Although advanced in years，Thomas Edison remained as active and creative as many young people．

A.cannot be known with perfect certainty.

B.can be calculated precisely with the use of advanced calculus.

C.although not known with perfect certainty, do allow the advisor to create more suitable portfolios for the client.

D.A and C.

Thomas Malthus published his Essay on the Principle of Population

almost 200 years ago. Ever since then, forecasters have being warning 【M1】 ______

that worldwide famine was just around the next comer. The fast-growing

population's demand for food, they warned, would soon exceed their 【M2】 ______

supply, leading to widespread food shortages and starvation.

But in reality, the world's total grain harvest has risen steadily over the

years. Except for relative isolated trouble spots like present-day Somalia, 【M3】 ______

and occasional years of good harvests, the world's food crisis has remained 【M4】 ______

just around the comer. Most experts believe this can continue even as ff 【M5】 ______

the population doubles by the mid-21st century, although feeding l0 billion

people will not be easy for politics, economic and environmental reasons. 【M6】 ______

Optimists point to concrete examples of continued improvements in yield.

In Africa, by instance, improved seeds, more fertilizers and advanced 【M7】 ______

growing practices have more than double com and wheat yields in an 【M8】 ______

experiment. Elsewhere, rice experts in the Philippines are producing

a plant with few stems and more seeds. There is no guarantee that plant 【M9】 ______

breeders can continue to develop new, higher-yielding crop, but most 【M10】______

researchers see their success to date as reason for hope.

【M1】

？Look at the statements below and the information about training courses.

？Which course (A, B, C or D) does each statement (1 -7) refer to？

？For each sentence, 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

This course looks at the administrative functions of a bank's loans department, e. g. dealing with credit applications and keeping records of loan transactions. We will use real application forms of the type that administrative staff in loan departments regularly handle. It will be particularly useful for experienced staff with clay-to-day administrative responsibility for loan portfolios. Although most clients choose to enjoy our beautiful premises, the course can be run at the client company or elsewhere.

B

On this advanced course you will build up a database of a company's cash flow over time and identify and interpret patterns of change. You will analyze the cash flow of a few sample companies and use your analysis to judge their ability to settle their debts. This course will help you perform. an advanced cash flow analysis of your own company.

C

Open to anyone who completed our introductory course on legal contracts in business, this course looks at the legal principles involved when a company takes out a loan, and outlines how to take legal action against a company that defaults on its repayments. You will compare the interests and responsibilities of both parties to a loan contract.

D

This is a course for those new to leasing. It will provide you with a basic understanding of why companies prefer to lease property or machinery, rather than buy. You will learn about both the expenses and tax benefits of leasing and you will study a variety of lease agreements and the laws relating to them.

This course is for people who know nothing about the topic.

dren, which has a built-in tracking device. The shoes are expected to have a life cycle of two years, at which point Shoe Co hopes to introduce a new type of Smart Shoe with even more advanced technology. Shoe Co plans to use life cycle costing to work out the total production cost of the Smart Shoe and the total estimated profit for the two-year period.

Shoe Co has spent $5·6m developing the Smart Shoe. The time spent on this development meant that the company missed out on the opportunity of earning an estimated $800,000 contribution from the sale of another product.

The company has applied for and been granted a ten-year patent for the technology, although it must be renewed each year at a cost of $200,000. The costs of the patent application were $500,000, which included $20,000 for the salary costs of Shoe Co’s lawyer, who is a permanent employee of the company and was responsible for preparing the application.

The following information is also available for the next two years:

Shoe Co is still negotiating with marketing companies with regard to its advertising campaign, so is uncertain as to what the total marketing costs will be each year. However, the following information is available as regards the probabilities of the range of costs which are likely to be incurred:

Required:

Applying the principles of life cycle costing, calculate the total expected profit for Shoe Co for the two-year period.

(10 marks)

tages seems difficult to fulfill. Many innovations that were once heavily supported and publicized, such as fish-protein concentrate and protein from algae grown on petroleum substrates, have since fallen by the wayside. The proposals themselves were technically feasible, but they proved to be economically unviable(not able to succeed) and to yield food products culturally unacceptable to their consumers.

One characteristic common to unsuccessful food innovations has been that, even with extensive government support, they often have not been technologically adapted or culturally acceptable to the people for whom they had been developed. A successful new technology, therefore, must fit the entire sociocultural system in which it is to find a place security of crop yield, practicality of storage, and costs are more significant than had previously been realized by the advocates of new technologies.

The adoption of new food technologies depends on more than these technical and cultural considerations; economic factors and governmental policies also strongly influence the ultimate success of any innovation. Economists in the Anglo-American tradition have taken the lead in investigating the economics of technological innovation. Although they exaggerate in claiming that profitability is the key factor guiding technical change—they completely disregard the substantial effects of culture—they are correct in stressing the importance of profits. Most technological innovations in agriculture can be fully used only by large landowners and are only adopted if these profit-oriented business believe that the innovation will increase their incomes. Thus, innovations that carry high rewards for big agribusiness groups will be adopted even if they harm segments of the population and reduce the availability of food in a country. Further, should a new technology promise to alter substantially the profits and losses associated with any production system, those with economic power will strive to maintain and improve their own position. Since large segments of the populations of many developing countries are close to the subsistence(ability to live)margin and essentially powerless, they tend to be the losers in this system unless they are aided by a government policy that takes into account the needs of all sectors (branches) of the economy. Therefore, although technical advances in food production and processing will perhaps be needed to ensure food availability, meeting food needs will depend much more on equalizing economic powers among the various segments of the populations within the developing countries themselves.

Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph？

A．A suggestion is made and arguments in its favor are provided.

B．A criticism is imposed and an alternative proposal is suggested.

C．An example is analyzed and general conclusions are derived from it.

D．A generalization is advanced and supporting evidence is provided.

s. Early industrialization began the process of transferring some production processes (e.g., cloth making, sewing and canning foods) from the home to the market place. Although the home economy could still produce these goods, the processes were laborious and the market economy was usually more efficient. Soon, the more important second stage was evident—the marketplace began producing goods and services that had never been produced by the home economy, and the home economy was unable to produce them (e.g., electricity and electrical appliances, the automobile, advanced education, sophisticated medical care). In the second stage, the question of whether the home economy was less efficient in producing these new goods and services was irrelevant; if the family were to enjoy these fruits of industrialization, they would have to be obtained in the marketplace. The traditional ways of taking care of these needs in the home, such as in nursing the sick, became socially unacceptable (and, in most serious cases, probably less successful). Just as the appearance of the automobile made the use of the 'horse-drawn carriage illegal and then impractical, and the appearance of television changed the radio from a source of entertainment to a source of background music, so most of the fruits of economic growth did not increase the options available to the home economy to either produce the goods or services or purchase them in the market. Growth brought with it increased variety in consumer goods, but not increased flexibility for the home economy in obtaining these goods and services. Instead, economic growth brought with it increased consumer reliance on the marketplace. In order to consume these new goods and services, the family had to enter the marketplace as wage earners and consumers. The neoclassical model that views the family as deciding whether to produce goods and services directly or to purchase them in the marketplace is basically a model of the first stage. It cannot accurately be applied to the second stage.

The reason why many production processes were taken by the marketplace was that ______.

A．it was a necessary step in the process of industrialization

B．they depended on electricity available only to the market economy

C．it was troublesome to produce such goods in the home

D．the marketplace was more efficient with respect to these processes

ortant decision, such as choosing a university to attend or a business to invest in, involves the utilization of a decision worksheet. Psychologists who study optimization compare the actual decisions made by people to theoretical ideal decisions to see how similar they are. Proponents of the worksheet procedure believe that it will yield optimal, that is, the best decisions. Although there are several variations on the exact format that worksheets can take, they are all similar in their essential aspects. Worksheets require defining the problem in a clear and concise way and then listing all possible solutions to the problem. Next, the pertinent considerations that will be affected by each decision are listed, and the relative importance of each consideration or consequence is determined. Each consideration is assigned a numerical value to reflect its relative importance. A decision is mathematically calculated by adding these values together. The alternative with the highest number of points emerges as the best decision.

Since most important problems are multifaceted, there are several alternatives to choose from, each with unique advantages and disadvantages. One of the benefits of a pencil and paper decision-making procedure is that it permits people to deal with more variables than their minds can generally comprehend and remember. On the average, people can keep about seven ideas in their minds at once. A worksheet can be especially useful when the decision involves a large number of variables with complex relationships. A realistic example for many college students is the question "What sill I do after graduation？" A graduate might seek a position that offers specialized training, pursue an advanced degree, or travel abroad for a year.

A decision-making worksheet begins with a succinct statement of the problem that will also help to narrow it. It is important to be clear about the distinction between long range and immediate goals because long-range goals often involve a different decision than short range ones. Focusing on long-range goals, a graduating student might revise the question above to "What will I do after graduation that will lead to successful career？"

What does the passage mainly discuss？

A．A method to assist in making complex decisions.

B．A comparison of actual decisions and ideal decisions.

C．Research on how people make decisions.

D．Differences between long-range and short-range decision making.

he welfare, or the well-being, of its citizens. Such a government provides for its citizens’ physical, material and social needs rather than the people providing for their own needs. The purpose of the welfare state is to create greater economic equality or to ensure at least a certain minimum standard of living for all citizens. Types of Benefits Provided A welfare state provides education, housing, sustenance and healthcare for its citizens. It also provides benefits such as pensions and unemployment insurance, and it provides equal wages through price and wage controls. This type of government provides public transportation, childcare, social amenities such as public parks and libraries and so on. Some of these things are paid for through government insurance programs, and others are paid for by taxes. Systems Used Most advanced nations are not true welfare states, although many provide at least some social services or programs. In some countries, these goods and services generally are available only to people who meet certain eligibility requirements. This type of system is frequently referred to as a "safety net" that is designed to help people who are in need. Most often, these systems will provide basic needs such as food and housing. A welfare state is socialist in nature. It redistributes wealth by more heavily taxing the middle and upper classes to provide goods and services for the needy. Even countries that don’t practice socialism, however, typically will offer at least some form. of safety net. Difficulties Experienced One problem associated with welfare states is the difficulty in creating an efficient system. Some countries are unable to provide equitably for all of their citizens. The rationing of goods and services also becomes a problem when too many people depend on the welfare state to provide for their basic needs. Another problem is that many people who are capable of providing for themselves have no motivation to improve their lives because they can rely on the government to provide for them. This often breeds resentment by people who do work and are taxed more heavily to pay for the support of people who do not work.

(1)Which of the following is not provided by a welfare state？

A. Housing.

B. Public transportation.

C. Full health insurance.

D. Unemployment insurance.

(2)Which of the following is not true about the purpose of the welfare state？

A. To help people who are in need.

B. To motivate people to improve their lives.

C. To create greater economic equality.

D. To ensure a certain minimum standard of living for all citizens.

(3)In a welfare state people are usually able to _______.

A. go to college without worrying about their tuition

B. live well without having to work

C. avoid paying taxes

D. get help with their basic needs

(4)One of the problems associated with welfare states is _______.

A. that few people rely on the system

B. that people don’t want to rely on the system

C. taxing the people who work more heavily than those who do not work

D. making it unnecessary for people to work

(5)Which of the following is true about a welfare state？

A. A welfare state redistributes wealth.

B. All the advanced nations are welfare states in the strictest sense.

C. Welfare states are socialist countries.

D. Citizens can all be made happy by their welfare system.

Your Bean Steak (素肉排), Sir!

What sort of food are we likely to be eating in the year 2000？

Most people, when you ask them a question like that, either say: " There won't be any left, " or "Whatever it is, there won't be much taste in it." Of course, there are good reasons for being worried about the world's food supplies in the future.Nevertheless, not all the experts share these worries.

For one thing, although the world's population is rising fast, food production is keeping pace with it, even in developing countries.It is therefore argued that the main reason why people are hungry is not that there is a world food shortage but that methods of cultivation are not sufficiently advanced in some areas and the food is not fairly distributed (分配 ).

This does not mean, however, that our diet (饮食 ) will go on being the same.In many industrialized countries, people feed animals with grain to produce high-quality beef, even though the grain would feed the human population, and use fishmeal to fatten pigs to improve the quality of bacon.While not many of us would like fishmeal for lunch, its nutritional value is high and the unattractive fish it is made from can be presented to the public in colorful packets of fish fingers.

By the year 2000, many of these problems will have been solved.Scientists are already capable of making steaks from soy beans.It is quite obvious that there will still be enough to eat, if we are not too particular about where the food comes from and what it is made of.

1.Most people believe that food supplies in the future().

A、will become a very serious problem

B、will be the same as they are today

C、will be enough in quantity but not good in quality

D、will be much better than they are today

2.The reason why people are hungry in today's world is().

A、poor farming methods and bad distribution

B、slow growth of food production

C、food shortages all across the world

D、fast rising population

3.The word "bacon" in Line 5, Para.3 most probably is().

A、a kind of "meat" made from grain

B、meat made from fish

C、food for fish

D、meat made from pigs

4.The word "particular" in Line 4, Para.4 means().

A、special

B、choosy

C、detailed

D、very exact

5.The title of this passage suggests that().

A、food in the future will be tasteless

B、there will be worldwide food shortages

C、diet in the future will be very different

D、science is making rapid progress

tely owned family

business specialising in the design and manufacture of precision engineering products. Its customers are major

industrial customers in the aerospace, automotive and chemical industries, many of which are globally recognised

companies. Lawson prides itself on the long-term relationships it has built up with these high profile customers. The

strength of these relationships is built on Lawson’s worldwide reputation for engineering excellence, which has

tangible recognition in its gaining prestigious international awards for product and process innovation and quality

performance. Lawson Engineering is a company name well known in its chosen international markets. Its reputation

has been enhanced by the awarding of a significant number of worldwide patents for the highly innovative products

it has designed. This in turn reflects the commitment to recruiting highly skilled engineers, facilitating positive staff

development and investing in significant research and development.

Its products command premium prices and are key to the superior performance of its customers’ products. Lawson

Engineering has also established long-term relationships with its main suppliers, particularly those making the exotic

materials built into their advanced products. Such relationships are crucial in research and development projects,

some of which take a number of years to come to fruition. Joe Lawson epitomises the ‘can do’ philosophy of the

company, always willing to take on the complex engineering challenges presented by his demanding customers.

Lawson Engineering now faces problems caused by its own success. Its current location, premises and facilities are

inadequate to allow the continued growth of the company. Joe is faced with the need to fund a new, expensive,

purpose-built facility on a new industrial estate. Although successful against a number of performance criteria, Lawson

Engineering’s performance against traditional financial measures has been relatively modest and unlikely to impress

the financial backers Joe wants to provide the necessary long-term capital.

Joe has become aware of the increasing attention paid to the intangible resources of a firm in a business. He

understands that you, as a strategy consultant, can advise him on the best way to show that his business should be

judged on the complete range of assets it possesses.

Required:

(a) Using models where appropriate, provide Joe with a resource analysis showing why the company’s intangible

resources and related capabilities should be taken into account when assessing Lawson Engineering’s case

for financial support. (12 marks)