Part I Vocabulary and Grammar(30%)

Section One:Choose from A,B,C or D the ONE that best completes the sentence, and mark your choice on the ANSWER SHEET(20 points, 1 point each).

 

And that’s not the case with the program ____now.

As it stand

As it stands

so it stands

As standing

 

 

I wonder if you could ____me a discount of 8% on orders for 1000 units or

Above.

porvide

effect

allow

make

 

 

___we would like to close the business with you,we find your bid unacceptable.

As much

Much as

Like much

Much like

 

 

If the samples don’t meet Tom’s requirements,he would decline to___ a large orde.

place you

place

make

send you

 

 

Our end-users here find your price too high and ___line___the prevailing market level.

in,for

at,through

out of,with

for,by

 

 

No discount will be offered ____you place an order over 10,000 dozen.

until

since

unless

except

 

 

A budget of five dollars a day is totally___and asked me to repeat what I had said.

snatch up

summon up

catch on

watch out

 

 

He will ____resign in view of the complete failure of the research project.

doubtfully

adequately

presumably

reasonably

 

 

The court considers a financial___to be an appropriate way of punishing him.

option

duty

obligation

penalty

 

 

All individuals are required to ____to  the laws made by their governments.

obey

revenge

reproach

scandal

 

 

 

Section Two Identify Stylistic Problems (10 points, 1 point each)

Identify the stylistic problem with each of the following sentences by choosing A,B,C or D.Write your correct sentence on the ANSWER SHEET.

 

21.The ultimate aim is to find an acceptable solution.Such as to convince them to continue the contract and accept the delivered equipment.

 

fragment

run on

correct

choppy

 

 

22.Rice called Afghanistan an”important test of the credibility of NATO,” President Barack Obama mada the same claim in late 2009 when he announced his decision.

 

fragment

run on

comma splice

correct

 

 

23.There are other cases.The cases are the lessons of the past.They should have been obvious.Sadly they are not learned.

 

comma splice

run on

choppy

correct

 

 

24.The consumer activists obviously range from selfish to unselfish,from dishonest to honest, from thoughtless to well-informed.

 

run on

choppy

correct

fragment

 

 

25.Investors believe energy prices will rise. Food prices will also continue to rise.Households have no doubt about this. Other prices and wages will automatically follow suit.

 

run on

choppy

correct

fragment

 

 

 

Part II Reading Comprehension(40%, 2 points each)

Read the following passage and answer the questions by choosing A,B,C or D.Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.

 

Passage 1

 

Microsoft and Apple in atough new world

 

There is a smug maxim in Silicon Valley and the palces that imitate it:”To survive, you must destroy your company every x years”(where x varies according to how much the speaker wants to stress the pace of technological change).Sometimes attributed to Intel’s former chief executive Andy Grove,it is a maxim more often repeated than observed.But it can be a lovely and startling thing when a large, publicly traded company takes abig bet by replacing its core product.

Mirosoft’s new Windows 8 operating system,which went on sale Windows 8 is designed to run on tablet computers, as well as desktop and laptop PCs.The software, which is due to be released in 2012 will work on the popular ARM-designed low power processors for the first time.Microsoft has been under pressure to come up with an answer to Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms.Unveiling Windows 8 at the Build developers' conference in California, Windows division president Steven Sinofsky declared: "We re-imagined Windows. From the chipset to the user experience."

It is an interesting historical moment for the two founding companies of the personal computing revolution.Microsoft knows it is slowly dying but declines to accept its fate.Apple, flush with cash,does not yet have to admit that with the death of its tutelary genius, it has lost its way. But secretly, its executives,designers and developers must fear that something is badly wrong.Jobs always said that technology companies began to die when salespeople and bean counters started making the decisions.

 

1.what does the writer mean by saying ”it is a maxim more often repeated than observed”?

 

The maxim functions well in all cases.

The maxim does not function at all.

The maxim functions more at surface value.

The maxim does not work much in reality.

 

 

2.According to the author,who is dominating the market for small tablet computers?

 

ipad

ipad mini

Kindle and Android tablets

Nobody,It is a highly competitive market.

 

 

Passage 2

 

Closing Canada

 

This month Christian Paradis,Canada’s industry minister, said in parliament: ”We are pragmatic and welcome foreign investment”. He has a funny way of showing it.

"Despite our best efforts and the commendable work of our Sam's Club associates, our six Clubs have not met our expectations," said David Cheesewright, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart Canada, in a statement.Wal-Mart entered Canada in 1994, and in 2006 it began opening its first Canadian supercenters, which offer groceries along with general merchandise.

Wal-Mart has since expanded the number of supercenters it operates in Canada to 56. It did not have the same success with its Sam's Club warehouse stores after opening its first one in 2003.Joseph Beaulieu, an analyst with Morningstar, said it was not surprising to see Wal-Mart close its Canadian Sam's Clubs."When something doesn't work, it might take them a while but they finally get around to closing it down," he said.Wal-Mart Stores Inc also has seen sales weakness at Sam's Club stores in the United States, where it operates in more than 600 locations.

 

6.By saying”He has a funny way of showing it ”,the author means____.

 

Mr.Paradis is joking about the Canadian law

Mr.Paradis is serious about his words before the parliament

Mr.Paradis is playing a joke on others before the parliament

Mr.Pardiss words befor the parliament seems to become sort of a joke

 

 

Passage 3

Choose the best from the following sentences marked A to E to complete the article below.Write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.

 

A bad time for Britain to say “auf Wiedersehen”

 

 History records that the then prime minister scoffed at such self-interested realism. Waving a map delineating past German expansionism, she embarked on a doomed effort to thwart unification. Fran?ois Mitterrand was enlisted but the French president soon changed sides in the face of Helmut Kohl’s resolve. Britain found itself marginalised in Washington, where George H.W. Bush backed Mr Kohl, and unwelcome in Bonn. 

11.______. This is not to say they are good. The relationship between Angela Merkel and David Cameron has turned from lukewarm to distinctly cool. Asked when the two leaders will next meet, one German official remarks: “What’s the point?” 

The eurozone crisis has bred a more assertive Germany – witness its willingness this week to scupper the proposed takeover of BAE Systems by EADS. 12________. 

The rot set in last December when Mr Cameron tried to veto deeper economic and political eurozone integration. His pitch for special privileges and protections for the City of London was viewed in Berlin as an attempt to unpick the essential fabric of the single market – the EU’s cherished “acquis”. 

13.______. What’s the point of Ms Merkel striking deals in Downing Street if they are cast aside when he feels a need to play to the eurosceptic gallery? 

Germany recently signed up to a British initiative to freeze the EU budget. Now it finds Mr Cameron waving a unilateral veto. British ministers are also questioning some of the union’s fundamental pillars, including free movement of people. 

It is one thing to stand aside from European integration. Another constantly to congratulate oneself for staying out of a “doomed” eurozone. Britain’s economy, mired in recession and with a deficit to rival that of Greece, is hardly a role model. And when Mr Cameron trumpets the importance of the City, Germans are inclined to recall that all the trouble started with the anything-goes financial capitalism it had made a trademark. 

14._____ British disengagement from “core” Europe is inevitable. The government has already said it will not join a new banking union. Mr Cameron is now suggesting a two-tier EU budget so that Westminster can pay less. 

Were Britain planning to leave the union – and on its present trajectory it is heading in that direction – such complacency might just make sense. But Mr Cameron insists that EU membership remains vital to the nation’s prosperity. Any serious business leader would agree. 

So the terms of a new settlement will be critical. Will Britain simply have to accept the rules laid down by eurozone states. Or will it have a chance to help shape policy within the EU of 27? The signs are not encouraging. Prospective members of the proposed banking union are planning to vote as a bloc. 

So Britain needs allies. Given his bad start with Fran?ois Hollande, Mr Cameron is not spoiled for choice. Anyway, Germany is the important player. On the big economic issues – the single market, competitiveness and budget discipline – it holds positions quite close to those of Britain. 

Germany has an interest in sustaining a good relationship. It would help Ms Merkel avoid suffocation by the French. But the chancellor has her own red lines. Mr Cameron cannot expect to win friends by seeking to undermine the keystones of integration. Challenging free movement is simply not smart. 

Britain, albeit mostly by choice, is sliding fast into Europe’s second division. Whether a new relationship can be made to work will depend on how many friends it has. 

15.____. The breakdown of the EADS-BAE deal was another reminder, if one were needed, that Britain cannot escape the consequences of decisions taken on the continent. Mr Cameron has chosen the wrong moment to bid auf Wiedersehen to a natural ally.

 

 

Questions

But the real argument with Britain is about Europe.

Relations between Britain and Germany are not as bad now as they were then.

The answer at the moment is precious few.

 

 

Part III Writing(30%)

Write a report of 300-350 words in English,comparing and analyzing the US unemployment rate,GDP and putput between June and Dec,2011.Your writing will be assessed for language, format,structure,content and length.Write your report on the ANSWER SHEET.