2001年Passage 3
Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their newspapers? The American Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to answer this painful question. The organization is deepsintosa long self-analysis known as the journalism credibility project.
Sad to say, this project has turned out to be mostly low-level findings about factual errors and spelling and grammar mistakes, combined with lots of head-scratching puzzlement about what in the world those readers really want.
But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to see the world through a set of standard templates (patterns)sintoswhich they plug each day’s events. In other words, there is a conventional story line in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a ready-made narrative structure for otherwise confusing news.
There exists a social and cultural disconnect between journalists and their readers, which helps explain why the "standard templates" of the newsroom seem alien to many readers. In a recent survey, questionnaires were sent to reporters in five middle-size cities around the country, plus one large metropolitan area. Then residents in these communities were phoned at random and asked the same questions.
Replies show that compared with other Americans, journalists are more likely to live in upscale neighborhoods, have maids, own Mercedeses, and trade stocks, and they’re less likely to go to church, do volunteer work, or put down roots in a community.
Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural elite, so their work tends to reflect the conventional values of this elite. The astonishing distrust of the news media isn’t rooted in inaccuracy or poor reportorial skills but in the daily clash of world views between reporters and their readers.
This is an explosive situation for any industry, particularly a declining one. Here is a troubled business that keeps hiring employees whose attitudes vastly annoy the customers. Then it sponsors lots of symposiums and a credibility project dedicated to wondering why customers are annoyed and fleeing in large numbers. But it never seems to get around to noticing the cultural and class biases that so many former buyers are complaining about. If it did, it would open up its diversity program, now focused narrowly on race and gender, and look for reporters who differ broadly by outlook, values, education, and class.
60. The results of the journalism credibility project turned out to be .
[A] quite trustworthy
[B] somewhat contradictory
[C] very illuminating
[D] rather superficial
[答案] D
[解題思路]
本題對應信息為文章第二段"But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to see the world through a set of standard templates (patterns)sintoswhich they plug each day’s events. In other words, there is a conventional story line in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a ready-made narrative structure for otherwise confusing news"（遺憾的是，這次新聞機構可信度調(diào)查項目的結果只獲得了一些膚淺的發(fā)現(xiàn)，諸如新聞報道中的事實錯誤，拼寫或語法錯誤，和這些低層次發(fā)現(xiàn)交織在一起的還有許多令人困惑的問題，譬如讀者到底想讀到些什么），low-level正好對應于D選項的superficial，較為容易判斷正確答案。
[題目譯文]
新聞可信度調(diào)查的結果是
[A] 非?？煽?BR> [B] 有些矛盾
[C] 非常有啟發(fā)性
[D] 相當膚淺
61. The basic problem of journalists as pointed out by the writer lies in their .
[A] working attitude
[B] conventional lifestyle
[C] world outlook
[D] educational background
[答案] C
[解題思路]
本題對應信息為文章第五段，作者認為記者們很大程度上是社會精英的一部分，反映了精英們的傳統(tǒng)價值觀。因而"The astonishing distrust of the news media isn’t rooted in inaccuracy or poor reportorial skills but in the daily clash of world views between reporters and their readers"（讀者對新聞媒體那種震驚的不信任感的根源并非是報道失實或低下的報道技巧，而是記者與讀者的世界觀每天都發(fā)生著碰撞），因此記者的主要問題在于他們的世界觀與普通讀者不同，world view對應于C選項的world outlook，答案顯而易見。
[題目譯文]
作者指出記者們的最根本問題在于他們的
[A] 工作態(tài)度
[B] 傳統(tǒng)的生活方式
[C] 世界觀
[D] 教育背景
62. Despite its efforts, the newspaper industry still cannot satisfy the readers owing to its .
[A] failure to realize its real problem
[B] tendency to hire annoying reporters
[C] likeliness to do inaccurate reporting
[D] prejudice in matters of race and gender
[答案] A
[解題思路]
本題的對應信息在文章的最后一段，該段說盡管新聞界花了很大努力去探討原因，但是正如第四句指出的"But it never seems to get around to noticing the cultural and class biases that so many former buyers are complaining about"（但新聞界似乎從來就沒回過頭來去注意以前那么多顧客所抱怨的文化和階級偏見），即他們還沒有意識到問題的本質(zhì)，因此正確答案為A選項。
[題目譯文]
報業(yè)盡管付出了努力，但仍然無法滿足讀者的原因在于它
[A] 沒有認識到自己真正的問題
[B] 傾向于雇傭令人討厭的記者
[C] 更容易寫出不確切的報道
[D] 在種族和性別問題上的偏見 2001年Passage 4
The world is going through the biggest wave of mergers and acquisitions ever witnessed. The process sweeps from hyperactive America to Europe and reaches the emerging countries with unsurpassed might. Many in these countries are looking at this process and worrying: Won’t the wave of business concentration turn into an uncontrollable anti-competitive force?
There’s no question that the big are getting bigger and more powerful. Multinational corporations accounted for less than 20% of international trade in 1982. Today the figure is more than 25% and growing rapidly. International affiliates account for a fast-growing segment of production in economies that open up and welcome foreign investment. In Argentina, for instance, after the reforms of the early 1990s, multinationals went from 43% to almost 70% of the industrial production of the 200 largest firms. This phenomenon has created serious concerns over the role of smaller economic firms, of national businessmen and over the ultimate stability of the world economy.
I believe that the most important forces behind the massive M&A wave are the same that underlie the globalization process: falling transportation and communication costs, lower trade and investment barriers and enlarged markets that require enlarged operations capable of meeting customers’ demands. All these are beneficial, not detrimental, to consumers. As productivity grows, the world’s wealth increases.
Examples of benefits or costs of the current concentration wave are scanty. Yet it is hard to imagine that the merger of a few oil firms today could re-create the same threats to competition that were feared nearly a century ago in the US, when the Standard Oil trust was broken up. The mergers of telecom companies, such as World Com, hardly seem to bring higher prices for consumers or a reduction in the pace of technical progress. On the contrary, the price of communications is coming down fast. In cars, too, concentration is increasing-witness Daimler and Chrysler, Renault and Nissan-but it does not appear that consumers are being hurt.
Yet the fact remains that the merger movement must be watched. A few weeks ago, Alan Greenspan warned against the megamergers in the banking industry. Who is going to supervise, regulate and operate as lender of last resort with the gigantic banks that are being created? Won’t multinationals shift production from one place to another when a nation gets too strict about infringements to fair competition? And should one country take upon itself the role of defending competition on issues that affect many other nations, as in the US vs. Microsoft case?
63. What is the typical trend of businesses today?
[A] To take in more foreign funds.
[B] To invest more abroad.
[C] To combine and become bigger.
[D] To trade with more countries.
[答案] C
[解題思路]
本題的對應信息為開篇第一句，即"The world is going through the biggest wave of mergers and acquisitions ever witnessed"（世界正在經(jīng)歷一場前所未有的巨大的并購浪潮），選項中只有C符合mergers and acquisition的意思，因此正確答案為B。其他三個選項均不是本文討論的主要話題。
[題目譯文]
當今商業(yè)界的典型趨勢是什么？
[A] 吸收更多外資
[B] 更多投資國外
[C] 合并以擴大規(guī)模
[D] 與更多國家進行貿(mào)易往來
64. According to the author, one of the driving forces behind M&A wave is ________.
[A] the greater customer demands
[B] a surplus supply for the market
[C] a growing productivity
[D] the increase of the world’s wealth
[答案] A
[解題思路]
本題的對應信息在文章第三段的第一句話"I believe that the most important forces behind the massive M&A wave are the same that underlie the globalization process: falling transportation and communication costs, lower trade and investment barriers and enlarged markets that require enlarged operations capable of meeting customers’ demands"（我認為，推動這股巨大的并購浪潮的最主要力量，也是推動全球化進程的力量，包括日趨下降的運輸與通訊費用，減少的貿(mào)易與投資壁壘，以及市場的擴大和為滿足市場需求而進行的生產(chǎn)擴大。所有這些對消費者來說都有益而無害的），這個長句的最后指出了并購的主要目的在于"meeting customers’ demands"，說明不斷增長的需求是主要動力，因此A為正確答案。而B、C、D選項在原文中都沒有具體提及。
[題目譯文]
根據(jù)本文作者，并購浪潮的主要動力是
[A] 消費者需求的擴大
[B] 市場供應的過剩
[C] 持續(xù)增長的生產(chǎn)力
[D] 世界財富的增長 2001年Passage 5
When I decided to quit my full time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend. A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress prompted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming "I wanted to spend more time with my family".
Curiously, some two-and-a-half years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term "downshifting" has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality. I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of "having it all", preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the page of She magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything.
I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build up of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative move into "downshifting" brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status. Nothing could persuade me to return to the kind of life Kelsey used to advocate and I once enjoyed: 12 hour working days, pressured deadlines, the fearful strain of office politics and the limitations of being a parent on "quality time".
In America, the move away from juggling to a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle is a well-established trend. Downshifting-also known in America as "voluntary simplicity"-has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might be termed anti-consumerism. There are a number of best-selling downshifting self-help books for people who want to simplify their lives; there are newsletters, such as The Tightwad Gazette, that give hundreds of thousands of Americans useful tips on anything from recycling their cling-film to making their own soap; there are even support groups for those who want to achieve the mid-’90s equivalent of dropping out.
While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economy decline-after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late’80s-and is still linked to the politics of thrift, in Britain, at least among the middle-class down-shifters of my acquaintance, we have different reasons for seeking to simplify our lives.
For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the’80s,downshifting in the mid-’90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life-growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one-as a personal recognition of your limitations.
67．Which of the following is true according to paragraph 1?
[A] Full-time employment is a new international trend.
[B] The writer was compelled by circumstances to leave her job.
[C] "A lateral move" means stepping out of full-time employment.
[D] The writer was only too eager to spend more time with her family.
[答案] B
[解題思路]
本題可以將選項的說法語原文進行一一比較。A選項對應于文章的文章第一句話"When I decided to quit my full time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend"（當決定辭去自己的全職工作時，我決沒有想到自己會成為國際新潮流的一分子），可見A選項的意思正好與原文相反，即放慢生活節(jié)奏、而非全職工作才是國際潮流。C選項"a lateral move"是作者"stepping out of full-tine employment"的原因，選項將二者等同起來是錯誤的。D選項對應于第一段最后一句話"in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming "I wanted to spend more time with my family""（當然，就像面子掃盡的政府部長那樣，我也掩飾說"我只想與家人更多的呆在一起"），說明這只是作者辭職的托詞，并不是真心實意，因此D選項也是錯誤的。B選項對應于該段第二句"A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress prompted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although"（一次平級的人事調(diào)動傷了我的自尊心，并且阻礙了我的事業(yè)發(fā)展，這促使我放棄原來那個地位較高的職業(yè)），可見辭職是由于工作環(huán)境所迫，因此正確答案為B。
[題目譯文]
下面哪一項符合文章第一段的意思？
[A] 全職工作是一種新的國際潮流。
[B] 作者由于環(huán)境所迫而離職。
[C] "橫向調(diào)動"意味著要離開全職工作
[D] 作者只是想花耕讀哦的時間陪伴她的家人
68．The writer’s experiment shows that downshifting _________.
[A] enables her to realize her dream
[B] helps her mold a new philosophy of life
[C] prompts her to abandon her high social status
[D] leads her to accept the doctrine of [WTBX]she magazine
[答案] B
[解題思路]
本題對應信息在文章第二段第二句"I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of "having it all", preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the page of She magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything"（我已從一個"獲得一切"哲學（琳達·凱茜過去七年中在《她》這本雜志所宣揚的）的狂熱支持者，變成了一個對一切淺嘗輒止就心滿意足的女人），也就是放慢生活節(jié)奏后她形成了新的生活哲學，因此B選項符合題意。A選項的錯誤在于downshifting原本不是作者的夢想。C選項的內(nèi)容與downshifting無關。而D選項的表述正好與原文相反。
[題目譯文]
作者的實驗表明"放慢生活節(jié)奏"
[A] 使她實現(xiàn)了夢想
[B] 幫她形成了一種新的生活哲學
[C] 促使她放棄了很高的社會地位
[D] 使她接受了《她》雜志的教條
70．According to the passage, downshifting emerged in the U.S. as a result of _________.
[A]the quick pace of modern life
[B]man’s adventurous spirit
[C]man’s search for mythical experiences
[D]the economic situation
[答案] D
[解題思路]
本題對應信息在文章第五段的前半句話"While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economy decline-after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late’80s-and is still linked to the politics of thrift"（在美國，這種趨勢一開始是對經(jīng)濟衰落所做出的一種反應--出現(xiàn)于80年代后期縮小經(jīng)濟規(guī)模所引起的大量裁員之后--現(xiàn)在仍與節(jié)儉的觀點密切相連），因此最重要的還是經(jīng)濟因素，正確答案為D選項。A、B、C選項在文中都沒有提及。
[題目譯文]
本文認為放慢生活節(jié)奏現(xiàn)象在美國的出現(xiàn)是由于
[A] 現(xiàn)代生活的快節(jié)奏
[B] 人們的冒險精神
[C] 人們對于神話般經(jīng)歷的追求
[D] 經(jīng)濟形勢 2002年Text 1
If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems. Your humor must be relevant to the audience and should help to show them that you are one of them or that you understand their situation and are in sympathy with their point of view. Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different. If you are talking to a group of managers, you may refer to the disorganized methods of their secretaries; alternatively if you are addressing secretaries, you may want to comment on their disorganized bosses.
Here is an example, which I heard at a nurses’ convention, of a story which works well because the audience all shared the same view of doctors. A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St. Peter. He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on. Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself. "Who is that?" the new arrival asked St. Peter. "On, that’s God," came the reply, "but sometimes he thinks he’s a doctor."
If you are part of the group which you are addressing, you will be in a position to know the experiences and problems which are common to all of you and it’ll be appropriate for you to make a passing remark about the inedible canteen food or the chairman’s notorious bad taste in ties. With other audiences you mustn’t attempt to cut in with humor as they will resent an outsider making disparaging remarks about their canteen or their chairman. You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system.
If you feel awkward being humorous, you must practice so that it becomes more natural. Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff remarks which you can deliver in a relaxed and unforced manner. Often it’s the delivery which causes the audience to smile, so speak slowly and remember that a raised eyebrow or an unbelieving look may help to show that you are making a light-hearted remark.
Look for the humor. It often comes from the unexpected. A twist on a familiar quote "If at first you don’t succeed, give up" or a play on words or on a situation. Search for exaggeration and understatements. Look at your talk and pickout a few words or sentences which you can turn about and inject with humor.
41. To make your humor work, you should .
[A] take advantage of different kinds of audience.
[B] make fun of the disorganized people.
[C] address different problems to different people.
[D] show sympathy for your listeners.
[答案] C
[解題思路]
本題對應信息在第一段第三句話"Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different"（根據(jù)與你談話對象的不同，問題也應有所不同），因此正確答案為C。要注意address這個詞在原文和選項中的用法是不同的：原文中address s[B]意思是"對某人講話"，而選項中address problems是"處理問題"的意思。A選項中的"take advantage of"的意思是"利用"，與原文意思相左。B選項的"make fun of"與原文第一段中第四句話的refer to, comment on意思不同，原文并沒有取消的意思。而D選項中的show sympathy of（同情）與原文中的be in sympathy with（贊同、支持）的意思也不同，因此這三項都可以排除。
[題目譯文]
要想使你的幽默取得效果，你應該 。
[A] 利用不同的聽眾
[B] 取笑那些做事雜亂無章的人
[C] 對不同的人談論不同的問題
[D] 對聽者表示同情
42. The joke about doctors implies that, in the eyes of nurses, they are .
[A] impolite to new arrivals.
[B] very conscious of their godlike role.
[C] entitled to some privileges.
[D] very busy even during lunch hours.
[答案] B
[解題思路]
關于醫(yī)生的這則笑話出現(xiàn)在文章第二段的最后一句："On, that’s God," came the reply, "but sometimes he thinks he’s a doctor."（"哦，那是上帝，"他回答說，"但有時他也覺得自己是一名醫(yī)生。"）反言之，這說明護士們?nèi)⌒Φ氖轻t(yī)生們總是把自己看成是上帝，很顯然B是正確選項。A和D選項都是對故事牽強附會的理解，而C選項則屬于無中生有。
[題目譯文]
關于醫(yī)生的這則笑話說明了，在護士的眼中，醫(yī)生們
[A] 對新來者不禮貌
[B] 清楚地意識到自己的角色像上帝
[C] 被賦予某些特權
[D] 在午餐時間都非常忙
44. To achieve the desired result, humorous stories should be delivered.
[A] in well-worded language.
[B] as awkwardly as possible.
[C] in exaggerated statements.
[D] as casually as possible.
[答案] D
[解題思路]
文章的第四段第二句話中提到"Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff remarks"（你可以用輕松的、不做作的方式說一些很隨便的、看上去是即興的話），也就是說，要達到幽默的效果，風格一定要隨意和自然，不要做作，因此D選項符合文章的意思。A、B選項顯然與原文的意思相反，可以排除。至于C選項，盡管文章最后一段提到了exaggeration，但是原文的意思是幽默的內(nèi)容可以是一些夸張的說法，但不是只表達幽默的風格。
[題目譯文]
要想取得預期的效果，講幽默故事的時候應該
[A] 用精心組織的語言
[B] 盡可能顯得蹩腳
[C] 用夸張的語言
[D] 盡量顯得隨意
Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their newspapers? The American Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to answer this painful question. The organization is deepsintosa long self-analysis known as the journalism credibility project.
Sad to say, this project has turned out to be mostly low-level findings about factual errors and spelling and grammar mistakes, combined with lots of head-scratching puzzlement about what in the world those readers really want.
But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to see the world through a set of standard templates (patterns)sintoswhich they plug each day’s events. In other words, there is a conventional story line in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a ready-made narrative structure for otherwise confusing news.
There exists a social and cultural disconnect between journalists and their readers, which helps explain why the "standard templates" of the newsroom seem alien to many readers. In a recent survey, questionnaires were sent to reporters in five middle-size cities around the country, plus one large metropolitan area. Then residents in these communities were phoned at random and asked the same questions.
Replies show that compared with other Americans, journalists are more likely to live in upscale neighborhoods, have maids, own Mercedeses, and trade stocks, and they’re less likely to go to church, do volunteer work, or put down roots in a community.
Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural elite, so their work tends to reflect the conventional values of this elite. The astonishing distrust of the news media isn’t rooted in inaccuracy or poor reportorial skills but in the daily clash of world views between reporters and their readers.
This is an explosive situation for any industry, particularly a declining one. Here is a troubled business that keeps hiring employees whose attitudes vastly annoy the customers. Then it sponsors lots of symposiums and a credibility project dedicated to wondering why customers are annoyed and fleeing in large numbers. But it never seems to get around to noticing the cultural and class biases that so many former buyers are complaining about. If it did, it would open up its diversity program, now focused narrowly on race and gender, and look for reporters who differ broadly by outlook, values, education, and class.
60. The results of the journalism credibility project turned out to be .
[A] quite trustworthy
[B] somewhat contradictory
[C] very illuminating
[D] rather superficial
[答案] D
[解題思路]
本題對應信息為文章第二段"But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to see the world through a set of standard templates (patterns)sintoswhich they plug each day’s events. In other words, there is a conventional story line in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a ready-made narrative structure for otherwise confusing news"（遺憾的是，這次新聞機構可信度調(diào)查項目的結果只獲得了一些膚淺的發(fā)現(xiàn)，諸如新聞報道中的事實錯誤，拼寫或語法錯誤，和這些低層次發(fā)現(xiàn)交織在一起的還有許多令人困惑的問題，譬如讀者到底想讀到些什么），low-level正好對應于D選項的superficial，較為容易判斷正確答案。
[題目譯文]
新聞可信度調(diào)查的結果是
[A] 非?？煽?BR> [B] 有些矛盾
[C] 非常有啟發(fā)性
[D] 相當膚淺
61. The basic problem of journalists as pointed out by the writer lies in their .
[A] working attitude
[B] conventional lifestyle
[C] world outlook
[D] educational background
[答案] C
[解題思路]
本題對應信息為文章第五段，作者認為記者們很大程度上是社會精英的一部分，反映了精英們的傳統(tǒng)價值觀。因而"The astonishing distrust of the news media isn’t rooted in inaccuracy or poor reportorial skills but in the daily clash of world views between reporters and their readers"（讀者對新聞媒體那種震驚的不信任感的根源并非是報道失實或低下的報道技巧，而是記者與讀者的世界觀每天都發(fā)生著碰撞），因此記者的主要問題在于他們的世界觀與普通讀者不同，world view對應于C選項的world outlook，答案顯而易見。
[題目譯文]
作者指出記者們的最根本問題在于他們的
[A] 工作態(tài)度
[B] 傳統(tǒng)的生活方式
[C] 世界觀
[D] 教育背景
62. Despite its efforts, the newspaper industry still cannot satisfy the readers owing to its .
[A] failure to realize its real problem
[B] tendency to hire annoying reporters
[C] likeliness to do inaccurate reporting
[D] prejudice in matters of race and gender
[答案] A
[解題思路]
本題的對應信息在文章的最后一段，該段說盡管新聞界花了很大努力去探討原因，但是正如第四句指出的"But it never seems to get around to noticing the cultural and class biases that so many former buyers are complaining about"（但新聞界似乎從來就沒回過頭來去注意以前那么多顧客所抱怨的文化和階級偏見），即他們還沒有意識到問題的本質(zhì)，因此正確答案為A選項。
[題目譯文]
報業(yè)盡管付出了努力，但仍然無法滿足讀者的原因在于它
[A] 沒有認識到自己真正的問題
[B] 傾向于雇傭令人討厭的記者
[C] 更容易寫出不確切的報道
[D] 在種族和性別問題上的偏見 2001年Passage 4
The world is going through the biggest wave of mergers and acquisitions ever witnessed. The process sweeps from hyperactive America to Europe and reaches the emerging countries with unsurpassed might. Many in these countries are looking at this process and worrying: Won’t the wave of business concentration turn into an uncontrollable anti-competitive force?
There’s no question that the big are getting bigger and more powerful. Multinational corporations accounted for less than 20% of international trade in 1982. Today the figure is more than 25% and growing rapidly. International affiliates account for a fast-growing segment of production in economies that open up and welcome foreign investment. In Argentina, for instance, after the reforms of the early 1990s, multinationals went from 43% to almost 70% of the industrial production of the 200 largest firms. This phenomenon has created serious concerns over the role of smaller economic firms, of national businessmen and over the ultimate stability of the world economy.
I believe that the most important forces behind the massive M&A wave are the same that underlie the globalization process: falling transportation and communication costs, lower trade and investment barriers and enlarged markets that require enlarged operations capable of meeting customers’ demands. All these are beneficial, not detrimental, to consumers. As productivity grows, the world’s wealth increases.
Examples of benefits or costs of the current concentration wave are scanty. Yet it is hard to imagine that the merger of a few oil firms today could re-create the same threats to competition that were feared nearly a century ago in the US, when the Standard Oil trust was broken up. The mergers of telecom companies, such as World Com, hardly seem to bring higher prices for consumers or a reduction in the pace of technical progress. On the contrary, the price of communications is coming down fast. In cars, too, concentration is increasing-witness Daimler and Chrysler, Renault and Nissan-but it does not appear that consumers are being hurt.
Yet the fact remains that the merger movement must be watched. A few weeks ago, Alan Greenspan warned against the megamergers in the banking industry. Who is going to supervise, regulate and operate as lender of last resort with the gigantic banks that are being created? Won’t multinationals shift production from one place to another when a nation gets too strict about infringements to fair competition? And should one country take upon itself the role of defending competition on issues that affect many other nations, as in the US vs. Microsoft case?
63. What is the typical trend of businesses today?
[A] To take in more foreign funds.
[B] To invest more abroad.
[C] To combine and become bigger.
[D] To trade with more countries.
[答案] C
[解題思路]
本題的對應信息為開篇第一句，即"The world is going through the biggest wave of mergers and acquisitions ever witnessed"（世界正在經(jīng)歷一場前所未有的巨大的并購浪潮），選項中只有C符合mergers and acquisition的意思，因此正確答案為B。其他三個選項均不是本文討論的主要話題。
[題目譯文]
當今商業(yè)界的典型趨勢是什么？
[A] 吸收更多外資
[B] 更多投資國外
[C] 合并以擴大規(guī)模
[D] 與更多國家進行貿(mào)易往來
64. According to the author, one of the driving forces behind M&A wave is ________.
[A] the greater customer demands
[B] a surplus supply for the market
[C] a growing productivity
[D] the increase of the world’s wealth
[答案] A
[解題思路]
本題的對應信息在文章第三段的第一句話"I believe that the most important forces behind the massive M&A wave are the same that underlie the globalization process: falling transportation and communication costs, lower trade and investment barriers and enlarged markets that require enlarged operations capable of meeting customers’ demands"（我認為，推動這股巨大的并購浪潮的最主要力量，也是推動全球化進程的力量，包括日趨下降的運輸與通訊費用，減少的貿(mào)易與投資壁壘，以及市場的擴大和為滿足市場需求而進行的生產(chǎn)擴大。所有這些對消費者來說都有益而無害的），這個長句的最后指出了并購的主要目的在于"meeting customers’ demands"，說明不斷增長的需求是主要動力，因此A為正確答案。而B、C、D選項在原文中都沒有具體提及。
[題目譯文]
根據(jù)本文作者，并購浪潮的主要動力是
[A] 消費者需求的擴大
[B] 市場供應的過剩
[C] 持續(xù)增長的生產(chǎn)力
[D] 世界財富的增長 2001年Passage 5
When I decided to quit my full time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend. A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress prompted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming "I wanted to spend more time with my family".
Curiously, some two-and-a-half years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term "downshifting" has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality. I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of "having it all", preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the page of She magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything.
I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build up of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative move into "downshifting" brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status. Nothing could persuade me to return to the kind of life Kelsey used to advocate and I once enjoyed: 12 hour working days, pressured deadlines, the fearful strain of office politics and the limitations of being a parent on "quality time".
In America, the move away from juggling to a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle is a well-established trend. Downshifting-also known in America as "voluntary simplicity"-has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might be termed anti-consumerism. There are a number of best-selling downshifting self-help books for people who want to simplify their lives; there are newsletters, such as The Tightwad Gazette, that give hundreds of thousands of Americans useful tips on anything from recycling their cling-film to making their own soap; there are even support groups for those who want to achieve the mid-’90s equivalent of dropping out.
While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economy decline-after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late’80s-and is still linked to the politics of thrift, in Britain, at least among the middle-class down-shifters of my acquaintance, we have different reasons for seeking to simplify our lives.
For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the’80s,downshifting in the mid-’90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life-growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one-as a personal recognition of your limitations.
67．Which of the following is true according to paragraph 1?
[A] Full-time employment is a new international trend.
[B] The writer was compelled by circumstances to leave her job.
[C] "A lateral move" means stepping out of full-time employment.
[D] The writer was only too eager to spend more time with her family.
[答案] B
[解題思路]
本題可以將選項的說法語原文進行一一比較。A選項對應于文章的文章第一句話"When I decided to quit my full time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend"（當決定辭去自己的全職工作時，我決沒有想到自己會成為國際新潮流的一分子），可見A選項的意思正好與原文相反，即放慢生活節(jié)奏、而非全職工作才是國際潮流。C選項"a lateral move"是作者"stepping out of full-tine employment"的原因，選項將二者等同起來是錯誤的。D選項對應于第一段最后一句話"in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming "I wanted to spend more time with my family""（當然，就像面子掃盡的政府部長那樣，我也掩飾說"我只想與家人更多的呆在一起"），說明這只是作者辭職的托詞，并不是真心實意，因此D選項也是錯誤的。B選項對應于該段第二句"A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress prompted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although"（一次平級的人事調(diào)動傷了我的自尊心，并且阻礙了我的事業(yè)發(fā)展，這促使我放棄原來那個地位較高的職業(yè)），可見辭職是由于工作環(huán)境所迫，因此正確答案為B。
[題目譯文]
下面哪一項符合文章第一段的意思？
[A] 全職工作是一種新的國際潮流。
[B] 作者由于環(huán)境所迫而離職。
[C] "橫向調(diào)動"意味著要離開全職工作
[D] 作者只是想花耕讀哦的時間陪伴她的家人
68．The writer’s experiment shows that downshifting _________.
[A] enables her to realize her dream
[B] helps her mold a new philosophy of life
[C] prompts her to abandon her high social status
[D] leads her to accept the doctrine of [WTBX]she magazine
[答案] B
[解題思路]
本題對應信息在文章第二段第二句"I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of "having it all", preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the page of She magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything"（我已從一個"獲得一切"哲學（琳達·凱茜過去七年中在《她》這本雜志所宣揚的）的狂熱支持者，變成了一個對一切淺嘗輒止就心滿意足的女人），也就是放慢生活節(jié)奏后她形成了新的生活哲學，因此B選項符合題意。A選項的錯誤在于downshifting原本不是作者的夢想。C選項的內(nèi)容與downshifting無關。而D選項的表述正好與原文相反。
[題目譯文]
作者的實驗表明"放慢生活節(jié)奏"
[A] 使她實現(xiàn)了夢想
[B] 幫她形成了一種新的生活哲學
[C] 促使她放棄了很高的社會地位
[D] 使她接受了《她》雜志的教條
70．According to the passage, downshifting emerged in the U.S. as a result of _________.
[A]the quick pace of modern life
[B]man’s adventurous spirit
[C]man’s search for mythical experiences
[D]the economic situation
[答案] D
[解題思路]
本題對應信息在文章第五段的前半句話"While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economy decline-after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late’80s-and is still linked to the politics of thrift"（在美國，這種趨勢一開始是對經(jīng)濟衰落所做出的一種反應--出現(xiàn)于80年代后期縮小經(jīng)濟規(guī)模所引起的大量裁員之后--現(xiàn)在仍與節(jié)儉的觀點密切相連），因此最重要的還是經(jīng)濟因素，正確答案為D選項。A、B、C選項在文中都沒有提及。
[題目譯文]
本文認為放慢生活節(jié)奏現(xiàn)象在美國的出現(xiàn)是由于
[A] 現(xiàn)代生活的快節(jié)奏
[B] 人們的冒險精神
[C] 人們對于神話般經(jīng)歷的追求
[D] 經(jīng)濟形勢 2002年Text 1
If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems. Your humor must be relevant to the audience and should help to show them that you are one of them or that you understand their situation and are in sympathy with their point of view. Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different. If you are talking to a group of managers, you may refer to the disorganized methods of their secretaries; alternatively if you are addressing secretaries, you may want to comment on their disorganized bosses.
Here is an example, which I heard at a nurses’ convention, of a story which works well because the audience all shared the same view of doctors. A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St. Peter. He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on. Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself. "Who is that?" the new arrival asked St. Peter. "On, that’s God," came the reply, "but sometimes he thinks he’s a doctor."
If you are part of the group which you are addressing, you will be in a position to know the experiences and problems which are common to all of you and it’ll be appropriate for you to make a passing remark about the inedible canteen food or the chairman’s notorious bad taste in ties. With other audiences you mustn’t attempt to cut in with humor as they will resent an outsider making disparaging remarks about their canteen or their chairman. You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system.
If you feel awkward being humorous, you must practice so that it becomes more natural. Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff remarks which you can deliver in a relaxed and unforced manner. Often it’s the delivery which causes the audience to smile, so speak slowly and remember that a raised eyebrow or an unbelieving look may help to show that you are making a light-hearted remark.
Look for the humor. It often comes from the unexpected. A twist on a familiar quote "If at first you don’t succeed, give up" or a play on words or on a situation. Search for exaggeration and understatements. Look at your talk and pickout a few words or sentences which you can turn about and inject with humor.
41. To make your humor work, you should .
[A] take advantage of different kinds of audience.
[B] make fun of the disorganized people.
[C] address different problems to different people.
[D] show sympathy for your listeners.
[答案] C
[解題思路]
本題對應信息在第一段第三句話"Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different"（根據(jù)與你談話對象的不同，問題也應有所不同），因此正確答案為C。要注意address這個詞在原文和選項中的用法是不同的：原文中address s[B]意思是"對某人講話"，而選項中address problems是"處理問題"的意思。A選項中的"take advantage of"的意思是"利用"，與原文意思相左。B選項的"make fun of"與原文第一段中第四句話的refer to, comment on意思不同，原文并沒有取消的意思。而D選項中的show sympathy of（同情）與原文中的be in sympathy with（贊同、支持）的意思也不同，因此這三項都可以排除。
[題目譯文]
要想使你的幽默取得效果，你應該 。
[A] 利用不同的聽眾
[B] 取笑那些做事雜亂無章的人
[C] 對不同的人談論不同的問題
[D] 對聽者表示同情
42. The joke about doctors implies that, in the eyes of nurses, they are .
[A] impolite to new arrivals.
[B] very conscious of their godlike role.
[C] entitled to some privileges.
[D] very busy even during lunch hours.
[答案] B
[解題思路]
關于醫(yī)生的這則笑話出現(xiàn)在文章第二段的最后一句："On, that’s God," came the reply, "but sometimes he thinks he’s a doctor."（"哦，那是上帝，"他回答說，"但有時他也覺得自己是一名醫(yī)生。"）反言之，這說明護士們?nèi)⌒Φ氖轻t(yī)生們總是把自己看成是上帝，很顯然B是正確選項。A和D選項都是對故事牽強附會的理解，而C選項則屬于無中生有。
[題目譯文]
關于醫(yī)生的這則笑話說明了，在護士的眼中，醫(yī)生們
[A] 對新來者不禮貌
[B] 清楚地意識到自己的角色像上帝
[C] 被賦予某些特權
[D] 在午餐時間都非常忙
44. To achieve the desired result, humorous stories should be delivered.
[A] in well-worded language.
[B] as awkwardly as possible.
[C] in exaggerated statements.
[D] as casually as possible.
[答案] D
[解題思路]
文章的第四段第二句話中提到"Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff remarks"（你可以用輕松的、不做作的方式說一些很隨便的、看上去是即興的話），也就是說，要達到幽默的效果，風格一定要隨意和自然，不要做作，因此D選項符合文章的意思。A、B選項顯然與原文的意思相反，可以排除。至于C選項，盡管文章最后一段提到了exaggeration，但是原文的意思是幽默的內(nèi)容可以是一些夸張的說法，但不是只表達幽默的風格。
[題目譯文]
要想取得預期的效果，講幽默故事的時候應該
[A] 用精心組織的語言
[B] 盡可能顯得蹩腳
[C] 用夸張的語言
[D] 盡量顯得隨意