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《商务英语阅读( 二)》课程期末考试试卷（ A 卷）

考试专业商务英语 班级 1801-1803班 考试形式闭卷 考试时间 120 分钟

考试学期2018-2019学年第二学期 考试类型考查 命题教师

题号 一 二 三 四 五 总分

分 值 10 20 20 20 30 １００

I. Choice question(本大题共2小题，每小题5分，共10分）

of the following brand adopts coffee-centric experience?

A. KFC B. MacDonald’s C. Starbucks D. Amazon

2. Which of the following brand makes cosmetics?

A. Dior B. H&M C. Uniqlo D. MacDonald

II. Match the following words with their corresponding meanings. (本大题共5小题，每小题4

分，共20分）

3. inflation A. an official document that identifies that you as a citizen o f a particular country, and

that you may have to show when you enter or leave a country

unity cost B. the benefits you could have received by taking an alternative action

5. passport C. the great boy of the people, as contrasted with the higher classes

6. curriculum D. the rise in prices resulting from an increase in demand for goods and services

7. the masses E. the subjects that are included in a course of study or taught in a school, college, etc

III. Insert the following sentences into the appropriate blank. (本大题共5小题，每小题4分，

共20分）

We should aim at balanced development

In these times of rising commodity and housing prices, the public will react sharply to any news

of further price rise and welcome news to the contrary. But the news of a possible reduction in the tax

on luxury products has to be analyzed properly, even though it is aimed at making consumers who

tend to go on a shopping spree during their travels abroad turn to the domestic market.

Surprisingly, two national departments are locked in a battle. The Ministry of Commerce has

announced that a common agreement was reached on the issue, but the Ministry of Finance has

responded by saying it was not aware of it.

China has become the second largest luxury goods consuming country, but many people buy

these luxury products overseas to avoid the high import duty on such goods imposed by the Chinese

government.

Some netizens oppose the tax cut on luxury goods. They say an important role of a tax is to "take

from the rich to give to the poor". 8 The argument seems correct. But there is a

problem. Nowadays, not only the rich, but also some middle-income group people buy many of the

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so-called luxury products.

The fast pace of economic development over the past three decades has brought about a

significant change in Chinese people's consumption habits. Some consumers treat many a luxury

product just as a simply high-priced commodity. 9

But if any of these products is available at half or 60 percent of the price in a foreign country,

any Chinese traveling overseas would prefer to buy it there. No wonder, a major part of the agenda of

many Chinese people traveling abroad is shopping for some so-called luxury goods.

Looking at the issue from such people's point of view, the tax on some imported luxury goods

should indeed be reduced. 10 This will help keep a large amount of the money

that Chinese travelers spend abroad in the domestic market and create more jobs in the country.

To maintain stability in the domestic market, however, tax on all luxury products should not be

reduced. The tax on high-end luxury goods like branded bags that cost thousands of yuan, and sports

and custom-made cars that can cost millions of yuan should not be reduced. 11

After all, such luxury products are bought only by the rich, who are not so sensitive to price rise.

In short, the key to ending the dispute over tax on luxury goods is to classify luxury goods in the

light of the changing times. 12

To begin with, tax on some popular consumer goods should be reduced and that on real luxury

products, which are consumed by only the rich, should be increased.

A. Cosmetics and perfumes, which cost a few hundred yuan, and some moderately expensive watches,

worth a few thousand yuan, are some of the so-called luxury products that many middle-income

people can afford today.

B. For example, the tax on so-called luxury products that have become popular among Chinese

consumers, such as clothes, perfumes, cosmetics, watches and bags, should be reduced.

C. In fact, the government should increase the tax on such products.

D. So the high tax on luxury products should be justified, because they are bought by rich people.

E. Tax should be levied on a product according to its classification.

IV. Fast Reading. (本大题共5小题，每小题4分，共20分）

The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise,

market-oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending

their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most. Private businessmen,

striving to make profits, produce these goods and services in competition with other businessmen;

and the profit motive, operating under competitive pressures, largely determines how these goods and

services are produced. Thus, in the American economic system it is the demand of individual

consumers, coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals

to maximize their incomes, that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are

used to produce it.

An important factor in a market-oriented economy is the mechanism by which consumer

demands can be expressed and responded to by producers. In the American economy, this mechanism

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is provided by a price system, a process in which prices rise and fall in response to relative demands

of consumers and supplies offered by seller-producers. If the product is in short supply relative to the

demand, the price will be bid up and some consumers will be eliminated from the market. If, on the

other hand, producing more of a commodity results in reducing its cost, this will tend to increase the

supply offered by seller-producers, which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to

buy the product. Thus, price is the regulating mechanism in the America economic system.

The important factor in a private-enterprise economy is that individual are allowed to own

productive resources (private property), and they are permitted to hire labor, gain control over natural

resources, and produce goods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy, the concept

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of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights,

including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private

individual.

13. In Para. 1, “ the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes” means ___.

A. Americans never feel satisfied with their incomes

B. Americans tend to overstate the amount of their incomes

C. Americans want to have their incomes increased

D. Americans want to increase the purchasing power of their incomes

14. The first two sentences in the second paragraph clarity the idea to us that ___.

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A. producers can satisfy the consumers by mechanized production

B. consumers can express their demands through producers

C. producers decide the prices of products

D. supply and demand regulate prices

15. The word “embraces” in Para. 3 probably parallels ___.

A. enfold B. hug C. comprehend D. support

16. According to the passage, a private-enterprise economy is characterized by ___.

A. private property and rights concerned B. manpower and natural resources control

C. ownership of productive resources D. free contracts and prices

17. The passage is mainly talking about ___.

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A. how American goods are produced B. how American consumers buy their goods

C. how American economic system works D. how American businessman make their profits

V. Reading Comprehension.（本大题共10小题，每小题3分，共30分）

Makete Integrated Rural Transport Project

Section A

The disappointing results of many conventional road transport projects in Africa led some

experts to rethink the strategy by which rural transport problems were to be tackled at the beginning

of the 1980s. A request for help in improving the availability of transport within the remote Makete

District of south-western Tanzania presented the opportunity to try a new approach.

The concept of “integrated rural transport” was adopted in the task of examining the transport

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needs of the rural households in the district. The objective was to reduce the time and effort needed to

obtain access to essential goods and services through an improved rural transport system. The

underlying assumption was that the time saved would be used instead for activities that would

improve the social and economic development of the communities. The Makete Integrated Rural

Transport Project (MIRTP) started in 1985 with financial support from the Swiss Development

Corporation and was co-ordinated with the help of the Tanzanian government.

Section B

When the project began, Makete District was virtually totally isolated during the rainy season.

The regional road was in such bad shape that access to the main towns was impossible for about three

months of the year. Road traffic was extremely rare within the district, and alternative means of

transport were restricted to donkeys in the north of the district. People relied primarily on the paths,

which were slippery and dangerous during the rains.

Before solutions could be proposed, the problems had to be understood. Little was known about

the transport demands of the rural households, so Phase I, between December 1985 and December

1987, focused on research. The socio-economic survey of more than 400 households in the district

indicated that a household in Makete spent, on average, seven hours a day on transporting themselves

and their goods, a figure which seemed extreme but which has also been obtained in surveys in other

rural areas in Africa. Interesting facts regarding transport were found: 95% was on foot; 80% was

within the locality; and 70% was related to the collection of water and firewood and travelling to

grinding mills.

Section C

Having determined the main transport needs, possible solutions were identified which might

reduce the time and burden. During Phase II, from January to February 1991, a number of approaches

were implemented in an effort to improve mobility and access to transport.

An improvement of the road network was considered necessary to ensure the import and export

of goods to the district. These improvements were carried out using methods that were heavily

dependent on labour. In addition to the improvement of roads, these methods provided training in the

operation of a mechanical workshop and bus and truck services. However, the difference from the

conventional approach was that this time consideration was given to local transport needs outside the

road network.

Most goods were transported along the paths that provide short-cuts up and down the hillsides,

but the paths were a real safety risk and made the journey on foot even more arduous. It made sense

to improve the paths by building steps, handrails and footbridges.

It was uncommon to find means of transport that were more efficient than walking but less

technologically advanced than motor vehicles. The use of bicycles was constrained by their high cost

and the lack of available spare parts. Oxen were not used at all but donkeys were used by a few

households in the northern part of the district. MIRTP focused on what would be most appropriate for

the inhabitants of Makete in terms of what was available, how much they could afford and what they

were willing to accept. After careful consideration, the project chose the promotion of donkeys - a

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donkey costs less than a bicycle - and the introduction of a locally manufacturable wheelbarrow.

Section D

At the end of Phase II, it was clear that the selected approaches to Makete’s transport problems

had had different degrees of success. Phase III, from March 1991 to March 1993, focused on the

refinement and institutionalisation of these activities.

The road improvements and accompanying maintenance system had helped make the district

centre accessible throughout the year. Essential goods from outside the district had become more

readily available at the market, and prices did not fluctuate as much as they had done before.

Paths and secondary roads were improved only at the request of communities who were willing

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to participate in construction and maintenance. However, the improved paths impressed the

inhabitants, and requests for assistance greatly increased soon after only a few improvements had

been completed.

The efforts to improve the efficiency of the existing transport services were not very successful

because most of the motorised vehicles in the district broke down and there were no resources to

repair them. Even the introduction of low-cost means of transport was difficult because of the general

poverty of the district. The locally manufactured wheelbarrows were still too expensive for all but a

few of the households. Modifications to the original design by local carpenters cut production time

and costs. Other local carpenters have been trained in the new design so that they can respond to

requests. Nevertheless, a locally produced wooden wheelbarrow which costs around 5000 Tanzanian

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shillings (less than US$20) in Makete, and is about one quarter the cost of a metal wheelbarrow, is

still too expensive for most people.

Donkeys, which were imported to the district, have become more common and contribute, in

particular, to the transportation of crops and goods to market. Those who have bought donkeys are

mainly from richer households but, with an increased supply through local breeding, donkeys should

become more affordable. Meanwhile, local initiatives are promoting the renting out of the existing

donkeys.

It should be noted, however, that a donkey, which at 20,000Tanzanian shillings costs less than a

bicycle, is still an investment equal to an average household’s income over half a year. This clearly

illustrates the need for supplementary measures if one wants to assist the rural poor.

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Section E

It would have been easy to criticise the MIRTP for using in the early phases a“top-down”

approach, in which decisions were made by experts and officials before being handed down to

communities, but it was necessary to start the process from the level of the governmental authorities

of the district. It would have been difficult to respond to the requests of villagers and other rural

inhabitants without the support and understanding of district authorities.

Section F

Today, nobody in the district argues about the importance of improved paths and inexpensive

means of transport. But this is the result of dedicated work over a long period, particularly from the

officers in charge of community development. They played an essential role in raising awareness and

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interest among the rural communities.

The concept of integrated rural transport is now well established in Tanzania, where a major

program of rural transport is just about to start. The experiences from Makete will help in this

initiative, and Makete District will act as a reference for future work.

Questions 18-22 Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer? Write YES if the

statement agrees with the claims of the writer; NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer;

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.

18 MIRTP was divided into five phases.

19 Prior to the start of MIRTP the Makete district was almost inaccessible during the rainy season.

20 Phase I of MIRTP consisted of a survey of household expenditure on transport.

21 The survey concluded that one-fifty or 20% of the household transport requirement as outside the

local area.

22 MIRTP hoped to improve the movement of goods from Makete district to the country’s capital.

Questions 23-26 Complete each sentence with the correct ending. A-J, below.

23 Construction of footbridges, steps and handrails

24 Frequent breakdown of buses and trucks in Makete

25 The improvement of secondary roads and paths

26 The isolation of Makete for part of the year

A. provided the people of Makete with experience in running bus and truck services.

B. was especially successful in the northern part of the district.

C. differed from earlier phases in that the community became less actively involved.

D. improved paths used for transport up and down hillsides.

E. was no longer a problem once the roads had been improved.

F. cost less than locally made wheelbarrows.

G. was done only at the request of local people who were willing to lend a hand.

H. was at first considered by MIRTP to be affordable for the people of the district.

I. hindered attempts to make the existing transport services more efficient.

J. was thought to be the most important objective of Phase III.

Question 27 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Which of the following phrases best describes the main aim?

A. to suggest that projects such as MIRTP are needed in other countries

B. to describe how MIRTP was implemented and how successful it was

C. to examine how MIRTP promoted the use of donkeys

D. to warn that projects such as MIRTP are likely to have serious problems

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