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1、烟台南山学院20092010学年第一学期期末考试大学英语四级试卷A(课程代码：0100150 学习形式：公共选修课 年级：07-08级)本试题需在【答题册】作答。(试题总分100分)I. Reading Comprehension (skimming and scanning).（共10题，每题2分，满分20分）Directions: For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from choices marked A), B), C), and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with t
2、he information given in the passage.Economy TerrorizedFrom Wall Street to Main Street, Layoffs, Losses, and Little Hope The popular word in business before September11 was “visibility”. Company after company complained about their gloomy future because of the worsening economy. Now, though, corporat
3、e America has a clear vision of the immediate future -and its not a good one. “The attack has turned the business world upside down,” says Diane Swonk, chief economist at Bank One in Chicago. Companies have been aware of the possible loss due to the terror attacks. Firms directly affected by the hor
4、ror, such as Boeing and Marriott, warned of lower profits. Airline layoffs alone will top 100,000, pushing some analysts to say as one million workers may lose their jobs because of the post-attack repercussions (反应). On Capitol Hill, lawmakers and the Bush administration began preparing an economic
5、 emergency response. “The foundations of our free society remain sound, and I am confident that we will recover and prosper as we have in the past,” Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress. A chief executive of Frontier Airlines in Denver last week announced a 20 percent flight reducti
6、on and large scale layoffs. On Wall Street, markets tumbled (下跌) amid the likelihood of recession and war: The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 700 points Monday. “It is no longer about earning or the economy or interest rates anymore,” says Morgan Stanley market strategist Peter Canelo. “It
7、 is about fear.” Some observers believe Washingtons response could be effective to prevent further economy deterioration. “The recovery could be much smoother than expected due to the fiscal and monetary stimulus were in store for,” says Richard Weiss, chief investment officer for City National Bank
8、. Restoring consumer confidence is a top priority for Greenspan and Congress, given that consumer spending accounts for about two third of the nations total output. To that end, the Fed has been flooding the markets with cash. Congress, meanwhile, is awash in plans to spend money, drawing down the $
9、153 billion Social Security surplus. Theres even talk of further tax cuts. The economy devastation of the worst disaster on American soil is far and wide. Last week, individual industries began to estimate the loss.Airlines While “recessions are bad for the airline industry, terrorism is worse,” say
10、s a senior vice president at aviation consultants Avitas. Now both are serious problems for airliners, as heavily indebted and cashpoor companies are seeing a drastic reduction in bookings. Some planes are flying less than half full. Experts predict that this will put some airliners out of business
11、and the total industry losses will amount to 10 billion dollars by the end of next year. When-and if-the industry recovers, it will have been fundamentally changed. Passengers might find fewer flights overall and limited service to smaller airports, as airlines focus on large, profitable hubs(交通枢纽).
12、Oil As U.S. naval forces headed out from Norfolk (美国一个重要的海军基地) toward the Middle East, the oil market was nervous but focused as much on recession as on the threat of war. Crude prices slid downward due to the predicted economic slowdown and a drop in air travel which would reduce demand. Still, wit
13、h the prospect of armed conflict very real, analysts see considerable risk of higher energy prices, especially when the war might involve Iraq, an oil-producing country. But Michael Lynch of the research firm DRI-WEFA said that despite decreasing demand, the terror attack had produced an “uncertaint
14、y effect” that would possibly drive oil prices higher in the weeks ahead. Lynch said that oil companies and large industrial users of oil very likely would attempt to build inventories amid uncertainty.Retailing Many shoppers stayed home during the week of the attack. Federated Department Stores, wh
15、ich owns Bloomingdales and Macys, said sales during the week were $65million, or about 20 percent, below its forecasts. Other retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores and bookstore chains Borders Group and Barnes and Noble, as well as teen apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters, reported a fast decr
16、ease in sales but some rebound by last weekend. “For the most part, sales are starting to come back, but theyre not where we want them to be,” says Tracy Mullin, president of the National Retail Federation. Consumers already planning the purchase of a new car, appliance, or other big-ticket item may go ahead, but forget those who had only begun to think about buying, says Marian Friestad, president
