1、PASSAGE 13 A Thirsty World The world is not only hungry, it is also thirsty for water. This may seem strange to you, since nearly 75% of the earths surface is covered with water. But about 97% of this huge amount is sea-water, or salt water. Man can only drink and use the other 3% -the fresh water t
2、hat comes from rivers, lakes, underground, and other sources. _1_, because some of it is in the form of icebergs and glaciers. Even worse, some of it has been polluted. At the moment, his small amount of fresh water is still enough for us. However, our need for water is increasing rapidly. Only if w
3、e take steps to deal with this problem now, can we avoid a severe worldwide water shortage later on. One of the useful steps we can take is to stop unlimited use of water. _2_, however, would have a bad effect on agriculture and industry. In addition to stopping wasting our precious water, one more
4、useful step we should take is to develop ways of reusing it. _3_, but only on a small scale. Today, in most large cities, water is used only once and it eventually returns to the sea or runs into underground storage tanks. _4_ that has been used to a purifying plant. There it can be filtered and tre
5、ated with chemicals so that it can be used again just as if it were fresh from a spring. _5_, we still would not have enough. Where could we turn next? To the oceans! All wed have to do to make use of the vast amount of sea-water is -remove the salt. This salt-removing process is already in use in m
6、any parts of the world. So if we take all these steps, well be in no danger of drying up! A. A limited water supply B. But it is possible to pipe water C. It is possible to purify large amounts of sea water D. But even if every large city purified and reused its water E. And we cannot even use all o
7、f that F. Experiments have already been done in this field KEYS: EAFBD PASSAGE 14 Looking to the Future When a magazine for high-school students asked its readers what life would be like in twenty years, they said: Machines would be run by solar power. Buildings would rotate so they could follow the
8、 sun to take maximum advantage of its light and heat. Walls would “radiate light“ and “change color with the push of a button.“ Food would be replaced by pills. School would be taught “by electrical impulse while we sleep. Cars would have radar. Does this sound like the year 2000? Actually, _ and th
9、e question was, “what will life be like in 1978?“ The future is much too important to simply guess about, the way the high school students did, so experts are regularly asked to predict accurately. By carefully studying the present, skilled businessmen, scientists, and politicians are supposedly abl
10、e to figure out in advance what will happen. But can they? One expert on cities wrote: _, but would have space for farms and fields. People would travel to work in “airbuses“, large all-weather helicopters carrying up to 200 passengers. When a person left the airbus station he could drive a coin-ope
11、rated car equipped with radar. The radar equipment of cars would make traffic accidents “almost unheard of“. Does that sound familiar? If the expert had been accurate it would, because he was writing in 1957. His subject was “The city of 1982“. If the professionals sometimes sound like high-school s
12、tudents, its probably because _. But economic forecasting, or predicting what the economy will do, had been around for a long time. It should be accurate, and generally it is. But there have been some big mistakes in this field, too. In early 1929, most forecasters saw an excellent future for the st
13、ock market. In October of that year, _, ruining thousands of investors who had put their faith in financial foreseers. One forecaster knew that predictions about the future would always be subject to significant errors. In 1957, H.J. Rand of the Rand Corporation was asked about the year 2000, “Only
14、one thing is certain,“ he answered. “Children born today _. “ A. the stock market had its worst losses ever B. will have reached the age of 43 C. the article was written in 1958 D. Cities of the future would not be crowded E. the prediction of the future is generally accurate F. future study is stil
15、l a new field Key:CDFAB PASSAGE 15 Marriage and Children Many single Americans today are waiting longer to get married. Some women and men are delaying marriages and family _(1)_; others want to become more established in their chosen profession. Most of people eventually will marry. One survey show
16、ed that only 15 percent of all single adults in the United States want to stay single. Some women become more interested in getting married and starting a family as they enter their 30s. One positive result may come from _(2)_. People who get married at later ages have fewer divorces. Along with the
17、 decision to wait to marry, couples are also waiting longer before they have children, _(3)_. Rearing a child in the United States is costly. Some couples today are deciding not to have children at all. In 1955, only one percent of all women expected to have no children. Today more than five percent
18、 say they want to remain childless. The ability of a couple to choose _(4)_ means that more children _(5)_ are very much wanted and loved. EXERCISE: A) whether they will have children B) sometimes in order to be more firmly established economically C) no matter how late they marry D) men and women m
19、arrying late E) who are born in the United States F) because they want to finish school or start their careers KEY:F D B A E 来源:PASSAGE 16 Dont Mind if I Smoke The French surprised even themselves when they banned tobacco ads three years ago, and created smoke-free zones in public spaces. Even then,
20、 _(1)_ seemed a little too American. Now some French lawmakers are preparing to end the act as reform that simply cant work in a country _(2)_. Law or no law, smokers and nonsmokers mingle _(3)_, whose owners generally ignore requirements to create separate no-smoking sections. French smokers _(4)_,
21、 in hospitals and directly under no -smoking signs. There are stiff fines for violating the smoke-free areas, but they are never imposed. “We have more important things to do“, says a Paris official. The 1992 laws most controversial provision is the tobacco-ad ban. An exception has been made for mot
22、or sports, which are underwritten by tobacco firms. And fans shouted angrily when French TV blacked out a soccer game from abroad because of “secondary“ tobacco and liquor ads at the local stadium. Still, those _(5)_ credit the ad ban for a 15 percent drop in smoking among French teens in the last t
23、hree years. EXERCISE: A) without apparent friction in Paris caf and restaurants B) light up in train stations C) doing great harm to the smokers health D) the attempt to legislate good health E) who are against smoking F) that has always aided lifes petty vices KEY:D F A B E PASSAGE 17 Mergers The m
24、ost common kind of consolidation today is the merger. A merger occurs _(1)_. With the deregulation of natural gas, the nations 20 interstate pipeline companies became fearful of cutthroat competition. Some felt that they could increase their efficiency and improve their market flexibility by merging
25、. In 1985 Internorth of Omaha paid $2.3 billion for Houston Natural Gas Corporation, _(2)_. The system connected markets from coast to coast and raised sales to $10 billion. On occasion, mergers have occurred between smaller companies in an industry dominated by a few giant firms. These smaller comp
26、anies claim that they need to merge to become more efficient and effective in competing against the biggest corporations. They maintain that such action increases competition instead of reducing it. The Antitrust Division of the Justice Department has not always agreed with them. Four major waves of
27、 mergers have taken place in this country. The first started in 1887, just prior to the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act, and ended in 1904. It involved such giants as United States Steel and Standard Oil trying to create monopolies in their industries. From the end of World War I until the 1930
28、s, large firms swallowed smaller firms to create oligopolies. The monopoly had no chance and the oligopoly little chance of succeeding today under present antitrust policy. The third major merger movement began in the 1960s, reached a peak in 1969, _(3)_. Many of the acquisitions involved giant firm
29、s in one industry buying up large companies in totally unrelated industries. Such mergers are called conglomerate mergers. A classic example is Mobil Oil Corporations purchase of the huge retail chain Montgomery Ward the major problems include commercial, political, and foreign exchange risk. Commer
30、cial risks are handled essentially as normal credit risks encountered in day-to-day business. They include solvency, default, or refusal to pay bills. The major risk,_1_ which can only be dealt with through consistently effective management and marketing. One unique risk encountered by the internati
31、onal marketer involves financial adjustments. Such risk is encountered when a controversy arises about the quality of goods delivered, a dispute over contract terms, or_2_. One company, for example, shipped several hundred tons of dehydrated potatoes to a distributor in Germany. The distributor test
32、ed the shipment and declared it to be below acceptable taste and texture standards. The alternatives for the exporter were reducing the price, reselling the potatoes, or shipping them home again, each involving considerable cost. Political risk relates to the problems of war or revolution, currency
33、inconvertibility, expropriation or expulsion, and restriction or cancellation of import licenses. Political risk is an environmental concern for all businesses. Management information systems and effective decision-making processes are the best defenses against political risk. As many companies have
34、 discovered, sometimes there is no way to avoid political risk,_3_. Exchange-rate fluctuations inevitably cause problems, but for many years, most firms could take protective action to minimize their unfavorable effects. Floating exchange rates of the worlds major currencies have forced all marketer
35、s _4_. International Business Machine Corporation, for example, reported that exchange losses resulted in a dramatic 21.6 percent drop in their earnings in the third quarter of 1981. _5_, devaluations of major currencies were infrequent and usually could be anticipated, but exchange-rate fluctuation
36、s in the float system are daily affairs. Exercise: A to be especially aware of exchange-rate fluctuations and the need to compensate for them in their financial planning B any other disagreement over which payment is withheld C however, is competition D so marketers must be prepared to assume them o
37、r give up doing business in a particular market E Before rates were permitted to float F After serious consideration Key: CBDAE PASSAGE 21 Price Planning A price represents the value of a goods or service for both the seller and the buyer. Price planning is systematic decision making by an organizat
38、ion regarding all aspects of pricing. The value of a goods or service can involve both tangible and intangible marketing factors. An example of a tangible marketing factor is the cost savings_1_. An example of an intangible marketing factor is a consumers pride in the ownership of a Lamborghini rath
39、er than another brand of automobile. For an example to take place, both the buyer and seller must feel that the price of a goods or service provides an equitable value. To the buyer, the payment of a price reduces purchasing power _2_. To the seller, receipt of a price is a source of revenue and an
40、important determinant of sales and profit levels. Many words are substitutes for the term price: admission fee, membership fee, rate, tuition, service charge, donation, rent, salary, interest, retainer, and assessment. No matter what it is called,_3_: monetary and non-monetary charges, discounts, ha
41、ndling and shipping fees, credit charges and other forms of interest, and late-payment penalties. A non-price exchange would be selling a new iron for 10 books of trading stamps or an airline offering tickets as payment for advertising space and time. Monetary and non-monetary exchange may be combin
42、ed. This is common with automobiles, _4_. This combination allows a reduction in the monetary price. From a broader perspective, price is the mechanism for allocating goods and services among potential purchasers and for ensuring competition among sellers in an open market economy. If there is an ex
43、cess of demand over supply, prices are usually bid up by consumers. If there is an excess of supply over demand,_5_. Exercise: A a price contains all the terms of purchase B obtained by the purchase of a new bottling machine by a soda manufacturer C where the consumer gives the seller money plus a t
44、rade-in D available for other items E prices are usually reduced by sellers F price means what one pays for what he wants key:BDACE PASSAGE 22 What is a Profit Entrepreneurship is directly responsible for production. The business person (entrepreneur) takes a cue from consumers in deciding what they
45、 want - or, in the case of a new product, _1_. Profit means different things to different people. According to some public opinion polls, many people are not sure what it is, but they are sure _2_. Workers may look at profit as an unfairly large payment to the entrepreneur that deprives them of a hi
46、gher wage. The business person thinks of profit _3_. During negotiations before the settlement of the second baseball strike in August, 1985, the Players Association claimed the owners had made profits of $91 million, an accounting firm said owner profits were $43 million, and the owners insisted th
47、ey had lost $9 million. The truth was that all three were correct. The disparity in the figures was due to the fact that each group was defining profit differently. Let us now see if we can develop a more exact definition of what profit is. Gross profit is the difference between what a business firm
48、 sells its product for and what it costs to produce that product. The merchant buys $200,000 worth of merchandise during the year and sells it for $270,000. His gross profit is $70,000. The percentage difference between his cost and the selling price is 35 percent, and he calls this markup. Net prof
49、it is _4_-rent, wages, and interest-and setting aside money to allow for the loss due to depreciation (wearing out) of capital. Our merchant has to subtract from his gross profit his payments for rent ($6,000), wages ($20,000), interest on money borrowed ($1,000), repairs and upkeep ($1,000), taxes ($1,000), electricity and other expenses $1,000. Expenses for operating the business come to $30,000. Gross profit is $70,000, and net p
