Large companies need a way to reach the savings of the public at large. The same problem, on a smaller scale, faces practically every company trying to develop new products and create new jobs. There can be little prospect of raising the sort of sum needed from friends and people we know, and while banks may agree to provide short-term finance, they are generally unwilling to provide money on a permanent basis for long- term projects. So companies turn to the public, inviting people to lend them money, or take a share in the business in exchange for a share in future profits. This they do by issuing stocks and shares in the business through the Stock Exchange. By doing so, they can put the savings of individuals both at home and overseas into circulation.
When the saver needs his money back, he does not have to go to the company with which he originally placed it. Instead, he sells his shares through a stockbroker to some other savers who are seeking to invest their money.
Many of the services needed both by industry and by each of us are provided by the government or by local authorities. Hospitals, roads, electricity, telephones, equipment and new development, if they are to serve us properly, require more money than it is raised through taxes alone. The government, local authorities, and nationalized industries therefore frequently need to borrow money to finance major capital spending, and then too, come to the Stock Exchange.
There is hardly a man or a woman in this country whose job or whose standard of living does not depend on the ability of his or her employers to raise money to finance new development. In one way or another, new money must come from the savings of the country. The Stock Exchange exists to provide a channel through which these savings can reach those who need finance.
How does a company get the public to invest their savings for it according to the passage?
| A．By paying them very high interests for borrowing their savings. |
| B．By providing a share to them in the future profits. |
| C．By offering favorable terms to attract them to buy its products. |
| D．By selling its stocks and shares to them through the Stock Exchange. |
According to the passage, many services wanting to serve people properly have to_______.
| A．get as much finance as possible through taxes |
| B．get the support from the government or local authorities |
| C．be able to provide what people really need |
| D．get persistent financial support |
According to the passage, what factor has a great effect on the workers’ job and living standard?
| A．Their employers’ policy for offering good welfare to them. |
| B．Their employers’ strategy for the company’s development. |
| C．Their employers’ capacity of raising money to finance new development. |
| D．Their employers’ ability to make the company obtain a great profit. |
SYDNEY: As they sat sharing sweets beside a swimming pool in 1999. Shane Gould and Jessicah Schipper were simply getting along well, chatting about sport, life and anything else that came up.
Yet in Sydney next month, they will meet again by the pool, and for a short time the friends will race against each other in the 50 – meter butterfly in the Australian championships at Homebu Bay.
Gould, now a 47 – year – old mother of four, has announced she will be making a return to elite competition (顶级赛事) to swim the one event, having set a qualifying (合格的)time of 30. 32 seconds in winning gold at last year’s United States Masters championships. Her comeback comes 32 years after she won three golds at the Munich Olympics.
Schipper, now a 17 – year – old girl from Brisbane with a bright future of going to Athens for her first Olympics, yesterday recalled (回忆) her time with Gould five years ago.
“I was at a national youth camp on the Gold Coast and Shane had come along to talk to us and watch us train.” Schipper explained. “It seemed as if we had long been good friends. I don’t know why. We just started talking and it went from there.”
“She had a lot to share with all of us at that camp. She old us stories about what it was like at big meets like Olympics and what it was like to be on an Australian team. It was really interesting.”
Next time, things will be more serious: “I will still be swimming in the 50 m butterfly at the nationals, so there is a chance that I could actually be competing against Shane Gould.” said Schipper, who burst onto the scene at last year’s national championships with second places in the 100 m and 200 butterfly.
46．What is the passage mainly about?
A．Stories happening in swimming competitions.
B．Two women swimmers winning Olympic golds.
C．Lessons learned from international swimming championships.
D．Friendship and competition between two swimmers.
47．Gould and Schipper are going to____________.
A．talk about sport and life B．go back to elite competition
C．set a qualifying time and win gold D．take part in the same sports event
48．Gould won her three Olympic golds when she was____________.
A．15 B．17C．22 D．30
49．The underlined word “it” in the fifth paragraph probably refers to .
A．the Olympics B．the youth camp
C．the friendship D．the Australian team
50．What Schipper said showed that she___________.
A．was no longer Gould’s friend B．had learned a lot from Gould
C．was not interested in Gould’s stories D．would not like to compete against Gould
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity, others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self – worth relied (依赖) on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life – and – death affairs. In their single – minded pursuit (追求) of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to se ek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self – respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve (缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.
41．What does this passage mainly talk about?
A．Competition helps to set up self – respect.
B．Opinions about competition are different among people.
C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development.
D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition
42．Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
A．It pushes society forward. B．It builds up a sense of duty.
C．It improves personal abilities. D．It encourages individual efforts.
43．The underlined phrase “the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means .
A．those who try their best to win
B．those who value competition most highly
C．those who are against competition most strongly
D．those who rely on others most for success
44．What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a desire to fail ?
A．One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others.
B．One’s success in competition needs great efforts.
C．One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills.
D．One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.
45．Which point of view may the author agree to?
A．Every effort should be paid back.
B．Competition should be encouraged.
C．Winning should be a life – and – death matter.
D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition.
An important scientific report announced “irrefutable（不能反驳的） proof” that climate change is happening and it’s all our fault. How long has it been before people are against the global warming idea? But here’s a funny thing. Last year there was a very bad hurricane season in the Caribbean when, among other disasters, New Orleans was all but wiped off the map. We were wisely informed by the experts at the time that this was owing to global warming.
I remember watching a BBC science programme and hearing a learned professor with a beard tell us, “The increased frequency and strength of hurricanes is what we shall have to learn to expect given global warming.”
This year there have been far fewer hurricanes and those there have been were relatively mild. Why？Global warming again of course. Professor Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist, writes, “In the constant media reports of possible greenhouse related disasters, almost any event is now linked to climate change.” He adds, “We should not spend vast amounts of money to cut a tiny slice of the global temperature increase when this leads to a poor use of resources and when we could probably use these funds far more effectively in the developing world.” For saying this, Lomborg has had death threats.
Other scientists who do not toe the global warming-is-happening-and-it’s-all-our-fault line have received the same. There are plenty of people who count against global warming. A world of senior climatologists and meteorologists wrote to the Times last year to complain that they couldn’t get their research findings published — because they disagreed to it. We have had a warm autumn. The experts, fanatics（狂热者） all of them, put it down to global warming. If we have an extra cold winter, they will tell us it’s a result of global warming. If my big toe feels cold or hurts badly, it will be owing to global warming.
52. The purpose of this passage may be to ____.
A. support the idea of global warming
B. organize a debate about global warming
C. speak out against the global warming idea
D. encourage people to use money effectively
53. What happened to New Orleans last year?
A. It was badly destroyed. B. It disappeared in the world.
C. It witnessed global warming. D. It experienced several disasters.
54. From the passage, we can infer that ____.
A. people are taking too many efforts to stop global warming
B. people have realized the side effect of development
C. a different idea sometimes may cost one his life
D. the majority usually stand for the correct opinion
55. The main idea of the last paragraph may be ____.
A. global warming may lead to toe’s catching cold in a sense
B. the Times refuses to publish articles on global warming
C. a warming autumn is not related to global warming at all
D. it is certainly incorrect to owe everything to global warming
As many as 60,000 people worldwide die each year from too much sun, but simple safety steps could prevent many deaths, according to a World Health Organization report.
The report, released on Wednesday, was treated as the first overall look at the global health burden from UV radiation, which is linked to up to 90 percent of melanoma（恶性黑色素瘤） and other skin cancers. UV radiation can also cause sunburn, more rapid skin aging, eye diseases, and reactivation of the herpes（疱疹） virus that causes cold sores, and pterygium, a fleshy growth on the surface of the eye.
“We all need some sun, but too much sun can be dangerous—and even deadly,” said Dr Maria Neira, the director of WHO’s agency of public health and the environment, who released the report.
To prevent cancer and other diseases linked to UV radiation, the agency recommends that people:
— Limit time in the midday sun.
— Use shade wisely and seek shade when UV rays are most intense.
— Wear protective clothing, hats and sunglasses.
— Use sunscreen with a sun protection factor 15+.
— Avoid sunlamps and tanning parlours.
People under age 18 should not use them at all.
“The application of sunscreens should not be used to prolong sun exposure but rather to protect the skin when exposure is unavoidable,” the report warned.
The report also noted that the ground’s surface can make a difference:
— Fresh snow reflects as much as 80 percent of ultraviolet light.
— Sea foam reflects about 25 percent.
— Dry beach sand reflects about 15 percent.
Small amounts of exposure to the sun help the skin to produce vitamin D.
48. The report was highly spoken of mainly because ____.
A. it had listed up to 60,000 deaths from UV radiation
B. it related the deaths to UV radiation
C. it showed the advantages and disadvantages of UV
D. it found out the approaches to preventing deaths from UV radiation
49. According to Dr Maria Neira, which of the following is TRUE?
A. In fact we need only a small amount of sunlight.
B. Receiving large amounts of sunlight will cause deaths.
C. Midday sunlight has stronger UV radiation.
D. Melanoma will disappear if we follow the report’s advice.
50. As a construction worker, it is strongly recommended that ____.
A. he should stay inside the building B. he spread sunscreen on the face
C. he should wear good sunglasses D. he be equipped with sun protection
51. Which of the following can be the headline of the passage?
A. UV—A Deadly Killer From The Sun B. Melanoma Can Be Prevented Today
C. UV—A Great Need For Vitamin D D. Teenagers Mustn’t Stay Outside
Violent gangs. Bar fights. Broken bones. No, we aren’t talking about a late night in Downtown Chico; we’re talking about the things that come to many people’s minds when the word, motorcycle, is mentioned.
Many Chico State students have learned of the convenience of small motorcycles and scooters when it comes to parking on or near campus. Motorcycle parking is something that is available when compared to the amount of vacant automotive parking—something especially valuable when running a bit late for class. Motorcycle-riding students have also learned to appreciate the 50 to 80 average miles per gallon, especially today when it seems as if gasoline prices are shooting up faster and more often than a back alley addict.
Still, some people are reluctant to ride the steel horse. Marc Lewis, a 24-year-old Chico State anthropology student, is one of those people. “I’ve had motorcycles in the past. I know what they’re about. I want another one, for recreational purposes,” Lewis said. The only things holding Lewis back are insurance costs and what he refers to as “unsafe drivers”. Safety and insurance costs certainly are important factors.
Chris Kelley, employee of Cost-U-Less Insurance Center at 166 Cohasset Road, Suite 3, admits that motorcycle insurance can get pricey. The average price per month for Chico State students in their 20s is about $100, Kelley said. “The most expensive rate I’ve ever charged was something like $32,000 a year,” Kelley said. “The guy had a horrible record.”
If a motorcycle is something that you’ve always been curious about but have been frightened by the dangerous image it is often given, try rethinking your position. Motorcycling is one of the most diverse activities in existence. Consider the information you find here a brief introduction to several of the more popular aspects of motorcycle riding.
44. When it comes to motorcycles, one tends to think of ____.
A. a late night in Downtown Chico B. the horse made of steel
C. the money paid for insurance D. a horrible image motorcycles give
45. According to the second paragraph, which of the following is NOT true?
A. It is very convenient for students to ride motorcycles.
B. The campus has enough parking place for motorcycles.
C. Students are often late for class riding motorcycles.
D. Motorcycles consume less gasoline.
46. Why are some people unwilling to ride the steel horse?
A. Because they often have their bones broken.
B. Because they are worried about the costly insurance and safety problems.
C. Because they have to pay for the pricey gasoline.
D. Because they don’t want to ride it for entertainment.
47. The writer intends to tell us in the last paragraph that ____.
A. we shouldn’t buy a motorcycle due to the danger it causes
B. many people are frightened by the dangerous image
C. we shouldn’t be curious about the motorcycle any more
D. motorcycles are still popular regardless of the disadvantages