第二學(xué)期商英閱讀期末試卷和答案

1、光華管理學(xué)院 2010 2011 學(xué)年第二學(xué)期期末考試試題（A卷）課程名稱：商務(wù)英語(yǔ)（閱讀）任課教師：考試日期：2011年6月 日考試時(shí)間： 1.5 小時(shí)學(xué)生類別：本科年級(jí)班號(hào)： 考生姓名：考生學(xué)號(hào)：考試方式：閉卷試 題：（注意：答案一律寫在答題紙，否則不計(jì)分） I. Reading comprehension (60 points in total; paraphrasing items in Passage Four: 3 points each; others: 1.5 points each)Passage ONEWHEN Parliament decided, in 1709, to

2、 create a law that would protect books from piracy, the London-based publishers and booksellers who had been pushing for such protection were overjoyed. When Queen Anne gave her assent on April 10th the following year300 years ago this weekto “An act for the encouragement of learning” they were less

3、 enthused. Parliament had given them rights, but it had set a time limit on them: 21 years for books already in print and 14 years for new ones, with an additional 14 years if the author was still alive when the first term ran out. After that, the material would enter the public domain so that anyon

4、e could reproduce it. The lawmakers intended thus to balance the incentive to create with the interest that society has in free access to knowledge and art. The Statute of Anne thus helped nurture and channel the spate of inventiveness that Enlightenment society and its successors have since enjoyed

5、.Over the past 50 years, however, that balance has shifted. Largely thanks to the entertainment industrys lawyers and lobbyists, copyrights scope and duration have vastly increased. In America, copyright holders get 95 years protection as a result of an extension granted in 1998, derided by critics

6、as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act”. They are now calling for even greater protection, and there have been efforts to introduce similar terms in Europe. Such arguments should be resisted: it is time to tip the balance back.Lengthy protection, it is argued, increases the incentive to create. Digital

7、 technology seems to strengthen the argument: by making copying easier, it seems to demand greater protection in return. The idea of extending copyright also has a moral appeal. Intellectual property can seem very like real property, especially when it is yours, and not some faceless corporations. A

8、s a result people feel that once they own itespecially if they have made itthey should go on owning it, much as they would a house that they could pass on to their descendants. On this reading, protection should be perpetual. Ratcheting up the time limit on a regular basis becomes a reasonable way o

9、f approximating that perpetuity. The notion that lengthening copyright increases creativity is questionable, however. Authors and artists do not generally consult the statute books before deciding whether or not to pick up pen or paintbrush. And overlong copyrights often limit, rather than encourage

10、, a works dissemination, impact and influence. It can be difficult to locate copyright holders to obtain the rights to reuse old material. As a result, much content ends up in legal limbo (and in the case of old movies and sound recordings, is left to deterioratecopying them in order to preserve the

11、m may constitute an act of infringement). The penalties even for inadvertent infringement are so punishing that creators routinely have to self-censor their work. Nor does the advent of digital technology strengthen the case for extending the period of protection. Copyright protection is needed part

12、ly to cover the costs of creating and distributing works in physical form. Digital technology slashes such costs, and thus reduces the argument for protection.The moral case, although easy to sympathize with, is a way of trying to have ones cake and eat it. Copyright was originally the grant of a te

13、mporary government-supported monopoly on copying a work, not a property right. From 1710 onwards, it has involved a deal in which the creator or publisher gives up any natural and perpetual claim in order to have the state protect an artificial and limited one. So it remains.The question is how such

14、 a deal can be made equitably. At the moment, the terms of trade favor publishers too much. A return to the 28-year copyrights of the Statute of Anne would be in many ways arbitrary, but not unreasonable. If there is a case for longer terms, they should be on a renewal basis, so that content is not

15、locked up automatically. The value society places on creativity means that fair use needs to be expanded and inadvertent infringement should be minimally penalized. None of this should get in the way of the enforcement of copyright, which remains a vital tool in the encouragement of learning. But to

16、ols are not ends in themselves. (713 words)i. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) or not mentioned (NM).1. The booksellers and publishers at Queen Annes time were opposed to the Statute of Anne.2. The writer does not think that copyrights should be possessed for ever th

17、ough he agrees with the protectionists that copyright resembles real property.3. The writer thinks that digital technology reduces the costs of creating and distributing works in physical form and thus cannot be the excuse for stronger protection for copyrights.4. The writers understanding of the 17

18、09/1710 law concerning piracy is that copyright holders have exchanged everlasting rights to their own creation for limited state protection of it.5. The writer neither thinks the current copyright laws favor the learners enough nor suggests a return to the statute of Anne.ii. Choose the right meani

19、ngs of the underlined words in the passage. 1. spate: a. sentiment b. spirit c. enthusiasm d. outpouring 2. derided: a. mocked b. criticized c. nicknamed d. denounced3. limbo: a. trap b. lawsuit c. helplessness d. complication4. inadvertent: a. insignificant b. inconspicuous c. unintentional d. unav

20、oidable5. advent: a. improving b. advancing c. progressing d. coming6. ends: a. methods b. terminals c. purposes d. conclusionsPassage TWOOne of the strangest developments in financial markets this year is the “Lafite effect.” It offers a valuable lesson about investing. This financial crisis has wa

21、lloped just about everything. It has even pushed down prices for fine wine. The Vintage Wine Fund, which invests “in fine wine with an objective of steady, high capital growth,” declined 33 percent in 2008. This is newsworthy. In a 2008 paper, economists Lee Sanning, Sherrill Shaffer and Jo Marie Sh

22、arratt at the University of Wyoming demonstrated that wine investments provide enormous positive returns over time, with almost no correlation to the market as a whole. Their study provides a textbook example of the problem with risk analysis. Until that time, the correlation of wine with the overal

23、l stock market was essentially zero. A hedge fund that bet on that remaining true would have lost big, because this time everything moved together. One set of wine investors survived unscathed: those who bought and held the fine French wine Chateau Lafite Rothschild. According to data compiled by wi

24、ne exchange Liv-ex, the average list price for a bottle of 1982 Lafite was $3,386 in July, the highest ever. Thats about $280 higher than it was last year, and more than $1,100 higher than in 2007. Not bad for a bottle that you could have purchased for about $20 back in the 1980s. So strong is the 1

25、982 Lafite that its value largely withstood a downgrade, to 97 from a perfect 100, by U.S. wine maven Robert Parker. If you consider how much wealth has been destroyed in the past year, you would think that such a markdown would have devastated prices. Think again. The run-up appears to have affecte

26、d all things Lafite, not just the 1982 vintage. The effect is so striking that Liv-ex created a new index to track the prices of the Lafite vintages from 2000 to 2006. That index is now only 4.4 percent below its long-term high. Few investments have done better. The question for an investor is this:

27、 Is the Lafite price spike yet another bubble, or are there sound fundamental reasons? One sound argument that might explain the increase is that there is a special “Lafite effect” associated with Asia. As wealth has increased there, the demand for luxury commodities such as Lafite has skyrocketed.

28、“Right now, its almost an insult in some places to serve something other than Lafite,” Liv-exs director, James Miles, told me last week. With the Lafite supply limited, this high demand for the supreme trophy wine has pushed prices through the roof. Since Asia will presumably continue to grow in wea

29、lth, one might expect that demand will skyrocket and that todays prices will someday look cheap. The Lafite price might just as well drop sharply, and the argument for a decline is probably more compelling. For one thing, prices might be higher now because of a speculative bubble. Also, Asian consum

30、ers might become more sophisticated and grow to appreciate other wines, which they now shun, that are close substitutes for Lafite. If they do that, todays prices might be a high water mark for some time. The 2000 vintages of both Lafite and La Mission Haut Brion both received perfect scores of 100

31、from Parker, for example. Right now Lafite costs more than twice as much. The decision on investing today in Lafite probably turns on this question of whether it will become more socially acceptable to serve fine wines other than Lafite in the wealthiest corners of Asia. Todays high prices suggest t

32、here are enough people willing to bet that Asian demand for Lafite continues on its trajectory. Its a tempting bet, and a risky one. As Lafite prices have soared away from those of close substitutes, Lafite has begun to look - especially to unsophisticated investors, and those who rely on past corre

33、lations - like an increasingly safe investment, with steady and predictable returns. In fact, the opposite is true. The risk of Lafite prices plummeting and wiping out your investment has skyrocketed along with the price. It might be possible to make money as Lafite prices continue to soar. But prud

34、ence demands that sensible investors stay on the sidelines. Whether you are buying wine for consumption or investment, Id go with La Mission Haut Brion. (712 words)Answer the following questions. The MAXIMUM LENGTH of each of your answer is 10 WORDS.1 In the second paragraph, what does the second “t

35、hat” in “A hedge fund that bet on that remaining true would have lost big” refer to?2 Were all the wine investors badly hurt by the financial crisis? (Dont just say “yes” or “no”.)3 How would you describe the influence of Robert Parkers grading of the 1982 Lafite on its price?4 In what way is Asia a

36、ssociated with Lafite?5 What changes in Asian consumers might cause the Lafite price decline?6 What is the writers view on investing in Lafite at the time of writing the article?7 List at least THREE NOUNS from the passage that mean “(of price) going up”.Passage THREETHE French love to joke about th

37、e ghastliness of English food, but in the 1990s Parisians discovered a surprising (1) a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ for the convenience food offered by Marks & Spencer (M&S), a quintessentially British fashion and food (2) r_ _ _ _ _ _ _. Egg and cress, cheese and cucumber, and cheese and pickle sandwiches

38、 were flying off the shelves at the M&S flagship shop on Boulevard Haussmann in the centre of Paris. Even more popular were the ready-made meals that made life easier for busy Parisians, many of whom live in tiny flats with even tinier kitchens. When, in March 2001, M&S announced the closure

39、 of the store, as well as all its other 38 shops in continental Europe, as part of a (3) r_ _ _ _ _ _ restructuring, it caused a storm of protest. The Paris flagship had its own book of condolences for customers to sign while its workers threatened legal action. Even so, M&S went ahead with its

40、retreat from Europeand came to regret it as “a big mistake” in subsequent years, in the words of Stuart Rose, the former chief executive.Ten years after the humiliating retreat, M&S is reported to be making a comeback. It will shortly open a new Parisian flagship store, this time on the Champs E

41、lysées, according to an article in La Tribune, a French business daily. It will take over number 100 Champs Elysées from Esprit, and according to the article, has already told Esprit employees that they will be offered a new job. M&S is not confirmingor denyingthe report.Unlike most of

42、 its rivals, M&S is still overwhelmingly a British business, with 90% of its revenue generated at home. (The domestic market accounts for only 28% of the revenue of Inditex, a big Spanish fashion seller which operates the Zara chain among others.) It is the largest clothing seller in Britain wit

43、h a market share of 11%, and double that for people over 45. Its market share in food as a whole is 4% but in ready-made meals M&S (4) c_ _ _ _ _ _s 20% of the market. “What happens next in Britain is much more important than international expansion,” says Philip Dorgan at Altium Securities. The

44、 biggest looming challenge is to break out of the “£10 billion-and-bust cycle”, the companys tendency to slip up each time it manages to get its annual revenues above this level.Even so, Marc Bolland, the new CEO of M&S, said at the companys investors day in November that he will give his c

45、ompany a push internationally in his effort to (5) b_ _ _ _ sales by up to 30% in the next three years. He is planning to invest £850m-950m a year in the company's online sales channels and its international operations. M&S has an agreement with Amazon, for its internet operations until

46、 2013 but is planning to take them into their own hands after that. The international expansion, said Mr Bolland, will take the form of more joint (6) v_ _ _ _ _ _s or wholly-owned operations in selected markets. In India, M&S already has two dozen shops collaborating with Reliance Industries, a

47、n Indian conglomerate, and is planning to add another two dozen. Mr Bolland didnt mention France, but many analysts assumed that he was including France in his expansion plans.If the reported retour à Paris turns out a success, it seems likely that M&S will be tempted to try reconquering so

48、me of the other European cities it abandoned a decade ago. Even in those dark days, it was actually making money in Franceit was the losses in Germany and elsewhere that forced it to make a Dunkirk-style retreat to Blighty. Its chances this time will be higher given that the Champs Elysées is a

49、n even better location than was Boulevard Haussmann. M&S will be following in the footsteps of H&M, a Swedish rival, which last October successfully (7) l_ _ _ _ _ed a flagship store on the Champs Elysées designed by Jean Nouvel, a star architect.One worry, according to Fraser Ramzan, a

50、n analyst at Nomura, a stockbroker, is that Parisians are most likely to seek out M&Ss food, rather than the clothing that is a more important (and profitable) part of its offering. Then again, if they can be persuaded to give British nosh a try, perhaps elegant Parisiennes can also be (8) c_ _

51、_ _ _ _ed to British chic. (746 words)Spell the words according to the suggested meanings:1 love for food2 seller of goods in small quantities3 thorough, changing the fundamentals4 seize, conquer5 increase6 enterprise7 start8 change, turnPassage FOUR 1 AN annual report sent out in the season when co

52、untless companies worldwide are publishing them is at risk of being filed in the bin. Not so if the company is Huawei and 2 the report is intended to make a company that reflects the best of Chinas manufacturing prowess, while being a prime example of its secretiveness, seem normal.The telecoms-equi

53、pment makers financial performance is impressive enough to make the report worth reading: revenues were 185 billion yuan ($27.4 billion), having grown by an annual average of 29% in the past four years. The growth rate for profits has been 56%. 3 Having just passed Nokia and Siemens, Huawei looks on

54、 track to overtake Ericsson, the industry leader, this year. 4 But it faces some big impediments, perhaps the most important being the concerns of many governments, notably Americas and Indias, about a private company suspected of links to the security departments of a country said to be conducting

55、sophisticated hacking. Because of such worries, Huaweis efforts to buy American companies have been blocked and some sales have been lost. The report is clearly an effort by Huawei to lay such concerns to rest. For the first time, its directors are named and given brief biographies. 5 The rags-to-ri

56、ches story of Ren Zhengfei, the chief executive, is fleshed out: the son of rural schoolteachers, he left the army in 1983, founding the company with savings of 21,000 yuan four years later. None of the other directors is said to have military ties. However, a somewhat conspicuous omission from the

57、profile of Sun Yafang, the chairman, is thataccording to a report in the Financial Timesshe used to work for the Ministry of State Security. That three other directors are (according to the Chinese press) closely related to Mr Ren is also omitted. 6 The report is a bit more forthcoming on the financ

58、ial help Huawei gets from the state: plentiful cheap loans, some at interest rates of less than 1.7%, and a handy chunk of research grants. The audit of the firms accounts, by KPMG Huazhen, was unqualified, though the auditor noted that they did not contain all the information needed to meet interna

59、tional accounting standards for a full company report. Huawei still has some way to go before it satisfies the curiosity of foreign governments, competitors and investors. Even so, the information given in this years annual report represents a leap forward in openness for the company and for Chinese industry as a whole. 7 In recent years Huawei has decisivel