becauseitwillhelpyoutoconcentrateonyourroutinework.

D.Becauseitwillkeepyourenergycycleundercontrolallday.

14.Strokesmaysometimesdestroyallofthemirrorimage.

A.RightB.Wrong

15.MrMillerenjoysdoingthingswithhisownhands.

A.RightB.Wrong

二、2.UseofEnglish(10题)16.(44)

17.

【C13】

18.

【C7】

19.

【C3】

20.(35)

21.(47)

22.(43)

23.(40)

24.RecentsurveysshowthatJapaneseyouthhavebecomea"MeGeneration"thatrejectstraditionalvalues.

"Around1980manyJapanese,【C1】______youngpeopleabandonedthevaluesofeconomicsuccessandbegan【C2】______fornewsetsofvaluesto【C3】______themhappiness,"writessociologistYasuhiroinComparativeCivilizationsReview.Japaneseyouthareplacingmoreimportanceontheindividual'spursuitof【C4】______andlessonthevaluesofwork,family,andsociety.

Japanesestudentsseemtobelosingpatiencewithwork,【C5】______theircounterpartsintheUnitedStatesandKorea.Ina1993【C6】______ofcollegestudentsinthethreecountries,only10%oftheJapaneseregarded【C7】______asaprimaryvaluecomparedwith47%ofKoreanstudentsand27%ofAmericanstudents.Agreater【C8】______ofJapaneseaged18—24alsopreferredeasyjobs【C9】______heavyresponsibility.

TheyoungerJapaneseareshowinglessconcernforfamilyvaluesastheypursueaninnerworldofprivatesatisfaction.Datacollected【C10】______theJapanesegovernmentin1993showsthatonly23%ofJapaneseyoutharethinkingaboutsupportingtheiragedparents,incontrast【C11】______63%ofyoungAmericans.Itappearsthatmanyyounger-generationJapaneseare【C12】______bothrespectfortheirparents【C13】______asenseofresponsibilitytothefamily.AuthorYoshizakiattributesthechange【C14】______Japaneseparents!over-indulgenceoftheirchildren,materialaffluence,andgrowing【C15】______forprivatematters.

Theshift【C16】______individualismamongJapaneseismostpronouncedamong【C17】______veryyoung.Accordingto1991data【C18】______theBunkaCenterofJapan,50%ofJapaneseyouthaged16—19canbelabeled"self-centered"comparedwith33%among【C19】______aged25-29.Toearntheself-centeredlabel,theyoungpeoplerespondedpositivelyto【C20】______ideasas"Iwouldliketomakedecisionswithoutconsideringtraditionalvalues"and"Idon'twanttodoanythingIcan'tenjoydoing."

【C1】

25.

【C6】

三、3.ReadingComprehension(15题)26.(78)

27.(76)

28.(67)

29.PaulStraussmann,retiredvicepresidentofXerox,,indicatesinhisbookInformationPay-offthat"almosthalfoftheU.S.informationworkersareinexecutive,managerial,administrativeandprofessionalpositions."Hefurtherstatesthat"managersandprofessionalsspendmorethanhalfoftheirtimeincommunicatingwitheachother."

Inotherwords,peopleareacorporation'smostexpensiveresource.Foratypicaloffice,over90percentoftheoperatingbudgetisforsalaries,benefitsandoverhead.Withthisinvestment,isitanywonderthatmanagersarefocusingmoreandmoreattentiononemployeeproductivity?Theyrealizethatthepaperjunglecannotbetamedsimplybyhiringmorepeople.Toreceiveareturnontheirinvestment,wisecorporateexecutiveofficersarerealizingwhatindustrialistsandagriculturistslearnedlongago--efficienttoolsareessentialforincreasedproductivity.

Adirectrelationshipexistsbetweenefficientflowofinformationandthequalityandspeedoftheoutputoftheendproduct.Forthosecompaniesusingtechnology,theperdocumentcostofinformationprocessingisonlyafractionofwhatitwasafewyearsago.Thedecreasingcostofcomputersandperipherals(equipmenttiedtothecomputer)willcontinuetomaketechnologyacost-effectivetoolinthefuture.AnexampleofthistypeofsavingisillustratedinthecaseoftheWesternDivisionofGeneralTelephoneandElectronicsCompany(GTE).Bymakingaone-timeinvestmentof$10milliontoautomateitsfacilities,managementestimatesanannualsavingof$8.5millionforthecompany.Thissavingsisgainedmainlythroughtheeliminationofsupportpeopleonceneededforproposalprojects.Throughatelecommunicationsnetworkthatsupports150computerterminalswithgoodgraphicscapabilities,theengineerswhoconceptualizetheprojectsarenowdirectparticipants.Theyusethegraphicscapacitiesofthecomputerratherthanrelyondrafterstopreparedrawings,theyentertheirowntextratherthanemploytypists,andtheyusethenetworktotrackprojectprogressratherthanconductingmeetings.

Inthefirstparagraph,theauthorquotesStraussmann'swordsinordertomakeclear

A.theimportanceofcommunicativecapabilityinbusiness

B.theneedforpeopleofhigherpositionsinacompany

C.theimportanceofassigningpeopletoproperpositions

D.thenecessityforpeopleinhigherpositionstoknowinformationscience

30.(79)

31.PartA

Directions:ReadthefollowingtextsandanswerthequestionswhichaccompanythembychoosingA,B,CorD.MarkyouranswersonANSWERSHEET1.

TodayTVaudiencesallovertheworldareaccustomedtothesightofAmericanastronautsintip-topcondition,withfairhair,crew-cuts,goodteeth,anuncomplicatedsenseofhumourandaseverelylimitednon-technicalvocabulary.

Whatmarksoutanastronautfromhisearthboundfellowhumanbeingsissomethingofadifficultproblem.Shouldyouwishtointerviewhim,youmustapplybeforehand,andyoumustbepreparedforalongishwait,evenifyourapplicationmeetswithsuccess.Itis,inanycase,outofthequestiontointerviewanastronautabouthisfamilylifeorpersonalactivities,becausealltheastronautshavecontractswithanAmericanmagazineunderconditionsforbiddinganyunauthorizeddisclosuresabouttheirprivatelives.

Certainobviousqualitiesareneeded.Anyonewhowouldbeaspacemanmustbeinperfecthealth,musthavepowersofconcentration(sinceworkinsideaspacecraftisexceptionallydemanding)andmusthaveconsiderablecourage.Again,space-workcallsfordedication.Courageanddedicationareparticularlyessential.Inthewell-knowncaseoftheChallengersevencrewmemberslosttheirlivesinspacebecauseofthefaultyequipmentintheshuttle.Anothermustbeoutstandingscientificexpertise.Itgoeswithoutsayingthattheyallhavetohaveprofessionalaeronauticalqualificationsandexperience.

Astrikingfeatureoftheastronautsistheirages.Fortheyoungerman,inhistwenties,say,spaceisout.OnlyoneofthefiftymenworkingforNASAin1970wasunder30.TheoldestastronauttodateisAlanShepard,America'sfirstmaninspace,who,atnearlyfifty,wasalsothemanwhocaptainedApollo13.Theaverageageisthelatethirties.ThecrewmembersofApollo11wereallbornwellbeforetheSecondWorldWar.In1986theChallengerastronautshadanaverageageof39.Therangewasfrom35to46.

Inasocietywheremaritalcontinuityisnotalwaysexhibited,theastronauts'recordinthisrespecthitsyouintheeye.OfallthemarriedmeninNASAgroup,onlytwoorthreearedivorcedfromtheirwives.Mindyou,itishardtotellwhethersomethinginthebasiccharacterofanastronautencouragesfidelityorwhethertheselectionprocessdemandsthatacandidateshouldbehappilymarried.

TheNASAastronautsliveinunattractivesmallcommunitiesdottedhereandtherearoundthebaseinTexas.Youwouldexpectthemtofindtheirfriendsfromamongtheirprofessionalassociates,butthisisnotthecase.Rather,theyprefertomakefriendswiththenormalfolkintheirdistricts.Astronauts,likeeverybodyelse,mustgetfedupwithtalkingshopallthetime,andwhereastheyareindeedanelite,theirdailylifeoutsideworkshouldbeasnormalaspossible,ifonlyforthesakeoftheirfamilies.

Asfortheastronauts'politicalleanings,theyseemtobetowardstheright.Thismaybeduetothefactthatalargeproportionoftheastronautshaveamilitarybackground.Ontheotherhand,itcouldbejustcoincidence.

Detailsoftheprivatelifeofanastronautarehardtocomeby,becausetheyare______.

A.hisownbusinessandprivacy

B.secretsasfarasinterviewsareconcerned

C.thepropertyofanAmericanmagazine

D.thefirst-ratenationalconfidentialinformation

32.(70)

33.Insuranceissupposedtoprovideprotectionagainstfinancialrisks,andwhiledyingtoosoonisonemajorriskweface,anotherriskmoreandmorepeoplefearisoutlivingtheirmoney.Asaresult,agrowingarrayoflifeinsuranceproductsmakeitpossibletoprotectagainstbothofthoserisks.

Inmanyoftoday'slifeinsuranceproducts,MacDonaldnotes,"Thedeathbenefitportionreallyhasbecomeacommoditytypeproduct,soifsomeoneisreallyconcernedaboutthefinancialimpactofdyingyoung,thentheycangetaprettygooddealbybuyingterminsuranceonacommoditybasis—findthecheapestpolicyandbuyit."But,hesays,"Theothersideofthecoinisthatinsurancecompanieshavedevelopedproductsthatcanbeverycreative,andverycompetitivetootheralternatives,includinginvestments.Theycanfillaveryimportantroleinanyoverallinvestmentplan."

Diverseanduniversalpoliciesofferpeoplechoicesinhowmuchtheywanttoputintotheirpoliciesandhowtheywanttheirfundsinvested.Thesefundscanthenbetappedlaterontoprovidealumpsumforpurchasingaretirementhomeorastreamofretirementincome.Lifeinsuranceisanattractiveinvestmentvehicle,becausethe"insidebuildup",theaccumulationoffundsinsideapolicystructrue,isnotsubjecttotaxes,incontrasttootherpersonalinvestments.

However,MacDonaldandotherswarnagainstusinginsurancepoliciespurelyasaninvestment.Whiletherearetaxadvantages,therearealsothecostsconnectedwiththeinsurancecoverage,andifyoudon'tneedthatcoveragethesecanbeexpensivewaystoinvest.

Moreover,MacDonaldnotesthatsomecompaniesareofferinginsurancethathasacriticalillnessorlong-termcarebenefit.Thesepoliciesspecifythatifsomeonesuffersaheartattack,forexample,theywillget25%ofthefaceamountoftheinsurancepolicyimmediatelyratherthanatdeath.Oriftheymustbeconfinedtoanursinghome,theywillbeabletouseuptothefaceamountofthepolicytopaythenursinghomecosts.

Amidtheproliferationofinsuranceproduct,MacDonaldsays,"Thepositivesideofitistherearebetterproducts—they'recheaperandmoreflexible.Thenegativesideisthatit'smorecomplicatedandeasiertomakeamistake.Inthepast,itwasplainvanilla;everybodywassellingthesameproductandeverybodyhadtofindanagenttheyliked.Nowtherehasbeensignificantchangesinproductstructureanddesign,andbenefits,andsoitisworthwhiletoshoparound."

Thepurposeofinsuranceisto______.

A.giveyoumoneywheneveryouneed

B.protectyoufromfinancialrisks

C.savemoney

D.outlivemoney

34.Theideaofafishbeingabletoproduceelectricitystrongenoughtolightlampbulbs—oreventorunasmallelectricmotor—isalmostunbelievable,butseveralkindsoffishareabletodothis.Evenmorestrangely,thiscuriouspowerhasbeenacquiredindifferentwaysbyfishbelongingtoverydifferentfamilies.

Perhapsthemostknownaretheelectricrays,ortorpedoes,of