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《商务英语阅读( 二)》课程期末考试试卷（ C 卷）
考试专业商务英语 班级 1801-1803班 考试形式闭卷 考试时间 120 分钟 考试学期2018-2019学年第二学期 考试类型考查 命题教师
题号 一 二 三 四 五 总分 分 值 10 20 20 20 30 １００ I. Choice question(本大题共2小题，每小题5分，共10分） 1.Which of the following brand adopts coffee-centric experience?
A. KFC B. MacDonald’s C. Starbucks D. Amazon 2. Which of the following brand makes cosmetics?
A. Dior B. H&M C. Uniqlo D. MacDonald
II. Match the following words with their corresponding meanings. (本大题共5小题，每小题4分，共20分）
3. inflation A. an official document that identifies that you as a citizen o f a particular country, and
that you may have to show when you enter or leave a country
4.opportunity cost B. the benefits you could have received by taking an alternative action 5. passport C. the great boy of the people, as contrasted with the higher classes
6. curriculum D. the rise in prices resulting from an increase in demand for goods and services 7. the masses E. the subjects that are included in a course of study or taught in a school, college, etc III. Insert the following sentences into the appropriate blank. (本大题共5小题，每小题4分，共20分）
Enough reason to reduce import duties
The existing import duty system has not kept pace with the changing consumption pattern of the Chinese people. Thanks to the country's rapid economic growth some medium- and even high-end
goods are no longer luxuries; they have become almost necessities for some people. 8 It is thus important that the government see them as almost necessities or better quality consumer goods. Rather than imposing high import duty on them, the government should strike some of them off the duty list.
A reduction in the tax of some brands that a part of the middle class can afford would encourage more enterprises to import them, and help boost domestic sales. 9 For example, even though imported cosmetics are defined as luxury products, many people in China buy them and end up paying too high a price. The total tax on imported cosmetics is 57 percent - 30 percent consumption tax, 17 percent value-added tax and 10 percent tariff - which is very high according to international standards.
Besides, a reduction in tax would also attract companies that own some of the so-called luxury
第 1 页brands to open factories in China, which will expand domestic demand and create more jobs. The subsequent increase in their sales would offset the loss in government revenue. And if more foreign brands set up factories in the country, Chinese enterprises can learn from them product design, management and sales techniques, which will lead to a healthy and fair competition among domestic brands.
If the authorities continue with their high import tax policy, it will force some domestic consumers to buy the so-called luxury goods during their trips abroad or in duty free shops at airports.
10 There are many tiers in the sales chain of a large number of medium- and high-end imported products. Usually, regional agents do not have strong bargaining powers, which allows their overseas manufacturers to keep their prices high to make maximum profit. Some hidden rules such as \goods.
The government should standardize the business of such goods by promoting a new marketing pattern, including chain stores or factory shops, to reduce the tiers in the sales chain and make them more affordable for consumers.
Some experts oppose any tax reduction on luxury products because they think domestic demand can be boosted only by increasing the sales of domestic goods. 11
Most of the medium- and high-grade product makers follow the business model of \and quick returns\lower the tax on medium- and high-grade goods.
12 Many luxury brands do have their production units in China, but their products are at the bottom end of the \in the curve.
A. According to economics, every imported product has a \
B. It is abnormal to see some products, which actually are common popular consumer goods overseas, treated as luxury products in China because of the high tax imposed on them. C. The marketing and sale of some well-known brands face many problems in China.
D. Today, many people from the middle-income group can afford products that not so long ago were considered luxuries.
E. What they fail to see, however, is that such a move could harm the competitiveness of domestic corporations and the Chinese economy.
IV. Fast Reading. (本大题共5小题，每小题4分，共20分）
The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise, market-oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most. Private businessmen, striving to make profits, produce these goods and services in competition with other businessmen; and the profit motive, operating under competitive pressures, largely determines how these goods and services are produced. Thus, in the American economic system it is the demand of individual
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consumers, coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes, that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it.
An important factor in a market-oriented economy is the mechanism by which consumer demands can be expressed and responded to by producers. In the American economy, this mechanism is provided by a price system, a process in which prices rise and fall in response to relative demands of consumers and supplies offered by seller-producers. If the product is in short supply relative to the demand, the price will be bid up and some consumers will be eliminated from the market. If, on the other hand, producing more of a commodity results in reducing its cost, this will tend to increase the 密 supply offered by seller-producers, which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product. Thus, price is the regulating mechanism in the America economic system.
The important factor in a private-enterprise economy is that individual are allowed to own productive resources (private property), and they are permitted to hire labor, gain control over natural resources, and produce goods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy, the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights, including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual.
13. In Para. 1, “ the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes” means ___. 封 A. Americans never feel satisfied with their incomes B. Americans tend to overstate the amount of their incomes C. Americans want to have their incomes increased
D. Americans want to increase the purchasing power of their incomes
14. The first two sentences in the second paragraph clarity the idea to us that ___. A. producers can satisfy the consumers by mechanized production B. consumers can express their demands through producers C. producers decide the prices of products D. supply and demand regulate prices
15. The word “embraces” in Para. 3 probably parallels ___. 线 A. enfold B. hug C. comprehend D. support
16. According to the passage, a private-enterprise economy is characterized by ___.
A. private property and rights concerned B. manpower and natural resources control C. ownership of productive resources D. free contracts and prices 17. The passage is mainly talking about ___.
A. how American goods are produced B. how American consumers buy their goods
C. how American economic system works D. how American businessman make their profits
V. Reading Comprehension.（本大题共10小题，每小题3分，共30分）
Makete Integrated Rural Transport Project 第 2 页Section A
The disappointing results of many conventional road transport projects in Africa led some
experts to rethink the strategy by which rural transport problems were to be tackled at the beginning of the 1980s. A request for help in improving the availability of transport within the remote Makete District of south-western Tanzania presented the opportunity to try a new approach.
The concept of “integrated rural transport” was adopted in the task of examining the transport needs of the rural households in the district. The objective was to reduce the time and effort needed to obtain access to essential goods and services through an improved rural transport system. The underlying assumption was that the time saved would be used instead for activities that would improve the social and economic development of the communities. The Makete Integrated Rural Transport Project (MIRTP) started in 1985 with financial support from the Swiss Development Corporation and was co-ordinated with the help of the Tanzanian government.
Section B
When the project began, Makete District was virtually totally isolated during the rainy season. The regional road was in such bad shape that access to the main towns was impossible for about three months of the year. Road traffic was extremely rare within the district, and alternative means of transport were restricted to donkeys in the north of the district. People relied primarily on the paths, which were slippery and dangerous during the rains.
Before solutions could be proposed, the problems had to be understood. Little was known about the transport demands of the rural households, so Phase I, between December 1985 and December 1987, focused on research. The socio-economic survey of more than 400 households in the district indicated that a household in Makete spent, on average, seven hours a day on transporting themselves and their goods, a figure which seemed extreme but which has also been obtained in surveys in other rural areas in Africa. Interesting facts regarding transport were found: 95% was on foot; 80% was within the locality; and 70% was related to the collection of water and firewood and travelling to grinding mills.
Section C
Having determined the main transport needs, possible solutions were identified which might reduce the time and burden. During Phase II, from January to February 1991, a number of approaches were implemented in an effort to improve mobility and access to transport.
An improvement of the road network was considered necessary to ensure the import and export of goods to the district. These improvements were carried out using methods that were heavily
dependent on labour. In addition to the improvement of roads, these methods provided training in the operation of a mechanical workshop and bus and truck services. However, the difference from the conventional approach was that this time consideration was given to local transport needs outside the road network.
Most goods were transported along the paths that provide short-cuts up and down the hillsides, but the paths were a real safety risk and made the journey on foot even more arduous. It made sense to improve the paths by building steps, handrails and footbridges.
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It was uncommon to find means of transport that were more efficient than walking but less
technologically advanced than motor vehicles. The use of bicycles was constrained by their high cost and the lack of available spare parts. Oxen were not used at all but donkeys were used by a few
households in the northern part of the district. MIRTP focused on what would be most appropriate for the inhabitants of Makete in terms of what was available, how much they could afford and what they were willing to accept. After careful consideration, the project chose the promotion of donkeys - a donkey costs less than a bicycle - and the introduction of a locally manufacturable wheelbarrow.
Section D
At the end of Phase II, it was clear that the selected approaches to Makete’s transport problems 密 had had different degrees of success. Phase III, from March 1991 to March 1993, focused on the refinement and institutionalisation of these activities.
The road improvements and accompanying maintenance system had helped make the district centre accessible throughout the year. Essential goods from outside the district had become more readily available at the market, and prices did not fluctuate as much as they had done before.
Paths and secondary roads were improved only at the request of communities who were willing to participate in construction and maintenance. However, the improved paths impressed the
inhabitants, and requests for assistance greatly increased soon after only a few improvements had been completed.
The efforts to improve the efficiency of the existing transport services were not very successful
封 because most of the motorised vehicles in the district broke down and there were no resources to
repair them. Even the introduction of low-cost means of transport was difficult because of the general poverty of the district. The locally manufactured wheelbarrows were still too expensive for all but a few of the households. Modifications to the original design by local carpenters cut production time and costs. Other local carpenters have been trained in the new design so that they can respond to requests. Nevertheless, a locally produced wooden wheelbarrow which costs around 5000 Tanzanian shillings (less than US$20) in Makete, and is about one quarter the cost of a metal wheelbarrow, is still too expensive for most people.
Donkeys, which were imported to the district, have become more common and contribute, in particular, to the transportation of crops and goods to market. Those who have bought donkeys are 线 mainly from richer households but, with an increased supply through local breeding, donkeys should become more affordable. Meanwhile, local initiatives are promoting the renting out of the existing donkeys.
It should be noted, however, that a donkey, which at 20,000Tanzanian shillings costs less than a bicycle, is still an investment equal to an average household’s income over half a year. This clearly illustrates the need for supplementary measures if one wants to assist the rural poor.
Section E
It would have been easy to criticise the MIRTP for using in the early phases a“top-down” approach, in which decisions were made by experts and officials before being handed down to
communities, but it was necessary to start the process from the level of the governmental authorities 第 3 页of the district. It would have been difficult to respond to the requests of villagers and other rural inhabitants without the support and understanding of district authorities.
Section F
Today, nobody in the district argues about the importance of improved paths and inexpensive means of transport. But this is the result of dedicated work over a long period, particularly from the officers in charge of community development. They played an essential role in raising awareness and interest among the rural communities.
The concept of integrated rural transport is now well established in Tanzania, where a major program of rural transport is just about to start. The experiences from Makete will help in this initiative, and Makete District will act as a reference for future work.
Questions 18-22 Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer? Write YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer; NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer; NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this. 18 MIRTP was divided into five phases.
19 Prior to the start of MIRTP the Makete district was almost inaccessible during the rainy season. 20 Phase I of MIRTP consisted of a survey of household expenditure on transport.
21 The survey concluded that one-fifty or 20% of the household transport requirement as outside the local area.
22 MIRTP hoped to improve the movement of goods from Makete district to the country’s capital. Questions 23-26 Complete each sentence with the correct ending. A-J, below. 23 Construction of footbridges, steps and handrails 24 Frequent breakdown of buses and trucks in Makete 25 The improvement of secondary roads and paths 26 The isolation of Makete for part of the year
A. provided the people of Makete with experience in running bus and truck services. B. was especially successful in the northern part of the district.
C. differed from earlier phases in that the community became less actively involved. D. improved paths used for transport up and down hillsides. E. was no longer a problem once the roads had been improved. F. cost less than locally made wheelbarrows.
G. was done only at the request of local people who were willing to lend a hand. H. was at first considered by MIRTP to be affordable for the people of the district. I. hindered attempts to make the existing transport services more efficient. J. was thought to be the most important objective of Phase III. Question 27 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Which of the following phrases best describes the main aim?
A. to suggest that projects such as MIRTP are needed in other countries
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B. to describe how MIRTP was implemented and how successful it was C. to examine how MIRTP promoted the use of donkeys
D. to warn that projects such as MIRTP are likely to have serious problems
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商务英语阅读2C
