Business confidence among Japan’s non-manufacturers and small companies rose to post-bubble highs in the three months to December, according to the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey, indicating that the effects of the recovery are seeping into the broader economy. The diffusion index for large non-manufacturers—calculated by subtracting the number of pessimists from optimists—rose two points from the September survey to 17, the highest since February 1992. Although confidence among large manufacturers, the most closely watched Tankan index, rose less than expected, from 19 to 21, most economists said the survey overall pointed to sustained, if moderate, recovery. “The overall impression is very positive despite the somewhat weaker-than-expected headline number,“ said Mikihiro Matsuoka, economist at Deutsche Bank. Deutsche is predicting growth of 3.2 per cent in the year to April 2006 and 3 per cent in the fiscal year after that. Markets reacted to the Tankan less positively, with the Nikkei average falling nearly 2 per cent, its biggest drop in two months. Traders said the decline was the result of other factors as well, including heavy selling of steel stocks and a fall in the dollar to its lowest against the yen in two weeks. Manufacturers said they expected the confidence index to drop back in the March quarter, showing that they remain cautious about the near future. They also kept modest profit forecasts. On capital spending, large manufacturers said they expected to invest 17 per cent more in the year to March than last year, the third straight annual increase. Banks said they would ratchet up their spending on software, a possible sign that they are gearing up for expansion after years of shrinking their loan books. Improving sectors included electronic machinery, an engine of exports, which had been piling up inventories at the start of the year. Confidence at retailers fell from 10 to 7 because of a slack autumn, though evidence suggests consumer spending may have picked up again in the past few months.

6. If you wish to lodge a complaint, you’d better get on to the manager. 7. When another Christmas came around with nothing but the usual cards, Jack couldn’t help but feel a touch of disappointment. 8. I’ll get a ticket for the concert, even though I have to sell my PSP to get enough money. 9. Due to the rising price of houses recently, many investors see it as an opportunity to make a fortune from the real estate market. 10. The government once thought that we would be getting 20% of our electricity from nuclear energy by the 1980s, but nuclear energy still produced only about 12% of our power as of 1999. You should yell at the manager if you want to complain. You should contact the manager when you have any dissatisfaction. You should complain about the manager because it’s all his fault. You should argue with the manager about your complaint.

I’m Carla. I’m in charge of hiring new staff for my department at work. I mean, several of us do the interviews, but I’m the person who gives the final approval. If I say “no“, then the person isn’t hired. You can say that I am a powerful woman and that you may think I enjoy deciding others’ destiny or something. But it’s really not the case. It’s a lot of pressure! Sometimes I get stressed out about it. I have to admit that I hate to waste time making decisions. It’s funny, my boss does it completely differently. She just likes to sit and think, you know, mull over the information and let the decision “come to her“. We have completely different styles! Sometimes I think that may be the difference between boss and employees. I think I’ve learned a lot from my previous mistakes: You just have to go with your instincts—that is, do what you think is best and then just hope that it works out. I mean, we all get strong feelings about things, and usually those feelings are right, which has been proved to be true many times in my work. The important thing is to act quickly! Very quickly or you are gonna regret for moving slowly. Up until now I’ve been pretty lucky. The people I’ve hired have all worked out—no major problems so far. I think I am not bad in my position. 23. What’s Carla’s job in the organization? 24. What does Carla hate to do at her job? 25. According to Carla, which of the following statements is not true about her boss? 26. From which of the following has Carla learned a lot? Arranging interviews for her boss. Hiring new staff for the department. Working out the weekly schedules. Reducing work pressure on new employees.

M: You know, everyone today is concerned about pollution. You see, the environment today is worse than years ago and we should pay attention to this or we’ll be faced with adverse results. And scientists are talking a lot about one kind of pollution, acid rain. Have you ever heard of it before? W: Why exactly is it called acid rain? I am curious about it. Tell me something about it. M: The reason why it’s called acid rain is because the rain or some other kind of precipitation has been polluted with acid. W: Where does the acid come from anyway? How can this happen? M: From cars or factories, anything that burns coal or oil. These are made up mostly of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which react with water vapor to form sulfuric acid or nitric acid. W: You mean that when coal or oil is burned, acid gets formed. And when it rains or snows, the acid falls back on the earth? It’s terrible. M: Exactly. What you said is right. That’s why it’s so dangerous. Acid rain has been falling over areas of northern America and northern Europe, and if it isn’t checked, the effect on the water supply and plant and animal life could be disastrous. W: This is something I should read more about. I really don’t know what you’ve told me. It seems to be a very serious matter. 27. What is the best topic of this conversation? 28. What energy sources cause acid rain? 29. How is sulfuric acid formed? 30. According to the man, where is acid rain a problem? Different kinds of pollution. How acid rain has harmed the earth. Pollution from cars and factories. The causes and possible effects of acid rain.

(1)A growing number of young city dwellers are choosing to get married soon after they graduate from college, despite not being financially independent. Without financial security, married life is no bed of roses, experts have said. Most of the young people who get married soon after graduating from college are from relatively well-off families, and they long for a stable and comfortable life. However, they still have a lot to learn from society before they are ready for marriage. (2)Although Europeans are generally four times wealthier than their fathers and grandfathers, their levels of happiness are either equal to or lower than 40 years ago. Scandinavians may spend a lot of the winter in darkness but they are the happiest people in Europe. On the other hand, the sunny southern countries of Italy, Portugal and Greece get the least joy out of life. Countries where people enjoy time with friends and family, have trust in government and national institutions are more likely to be happy than those living in a sunny climate.

M: Hi, Jane... Say, are you OK? You’re looking a bit tired. W: Oh, I am. It’s my neighbors. M: Oh, so they’re acting up again. Huh? W: Unfortunately, yes, they are. M: Loud music? W: Not exactly. You’ve been to my apartment, right? M: Yeah. I’ve been there once. It’s a nice place. W: Well, thank you. So you remember I live on the top floor. Well, last night, around eleven, my neighbors decided to go up on the roof of my apartment building! M: The roof? Really? W: Yeah. They had this guy in from out of town and they wanted to show him the view! Can you believe it? I’m soundly asleep, and all of a sudden I hear “stomp, stomp, stomp!“ They’re walking around on the roof. It sounded like my ceiling was going to fall in. M: So what did you do? W: Well, after about ten minutes, I got dressed and went up there to tell them to be quiet. I was so mad. Then of course after that, I couldn’t go back to sleep. M: Oh, don’t you hate when that happens? You can’t fall asleep, and then before you know it, it’s morning and the alarm clock is going off. 11. According to the conversation, who made the woman irritated? 12. What did these people do that irritated the woman? 13. What time did the woman’s neighbors go onto the roof? 14. Why did the woman’s neighbors go up on the roof? Her colleagues. Her neighbors. Her friends. Her schoolmates.

W: What an elegant place! But can we afford it? M: I wanted the best restaurant for your birthday. And since you like French cuisine, here we are! Let’s begin with a cocktail and then look at the menu. W: I’d like to start looking at the menu right away because it always takes me a year to make up my mind. Any recommendations? M: I’ve never been here before, but everything is supposed to be excellent. W: Look! They have snails! But I wouldn’t dare eat them. They might make me sick. M: I feel the same way about snails. I think I’ll skip an hors d’oeuvre and have roast duck. It comes with vegetables and potatoes. W: Sounds good, but since I love seafood, I’m going to take the salmon. And let’s have the salad after the entree, the way the French do! M: Fine. We should have white wine with our dinner and champagne with dessert since this is a celebration. W: Oh, and let’s not forget the cheese. There’s nothing like real French cheese. M: I can see already that this is going to be an enjoyable—and delicious—evening. 19. Why are the man and the woman dining at the restaurant this evening? 20. Why does the woman want to see the menu right away? 21. Why don’t the man and the woman order snails? 22. What does the woman plan to order as a main course? Because it is inexpensive. Because it was recommended by a friend. Because they are celebrating a birthday. Because they liked it the last time they had dinner there.

(1)We are not trying to practice medicine. We are trying to give consumers detailed information on their various health care issues. (2)American and Japanese researchers have discovered a strong connection between weather and conditions in the ocean. (3)Boeing, the world’s largest commercial airplane maker, announced it has 18 billion dollars in new orders this year for its new 777 jetliner. (4)The agreement marks the end of thirteen long and often painful years of negotiations between China and the United States. (5)Tourism clearly counts as one of the most remarkable economic and social phenomena of the last century. It undoubtedly will keep this position for the century to come.

As Philadelphia grew from a small town into a city in the first half of the eighteenth century, it became an increasingly important marketing center for a vast and growing agricultural hinterland. Market days saw the crowded city even more crowded, as farmers from within a radius of 24 or more kilometers brought their sheep, cows, pigs, vegetables, cider, and other products for direct sale to the townspeople. The High Street Market was continuously enlarged throughout the period until 1736, when it reached from Front Street to Third. By 1745 New Market was opened on Second Street between Pine and Cedar. The next year the Callowhill Market began operation. Along with market days, the institution of twice-yearly fairs persisted in Philadelphia even after similar trading days had been discontinued in other colonial cities. The fairs provided a means of bringing handmade goods from outlying places to would-be buyers in the city. Linens and stockings from Germantown, for example, were popular items. Auctions were another popular form of occasional trade. Because of the competition, retail merchants opposed these as well as the fairs. Although governmental attempts to eradicate fairs and auctions were less than successful, the ordinary course of economic development was on the merchants’ side, as increasing business specialization became the order of the day. Export merchants became differentiated from their importing counterparts, and specialty shops began to appear in addition to general stores selling a variety of goods. One of the reasons Philadelphia’s merchants generally prospered was because the surrounding area was undergoing tremendous economic and demographic growth. They did their business, after all, in the capital city of the province. Not only did they cater to the governor and his circle, but citizens from all over the colony came to the capital for legislative sessions of the assembly and council and the meetings of the courts of justice.

People are engaged in education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part of one’s entire life. Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.

The terms “resume“ and “curriculum vitae“(CV)generally mean【C1】______: a one or two-page document describing one’s【C2】______and professional experience. However, the guidelines for preparing a resume are【C3】______. The best advice is to find out what is appropriate regarding the corporate culture, the country culture, and the culture of the person making【C4】______. The challenge will be to incorporate two or more cultures into one document. The following list is a good place to start. In many countries, it is standard【C5】______to attach a photo or have your photo printed on your resume. Do not attach a photograph to our resume if you are sending it to 【C6】______: the employer will【C7】______. Educational requirements differ from【C8】______. In almost every case of【C9】______job hunting, just stating the title of your degree will not be an adequate description. Provide the reader with details about your studies and any【C10】______. The same advice is true for experienced professionals who have participated in numerous training or 【C11】______education courses. The safest way to ensure that your resume is【C12】______is to review as many examples as possible. Ask employers or recruiters for examples of resumes that they thought were【C13】______. If you can, ask someone who is【C14】______of the language in which your resume is written to review your document. One goal of your resume should be to show your【C15】______with the culture by using culturally appropriate language. Most employers who want to hire from abroad must be able to certify to their local government that they are unable to find locals with the【C16】______necessary to do the job. Be aware that obtaining a work permit can【C17】______. To be successful, and to enjoy your experience abroad, you must be flexible,【C18】______, and both eager and【C19】______new ways of doing things. Ask questions to demonstrate your interest in learning and broadening your horizons. Remember that you represent your country to【C20】______.The terms “resume“ and “curriculum vitae“(CV)generally mean the same thing: a one or two-page document describing one’s educational qualifications and professional experience. However, the guidelines for preparing a resume are constantly changing. The best advice is to find out what is appropriate regarding the corporate culture, the country culture, and the culture of the person making the hiring decision. The challenge will be to incorporate two or more cultures into one document. The following list is a good place to start. In many countries, it is standard procedure to attach a photo or have your photo printed on your resume. Do not attach a photograph to your resume if you are sending it to the United States: the employer will dispose of it. Educational requirements differ from country to country. In almost every case of cross-border job hunting, just stating the title of your degree will not be an adequate description. Provide the reader with details about your studies and any related experience. The same advice is true for experienced professionals who have participated in numerous training or continuing education courses. The safest way to ensure that your resume is culturally correct is to review as many examples as possible. Ask employers or recruiters for examples of resumes that they thought were particularly good. If you can, ask someone who is a native speaker of the language in which your resume is written to review your document. One goal of your resume should be to show your familiarity with the culture by using culturally appropriate language. Most employers who want to hire from abroad must be able to certify to their local government that they are unable to find locals with the required skills necessary to do the job. Be aware that obtaining a work permit can take a few months. To be successful, and to enjoy your experience abroad, you must be flexible, open-mined, and both eager and willing to learn new ways of doing things. Ask questions to demonstrate your interest in learning and broadening your horizons. Remember that you represent your country to everyone you meet.

1. The boarding time on the ticket says 17:05, and now it’s 16:15. I guess we have plenty of time. 2. Despite Tom’s affirmations of innocence, Aunt Polly still suspected he had eaten the pie. 3. If this pill could alleviate the pain, we would not have to use stronger drugs. 4. We intend to send Yuki to America so that she can perfect her English which was learned in Japan. 5. To remain competitive in the global economy, we must build on the success of such schools and commit to an ambitious national agenda for education. We still have 40 minutes left before departure. We still have 20 minutes left before departure. We still have 50 minutes left before departure. We still have 45 minutes left before departure.

There is a great deal of land in the United States, but there are also a great many people. Where did the people come from? The first Americans were Indians. Today there are all about 900,000 American Indians. There is one part of the country with an especially large Indian population. That is the southwest. Blacks first came to America from Africa as slaves. President Lincoln freed the slaves in 1863. About eleven percent of the present American population is black. The first immigrants in American history came from England and Netherlands. Soon immigrants began to arrive from many other countries, and they are still arriving. In 1790, the new nation had fewer than four million. Today, there are more than 210 million. These include people from all parts of the world. 15. What might be the best title for this passage? 16. How much is the American Indian population? 17. Who were the first people living in America? 18. What is the current size of the American population? Where the Americans Came from The Size of the American Population Land in the United States American Indians

Lichens, probably the hardiest of all plants, live where virtually nothing else can—not just on rugged mountain peaks but also on sunbaked desert rocks. They are usually the first life to appear on a mountainside that has been scraped bare by an avalanche. Unlike other members of the plant kingdom, lichens are actually a partnership between two plants. The framework of a lichen is usually a network of minute hairlike fungus that anchors the plant. The other component is an alga, similar to the green film of plant life that grows on stagnant pools, that is distributed throughout the fungus. Being green plants, algae are capable of photosynthesis—that is, using energy from the Sun to manufacture their own food. The fungi are believed to supply water, minerals, and physical support to the partnership. Lichens are famous for their ability to survive water shortage. When water is scarce(as is often the case on a mountain), lichens may become dormant and remain in that condition for prolonged periods of time. Some lichens can even grow where there is no rain at all, surviving on only occasional dew—the moisture that condenses on the surface of the plants at night, And unlike most other plants, lichens are little affected by the strong ultraviolet rays in the mountains. Lichens use little energy, for they grow slowly. Some grow so slowly and are so old that they are called “time stains.“ You may find lichens that are centuries old: certain of these lichen colonies have been established for an estimated 2,000 years. For decades, scientists wondered how the offspring of an alga and a fungus got together to form a new lichen, it seemed unlikely that they would just happen to encounter one another. It was finally discovered that in many cases the two partners have never been separated. Stalklike “buds“ that form on certain lichens are broken off by the wind or by animals: these toll or are blown to a new location.

The web hasn’t changed the fundamentals of smart investing. It has made it easier to invest, but the problem with online investing is that most novice investors think they can make a lot of money with no skills and no investment knowledge. One of the reasons why rookie investors have the misconception that they do not need any skills or investment knowledge to make money is because over the past seven years, the markets have been pushing ahead with a strong bullish trend, where almost any buy-and-hold strategy made big profits for the common investor. But once the markets begin to show signs of bearish signals such as they have in the past month of March(Nasdaq down 30%), possibilities of making investment mistakes come at even greater speed. People begin to realize that maybe it’s time to implement smart financial planning. Know what you’re getting yourself into: Always inform yourself with the basics of the company. You need to do some fundamental analysis to determine if the stock is worth the price. Otherwise, you’ll be gambling on a hunch. If you don’t have the time or know-how to analyze the company, you can always let someone else do it for you by researching the net. Use the net carefully, avoid bulletin boards and chat rooms. You will be better off looking at sites of major brokerage houses, finance publications and mutual-fund companies, such as smartmoney.com, marketguide.com, bloomberg.com, redherring.com. Bull market vs. the Genius: Don’t confuse a bull market with smart investing. If you were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time you would have made money without any effort. People sometimes feel smart when the market is going up, so we’re tempted to trade more often and take on riskier positions. Active trading: With today’s online investing, trading is only one mouse click away and investors are easily tempted to trade often. But it’s tough to beat the market on a consistent basis and make money with day trading. A buy-and-hold strategy is the best way to invest for the long-term. Day trading vs. longer-term: Over the course of a year, frequent trading can be very costly. But what really hurts from day trading is your contribution to the “Uncle Sam Foundation“. Income taxes triggered by profits from active trading can reach as high as 40% of your capital gains, whereas if you buy and hold over a period of one year, you will qualify for the lower capital gains rate of 20%. Margin traps: Buying on margin(borrowing in order to invest)can backfire on any investor. People buy on margin when the market is going up because it allows them to accumulate a greater investment position quickly. In volatile markets, however, you may have to put additional cash or securities to cover losses. In some cases, the brokerage firm will actually sell your stocks to meet a margin call(more often than you think). Read your broker’s fine print in the margin agreements.

The atmosphere that originally surrounded Earth was probably much different from the air we breathe today. Earth’s first atmosphere(some 4.6 billion years ago)was most likely hydrogen and helium—the two most abundant gasses found in the universe—as well as hydrogen compounds, such as methane and ammonia, Most scientists feel that this early atmosphere escaped into space from the Earth’s hot surface. A second, more dense atmosphere, however, gradually enveloped Earth as gasses from molten rocks within its hot interior escaped through volcanoes and steam vents. We assume that volcanoes spewed out the same gasses then as they do today: mostly water vapor(about 80 percent), carbon dioxide(about 10 percent), and up to a few 10 percent nitrogen. These same gasses probably created Earth’s second atmosphere. As millions of years passed, the constant outpouring of gasses from the hot interior—known as outgassing— provided a rich supply of water vapor, which formed into clouds. Rain fell upon Earth for many thousands or years, forming the rivers, lakes, and oceans of the world. During this time, large amounts of carbon dioxide were dissolved in the oceans. Through chemical and biological processes, much of the carbon dioxide became locked up in carbon sedimentary rocks, such as limestone. With much of the water vapor already condensed into water and the concentration of carbon dioxide dwindling, the atmosphere gradually became rich nitrogen. It appears that oxygen, the second most abundant gas in today’s atmosphere, probably began an extremely slow increase in concentration as energetic rays from the sun split water vapor into hydrogen and oxygen during a process called photodissociation. The hydrogen, being lighter, probably rose and escaped into space, while the oxygen remained in the atmosphere. This slow increase in oxygen may have provided enough of this gas for primitive plants to evolve, perhaps two to three billion years ago. Or the plants may have evolved in an almost oxygen-free(anaerobic)environment. At any rate, plant growth greatly enriched our atmosphere with oxygen. The reason for this enrichment is that plants, in the presence of sunlight, process carbon dioxide and water to produce oxygen.

Business confidence among Japan’s non-manufacturers and small companies rose to post-bubble highs in the three months to December, according to the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey, indicating that the effects of the recovery are seeping into the broader economy. The diffusion index for large non-manufacturers—calculated by subtracting the number of pessimists from optimists—rose two points from the September survey to 17, the highest since February 1992. Although confidence among large manufacturers, the most closely watched Tankan index, rose less than expected, from 19 to 21, most economists said the survey overall pointed to sustained, if moderate, recovery. “The overall impression is very positive despite the somewhat weaker-than-expected headline number,“ said Mikihiro Matsuoka, economist at Deutsche Bank. Deutsche is predicting growth of 3.2 per cent in the year to April 2006 and 3 per cent in the fiscal year after that. Markets reacted to the Tankan less positively, with the Nikkei average falling nearly 2 per cent, its biggest drop in two months. Traders said the decline was the result of other factors as well, including heavy selling of steel stocks and a fall in the dollar to its lowest against the yen in two weeks. Manufacturers said they expected the confidence index to drop back in the March quarter, showing that they remain cautious about the near future. They also kept modest profit forecasts. On capital spending, large manufacturers said they expected to invest 17 per cent more in the year to March than last year, the third straight annual increase. Banks said they would ratchet up their spending on software, a possible sign that they are gearing up for expansion after years of shrinking their loan books. Improving sectors included electronic machinery, an engine of exports, which had been piling up inventories at the start of the year. Confidence at retailers fell from 10 to 7 because of a slack autumn, though evidence suggests consumer spending may have picked up again in the past few months.

The Homestead Act of 1862 gave beads of families or individuals aged twenty-one or older the right to own 160 acres of public land in the western United States after five years of residence and improvement. This law was intended to provide land for small farmers and to prevent land from being bought for resale at a profit or being owned by large landholders. An early amendment to the act even prevented husbands and wives from filing separate claims. The West, land reformers had assumed, would soon contain many 160-acre family farms. They were doomed to disappointment. Most landless Americans were too poor to become farmers even when they could obtain land without cost. The expense of moving a family to the ever-receding frontier exceeded the means of many, and the cost of tools, draft animals, a wagon, a well, fencing, and of building the simplest house, might come to $1,000—a formidable barrier. As for the industrial workers for whom the free land was supposed to provide a “safety valve,“ they had neither the skills nor the inclination to become farmers. Homesteaders usually came from districts not far removed from frontier conditions. And despite the intent of the law, speculators often managed to obtain large tracts. They hired people to stake out claims, falsely swear that they had fulfilled the conditions laid down in the law for obtaining legal title, and then deed the land over to their employers. Furthermore, 160 acres were not enough for raising livestock or for the kind of commercial agriculture that was developing west of the Mississippi. The national government made a feeble attempt to make larger holdings available to homesteaders by passing the Timber Culture Act of 1873, which permitted individuals to claim an additional 160 acres if they would agree to plant a quarter of it in trees within ten years. This law proved helpful to some farmers in the largely treeless states of Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Nevertheless, fewer than 25 percent of the 245,000 who took up land under the Act obtained final title to the property.

中医是中国文化不可分割的一部分，为振兴华夏作出了巨大的贡献。如今，中医和西医在中国的医疗保健领域并驾齐驱。中医以其独特的诊断手法、系统的治疗方式和丰富的典籍材料，备受世界瞩目。用西医的毒性和化学疗法治疗癌症会引起副作用，中医疗法却公认能显著地化解这些副作用。中国的中医事业由国家中医药管理局负责，有条不紊地开展和发扬。现在国家已经出台了管理中医的政策、法令和法规，引导并促进这个新兴产业的研究和开发。在定义上，中医是指导中国传统医药理论和实践的一种医学，它包括中医疗法、中草药、针灸、推拿和气功。

Which of the following statements best summarizes the passage?

The author quotes Mikihiro Matsuoka “The overall impression is very positive despite the somewhat weaker-than-expected headline number“ in paragraph 2 in order to show______.

Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

All of the following statements can be inferred that the author mentions “they are gearing up for expansion after years of shrinking their loan books“ in paragraph 4 EXCEPT that______.

The word “slack“ in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to______.