1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 37及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and the five extracts about companies. Which extract (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement (1-8) refer to? For each statement (1-8), mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E) on your Answer Sheet. You will need to use some of these letter
2、s more than once. A Separate Legal Entity A unique feature of a company is that, no matter how many individuals have bought shares in it, it is treated in its dealings with the outside world as if it was a person in its own right. It is said to be a separate legal entity. Just as the law can create
3、this separate legal person, the law also can eliminate it, but its existence can only be terminated by using the proper legal procedures. Thus, the identity of the shareholders in a large concern may be changing constantly as shares are bought and sold by different people. On the other hand, a small
4、 private company may have the same shareholders from the date it is incorporated (the day it legally came into being), until the date when liquidation is completed (the cessation of the company, often known as “winding up“ or being “wound up“). A prime example of its identity as a separate legal ent
5、ity is that it may sue its own shareholders, or in turn be sued by them. B Limited Liability Most companies are “limited“ companies. This means that any shareholder who has paid for the share(s) which he has bought cannot be forced to pay more money into the company if, for example, it is making los
6、ses or has gone into liquidation. Thus, the maximum amount of money any shareholder can lose by investing in a company is the amount he has invested. Unlike in sole traders or partnerships a shareholder in a limited company cannot be forced to sell his own property to pay the debts of the business.
7、If a shareholder has not paid in full for the shares he has agreed to buy, he can be forced to pay the balance owing on the shares. Once he has paid that amount he cannot be forced to pay any further amount. Thus, his liability is limited. C Company Directors The day-to-day management of a company i
8、s not carried out by the shareholders. Shareholders can normally attend, and vote at, general meetings of their company. At one of these meetings the shareholders will vote for directors, the people to whom the running of the company is entrusted. At each Annual General Meeting (AGM) the directors h
9、ave to report to the shareholders. They write a directors report and this is accompanied by a set of final accounts for the year. If there is a change in the directors of a company, for example, a new director being appointed or an existing director resigning, this change must be notified to the Com
10、panies Office within fourteen days of the change. The board of directors (usually known simply as “the board“) is the term used to mean all of the directors. D The Company Secretary The company secretary must, among other things, attend all board meetings, consult with the chief executive on the age
11、nda and keep a record of the minutes of board meetings and general meetings of the shareholders. It is normally the company secretary who makes returns to the Companies Office including notifying the Registrar of changes in the companys board, auditors, registered office etc. The company secretary i
12、s usually an individual although many companies pay firms of accountants to undertake this role. E Share Capital and Dividends A shareholder in a limited company obtains his reward for investing in the form of a share of the profits made by the company, known as a dividend. The directors decide how
13、much of the profits is to be retained in the company and used for expansion. Out of the remaining profits they propose the payment of a certain amount of dividend. The shareholders cannot propose a dividend for themselves higher than that already proposed by the directors. They can, however, propose
14、 that a lesser dividend should be paid, although this action is very rare. If the directors propose that no dividend should be paid, then the shareholders are powerless to alter the decision. The decision by the directors as to the amount proposed as dividends is a very complex one and such matters
15、as the effect of taxation, the availability of bank balances to pay the dividends, the possibility of take-over bids and so on will all be taken into consideration. 1 No matter how many individuals have bought shares in it, it is treated in its dealings with the outside world as if it was a person i
16、n its own right. 2 The shareholders cannot propose a dividend for themselves higher than that already proposed by the directors. 3 The identity of the shareholders in a large concern may be changing constantly as shares are bought and sold by different people. 4 It is normally the company secretary
17、who makes returns to the Companies Office. 5 The shareholders will vote for directors, the people to whom the running of the business is entrusted. 6 Limited company means that any shareholder who has paid for the shares which he has bought cannot be forced to pay more money into the company. 7 They
18、 write a directors report and this is accompanied by a set of final accounts for the year. 8 If a shareholder has not paid in full for the shares he has agreed to buy, he can be forced to pay the balance owing on the shares. 二、 PART TWO 8 Read the text taken from a business magazine Choose the best
19、sentence to fill each of the gaps For each gap(9-14)， mark one letter(A-H)on your Answer Sheet Do not use any letter more than once Inflation “ Inflation“ is the term used to describe a rise in the general price level of goods and services Note that individual price increase， for example， due to sea
20、sonal shortages offood， is not classified as inflation There are theree situations which can result in inflation. The first is the one in which the demand for goods and services(and the money available to purchase them) exceeds the supply available There may be a large supply ofmoney available for o
21、ne or more of several reasons： because government spending isrelatively high； or because credit is easily available； or because people have relatively highdisposable income(e.g.incomes after tax plus transfers， such as childrens allowances) When customers want to spend money on goods and services， b
22、ut there are not enough ofthem to meet the demand， prices rise accordingly (9) The second situation which causes inflation is the one in which production costs are rising Production costs include raw materials， energy， and wages When workers find they cannot afford the goods and services they need o
23、wing to the fact that prices are too high， they seek wage increases： sometimes increased production costs are absorbed in increased productivity or a reduction in profits so that they are not passed on in higher prices More usually， however， they are not and， hence， prices rise (10) These two causes
24、 of inflation are often interrelated so that the one situation leads to the other which in turn leads to a recurrence of the first situation (11) A third cause of inflation may be government policy A government can regulate prices by changing its tax policy Governments can affect the level of prices
25、 by controlling or regulating them， or by reducing taxes on goods and services and，accordingly， keeping prices down Alternately， if a government does not regulate prices or if it imposes higher taxes(such as VAT)， it may push prices up Governments also occasionally attempt to control the level of wa
26、ge increases and， hence， keep those production costs down Lastly， as mentioned earlier， some people think that higher prices are often due to high government spending (12) . First， because the real value of money tends to decline， lenders of money， such as banks， are less willing to lend or are will
27、ing to do so only at higher interest rates This makes borrowing more expensive， and thus may cause prices to rise even further，owing to the increased cost of borrowing Second， there are many groups of people whose incomes are fixed or whose incomes tend to rise slowly and infrequently (13) Old age p
28、ensioners are examples of one of these groups Third， when people see the value of money being eroded， they are less willing to save Accordingly， there is less money available for investment in the new equipment which is frequently necessary if productivity is to increase (14) Consequently， prices co
29、ntinue to rise A It is easy to get loans or buy things on credit B This is often referred to as“ costpush inflation“ C Inflation has several consequences， all of which are bad D There are three situations which can result in inflation E This is often referred to as“ demand-pull inflation“ F In a per
30、iod of inflation the living standards of these people fall and， as a result，they suffer hardship G This chain of cause and effect is called an“ inflationary spiral“ H It may be more difficult， therefore， to absorb increased production costs 三、 PART THREE 14 Read the following article and the questio
31、ns For each question(15-20)， mark one letter(A， B， C or D)on your Answer Sheet “ Harmonization“ is a process of increasing the compatibility of accounting practices by setting limits on how much they vary Harmonized standards are free of logical conflicts， and should improve the comparability of fin
32、ancial information from different countries Efforts to harmonize accounting standards began even before the creation of the International Accounting Standards Committee(IASC)in 1973 International accounting harmonization now is one of the most important issues facing securities regulators，stock exch
33、anges， and those who prepare or use financial statements Harmonization and standardization are sometimes used interchangeably But there is still a difference between them Standardization normally means the imposition of a rigid and narrow set of rules， and may even apply a single standard or rule to
34、 a11 situations Besides， standardization does not accommodate national differences and，therefore， is more difficult to implement internationally Whereas harmonization is much more flexible and open It does not take a one-size-fits-all approach， but accommodates national differences and has made a gr
35、eat of progress internationally in recent years However， within accounting!these two words have almost become technical terms， and one cannot depend on the normal difference in their meanings “ Harmonization“ is a word that tends to be associated with the transnational legislation originating from t
36、he European Union while“ standardization“ is a word that is often associated with the International Accounting Standard Committee The reasons that make national accounting standards desirable also apply internationally Generally speaking， the reasons for harmonization are as follows： (1)It is import
37、ant and necessary for investors and financial analysts to understand the financial statements of foreign companies whose shares they might wish to buy They hope to make it quite sure that statements from different countries are reliable and comparable， or at least to be clear about the nature and ma
38、gnitude of the differences Besides， they also need confidence in the soundness of the auditing (2)The advantages of harmonization are very important for MNEs because the great effort of financial accountants to prepare and consolidate financial statements would be much simplified if statements from
39、all over the globe were prepared according to the same standards Besides， it would be much easier to prepare comparable internal information for the appraisal of the performance of subsidiaries in different countries Whats more， many aspects of investment appraisal， performance evaluation， and other
40、 decision-making uses of management accounting information would benefit from harmonization Above all， the cOSt of capital should be reduced by reducing the risk for investors if accounting can be made more comparable and reliable (3)International accountancy firms can benefit from harmonization The
41、y are in favour of harmonization because it is good for their lots of clients (4)Governments in developing countries might find it easier to comprehend and control the operations of MNEs if financial reporting were harmonized The most fundamental of obstacles to harmonization is the size of the pres
42、ent differences between the accounting practices of different countries In previous Section 8.5some main differences concerned with international accounting are discussed Besides， there are several significant differences within the equity class， let alone between that class and the other These diff
43、erences go to the root of the reasons for the preparation of accounting information Further， the differences between shareholder/fair view presentation and creditor/tax/conservative presentation is an obstacle that is very hard to be overcome without major changes in attitudes and laws There is anot
44、her obstacle： in some countries there are no strong professional accountancy bodies This means any body such as IASC， which seeks to operate through the private sector。 will not be effective in all countries Besides， a worldwide enforcement agency is also lacking there Another problem is nationalism
45、 Some countries are not willing to accept compromises that involve changing their accounting practices towards those of other countries Still another difficulty is the effect of “ economic consequences“ on accounting standards To the extent that economic consequences of standards vary by country and
46、 to the extent that they are taken into account by those who set standards， this could be a force for deharmonization The International Accounting Standards Board(IASB)， formerly the International Accounting Standards Committee(IASC)， is an independent private sector standards-setting body founded i
47、n 1973 by professional accounting organizations in nine countries and restructured in 2001 Before the restructuring， the IASC issued 41 International Accounting Standards(IAS)and a Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements The International Accounting Standards Board has
48、 been working for the last 30 years to develop a comprehensive set of high-quality accounting standards that can be used to bring uniformity in financial reporting around the world These standards are already officially accepted in many countries， and are used by an increasing number of major global
49、 corporations The European Commission has proposed that by 2005， all EU companies listed on a regulated market should be required to prepare consolidated accounts in accordance with IAS Furthermore， other international organizations such as the Basle Committee， the G7， the World Bank， the World Trade Organization，and the International Monetary Fund have expressed support for international accounting harmonization and for the work of the IAS
