Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
Caught in a squeeze between the health needs of aging populations on one hand and the financial crisis on the other, governments everywhere are looking for ways to slow the growth in health-care spending. Increasingly, they are looking to the generic-drugs industry as a savior. In November Japans finance ministry issued a report complaining that the countrys use of generics was less than a third of that in America or Britain. In the same month Canadas competition watchdog criticized the countrys pharmacies for failing to pass on the savings made possible by the use of generic drugs. That greed, it reckoned, costs taxpayers nearly C$1 billion a year.
Then on November 28th the European Commission issued the preliminary results of its year-long probe into drug giants in the European Union. The report reached a damning~, though provisional, conclusion: the drugs firms use a variety of unfair strategies to protect their expensive drugs by delaying the entry of cheaper generic opponents. Though this initial report does not carry the force of law , it has caused much controversy. Neelie Kroes, the EUs competition commissioner, says she is ready to take legal action if the evidence allows.
One strategy the investigators criticize is the use of the patent duster. A firm keen to defend its drug due to go off-patent may file dozens or hundreds of new patents, often of dubious merit, to confuse and terrify potential copycats and maintain its monopoly. An unnamed drugs firm once took out 1,300 patents across the EU on a single drug. The report also suggests that out-of-court settlements between makers of patented drags and generics firms may be a strategy used by the former to delay market entry by the latter.
According to EU officials, such misdeeds -have delayed the arrival of generic competition and the accompanying savings. On average, rite report estimates, generics arrived seven months after a patented drug lost its protection, though where the drug was a big seller the lag was four months. The report says taxpayers paid about q 3 billion more than they would have-had the generics gone on sale immediately.
But hang on a minute, Though many of the charges of bad behavior leveled at the patented-drugs industry by EU investigators may well be true, the report seems to let the generics industry off the hook too lightly. After all, if the drugs giants stand accused, in effect, of bribing opponents to delay the launch of cheap generics, shouldnt the companies that accepted those bribes also share the blame?
56. Why are governments around the world seeking ways to reduce their health-care spending?
A) They consider the generic-drugs industry as a savior.
B) They are under the double pressure of aging group and financial crisis.
C) Health-care spending has accounted too large proportion.
D) Health-care spending has cost taxpayers too much income.
57. What can we learn from the report issued by the European Commission?
A) Drug firm will use just ways to protect their drags.
B) Cheaper generic drugs are easy to enter market,
C) The report has come to an ultimate conclusion.
D) The final report may lead to commissioners legal action.
58. The investigators seriously condemned the drug firms for__________.
A) they do not let their opponents to resort to the comet
B) they use clusters of patents to protect their products
C) they bribe the cheaper generic opponents
D) trey do not pass on the savings made by use of generic drugs
59. On average, the genetics will be delayed to enter the market by __________.
A) seven months
B) three months
C) four months
D) eleven months
60. Which of the following accords with the authors view?
A) Charges on patented-drug industry are anything but true.
B) Generics industry is a sheer victim in the competition.
C) Only drug giants are to blame.
D) Exclusion of generics industry from taking responsibility is questionable.
Passage Two
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
Yet with economies in free fail, managers also need up-to-date information about what is happening to their businesses, so that they can change course rapidly if necessary. Cisco, an American network-equipment giant, has invested over many years in the technology needed to generate such data .Frank Caideroni, the firms CFO, says that every day its senior executives can track exactly what orders are coming in from sales teams around the world, and identify emerging trends in each region and market segment. And at the end of each month, the firm can get reliable financial results within four hours of closing its books. Most firms have to wait days or even weeks for such certainty.
Admittedly, Ciscos financial results have not made happy reading recently because, in common with many other large technology companies, it has seen demand for its products decline in the downturn. In early February it announced that its fiscal second-quarter revenues of $ 9.1 billion were 7.5% lower than the same period in 2008 and that its profit had fallen by 27%, to $1.5 billion.
In response to hard times, Cisco plans to cut $1 billion of costs this year by, among other things, making use of its own video-conferencing and other communications technologies to reduce the amount its executives travel. It is also using these facilities to relay information from employees on the ground to its senior managers, and to get instructions from Ciscos leaders back out to its 67,000 staff. A rapid exchange of information and instructions is especially valuable if the company wants to alter course in stormy times.
If everybody in a company can rapidly grasp what they have to do and how it is changing, they are more likely to get the job done. But some firms are reluctant to share their goals with the wider world. Unilever, a big Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods group, has decided against issuing a 2009 financial forecast to investors, arguing that it is difficult to predict what is going to happen, given the dangerous state of the world economy. Were not just going to provide numbers for the sake of it, explains James Allison, the companys head of investor relations. Other companies that have decided not to provide annual earnings estimates for 2009 include Costco, a big American retailer, and Union Pacific, an American railway company.
Some firms, such as Intel, seem to have chosen to take things quarter by quarter. The giant chipmaker said in January that it would not issue an official forecast for the first quarter of 2009 after its fourth-quarter 2008 profit decreased by 90%. Several retail chains have also stopped providing monthly sales estimates because they cannot see what the future holds. Retailers, chipmakers and firms in many other industries may have a long wait before the economic fog finally lifts.
61. What can we learn about Cisco from the passage?
A) It will keep a record of the orders from sales teams.
B) It cuts $1 billion cost by solely relying on its own technologies.
C) Unlike other technology companies, its financial reports are encouraging.
D) Only employees can use the video-conferencing to pass information.
62. According to the author, the staff can perform better by__________.
A) getting instructions from their senior managers
B) seizing what to do at hand and what to do next
C) having a financial forecast as a goal
D) sharing their goals with others
63. What is important in the unstable time ff a company wants to change strategies?
A) To issue companys financial reports faster.
B) To obtain the up-to-date information of companys business.
C) To predict what is going to happen in the future.
D) To wait until the economic fog finally lifts.
64. The reason Unilever plans not to issue financial forecast in 2009 lies in__________.
A) its reluctance to share its goal with others
B) its rapid grasp of changes in the markets
C) the unstable economic situation
D) its reduction in the cost of prediction
65. What can we know about the giant chipmaker, Intel in the passage?
A) It did not issue first-quarter forecast for great decrease in January.
B) Inters chain store used to report sales estimates by year.
C) Only retailers and chipmakers are greatly influenced.
D) Intels profit was greatly decreased in 2008s last quarter.
56.B)。定位 由题干中的governments及seeking ways to reduce the health-care spending定位到文章第一段第一句：Caught in a squeeze between the health needs of aging populations on one hand and the financial crisis on the other，governments everywhere are looking for ways to slow the growth in health-care spending.
详解 推理判断题。由定位句可知，各国政府一方面面临老龄化人群的健康需求，另一方面受到金融危机的影响，所以都在寻求减少医疗保健开支的途径，B)符合题意。第一段第二句提到they are looking to the genetic-drugs industry as a savior，但是普通药物只是各国政府减少开支的一个方法，并不是他们这么做的原因，故排除A);C)的说法在文中没有提及;本段最后一句提到That greedcosts taxpayers nearly C $1 billion a year.这里是说药店的贪心导致纳税人受损，并不是说保健花费的问题，故排除D)。
57.D)。定位 由题干中的the report issued by the European Commission定位到文章第二段第一句：Then on November 28th the European Commission issued the preliminary results...
详解 事实细节题。定位句提到，11月28日欧洲委员会发布的一个初步调查报告，下文开始对该报告进行描述，由第二段最后一句Neelie Kroes，the EUs competition commissioner，says she is ready to take legal action if the evidence allows.可推断如果证据充足，委员们会采取行动，D)符合题意。第二段第二句提到the drugs firms use a variety of unfair strategies to protect their expensive drugs by delaying the entry of cheaper generic opponents，可见药物公司使用了不公平的竞争手段，推迟普通药物的上市，故排除A)、B);该句前半句提到The report reached a damning，though provisional，conclusion，可见该报告的结论只是暂时的，并不是最终结论，故排除C)。
58.B)。定位 由题干中的The investigators seriously condemned the drug firms定位到文章第三段第一句：0ne strategy the investigators criticize is the use of the patent cluster。
详解 推理判断题。由定位句可知，调查员们严厉谴责药品公司是因为其利用专利群这一策略，即为一个产品申请多项专利，B)符合题意。A)的表述在文中并未提及，故排除;最后一段最后一句虽然提到bribing opponents to delay the launch of cheap genetics，但是作者没有说这是研究者们强烈谴责的方法，故排除C);第一段倒数第二句提到Canadas competition watchdog criticized the countrys pharmacies for failing to pass on the savings。可见这里受到谴责的是加拿大的药店，不是所有药品公司，故排除D)。
59.A)。定位 根据题干中的on average，the genetics will be delayed定位到文章第四段第二句：0n average，the report estimates，genetics arrived seven months after a patented drug lost its protection，though where the drug Was a big seller the lag Was four months.
详解 事实细节题。由定位句可知，平均来说，普通药物要等专利药物的专利保护失效7个月后才能上市，A)符合题意。B)、D)中的数字文中没有提及;文中提到了four months，但指的是畅销药品被推迟的时间，而不是平均的，故排除C)。
60.D)。定位 根据题干中的authors view定位到文章最后一段第二句：Though many of the charges of bad behavior leveled at the patenteddrugs industry by EU investigators may well be true，the report seems to let the generics industry off the hooktoo lightly.
详解 观点态度题。由定位句可知，作者认为欧盟调查员们对专利药物行业的控诉是正确的，但不应让普通制药行业太轻易地逃脱责任，因为它们有可能接受了专利药物行业的贿赂，因此作者认为普通药物行业同样需对此承担责任，D)符合题意。由定位句可知，作者同意调查员们对专利药物行业的看法，A)中的anything but true的说法太绝对，故排除;作者认为普通药物行业也应该承担责任，可见它并不完全是个受害者，也不应该仅仅谴责制药大亨，故排除B)、C)。
61.A)。定位 由题干中的Cisco定位到文章第一段第二、三句：Cisco，all American network-equipment giant its senior executives cart track exactly what orders are coming in from sales teams around the world，and identify emerging trends in each region and market segment.
详解 事实细节题。由定位句可知，思科公司的高级主管每天都会跟踪销售团队的订单，确定各个地区的新的发展趋势，A)符合题意。第三段第一句提到Cisco plans to cut$1 billion of costs this year by，among other things，making use of its own video0-conferencing and other communications technologies.由among other things可知，思科公司减少开支的途径不仅仅是依靠自身的技术，故排除B);第二段第一句提到Ciscos financial results have not made happy readin9，可见思科公司的财务报告并不乐观，故排除C);第三段第二 句提到It is also using these facilitiesto get instructions from Ciscos leaders.可见思科公司的领导者们同样可以通过此设备下达指令，故排除D)。
62.B)。定位 由题干中的the staff can perform better by定位到文章第四段第一句：If everybody in a company can rapidly grasp what they have to do and how it is changing，they are more likely to get the job done。
详解 推理判断题。由定位句可知，如果公司的每一名员工都可以迅速掌握自己目前和下一步该做的事情，他们就能更容易完成工作，即更好地完成工作，B)符合题意。A)对于公司的发展很重要，但是与员工们的表现无关，故排除;第四段第二句确实提到财务预测和财务目标的论述，但是作者并没有将它们与员工的表现联系起来，故排除C)、D)。
63.B)。定位 由题干中的a company wants to change strategies定位到文章第三段最后一句：A rapid exchange of information and instructions is especially valuable if the company wants to alter course in stormy times.
详解 事实细节题。由定位句可知，如果公司想在动荡时期改变策略，必须迅速交流信息与指示，也就是获得公司最新的业务信息，B)符合题意。第一段最后提到，思科公司可以比其他公司更快得到财务结果，但作者并未明确表 明这样对改变公司的策略很重要，故排除A);第四段第三句提到it is difficult to predict what is going to happen，可见公司预测将来要发生什么很难，而且文章也未涉及预测与改变策略的关系，故排除C);最后一段最后一句提到industries may have a long wait before the economic fog finally lifts，这里是指各行业所面临的困难境况，并不是让他们不采取任何措施，故排除D)。
64.C)。定位：由题干中的Unilever plans not to issue financial forecast in 2009定位到文章第四段第三句：Unileverhas decided against issuing a 2009 financial forecast to investors，arguing that it is difficult to predict what is going to happen，given the dangerous state of the world economy.
详解：事实细节题。由定位句可知，联合利华不计划发布其2009年的财务预测的原因是：面临世界经济动荡;的不安局势，一切事情都很难预测。可见他们不发布预测就是因为世界经济不稳定，C)符合题意。第四段第二句提到But some firms are reluctant to their goals with the wider world，然后举出了联合利华的例子，可见后者只是前者的补充说明，不是因果关系，故排除A);由定位句可知，目前很难预测将要发生的事情，因此该公司不能很快掌握市场的变化形势，故排除B);D)在文中未提及。
65.D)。定位：由题干中的the giant chipmaker，Intel定位到文章最后一段第二句：The giant chip markersaid in January that it would not issue an official forecast for the first quarter of 2009 after its fourth-quarter 2008 profit decreased by 90%.
详解：事实细节题。由定位句可知，根据大型芯片生产巨头英特尔一月份的声明，2008年第四季度其利润F降了90%，因此该公司不会正式发布其2009年第一季度的预估;可见，该公司2008年最后一个季度的利润大幅下降了.D)符合题意。该公司没有发布2009年第一季度官方预测的原因是2008年最后一季度公司利润下降，并不是因为当月利润的减少，故排除A);该段第三句提到Several retail chains have also stopped providing monthly sales estimates，可见他们原来是按月上交销售预测，并不是按年的，故排除B);最后一句指出Retailers，chipmakers and firms in many other industries may have a long wait可见除了零售商和芯片制造商外，其他很多行业也受到了影响，故排除C)。
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