1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 40及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 Look at the statements below and at the five extracts about taxes 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 letters more tha
2、n once A Flat Tax Income tax is a direct tax which is levied on the income of private individuals There are various income tax systems that exist ranging frOm a flat tax to an extensive progressive tax systern A flat tax， also cal led a proportional tax， is a system that taxes Usual ly the flat tax
3、is proposed to k ick in at a certain income level， or to exempt income below that level，so that the lowest-income members of society dont need to pay income tax Proposed flat taxes usually allow little or no exemption of earned income besides the bottom-level exemption Advocates of a flat tax claim
4、that it will end unfair discrimination They also argue that flat taxes are easier(and cheaper)to administer and comply with than complex，graduated taxes Most political parties that advocate the introduction of a flat tax are on the right of the pol itical spectrum B Progressive Tax A progressive tax
5、， or graduated tax， is a tax that is larger as a percentage of income for those with larger incomes It is usually applied in reference to income taxes， where people with more income pay a higher percentage of it in taxes The term progressive refers to the way the rate progresses from low to high C R
6、egressive Tax A regressive tax is a tax which takes a larger percentage of income from people whose income is low A tax which places placesonately more of a burden on those with lower incomes Regressive taxes， as opposed to progressive taxes， are more burdensome on lower-income individuals than on h
7、igher-income individuals and corporations D Tax Deduction Within the United Statesincome tax system， a tax deduction， or“ tax-deductible expense“ ， is an item which is subtracted from gross income in order to arrive at the taxable income Effectively， the taxpayer pays no income tax on the amount of
8、money he spent on tax-deductible expenses For example if an individual earns$50， 000 in a year and gives $5， 000 to tax-deductible charities， he will end up paying income tax as though he had earned only$45， 000 that year In this way， the federal and state governments encourage certain types of spen
9、ding E Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion Tax avoidance is the legal exploitation of the tax regime to ones own advantage， to attempt to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law whilst making a full disclosure of the materialinformation to the tax authorities Tax evasion，
10、 on the other hand， is a crime Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability， and includes， in particular， dishonest tax reporting， such as under-declared income， profits or gains；
11、 or overstated deductions 1 In the U S if you donate 10， 000 dollars to some charity organization， you can take that sum away from your total income when you pay income tax 2 This tax forces lower-income people and corporations to earn more money， because the less you earn， the more taxes you have t
12、o pay 3 This tax system ensures that the people with the lowest income dont have to pay income tax 4 The more money you earn， the more taxes you should pay in terms of income tax 5 You would violate the law if you lie to the tax authorities about the profits that your company has earned 6 Most right
13、-wing political parties advocate this tax system 7 To the lower-income people， this tax is an obl igation hard to bear 8 Many people would try to find ways that observe the law to pay less tax， whi le at the same time they would give the tax authorities a full and true report of their income or prof
14、its 二、 PART TWO 8 Read the text below about some of Americas newspapers， which are facing extinction， unle volve Choose the best sentence from the opposite page 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 On the brink The
15、New York Times was once the best example of all that was great about American newspapers Now it symbolizes the difficult situation the whole industry is fecde with.The Grey Ladys circulation is tumbling down another 3.9%according to the latest data from Americas Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) (9
16、) . Pick almost any American newspaper company and you can tell a similar story The ABC reported that for the 530 biggest daily newspapers， average circulation in the past six months was 3.6%lower than in the same period a year earlier As for Sunday papers it was 4.6%lower Ad revenues are plunging a
17、cross the board： by 22.3%at Media General， for example In 2007 total newspaper revenues fell to$42.2 billion (10) . Much of this decline is being blamed on the rise of the internet， which offers free，round-the-clock coverage Whats more， Internet has provided a new， better home for classified adverti
18、sing， which was once the source of most newspapersrevenue (11) The number one cause is the troublesome housing market， which contributes a large slice of classified advedising Industry experts such as Lucas Rich Fine of Kent State University do not think that the Times is responding forcefully enoug
19、h (12) Mr.Fine also points out that although all newspapers are being affected by the internet， their ability to respond will probably depend on whether their audiences are national， metropolitan or local The first category can afford to invest in distinctive international or business coverage， whil
20、e the last can prosper by becomingmore intensely local But he fears that the big metropolitan newspapers may find themselves trapped in the middle Not all is lost， however (13) For instance， a number of newspapers are becominginformation and connection utilities， through such offerings as local inte
21、rnet forums The Pocono Record has renamed reporterscontent managers， since they oversee all the coverage of their beat， both in print and online， and get a bonus for higher web traffic The hero for industry optimists is Brian Tierney， a former publicrelations executive Last year， he led a group of i
22、nvestors that borrowed heavily to buy Philadelphias two main dailies (14) He is also finding new ways to drum up advertising， such as introducing a business column sponsored by a local bank A Certainly， it was not something to be sniffed at， but much less than the peak of$48.7 billion in 2000 B Howe
23、ver， some of the fall in revenues is actual-ly due to the economic slowdown in America C Its advertising revenues are down， too， 12.5% lower in March than a year earlier D He has since revived them with a vigorous marketing drive E Nevertheless， as a major newspaper， it still boasts a welleducated r
24、eadership F Plenty of innovation is taking place， particularly at local papem G Now is the time to beef up its business section， he says H Now it symbolizes the difficult situation the whole industry is faced with 三、 PART THREE 14 Read the following aicle about team work and answer the questions on
25、the opposite page For each question 15-20， mark one letter(A， B， C or D)on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose Is your group really a team? Teams are all the rage in the workplace today， and every organization speaks of the importance of teams But just because a group of people work together
26、 does not necessarily make them a team There are essential elements that identify teams， and nurturing them will help you become a good team leader Lets begin with a definition of what a team really is Teams are groups of individuals who accomplish designated objectives by working interdependenlIy，
27、communicating effectively， and making decisions that impact their day to day work So the first question to ask yourself is， How close does my team come to this definton?If it doesnt measure up to the definition， then you are not really leading a team You are probably managing a work group There is a
28、bsolutely nothing wrong with a work group A work group can achieve great results with your close supemision The idea， however， in todays changing organization and our competitive global marketplace， is to develop teams that can work autonomously without your close direction and support In a team mem
29、bers share decision-making and often build consensus， with two-way communication between manager and members There are joint work assignments and accountability on both the individual and team levels In a work group， the manager is the decision-maker， and there is a one-way， top-down pattern of comm
30、unication。 Each member has individual work assignments， and each person is held accountable and appraised by the manager. Whether you operate as a work group or a team depends on three factors Firstly，the skill and motivational level of members Skilled and motivated employees need to be able to make
31、 decisions on their own and communicate upwardly when they need to This is a model for working as a team Secondly， the nature of the work Some work situations do not call for members to make decisions together， nor is there a need for much two way communication among team members and their manager B
32、ut if there is a need for both， you have a team Thirdly， the managers belief that indMduals can work autonomously and interdependently This attitude is essential for todays workplace。 When managers do not hold this belief， they will favor the work group over the team To get a group of individuals to
33、 function as a team， it is necessary to highlight the following issues As for team members everyone of them needs to know what he or she is supposed to accomplish and how it fits in with what other team members do.And they must be allowed to make decisions that impact their work products and semices
34、 When we give people ownership over what they are doing， they perform much better Last but not least team members cannot hold back on any comments that will help the team grow and prosper As for the team leader， he or she should have the technical knowledge of what the team is doing， as well as be a
35、ble to motivate and inspire the team A qualified leader should always be ready to acknowledge team membersaccomplishment Members need ongoing reminders that their efforts are valued and appreciated so that they can sustain high levels of performance 15 Which statement concerning teams is true? （ A）
36、Nowadays teamwork is a popular concept （ B） All the companies put great emphasis on teams （ C） A good team involves close supewision of the team leader （ D） Theres nothing in common between a team and a group 16 In a team （ A） members work independently of each other （ B） members make all the decisi
37、ons together （ C） the team leader supewise the teamwork all the time （ D） members work cooperatively and communicate effectively 17 Whats not true according to the third paragraph? （ A） Good teamwork means total agreement among members （ B） The manager of a work group is the decision-maker （ C） Resp
38、onsibility is shared among team members （ D） In a group， members have separate assignments 18 Different from a work group （ A） a team includes a large group of people working together （ B） members of a team are skilled employees （ C） the Ieader of a team believes in team work （ D） team members dont
39、communicate with the leader 19 What is not mentioned in the last paragraph? （ A） Team members should be aware of the designated objectives （ B） Team members may sometimes abuse the decision-making power （ C） Team members should contribute to the development of the team （ D） Team members are entitled
40、 to make some decisions 20 According to the author， a good team leader （ A） provides timely help to eVery member （ B） execs positive influence on team membersperformance （ C） is a self-motivated person （ D） doesnt expect too much accomplishment from members 四、 PART FOUR 20 Read the article below abo
41、ut Talent Management. Choose the correct word or phrase to fill each gap from A, B, C, or D. For each question 21 30, mark one letter (A, B, C, or D) on your Answer Sheet. Targeted Talent Management Most large organizations talk about Talent Management as part of their wider (21) It is a crucial way
42、 of securing, developing and motivating people with the right skills and approaches to meet business (22) But how many of our strategic goals are fully (23) by our talented people? All too often, we find that we dont have the right people in place to fill a (24) when it appears, or we simply cant ke
43、ep (25) of the individuals we want. Even worse, talented people may simply not be operating at the (26) we require. So what can we do to (27) these missed opportunities? I believe that the biggest single challenge is achieving genuine “connectedness“ between Talent Strategy and Business Strategy. A
44、wide range of people processes often take place without a clear relationship with the (28) aims and culture of the business. Think about (29) , performance management and development-to what extent are these processes based on a clear analysis of the talents and skills that people will need to opera
45、te at the next level? To what extent do you build peoples capability and (30) . to meet the needs of the business in a few years time? It is vitally important to build a clear definition of what each organisation really means by talent throughout the organisation. The acid test is simple-do people w
46、ith these qualities deliver the kinds of business success we are aiming for? （ A） strategy （ B） opportunities （ C） approaches （ D） processes （ A） target （ B） aim （ C） objectives （ D） destination （ A） fulfilled （ B） met （ C） accomplished （ D） performed （ A） blank （ B） break （ C） space （ D） gap （ A） c
47、lutch （ B） grip （ C） grasp （ D） hold （ A） layers （ B） levels （ C） class （ D） rank （ A） snatch （ B） grip （ C） seize （ D） clutch （ A） ultimate （ B） conclusive （ C） eventual （ D） last （ A） enrollment （ B） enlistment （ C） recruitment （ D） promotion （ A） intention （ B） stimulation （ C） motive （ D） motiva
48、tion 五、 PART FIVE 30 Read the article below about The Import-Export Balance. For each question 31 40, write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet. The advantages of international trade are obvious. Trading WITH other nations can also pose problems if a countrys imports and exports do not
49、balance out, though. (31) deciding whether a balance does or does not exist, economists use two measures: balance of trade and balance of payments. The total economic value of all products imported (32) a country compared to the total economic value of all other products exported out of a country is that nations balance of
