When Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, apologized for the recalls that have harmed Toyota’s reputation, he talked not just about his company’s fate, but also his nation’s.
“I hope to return Toyota to profit and contribute to the revitalization of Japan,” he said.
Once a leading symbol of Japan’s rise to global economic might, Toyota has become one of the most obvious signs of its decline. And even before the recalls, Japan’s rivals(竞争对手) from South Korea and China had started overtaking Japan in key industries from semi－conductors to flat-panel televisions. And Toyota on Tuesday issued another damaging recall, this time of its popular Prius car.
“At this rate, Japan will sink into the sea,” said Masatomo Tanaka, a professor at the Institute of Technologists. “If Toyota is not healthy, then Japan is not healthy.”
Many economists and business leaders say they hope that Toyota’s trouble will be the wake – up call that Japan needs to understand that its reliance on manufacturing(制造业) and industrial exports, which served the country so well after World War II, is no longer wise.
Yukio Noguchi, a professor of finance at Waseda University in Tokyo, said Japan must finally step into a post - industrial, service-based economy — a painful shift that the United States and Great Britain underwent in the 1980s. Others said Japan should focus on high-end, high-profit products, like robots and fuel cells, rather than mass-produced goods subject to quality-control issues.
“Even Toyota can fail. Even Lexus, even Prius,” said Mr. Noguchi. “Our world-leading manufacturing industry may no longer world-leading. This has a strong impact on the national psyche.”
According to the Cabinet Office, manufacturing accounted for 22% of Japan’s entire economic output in 2008, down from 28% in 1990. however, manufacturing’s share of the economy still remains far above the level of 12% in the US. And few economists or journalists here advocate abrupt shifting. Rather, the feeling is that Japan needs to find a new balance by replacing its traditional industries with more information technology and software industries in which it is weak.
Yet this shift will be hard for Japan, where many policy makers and experts still seem to cling to the old model of heavy industries and consumer goods. If Japan can pull it off, it could serve as a model for other export – dependent Asian nations, which will also eventually face the same choice.
“I hope that Toyota will change our way of looking at our economy,” Mr Noguchi said. “We cannot survive if we continue to stick to the old type of industries.”
67．Since the Second World War, have been contributing much to Japan’s economy.
A．high – end and high – profit products like robots and fuel cells
B．manufacturing and industrial exports
C．information technology and software industries
D．industries from semi – conductors to panel – televisions
68．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage above?
A．Few Japanese economists advocate a rapid shift into a service – based economy.
B．Most journalists in Japan advocate an abrupt change into a post – industrial economy.
C．Many economists hold that it is too early for Japan to shift into a service – based economy.
D．No Japanese reporters think it high time for Japan to step into a post – industrial economy.
69．The underlined part “cling to” probably means in the passage.
A．hold on to B．keep up with C．turn to D．pick up
70．From the passage we know the way out for Japan to get itself free from its decline consists in
.
A．keeping up its reliance on manufacturing
B．continuing to focus on its industrial export
C．speeding up its shift into a post – industrial economy
D．increasing its manufacturing
Animal experts in Croatia say a bear has learned how to trick people to let him in by knocking at the door.
They believe the 220- kilogram brown bear probably learned the trick while nudging (轻推) a door to get it to open.
Experts have a guess that the nudging was mistaken by the owners for knocking and that the bear, pleased by the result, repeated the trick.
The Loknar family from Gerovo in western Croatia said the bear had knocked at their door three times and they were now refusing to answer the door.
‘‘We jumped out of the window as he came in through the door and went into the kitchen to take some food for the first time.” Mum Nevenka Loknar told a reporter from a local newspaper. “I opened the door and saw him standing there and I didn’t believe my eyes at first, then I ran for it as he walked in as if it was the most normal- thing in the world.”
Bears are a common thing in the woods around here, but no one has ever heard of a bear that knocks at the door.
Mum Nevenka Loknar said, “The bear is so intelligent. It’s incredible. We’ve tried to put up lots of obstacles to stop him coming in, like a wire fence but he still gets through. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew how to use wire cutters.”According to experts in Croatia, how did the bear learn the trick?
| A．By knocking at the door several times. | B．By accident. |
| C．By learning from the owner of a family. | D．By imitation. |
What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 5 refers to?
| A．Eating at the kitchen. | B．Knocking at the door. |
| C．Walking into the house. | D．Answering the door. |
It is ________ in Gerovo that a bear knocks at the door.
| A．unusual | B．a troubling problem | C．common | D．an exciting experience |
Mum Nevenka Loknar was surprised that the bear ________.
| A．didn’t attack her family |
| B．knew how to use wire cutters |
| C．jumped across her wire fence three times |
| D．was clever at getting through the obstacles |
Hobbs was an orphan(孤儿). He worked in a factory and every day he got a little money. Hard work made him thin and weak. He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn to paint pictures, but he did not think he could pay off the debts.
One day a lawyer said to him, “One thousand dollars, and here is the money.” As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded. He didn’t know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, “I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I’d like to do: painting pictures. I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place in the factory and have no money to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it’s too much for one and too little for the other.”
“Here is the reading of your uncle’s will(遗嘱),” said the lawyer, “telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it.”
“Yes, I see. I’ll do that,” said the young man.Hobbs wanted to borrow money to _____.
| A．study abroad | B．work abroad |
| C．pay off the debts | D．learn to paint pictures |
What does the underlined word “dumbfounded”(in Paragraph 2) probably mean?
| A．Surprised. | B．Frightened. | C．Satisfied. | D．Excited. |
With the money he got, at first Hobbs _____.
| A．planned to have a happy life for a few days |
| B．decided to give up his work in the factory |
| C．was to give a dinner to his friends |
| D．had no idea what to do |
Hobbs was asked to _____.
| A．tell the lawyer what he did with the money after spending it |
| B．read his uncle’s will |
| C．tell the lawyer what was to be done with the money |
| D．buy some pictures |
“Good morning!” said a woman as she walked up to an old man sitting on the ground. The man slowly looked up. He was Jack, who had been begging around here for a couple of years.
“See that cafeteria（自助餐厅）over there?” she asked. “I’m going to get you something to eat and get you out of the cold for a while.”
She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared at him intently. “Jack, do you remember me?” Old Jack thought hard and said, “I think so--I mean you do look familiar.”
“I was thin and hungry,” she said. “Maybe I’ve filled out now more than when you worked here. That was when I was just out of college. I had come to the city looking for a job, but I couldn’t find anything. Finally I was down to my last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment. I walked in the streets for days, cold and hungry. I saw this place and walked in hoping that I could satisfy my hunger.”
Jack lit up with a smile. “Now I remember,” he said. “I was behind the serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for something to eat. I said it was against company’s policy.”
The woman continued, “Then you made me the biggest roast beef sandwich, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to go over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get into trouble. Then, I saw you put the price of my food in the cash register.”
“So you started your own business?” old Jack said. “I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I started my own business that, with the help of God, prospered.” She opened her purse and pulled out a business card. “When you are finished here, I want you to pay a visit to a Mr. Lyons, the personnel director of my company. He’ll find something for you to do around the office.” She smiled, “If you ever need anything, my door is always open to you.”
There were tears in the old man’s eyes, “How can I ever thank you?” he said. “Don’t thank me;” the woman answered, “thank yourself. It was your kindness that let me know you.”Why did the woman invite the beggar to dinner?
| A．The beggar was once her friend. |
| B．She felt very pity for the beggar. |
| C．The beggar once offered her a free meal. |
| D．She once worked with the beggar. |
What does the underlined phrase “fill out” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．wear a beautiful dress. | B．change one’s features. |
| C．have a very high position. | D．become larger or fatter. |
Years ago the woman walked into the place she caught sight of to __________.
| A．find a job there | B．get herself out of cold |
| C．get something to eat | D．meet with the man |
What conclusion can you draw from this passage?
| A．Kindness is an investment that never fails. |
| B．Nothing is difficult for the man who will try. |
| C．Don’t judge a person from his/her appearance. |
| D．God helps those who help themselves. |
The rapid growth of cities worldwide over the next two decades will cause significant risks to people and the global environment, according to analysis.
Researches from Yale and Stanford predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by 590,000 square miles—nearly the size of Mongolia—to meet the needs of 1.47 billion more people living in urban areas.
“It is likely that these cities are going to be developed in places that are the most biologically diverse,” said Karen Seto, a famous scientist at Yale University. “They are going to be growing and expanding into forests, biological hotspots, savannas(热带稀缺大草原), coastlines—sensitive and vulnerable places.”
Urban areas, they found, have been expanding more rapidly along coasts. “Of all the places for cities to grow, coasts are the most sensitive. People and buildings along the coast are at risk of flooding and other environmental disasters,” said Seto.
The study provides the first estimate of how fast urban areas globally are growing and how fast they may grow in the future. “We know a lot about global patterns of urban population growth, but we know significantly less about how urban areas are changing,” she said. “Changes in land cover associated with urbanization lead to many environmental changes, from habitats loss and agricultural land conversion(转化) to changes in local and regional climate.”
The researchers examined studies that used satellite data to map urban growth and found that from 1970 to 2000 the world’s urban footprint had grown by at least 22,400 square miles—half the size of Ohio.
“This number is numerous, but, in actuality, urban land expansion has been far greater than what our analysis shows because we only looked at the published studies that used satellite data,” said Seto. “We found that 48 of the most populated urban areas have been studied using satellite data, with findings in journals. This means that we’re not tracking the physical expansion of more than half of the world’s largest cities.”
Half of urban land expansion in China is driven by a rising middle class, whereas the size of cities in India and Africa is driven primarily by population growth. “Rising incomes translate into rising demand for bigger homes and more land for urban development, which has a great effect on biodiversity conservations, loss of carbon sinks and energy use.”According to the passage, the most dangerous place for city expansion is the _____.
| A．forest | B．desert | C．savannas | D．coastline |
The underlined word “vulnerable” (in Para. 3) probably means “____”.
| A．diverse in plants | B．beautiful in scenery |
| C．easily damaged | D．very productive |
From Para. 5, we can infer that ____.
| A．urbanization is a good way to improve people’s standards of living |
| B．cities develop very fast and more and more people come to live in cities |
| C．more and more agricultural farmlands are used to make room for local animals |
| D．in the past, researchers focused their attention on the expanding urban areas |
Cities in Africa become bigger and bigger mainly because of their ____.
| A．growing population | B．rising middle class |
| C．unique living patterns | D．economic development |
More than half of the parents in the United States are helping, or have helped, support their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and poor wages(工资), according to a new survey. It showed that present economic conditions are discouraging young adults from leaving home and forcing those who have already gone, so-called boomerang kids, to return.
“Parents are continuing their financial involvement longer than we expected,” said Ted Beck, president of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
About 60 percent of parents questioned in the survey said they’re helping their adult children who are no longer in school financially. Half are providing housing and nearly half are helping with living expenses.
For an increasing number of adult children, the situation is bad. Two-thirds of adult children, aged 18 to 39, who are not in school said they faced tougher financial pressures than previous generations, according to the survey. And nearly one-third of parents agreed that it was easier for them to find their financial feet than for their children.
Parents are helping their children out of genuine concern because they do not want to see them struggle. But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices(牺牲) to help their adult children should be careful about their own finances.
“If you are taking on extra debt or delaying(推迟) retirement to help your adult child, you could be making a mistake and putting your own financial future in danger,” Beck warned.
Boomerang children can also cause other problems for their parents. Thirty percent of parents said they had given up privacy since their adult children moved back home, while more than a quarter have taken on added debt, and seven percent have delayed retirement. But the survey also showed 42 percent of adult children living at home are helping with the cooking and cleaning.According to the text, boomerang kids refer to ____.
| A．married adult children |
| B．grown-ups living with parents |
| C．adult children independent and successful in life |
| D．young adults depending on parents for financial support |
According to the survey, we can infer that _____.
| A．about 30% of parents offer their adult children housing |
| B．one-third of adult children earn money more easily than their parents |
| C．two-thirds of adult children are faced with financial problems in school |
| D．about 50% of parents give money to their adult children to cover the daily cost |
What is Ted Beck’s suggestion to the parents?
| A．Asking their children to help with the housework. |
| B．Being careful when helping their children financially. |
| C．Leaving their children to struggle to live. |
| D．Putting off their time of retirement. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Adult children are less independent | B．Parents help support adult children |
| C．Bad conditions affect children a lot | D．Adult children like living with parents |