&8226;Read the article below about how to read annual report and the questions on the opposite page.

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• &8226;Read the following article about a successful British businessman and the questions on the opposite page.

  &8226;For each question 15-20, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet, for the answer you choose. Every year British universities turn out 15,000 graduates in business studies. Many dream that they will one day be running a major business, wielding power and influencing markets. But only a very few will climb to the top and realise their fantasies. For the rest, compromise, disappointment, mediocrity and an alternative career away from the mainstream action will be their lot. Peter Blackburn is chairman and chief executive of Nestle UK, which employs more than 12,000 people and has a turnover of ￡1.8 billion. His advice to those who wish to move ahead of the pack is as straightforward as the man. "Take all your qualifications seriously. Although many top executives do not have first-class honours and it is often a disadvantage to be an intellectual, qualifications are increasingly important, as is the quest for improvement." "I do feel that an international dimension helps every career. It says something about the person and if they have worked in another language, it gives a manager the important dimension of realising that each market is part of something bigger. Also it is always important in any career to keep your options open as events can take an unexpected turn. When they did for me, I acted accordingly. I still have to pinch myself to remind myself what I am doing. Even 10 years ago I didn't think this is what I would end up having achieved." "In the end, those that get right to the top retain their 'people touch', which can be very difficult as one gets swept up on the fast track of corporate life. But those who never forget where they have come from and keep their feet on the ground have a real advantage. The important thing is that you should never ask someone else to do something you couldn't do yourself. I am always looking for those who have the determination, the steel to see through our corporate objectives. I also want managers who can be role models for the next generation, people who will be an inspiration." Blackburn started out working for a small confectionery company and was responsible for clearing up a major financial scandal when it was taken over by a larger company, Rowntrees. This was a project which marked him out and gave him visibility in Rowntrees. While many successful careers can easily be seen as an almost predictable procession, there are always one or two moments when success in a project promotes the executive, bringing star quality and something of an aura. However, if at the decisive moment a mistake is made, then the executive, instead of moving sharply forward, disappears into the pack and others are given their chance. When Rowntrees was later taken over by Nestle, Peter Blackburn went on television and argued against the takeover. When the dust settled, the winners rewarded their spirited adversary. "l have always believed in doing the best that I can in any situation. Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions and then it's important to meet them square on. I have been fortunate in that the evolving company that I am now involved with has always believed in strong social values and has behaved as humanely as possible when it has been forced to close or to sell one of its businesses." Peter Blackburn's career has been marked by two company takeovers. Many successful takeovers have been characterised by the new owners looking at the second layers of management and giving them a free rein. Mr Blackburn has. benefited from this process twice and says: "In both the takeovers I have been involved with, success has been achieved because the new owners have not gone in for ,wholesale clearouts. They have realised that it is the existing people who understand A．be realistic about their abilities. B．make sure they choose the right post. C．improve their relations with other executives. D．have a good educational background.

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• ？Read the article below about a successful company.？ For each question 23-28 on the opposi

  ？ Read the article below about a successful company. ？ For each question 23-28 on the opposite page, choose the correct answer. ？ Mark one letter (A, B or C) on your Answer Sheet. A Recipe for Success Not many companies can boast of having been in business for more than three and a half centuries. Yuzaburo Mogi, president and CEO of Kikkoman Corp. — the world's leading manufacturer of soy sauce — is well aware however that the company can't rest on its laurels if it's to successfully meet the challenge posed by its thousands of competitors globally. But Mogi — the first Japanese person to ever earn an MBA from the Columbia Business School in 1961 — loves a challenge. He learned American management methods through his studies at Colombia, as well as practical marketing know-bow thanks to his experience as a product demonstrator, serving soy sauce in supermarkets and at international trade fairs during his summer breaks from his studies at Columbia, which has been a source of inspiration for him through the years. In 1957, the company established Kikkoman International, Inc. in San Francisco in order to launch full-scale sales and marketing activities in the US. Test kitchens were built and home economists were recruited to come up with recipes for American-style. dishes using soy sauce. The recipes were introduced in newspaper articles, on tiny recipe books attached to the necks of soy sauce bottles, and in cookbooks. Kikkoman's strategy of building a global company that acts locally has contributed greatly to its growth. Kikkoman hires local people to operate its plants outside Japan, and develops marketing campaigns that appeal to consumers in overseas markets. The goal is to have consumers identify Kikkoman's products as the leading locally made products in its field. "We have seen our soy sauce becoming more and more a part of the American lifestyle," Mogi says. As he notes, Kikkoman has captured 56% of the US market, double that of its nearest competitor, and the company has the top share of the world market. Kikkoman is also a leader when it comes to quality. Its soy sauce is naturally brewed, unlike many of its rival products, which are chemically produced. Kikkoman's commitment to high quality has made it an unparalleled brand in recent decades, as consumers in the US and other countries have become more health-conscious and aware of the importance of truly natural food. "That is why our soy sauce has established itself as an all-purpose seasoning, a dependable ingredient, in kitchens around the globe," Mogl says. What has Mogi understood？ A．A company should be more competitive. B．Successes in the past do not secure success in the future. C．Studying MBA can help a person be successful.

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• &8226;Read this text taken from an article about some key aspects of operations management.

  &8226;Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps. &8226;For each gap 9—14, mark one letter (A—H) on your Answer Sheet. &8226;Do not use any letter more than once. The Operations Function Goods are tangible items purchased by individuals or organizations for subsequent use. Services are intangible items that are consumed at the time of being provided, with the customer taking away or retaining the benefit of that service. However, in many commercial situations, what is provided or produced by an organization can be a mixture of both goods and services. H The operations function is the part of the organization that exists primarily to generate and produce the products. (9) . They have a conversion process, some resource inputs into that process, the outputs resulting from the conversions of the inputs, and the information feedback about the activities in the operations system. (10) . Economists refer to the transformation of resources into goods and services as the production function. (11) . This process is what creates the revenue for the company making the products or providing the services. (12) . When considering the conversion process we must take into account that the process is subject to random change and fluctuations. Unplanned or uncontrolled influences may cause the actual output to differ from the planned output. (13) . If there is a circumstance in which the Yangzi River of China was to flood, the production of rice would suffer, therefore causing an increase fluctuation in the price of rice. (14) . Fluctuations may also tend to be caused by internal problems inherent in the conversion process. Faulty equipment, material imperfections, and of course human errors are only a few of the ideas that affect output quality. A Other natural problems such as lightning, frost, drought, too much rain, etc., will tend to be the major reason for the fluctuation in product quality and price because of availability. B All producers of whether it be a physical object or service have some basic elements in common. C For example, all managers in any organization will need to know how to train their employees, appraise their performance, and so forth. D The end product then becomes an idea where it is deemed a useful idea due to the form, the time, or the place of their availability from the conversion process. E For example, such fluctuations in the product quality or price may be due to the growing weather conditions of many plants of fruit and vegetables. F Once a product is made available to the consumer, that product is sold and converted into cash for that company and the cycle continues. G The general goal for all production is to create some kind of value added, so the outputs are worth more to the consumer than just the sum of the individual inputs. H In some situations the product will outweigh the service but in other situations it will be the opposite. (9)

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• &8226;Read the article below about job enrichment, a kind of way to promote the work efficiency of a company.

  &8226;Choose the correct word or phrase to fill each gap from A, B, C, or D. &8226;For each question 21—30, mark one letter (A, B, G, or D) on your Answer Sheet. Job Enrichment While pay is an attempt to reward zestful employees, job enrichment is an effort to motivate via the work itself. Job enrichment is the (21) of changing the job so that the work will appeal to employees’ higher-level needs. Its aim is to make the work more meaningful. First, job enrichment is merely (22) up, working harder at what you are doing. Second, it is not job (23) , merely adding another meaningless job. Some managers assume they are enriching subordinates’ work by adding their duties, but the duties must make the job more meaningful in order to be enriching. Third, rotating (24) tasks does not help, at least not very much. Fourth, job enrichment does not mean (25) away all the hard parts and making the task more routine. Then what is job enrichment？ Job enrichment is based on Frederick Herzberg's two-factor theory of (26) . Herzberg argued that because job rotation and job enlargement do not provide workers with any additional responsibility or (27) over their jobs, they do not really enhance employee motivation. Job enrichment (28) to increase both the number of tasks a worker does and the control the worker has over the job. Many companies (29) job enrichment to improve the quality of work life for their employees. The (30) benefits of job enrichment are great, but it requires careful planning and execution. (21) A．purpose B．program C．project D．process

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• Where did Mr. Porter read the article of Mr. Jefferson, the CEO of Walters Corporation？

  A．World Star Newspaper B．A book published by the Walters Company C．A magazine named the Economic Review D．George Commercial Group

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• •Read the following article and the questions after the article.

  •For each Question 15-20, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. "Harmonization" is a process of increasing the compatibility of accounting practices by setting limits on how much they vary. Harmonized standards are free of logical conflicts, and should improve the comparability of financial information from different countries. Efforts to harmonize accounting standards began even before the creation of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) in 1973. International accounting harmonization now is one of the most important issues facing securities regulators, stock exchanges, and those who prepare or use financial statements. Harmonization and standardization are sometimes used interchangeably. But there is still a difference between them. Standardization normally means the imposition of a rigid and narrow set of rules, and may even apply a single standard or rule to all situations. Besides, standardization does not accommodate national differences and, therefore, is more difficult to implement internationally. Whereas harmonization is much more flexible and open. It does not take a one-size-fits-all approach, but accommodates national differences and has made a great of progress internationally in recent years. However, within accounting, these two words have almost become technical terms, and one cannot rely on the normal difference in their meanings. 'Harmonization' is a word that tends to be associated with the transnational legislation originating from the European Union while 'standardization' is a word that is often associated with the International Accounting Standard Committee. The reasons that make national accounting standards desirable also apply internationally. Generally speaking, the reasons for harmonization are as follows: (1) It is important and necessary for investors and financial analysts to understand the financial statements of foreign companies whose shares they might wish to buy. They hope to make it quite sure that statements from different countries are reliable and comparable, or at least to be clear about the nature and magnitude of the differences. Besides, they also need confidence in the soundness of the auditing. (2) The advantages of harmonization are very important for MNEs, because the great effort of financial accountants to prepare and consolidate financial statements would be much simplified if statements from all around the world were prepared according to the same standards. Besides, it would be much easier to prepare comparable internal information for the appraisal of the performance of subsidiaries in different countries. Further, many aspects of investment appraisal, performance evaluation, and other decision making uses of management accounting information would benefit from harmonization. Above all, the cost of capital should be reduced by reducing the risk for investors if accounting can be made more comparable and reliable. (3) International accountancy firms can benefit from harmonization. They are in favour of harmonization because it is good for their large clients. (4) Governments in developing countries might find it easier to understand and control the operations of MNEs if financial reporting were harmonized. The most fundamental of obstacles to harmonization is the size of the present differences between the accounting practices of different countries. In previous Section 8.5 some main differences concerned with international accounting are discussed. Besides, there are several significant differences within the equity class, let alone between that class and the other. These differences go to the root of the reasons for the preparation of accounting information. Further, the dichotomy between shareholder/fair view pr A．International Accounting Standard B．International Accounting C．International Accounting Harmonization D．International Accounting Standard Committee

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• •Read the article below about a bank with a reputation for excellence.

  •Choose the best word or phrase to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page. •For each question (19-33), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. The bank with ideas with several hundred years of history behind it, the APL Bank has few problems in convincing businesses that it is a reputable and secure (19) of a range of banking services. Now, it is demonstrating to business customers that it is flexible and responsive enough to (20) their changing needs in the 21st century. Based in London, APL offers banking services to businesses throughout the UK via its branch (21) . Most customer service provision is (22) out by personal account managers based in local branches, together with (23) staff at company headquarters. An important (24) for APL has been to make it easy for customers to (25) business with the bank. They can contact their account manager by direct line or email; if the manager is on holiday, a carefully chosen colleague becomes the 'account contact' and (26) with the customer during the manager's (27) . In addition, for those who want (28) to their bank at any time of day or night there is now a 24-h0ur phone-based service. In order to remain competitive and build customer loyalty, the bank guarantees to turn around urgent loan (29) within 24 hours. This focus on the customer has also been a driving (30) in APL's recruitment and development policy. For example, newly inducted staff (31) a 'customer service review' to find out what it is like to be on the other side of the desk, asking to borrow money. Together, these (32) in banking have achieved excellent results. The customer (33) is growing fast, and last year the bank gained 36,000 new business accounts. (19) A．producer B．supplier C．provider D．giver

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• •Read the article below about the impact of technology on the environment.

  •Choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page. •For each question 21-30, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. Business and the environment These days in business, people have to face many challenging questions when designing , and implementing new projects in undeveloped areas of the countryside. One issue which has to be faced is whether it is possible to introduce new technology without destroying the local environment. Economic (21) and environmental conservation are often seen as natural enemies. It is unfortunate that in the past this has often been true, and it has been necessary to choose between (22) the project or protecting the environment. However, by taking environmental considerations (23) at an early stage in a project, companies can significantly reduce any impact on local plants and animals. For example, in southern Africa, a company called CEL was asked to put up 410 km of a power transmission line without disturbing the rare birds which inhabit that area. The project was carried out with (24) disturbance last summer. What may surprise many business people is the fact that this consideration for local wildlife did not in any way (25) down the project. Indeed, the necessary advance planning (26) with local knowledge and advanced technology, (27) that the project was actually completed ahead of schedule. CEL was contracted to finish the job by October and (28) to do so two months earlier. CEL is one of those companies which is (29) to the principle of environmental conservation. Many other companies have yet to be (30) of the importance of balancing the needs of people with those of the environment. However, it may be the only realistic way forward. (21) A．development B．progression C．rise D．increase

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• ？Read the article below about golf and business.？For each question 23-28 on the opposite p

  ？ Read the article below about golf and business. ？ For each question 23-28 on the opposite page, choose the correct answer. ？ Mark one letter (A, B or C) on your Answer Sheet. Mixing Business and Golf It's no secret in corporate circles that golf and business offer a near-perfect match. Where else but on a course can executives spend a leisurely four hours in such a private, sociable setting？ What the is better way to strengthen a relationship with a client than by lifting a glass together after a round？ For all of the game's popularity, though, there's an art of mixing business and golf. How well you behave yourself over those 18 holes — balancing business and friendship, dealing with competition and success — suggests to others how you might behave in the boardroom or around the bargaining table. "If you're out playing golf with your partners, hey, have at it," says John Hansen, a former software-company CEO who now heads the Colorado Institute of Technology. "But when you're playing golf in a business setting — whether with employees, partners, or customers — man, you'd better be hypersensitive about how you act." For starters, team the etiquette. There's a set of rules in golf that includes not talking when someone is hitting, not stepping in the line of a putt, and treating the course with respect. Another key to success is engaging your playing partners but avoiding the hard sell. Less-experienced business golfers, says Hansen, think they need to come back to the office with something to show for all their time spent away. Just focus on the personal side, he says, "I am expecting that, by the 18th hole, you know the spouse, you know their children, you know the church they go to, you know everything about them." Regardless of how serious your partners take the game, don't try to impress. The golf swing is difficult enough when you're relaxed. Add a degree of tension, and it becomes even harder. As CEO of RDA Corp. , a software development outfit outside Baltimore, Don Await plays a lot of business golf. "I've seen cases where people get so intimidated," he says. "You know, they're whiffing or hitting the ball three feet." Actually, most people do not pay much attention to what you shoot; they're too busy focusing on their own game. What people will remember is how enjoyable it was to play with you. What do businessmen think of business and golf？ A．It is easier to make a deal while playing golf. B．Golf offers a chance for businessmen to know each other better. C．Playing golf together is one part of the deal.

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• &8226;Read the article below about a method of learning languages aimed at business people.

  &8226;Choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page. &8226;For each question 21-30, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. Language learning for the busy executive If you've ever been told by your boss to improve your knowledge of a foreign language you'll know that success doesn't come quickly. It generally takes years to learn another language well and constant (21) to maintain the high standards required for frequent business use. Whether you study in a class, with audiocassettes, computers or on your (22) sooner or (23) every language course finishes and you must decide what to do next if you need a foreign language for your career. Business Audio Magazines is a new product designed to help you continue language study in a way that fits easily into your busy schedule. Each audiocassette (24) of an hour-long programme packed with business news, features and interviews in the language of your choice. These cassettes won't teach you how to order meals or ask for directions. It is (25) that you can do that already. Instead, by giving you an opportunity to hear the language as it's really spoken, they help you to (26) your vocabulary and improve your ability to use real language relating to, for example, that all-important marketing trip. The great advantage of using audio magazines is that they (27) you to perfect your language skills in ways that suit your lifestyle. For example, you can select a topic and listen in your car or hotel when away on business. No other business course is as (28) and the unique radio-magazine format is as instructive as it is entertaining. In addition to the audiocassette, this package includes a transcript. with a business glossary and a study (29) The components are structured so that intermediate and advanced students may use them separately or together (30) on their ability. (21) A．exercise B．performance C．practice D．operation

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• &8226;Look at the statements below and at the five extracts from a newspaper article on the opposite page about people who have set up their own internet companies.

  &8226;Which extract (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement 1-8 refer to？ &8226;For each statement (1-8), mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E) on your Answer Sheet. &8226;You will need to use some of these letters more than once. A E-GAMES John and Stephanie both wanted a complete career change. Selling children's games over the internet seemed a foolproof idea, but their biggest challenge was to secure financial backing. First they contacted numerous venture capitalists, but from the response of the few that would even talk to them, they realised they would get nowhere until they had spelt out in detail how they intended to turn their concept into reality. So the next step was to work with a group of start-up consultants, to devise a business plan making their expected revenue streams more precise. B SUREK Sue and Derek's plan was to sell clothes over the internet. After a shaky start, leading to serious cash flow problems, which meant they occasionally had little to live on, they realised they would have to advertise much more seriously: on the internet, they used online marketing tools to the full to produce increases in traffic, and combined this with intensive publicity outside the internet. Within six months they had built a large customer database, at which stage it was necessary to begin looking for capital to build the business. C WONDERWEB Two senior advertising executives, frustrated with the pace of change in an industry they felt was failing to take advantage of new media, Sally and Sue were keen to translate their advertising and marketing skills into an online environment. To their surprise, they found that many websites seemed to have been developed without taking any account of users' needs. Sure that the opportunity was ripe for a business with a strong marketing proposition, they started offering marketing services to other small online businesses. D SUPERGIFTS Michael and Tony set up a company to sell up market gifts, such as glassware and porcelain, online. The niche market they have identified is professional and affluent, a group which their research revealed is increasingly internet literate, is looking for exceptional goods at the right price and has high service expectations. A low-level marketing campaign generated more than 2000 customers, with a high-value average order. The entire system from web order to delivery is proving to be highly successful, with all orders being fulfilled within the advertised five days without any returns or breakages. E ABBIE'S The first phases of the company's growth have been funded through a mix of personal investment, foregone salaries and bank overdraft. The next phase will be crucial. Their biggest challenge will be to distinguish themselves from a plethora of competitive sites, most of which are spending far more than they are. To stand out from the crowd, Paul and Abbie are working to target and reach their audience better, and generate higher sales, but of necessity without increasing their budget. The company's total marketing vision will be the key to success. These people have not paid themselves out of their company's income so far.

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• ？Read this text taken from an article about the difference between internalization and globalization.

  ？Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps. ？For each gap 9—14, mark one letter (A—H) on your Answer Sheet. ？Do not use any letter more than once. Internalization and Globalization One of the most important considerations in the implementation of strategy is the extent to which the organization's activities are spread across geographical regions. H Merchants traveled the known world to sell products manufactured in their home country and to return with products from other countries. Initially, international business simply took the form. of exporting and importing. (9) . Globalization, on the other hand, is more than simply internationalization. (10) . In order for a business to become global in its operations, we would usually expect a number of important characteristics to be in place. First, global organizations take advantage of the increasing trend towards a convergence of customer needs and wants across international borders. Second, global organizations compete in industries that are globalized. (11) Third, global organizations can and do locate their value-adding activities in those places in the world where the greatest competitive advantages can be made. (12) (13) . The mentality of home base, 'foreign interests' that has been so prevalent among traditional multinational companies is eroded in the culture of global businesses. (14) . The development of an organization's global strategy, therefore, will be concerned with global competences, global marketing and global configuration and coordination of its value-adding activities. A This might mean, for example, shifting production to a low-cost region or moving design to a country with skilled labor in the key skill cultural differences. B In some sectors, successful competition necessitates a presence in almost every part of the world in order to effectively compete in its global market. C Finally, global organizations are able to integrate and coordinate their international activities between countries. D Finally, global organizations can cooperate with each other very well and can exchange their information in time. E They have learned to effectively manage and control the various parts of the business cross national borders and despite local area. F A large multinational company is not necessarily a global business. G The term international describes any business that carries out some of its activities across national boundaries. H Some businesses are entirely domestically based, others operate in many countries and yet others in almost all the regions of the world. (9)

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• Read the article below about a successful businessman. For each question （1 -6) below the

  Read the article below about a successful businessman. For each question (1 -6) below the article, choose the correct answer. Mark one letter (A, B or C) on your Answer Sheet. PACKAGE HOLIDAY SUCCESS Travel operator Joyflight is different from most of its rivals. UK package holiday companies would love to have plenty of repeat business. Instead, in an effort to attract trade, they are forced to spend enormous sums on marketing -- but they are operating in a very competitive market. So, although the big travel companies try hard to create attractive brands, if you ask the customers delayed at airports, many arent even sure which company theyve booked with. Ask customers of Joyflight, however, and this is probably their third or fourth holiday with the company. A Joyflight holiday doesnt come cheap; but for their customers this isnt an issue. The attraction is that they get an activity-based club which has escaped the notice of the general public. Even the location of the holiday is of minor importance. A high proportion of customers are families, because the adults are free to enjoy the activities on offer, while small children are in the care of people employed by Joyflight just for this purpose. These nannies get free flights and meals on top of their pay. Interestingly, most of the companys senior managers began at the bottom: for example, Linda Robinson, the marketing Manager, came as a ski guide in 1996, went away to set up her own catering business, sold it for a considerable sum, and returned to Joyflight in 2001. The companys performance over the years means that it gets a steady stream of offers from large tour operators wanting to buy the company. Micheal Knight, who started the firm, came very close to selling it for ￡ 40 million a few years ago. But at the last minute, Barmond, the potential buyer, was itself taken over by an American travel company which didnt see a place for Joyflight in the group. So where does that leave Joyflight？ Despite greatly increasing its turnover in the past four years, the company has a careful attitude to expansion. Its decision not to sell skiing holidays in North America proved the right one when many of its rivals failed to persuade British travellers to take the ten-hour flight. Learning from experiences like these, Joyflights two recent departures from its main activity are the acquisitions of restaurant chains in Spain and Italy. And as for moving into the mass market for its holidays？ Joyflight is much too successful to want to do that. Joyflight differs from most other UK travel operators in ______. A.the cost of its holidays. B.the places where it advertises. C.the number of repeat booking it has.

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• &8226;Read the article below about British companies and their performance in the American market, and the questions on the opposite page.

  &8226;For each question (13-18), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. BRITISH COMPANIES CROSS THE ATLANTIC Next month a large group of British business people are going to America on a venture which may generate export earnings for their companies' shareholders in years to come. A long list of sponsors will support the initiative, which will involve a &3-million media campaign and a fortnight of events and exhibitions. The ultimate goal is to persuade more Americans that British companies have something to interest them. While there have been plenty of trade initiatives in the past, the difference this time round is that considerable thinking and planning have gone into trying to work nut just what it is that Americans look for in British products. Instead of exclusively promoting the major corporations, this time there is more emphasis on supporting the smaller, more unusual, niche businesses. Fresh in the memories of ail those concerned is the knowledge that America has been the end of many a large and apparently successful business. For Carringtons, a retail group much respected by European customers and investors, America turned out to be a commercial disaster and the belief that they could even show some of the great American stores a retailing trick or two was hopelessly over-optimistic. Polly Brown, another very British brand that rode high for years on good profits and huge city confidence, also found that conquering America, in commercial and retailing terms, was not as easy as it had imagined. When it positioned itself in the US as a niche, luxury brand, selling shirts that were priced at $40 in the UK for $125 in the States, the strategy seemed to work But once its management decided it should take on the middle market, this success rapidly drained away. It was a disastrous mistake and the high cost of the failed American expansion plans played a large role in its declining fortunes in the mid-nineties. Sarah Scott, managing director of Smythson, the upmarket stationer, has had to think long and hard about what it takes to succeed in America and she takes it very seriously indeed. 'Many British firms are quite patronising about the US,' she says. 'They think that we're so much more sophisticated than the Americans. They obviously haven't noticed Ralph Lauren, an American who has been much more skilled at tapping into an idealised Englishness than any English company. Also, many companies don't bother to study the market properly and think that because something's successful in the UK, it's bound to be successful over there. You have to look at what you can bring them that they haven't already got. On the whole, American companies are brilliant at the mass, middle market and people who've tried to take them on at this level have found it very difficult.' This time round it is just possible that changing tastes are running in Britain's favour. The enthusiasm for massive, centralised retail chains has decreased. People want things with some sort of individuality; they are fed up with the banal, middle-of-the-road taste that America does so well. They are now looking for the small, the precious, the 'real thing', and this is precisely what many of the companies participating in the initiative do best. The main reason that the British business people are going to America is to A．encourage American consumers to buy their products. B．analyse how American companies attract media coverage. C．look for financial backing from American investors and banks. D．investigate how British and American companies could form. partnerships.

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• 听力原文：M: Maggie, I've just read a magazine article. It says that eggs are one of the most healthful foods.

  W: But next to potatoes, I believe. Q: What does the woman mean？ (15) A．It's raining heavily. B．It's going to rain. C．It's raining slightly. D．He wants some cats and dogs.

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• ？Read the following extract from an article about what airline alliances will take to people and those airline companies, and the questions followed.

  ？For each question 15—20, mark one letter (A, B, C, or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. Cooperative cooperation. Competitive cooperation. Confused？ Airline alliances have travelers scratching their heads over what's going on in the skies. Some folks view alliances as a blessing to travelers, offering seamless travel, reduced fares and enhanced frequent-flyer benefits. Others see a conspiracy of big business, causing decreased competition, increased fares and fewer choices. Whatever your opinion, there's no escaping airline alliances: the marketing hype is unrelenting, with each of the two megs-groupings, One world and Star Alliance, promoting itself as the best choice for all travelers. And, even if you turn away from their ads, chances are they will figure in any of your travel plans. By the end of the year, One world and Star Alliance will between them control more than 40% of the traffic in the sky. Some pundits predict that figure will be more like 75% in 10 years. But why, after years of often ferocious competition, have airlines decided to hand together？ Let's just say the timing is mutually convenient. North American airlines, have exhausted all means of earning customer loyalty at home, have been looking for ways to reach out to foreign flyers. Asian carriers are still hurting from the region-wide economic downturn that began two years ago-just when some of the airlines were taking delivery of new aircraft. Alliances also allow carriers to cut costs and increase profits by pooling manpower resources on the ground and cede-sharing—the practice of two partners selling tickets and operating only one aircraft. So alliances are terrific for airlines—but are they good for the passenger？ Absolutely, say the airlines: think of the lounges, the joint FFP (frequent flyer program) benefits, the round-the-world fares, and the global service networks. Then there's the promise of "seamless" travel= the ability to, say, travel from Singapore to Rome to New York, all on one ticket, without having to wait hours for connections or worry about your hags. Sounds utopian？ Peter Buecking, Cathay Pacific's director of sales and marketing, thinks that seamless travel is still evolving. "It's fair to say that these links are only in their infancy. The key to seamlessness rests in infrastructure and information sharing. We're working on this. n Henry Ma, spokesperson for Star Alliance in Hong Kong, lists some of the other benefits for consumers. "Global travelers have an easier time making connections and planning their itineraries. ' Ma claims alliances also assure passengers consistent service standards. Critics of alliances say the much-touted benefits to the consumer are mostly pie in the sky, that alliances are all about reducing costs for the airlines, rationalizing services and running joint marketing programs. It is believed that alliances will ultimately result in decreased flight choices and increased costs for consumers. Instead of two airlines competing and each operating a flight on the same route at 70% capacity, the allied pair will share the route and run one full flight. Since fewer seats will be available, passengers will be obliged to pay more for tickets. Those who've already made the elite grade in the FFP of a major airline stand to benefit the most when it joins an alliance: then they enjoy the PFP perks and advantages on any and all of the member carriers. For those who haven't made the top grade in any FFP, alliances might be a way of simplifying the earning of frequent flyer miles. For example, I belong to United Airline's Mileage Plus and generally fly less than 25,000 miles a year. But I earn miles with every flight I take on Star Alliance member-Ail Nippo A．Delight. B．Indifference. C．Objection. D．Puzzlement.

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• &8226;Read the article below about credit card in America, and the questions on the opposite page.

  &8226;For each question 13--18, mark one letter (A, B, C, or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. HOW THE CREDIT CARD CAPTURED AMERICA The proliferation of platinum American Express cards in the 1980s spawned rumors of an ultimate, highly exclusive, never publicized "Black Card". Carried by billionaires, it reportedly allowed holders to demand private shopping sprees at the world's most exclusive shops and to summon helicopters in the middle of Sahara. American express vehemently denies the existence of such a charge card. But the persistence of the myth suggests the social importance credit cards have for so many Americans. As one business writer puts it, "to have one's credit cards canceled is now akin to being excommunicated by the medieval church." America's love affair with the credit card began in 1949, when businessman Frank X. McNamara finished a meal in a New York restaurant and then discovered he had no cash. In those days, gasoline and store charge cards were common, but cash was standard for almost everything else. The embarrassed McNamara called his wife, who rushed over to bail him out. His predicament gave him the idea for Diners Club. Within a year some 200 people carried the world's first multi-use credit card. The problem was to persuade enough people to carry the cards. Diners Club turned to promotions. It gave away a round-the-world trip on a popular television show. The winners charged their expenses and made it "from New York to New York without a die in their pockets". Banks, sensing among less affluent a pent-up desire to spend, began issuing cards of their own. The first to turn a profit was Bank of America's Bank Americard. Bankers from all over the country descended on its California headquarters to learn the secret of its success--so many that in 1966 Bank Americard, today known as Visa, began forming alliances with banks outside the state. The Bank Americard network soon faced a competitor when Wells Fargo Bank joined with 77 others to create what became Master Charge. After scooping up 1.3 million more "Everything Card" holders from what was then First National City Bank, Master Charge--today's Master Card--became for a while the biggest bank card in the country. Five million holiday credit-card shoppers would have created a bonanza for the banks, but in the rush to market, the hanks had been less than cautious in assembling their lists. Some families received 15 cards. Dead people and babies got cards. Even a dachshund named Alice Griffin was sent one that promised she would be welcomed as a "preferred customer" at Chicago's finest restaurants. Hundreds of Chicagoans discovered they could use or sell a car they "found", and by law, the person whose name appeared on it was liable for the charges--even if he or she had never requested or received the card. When the prime rate hit 20% in 1981, the banks found that consumers didn't mind paying rates of 18--22% on their credit-card balance. High interest rates helped attract new players into the credit-card area, including sears' Discover Card and Visa. Airlines, car and insurance companies, even long-distance phone companies allied themselves with banks to offer credit cards. Experts estimate there are from 15, 000 to 19, 000 different cards available in the country. Of course, credit cards have not only replaced cash for many purposes, but also in effect have created cash by making it instantly available virtually everywhere. The credit-card advance is becoming as ubiquitous as the automated teller machine. What is the rumor of "Black card"？ A．The holder can spend freely at the best shops. B．The credit card allows holders to pay their check without cash. C．The holders can summon helicopters in desert. D．The credit card is very important in American society.

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• You are going to read a magazine article about the popularity of activity holidays. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-I for each part (1-7) of the article. There is one extra heading which you de net need to use.

  A A false sense of security B Remote destinations C Too risky for some D Holidays that don't quite work E New findings F Very little real danger G Too much routine H Second-hand experiences I Available to all Activity Holidays Whether it's bungee-jumping, climbing or sky-diving, we want to test ourselves on holiday. Peter Jones tries to find out why. Risk-taking for pleasure is on the increase. Adventure activities and "extreme" sports are becoming very popular and attracting everyone from the young and fit to people who, until recently, were more likely to prefer walking round museums at weekends. Grandmothers are white-water rafting, secretaries are bungee-jumping, and accountants are climbing cliffs. 【B1】__________ Well-planned summer expeditions to tropical locations are now fashionable for European university students. As they wander over ancient rocks or canoe past tiny villages, away from it all, it ]s quite possible to feel "in tune with nature", a real explorer or adventurer. 【B2】__________ A whole blanch of the travel industry is now developing around controlled risks. Ordinary trippers, too, are met off a plane, strapped into rafts or boats and are given the sort of adventure that they will remember for years. They pay their money and they trust their guides, and the wetter' they get the better. Later, they buy the photograph of themselves "risking all in the wild". 【B3】__________ But why the fashion for taking risks, real or simulated？ The point that most people make ix that city lie is tame, with little variety, and increasingly corrtroled. Physical exercise is usually restricted to aerobics in the gym on a Thursday, and a game of football or tennis in the park or a short walk at the weekend. 【B4】__________ Says Trish Malcolm, an independent tour operator: "People want a sense of immediate achievement and the social element of shared physical experience is also important.' Other operators say that people find the usual type of breaks-such as a week on the beach-Loo slow. They say that participation in risk sports is a reflection of the restlessness in people. They are always on the go in their lives and want to keep up the momentum on holiday. 【B5】__________ But psychologists think it's even deeper than this. Culturally, we are being separated from the physical, outside world. Recent research suggests that the average person spends less and less time out of doors per day. 【B6】__________ Nature and the great outdoors are mostly encountered through wildlife films or cinema, or seen rushing past the windows of a fast car. In a society where people are continually invited to watch rather than to participate, a two-hour ride down a wild and fast- flowing river can be incredibly exciting. 【B7】__________ One psychologist believes that it is all part of our need to corrtrol nature. Because we have developed the technology to make unsinkable boats, boots that can stop us getting frostbite or rackets that allow us to survive in extreme temperatures, we are beginning to believe that nothing will harm us and that we are protected from nature. That is until nature shows us her true power in the form. of a storm, flood or avalanche. 【B1】______

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• Read the article below about a website.Are sentences 1-7 on the opposite page Right or Wro

  Read the article below about a website. Are sentences 1-7 on the opposite page Right or Wrong？ If there is not enough information to answer Right or Wrong, choose Doesnt Say. For each sentence 1-7, mark one letter (A, B or C) on your Answer Sheet. Here we Google again Google dominates the Internet-search business, such as Netscape once ruled in Web browsers and RealNetworks did in media players. Begun as a research project by two graduate students in 1998, Google today carries out more than 200 million searches a day and is estimated to have had $1 billion income last year, mainly from advertising sector. It is the most visited search site, accounting for 35% of search-engine visits — compared with 28% for Yahoo, 16% for AOL and 15% for Microsofts MSN, according to comScore Networks, a market-research company. But that masks its true influence. Googles technology is used to power searches on other sites, such as Yahoo and AOL (though Yahoo plans to use its own technology soon). Taking this into account makes Google responsible for around 80% of all Internet searches. The company is now preparing for a stock market flotation in the next few months. Googles power makes it just the sort of company that Microsoft typically tries to squash. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Mr Gates admitted that Googles search technology was "way better" than Microsofts, and identified Internet search as a key focus for his company. Google, Netscape and RealNetworks all play a very important role in their own field. A.Right B.Wrong C.Doesn"t Say

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• •Read the following article about recruitment in the UK and the questions on the opposite page.

  •For each question (15-20), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. graduate recruitment has a growing role. But companies need to know whether their recruitment staff who interview candidates for jobs really know what they're doing. Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), acknowledges that in a perfect world, the people who recruit graduates would have been in the role for some time building up workplace knowledge. He says the reality is that the high turnover of graduate recruitment managers in most blue chips means there is little continuity in how companies operate. 'There's the difficulty in maintaining important contact with university careers departments, for example,' he explains. 'You need a depth of understanding to appreciate where the company is coming from and how it's progressing.' We can identify two specialisms within the recruiter's role. Those that work on the recruitment and selection side need traditional human resources (HR) skills such as good interviewing technique, observation, common sense, objectivity, patience and listening skills. But increasingly there are those who take a strategic view and look more widely at how their company is represented in the marketplace. It's a clear advantage if you can identify with your target audience. Many young members of middle management are seconded into HR for a year because their firms feel they can identify with job-seeking graduates. Yet in an industry that has been revolutionised by the internet, privatised career services and rocketing numbers in higher education, it is questionable how relevant these managers' experiences are. Some high-fliers see a secondment to HR as a sideways move; a firm's HR function might not carry the same kudos as, say, the finance department, although obviously the recruitment and retention of staff is of crucial importance. Georgia de Saram, specialising in graduate recruitment at a law firm, is one of a new breed of young dynamic recruiters who see HR as their vocation rather than a transitory career move. 'I was attracted to the profession because I enjoy working with people and it's an obvious follow-on from my anthropology degree,' she says. 'In this capacity, you get to know people and they know you even though they might not know other people in the firm.' As a recruiter, she sees herself as the interface between graduates and the firm that's looking to attract them？ It's such a tug of war between law firms for the best trainees - often they'll turn you down in favour of an offer they've received from elsewhere. You need to be good at marketing your firm, to know what interests graduates and how you can reach potential employees, whether that's through virtual law fairs or magazines.' A recent AGR survey suggests that the sectors in which there is less turnover of graduate recruitment managers are more successful in recruiting the graduates they want. The legal sector's sophisticated understanding of the market, for example, means they manage to recruit exactly the right number of trainees despite intense competition and thousands of applications. The people recruiting seem to build up a specialism and then pass on their knowledge and expertise to those new to the graduate recruitment sector. Jackie Alexander, an HR partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, feels that HR professionals are finally reaching board level and receiving the sort of acknowledgement they deserve. 'They are judged by the value they add to the business,' she says, 'and, as a professional services firm, the right people are our biggest asset.' As Georgia de Saram points out: 'From our company's point of v. iew, if I can't establish a rapport with a candidate A．detailed knowledge of their sector. B．appropriate academic qualifications. C．understanding of graduates' expectations. D．experience of the companies they work for.

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• &8226;Read the article below about business and customers and the questions on the opposite page.

  &8226;For each question 13-18, mark one letter (A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. Focus on Your Customer If you think of the most successful companies around the world -- GM, Wal-Mart, IBM, etc. -- they all have one thing in common: loyal customers. It can cost ten to twenty times as much to acquire a customer as to retain one, so it's easy to understand why customer relationship management is such a hot concept. But, while everyone understands CRM is a good thing, putting a CRM strategy together isn't easy. The place to start？ A customer-driven business model. A customer-driven business model is the most prudent method of ensuring customer loyalty because it fosters a better relationship with new and existing customers. Others such as market, price, cost or e-commerce-driven business models may generate profits, but fall short of sustaining a loyal customer base. At the heart of customer-driven business model is a clear understanding of the customer -- not just customer trends (although this is useful information, too), but the buying habits and history of every one of your customers. This 360-degree view provides analytics from multiple channels (direct, web, fax, E-mail, call center, sales/marketing) and consolidates into a common repository. Monitoring buying habits and tracking market dynamics lets you more effectively market new and existing products and services. If you think this is a daunting task, you aren't alone. Because most enterprises don't have a consolidated view of their customers, obtaining customer profit and cost information is often a Herculean effort. Implementing a CRM solution is usually a huge project with a high probability of failure. Some analysts suggest most businesses underestimate the cost of a CRM Implementation by 40～75 percent. In fact, a successful CRM will interface with ERP systems to provide integration with all customer interactions such as order processing, billing. Also, CRM strategies must include commitment and sponsorship from senior management, as it should be deemed a strategic investment that is implemented incrementally and evolutionary. Understanding critical success factors, such as those listed in the "Key to CRM Success" sidebar, mitigates the risks. First, start with a cultural change that focuses on a customer-centric business strategy. Make sure your organization is well aware of the high cost of customer attrition and is focused on improving retention, increasing loyalty. Understanding and broadcasting the cost of acquiring new customers versus fostering existing relationships. Second, focus on an enterprise view of the customer that encompasses all customer data, such as communication history, purchasing behaviors, channel preferences, demographics, etc. Understand your customers' preferred channels and determine if there's some way to optimize them. Adopt a flexible architecture that will expand with your business -- this is true with any IT project. Never deploy a strategic, costly solution using the big-bang approach. Always take an incremental, evolutionary, or iterative approach. The impact to your organization can be significant, thus, proceed slowly and ensure the returns on investment measures are in place. The first paragraph indicates that loyal customers A．help reduce costs of the company. B．are quite common around the world. C．produce huge profits. D．are costly to develop.

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• &8226;Read the article below about service production and the questions on the opposite page.

  &8226;For each question 13-18, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. The importance of satisfaction and morale Broadly speaking, job satisfaction is the degree of enjoyment that people derive from performing their jobs. If people enjoy their work, they are relatively satisfied; if they do not enjoy their work, they are relatively dissatisfied. In turn, satisfied employees are likely to have high morale -- the overall attitude that employees have toward their workplace. Morale reflects the degree to which they perceive that their needs are being met by their jobs. It is determined by a variety of factors, including job satisfaction and satisfaction with such things as pay benefits, coworkers, and promotion opportunities. (8) Some large firms, for example, have instituted companywide programs designed specifically to address employees' needs. Employees at SAS institute, a large software development company in North Carolina, enjoy private offices, a free health clinic, two on-site day-care centers, flexible work hours with 35-hour work weeks, a company-subsidized cafeteria, and year-end bonuses and profit sharing. Managers at Hyatt Hotels report that conducting frequent surveys of employee attitudes, soliciting employee input, and -- most important -- acting on that input give their company an edge in recruiting and retaining productive workers. (9) For example, First Tennessee, a midsize regional bank, believes that work and family are so closely related that family considerations should enter into job design. Thus, it offers such benefits as on-site child care. When workers are satisfied and morale is high, the organization benefits in many ways. Compared with dissatisfied workers, for example; satisfied employees are more committed and loyal. (10) In addition, they tend to have fewer grievances and engage in fewer negative behaviors (complaining, deliberately slowing their work pace, and so forth) than dissatisfied counterparts. Finally, satisfied workers tend not only to come to work every day but also to remain with the organization. By promoting satisfaction and morale, then, management is working to ensure more efficient operations. Conversely, the costs of dissatisfaction and poor morale are high. Dissatisfied workers are far more likely to be absent for minor illnesses, personal reasons; or a general disinclination to go to work. (11) High levels of turnover have many negative consequences, including the disruption of production schedules, high retraining costs and decreased productivity. (12) The results of one recent study shows that companies with the highest levels of satisfaction and morale significantly outperformed the 300 largest US companies over both 5 and 10 years. Of course, many other factors contributed to the performance of both sets of companies, but these differences nevertheless can not be ignored. A Low morale may also result in high turnover -- the ratio of newly hired to currently employed workers. B In turn, satisfied employees are likely to have high morale -- the overall attitude that employees have toward their workplace. C In fact, evidence suggests that job satisfaction and employee morale may directly affect a company's performance. D Such employees are more likely to work hard and to make useful contributions to the organization. E Managers of smaller businesses realize that the personal touch can reap big benefits in employee morale and even devotion. F Companies can involve employee morale and job satisfaction in a variety of ways. G In

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• &8226;Read the article below about losing an accent to achieve success, and the questions on the opposite page.

  &8226;For each question 18--18, mark one letter (A, B, C, or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose. LOSING AN ACCENT TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS It was painful for Irwin Layton to warn one of his recently promoted managers that he had to correct his speech--or it could cost him his career. The word "voltage" came out of Edwin's mouth sounding like "woltage", and "this" sounded like "dis". This often resulted in mistakes being made in the shipments he ordered. "I was really forced into submission. They said, 'Either you improve your accent or your chances of getting promoted to senior management won't be good,'" said Edwin. Edwin is a junior manager making $ 51,000 a year at a manufacturing company in Mountain View. Despite of mixed feelings, he hired a speech coach to help him out. He is not alone. Accent reduction is rapidly turning into a major business for speech coaches in the Bay Area and other large cities. Young, first-generation foreign professionals in America hoping to improve their careers appear to make up the majority of those paying to get rid of their accents. "I have people whose command of English is good--they've gone to universities here in the United States, but when they go into the workplace, they are held back," said Arthur Compton, founder of the Institute of Language & Phonology in San Francisco. Edwin said he was embarrassed and tried to ignore incidents throughout his career when colleagues would point out his accent and do imitations of his pronunciations for fun. Edwin's experiences early in his career made him very sensitive to the problems he faced with his accent, and, like many others, he compensated by pushing himself to great extremes in education. "I felt that just because I had an accent, some people thought I was stupid," Edwin said. "They lost patience. They did not want to wait to listen for what I was trying to say. It made me feel so bad. I knew I had so much to offer--my primary motive for working there was to do what I could to improve the company. Yet, none of that seemed to matter to them because they didn't have patience." Speech coaches and many other professionals say that some Americans have a prejudice against those who speak with an accent. Losing an accent is hard work. Each language has certain sounds, as we can tell from the many different alphabets, that are just not found in other languages. We learn as babies to make these sounds by moving the lips, mouth, and tongue muscles in set patterns. So a speech coach tries and resets these patterns for people who speak other languages. For 13 weeks, and at a cost of $ 795, Edwin spent an hour each week with a speech instructor, pronouncing, over and over again, compound words such as "zookeeper", preposition phrases such as "in regard to", as well as words such as "this" and "voltage", all the while looking into a mirror at his mouth. Seeing himself allowed him to have a visual image to go along with the sounds he was making. "When class was over, I was exhausted," he said. But following the long procession of lessons, he improved by 78 percent, received a healthy injection of confidence, and admitted that he should have done it sooner. His boss, Layton, called it a "win-win" situation, and is so enthusiastic that he is sponsoring a second employee in the program. How did Mr. Edwin's accent bring trouble to his work？ A．He could not get along well with his colleagues. B．He made mistakes at work just because of his accent. C．His talent and passion for work were ignored. D．Both B and Ｃ.

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• &8226;Read the emails below．

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