第1题
A.the Queen
B.the Prime Minister
C.the Lord President of the Council
D.the Speaker of the House of Commons
第2题
Supporters of the new supersystems argue that these mergers will allow f or substantial cost reductions and better coordinated service. Any threat of monopoly, they argue, is removed by fiercecompetition from trucks. But many shippers complain that for heavy bulk commodities traveling long distances, such as coal, chemicals, and grain, trucking is too costly and the railroads therefore have them by the throat. The vast consolidation within the rail industry means that most shippers are served by only one rail company. Railroads typically charge such "captive" shippers 20 to 30 percentmore than they do when another railroad is competing for the business. Shippers who feel they are being overcharged have the right to appeal to the federal government’s SurfaceTransportation Board for rate relief, but the process is expensive, time-consuming, and will work only in truly extreme cases.
Railroads justify rate discrimination against captive shippers on the grounds that in the long run it reduces everyone’s cost. If railroads charged all customers the same average rate, they argue, shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line. It’s a theory to which many economists subscribe, but in practice it often leaves railroads in the position of determining which companies will flourish and which will fail. "Do we really want railroads to be the arbiters of who wins and who loses in the marketplace?" asks Martin Bercovici, a Washington lawyer who frequently represents shippers.
Many captive shippers also worry they will soon be hit with a round of huge rate increases. The railroad industry as a whole, despite its brightening fortunes, still does not earn enough to cover the cost of the capital it must invest to keep up with its surging traffic. Yet railroads continue to borrow billions to acquire one another, with Wall Street cheering them on. Consider the $10.2 billion bid by Norfolk Southern and CSX to acquire Conrail this year. Conrail’s net railway operating income in 1996 was just $427 million, less than half of the carrying costs of the transaction. Who’s going to pay for the rest of the bill? Many captive shippers fear that they will, as Norfolk Southern and CSX increase their grip on the market.
1. According to those who support mergers, railway monopoly is unlikely because ().
A.cost reduction is based on competition
B.services call for cross-trade coordination
C.outside competitors will continue to exist
D.shippers will have the railway by the throat
2. What is many captive shippers’ attitude towards the consolidation in the rail industry?
A.Indifferent.
B.Supportive.
C.Indignant.
D.Apprehensive.
3. It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that ().
A.shippers will be charged less without a rival railroad
B.there will soon be only one railroad company nationwide
C.overcharged shippers are unlikely to appeal for rate relief
D.a government board ensures fair play in railway business
4. The word "arbiters" (Line 7, Paragraph 4) most probably refers to those ().
A.who work as coordinators
B.who function as judges
C.who supervise transactions
D.who determine the price
5. According to the text, the cost increase in the rail industry is mainly caused by ().
A.the continuing acquisition
B.the growing traffic
C.the cheering Wall Street
D.the shrinking market
第3题
Two software companies that report their financial statements under U.S.GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) are identical except as to how soon they judge a project to be technologically feasible.One firm does so very early in the development cycle while the other usually waits until just before the project is released to manufacturing.Compared to the company that judges technological feasibility early, the one that waits until closer to manufacturing will most likely report lower:
A.financial leverage.
B.total asset turnover.
C.cash flow from operations.
第4题
1.Better learning strategies can make language learning more() .
A、fun
B、interesting
C、efficient
D、exciting
2.Teachers should encourage students to rely more on ______.
A、books
B、notes
C、tutors
D、themselves
3.Learning strategies are unobservable mental processes, so teachers should make them ______.
A、simpler
B、more familiar
C、more concrete
D、more applicable
4.Which of the following statements is true? ()
A、Students learn learning strategies from the teachers only.
B、Learning strategies are completely unobservable.
C、Students need to explore new learning strategies for themselves.
D、Teachers are the sole judges of students’ progress.
5.Students who reflect on their own ______ will be more successful in learning.
A、thinking
B、evaluation
C、performance
D、activities
第7题
A.Whom do you think
B.Who do you think
C.Do you think who
D.Who you think