Practice 2 ● Read this note you have received from your boss.
Mary Brown at Head Office called to invite staff from our branch to have a tour round their new building. Could you reply? 20 people definitely want to go.
She wants to know which departments we’d be most interested in seeing. She didn’t say anything about what time the tour would start. Could you please check?
Thanks.
● Write an email to Ms Brown:
● thanking her for the invitation to Head Office
● telling her how many people are planning to go
● saying which departments people would like to see
● asking about the time of the visit.
● Write 60-80 words on your Answer Sheet.
● Do not include postal addresses.
Some people read tea leaves to predict the future. We prefer hamburgers! The Economist began to calculate Big Mac index in 1986. They use it as a light-hearted guide to whether currencies are at their “correct” exchange rate. It is not intended as a precise predictor of exchange rates, but a tool to make economic theory more digestible. The following is the Big Mac Index in Apr. 25th 2002. 详细解释购买力平价说,说明其均衡是如何实现的,为何这是一个长期学说。
Passage 2Questions 34-35 ● Read the extract of an article below about product promotion. ● In most of the lines 34-45 there is one extra word. It is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text. Some lines, however, are correct. ● If a line is correct, write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet. ● If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet. ● The exercise begins with two examples, (0) and (00). Example: Choosing the Right Promotional Product Can Attract Buzz 0. It is important to know as much as that you can about the recipient of a 00. promotional item or corporate gift. If you give one group an iPod they will 34. be motivated by it, while another group will see it as something which they 35. can use it to re-gift to someone else. And unless your product ends up in the 36. hands of the person you intended to, the influence over their behavior you 37. were hoping to leverage is completely lost. “It’s got to have lasting value 38. and that doesn’t necessarily mean a high cost,” says a client. ‘I’ve got a 39. flashlight at home that I use every time when the power goes out and it’s still 40. got the name of the company that gave it to me on it.’ Size is also a factor. If 41. most of your attendees are within their driving distance of your event then 42. you can give them something so big because it’s not going to be a problem 43. to take home. But if the majority of attendees have been flown in, then a 44. smaller, more portable item would be a better bet. High-quality T-shirts, the 45. latest high-tech mouse pad or a few high-end golf balls may be fit the bill.
In this section, there is one passage followed by a summary. Read the passage carefully and complete the summery below by choosing a maximum of three words from the passage to fill in each of the blanks 51-5.Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet.
Malnutrition during weaning age—when breast milk is being replaced by semi-solid foods—is highly prevalent in children of poor households in many developing countries. While the etiology is complex and multifactorial, the immediate causes are recognized as feeding at less than adequate levels for child growth and development, and recurrent infections, including diarrhoea, resulting mainly from ingestion of contaminated foods. As a result, many young children, particularly between six months to two years of age, experience weight loss and impaired growth and development.
Two such answers have arisen. Firstly, cereal fermentation is used for reducing the risk of contamination under the existing inappropriate conditions for food preparation and storage in many households. Secondly, a tiny amount of sprouted grains flour is used in preparation of weaning foods as a magic way to lessen the viscosity without decreasing energy density.
A method to eliminate pathogenic bacteria and inhibit their growth during storage of weaning preparations can benefit nutrition and health in young children considerably. Use of fermented foods for feeding children of weaning age appears to be an effective solution. Fermented foods have lower levels of diarrhoeal germ contamination, they are suitable for child feeding, and can be safely stored for much longer periods of time than fresh foods. The practice has been a traditional way of food preservation in many parts of the world. The antimicrobial properties of fermented foods and their relative higher safety-documented since the early 1900’s—have been indicated in a number of studies.
What are the underlying mechanisms by which fermentation processes help to prevent or reduce contamination? A possible answer suggests that during the fermentation process foods become more acid. This explains why diarrhoea-causing bacteria are not able to grow in fermented foods as rapidly as in unfermented ones. It is also hypothesized that some of the germs present in the foods are killed or inhibited from growing through the action of antimicrobial substances produced during fermentation (Dialogue on Diarrhoea, 1990). The fermented foods can, therefore, be kept for a longer time compared to fresh ones. It has been shown that while contamination levels in cooked unfermented foods increase with storage time, fermented foods remain less contaminated.
Whatever the underlying mechanisms, the fact is that the exercise reduces contamination without adding to the household cost both in terms of time and money. Its preparation is easy. The cereal flour is mixed with water to form a dough which is left to be fermented; addition of yeast, or mixing with a small portion of previously fermented dough is sometimes needed. The dough can then be cooked into porridge for feeding to the child.
Summary:
Malnutrition and the resulting impaired growth and development in children of weaning age in developing countries results not only from (1) but also from infections caused by contaminated food. Studies have addressed the problem of inadequate intake by using sprouted grains in food preparation. Contamination has been tackled with (2) Both of these methods are, or were, used traditionally and are practical and inexpensive.
Fermented foods have higher (3) , and also have antimicrobial qualities. This means that contamination is decreased and that their (4) is increased. Fermentation occurs when (5) is left to stand, occasionally with simple additives.
Practice 2 Directions: Read the following text(s) and write an essay to 1) summarize the main points of the text(s), 2) make clear your own viewpoint, and 3) justify your stand. In your essay, make full use of the information provided in the text(s). If you use more than three consecutive words from the text(s), use quotation marks (“ ”). You should write 160—200 words on the ANSWER SHEET. It is all very well to blame traffic congestion, the cost of petrol and the hectic pace of modern lift, but manners on the roads are becoming deplorable. Everybody knows that nicest men become monsters behind the wheel. It is all very well again to have a tiger in the tank, but to have one in the drivers seat is completely another awkward and difficult situation. You might tolerate the odd mad hog, but nowadays the well-mannered motorist is the exception to the rule. Perhaps the situation calls for a “Be Kind to Other Drivers” campaign; otherwise it may get completely out of hand. Road courtesy is not only good manners, but good sense too. It takes the most levelheaded and good-tempered of drivers to resist the temptation to retaliate when subjected to uncivilized behavior. On the other hand, a little courtesy goes a long way towards relieving the tensions and frustrations of motoring. A friendly nod or a wave of acknowledgement in response to an act of courtesy helps to create an atmosphere of goodwill and tolerance so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such acknowledgements of courtesy are all too rare today. Many drivers nowadays don't even seem able to recognize courtesy when they see it. Lorry drivers say they have almost abandoned the practice of signaling cars to overtake when the road is clear, because many of the cars took too long to pass. Their drivers couldn't be bothered to select a lower gear. Others, after overtaking, slowed down again and hogged the road. They manufacture them by force, using their direction indicators as a threat rather than a warning. Slanting matches and even punch-ups(打架斗殴)are quite common. It can't be long before we hear of pistols and knives being used: we can then call our dual carriageways, and solve a spelling problem in the process. Driving is essentially a state of mind. However technically skilled a driver may be, he can't be all advanced motorist if he is always arrogant and aggressive.
Practice 4 Read the following text(s) and write an essay to 1) summarize the main points of the text(s), 2) make clear your own viewpoint, and 3) justify your stand. In your essay, make full use of the information provided in the text(s). If you use more than three consecutive words from the text(s), use quotation marks (“ ”). You should write 160—200 words on the ANSWER SHEET. The information and computer technologies have boosted the efficiency and convenience of people’s work and study. Their application in school education has provided teachers and students with new approaches to knowledge and information. There is a heated discussion about whether computers will replace teachers. The following are the supporters’ and opponents’ opinions. Supporters: With the advanced computer and Internet, children can get the learning material whenever they want. Online teaching is becoming more and more popular that students can get planned lessons online. After each class, there is homework for them to do. Both the learning and practice can be done on computers. From computers students can learn something that they are interested in so that they won’t be restricted to the subjects that they are taught at school. Therefore, students will have the opportunity to achieve an all-around development. Opponents: Students need to communicate with teachers and get instructions from them whenever they have troubles in their study. Computers are only cold devices that will affect children’s ability to have face-to-face communication. Education is not only about imparting the knowledge, but also being a useful person. So students need to learn some useful values to be a good person which sometimes cannot be easily learned from computers. Children who use computer will learn to communicate with machines instead of people. There is a risk that they will be a generation of social illiterates.
Passage 13Questions 8—12
● Read the article below about public relations.
● Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
● For each gap(8—12), mark one letter (A—G) on your Answer Sheet.
● Do not use any letter more than once.
● There is an example at the beginning. (0)
PR: The Wildcard Marketing Strategy
What is the true purpose of public relations and how can it really help impact the growth of your small business? (0)______. This is where you, the business owner or marketing executive, come in.
Most small business owners think that public relations is too time-consuming of an effort. (8)______. It is just a matter of prioritizing your goals and leveraging the resources that you do have to take advantage of what is an invaluable marketing tactic. Here are a few tips to get you started in the right direction:
1. Create several creative story pitches. The way to get into the hearts and minds of the media is through a great story pitch. (9)______.Not only that, but editors may classify you as that annoying self-promoter that won’t stop pitching their product line, and then refer you to the advertising department. When developing story pitches you should ask yourself the following questions: What makes this story different from the hundreds of other stories being submitted? Will this benefit readers financially, professionally, or emotionally in any way? Is this really entertaining or fun to read? If the answer to any of these questions is “No”, then it is time to adjust your stow until the answer is “Yes”.
2. Match your target audience with the right media channels. (10)______. Really understanding your target audience will help you in the next step of your PR plan—targeting the right media channels.
3. Have a spokesperson or PR firm represent your company. So let’s assume that you have executed your calling campaign and have sparked interest with an editor or reporter looking to secure an interview with someone in your firm. They contact your office but no one is available to take their call. One thing that journalists and editors lack is patience, and rightfully so — they have deadlines to fulfill! (11)______.
4. Take advantage of your opportunities when presenting your company. PR results do not happen overnight. You must be patient and persistent. (12)______. So do not forget to include your company information through a sentence describing your company, author byline (if applicable), and a URL of your website. Media professionals will sometimes forget to include this information so it is your job to show it in your press release, articles, or interview.
In sum, PR is a wildcard marketing strategy that can yield tremendous results if implemented correctly. Don’t forget that your number-one goal is to get in front of your target audience and the rest will take care of itself.
A. Shamelessly promoting your business or its products is not going to do you much good.
B. However, when activity comes up, you must ensure that the company is rewarded for the hard work put in!
C. This mav be true in cases where small businesses have very limited resources (i. e. staff, budget), but this should not prevent you from doing it.
D. If your company’s main customer base is women in their 30s, then you probably don’t want to focus on media channels that target a demographic of men in their 50s.
E. The last thing you want is to be unavailable when an editor or reporter wants more information about your company or products.
F. It helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.
G. In order for the media to succeed, they need information that is both useful and entertaining for their readers.
Practice 10 ● Read this part of a letter from the conference organizer at Greenwood Conference Centre. Thank you for your enquiry about conference facilities at Greenwood. I enclose a brochure containing further details of the accommodation and conference facilities which I mentioned on the phone. I am now able to confirm that Greenwood is available for up to 40 participants on the weekends of 20-22 April and 5-7 May 2001. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information. ● Write a letter to Mr. Stanton, the conference organizer: ● informing him which dates you would like to book ● telling him how many participants there will be ● giving details of the type of accommodation required ● asking him to confirm the cost of the weekend. ● Write 60-80 words on your Answer Sheet. ● Do not include postal addresses.
Some people read tea leaves to predict the future. We prefer hamburgers! The Economist began to calculate Big Mac index in 1986. They use it as a light-hearted guide to whether currencies are at their “correct” exchange rate. It is not intended as a precise predictor of exchange rates, but a tool to make economic theory more digestible. The following is the Big Mac Index in Apr. 25th 2002. 从上述表格你能得出有关人民币的什么结论?
Directions:In this section, there is one passage followed by 5 questions. Read the passage carefully, then answer the questions in a maximum of 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the Answer Sheet.
Questions 1 - 5 are based on the following passage.
Alarmed by a 20-year decline in student achievement, American schools are considering major upheavals in the career structure of teachers, school boards around the country are planning to abandon traditional salary schedules and single out outstanding teachers for massive pay rise.
The idea is regarded with deep suspicion by the United States’ biggest teachers’ unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. They say the creation of a cadre of elite teachers will sour professional relationships and encourage teachers to compete instead of cooperate; they also question whether a fair way can be devised to tell which teachers really do perform better than their colleagues.
But heightened public anxiety about secondary education appears to have given the master teacher concept unstoppable political momentum. Florida and Tennessee are racing to introduce ambitious statewide master teacher schemes before the end of the year. Less grandiose proposals to pay teachers on the basis of merit instead of seniority have already been implemented in countless school districts. And the Secretary of Education, Mr. Terrel Bell, recently promised substantial incentive grants to states which intend to follow their example.
Low pay is believed to be the single most important reason for the flight from teaching. The average salary of a teacher in the United States is just under $19,000, much less than that of an engineer ($34,700) and not much more than that of a secretary($16,500). To make ends meet it is common for teachers to take second jobs in the evening and in their summer holidays, and women, who used to make up the bulk of teacher candidates are turning to better paid professions.
The unions insist that the answer to this problem is to increase the basic pay of all teachers, but most states would find that too expensive, they would be better able to afford schemes that confine pay increases to a small number of exceptional teachers. Champions of the idea say it would at least hold out the promise of high pay and status to bright graduates who are confident of their ability to do well in the classroom, but are deterred by the present meager opportunities for promotion.
One of the first large-scale tests of this approach will come in Tennessee, where a year of painstaking negotiations has just overcome bitter union opposition to a wide-ranging master teacher scheme. Tennessee promised that they will allocate $300 million as education budget. In return for a chance to earn bigger salaries and faster promotion, teachers will subject themselves to closer scrutiny.
The Tennessee plan will make it harder for poor teachers to join the profession. Beginners will have to serve a probationary year before qualifying, and another three apprentice years before receiving tenure. Apprentice teachers who fail to reach a required standard will not be allowed to stay on. Survivors will be designated “career teachers” and given a chance to climb through three career rugs and earn bonuses of up to $7,000. Advancement will not be automatic. The performance of each teacher will be closely assessed by committees of teachers drawn from other districts.
Questions:
1.What support is the federal government offering to states that set up a master teacher scheme?
2.What’s the purpose of the master teacher scheme?
3.In the state of Tennessee, how will teachers be assessed?
4.What is the main idea of the text?
5.What can be inferred from the text about the master teacher scheme?