1、BEC商务英语（高级）阅读模拟试卷 86及答案与解析 一、 PART ONE 0 A. Verizon Communications A Fortune 20 company, Verizon Communications is one of the worlds leading providers of communications services, with approximately 68 billion in annual revenues. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless co
2、mmunications in the United States. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world, as measured by directory titles and circulation. B. Adobe Founded in 1982, Adobe today is one of the worlds largest software companies, generating annual revenues exceeding US 1.2 billion. More than 3,70
3、0 employees across the world share Adobes commitment to helping people communicate better. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Adobe is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ADBE. Adobe helps people and businesses communicate better through its world-leading digital imaging, desig
4、n, and document technology platforms for consumers, creative professionals, and enterprises. C. Mainichi Shimbun “Tokyo Nichi-Nichi Shimbun,“ the Mainiehi Shimbuns predecessor, was founded on Feb. 21, 1872. In 1944, it merged with the “Osaka Mainiehi Shimbun“ to become the “Mainichi Shimbun“ of toda
5、y. It is the oldest newspaper in Japan. Over the years it has garnered a reputation among the Japanese people as a newspaper that provides unbiased reporting, poignant editorials and other information vital to a modern society. The Mainichi Shimbun has five main offices and more than 280 branch offi
6、ces and news gathering stations throughout Japan. In addition, it has over 20 bureaus around the world. These resources help to make it a leader in collecting and reporting every kind of domestic and foreign news. D. BNSF BNSF was created on September 22, 1995, from the merger of Burlington Northern
7、 Inc. and Santa Fe Pacific Corporation. The company employs about 38, 000 people. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF), through its subsidiary The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, operates one of the largest railroad networks in North A
8、merica, with 33,000 route miles covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces. This network covers the western two-thirds of the United States, stretching from major Pacific Northwest and Southern California ports to the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest, and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. E. Pru
9、dential plc Established in 1848, today Prudential plc is a leading international financial services company with some 16 million customers, policyholders and unit holders and some 20,000 employees worldwide. In the UK Prudential is a leading life and pensions provider with around seven million custo
10、mers. M G was acquired by Prudential in 1999 and is the Groups UK and European fund manager, responsible for managing over 111 billion of funds (as at December 2003). Launched by Prudential in 1998, Egg is an innovative financial services company, with over three million customers, with nearly six p
11、er cent of UK credit card balances. In Asia, Prudential is the leading European life insurer with 23 life and fund management operations in 12 countries serving some five million customers. In the US, Prudential owns Jackson National Life, a leading life insurance company, and has more than 1.5 mill
12、ion policies and contracts in force. 1 The companys headquarters is in the East. 2 The company is the leader in the field of communications services. 3 The company focuses on financial services. 4 The company is among Fortune 500. 5 The company is listed on NASDAQ Market. 6 The company makes contrib
13、ution to transportation. 7 The company enjoys a reputation in the field of journalism. 8 The company has the longest history of all. 二、 PART TWO 8 Effective Banking Supervision Effective supervision of banking organisations is an essential component of a strong economic environment in that the banki
14、ng system plays a central role in making payments and mobilising and distributing savings. The task of supervision is to ensure that banks operate in a safe and sound manner and that they hold capital and reserves sufficient to support the risks that arise in their business. Strong and effective ban
15、king supervision provides a public good that may not be fully provided in the marketplace and, along with effective macro-economic policy, is critical to financial stability in any country. While thecost of banking supervision is indeed high, the cost of poor supervision has proved to be even higher
16、. Banking supervision should foster an efficient and competitive banking system that is responsive to the publics need for good-quality financial services at a reasonable cost. Generally, it should be recognised that there is a trade-off between the level of protection that supervision provides and
17、the cost of financial intermediation. (9) Supervision cannot, and should not, provide an assurance that banks will not fail. In a market economy, failures are a part of risk-taking. (10) Such matters cannot therefore always be entirely the responsibility of banking supervisors; however, supervisors
18、should have in place adequate arrangements for resolving problem bank situations. 1. Providing sound and sustainable macro-economic policies are not within the competence of banking supervisors. Supervisors, however, will need to react if they perceive that existing policies are undermining the safe
19、ty and soundness of the banking system. (11) Therefore, sound macro-economic policies must be the foundation of a stable financial system. 2 A well-developed public infrastructure needs to cover the following facilities, which, if not adequately provided, can significantly contribute to the destabil
20、ization of financial systems: A system of business laws including corporate, bankruptcy, conttact, consumer protection and private property laws; Comprehensive and well-defined accounting principles and rules that command wide international acceptance; A system of independent audits for companies of
21、 significant size. 3 Effective market discipline depends on an adequate flow of information to market participants, appropriate financial incentives to reward well-managed institutions and arrangements that ensure that investors are not insulated from the consequences of their decisions. (12) 4 Suff
22、iciently flexible powers are necessary in order to effect an efficient resolution of problems in banks. (13) Where they are not, the prompt and orderly exit of institutions that are no longer able to meet supervisory requirements is a necessary part of an efficient financial system. Forbearance, whe
23、ther or not the result of political pressure, normally leads to worsening problems and higher resolution costs. 5 Deciding on the appropriate level of systemic protection is by and large a policy question to be taken by the relevant authorities, particularly where it may result in a commitment of pu
24、blic funds. (14) In order to preserve the operational independence of supervisors, it is important to draw a clear distinction between this systemic protection role and day-to-day supervision of solvent institutions. A In the absence of sound macro-economic policies, banking supervisors will be face
25、d with a virtually impossible task. B The way in which failures are handled, and their costs borne, is in large part a political matter involving decisions on whether, and the extent to which, public funds should be committed to supporting the banking system. C Where problems are remediable, supervi
26、sors will normally seek to identify and implement solutions that fully address their concerns. D Supervisors will also normally have a role to play because of their in-depth knowledge of the institutions involved. E The lower the tolerance of risk to banks and the financial system, the more intrusiv
27、e and costly supervision is likely to be, eventually having an adverse effect on innovation and resource allocation. F Off-site monitoring can often identify potential problems, particularly in the interval between on-site inspections. G While thecost of banking supervision is indeed high, the cost
28、of poor supervision has proved to be even higher. H Among the issues to be addressed are corporate governance and ensuring that accurate, meaningful, transparent and timely information is provided by borrowers to investors and creditors. 三、 PART THREE 14 Road the article about the European Monetary
29、Union and the questions below. For each question 15 20, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) for the answer you choose. With euro bills and coins now circulating across much of Europe, the European Monetary Union is fully in place. The post-World War European leaders dream of an economically and political
30、ly unified continent is one large step closer to realization, and membership in the monetary union could easily grow to 20 or more countries from the current 12 as the large European Union expands to the east. A fully operational European Monetary Union does not come, however, with a guarantee of su
31、ccess. There is one enormous problem: This union creates a single monetary policy for group of quite different national economies that often experience divergent business-cycle patterns. As long as business-cycle conditions differ significantly among European Monetary Union countries, there is no wa
32、y for the central banks policies to avoid creating serious problems for some members. The patterns of economic ups and downs remain far more diverse in the European Monetary Union countries, and it is not clear that this will change soon. The designers of the monetary union thought that the demand o
33、f a single monetary policy, combined with free trade a mong the members, would cause cyclical conditions to converge quickly, producing a unified group of economies. A 1997 agreement also limits the power of the individual nations in the European Monetary Union to use government spending or tax cuts
34、 to ease national downturns. They can be fined if they run budget deficits of more than 3 percent of their gross domestic products. No fines have been levied yet, but the threat is there. Even if the economies of the original European Monetary Union members become more similar in their cyclical beha
35、vior, it will take far longer for the convergence to include the new member nations expected to come in within the next 10 or 15 years. The chances for consensus on the Governing Council, however thin now, will become far more distant with more members representing divergent national economies. And
36、the larger nations, like Germany, France and Italy, might well resent the power of representatives from much smaller nations to outvote them on monetary policy. All of this does not mean that the European Monetary Union is likely to fail. But clearly the arrival of the euro as the standard currency
37、does net guarantee the unions success. 15 According to Para 1, which of the following is true? （ A） The euro has become exclusively universal currency now. （ B） The dream of a unified European union has become a reality. （ C） The European Monetary Union is affiliated to the European Onion. （ D） Ther
38、e are 20 member nations in the European Monetary Union. 16 The dilemma facing the European Monetary Union is the contradiction between _. （ A） universal policy and different economies （ B） monetary consensus and different opinions among member nations （ C） member nations serious budget deficits with
39、 the Unions restriction （ D） original member nations and new member nations 17 Which of the words below can replace the word “levied“? （ A） Collected （ B） Fined （ C） Forced （ D） Asked 18 What is the main idea of Para 4? （ A） Original European Monetary Union members have become more similar in their
40、cyclical behavior. （ B） New member nations will challenge the originals authority. （ C） Germany, France and Italy resent the joining of new nations into the European Monetary Union. （ D） There are lots of difficulties to reach consensus in monetary policy. 19 From the passage, we can infer that _. （
41、 A） all European nations are eager to become members of the European Monetary Union （ B） there is much uncertainty for the success of the euro （ C） the euro will make critical contributions to a unified European （ D） it is not a wise idea to have the euro as a standard currency in such a hurry 20 Wh
42、ich of the following can be the best title for the passage? （ A） The Importance of the European Monetary Union. （ B） The Present Situation of-the European Monetary Union. （ C） The Introduction of the European Monetary Union. （ D） What is the European Monetary Union? 四、 PART FOUR 20 Read the article
43、below about packaging and labeling.Choose the correct word 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.There is an example at the beginning, (0). Packaging and labeling are both very important to a product, as most physical produc
44、ts have, to be packaged and labeled. Both are thought to be an element of product strategy and many marketers even have called (0) B a fifth P. The main concern in designing packages for products, especially for new (21) , is true (22) industrial goods and appliances whose sales are made from displa
45、y models. From the (23) of marketing, packaging is of vital importance in sales promotion. Sales are (24) by packages that are visible, informative, emotionally appealing, and workable. Good packaging helps sell because (25) with high visibility are easier to find when they are displayed on store sh
46、elves. Design with good and useful information may help (26) customers and make them more (27) to decide to buy the goods. The (28) factor in packaging refers to the image that consumers form after viewing a product. (29) in packaging means that the container not only protects the product but is als
47、o easy to open and re-close, is readily stored, and has utility for secondary uses once the product is used up. For example, in China, some goods are packaged in a special container a real cup, which can be used as a cup after the goods within are used up. The label may be a simple tag attached to t
48、he product or an elaborate designed (30) that is part of the package. The label normally carries information about the brand name, manufacturers name and address, price, specifications, and so on.（ A） goods （ B） cargoes （ C） merchandise （ D） products （ A） with （ B） to （ C） for （ D） of （ A） perspecti
49、ve （ B） views （ C） opinion （ D） prospect （ A） very good （ B） enhanced （ C） grown up （ D） much better （ A） deliveries （ B） freights （ C） packaging （ D） items （ A） interests （ B） attract （ C） appeal （ D） find （ A） inclined （ B） inclining （ C） wanting （ D） interesting （ A） emotional （ B） subjective （ C） objective （ D） opposite （ A） contents （ B） content （ C） workability （ D） affect （ A） graphic （ B） line （ C） bar （ D） paper 五、 PART FIVE 30 Keep an Eye on CEOs Government policy decisions could speed or slow the pace of rehabilit
