Businesses are expected to cut spending dramatically through much of 2009. A number of economists, including those National City and Wachovia, don’t expect business investment, which make up about one – tenth of US economic activity, to decline through 2009. According to a survey of 679 chief financial officers by Duke University and CFO Magazine this month, US businesses expect to cut capital spending by more than 10% in the next 12 months, a sharp decrease from September, when the CFOs expected business investment to increase slightly.

John Graham, finance professor at Duke and director of the survey, says businesses are finding ways to repair existing machinery and buildings rather than replace equipment or move. They likely won’t increase their spending until they see concrete evidence that the economy is improving.

Those planning meeting for late winter and early spring are either buying fewer or less – expensive items, or they’re not buying at all. One client who usually spends about $ 80,000 on a conference each year is spending half that. Robert Coen, director of forecasting at media – analysis firm Magna, predicts a 4.5% drop in ad spending to $ 259 billion in 2009 on the heels of a 3.2% drop in 2008. “A recovery in US ad budgets will probably not get underway until 2010,” he says. Another negative for 2009: There aren’t any big ad – spending events such as the Olympics or national elections.

Declining business spending will hurt a number of industries but will be especially tough for the manufacturing sector. Nearly two – thirds of manufacturers expect revenue(税收) to be unchanged or lower in 2009 than 2008, a survey from the Institute for Supply Management found.

1.According to John Graham, how did businesses to deal with the economy crisis?

A. They are spending less.

B. By increasing their business spending sharply.

C. By replacing old equipment with the new equipment.

D. By moving into the cheaper offices.

2.Why are the managers buying less – expensive items for their meetings?

A. To save money themselves.

B. To cut down on expenses and save for the companies.

C. To see the concrete evidence that the economy is on the mend.

D. To save money so they spend more on advertisements.

3.It can be inferred that in a year Olympics are held, many companies _________.

A. contribute more money to the poor        B. give the participants money

C. spend more money on advertising     D. cut down on advertising budgets

4.The best title for the passage is ____________.

A. Predictions about Buying New Equipment in 2009

B. Predictions about Conference Planning in 2009

C. Predictions about Advertising Spending in 2009

D. Predictions for Business Spending in 2009

B

A new college guide in the United States compares educational requirements in seven subjects. These include math, science, writing and United States history or government. The other subjects are economics, foreign language and literature.

The free online guide is from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. The council is a nonprofit group that supports liberal arts education.

Its president, Anne Neal, says these areas of knowledge are needed to succeed in a twenty-first century society and an increasingly connected world. Yet she told VOA’s Faiza Elmasry it was surprising how many students can graduate with, in her words, a “thin education.”

Forty-two of the one hundred colleges and universities surveyed received the lowest marks. This meant they required two or fewer of the seven subjects. Five schools received a top grade for requiring six subjects. These were Brooklyn College in New York City, Texas A&M, the University of Texas-Austin, West Point and the University of Arkansas.

Robert Costrell is a professor of education reform and economics at the University of Arkansas. He says many, if not all, of the top American colleges once had a core curriculum —a set of courses required for all students.

But over the years, many have dropped these requirements. Or they have watered them down, Professor Costrell says, into what became known as distribution requirements. This system lets a student choose from a number of different courses to satisfy a requirement.

ROBERT COSTRELL: “And in many cases these courses went too far, I would say, towards the fluffy treatment of serious material, and students could satisfy their requirement by taking such courses.”

Professor Costrell says schools should not only re-examine what they teach. They should also measure what students have learned — for example, through some form of examinations or papers.

A new report this week from the College Board showed that college prices continue to rise. But Anne Neal from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni says higher prices. do not guarantee a better general education. In fact, the group found that the higher the tuition, the more likely that students have to develop their own general education.

The college guide is on the Web at whatwilltheylearn.com. Anne Neal says her group is surveying more colleges. The hope, she says, is to discover what college graduates have really learned, and how ready they are to compete in the global marketplace.

61. Where does the passage probably come from?

A. A scientific fiction.                      B. A research newspaper.  

C. A fashion magazine.                     D. An entertainment newspaper.

62. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni does all the following EXCEPT _________.

A. support liberal arts education

B. concern itself with education in America

C. devote time to helping improve college education

D. make money by helping with college education

63. The words “watered them down” underlined in Paragraph 6 most likely mean “_______.”

A. reduced required courses                 B. improved required courses

C. increased required courses                D. developed required courses

64. In this passage, the new college guide mainly tells its readers that American colleges  should _____.

A. meet the requirements of the new century        B. reduce the number of required courses

C. have different standards on required courses      D. cut down on their tuitions

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are words or expressions marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

In the past, man did not have to think about the protection of the environment. There were few people on the earth, and natural resources seemed to be 36 ___________ .

Today things are different, the world has become too 37________. We’re using up our natural resources too quickly, and at the same time we are 38__________our environment with dangerous chemicals. If we continue to do this, human life on the earth will not survive.

Everyone realizes today that if too many fish are taken from the sea, there will soon be none left. Yet, with modern fishing methods, more and more fish are caught. We know that if too many 39_____ are cut down, forests will disappear and nothing will grow on the land. Yet, we 40______ to use bigger and more powerful machines to 41_________more and more trees.

We realize that if rivers are polluted with waste products from factories, we will die. 42_____, in most countries wastes are still put into rivers or into the sea, and there are 43__________laws to stop this.

    We know, too, that if the 44_______ of the world continues to rise at the present rate, in a few years there will not be enough food. 45________ can we deal with these problems ?

If we eat more vegetables and less meat, there will be more food available for everyone. Land that is used to grow crops on feeds five times more people than land 46_____ animals are kept. Our natural resources will last longer if we learn to recycle them. The world population will not rise so quickly if people use modern methods of birth control. Finally, if we educate people to think about the problems, we 47_____ have a better and clearer planet in the future.

1.A. beautiful          B. unlimited        C. rare D. valuable

2.A. crowded          B. small           C. dirty            D. busy

3.A. protecting         B. saving          C. polluting       D. fighting

4.A. mountains         B. flowers         C. trees               D. grass

5.A. continue          B. have            C. ought              D. go on

6.A. grow             B. plant           C. save                D. cut down

7.A. Thus             B. However     C. Generally speaking    D. Therefore

8.A. too many         B. a few            C. some               D. few

9.A. production  B. pollution         C. population     D. revolution

10.A. What            B. How             C. Why               D. Where

11.A. that             B. which            C. where              D. what

12.A. may            B. can               C.should              D. shall

Businesses are expected to cut spending dramatically through much of 2009. A number of economists, including those National City and Wachovia, don’t expect business investment, which make up about one – tenth of US economic activity, to decline through 2009. According to a survey of 679 chief financial officers by Duke University and CFO Magazine this month, US businesses expect to cut capital spending by more than 10% in the next 12 months, a sharp decrease from September, when the CFOs expected business investment to increase slightly.
John Graham, finance professor at Duke and director of the survey, says businesses are finding ways to repair existing machinery and buildings rather than replace equipment or move. They likely won’t increase their spending until they see concrete evidence that the economy is improving.
Those planning meeting for late winter and early spring are either buying fewer or less – expensive items, or they’re not buying at all. One client who usually spends about $ 80,000 on a conference each year is spending half that. Robert Coen, director of forecasting at media – analysis firm Magna, predicts a 4.5% drop in ad spending to $ 259 billion in 2009 on the heels of a 3.2% drop in 2008. “A recovery in US ad budgets will probably not get underway until 2010,” he says. Another negative for 2009: There aren’t any big ad – spending events such as the Olympics or national elections.
Declining business spending will hurt a number of industries but will be especially tough for the manufacturing sector. Nearly two – thirds of manufacturers expect revenue(税收) to be unchanged or lower in 2009 than 2008, a survey from the Institute for Supply Management found.
1.According to John Graham, how did businesses to deal with the economy crisis?
A. They are spending less.
B. By increasing their business spending sharply.
C. By replacing old equipment with the new equipment.
D. By moving into the cheaper offices.
2.Why are the managers buying less – expensive items for their meetings?
A. To save money themselves.
B. To cut down on expenses and save for the companies.
C. To see the concrete evidence that the economy is on the mend.
D. To save money so they spend more on advertisements.
3.It can be inferred that in a year Olympics are held, many companies _________.
A. contribute more money to the poor      B. give the participants money
C. spend more money on advertising     D. cut down on advertising budgets
4.The best title for the passage is ____________.
A. Predictions about Buying New Equipment in 2009
B. Predictions about Conference Planning in 2009
C. Predictions about Advertising Spending in 2009
D. Predictions for Business Spending in 2009

Too many hotels have been built and this has _____ prices, making holidays cheaper.

A. cut short     B. cut out     C. cut off   D. cut down