[语言类考试复习资料大全]剑桥商务英语中级模拟117

1、书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟。祝愿天下莘莘学子：学业有成，金榜题名！语言类考试复习资料大全剑桥商务英语中级模拟117剑桥商务英语中级模拟117READINGPART ONE Look at the statements below and the measures undertaken by companies to meet investors requirement of accounting on the opposite page. Which section (A, B, C or D) does each statement (1-7) refer to? For each st

2、atement (1-7), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. You will need to use some of these letters more than once. A Many companies in the U. S. begin to realise that investors demand financial reporting to be truly presented: creative accounting is no longer acceptable. In response to t

3、he criticism about how it booked the gain on the sale of one of its businesses. IBM announced on Feb. 19th that it would expand the informaton it provides investors on such things as its intellectual-property income and the impact on earnings of the companys overfunded pension plan. And a day later,

4、 General Electric Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey R. Immelt also pay heed to investors calls for better disclosure by promising to provide more detail on how the companys individual unitsincluding its finance departrment. GE Capitalchurn out their earnings. B Expect this lifting of the veil

5、 to spread rapidly throughout corporate America, In the wake of Enrons collapse and questionable accounting at telecommunications companies such as Global Crossing Ltd., investors are demanding better. more frequent, and more expansive information about companies financial health. This rising pressu

6、re will force executives in boardrooms across the country to wrestle with exactly how much new information to reveal, much less the question of how to flag changes for investors without causing their stocks to tank. GE and IBM are bellwethers, says Patrick S. McGurn, vice-president at proxy advisory

7、 service Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. You will see a huge wave of imitation. C Of course, thats good for shareholdersand for the long-term health of the market, But the tsunami of new disclosures, unfortunately, isnt necessarily what the recovering economy needs right now. The trick will

8、be to strike the right balance. Companies that reveal too little, too late will get punished in the market. But dumping too much on shareholders may only muddy the picture further. If you give too much information, people can get overwhelmed by the minutia, and the important stuff gets buried. says

9、Charles M. Elson, director of the Centre for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. D In fact, IBM and GE join a growing list of companies that have already been compelled to improve their disclosure, At Tyco International Ltd., which has been buffeted by concerns about its complex acco

10、unting and financial health, senior execs have begun holding weekly phone conferences with analysts and investors to address questions about its accounting and operations. Franchising giant Cendant Corp. has put detailed information on its Website about its off-balance-sheet entities, while hotel op

11、erator Marriott International Inc. recently provided details on write-offs it has taken for loan guarantees as well as some hotel-development projects. 1. More and more companies are forced to illustrate their accounting.答案:D解析 more and moreare forced to 对应线索 a growing list ofhave been compelled to

12、答案精解 题目意为：越来越多的公司被迫说明自己的账目情况。D段指出“IBM and GE join a growing list of companies that have already been compelled to improve their disclosure.”即：IBM公司和通用电气公司也和越来越多的公司一样，被迫改善账目公开状况。其中，文中的have been compelled to与题干中的are forced to表意相吻合。 2. Both IBM and General Electric are willing to give information about

13、 their accounting.答案:A解析 give information about accounting. 对应线索 expand the informationpay heed to investors calls 答案精解 题目意为：IBM公司和通用电气公司都愿意提供关于账目的信息。A段指出“In response to the criticism about how it booked the gain on the sale of one of its businesses, IBM announced on Feb. 19th that it would expand t

14、he information it provides investors on such things as its intellectual-property income and the impact on earnings of the companys overfunded pension plan.”即：IBM对将如何出售一家公司的收益登记入账受到的批评作出回应，在2月19日宣布它将更加充分地阐述提供给投资者的信息，诸如知识产权收益及公司的超额养老金计划收益的作用。另外“General Electric Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey

15、 R. Immelt also pay heed to investors calls for better disclosure by promising to provide more detail on how the companys individual unitsincluding its finance department, GE Capital chum out their earnings.”即：通用电气公司的董事长和执行总裁Jeffrey R. Immelt也听从了投资者关于公司公开账目的要求，承诺将对公司的各个独立单位，包括财务部如何对盈利进行入账提供更多细节。其中，文

16、中的expand the information和pay heed to investors calls与题干中的give information about accounting相对应。 3. Managers in the companies would have to deal with the problem of disclosure.答案:B解析 have to deal with 对应线索 wrestle with 答案精解 题目意为：公司的管理者将不得不着手解决账目公开问题。B段指出“This rising pressure will force executives in b

17、oardrooms across the country to wrestle with exactly how much new information to reveal, much less the question of how to flag changes for investors without causing their stocks to tank,”即：日益加剧的压力将会迫使全国境内董事会的主管努力解决究竟应当公开多少信息，更不必说如何在不使投资者的股票发生巨变的情况下向其表明变化的状况。其中，文中的wrestle with与题干中have to deal with的意义

18、相同。 4. Its suggested that companies should provide adequate information for shareholders.答案:C解析 adequatefor shareholders. 对应线索 strike the right balance 答案精解 题目意为：公司应当为其股东提供适当的账目信息。C段指出“The trick will be to strike the right balance. Companies that reveal too little, too late will get punished in the

19、market. But dumping too much on shareholders may only muddy the picture further.”即：秘诀是应当达到合理的平衡。那些账目公开过少和过晚的公司会受到市场的惩罚，但如果对股东公开太多，就会使事态更扑朔迷离。其中，文中的adequate与题干中的strike the right balance相对应。 5. A great majority of companies will follow the example of General Electric and IBM.答案:B解析 follow the example

20、of 对应线索 a huge wave of imitation. 答案精解 题目意为：许多公司将以IBM和通用电气公司为榜样。B段指出“GE and IBM are bellwethers”进而指出“You will see a huge wave of imitation.”即：通用电气公司和IBM是领头羊，将会见到大量的模仿事例。其中，文中的follow the example of与题干中的a huge wave of imitation相对应。 6. Investors of the company would no longer accept financial reporting

21、 that does not clearly reflect a companys operating health.答案:A解析 financial reportingnot clearly reflectoperating health. 对应线索 creative accountingon longer acceptable. 答案精解 题目意为：投资者不再接受无法清楚反映公司运营状况的财务报告。A段指出“investors demand financial reporting to be truly presented; creative accounting is no longer

22、 acceptable.”即：投资者要求财务报告是真实的，不接受伪造的账目。其中，文中的creative accounting is no longer acceptable与题干中的 financial reporting that does not clearly reflect a companys operating health表意相一致。 7. Some companies start to employ various methods to reveal more about their operations.答案:D解析 employ various methods 对应线索

23、begun holding weekly phone conferencesput detailed informationprovided details on write-offs 答案精解 题目意为：一些公司开始采取各种方法来公开运营状况。D段指出“At Tyco International Ltd.senior execs have begun holding weekly phone conferences with analysts and investors to address questions about its accounting and operations. Fra

24、nchising giant Cendant Corp. has put detailed information on its Website about its off-balance-sheet entities. while hotel operator Marriott International Inc. recently provided details on write-offs it has taken for loan guarantees as well as some hotel-development projects.”即：在Tyco International L

25、td.,高级主管已开始每周与分析家及投资者举行电话会议，处理有关账目和运营的问题。特许经销业巨头Cendant Corp.已经在其网址上公布了收支不平衡的部门，而旅店经营商Marriott International Inc.最近提供了用于贷款抵押的注销坏账的详情以及一些旅店发展项目。其中，文中提到的这三家公司均采取措施来应对投资者的要求。文中的begun holding weekly phone conferences，put detailed information，provided details on write-offs与题干中的employ various methods相对应。

26、PART TWO Read the article below about a Mexican bakery corporationBimbo. 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. Bimbo Bimbo perhaps is the most popular local bran

27、d in bakery in Mexico. Every day, its products including sliced bread. cakes, and snacks are delivered nationwide by trucks. Executives at the Mexico City company estimate that its army of deliverymen makes the equivalent of dozens of trips around the earth each day. But Bimbos reach extends well be

28、yond Mexicos borders. On Jan. 22nd, it plunked down $610 million for the Western U. S. division of Canadas George Weston Ltd. The deal gives Bimbo five bakeries and the rights to the Oroweat, Entenmanns, Thomas English Muffins, and Boboli brands everywhere except in Canada and east of the Mississipp

29、i River. The share of Bimbos sales that comes from the U.S. will rise to 30% from 17% This is a perfect fit for us. says Grupo Bimbo Chief Financial officer Guillermo Quiroz. It also builds on a $1.1 billion 12-year international expansion drive that has taken Bimbo into 16 countries from Chile to t

30、he Czech Republic, elevating it to the rank of No.3 baker worldwide. 1 With a virtual monopoly at home. Bimbo has little choice but to look abroad for new avenues of growth. Yet even admirers of this Mexican blue chip wonder whether it has what it takes to succeed north of the Rio Grande. With the n

31、otable exception of cement maker Cemex, few Mexican companies have managed to turn a profit in the ultracompetitive U. S. Vitro tried to crack the American glass-container market with its purchase of Anchor Hocking in 1989, but it threw in the towel seven years later. Grupo Carso, a leading conglome

32、rate. is struggling to turn around troubled computer retailer CompUSA Inc., which it bought in 2000. 2 Mrs. Bairds Bakeries, the Texas-based operation it acquired in 1998 for $300 million, is still in the red, and its collection of bakeries in California are just starting to break even. The company

33、doesnt have a good track record of enhancing shareholder value through overseas acquisitions. says Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown Inc. food analyst Joaqun Lpez-Driga. Indeed, while overall sales have climbed as a result of such purchases, profit margins are being squeezed. So why arent Bimbos shareholder

34、s howling? 3 Bimbo spent $500 million last year on a share-buyback programme that left just 15% of shares actively traded. The company, which is controlled and run by the Servitje family, didnt even have an investor-relations department until Quiroz came on board three years ago after a career in Me

35、xicos airline and banking businesses. Quiroz says Chief Executive Daniel Servitje Montull is committed to making Bimbo a more open company, paving the way for a possible New York Stock Exchange listing within two or three years. Bimbos executives claim theyve learned their lessons from past acquisit

36、ions. 4 Theyve also hired consulting firm Bain 答案:B解析 同样是基于12年来在国际范围内扩张业务盈利11亿美元的驱动力，Bimbo公司进入了包括从智利到捷克共和国的16个国家，从而在全世界烘烤业的排名升至第三位。 后一句 在国内几乎是垄断企业，Bimbo公司别无选择，只能向海外发展，寻求新的收入增长。 推测出 前一句说明了Bimbo公司在全世界的经营处于盈利状态，且在本行业表现出色。后一句介绍了Bimbo公司在国内市场的垄断地位，这也是其寻求发展海外业务的原因。根据前句和后句所述内容，可推断出所缺句子应为，继续说明该公司如何顺利发展，包括国内及

37、国外的运营和盈利状况等。而B项意为：Bimbo公司在2001年销售额为38亿美元，利润约为18.8亿美元。符合文意要求。 2.答案:A解析 Grupo Carso,一家占主导地位的联合大企业，正竭力使其2000年收购的混乱的电脑零售公司CompUSA状况好转。 后一句 Mrs. Bairds Bakeries，它在1998年用三亿美元收购的以德克萨斯为基地的企业仍在负债，并且它在加利福尼亚州的许多面包店刚刚开始达到不盈不亏。 推测出 前面介绍了很少有墨西哥公司能在竞争极端激烈的美国市场盈利，以Grupo Carso公司为例，说明拓展海外市场的不顺利。后一句指出Bimbo收购的企业经营不善，许多

38、店面没有盈利。根据前句和后句所讲内容可判断，所缺句子应阐述Bimbo公司曾遇到哪些困难。而A项意为：Bimbo公司先前在美国的投资发展也不平衡。其中，a spotty record对应前一句中的is struggling to turn around和后一句中的in the red。 3.答案:F解析 (实际上，尽管这类收购使总体销售量攀升，但公司还是勉强盈利。)那么为何Bimbo公司的股东们不愤怒地咆哮呢7 后一句 Bimbo公司去年花费五亿美元用于一项回购计划，这项计划使得用于频繁交易的股票只剩下15%的份额。 推测出 前一句指出公司勉强盈利，但股东们并未表现出愤怒情绪。后一句解释Bimb

39、o公司回买股票的计划，进一步说明现在交易的股票份额不大。故根据前句和后句所示内容可推断出，所缺句子应该回答对股东们态度的质疑。而F项意为：因为没有多少人(指股票持有人)，符合文意要求。 4.答案:D解析 Bimbo公司的主管宣称他们已经从以前的收购事件中吸取教训。 后一句 他们也雇佣了咨询公司Bain 答案:E解析 以Entenmanns公司为例，它在全国范围内市场份额名列第一，但在西部地区仍有充足空间可以扩大市场，在那儿这家公司不怎么知名。 后一句 西班牙市场绝对是一个良机，并且他们现在要比以前更有可能来利用这一市场。 推测出 由前一句内容可判断出，所缺句子应与公司拓宽市场有关。前句指出公司

40、仍有发展空间，后句引用分析家的评论，说明公司正面临有利时机来开拓西班牙市场。而E项意为：这也给了公司机会可以进入大约有12亿消费者的市场，他们中有20%是西班牙人，这使得公司得以把现有的面包和玉米粉圆饼(墨西哥人作为主食的一种食品)的生产设施拓展到德克萨斯和加利福尼亚。符合文意要求。其中E句中的give the company access to为信息关键点，承接了前一句。 PART THREE Read the article below about mining mergers and the questions on the opposite page. For each questio

41、n (13-18), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. Three Middling Mining Firms Bet on Scale and Scarcity In May prices for copper, nickel and other metals rose to record levels, although they have since fallen a bit. Now three mining firms are proposing the most expensive merger in the

42、industrys history. The $40 billion deal, in which an American company, Phelps Dodge, plans to take over two Canadian ones, Inco and Falconbridge, would create the worlds biggest producer of nickel, the number two in copper, and the fifth-ranked mining firm overall. The records may not stop there: tw

43、o other mining firms, Xstrata and Teck Cominco, had previously bid for Falconbridge and Inco respectively, and could make further offers. Soaring commodities prices have left mining firms flush with cash and keen to expand. One way would be to search for more metal in the ground, instead of on the s

44、tockmarket. But organic growth is expensive at the moment: as firms rush to increase their output to take advantage of high prices, every conceivable input, from engineers to mining trucks huge tyres,Those shares is in desperately short supply. Developing new mines is also slow. Mining executives wo

45、rry, that projects that get the go-ahead when prices are high will not look so attractive when the next recession comes. That could be true of the proposed merger too. Phelps Dodge offered a premium of 23% over the price of Incos shares and 12% over Falconbridges. Those shares, in turn, have been ri

46、sing for several years along with the firms waresnickel, for the most part, at Inco, and nickel and copper at Falconbridge. The bosses of the firms insist that the mark-up is justified, for several reasons. For one thing, they reckon they can squeeze savings of $900m a year out of the combined entit

47、y by 2008, by sharing equipment and personnel among adjacent mines. for example, and pooling their marketing staff. More importantly, they argue that the size and diversity of the new comparty will make it less vulnerable to minings painful cycles, and so more artractive to investors. The biggest an

48、d most diversified mining companies, such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, do boast higher share valuations. They produce everything from aluminium to zircon. and so are less susceptible to fluctuations in the price of any particular metal. By the same logic, the more mines a firm is running or develo

49、ping, and the more countries it operates in. the less risk each individual project poses to profits. The merged trio will certainly have a broader geographical spread, with mines in five continents. But its main projects, in stable places like the United States. Canada and Chile, never seemed that r

50、isky in the first place. Furthermore, despite having sidelines in cobalt and molybdenum, the new firms fortunes will depend chiefly on the price of copper and nickeltwo of most volatile metals in recent years. Some analysts mutter that Phelps Dodge embarked on the merger chiefly to save itself from

51、being taken over. Investors seem to share their doubts: Phelps Dodges shares fell by 8% after it announced the deal, despite a simultaneous pledge to spend $5 billion on a share buy-back scheme once the merger is concluded. On the other hand, the price of nickel and copper jumped on the news. Trader

52、s seem to have assumed that the companies would have contemplated such an expensive deal only if they thought that metals would remain in short supply for some time. The more money that mining firms spend buying one another, rather than exploring and developing new mines, the likelier that is. 1. Ac

53、cording to the author, three mining firmsA.are cutting the price of metals.B.have problems in their operation.C.are seeking new acquisition targets.D.are unwilling to stop the records.答案:C解析 推理判断题，考查这三家矿业公司的举措。 解题关键句 题目意为：“在作者看来，三家矿业公司将怎样做”。文中第一段首先指出“三家矿业公司提议进行矿业史上最昂贵的一次合并，其中美国公司Phelps Dodge计划收购两家加拿

54、大公司，以成为世界最大镍生产商及第二大铜生产商，并且总排名第五的矿业公司。继而指出”two other mining firms，Xstrata and Teck Cominco，had previously bid for Falconbridge and Inco respectively, and could make further offers.”即：另两家公司(Xstrata和Teck Cominco)之前分别对Falconbridge和Inco公司报价，可能会提出更高报价。因此，三家公司都打算并购别的公司，这与C项中的acquisition相对应，正确答案为C。 2. The a

55、uthor suggests that if the prices of the metal fall,A.the firms will suddenly have plenty of money for a short timeB.it will be difficult for the firms to grow larger in size.C.the firms will try to increase their production.D.people will not focus on the projects that are given permission.答案:D解析 事实

56、细节题，考查金属价格与企业拓展业务之间的关系。 解题关键旬 题目意为：“作者暗示，如果金属价格下跌，将发生何种状况”。文中第二段指出矿产品价格飞涨，使矿业公司拥有充裕的现金，并热衷于扩大规模。一种办法就是发掘更多金属，而不是寄望于股市。但这种根本的发展在目前代价昂贵。开发新矿也很缓慢，矿业主管担心在价格高时得到许可的项目一旦面临经济衰退，将不再对人们具有吸引力。由此可见，在经济衰退时，即金属价格下跌时，人们将不再关注那些获得许可的项目，文中的go-ahead与D项中的that are given permission表意相吻合。 3. In the authors opinion, the p

57、rice of the firms metals rises becauseA.companies offer an additional amount of money to buy others shares.B.wares are increasing along with the merger.C.Nickel and copper makes up the most part of the firm.D.shares of the companies are increasing.答案:A解析 事实细节题，考查公司货物价格与股票价格之间的关系。 解题关键句 题目意为：“作者认为，公司货物即金属价格上涨的原因是”，文中第三段指出，那同样适用于拟议中的合并(指第二段所说，当金属价格降下来人们将不再关注那些已获许可的项目)，Phelps Dodge在Inco公司股价基础上加价23%，在Falconbridge公司股价基础上加价12%。反过来，那些股票有数年的时间随着公司货物的价格一直在上涨，在Inco公司，绝大部分货物是镍，在Falconb