中国人民大学2001年考博英语真题及答案

2015-02-04 20:56:04来源：网络

　　Passage 2

　　Large, multinational corporations may be the companies whose ups and downs seize headlines. But to a far greater extent than most Americans realize, the economy’s vitality depends on the fortunes of tiny shops and restaurants, neighborhood services and factories. Small businesses, defined as those with fewer than 100 workers, now employ nearly 60 percent of the work force and are expected to generate half of all new jobs between now and the year 2000. Some 1.2 million small firms have opened their doors over the past six years of economic growth, and 1989 will see an additional 200,000 entrepreneurs striking off on their own.

　　Too many of these pioneers, however, will blaze ahead unprepared. Idealists will o verestimate the clamor for their products or fail to factor in the competition. Nearly everyone will underestimate, often fatally, the capital that success requires. Midcareer executives, forced by a takeover or a restructuring to quit the corporation and find another way to support themselves, may savor the idea of being their own boss but may forget that entrepreneurs must also, at least for a while, be bookkeeper and receptionist, too. According to Small Business Administration data, 24 of every 100 businesses starting out today are likely to have disappeared in two years, and 27 more will have shut their doors four years from now. By 1995, more than 60 of those 100 start-ups will have folded. A new study of 3,000 small businesses, sponsored by American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business, suggests slightly better odds: Three years after start-up, 77 percent of the companies surveyed were still alive. Most credited their success in large part to having picked a business they already were comfortable in. Eighty percent had worked with the same product or service in their last jobs.

　　Thinking through an enterprise before the launch is obviously critical. But many entrepreneurs forget that a firm’s health in its infancy may be little indication of how well it will age. You must tenderly monitor its pulse. In their zeal to expand, small-business owners often ignore early warning signs of a stagnant market or of decaying profitability. They hopefully pour more and more money into the enterprise, preferring not to acknowledge eroding profit margins that mean the market for their ingenious service or product has evaporated, or that they must cut the payroll or vacate their lavish offices. Only when the financial well runs dry do they see the seriousness of the illness, and by then the patient is usually too far gone to save.

　　Frequent checks of your firm’s vital signs will also guide you to a sensible rate of growth. To snatch opportunity, you must spot the signals that it is time to conquer new markets, add products or perhaps franchise your hot ideA.

　　46.According to the passage, a country’s economy is probably decided by .

　　A. the prosperity and decline of the transnational corporations

　　B. the rise and fall of the markets and products as well as capital

　　C. the fate of the small businesses such as small plants and restaurants

　　D. the economic increase and decrease of the large companies

　　47.In order to succeed in a business, the entrepreneur should .

　　A. get very well prepared for his new business

　　B. choose a business he’s already familiar with

　　C. examine the company’s crucial signs now and then

　　D. invest as much as possible into his enterprise

　　48.Which of the following statements about small business is not true? .

　　A. It helps effectively to fight unemployment.

　　B. The earlier it starts, the sooner it collapses.

　　C. There’s a good omen for small business according to a survey.

　　D. Some small business owners are blind to early premonition of failure.

　　49.What does the last sentence in the 3rd paragraph mean according to the passage?

　　A. The patient is seriously ill because of lack of water in the well.

　　B. The patient can be saved if he has enough money to solve the financial problem.

　　C. It’s too late for small business owners to realize the gravity of the problem because they have used up their money.

　　D. It’s urgent for small business owners to pour all their money into the enterprise to revitalize their business.

　　50.What’s the main idea of this passage?

　　A. How to become a winner in small business?

　　B. How to be a successful boss in multinational corporation?

　　C. How to deal with the ups and downs in small business?

　　D. How to conquer new markets and gain the largest profit?

　　Passage 3

　　The blue, mystic Lake Elsinore lies in an inland California valley which is teeming and steaming with hot springs. Rimmed by shaggy mountains whose forested crests are reflected in its clear waters, Lake Elsinore is the very personification of peace—but on it rests the curse of Tondo.

　　The lake has had a colorful history. Much of it lies buried in legend, and it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. There have been stories of underground volcanoes on the lake bottom, erupting, killing fish and discoloring the water. There have been stories of a playful sea serpent that lived in its depths.

　　Long noted for its scenic beauty and health-giving waters, the lake was a famous resort in the Nineties. But long before the first white man had set foot along the shore of the lake, this part of California had been the home of the Soboba Indians. Their chief was Tondo, a stern and unforgiving man.

　　He had a daughter, Morning Star, who was in love with Palo, son of the chief of the Palas, a neighboring tribe. The Sobobas and Palas were sworn enemies. For a time the lovers met secretly. Then one day they were discovered by Tondo. His rage was terrible to behold. He forbade the lovers ever to meet again.

　　Morning Star tried in every way to appease her father’s anger, to soften his heart toward Palo. But in time she saw that it was useless; that he would never give his consent to their marriage. Vowing that they would never be separated, the Indian maid and her lover walked hand in hand into the lake, as the dreary November sun cast long shadows on the land. They were followed by a group of orphan children whom Morning Star had befriended. All walked into the lake, singing the mournful death song of their people, while Tondo stood on the shore and cursed the lovers, cursed the blue water into which they all walked to their death.

　　Ever since that day it would seem that a jinx has been laid over Lake Elsinore. Oldtimers tell of a great upheaval in the lake which caused water to spout into the air like a geyser and turn blood-red. Later, it became known that three hundred springs of boiling mud and water were born in the valley during that upheaval. The springs reeked with sulphur.

　　For many years after this phenomenon the lake remained peaceful. Then boats were overturned for no apparent reason, and few of their occupants ever returned to tell the story. This continued for several years. At the same time, strong swimmers dived into the lake never to reappear.

　　In 1833 and again in 1846, fish in the lake suddenly died.

　　In the spring of 1850 came the Battle of the Gnats. They bred in the water of the lake and swarmed over the land. They invaded the countryside until the harassed inhabitants called for help.

　　And in July 1951, the sky-blue waters of the lake vanished like mist before a noonday sun. When the bottom was laid bare there was no trace of a volcano, the bottomless pits, or the other disturbances of legend or fact.

　　The copious winter rains of 1951—52 have replenished the lake. But what menace does its haunting beauty hold today? For tomorrow?

　　The once mighty Sobobas are few now. But the old men swear that their ancestors still haunt the lake. They nod grizzled head and murmur that the Great Tondo’s curse will forever remain upon the lake. Only time, the wise and silent one, can tell.

　　51.Which of the following statements is true of Lake Elsinore?

　　A. It is considered by legend to be rich in golb.

　　B. It was once famous as a beautiful resort.

　　C. It is located in a volcanic crater in California.

　　D. It used to be the center of a mining village.

　　52.Probably Tondo’s rage was due the fact that .

　　A. Morning Star was too young to marry

　　B. Tondo’s tribe and Palas’s tribe were enemies

　　C. Palo mistreated his Soboba girl friend

　　D. Palas vowed meet Morning Star in secret

　　53.According to the old-timers, on two occasions .

　　A. the water of the lake turned red