商务英语阅读

Passage 1

What makes money valuable? Why is a piece of paper marked $ 10 worth more than one marked $1? You could say there is no reason. It?s true that a special kind of paper is used to make dollar bills, and they are pretty, but that?s not what makes them valuable. The real reason money is valuable is that everyone believes it is. Ancient economies had no paper money or coins. Some used barter---- trading one thing for another. Others used all kinds of objects as money. Any object would do, as long as there was not an unlimited amount of it. Animals or metals were popular, and so were manufactured products like jewelry or weapons. Wealth in ancient Greece was measured in tools or cattle. This kind of money had two purposes. First, it was useful in itself. Tools and cattle can be used for farming. And second, it was a way to symbolize and measure value. A house, for example, would be valued at a certain number of tools or cattle. This greatly simplified trade. Other societies used money that was totally symbolic. For instance, American Indians used wampum, which is made from seashells. And until recently on the pacific island of Yap, people use large stone discs as money. In most places these types of money died out because more practical forms of money were invented. People started using precious metals, such as gold and silver, that were easier to carry around than tools or stones. And in the eighteenth centurypaper money was introduced. At first people were suspicious of new currency, but they came to accept it because the government or bank issuing it would exchange an equal amount of gold for the paper. A $ 10 bill really was worth $ 10 for gold. But now, people are used to the idea that the government doesn?t have to back its money with gold. Everyone believes that a $ 10 bill is worth $10 and that is good enough. But if, for some reason, people ever lost faith in paper money, ten dollars wouldn?t be worth the paper it?s printed on.

Questions 31-35 are based on passage 1

31. According to the writer the real reason money is valuable is that everyone believes_____

. a. money is valuable b. gold is valuable c. money is gold

32. The writer of this selection mentioned animals, metals and manufactured products like jewelry or weapons because_______

. a. they were valuable b. they were used as money in ancient times c. people liked them

33. Paper money was invented _______

.a. to take the place of other types of money b. to be replaced by other types of money

c. in the nineteenth century

34.At first people did not have trust in paper money because______

a.it was not worth much

b. the paper was not of good quality

c. it looked like an ordinary piece of paper

35. People came to accept paper money when _______

.a. the government began to issue it b. the bank began to issue it c. they could exchange it for the same amount of gold

答案abaac

Passage 2

Many private institutions of higher education around the country are in danger. Not all will be saved, and perhaps not all deserve to be saved. There are low-quality schools just as there are low-quality businesses. We have no obligation to save them simply because they exist. But many thriving institutions that deserve to continue are threatened. They are doing a fine job educationally, but they are caught in a financial difficulty, with no way to reduce rising costs or increase revenues significantly. Raising tuition doesn?t bring in more revenue, for each time tuition goes up, the enrollment goes down, or the amount that must be given away in student aid goes up. Schools are bad businesses, whether public or private, not usually because of bad management but because of the nature of the enterprise. They lose money on every customer, and they can go bankrupt either from too few students or too many students. Even a very good college is a very bad business. It is such colleges, thriving but threatened, that I worry about. Low enrollment is not their chief problem. Even with full enrollments, they may go under. Efforts to save them, and preferably to keep them private, are a national necessity. There is no basis for arguing that private schools are bound to be better than public schools. There are abundant examples to the contrary. Anyone can name state universities and colleges that rank as the finest in the nation and the world. It is now inevitable that public institutions will be dominant, and therefore diversity is a national necessity. Diversity in the way we support schools tends to give us a healthy diversity in the forms of education. In an imperfect society such as ours, uniformity of education throughout the nation could be dangerous. In an imperfect society, diversity is a positive good. Eager supporters of public higher education know the importance of sustaining private higher education.

Questions 36-40 are based on passage 2

36. In the passage, the author appeals to the public to support _______

a.private higher education in general

b. public higher education in general

c. high-quality private universities and colleges

37. According to the passage, schools are bad businesses because of ______

a. the nature of school

b. poor teachers

c. bad management

38.What does the phrase “go under” (Para. 2, sentence 3) pro bably mean?

a.have low tuition

b. get into difficulties

c. do a bad job educationally

39.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

a.There are many cases to indicate that private schools are superior to public schools.

b. The author thinks diversity of education is preferable to uniformity of education.

c. Each time tuition is raised, the enrollment goes up.

40. In the author?s opinion, the way that can save private schools lies in ______

a. full enrollment

b. raising tuition

c. national support

答案cabbc