阅读理解. America has long been considered the land of opportunity(机遇)by those f
题型：甘肃省同步题难度：来源：
other countries. Americans, too, believe that the United States gives almost limitless
opportunity for those who want to open business on their own.
Today, Americans are still fond of trying their hand at becoming small business
people, even though only one out of two survives in the first two years. Many of these
people start their business for the wrong reason: to get away from the paper work of
their present jobs or to exchange the responsibility(责任)of their present jobs for free
life styles. But more, not less paper work and responsibility come with the ownership
of a small business.
Not all small businesses succeed. Fifty percent of the 4,550,000 that start in the
United States ever fail(失败). Still ninety-five percent of businesses in the U.S. can
be regarded as small, and these businesses altog
ether produce forty percent of America"s total national products.
opportunities in theU.S.
B. Only the Americans think the U.S. can give them many opportunities.
C. Both people from other countries and Americans believe they have many
opportunities in the U.S so that they can do whatever they like.
D. People from other countries and Americans all think the U.S. the place where
they can realize their dreams.
opportunities in the U.S. but not now
B. now American
s don"t believe the U.S. can give them a lot of opportunitiesC. people from other countries still think they have more opportunities in the
U.S. than in their own countries
D. Americans think they have more opportunities to start their own business than
those from other countries
business because ____.
me rich soonB. they not only dislike their present job but also want a free life style
C. they don"t want to do paper work
D. they want to have more chances
B. it is easy to start a business but hard to make it successful
C. there are more big businesses than small businesses in the U.S.
D. only big businesses can succeed in the U.S.
答案
举一反三
For many managers,"team building" means two days spent doing role－playing exercises
in a conference hotel far from 
head office.But perhaps a more effective way to build teams is
simply by playing real team sports,such as soccer,cricket or softball.
David Clark,a project manager at Atisreal UK,is one of the organizers of the company"s
two soccer teams.He says the main point is fitness but it also has another adv
antage:"It gives
the guys a chance to meet and relax with their peers (同等地位的人) from other departments.
It builds cross－company relationships."
Louise Aston,a human resourc
es director,takes a similar view,pointing out that as well as
bringing_disparate_divisions_together,sport cuts through hierarchies (等级制度):"Not only
does it promote health,it can knock leadership on the head.The person who"s best at soccer
could well be a person who works in the warehouse (库房)．Then his confidence will be built."
Another reason companies would like to promote team sports is that they are relatively
cheap.Peter Mills,chief health officer at Vielife,says:"The contributions a company might make
towards running a sports team-paying its league fees,for example-are pretty small compared
to other expenditure in the field of well－being."
However,he warns,there is a potential downside.Sports are,by their nature,competitive
and not everyone is good at them:"There are people who can be a bit selfconscious and you
need to ensure you don"t marginalize (忽视) them.So you might use introductory days that
only beginners go to.""The emphasis was on sports such as soccer and netball,but by way
of recognition that not everyone likes sweaty exercise,there was also chess,"he added.
B．Three.
C．Four.
D．Five.
B．cutting through hierarchies
C．promoting health
D．bringing fun to the employees
B．the employers" positions will be threatened
C．everyone will be equal regardless of sex,age and income
D．no one will be prejudiced inside the company
B．someone bad at sports might not feel at home when playing sports
C．self－conscious people are not competitive
D．chess is not included in the team building programs
B．explain why team sports is a new way of "team building"
C．narrate the characteristics of the team sports
D．stress different people have different characters
a hidden price tag-US $ 12,000 to $ 17,500,to be exact.
Major record companies accused the students of fueling music piracy (盗版) by
runningfile-sharingnetworksoncampusallowinghundredsofsongsto be downloaded for free.
Last Thursday,the four promised not to violate the companies"copyrights.Although they
did not admit any wrongdoing,they each agreed to pay thousands of dollars to the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA)．
"I don
"t believe that I did anything wrong," said Daniel Peng at Princeton University,one of the four."I hope that for the sake of artists,the larger issues can soon be resolved." None
appears to have made any money off the file－sharing systems they operated,which were
confined to their campus"s computer networks.
The payments mark the first time record companies have recovered money from
individuals in the US accused of piracy on file－sharing networks.This may be a sign of
things to come,as the industry starts taking its battle against online piracy directly to users.
Many record－company executives blame the long slump in CD sales on file－sharing
networks,which let users copy songs from each other"s computers for free.
Matt Oppenheim,senior vice president of business and legal affairs for the RIAA,said the
settlements,although well below what the companies could have asked for,were "the right
amount" given the situation.
He also noted that since the four lawsuits were filed,at least 18 campus file－sharing
networks have been taken down by their operators.
B．It happens that the music price tag isn"t obvious.
C．One has to pay for having downloaded music freely at last.
D．One has to pay for the music in the future even if it"s allowed to be downloaded freely now.
B．They realized they had done a wrong thing.
C．They refuse
d to pay money to RIAA.D．They didn"t make any money on file－sharing networks.
A．Decline.
B．Increase.
C．Keeping the same.
D．Jump.
file－sharing networks.
B．Many record－company executives should bear the blame for long slump in CD sales.
C．People have no desire to buy any CD.
D．Nowadays CDs are not as popular as before.
B．It"s too late for record companies to protect their rights.
C．Record companies have taken action to protect their copyrights by accusing individuals
of piracy on file－sharing networks.
D．Some record companies wanted to earn money by accusing people of pirating music.
Many people feel that the United States has the worst taxes in the world.
Taxes are the money that people pay to support their government. There are generally three levels
of government in the United States: federal, state, and city; therefore, there are three types of taxes.
Salaried people who earn more than four to five thousand per year must pay a certain part of their
salaries to the federal government. The percentage varies for different people. It depends on the salaries.
The federal government has a two level income tax: that is, 15 or 28 percent. $17,850 is the cutoff. The
tax rate is 15 percent below $17,850 and 28 percent above.
The second tax is for the state government: New York, California, or any of the other fortyeight states. Some states have an income tax similar to that of the federal government. Of course, the percentage for
the state tax is lower. Other states have a sales tax, which is a percentage charged to any item which
people buy in the state. Some states use income tax and sales tax to raise their revenues (收入)．
The third tax is for the city. This tax comes in two forms: property tax (people who own a house have
to pay taxes on it ) and excise (执照) tax, which is collected on vehicles in a city. The cities use this money for education, police, public works, etc.
Since Americans pay such high taxes, they often feel that they are working one day each week just to
pay their taxes. People always complain about taxes. They often say that the government misuses their tax dollars. They all believe that taxes are too high in this country.
B．$6,000.
C．$17,850.
D．$5,000.
B．They can pay less than what the item costs.
C．They have to pay exactly what the item costs.
D．They will all give up buying the item.
B. Excise tax.
C．Income tax.
D. Sales tax.
B．proud of their taxes
C．unhappy about their taxes
D．happy about their taxes
commodities helps determine how much a business can charge for a product and the profit it can
make. Commodity prices have reached a two-year high since falling sharply during the world financial
crisis.
Hard commodities are materials like iron ore, oil and gold. Agricultural products are soft
commodities. These include wheat, cotton and rice.
Economic measures show the world economy is recovering. China and India, for example, have
reported strong growth in manufacturing (制造业). Developed nations have had slower growth.
John James, a business professor at Pace University, says demand in developing economies can push
up prices for commodities like oil and iron ore used for making steel. But, he says, changing currency
values can also influence prices.
Gold prices have reached record levels in recent months. That means gold dealers must pay more
for the commodity now than they did only a year ago. That affects current prices.
Not surprisingly, manufacturers want some control over the prices they pay for commodities.
Futures (期货) contracts are agreements between a buyer and a seller to exchange something at a
set price at some time in the future. These contracts let buyers lock in a price for basic materials. But
some traders in futures markets only want to make a profit. They buy or sell contracts depending on
the direction they believe prices will go. These speculators (投机者) get condemned when prices rise,
or fall, too quickly. The United States, Germany and France are looking into ways to limit this kind of
trading.
Some experts say exporting commodities is not a good path to long-term economic growth. The
United Nations recently reported that the least developed countries must change their economies to
provide good incomes for their citizens. A UN official says the least developed countries need to cut
dependence on commodities and manufacture products for export. He says only this will let them gain
from world trade.
① gold ②corn ③ cotton ④ iron ⑤ education
⑥ oil ⑦ fruits ⑧ rice⑨ salt ⑩ vegetables
B. Four.
C. Five.
D. Six.
B. The speculators" seeking higher profits.
C. Growth of demands in developed economies.
D. Growth in manufacturing in developing nations.
B. killed
C. limited
D. tolerated
B. Solutions to this problem for developing nations.
C. The disadvantages of high prices of commodities.
D. How to bring down the high prices of commodities.
example, to pay its soldiers, sailors and airmen, to build roads, bridges, offices, schools, etc, and to buy
goods from abroad; and only the people of the country can supply the money.
One of the most important taxes is income-tax which a person pays according to the amount of his
income, whether he is a merchant, a doctor, a lawyer, a shopkeeper, a miner or anything else. This is
called a "direct" tax, because it is paid in money directly to the government.
Another tax is paid on goods such as watches, jewelry, new clothes, tobacco wine, etc, when they are
brought into a country. Such a tax is paid as part of the price of these goods if they are late sold in shops.
We call it "indirect" tax, because it is paid indirectly through the shopkeepers.
People usually complain about having to pay taxes, but they forget that the money is spent on things
that they and their families need. We need policemen to catch thieves, to see that men obey the laws, to
direct traffic, etc, and they must be paid what they earn; children need education and there must be
schools and teachers; we want our streets to be kept clean, and the wages of men who do this kind
of work have to be paid. Above all, the country must always be ready to defend itself against attacking
enemies, and we can not have an army without paying for it. Besides, if a country wants to develop, there
are many other things to do...
Taxes, therefore, cannot be avoided. We buy our food and clothes and pay for our amusements; but,
there are several things that the State finds the money for, and that is necessary for us if our society is to
continue. We have no real reason to complain, therefore, when we are asked to supply money to be
spent for the good of ourselves and for our fellow-citizens.
Title: 1. _____ Tax