Passage 3
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:
Unlike their American or European counterparts, car salesmen in Japan work hard to get a buyer. Instead of lying lazily around showrooms waiting for customers to drop by, many Japanese car salesmen still go out to get them. They walk wearily along the streets cars door-to-door. New customers are hunted with fruit and cakes on their birthdays. But life is getting tough, and not just because new-car sales are falling.
With more Japanese women (who often control the household budget) going out to work, the salesmen increasingly find nobody at home when they call. That means another visit in the evening or the weekend. Then they face an extra problem: more people, especially the young, prefer to choose a new car from a showroom where they can compare different models.
Even as late as the mid-1980s some 90% of new cars were sold door-to-door. In some rural areas most new cars are still sold this way. But in the big cities more than half the new cars are now sold from showrooms.
Although investing in showrooms is expensive because of the high cost of Japanese land, dealers have little choice. A labor shortage and higher among Japan’s workforce are making it difficult to hire door-to-door salesmen. Most of a Japanese car salesman’s working day is spent doing favors for customers, like arranging insurance or picking up vehicles for servicing, rather than actually selling.
Japan’s doorstep car salesmen are not about to vanish. The personal service they provide is so deep-rooted in Japan that they are likely to operate alongside the glittering new showrooms. The two systems even complement each other. What increasingly happens is that the showroom attracts the interest of a potential buyer, giving the footsore salesmen a firm lead to follow up with a home visit.
11. Japanese car sales usually do not wait at showrooms for customers to drop by; instead, .
A. they sell cars door-to-door
B. they buy presents for their customers
C. they enjoy themselves in recreation centers
D. they go out to do market researches
12. Implied but stated: the competition in car market is .
A. light B. moderate C. fierce D. unfair
13. Young people like to buy a new car .
A. at home B. from a showroom
C. made in the U.S.A. D. made in Japan
14. The squadron of Japanese car salesmen is reducing because of .
A. a labor shortage
B. higher expectations among Japan’s workforce
C. high cost land
D. both A and B
15. Japanese car salesmen to their customers many favors such as .
A. showing them around in an exhibition
B. arranging insurance
C. paying them a visit on weekends
D. selling ole cars for them
DDBDD
暂无解析
Part IV Translation
Satellite massagers have the same global coverage as satellite telephones, but carry text alone, which could be useful for those with laptop computers.(Passage Four)
More attention was paid to the quality of production in France at the time of Rene Coty. Charles Deschanel was then the financial minister. He stressed that workmanship and quality were more important than quantity for industrial production. It would be necessary to produce quality goods for the international markets to compete with those produced in other countries. The French economy needed a larger share of international market to balance its import and export trade.
French industrial and agricultural production was still inadequate to meet the immediate needs of the people, let alone long-ranged developments. Essential imports had stretched the national credit to the breaking point. Rents were tightly controlled, but the extreme inflation affected general population most severely through the cost of food. Food costs took as much as 80 percent of the worker's income. Wages, it is true, had risen. Extensive family allowances and benefits were paid by the state, and there was fulltime and overtime employment. Taken together, these factors enabled the working class to exist but allowed them no sense of security. In this discouraging situation, workmen were willing to work overseas for higher wages.
The government was unwilling to let workers leave the country. It was feared that migration of workers would reduce the labor force. The lack of qualified workers might hinder the improvement in the quality of industrial products produced. Qualified workers employed abroad would only increase the quantity of quality goods produced in foreign countries. Also the quantity of quality goods produced in France would not be able to increase as part of its ualified labor force moved to other countries.
1. The purpose of the passage is to_______.
A. explain the French government's emphasis on quality products
B. discuss Charles Deschanel's contribution to the French industrial development
C. compare the quality of French goods with that of foreign goods
D. show French workmen's enthusiasm to seek well-paid jobs in foreign countries
2. It can be inferred from the passage that at the time of Rene Coty .
A. France was still at the first stage of industrial development
B. French workers were better paid than the workers in any other European countries
C. the unemployment rate in France was comparatively higher than that in other European countries
D. French workers were able to live better with the increase in their wages
3. It is implied in the passage that at that time_______.
A. France had a very large share of international market
B. the import and export trade in France was making a successful advance
C. demand and supply in France was barely balanced
D. France was experiencing economic depression
4. Which of the following is the best indicator of the extreme inflation in France?
A. Eighty percent increase in the prices of consumer goods. B. High cost of food.
C. High rents for houses. D. Lack of agricultural products.
5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. Rents in France were tightly controlled.
B. France was flooding the international market with inferior product s.
C. French workers were prohibited from going abroad to find jobs.
D. The migration of French workers would hinder the improvement of quality in industrial production.
翻译:
如今,中国正步入老龄化社会,因此独生子女一代面临着巨大的工作和生活压力。中国政府开始适当调整计划生育政策,允许一些家庭在特殊情况下生育二胎。但调查显示,很多夫妻迫于不断加重的经济压力,放弃生育二胎。因此,要从根本上解决老龄化的问题不能依靠出生率的上升,最有效的办法是建立有效的社会保障制度。
Whichissafer-stayingathome,travelingtoworkonpublictransport,orworkingintheoffice?Surprisingly,eachofthesecarriesthesamerisk,whichisverylow.However,whataboutflyingcomparedtoworkinginthechemicalindustry?Unfortunately,theformeris65timesriskierthanthelatter!Infact,theaccidentrateofworkersinthechemicalindustryislessthanthatofalmostanyofhumanactivity,andalmostassafeasstayingathome.
Thetroublewiththechemicalindustryisthatwhenthingsgowrongtheyoftencausedeathtothoselivingnearby.Itisthiswhichmakeschemicalaccidentssonewsworthy.Fortunately,theyareextremelyrare.ThemostfamousoneshappenedatTexasCity(1947),Flixborough(1974),Seveso(1976),Pemex(1984)andBhopal(1984)。
Someofthesearealwaysinthemindsofthepeopleeventhoughthelossoflifewassmall.NoonediedatSeveso,andonly28workersatFlixborough.TheworstaccidentofallwasBhopal,whereupto3,000werekilled.TheTexasCityexplosionoffertilizerkilled552.ThePemexfireatastorageplantfornaturalgasinthesuburbsofMexicoCitytook542lives,justamonthbeforetheunfortunateeventatBhopal.
Someexpertshavediscussedtheseaccidentsandusedeachaccidenttoillustrateaparticulardanger.ThustheTexasCityexplosionwascausedbytonsofammoniumnitrate(硝酸铵),whichissafeunlessstoredingreatquantity.TheFlixboroughfireballwasthefaultofmanagement,whichtookriskstokeepproductiongoingduringessentialrepairs.TheSevesoaccidentshowswhathappensifthelocalauthoritieslackknowledgeofthedangerontheirdoorstep.Whenthepoisonousgasdriftedoverthetown,localleaderswereincapableoftakingeffectiveaction.ThePemexfirewasmadeworsebyanoverloadedsiteinanovercrowdedsuburb.Thefiresetoffachainreactionosexplodingstoragetanks.Yet,byamiracle,thetwolargesttanksdidnotexplode.Hadthesecaughtfire,then3,000strongrescueteamandfirefighterswouldallhavedied.
1.Chemicalaccidentsareusuallyimportantenoughtobereportedasnewsbecause____.
A.theyareveryrare
B.theyoftencauselossoflife
C.theyalwaysoccurinbigcities
D.theyarousetheinterestofallthereaders
2.Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?
A.Workingattheofficeissaferthanstayingathome.
B.Traverllingtoworkonpublictransportissaferthanworkingattheoffice.
C.Stayingathomeissaferthanworkinginthechemicalindustry.
D.Workinginthechemicalindustryissaferthantravelingbyair.
3.Accordingtopassage,thechemicalaccidentthatcausedbythefaultofmanagementhappenedat____.
A.TexascityB.FlixboroughC.SevesoD.MexicoCity
4.Fromthediscussionamongsomeexpertswemaycocludethat____.
A.toavoidanyaccidentsweshouldnotrepairthefacilitiesinchemicalindustry
B.thelocalauthoritiesshouldnotbeconcernedwiththeproductionofthechemicalindustry
C.alltheseaccidentscouldhavebeenavoidedorcontrolledifeffectivemeasurehadbeentaken
D.naturalgasstoredinverylargetanksisalwayssafe
5.Fromthepassageweknowthatammoniumnitrateisakindof____.
A.naturalgas,whichcaneasilycatchfire
B.fertilizer,whichcan'tbestoredinagreatquantity
C.poisonoussubstance,whichcan'tbeusedinovercrowdedareas
D.fuel,whichisstoredinlargetanks
Thebesttitleforthepassagewouldbe________.