2005年全国攻读工商管理硕士学位研究生入学考试
英语试题
Section II Cloze (10 points)
Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1.
A few decades ago, the world banking community invented new Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) systems to move money more efficiently across countries and around the globe. The ___21__benefit of such systems was to __22___the float of capital that was unavailable for ? __23__ checks were being cleared through banking__24__. Today, we understand that benefits of electronic banking are far more _25__ than just reducing floating cash. The world of banking__26__revolutionizeD．It is __27_ more efficient and faster, but more global. And now_28_the Internet, EFT systems are increasingly __29__with the new world of e-commerce and e-trade.
__30__1997 and 2003, EFT value__31__from less than $50 trillion to nearly $40 trillion, more than the __32__economic product of all the countries and territories of the entire world. These statistics__33__should emphasize the true importance of transnational EFT Satellite, wireless, and cable-based electronic fund transfers _34__ the hub of global enterprise.Such electronic cash is _35__central to the idea of an emerging “worldwide mind.” Without the satellite and fiber infrastructure to support the flow of electronic funds, the world economy would grind to a halt.
Section III Reading comprehension (40 points) Directions:
Read the following four passages. Answer the questions below each passage by choosing A, B, C and D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
Passage One
Working at nonstandard times-----evenings, nights, or weekends----is taking its toll on American families. One-fifth of all employed Americans work variable or rotating shifts, and one-third work weekends, according to Harriet B. Presser, sociology professor at the University
of Maryland. The result is stress on familial relationships, which is likely to continue in coming decades.
The consequences of working irregular hours vary according to gender, economic level, and whether or not children are involved. Single mothers are more likely to work nights and weekends than married mothers. Women in clerical, sales, or other low-paying jobs participate disproportionately in working late and graveyard shifts.
Married-couple households with children are increasingly becoming dual-earner households, generating more split-shift couples. School-aged children, however, may benefit from parents’ nonstandard work schedules because of the greater likelihood that a parent will be home before or after school. On the other hand, a correlation exists between nonstandard work schedules and both marital instability and a decline in the quality of marriages.
Nonstandard working hours mean families spend less time together for diner but more time together for breakfast. One-on-one interaction between parents and children varies, however, based on parent, shift, and age of children. There is also a greater reliance on child care by relatives and by professional providers.
Working nonstandard hours is less a choice of employees and more a mandate of employer. Presser believes that the need for swing shifts and weekend work will continue to rise in the coming decades. She reports that in some European countries there are substantial salary premiums for employees working irregular hours-sometimes as much as 50% higher. The convenience of having services available 24 hours a day continues to drive this trend.
Unfortunately, says Presser, the issue is virtually absent from public discourse. She emphasizes the need for focused studies on costs and benefits of working odd hours, the physical and emotional health of people working nights and weekends, and the reasons behind the necessity for working these hours. “Nonstandard work schedules not only are highly prevalent among American families but also generate a level of complexity in family functioning that needs greater attention,” she says./
36．Which of the following demonstrates that working at nonstandard times is taking its toll on American families？
A．Stress on familial relationships． B．Rotating shifts.
C．Evenings，nights，or weekends. D．Its consequences.
37．Which of the following is affected most by working irregular hours？ A．Children. B．Marriage. C．Single mothers. D．Working women.
38．Who would be in favor of the practice of working nonstandard hours？ A．Children. B．Parents. C．Employees
D．Professional child providers.
39．It is implied that the consequences of nonstandard work schedules are . A．emphasized B．absent C．neglected D．prevalent
40．What is the author’s attitude towards working irregular hours？ A．Positive. B．Negative. C．Indifferent. D．Objective.
Passage Two
Most human beings actual1y decide before they think. When any human
being----executive, specialized expert, or person in the street----encounters a complex issue and forms an opinion, often within a matter of seconds, how thoroughly has he or she explored the implications of the various courses of action? Answer: not very thoroughly. Very few people, no matter how inte1ligent or experienced, can take inventory of the many branching possibilities, possible outcomes, side effects, and undesired consequences of a policy or a course
of action in a matter of seconds. Yet, those who pride themse1ves on being decisive often try to do just that. And once their brains lock onto an opinion, most of their thinking thereafter consists of finding support for it.
A very serious side effect of argumentative decision making can be a lack of support for the chosen course of action on the pat of the “losing” faction. When one faction wins the meeting and the others see themselves as losing, the battle often doesn’t end when the meeting ends. Anger, resentment, and jealousy may lead them to sabotage the 4ecision later, or to reopen the debate at later meetings.
There is a better. As philosopher Aldous Huxley said, “It isn’t who is right, but what is right, that counts.”
The structured-inquiry method offers a better alternative to argumentative decision making by debate. With the help of the Internet and wireless computer technology the gap between experts and executives is now being dramatically closed. By actually putting the brakes on the thinking process, slowing it down, and organizing the flow of logic, it’s possible to create a level of clarity that sheer argumentation can never match.
The structured-inquiry process introduces a level of conceptual clarity by organizing the contributions of the experts, then brings the experts and the decision makers closer together. Although it isn’t possible or necessary for a president or prime minister to listen in on every intelligence analysis meeting, it’s possible to organize the experts’ information to give the decision maker much greater insight as to its meaning. This process may somewhat resemble a marketing focus group; it’s a simple, remarkably clever way to bring decision makers closer to the source of the expert information and opinions on which they must base their decisions.
4l．From the first paragraph we can learn that .
A．executive, specialized expert, are no more clever than person in the street B．very few people dec1de before they think
C．those who pride themselves on being decisive often fail to do so D．people tend to consider carefully before making decisions
42．Judging from the context, what does the word “them” (line 4, paragraph 2) refer to?/