1. Temperamental, irritable kids have difficulty adapting to parental divorce because
[A] they care too much about the life change.
[B] the great stress of their families diminishes their ability.
[C] they tend to lose temper easily and are sensitive to the life change.
[D]they are faced with more parents' fights than the relaxed, easygoing children.
2 . The following statements are true EXCEPT
[A] divorce is usually caused by more than one reason.
[B] a six-year-old boy may fear being deserted by his parents.
[C] as the kids grow older, they have a better understanding of divorce.
[D] a young girl may feel more shameful on parental divorce than an older boy.
3. It can be inferred from the passage that the impact of divorce
[A] on kids of different sexes will probably change as they grow older.
[B] may cause most kids' difficulties in communicating with others.
[C] on an irritable girl is greater than a noncompliant boy.
[D] is always greater on boys than on girls.
4. According to the author, the reason why parental divorce has greater effect on boys than on girls is that
[A]all cultures encourage male aggression and noncompliance.
[B] boys are always involved in their parents' fights.
[C] males are usually viewed as the models in self-control and strong will.
[D] boys are basically more self-disciplined than girls.
5. What is the main idea of the passage
[A] Parental divorce has a negative effect on children all through their life.
[B] The impact of parental divorce on children varies in personality, age and gender.
[C] Boys may become more aggressive than girls in disrupted families.
[D] Kids of different ages behave differently on parental divorce.
Unit 2
Directions
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)
Text 1
As a young bond trader, Buttonwood was given two pieces of advice, trading rules of thumb, if you will that bad economic news is good news for bond markets and that every utterance dropping from the lips of Paul Volcker, the then chairman of the Federal Reserve, and the man who restored the central bank's credibility by stomping on runaway inflation, should be respected than Pope's orders. Today's traders are, of course, a more sophisticated bunch. But the advice still seems good, apart from two slight drawbacks. The first is that the well-chosen utterances from the present chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, is of more than passing difficulty. The second is that, of late, good news for the economy has not seemed to upset bond investors all that much. For all the cheer that has crackled down the wires, the yield on ten-year bonds--which you would expect to rise on good economic news--is now, at 4.2%, only two-fifths of a percentage point higher than it was at the start of the year. Pretty much unmoved, in other words.
Yet the news from the economic front has been better by far than anyone could have expected. On Tuesday November 25th, revised numbers showed that America's economy grew
by an annual 8.2% in the third quarter, a full percentage point more than originally thought, driven by the ever-spendthrift American consumer and, for once, corporate investment. Just about every other piece of information coming out from special sources shows the same strength. New houses are still being built at a fair clip. Exports are rising, for all the protectionist crying. Even employment, in what had been mocked as a jobless recovery, increased by 125,000 or thereabouts in September and October. Rising corporate profits, Iow credit spreads and the biggest-ever rally in the junk-bond market do not, on the face of it, suggest anything other than a deep and 10ng-lasting recovery. Yet Treasury-bond yields have fallen.
If the rosy economic backdrop makes this odd, making it doubly odd is an apparent absence of foreign demand. Foreign buyers of Treasuries, especially Asian central banks, who had been swallowing American government debt like there was no tomorrow, seem to have had second thoughts lately. In September, according to the latest available figures, foreigners bought only $ 5.6 billion of Treasuries, compared with $ 25.1 billion the previous month and an average of $ 38.7 billion in the preceding four months. In an effort to keep a lid on the yen's rise, the Japanese central bank is still busy buying dollars and parking the money in government debt. Just about everybody else seems to have been selling.
1. The advice for Buttonwood suggests that
[A] Paul Volcker enjoyed making comments on controlling inflation.
[B] the Federal Reserve has an all-capable power over inflation control.
[C] economy has the greatest influence upon the daily life of ordinary people.
[D] the economic sphere and bond markets are indicative of each other.
2. The word passing(Paragraph 1) most probably means
[A] instant.
[B] trivial.
[C] simple.
[D] negligible.
3. Which of the following is responsible for the rapid economic growth in the US
[A] Domestic consumers.
[B] Foreign investments.
[C] Real estate market.
[D] Recovering bond market.
4. According to the last paragraph, most Asian central banks are becoming
[A] rather regretful.
[B] less ambitious.
[C] more cautious.
[D] speculative.
5. The phrase keep a lid on( Paragraph 3) most probably means
[A] put an end to.
[B] set a limit on.
[C] tighten the control over.
[D] reduce the speed of.
Text 2
We're moving into another era, as the toxic effects of the bubble and its grave consequences spread through the financial system. Just a couple of years ago investors dreamed of 20 percent returns forever. Now surveys show that they're down to a realistic 8 percent to 10 percent range.
But what if the next few years turn out to be below normal expectations Martin Barnes of the Bank Credit Analyst in Montreal expects future stock returns to average just 4 percent to 6 percent. Sound impossible After d much smaller bubble that burst in the mid-1960s, Standard & Poor's 5000 stock average returned 6.9 percent a year (with dividends reinvested) for the following 17 years. Few investors are prepared for that.
Right now denial seems to be the attitude of choice. That's typical, says Loft Lucas of Hewitt, the consulting firm. You hate to look at your investments when they're going down. Hewitt tracks 500,000 401(k) accounts every day, and finds that savers are keeping their contributions up. But they're much less inclined to switch their money around. It's the slot-machine effect, Lucas says. People get more interested in playing when they think they've got a hot machine-- and nothing's hot today. The average investor feels overwhelmed.
Against all common sense, many savers still shut their eyes to the dangers of owning too much company stock. In big companies last year, a surprising 29 percent of employees held at
least three quarters of their 402(k) in their own stock.
Younger employees may have no choice. You often have to wait until you're 50 or 55 before you can sell any company stock you get as a matching contribution.
But instead of getting out when they can, older participants have been holding, too. One third of the people 60 and up chose company stock for three quarters of their plan, Hewitt reports. Are they inattentive Loyal to a fault Sick It's as if Lucent, Enron and Xerox never happened.
No investor should give his or her total trust to any particular company's stock. And while you're at it, think how you'd be if future stock returns--averaging good years and bad--are as poor as Barnes predicts.
If you ask me, diversified stocks remain good for the long run, with a backup in bonds. But I, too, am figuring on reduced returns. What a shame. Dear bubble, I'll never forget. It's the end
of a grand affair.
1. The investors' judgment of the present stock returns, in the author's opinion, seems to be
[A] sort of wishful thinking.
[B] just too pessimistic.
[C] totally groundless.
[D] quite realistic.
2. In face of the current stock market, most stock-holders just
[A] decline to inject more money into the stock market.
[B] voice their disgust with the devaluing stock.
[C] switch their money around in the market.
[D] mm a deaf ear to the warning.
3. The author recommends that employees
[A] hold at leastl3 of their 401 (k) in their company.
[B] get out of their own company's stock.
[C] wait for some time before disposing of their stock.
[D] give trust to a particular company's stock.
4. Lucent, Enron and Xerox, it can be inferred from the text, are names of
[A] successful companies.
[B] bankrupted companies.
[C] company stocks.
[D] huge companies.
5. The author's attitude towards the long-term investors' decision is
[A] positive.
[B] suspicious
[C] negative.
[D] paradoxical.
Text 3
What accounts for the astounding popularity of Dr. Phil McGraw Why have so many TV viewers and book buyers embraced this tough warrior of a psychologist who tells them to suck it up and deal with their own problems rather than complaining and blaming everyone else Obviously, Oprah Winfrey has a lot to do with it. She made him famous with regular appearances on her show, and is co-producing the new Dr. Phil show that's likely to be the hottest new daytime offering this fall. But we decided to put Dr. Phil on the cover not just because he's a phenomenon. We think his success may reflect an interesting shift in the American spirit of time. Could it be that we're finally getting tired of the culture of victimology
This is a tricky subject, because there are very sad real victims among us. Men still abuse women in alarming numbers. Racism and discrimination persist in subtle and not-so-subtle forms. But these days, almost anyone can find a therapist or lawyer to assure them that their professional, relationship or health problems aren't their fault. As Marc Peyser tells us in his
terrific profile of Dr. Phil, the TV suits were initially afraid audiences would be offended by his stem advice to get real! In fact, viewers thirsted for the tough talk. Privately, we all know we have to take responsibility for decisions we control. It may not be revolutionary advice (and may leave out important factors like unconscious impulses). But it's still an important message with clear echoing as, a year later, we contemplate the personal lessons of September 11.
Back at the ranch (livestock farm)--the one in Crawford, Texas--President Bush continued to issue mixed signals on Iraq. He finally promised to consult allies and Congress before going
to war, and signaled an attack isn't coming right now (I'm a patient man).But so far there has been little consensus-building, even as the administration talks of regime change and positions troops in the gulf. Bush's team also ridiculed the press for giving so much coverage to the Iraq issue. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld called it a frenzy, and Press Secretary Ari Fleischer
dismissed it as self-inflicted silliness. But as Michael Hirsh notes in our lead story, much of the debate has been inside the Republican Party, where important voices of experience argue Bush needs to prepare domestic and world opinion and think through the global consequences before moving forward. With so much at stake, the media shouldn't pay attention Now who's being silly
1. Faced with diversified issues of injustice, Dr. Phil McGraw advised that people should
[A] strongly voice their condemnation of those responsible.
[B] directly probe the root of their victimization.
[C] carefully examine their own problems.
[D] sincerely express their sympathy for the victims.
2. One possible response, when the program Dr. Phil was first presented on TV, that people were afraid of was
[A] suspicion.
[B] satisfaction.
[C] indifference.
[D] indignation.
3. The word tough (Paragraph 2) most probably means
[A] piercing to the truth.
[B] using vulgar language.
[C] mean and hostile.
[D] difficult to understand.
4. The author advises the public to
[A] leave out factors such as unconscious impulses.
[B] draw lessons of their own from September 11.
[C] respond decisively to September 11 tragedy.
[D] accept decisions beyond our control.
5. With a series of questions at the end of the text, the author
[A] feels uncertain of what his own opinion is.
[B] differentiates two conflicting views.
[C] criticizes the Bush Administration.
[D] argues for the US policy on Iraq.
Text 4
Pressure is mounting on Ahold's embattled supervisory board following the Dutch grocery group's decision to pay its new chief executive more than C 10m to lead its recovery from a
ruining accounting scandal.
Anders Moberg's pay package--and the timing of its disclosure at a shareholder meeting last week--has confronted Ahold with a new credibility crisis as it struggles to restore confidence after the 6 970m ( $1 bn) scandal. The dispute- evident in a sea of critical media comment in the Netherlands at the weekend threatens to divert management from its recovery strategy, built on significant divestments and a likely rights issue to reduce fi Il bn in net debt. Units deemed unable to attain first or second position in food retail within three to five years will immediately be put up for sale.
The board's position appears all the more delicate following comments made by Mr. Moberg to the Financial Times, in which he criticized non-executive directors for ignoring his advice to disclose his salary in May, when he agreed his contract.
Instead Ahold waited more than four months to make the announcement, on the day share-holders were asked to approve Mr. Moberg's appointment.
I was the one who said I liked transparency, and I had hoped [the supervisory board] had shown [the salary package] in May to avoid a situation like this, Mr. Moberg told the FT.
As the row prompted the left-leaning Dutch Daily to call for a boycott of Ahold's Dutch Albert Heijn supermarket chain where only last week Ahold announced 440 redundancies--it
was clear the supervisory board had badly misjudged the reaction.
