Manycompaniesprovidebenefitsthathelpemployeescopewiththestressesanddemandsofbalancingworkandnonwork.
Whilethefreehealthcliniccosts$1milliontooperate,itis$500000lessthanthecoststhecompanywouldrealizeifemployeesweretreatedelsewhere.
Asianeconomieswillcontinuetoexpandrapidlyinthenexttwoyearsonthebackofforeigninvestments,exportsanddomesticdemand,butwillnotbefreeofworries,accordingtoarecentsecuritiescompanyeconomicreport.Massiveinfrastructurespending,thebenefitsofpastinvestmentsandderegulationandgrowingregionaltradewillpushalongregionalgrowth.
ThereporttippedChina’sgrossdomesticproducttogrowby9.5percentin1996and10.5percentin1997,andHongKong’stogrowby4.3and5.0percent.Singapore’srealGDPwasforecasttogrowby7.6and7.4percent,Malaysia’sby8.6and8.1percent,Thailand’sby8.8and8.4percent,Indonesia’sby7.3and7.1percentandPhilippines’by5.6and5.8percent.
“However,allisnotrosy,”cautionedthereport,whichlistedoverheatingastheregion’sbiggestchallengeintheshorttermandskilled-laborshortagesinthelongrun.
Itcitedstrainsfromrapidgrowththathadbeguntostretchcurrentaccountdeficitsandspurinflationinsomeregionaleconomies,whichcouldpreventtheircentralbanksfromloweringinterestrates.
“Thisimpliesthateconomicvulnerabilitytounexpectedshockswillremainhigh,”thereportsaid,forecastingafurthertighteningofmonetarypolicyincountriessuchasthePhilippinesandMalaysia,andnosignificanteasinginThailand,IndonesiaandChina.
CrosbySecuritiesalsocitedmassivenewinvestmentprogramsgeneratedbydemandsoninfrastructuresuchaspower,telecommunicationsandtransportwhichhadfuelledover-heating.
ItsaidAsiawouldalsofaceabiggerchallengefromnewlyderegulatingeconomiesinEasternEuropewhichofferedlowercostsandbetter-educatedworkerstoforeigninvestors.
Asia’smainforeigninvestorsshould,however,continuetoexpandtheirpresenceintheregion,thesecuritieshousesaid,notingnewtrendsofintra-Asianinvestment.
Singaporeisshiftingitslowervalue-addeddiscdriveandelectronicsindustrytoMalaysia,whichinturnismovingsomeofitsgarment-makingandconsumerelectronicsmanufacturingtoIndonesiaandThailand.Thailand,MalaysiaandSingaporeareincreasinglyinvestinginVietNam,MyanmarandLaos.
“Asiawillbenefitfromthistrendinseveralways,”thereportsaid.
()1Asiaeconomywillcontinuetogrowbecauseof_____________.
A.foreigninvestmentB.demandsinAsiancountries.
C.exportD.alloftheabove
()2Inthenext2years,thehighesteconomicgrowthwillappearin____________.
A.SingaporeB.Thailand
C.HongKongD.China
()3Yearslater,theprobleminAsianeconomymaybe_________________.
A.toolittleinvestmentB.toomuchinvestment
C.notenoughqualifiedlaborsD.monetaryinstability
()4Accordingtothisreport,economicchangesinEastEuropeare___________.
A.harmfulB.challenging
C.helpfulD.useless
()5ThereportisabouttheprospectofAsianeconomy.
A.optimisticB.pessimistic
C.moreoptimisticthanpessimisticD.morepessimisticthanoptimistic
ReadingComprehension
SectionA
Directions:Therearetenincompletesentencesinthissection.ForeachsentencetherearefourchoicesmarkedA,B,CandD.ChoosetheONEthatbestcompletesthesentence.Thenwritedowntherightanswerinthebracketsforeachsentence.Thissectiontotals10points,onepointforeachsentence.
()1.Wecansupplyallthebicyclesyourequired____________stockandarearrangingshipmentbyM.V.Mermaid.
A.forB.from C.to D.against
()2.Wewouldliketoremindyouthatthe__________L/CmustreachusbeforeMarch10
sothatwecanmakeshipmentingoodtime.
A.coveringB.cover C.coveredD.beingcovered
()3.Wehavereceivedyourletterof28March,___________ustomodifythepreviousarrangementsfortheshipmentofthecaptionedorder.
A.askedB.toask C.beingaskedD.asking
()4.InourletterofMay5,wemade__________clearthatshipmentistobeeffectedinJune.
A.youB.them C.thatD.it
()5.Wealwaysdeal_______________paymentbysightL/C.
A.with B.in C.at D.on
()6.Thisofferis_____________toyourreplyreachingusbeforethe20thofFebruary.
A.subjectingB.subject C.subjectedDtosubject
()7.____________weareappreciatingthegoodqualityofyourblacktea,weregretthatyourpriceappearstobeonthehighside.
A.WhileB.When C.HoweverD.Therefore
()8.Weherebyauthorizeyouto___________onusat60daysaftersighttotheextentofUSD20,000.00.
A.open B.establish C.draw D.build
()9.Ifpartiestoacontractdesiretosettledisputes,anarbitrationclauseisusuallymadeinthecontractwellbeforeadispute_____________.
A.risesB.arisesC.lookD.appear
()10.Somecustomersrequestedusto_____________ourpricebecausetheyconsideredit
toohigh.
A.putdownB.getdownC.takedown D.bringdown