【M1】
【M1】
Hundreds of early-bird shoppers were waiting outside or in idling cars when Miss Page arrived for her job as a store greeter at Toys R Us in Fair Oaks Shopping Center in Fairfax.
Welcome to "Black Friday", perhaps the biggest retail Sales day of the year as millions of shoppers across America are lured to stores with expanded hours and heavily discounted prices.
"This is an organized chaos, which is a good thing," said Miss Page, who took up a position at the front of the store to greet and assist customers. She was quickly overwhelmed as crowds poured in and countless customers asked her to find a particular toy.
On Black Friday shoppers hope to get the best stuff at the best prices for holiday gifts. Retailers hope to get a jump on the holiday sales season, which traditionally starts after Thanksgiving and runs through Christmas, said Ellen Tolley spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, the largest trade association for retailers.
The day after Thanksgiving is called "Black Friday" because it is traditionally the day when retailers' books shift from red to black.
"You'll see more consumers buying things ahead of time," she said.
Miss Page, who has been working at the Toys R Us since 1995, called the 300 to 400 people waiting outside before the store opening yesterday "about average".
Retailers nationwide anticipate a 4.5 percent sales jump this holiday season, bringing total spending up to $219.9 billion, Miss Tolley said.
That is less than last year's holiday sales spike of 5.1 percent, but still solid, she said.
"It's a sign that consumers are more settled than they were a year ago and they feel comfortable financially and confident with the economy," Miss Tolley said.
Americans will spend on average $730 on Christmas gifts, accounting for roughly a quarter of annual retail sales, down from last year's $734 per person, according to Gallup's annual holiday survey.
Luxury items like high-end electronics, furs and jewelry, along with toys are expected to lead sales this holiday season, Miss Tolley said.
Additionally, consumers will spend an average $80.45 on gift cards, she said.
Not all of those items will be bought at stores. Washington area shoppers will spend 58 percent of their budget online this year, according to America Online.
Retailers in the District also are trying to attract shoppers with a sales tax holiday, which will run through Dec. 5.
Washington's 5.75 percent sales tax will be exempted from clothing, shoes and accessories that cost less than $100 each. There is no limit on the total value of the purchases.
Miss Page's attitude toward Black Friday is
A.indifferent.
B.favourable.
C.negative.
D.critical.
The economy of the United states after 1952 was the econnomy of a well-fed,almost fully employed people. Despit occasional alarms, the country escaped any postwar depression and lived in a state of boom. A n economic survey of the year 1955, a typical year of the 1950’s, may be typical as illustrating the rapid economic growth of the decade. The national output was value at 10 percent above that of 1954 (1955 output was estimated at 392 billion dollars). The production of manufacturers was about 40 percent more than it had averaged in the years immediately following World War 2. The country’s business spent about 30billion dollars for new factories and machinery. National income available for spending was almost a third greater than it had been it had been in 1950. Consumers spent about 256 billion dollars; that is about 700 million dollars a day ,or about twenty-five million dollars every hour , all round the clock. Sixty-five million people held jobs and only a little more than two million wanted jobs but could not find them . Only agriculture complained that it was not sharing in the room. To some observers this was an ominous echo of the mid-1920’s . As farmer’s shre of their products declined , marketing costs rose. But there were , among the observers of the national economy, a few who were not as confident as the majority . Those few seemed to fear that the boom could not last and would eventually lead to the oppsite-depression. What is the best title of the passage?A.The Agriculatural Trends of 1950’s
B.The Unemployment Rate of 1950’s
C.U.S. Economy in the 50’s
D.The Federal Budget of 1952
In Line 3, the word“boom”could best be replaced by______.
A.nearby explosion
B.thunderous noise
C.general public support
D.rapid economic growth
It can be inferred the national from the passage that most people in the United States in 1955 viewed the national economy with an air of _________.A.confidence
B.confusion
C.disappointment
D.suspicion
Which of the following were LEAST satisfied with the national economy in the 1950’s?A.Economists
B.Frmaers
C.Politicians
D.Steelworkers
The passage states that incom available for spending in the U.S. was greater in 1955 than in 1950 . How much was it ?A.60%
B.50%
C.33%
D.90%
Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.
A detailed and thorough research project undertaken by the Open University recently reported that their evidence appears to show that competition between nearby schools does not significantly improve academic standards. Indeed, their report inclines to the opposite outcome: the exam re- suits may actually decline where competition is fiercest.
When the further education sector was "privatized" a few years ago, competition between colleges became truly fierce, at least in urban areas where potential students could choose between several of them. Colleges appointed highly paid marketing directors and gave them large budgets; some even "bribed" interested students with promises of hundreds of pounds if they completed certain courses satisfactorily.
Fully competitive markets being a philosophical foundation of Britain's recent governments, it was no surprise to hear claims that many educational developments of the 1990s would move us towards a free market in secondary education--giving youngsters and their parents a free choice of where to study. However, the secondary sector did not become particularly competitive while, admittedly, the consumers have been given more information, which is one aspect of a truly free market. It is very rare that two nearby schools with at least some empty places are similar enough to be comparable yet different enough to be rankable; only where that occurs can there be true competition.
The Open University research was probably not flawed--but its conclusions are. This is because the team did not really compare areas having true competition (as just defined) with areas that do not.
But, let us all breathe a sigh of relief. Secondary schools had started of late to move in the marketing direction--considering allocating scarce resources of staff and money to persuading the pupils that their schools are the best in the area. No schools could afford to do that properly, so it is a relief to realize this research tells us we don't have to.
Competition? We haven't got time for it! Let's spend our small budget in teaching and learning, not in competing and marketing.
It is indicated in the passage that competition between schools results in ________.
A.higher enrollment rate
B.lower academic standard
C.higher marketing expenses
D.privatization of further education
Read the article below about the central problem of Economics.
Choose the best word to fill each gap, from A, B, C or D.
For each question 19—33, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet.
There is an example at the beginning.
The Central Problem of Economics
The central problem of economics is to satisfy the people's and nation's wants.
The problem we are faced with is that our resources, here identified as money, are limited. The only way we can resolve our problem is to make choices. After looking at our resources, we must examine our list of(19)…and identify the things we need immediately, those we can postpone, and(20)…we cannot afford. As individuals, we face the central problem involved in economics—deciding just how to allocate (分配)our limited resources to provide(21)…with the greatest satisfaction of our wants.
Nations face the same problem. As a country's population grows the need for more goods and services grows correspondingly. Resources necessary to production may increase, but there(22)…are enough resources to satisfy the total desires of a nation. Whether the budget meeting is taking place in the family(23) …room, in the conference room of the corporation (24)…of directors, or in the chamber of the House of Representatives in Washington, the basic problem still exists. We need to find methods of allocating limited resources in order to satisfy unlimited wants.
A short time ago economists(25)…goods into two categories, free and economic. The former, like air and water, were in(26)…abundance that economists had no concern for them. After all, economics is the(27)…of scarcity(匮乏)and what to do about it. Today many of these " free goods" are(28)…very expensive to use. Pollution has made clean air and water expensive for producers who have to filter their waste products, for consumers who ultimately(最终)(29)…the producers' extra costs, and(30)…taxpayers who pay for the government's involvement in cleaning the environment.
In the 1990s, almost all goods are (31)…Only by effort and money can they be obtained in the form. people wish.
Meeting the needs of people and froming resources available (32)… the basic activity of production. In trying to meet(33)…wants from limited economic goods, production leads to new problems in economics.
(19)
A.want
B.problems
C.wants
D.resources
A.in that
B.in which
C.for that
D.such that
A、Production budget
B、Distribution cost budget
C、Selling cost budget
D、Cash budget
A、a consumer’s indifference curve will shift
B、the slope of the budget line will increase.
C、individual demand curve will not shift
D、the budget line will shift in a parallel fashion
? Read the article below about South-east Asian stocks.
? For each question 23-28 on the opposite page, choose the correct answer.
? Mark one letter (A, B or C) on your Answer Sheet.
After a good 2003, will 2004 be better?
The past year has been a good one for Southeast Asian stocks. Markets in both Singapore and the Philippines have risen by more than 30% in dollar terms; Indonesia has surged more than 70%; and tigerish Thailand has leapt by almost 130%. Investors, needless to say, are keen to know whether lightning will strike again in the same places in 2004. There is indeed something good in store: elections.
The gains of the past year are easy to explain. Indonesia, for one, has finally found its feet after years of chaos following the regional crisis in 1997. Inflation and interest rates are failing, and the economy has grown by around 4% in the past year.
Thailand's economy, meanwhile, has been doing even better. It has grown at an annual rate of 6.5% in the year as a whole. Because of low interest rates, consumers have been wildly purchasing cars and houses, helping crisis-hit companies pay off their debts and thus improving the balance sheets of Thailand's struggling banks.
Analysts tell similar tales of asset increase all around the region. Markus Rosgen, of ING, a Dutch bank, notes that Asians have been piling up deposits in their bank accounts since the crisis. With interest rates so low, he argues, they now have an incentive either to consume more or to put their savings into more lucrative investments. Either way, share prices should rise. Even now, ail Southeast Asian markets are still well below their pre-crisis highs. Moreover, points out Christopher Wood of CLSA, an investment bank, all Southeast Asian markets except Singapore serve as useful hedges against America, since they do not rise and fall with Wall Street.
Unexpected events might yet upset these rosy prospects. There will be elections in the Philippines and Indonesia in 2004, and probably in Malaysia, too. Thailand goes to the polls at the beginning of 2005. Economically corrupted governments, street protests or bombing campaigns are always a possibility. But the responsible leaders seem likely to get re-elected in all four countries. Furthermore, they will spend a lot of money in the process, out of both the state budget and their own pockets, giving their economies a further boost. As a recent report by ING points out, Indonesian stocks rose in the nm-up to all of the past three elections.
About 2004 investors are eager to learn whether
A.it is the right time to make investment.
B.Southeast Asian stocks will be better.
C.there will be any elections.
A、Purchasing budget
B、cash budget
C、sales budget
D、marketing costs budget
A.direct competition
B.indirect competition
C.budget competition
D.political competition
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