Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension
Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each or them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice and then mark the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET.
Sometimes, over a span of many Years, a business will continue to grow, generating ever-increasing amounts of cash, repurchasing stock, paying increased dividends, reducing debt, opening new stores, expanding production facilities, moving into new markets, etc., while at the same tune its stock price remains stagnant (or even falls).
When this happens, the average and professional investors alike tend to overlook the company because they become familiar with the trading range.
Take, for example, Wal-Mart. Over the past five years, the retailing behemoth has grown sales by over 80%, profits by over 100%, and yet the stock price has fallen as much as 30% during that timeframe. Clearly, the valuation picture has changed. An investor that read the annual report back in 2000 or 2001 might have passed on the security, deeming it too expensive based on a metric such as the price to earnings ratio. Today, however, the equation is completely different--despite the stock price, Wal-Mart is, in essence, trading at half its former price because each share is backed by a larger dividend, twice the earnings power, more stores, and a bigger infrastructure. Home Depot is in much the same boat, largely because some Wall Street analysts question how fast two of the world's largest companies can continue to grow before their sheer size slows them down to the rate of the general economy.
Coca-Cola is another excellent example of this phenomenon. Ten years ago, in 1996, the stock traded between a range of $36.10 and $54.30 per share. At the time, it had reported earnings per share of $1.40 and paid a cash dividend of $0.50 per share. Corporate per share book value was $2.48. Last year, the stock traded within a range of $40.30 and $45.30 per share; squarely in the middle of the same area it had been nearly a decade prior! Yet, despite the stagnant stock price, the 2006 estimates Value Line Investment Survey estimates for earnings per share stand around $2.16 (a rise of 54%), the cash dividend has more than doubled to $1.20, book value is expected to have grown to $7.40 per share (a gain of nearly 300%), and the total number of shares outstanding (未偿 付的, 未完成的) has actually decreased from 2.481 billion to an estimated 2.355 billion due to the company's share repurchase program.
Today's college students are more narcissistic (自恋的) and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society.
"We need to stop endlessly repeating 'You're special' and having children repeat that back," said the study's lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. "Kids are self-centered enough already. Unfortunately, narcissism can also have very negative consequences for society, including the breakdown of close relationships with others," he said. The study asserts that narcissists "are more likely to have romantic relationships that are short-lived, at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth, and to exhibit game-playing, dishonesty, and over-controlling and violent behaviors". Twenge, the author of "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled- and More Miserable Than Ever Before", said narcissists tend to lack empathy, react aggressively to criticism and favor self-promotion over helping others.
Some analysts have commended today's young people for increased commitment to volunteer work. But Twenge viewed even this phenomenon skeptically, noting that many high schools require community service and many youths feel pressure to list such endeavors on college applications.
Campbell said the narcissism upsurge seemed so pronounced(非常明显的)that he was unsure if there were obvious remedies. "Permissiveness seems to be a component," he said. "A potential antidote would be more authoritative parenting. Less indulgence might be called for."
Yet students, while acknowledging some legitimacy to such findings, don't necessarily accept negative generalizations about their generation.
Hanady Kader, a University of Washington senior, said she worked unpaid last summer helping resettle refugees and considers many of her peers to be civic-minded. But she is dismayed (气馁；灰心) by the competitiveness of some students who seem prematurely focused on career status. "We're encouraged a lot to be individuals and go out there and do what you want, and nobody should stand in your way," Kader said. "I can see goals and ambitions getting in the way of other things like relationships."
Kari Dalane, a University of Vermont sophomore, says most of her contemporaries are politically active and not overly self-centered. "People are worried about themselves--but in the sense of where are they're going to find a place in the world," she said. "People want to look their best, have a good time, but it doesn't mean they're not concerned about the rest of the world."
Besides, some of the responses on the narcissism test might not be worrisome, Dalane said. "It would be more depressing if people answered, 'No, you are not special.'\
The House is expected to pass a piece of legislation Thursday that seeks to significantly rebalance the playing field for unions and employers and could possibly reverse decades of declining membership among private industries.
The Employee Free Choice Act would allow a union to be recognized after collecting a majority of vote cards, instead of waiting for the National Labor Relations Board to oversee a secret ballot election, which can occur more than 50 days after the card vote is completed.
Representatives of business on Capitol Hill oppose the bill. The National Association of Manufacturers, The National Federation of Independent Business, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups oppose the shift away from secret ballots saying the change could threaten the privacy of the workers. "This isn't about preventing increased unionization, it's about protecting rights," said the National Association of Manufacturer's Jason Straczewski, of his organization's opposition to bill. Straczewski says eliminating the secret-ballot step would open up employees to coercion (强迫,胁迫) from unions.
Samuel of the AFL-CIO contends the real coercion comes from employers. "Workers talking to workers are equals while managers talking to workers aren't," Samuel said. He cites the 31,358 cases of illegal employer discrimination acted on by the National Labor Relations Board in 2005.
Samuel also points out that counter to claims from the business lobby, the secret ballot would not be eliminated. The change would only take the control of the timing of the election out of the hands of the employers. "On the ground, the difference between having this legislation and not would be the difference between night and day," said Richard Shaw of the Harris County Central Labor Council, who says it would have a tremendous impact on the local level.
The bill has other provisions (规定,条款) as well. The Employee Free Choice Act would also impose binding arbitration (仲裁) when a company and a newly formed union cannot agree on a contract after 3 months. An agreement worked out under binding compulsory arbitration would be in effect for 2 years, a fact that Straczewski calls, "borderline unconstitutional". "I don't see how it will benefit employees if they're locked into a contract," said Straczewski.
The bill's proponents point to the trend of recognized unions unable to get contracts from unwilling employers. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the organization that oversees arbitration, reported that in 2004, 45 percent of newly formed unions were denied first contracts by employers. The bill would also strengthen the penalties for companies that illegally coerce or intimidate employees. As it stands, the law on the books hasn't changed substantially since the National Labor Relations Act was made into law in 1935. The NLBR can enforce no other penalty than reinstating wrongfully fired employees or recovering lost wages.
Some African Americans have had a profound impact on American society, changing many people's views on race, history and politics. The following is a sampling of African Americans who have shaped society and the world with their spirit and their ideals.
Muhammad Ali Cassius Marcellus Clay grew up a devout Baptist in Louisville, Kentucky, learning to fight at age 12 after a police officer suggested he learn to defend himself. Six years later, he was an Olympic boxing champion, going on to win three world heavyweight titles. He became known as much for his swagger (趾高气扬) outside the ring as his movement in it, converting to Islam in 1965, changing his name to Muhammad Ali and refusing to join the U.S. Army on religious grounds. Ali remained popular after his athletic career ended and he developed Parkinson's disease, even lighting the Olympic torch at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and conveying the peaceful virtues of Islam following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
W. E. B. Du Bois Born William Edward Burghardt Du Bois in 1868, this Massachusetts native was one of the most prominent, prolific intellectuals of his time. An academic, activist and historian, Du Bois co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), edited "The Crisis" magazine and wrote 17 books, four journals and many other scholarly articles. In perhaps his most famous work, "The Souls of Black Folk", published in 1903, he predicted "the problem of 20th century [would be] the problem of the color-line".
Martin Luther King Jr. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is considered one of the most powerful and popular leaders of the American civil rights movement. He spearheaded (带头,作先 锋)a massive, nonviolent initiative of marches, sit-ins, boycotts and demonstrations that profoundly affected Americans' attitudes toward race relations. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Malcolm X Black leader Malcolm X spoke out about the concepts of race pride and black nationalism in the early 1960s. He denounced the exploitation of black people by whites and developed a large and dedicated following, which continued even after his death in 1965. Interest in the leader surged again after Spike Lee's 1992 movie "Malcolm X" was released.
Jackie Robinson In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black baseball player in the U.S. major leagues. After retirement from baseball in 1957, he remained active in civil rights and youth activities. In 1962, he became the first African-American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Part Ⅳ Cloze
Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET.
Sea rise as a consequence of global warming would immediately threaten that large fraction of the globe living at sea level. Nearly one-third of all human beings live within 36 miles of a coastline. Most of the world's great seaport cities would be 56 : New Orleans, Amsterdam, Shanghai, and Cairo. Some countries- Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean, islands in the Pacific- would be inundated. Heavily populated coastal areas such as in Bangladesh and Egypt, 57 large populations occupy low-lying areas, would suffer extreme 58 .
Warmer oceans would spawn stronger hurricanes and typhoons, 59 in coastal flooding, possibly swamping valuable agricultural lands around the world. 60 water quality may result as 61 flooding which forces salt water into coastal irrigation and drinking water supplies, and irreplaceable, natural 62 could be flooded with ocean water, destroying forever many of the 63 plant and animal species living there.
Food supplies and forests would be 64 affected. Changes in rainfall patterns would disrupt agriculture. Warmer temperatures would 65 grain-growing regions pole-wards. The warming would also increase and change the pest plants, such as weeds and the insects 66 the crops.
Human health would also be affected. Warming could 67 tropical climate bringing with it yellow fever, malaria, and other diseases. Heat stress and heat mortality could rise. The harmful 68 of localized urban air pollution would very likely be more serious in warmer 69 . There will be some 70 from warming. New sea-lanes will open in the Arctic, longer growing seasons further north will 71 new agricultural lands, and warmer temperature will make some of today's colder regions more 72 . But these benefits will be in individual areas. The natural systems--both plant and animal- will be less able than man to cope and 73 . Any change of temperature, rainfall, and sea level of the magnitude now 74 will be destructive to natural systems and living things and hence to man as well.
The list of possible consequences of global warming suggests very clearly that we must do everything we can now to understand its causes and effects and to take all measures possible to prevent and adapt to potential and inevitable disruptions 75 by global warming.