1、国家公共英语四级（综合）练习试卷 38及答案与解析 Part B Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D . Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 0 In a breath-taking turn of events, Asias economies have gone from miracle to meltdown in a matter of weeks. Many forecast
2、ers who recently predicted GDP growth of 6% in South Korea and southeast Asia for 1998 are suddenly projecting zero or even negative growth. In tine often short-sighted world of international finance, a new conventional wisdom is quickly forming: that inept policy-making is dragging down Asian econo
3、mies, and that only the tough austerity medicine of the International Monetary Fund, plus a good stiff recession, will bring the regions economies back to track. In recent years, foreign and domestic investors in East Asia got a touch of what U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has famously
4、 termed irrational exuberance. Spurred by years of high economic growth in Asia, these investors poured billions of dollars of loans into the region, financing many worthwhile investments but also an unsustainable real estate boom. This over-investment need not have caused a crisis. A healthy reacti
5、on would involve a gradual cutback in foreign lending, a gradual weakening of Asias overvalued currencies and gradual shift of investments from over-inflated property sectors back to longterm export-oriented projects. Most short-term booms are brought down to earth without extreme crisis, and such a
6、n adjustment was the most likely scenario until the summer in 1997. In the event, Asia experienced a financial meltdown. A gradual withdrawal of funds from Thailand suddenly became a stampede. Thailands government dallied in responding to the overheating long after it had become apparent, and as a r
7、esult squandered Thailands foreign exchange reserves in a misguided attempt to defend the overvalued bat. The stampede came when foreign creditors realized that Thailand had more short-term foreign debts than the remaining short-term foreign reserves. A “rational“ panic began. Each investor started
8、to dump assets simply to get out of Thailand ahead of other investors. The chain reaction of nervous withdrawals led to a meltdown that now includes most of East Asia. Confidence has been so drained that Asias positive “fundamentals“-historically high rates of growth, savings and exports-are being o
9、verlooked. Economies rely on confidence, and what they most need to fear is, indeed, fear itself. 1 What is the most appropriate title for this passage? （ A） The Nervous Action of Market Economy （ B） A Vicious Circle Is at Work （ C） The Asian Miracle Takes Some Flits （ D） The Prophesies of Financial
10、 Doom 2 The word “meltdown“ in Paragraph 1, sentence 1 is closest in analogy to _. （ A） the radioactive core of a nuclear power （ B） a controlled nuclear reaction （ C） nuclear energy slips out of control and ends up a full-blown disaster （ D） the breakdown of the cooling system 3 According to the au
11、thor, in normal cases, over-investment _. （ A） can be reduced by a quick slash in foreign lending （ B） does not necessarily lead to a critical stage （ C） may be solved by an abrupt depreciation of currencies （ D） should be shifted to boom-town real estate speculations 4 The chain reaction of investm
12、ent withdrawals from the East Asian countries can best be said as _. （ A） irrational exuberance （ B） long-term adjustment （ C） market economy under siege （ D） contagion effect 5 According to the passage, what is supposed to be the key link to the economic recovery in East Asia? （ A） To attract more
13、foreign fund. （ B） To boost the exports. （ C） To stop dumping assets. （ D） To regain confidence. 5 With euro hills 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 politically unified cont
14、inent 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 larger European Union expands to the east. A fully operational European Monetary Union does not come, however, with a guarantee of success. There i
15、s one enormous problem: This union creates a single monetary policy for a 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 way for the ce
16、ntral 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 imposition of a sing
17、le monetary policy, combined with free trade among 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 to ease
18、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 behavior, it
19、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 the large
20、r 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 does not
21、guarantee the unions success. 6 According to Para. 1, which of the following is true? （ A） The euro has become an exclusively universal currency now. （ B） The dream of a unified European has become a reality. （ C） The European Monetary Union is affiliated to the European Union. （ D） There are 20 mem
22、ber nations in the European Monetary Union. 7 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 the Unions r
23、estriction （ D） original member nations and new member nations 8 Which of the words below can replace the word “levied“ (Line 3, Para. 3)? （ A） Collected. （ B） Fined. （ C） Forced. （ D） Asked. 9 What is the main idea of Para. 4? （ A） Original European Monetary Union members become more similar in the
24、ir 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. 10 From the passage, we can infer that _
25、. （ 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 10
26、 It can be argued that much consumer dissatisfaction with marketing strategies arises from an inability to aim advertising at only the likely buyers of a given product. There are three groups of consumers who are affected by the marketing process. First, there is the market segment-people who need t
27、he commodity in question. Second, there is the program target-people in the market segment with the “best fit“ characteristics for a specific product. Lots of people may need trousers, but only a few qualify as likely buyers of very expensive designer trousers. Finally, there is the program audience
28、 all people who are actually exposed to the marketing program without regard to whether they need or want the product. These three groups are rarely identical. An exception occurs occasionally in cases where customers for a particular industrial product may be few and easily identifiable. Such custo
29、mers, all sharing a particular need, are likely to form a meaningful target, for example, all companies with a particular application of the product in question, such as high-speed fillers of bottles at breweries. In such circumstances, direct selling (marketing that reaches only the program target)
30、 is likely to be economically justified, and highly specialized trade media exist to expose members of the program target-and only members of the program target-to the marketing program. Most consumer-goods markets are significantly different. Typically, there are many rather than few potential cust
31、omers. Each represents a relatively small percentage of potential sales. Rarely do members of a particular market segment group themselves neatly into a meaningful program target. There are substantial differences among consumers with similar demographic characteristics. Even with all the past decad
32、es advances in information technology, direct selling of consumer goods is rare, and mass marketing-a marketing approach that aims at a wide audience-remains the only economically feasible mode. Unfortunately, there are few media that allow the marketer to direct a marketing program exclusively to t
33、he program target. Inevitably, people get exposed to a great deal of marketing for products in which they have no interest and so they become annoyed. 11 The author implies which of the following about specialized trade media? （ A） They can be used only when direct selling is not economically feasib
34、le. （ B） They are used only for very expensive products. （ C） They are rarely used in marketing programs for industrial products. （ D） They are used only when direct selling has not reached the appropriate segment. 12 According to the passage, consumer goods markets do NOT share which of the charact
35、eristics? （ A） Customers who differ greatly from each other. （ B） Large numbers of potential customers. （ C） Customers are few and easily identifiable. （ D） Customers who each represent a small percentage of potential sales. 13 The author suggests which of the following about direct selling? （ A） It
36、 is used in the marketing of most industrial products. （ B） It is not economically feasible for most marketing programs. （ C） It is used only for products for which there are many potential customers. （ D） It is less successful than other marketing methods in searching for customers. 14 The sentence
37、 in the third paragraph, “Even with all the past decades advances in information technology, direct selling of consumer goods is rare“, most probably emphasizes that _. （ A） most people tend to buy things on Internet （ B） E-business is still behind the needs of potential consumers （ C） only armed wi
38、th information technology, marketers cannot be successful （ D） direct selling proves to be a promising way of marketing 15 The word “identical“ in the second paragraph, line I, means _. （ A） different （ B） similar （ C） same （ D） new 15 Many United States companies have, unfortunately, made the searc
39、h for legal protection from import competition into a major line of work. Since 1980 the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has received about 280 complaints alleging damage from imports that benefit from subsidence by foreign governments. Another 340 charge that foreign companies “d
40、umped“ their products in the United States at “less than fair value”. Even when no unfair practices are all alleged, the simple claim that an industry has been injured by imports is sufficient grounds to seek relief. Contrary to the general impression, this quest for import relief has hurt more comp
41、anies than it has helped. As corporations begin to function globally, they develop an intricate Web of marketing, production, and research relationships. The complexity of these relationships makes it unlikely that a system of import relief laws will meet the strategic needs of all the units under t
42、he same parent company. Internationalization increases the danger that foreign companies will use import relief laws against the very companies the laws were designed to protect. Suppose a United States-owned company establishes an overseas plant to manufacture a product while its competitor makes t
43、he same product in the United States. If the competitor can prove injury from the imports-and that the United States company received a subsidy from a foreign government to build its plant abroad-the United States companys products will be uncompetitive in the United States, since they would be subj
44、ect to duties. Perhaps the most brazen case occurred when the ITC investigated allegations that Canadian companies were injuring the United States salt industry by dumping rock salt, used to deice roads. The bizarre aspect of the complaint was that a foreign conglomerate with United States operation
45、s was crying for help against a United States company with foreign operations. The “United States“ company claiming injury was a subsidary of a Dutch conglomerate, while the “Canadian“ companies included a subsidary of a Chicago firm that was the second largest domestic producer of rock salt. 16 The
46、 main idea of the passage can best be described as _. （ A） arguing against the increased internationalization of United States corporations （ B） warning that the application of laws affecting trade frequently has unintended consequences （ C） demonstrating that foreign-based firms receive more subsid
47、ies from their governments than United States firms receive from the United States government （ D） advocating the use of trade restrictions for “dumped“ products but not for other imports 17 It can be inferred from the passage that the minimal basis for a complaint to the International Trade Commiss
48、ion is which of the following? （ A） A foreign competitor has received a subsidy from a foreign government. （ B） A foreign competitor has substantially increased the volume of products shipped to the United States. （ C） A foreign competitor is selling products in the United States at less than fair v
49、alue. （ D） The company requesting import relief has been injured by the sale of imports in the United States. 18 The relationship between the last paragraph and the other paragraphs can best be described as _. （ A） it presents a recommendation based on the evidence presented earlier （ B） it discusses an exceptional case in which the results excepted by the author of the passage were not obtained （ C） it introduces an additional area of concern not mentioned earlier （ D） it cites a specific case that illustrates a pr
