1、考博英语-221 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Translation(总题数：5，分数：100.00)As Apple prepares to report what (analysts project) may be the company“s first year-over-year quarterly earnings decline in a decade on Tuesday, it is also grappling with jittery investors and a recent share-price plunge that has wipe
2、d about $280 billion off its market capitalization since its stock reached a high of $702.10 last September. 1 Much of the investor nervousness is rooted in how Wall Street is treating and valuing the Cupertino, Calif., company as a traditional hardware maker. One camp of analysts and some investors
3、 said there is strong evidence that Apple should be viewed in a different light: as a software-hardware hybrid. The distinction matters. If it continues to be seen as a hardware business, Apple“s streakdriven by products like the iPhone and iPadcould run out quickly as smartphones and tablets get co
4、mmoditized and consumer tastes change. 2 It is a lesson learned by companies like BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd., whose tech hardware was quickly eclipsed by products from Apple itself. If Apple is classified as a software-hardware hybrid, the company could be valued more like Internet and
5、 software makers that have recurring revenue streams and that often trade at higher price-to-earnings ratios than hardware firms. “The market views Apple as a consumer hardware company tied to product cycles that drive volatile revenue and earnings streams,“ says Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty.
6、 3 But that view isn“t complete, she says, since “Apple customers buy into a brand that offers ease of use similar to companies like A or enterprise companies like NetApp.“ An Apple spokesman declined to comment ahead of Tuesday“s earning report. With Wall Street categorizing Apple as a hardware mak
7、er, investors value the company-which made an astounding $13 billion in profits in the quarter ended in Decemberat 8.6 times expected earnings per share for the next 12 months. Investors are currently valuing Hewlett-Packard Co., which made $1.2 billion in profits during its most recent quarter, at
8、a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.6. Troubled PC maker Dell Inc., whose stock price inflated after signing a buyout deal earlier this year, trades at a P/E ratio of 8.5. Apple“s gross margins are around 40%, an important-measure of the company“s efficiency at making money. That is roughly twice as high
9、 as H-P“s and Dell“s. Apple has characteristics that differ from many other hardware businesses. 4 Its customers often upgrade their Apple products annually, far more frequently than the four-gear PC upgrade cycles typically found at tech hardware businesses including Hewlett-Packard or Dell. While
10、H-P and Dell have tried beefing up the enterprise software side of their business, Apple“s operating system and iTunes software is already ubiquitous. 5 Apple also has more than 500 million accounts for its App Store tied to credit cardsand a customer base to sell new services togiving it a recurrin
11、g software and services revenue stream. Apple took in revenue of $3.7 billion from iTunes and other software and services in its last quarter, or 7% of its total revenue.（分数：20.00）_6 Against the backdrop of the relative decline of Britain, whose GDP has slipped to the seventh place in the world, Lon
12、don is doing very well, being first or second to New York in most of the rankings of great cities. 7 London“s success over the past quarter-century has been the consequence of historical accident and good policy, which attracted smart professionals and the rich from all around the world. 8 They are
13、not only better-qualified, younger and harder-working, but also brought in the flow of foreign money to London. Therefore, the author claims that London lives off foreigners. However, Britain does not much like foreigners. 9 British people, especially those who are not Londoners are pressuring their
14、 government to cut immigration and restrict students“right to work, which the author thinks is going to mar London“s brilliance and speed London and Britain“s relative decline. 10 Though London“s moment will inevitably pass because of the emerging market elsewhere. There are still a lot of things th
15、at London can do to slow down the process, such as investing in transportation. The least that it should is to discourage foreigners from coming, the author concludes.（分数：20.00）_Mary Barra made history last year when she became the first woman to lead the development of new ears and trucks at Genera
16、l Motors, the world“s largest automaker. In January, Virginia Rometty took over as CEO of IBM, the first woman to head the technology giant in its 101-year history. 11 These milestones in male-dominated industries are raising new questions about women“s advancement in the workplace. Does the glass c
17、eiling still exist, or is it an outdated metaphor that fails to acknowledge the progress women have made? 12 Nearly three decades after the introduction of the glass ceiling metaphor, many women say the glass ceiling is very much intact, pointing to the data that show women last year held just 14 pe
18、rcent of all executive officer positions at Fortune 500 companies. But others disagree, citing advances made by women in recent years. And some contend that the glass ceiling should be replaced by a different metaphor. When asked if a glass ceiling still exists for women, Barra said, “I don“t think
19、so. I“ve never seen it or felt it in my career. “She acknowledged the small percentage of women in top executive positions but said she expects the situation will improve, noting that“it“s just a matter of time.“ Linda Carli, a psychology professor at Wellesley College and an expert on genderdiscrim
20、ination, sees things differently. 13 She said women still face major workplace hurdles, but she wouldn“t describe them as a glass ceiling. She thinks a labyrinth is a better metaphor. 14 “There are women getting to very high places, and yet the rest of us are still floundering,“ Carli said. 15 No ma
21、tter where you stand on the issue of a glass ceiling, there“s no denying that women are underrepresented in the top ranks of corporate America.（分数：20.00）_Do today“s kids make terrible entry-level workers? 16 That“s a question much on employers“ minds as graduation season kicks off and young adults b
22、egin their first full-time jobs. We“ve all heard the stories: assistants who won“t “assist“, new workers who can“t set an alarm, employees who can“t grasp institutional hierarchies. Bosses who toiled in the pre-Self Esteem Era salt mines have little patience for these upstarts. 17 A popular advice c
23、olumnist had some choice words last week for a young employee who dismissively waved her sandwich at a superior requesting back-up during a critical meeting. The young woman explained that she was on her lunch break. Moreover, she noted, being “errand girl“ wasn“t in her job description. It“s easy t
24、o laugh off these anecdotes, but there are some complex reasons for the lack of familiarity with work norms. 18 For one thing, many twenty-something adults have never held a menial summer job, once considered training wheels for adult life in the American middle class. It was once common to see teen
25、agers mowing lawns, waiting tables, digging ditches, and bagging groceries for modest wages in the long summer months. 19 Summer employment was a social equalizer, allowing both rich and financially strapped teenagers to gain a foothold on adulthood, learning the virtues of hard work, respect and te
26、amwork in a relatively low-stakes atmosphere. But youth employment has declined precipitously over the years and young people are losing a chance to develop these important life skills in the process. 20 Teenagers and twenty-somethings are the least skilled members of the work force, so it“s not sur
27、prising that they would be edged out in a recession by more reliable full-time workers.（分数：20.00）_21 Ever since its creation over 40 years ago, the Internet has remained a predominantly unrestricted place. It is a place where anyone can present themselves in any form they choose, but what happens wh
28、en your digital identity begins to merge with your real-world identity? Are those who choose to hide their real names in danger of losing anonymity online? 22 Such is the power of anonymity on the web that it has made it possible for peoplesome of whom might normally be restricted from communicating
29、 with the outside worldto speak out without fearing the repercussions of their actions. Actions that could put them in danger if carried out using their real names. Concealing one“s true identity online has made it possible for flee speech to break through the physical barriers enforced by governmen
30、ts and dictatorships across the world. 23 Being anonymous on the web also makes it possible for people to discuss sensitive subjects, such as medical conditions, physical abuse and sexual orientation, without these actions affecting their everyday lives in a negative or potentially harmful way. Ther
31、e are many positive ways to use anonymity on the web, but there can sometimes be very destructive side effects too, such as bullying, racism, impersonation of an individual or individuals who believe they are unidentifiable. 24 When this kind of damaging activity is carried out online, how can the o
32、ffender ever be held accountable for their actions when they are almost entirely untraceable in a virtual world? 25 A lot of the time they simply cannot be identified and therefore cannot be held accountable, the offending individual hides behind a pseudonym, masking his or her true identity and pro
33、tecting themselves from the repercussions of their actions. This all sounds very complicated to achieve, but in reality it“s as simple as setting up an email address, creating an online profile under a false name and carrying out malicious acts from a random, nondescript location.（分数：20.00）_考博英语-221
34、 答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Translation(总题数：5，分数：100.00)As Apple prepares to report what (analysts project) may be the company“s first year-over-year quarterly earnings decline in a decade on Tuesday, it is also grappling with jittery investors and a recent share-price plunge that has wiped about $
35、280 billion off its market capitalization since its stock reached a high of $702.10 last September. 1 Much of the investor nervousness is rooted in how Wall Street is treating and valuing the Cupertino, Calif., company as a traditional hardware maker. One camp of analysts and some investors said the
36、re is strong evidence that Apple should be viewed in a different light: as a software-hardware hybrid. The distinction matters. If it continues to be seen as a hardware business, Apple“s streakdriven by products like the iPhone and iPadcould run out quickly as smartphones and tablets get commoditize
37、d and consumer tastes change. 2 It is a lesson learned by companies like BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd., whose tech hardware was quickly eclipsed by products from Apple itself. If Apple is classified as a software-hardware hybrid, the company could be valued more like Internet and software
38、 makers that have recurring revenue streams and that often trade at higher price-to-earnings ratios than hardware firms. “The market views Apple as a consumer hardware company tied to product cycles that drive volatile revenue and earnings streams,“ says Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. 3 But th
39、at view isn“t complete, she says, since “Apple customers buy into a brand that offers ease of use similar to companies like A or enterprise companies like NetApp.“ An Apple spokesman declined to comment ahead of Tuesday“s earning report. With Wall Street categorizing Apple as a hardware maker, inves
40、tors value the company-which made an astounding $13 billion in profits in the quarter ended in Decemberat 8.6 times expected earnings per share for the next 12 months. Investors are currently valuing Hewlett-Packard Co., which made $1.2 billion in profits during its most recent quarter, at a price-t
41、o-earnings ratio of 5.6. Troubled PC maker Dell Inc., whose stock price inflated after signing a buyout deal earlier this year, trades at a P/E ratio of 8.5. Apple“s gross margins are around 40%, an important-measure of the company“s efficiency at making money. That is roughly twice as high as H-P“s
42、 and Dell“s. Apple has characteristics that differ from many other hardware businesses. 4 Its customers often upgrade their Apple products annually, far more frequently than the four-gear PC upgrade cycles typically found at tech hardware businesses including Hewlett-Packard or Dell. While H-P and Dell have tried beefing up the enterprise software side of their business, Apple“s operating system and iTunes software is alrea
