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LISTENING TEST
Part A Spot Dictation
Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with blanks in it. Fill in each of the blanks with the word ,or words you have heard on the tape. Write your answer in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. Remember you will hear the passage
ONLY ONCE. Now let's begin Part A with Spot Dictation.
For more than two centuries, America's colleges and universities have been the backbone of the country's progress. They have educated the technical, (1) work force, and provided generation after generation of national leaders. Today educators from around the country are apt to find many reasons for the (2) , but four historic acts stand out as watersheds.
First, (3) : In 1862 Congress enacted the Land-Grant College Act, which essentially extended the opportunity of higher education to all Americans, including (4). Each state was permitted to sell large tracts of federal land and use the proceeds to endow at least (5) .
Second, competition breeds success: Over the years, the (6) of the America's colleges and universities have promoted (7) . Competitive pressure first arose during the Civil War, when President Lincoln created (8) to advise Congress on "any subject of science and art". The academy's impact really grew after World War II, when a landmark report (9) the then President argued that it was the federal government's responsibility to (10) for basic research. Instead of being centralized in government laboratories, (11) in American universities and generated increasing investment. It also (12) and helped spread
scientific discoveries far and wide, (13) , medicine and society as a whole.
Thirdly, (14) : The end of World War II saw the passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. The law, which provided for college or vocational education (15) , made the higher-education system accessible in ways that (16) , opening the doors of the best universities to men and women who had (17) .
Finally, promoting diversity. The creation of federal (18) , as well as outright grants for college students, brought much-needed diversity to higher education and further (19) . Since its founding in 1965, the Federal Family Education Loan Program has funded more than 74 million student loans worth (20)
Listening Comprehension
Directions: In this part of the test there will be some short talks and conversations. After each one, you will be asked some questions. The talks, conversations and questions will be spoken ONLY ONCE. Now listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you have heard and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following conversation.
(A) She's just a city girl and is used to the fast pace of the city.
(B) She doesn't have to drive everywhere to buy things.
(C) She likes to garden and putter around in the house she bought.
(D) She can go to a whole variety of places to interact with people.
(A) Going to the country for a vacation makes no sense at all.
(B) Renting a vacation house in the country is cheap.
(C) People can enjoy the fresh air in the country.
(D) People can relax better in the country than in the city.
(A) The convenient transportation.
(B) The interactive social life.
(C) The whole car culture.
(D) The nice neighborhood.
(A) You may have fun making barbecues in the garden.
(B) You won't feel stuck and labeled as you do in the city.
(C) It's more tolerable than living in the city.
(D) It's more hateful than living in the country.
(A) Quite lonely.
(B) Very safe.
(C) Not very convenient.
(D) Not particularly dangerous.
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news.
(A) Because they might harm the poor people.
(B) Because their drawbacks outweigh benefits.
(C) Because they counterbalance other environmental policies.
(D) Because they cannot achieve the expected environmental objectives.
(A) German business confidence index has risen as much as expected recently.
(B) The outlook for manufacturing is worsening in foreseeable futur
(C) Global economic recession will sap demand for German exports next year.
(D) German business situation is expected to get better in the next few months.
(A) The proposal can cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars to a very low level.
(B) This action is obviously going to change global temperatures in the long run.
(C) The reduction in gas emissions is insignificant for addressing global warming.
(D) The proposal represents a big step in solving the problem of global warming.
(A) $ 60. 5 a barrel.
(B) $ 61 a barrel.
(C) $ 61.32 a barrel.
(D) $ 61.67 a barrel.
(A) 92.
(B) 250.
(C) 1,500.
(D) 2,500.
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following interview.
(A) Microsoft.
(B) Coca Cola.
(C) IBM.
(D) Nokia.
(A) Amounts of revenue underlying the brands.
(B) Strong franchise with consumers.
(C) Whether or not the brand is a product of a tech company.
(D) The degree of resonance consumers have with a brand proposition.
(A) Because it is monopolistic.
(B) Because it is competitive.
(C) Because it takes its brand through generations.
(D) Because its products fetch high prices.
(A) The functionality of its product.
(B) The emotional appeal of its product.
(C) Its basic product being so different.
(D) Its highly effective publicity.
(A) A fantastic corporate culture.
(B) A long company history.
(C) An excellent product.
(D) A sophisticated technology.
Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following talk.
(A) A power station.
(B) An importer of bicycles.
(C) An association of volunteers.
(D) A charity organization.
(A) To provide help to local villagers.
(B) To export bicycles to developing countries.
(C) To organize overseas trips.
(D) To carry out land surveys.
(A) They sell them at a very low price.
(B) They charge half price.
(C) They give them away for free
(D) They trade them for local products.
(A) 14,000.
(B) 46,000.
(C) 50,000.
(D) 56,000.
(A) Donating bicycles.
(B) Bringing in funds.
(C) Taking part in bike rides.
(D) Making suggestions about where to send bicycles.
The gap between what companies might be expected to pay in tax and what they actually pay amounts to billions of pounds--on that much, everyone can agree. The surprising truth is that no- one can agree how many billions are missing, or even how to define "tax gap". Estimates range from anything between ￡3bn to nearly ￡14bn, depending on who is doing the calculations. Even the people in charge of colleting the taxes--Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC)--admit they have only the vaguest idea of how many further billions of pounds they could be getting.., and it took a freedom of information request before they would admit the extent of their lack of knowledge. According to the passage, the "tax gap" is ______ (A) a well-defined term included in both British taxation system and the Companies Act It can be concluded that many international companies "move goods, services and intellectual property around the world" (para. 4)within corporations mainly in order______ (A) to make use of different tax systems to avoid taxation When one former senior tax inspector comments that "Sometimes you are just piecing together a (A) investigating a company's accounts is the same as playing a children's game By using the expression "legal fiction"(para. 8) to describe today's status of a public company,the author is trying to imply that such a definition______. (A) is a humanitarian and legitimate definition protecting the rights of companies In writing this article, the author is planning to tel1 all of the following to the readers (A) the gap between what companies are expected to pay in tax and what they actually pay is too enormous to be neglected
Any media organization or MP attempting to pursue the subject will find themselves hampered by the same difficulties faced by the tax collectors--secrecy and complexity. The Guardian 's investigation, which we publish over the coming two weeks, is no different.
The difficulty starts with an inability of anyone to agree a definition of "tax avoidance". It continues through the limited amount of information in the public domain. And it is further hampered by the extraordinary complexity of modern global corporations.
International companies based in the UK may have hundreds of subsidiary companies, which many use to take advantage of differing tax regimes as they move goods, services and intellectual property around the world. It is estimated that more than half of world trade consists of such movements (known as transfer-pricing) within corporations.
Companies are legally required publicly to declare these subsidiaries. But they generally tell shareholders of only the main subsidiaries. The Guardian's investigation found five major UK-based corporations which had ignored the requirements of the Companies Act by failing to identify offshore
subsidiaries. This is just one example of the atmosphere of secrecy and non-disclosure in Britain which has allowed tax avoidance to flourish. The result is that few outside of the lucrative industries of banking, accountancy and tax law have understood the scale of the capital flight that is now taking place.
British tax inspectors privately describe as formidable the mountain outsiders have to climb in order to comb through the accounts of international companies based in London. "The companies hold all the cards," said one senior former tax inspector. "It's very difficult because you don't always
know what you are looking for... You are confronted with delay, obstruction and a lot of whingeing from companies who complain about "unreasonable requests. Sometimes you are just piecing together a jigsaw. "
Another former senior tax inspector said. "One of the problems the Revenue has is that the company doesn't have to disclose the amount of tax actually paid in any year and the accounts won' t reveal the liability. Each company has its own method of accounting for tax: there's no uniform way
of declaring it all. " For journalists trying to probe these murky waters, the problems are so substantial that few media organizations attempt it.
A trawl through the published accounts of even a single major group of companies can involve hunting around in the registers of several different countries. It takes a lot of time and a lot of money. Companies--with some far-sighted British exceptions--simply refuse to disclose any more than
what appears in the published figures. The legal fiction that a public company is a "legal person", entitled to total tax secrecy and even to "human rights", makes it normally impossible for a journalist to penetrate the tax strategies of big business. HMRC refuse, far example, to identi the 12 major companies who used tax avoidance schemes to avoid paying any corporation tax whatever.
It is difficult to access experts to guide the media or MPs through this semantic jungle. The
(B) an accepted practice adopted by most international companies based in the UK
(C) a practice difficult to define and discover but common with companies in Britain
(D) the target which has been attacked by British tax inspectors over the past decades
(B) to give equal support to all the subsidiaries around the world
(C) to expand the import and export trade with other countries
(D) to raise their productivity and to maximize the profitability
jigsaw "(para. 6), he most probably means that______.
(B) the Revenue should reform its regulation to fight illegal "tax avoidance"
(C) it's a complicated matter to investigate an international company's accounts
(D) it's a diffident task to overcome the obstruction from the company's side
(B) is ridiculous, absurd and hinders the investigation of tax strategies of big companies
(C) is an incorrect and inexact concept to reveal the nature of modern businesses
(D) is a reflection of the reality of companies and corporations and should not be altered
EXCEPT that______.
(B) secrecy and complexity are the two major protectors of international corporations in tax avoidance
(C) there are loopholes in the legislation concerning companies which obstruct the practice of taxation
(D) the government plans to investigate the "tax gap" and "tax avoidance" of international companies
READING TEST
Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several questions about it. You are to choose ONE best answer, (A) , (B) , (C) or (D) , to each question. Answer all the questions following each passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWERBOOKLET.
What is the role of human resources as the world goes through turmoil, and what is its future as soI many industries face extreme change?
Effendi Ibnoe,
Bali, Indonesia
Talk about timing. Your question arrived in our in-box the same day that we received a note from an acquaintance who had just been let go from his job in publishing, certainly one of the industries that is facing, as you put it, "extreme change. " He described his layoff as a practically Orwellian experience in which he was ushered into a conference room to meet with an outplacement consultant who, after dispensing with logistics, informed him that she would call him at home that evening to make sure everything was all right.
"I assured her I had friends and loved ones and a dog," he wrote, "and since my relationship with her could be measured in terms of seconds, they could take care of that end of things. " "Memo to HR. Instead of saddling dismissed employees with solicitous outplacement reps," he noted wryly,
"put them in a room with some crockery for a few therapeutic minutes of smashing things against a wall. "
While we enjoy our friend's sense of humor, we'd suggest a different memo to HR. "Layoffs are your moment of truth," it would say, "when your company must show departing employees the same kind of attentiveness and dignity that was showered upon them when they entered. Layoffs are when HR proves its mettle and its worth, demonstrating whether a company really cares about its people. "
Look, we've written before about HR and the game-changing role we believe it can--and should--play as the engine of an organization's hiring, appraisal, and development processes. We' ve asserted that too many companies relegate HR to the mundane busy-work of newsletters, picnics, and benefits, and we've made the case that every CEO should elevate his head of HR to the same stature as the CFO. But if there was ever a time to underscore the importance of HR, it has arrived. And, sadly, if there was ever a time to see how few companies get HR right, it has arrived, too, as our acquaintance's experience shows.
So, to your question: What is HR's correct role now--especially in terms of layoffs?
First, HR has to make sure people are let go by their managers, not strangers. Being fired is dehumanizing in any event, but to get the news from a "hired gun" only makes matters worse. That's why HR must ensure that managers accept their duty, which is to be in on the one conversation at
work that must be personal. Pink slips should be delivered face-to-face, eyeball-to- eyeball.
Second, HR's role is to serve as the company's arbiter of equity. Nothing raises hackles more during a layoff than the sense that some people--namely the loudmouths and the litigious--are getting better deals than others. HR can mitigate that dynamic by making sure across units and divisions that
Why does the author say that his friend's note displayed a "sense of humor"(para. 3)?______
(A) Because his layoff experience showed vividly the process of "extreme change".
(B) Because he gave a vivid description of the outplacement reps' work style.
(C) Because he suggested to HR how to treat dismissed employees while he himself was fire.
(D) Because he was optimistic with the support and understanding from his friends and loved family members after being dismissed.
The expression "moment of truth" in the sentence "Layoffs are your moment of truth … when they
entered. " (para. 3) most probably means______
(A) critical moment of proving one's worth
(B) time of dismissing the employees
(C) important moment of telling the truth
(D) time of losing one's dignity
Which of the following does NOT support the author' s statement that "HR has to make sure people
are let go by their managers, not strangers. "(para. 6)?______
(A) In that case the let-go employee would feel less dehumanized.
(B) By doing so the managers treat the employees with respect.
(C) HR has thus played the positive role in terms of layoffs.
(D) In doing so strangers will only play the role of a "hired gun".
The expression "pink slips" in the sentence "Pink slips should be delivered face-to-face,
eyeball- to-eyeball. "(para. 6) can best be paraphrased as ______
(A) a letter of invitation
(B) a notice of dismissal
(C) a card of condolences
(D) a message of greetings
Which of the following expresses the main idea of the passage?______
(A) The time to underscore the importance of HR has arrived.
(B) Severance arrangements should be the focus of HR's job.
(C) Employees should be treated with equal respect whether hired or fired.
(D) Managers must leave their duty to HR when employees are dismissed.
Senator Barbara Boxer of California announced this month she intends to move ahead with legislation designed to lower the emission of greenhouse gases that are linked by many scientists to climate change. But the approach she's taking is flawed, and the current financial crisis can help The author introduces Senator Barbara Boxer in the passage because she______. (A) has made suggestions to ease the current financial crisis
us understand why.
The centerpiece of this approach is the creation of a market for trading carbon emission credits. These credits would be either distributed free of charge or auctioned to major emitters of greenhouse gases. The firms could then buy and sell permits under federally mandated emissions caps.If a company is able to cut emissions, it can sell excess credits for a profit. If it needs to emit more, it can buy permits on the market from other firms.
"Cap and trade," as it is called, is advocated by several policymakers, industry leaders, and activists who want to fight global warming. But it's based on the trade of highly volatile financial instruments.- risky at best. The better approach to climate change? A direct tax placed on emissions
of greenhouse gases. The tax would create a market price for carbon emissions and lead to emissions reductions or new technologies that cut greenhouse gases. This is an approach favored by many economists as the financially sensible way to go. And it is getting a closer look by some industry
professionals and lawmakers.
At first blush, it might seem crazy to advocate a tax increase during a major recession. But there are several virtues of a tax on carbon emissions relative to a cap-and-trade program. For starters, the country already has a mechanism in place to deal with taxes. Tax collection something the government has abundant experience with. A carbon trading scheme, on the other hand, requires the creation of elaborate new markets, institutions, and regulations to oversee and enforce it.
Another relative advantage of the tax is its flexibility. It is easier to adjust the tax to adapt to changing economic, scientific, or other circumstances. If the tax is too low to be effective, it can be raised easily. If it is too burdensome it can be relaxed temporarily. In contrast, a cap-and-trade program creates emissions permits that provide substantial economic value to firms and industries. These assets limit the program's flexibility once under way, since market actors then have an interest in maintaining the status quo to preserve the value of the assets. What's more, they can be a recipe for trouble. As my American Enterprise Institute colleagues Ken Green, Steve Hayward, and Kevin Hassett pointed out two years ago, "sudden changes in economic conditions could lead to significant price volatility in a cap-and-trade program that would be less likely under a carbon-tax regime. "
Recent experience bears this out. Europe has in place a cap-and-trade program that today looks a little like the American mortgage-backed securities market--it's a total mess. The price of carbon recently fell--plummeting from over $ 30 to around $12 per ton--as European firms unloaded their permits on the market in an effort to shore up deteriorating balance sheets during the credit crunch. It is this shaky experience with cap-and-trade that might explain an unlikely advocate of a carbon tax. Earlier this year, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson pointed in a speech to the problems with Europe's cap-and-trade program--such as the program's volatility and lack of transparency--as reasons he prefers a carbon tax.
That said, new taxes are a tough sell in Washington, which helps explain the current preference for a cap-and-trade scheme. Despite this, there are ways to make a carbon tax more politically appealing. The first is to insist that it be "revenue neutral. " This means that any revenues collected from the tax are used to reduce taxes elsewhere, such as payroll taxes.
(1)
(B) is a pioneer in the reduction of greenhouse gases emission
(C) is well-known for her proposal on legislation reform
(D) plans to propose the legislation of cap-and-trade program
Which of the following CANNOT be true about the carbon emission credits system?______
(A) The use of carbon credits would show clearly emitters' efforts in carbon cutting.
(B) The credits might be distributed free or auctioned to the emitters.
(C) The price of carbon credits could fluctuate with changing economic conditions.
(D) The credits can be bought and sold between emitters for profits.
According to the passage, the cap-and-trade program ______
(A) will be much more useful in fighting global warming
(B) will not be as effective as a tax on carbon emissions
(C) is being examined by industry professionals and lawmakers
(D) is supported by many policymakers, industry leaders and activists
The expression "to shore up" in the sentence "as European firms unloaded their permits on the market in an effort to shore up deteriorating balance sheets during the credit crunch"(para. 6) c best paraphrased as ______.
(A) to eliminate
(B) to revise and regulate
(C) to give support to
(D) to correct and restructure
In the last paragraph, the author mentions Fannie Mac, Freddie Mac and the mortgage-backed securities to tell the Congress that______.
(A) the experience with Fannie Mac, Freddie Mac and the mortgage-backed securities will be useful for the creation of a highly politicized market
(B) the lessons from F, annie Mac, Freddie Mac and the mortgage-backed securities should not be neglected
(C) the argument over cap-and-trade program and direct tax on carbon emissions should be stopped
(D) the legislation for a cap-and-trade scheme will prove to be the solution to greenhouse gases emission
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