Text 1
Politicians do it. Charities too. And now for-profit entrepreneurs are trapping the Internet to get small amounts of money from lots of supporters. One part social networking and one part capital accumulation, crowdfunding websites seek to harness the enthusiasm — and pocket money — of virtual strangers, promising them a cut of the returns.
CatwalkGenius.com helps the common people to finance designers. British documentary filmmaker Franny Armstrong raised more than ?450,000($815,000)to finance — and work full time on — The Age of Stupid, which she hopes will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. People who gave 20 quid ($35) got a credit on the film’s website; those who gave ?5,000 ($9,000) and up will get a percentage of the profits, if there are any.
The term crowdfunding derives from another neologism: crowdsourcing, i.e., outsourcing to the public jobs typically performed by employees. Want to start a T-shirt business? Why not have the masses submit designs (crowdfunding) and finance the ones they like (crowdfunding)? That’s what Cameesa.com is doing, in a fashion-forward knockoff of Threadless.com which generated $17 million in revenues in 2006 by having the crowd choose T-shirt designs. “If you put money down to support a design, that’s a strong indicator of actual demand,” says Cameesa founder Andrew Cronk, a programmer in Chicago. In other words, the folks who fund your venture double as a first-rate focus group.
Likewise, SellaBand.com connects music lovers with unsigned artists looking to record albums. It’s a way to bypass the labels; groupies can now fill that role. Musicians have profiles with bios and songs, and as soon as they sell 5,000 shares, at $10 a pop, it’s time to head to the recording studio. In two years, more than 30,000 people have ponied up more than $2.5 million, and 25 musicians have cut or are cutting album. So far, the average return on each $10 investment is about $2.50 from CD sales and ads. The money gets split among the artist, SellaBand and the artist’s “believers” — an apt description for those who contributed. “People become emotionally invested as part of a team,” says Mark Maclaine, bassist in the British band Second Person, which in six months raised $50,000 from 741 investors and has since had its video featured on VHI UK and MTV UK. “Right now things are going really well,” says Maclaine, who is warily pursuing music full time. “Maybe I’ll be working in Wal-Mart in a few months.” But at least 741 people are betting he won’t be.
109. Which of the following is true about crowdfunding according to the first paragraph?
A.It collects money from charities.
B. Entrepreneurs invest in the Internet to get supporters.
C. It is a kind of capital accumulation.
D. It collects money from politicians.
110. What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A.Franny Armstrong hopes to attend the Sundance Film Festival.
B. People who gave 20 quids ($35) can get a ticket to watch the film.
C. All those who financed the film will get a percentage of the profits.
D. CatwalkGenius.com financed Franny Armstrong to make her new movie.
111. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______________.
A. if things go well, Mark Maclaine will work in Wal-Mart in a few months
B. Mark Maclaine does not want to work in Wal-Mart actually
C. Mark Maclaine does not want to pursue music any more
D. Mark Maclaine hopes to work in Wal-Mart in a few months
112. According to the passage, _______________.
A.more and more people begin to use crowdfunding as a great help to their career
B. Cameesa.com generated $17 million in revenues in 2006
C. Cameesa.com helps to connect music lovers with unsigned artists looking to record albums
D. crowdfunding means outsourcing to the public jobs typically performed by employees
113. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
A.How to support the Artists?
B. To Gain Profits from the Internet
C. Let’s Invest!
D. Crowdfunding
Text 2
Walking into a room to discover that the floor keeps slipping and sliding is a common problem in MC Escher drawing, supervillain deathtraps and states of exceeding inebriation. The predicamentalso seems to be spreading to the oil market of late.
World crude prices have paused following their collapse this month. US oil is holding at $82 a barrel and Brent at $85. How tempting to look over the cliff edge and conclude that the floor is not, in fact, too far down. One support may simply be that disruptions to supply (which have been declining lately) may rise again because of political tensions.
Perhaps $80 or $70 is the lowest price at which capital remains willing to finance expansion in US shale oilfields, the supplier of that market’s marginal barrels. Or the floor may (also) be the lowest price at which OPEC producers balance public spending with revenue.
Perhaps. But neither floor might remain where it is. Take break — even budget prices first, Saudi Arabia has doubled government spending since 2008. Revenues have only risen 7 per cent in the same period, notes Bank of America. It certainly sounds like Riyadh cannot push one button for October’s volatility — cutting prices to retain its market share — much further without forcing itself into a budget deficit. But look outside the question of oil revenue, and government assets of $450bn would be enough to cover eight years of deficits if required, says Deutsche Bank.
And if sovereign financing has a subtler effect on oil markets than might be supposed, so could shale technology and economics. Land grabs in the industry for acreage in recent years took precedence over keeping costs in check. This could reverse, however, thereby reducing break — even production costs. The higher rate at which output declines in shale versus conventional wells over time might keep producers under pressure at the same time, though. They will have to replace declines with new drilling, requiring capital. It is a brave shareholder who provide it even after the fall in shale producers’ shares. Watch your step.
114. What is the first paragraph all about?
A.MC Escher drawings are about supervillain deathtraps and states of exceeding inebriation.
B. It is a metaphor that indicates the oil market.
C. It tells us nothing but the MC Escher drawings.
D. The floor keeps slipping and sliding in a room.
115. What does the underlined word “predicament” in the first paragraph mean?
A.Dilemma
B. Statement
C. Precaution
D. Prediction
116. According to paragraph 1 to 3, the author thinks $80 or $70 might be the lowest price because_______________.
A. oil price has already collapsed and the floor is not too far down
B. financing US shale oilfields expansion needs capital or OPEC producers need to balance public spending with revenue
C. political tensions would cause the supply to decline
D. the US oil is already holding at $82 a barrel
117. According to the passage, which one of the following is not true?
A.Saudi Arabia’s government revenue is far behind its spending.
B. Shale technology may also impact oil markets.
C. Producers will continue to prefer land grabs to keeping costs.
D. Saudi Arabia may not cover its public spending with oil revenue.
118. What is the passage mainly about?
A.The floor of the oil price is not far down.
B. OPEC producers may balance public spending with revenue.
C. Sovereign financing, shale technology and economics will impact oil market.
D. Oil price is falling but we are not sure where the bottom is.
Text 3
President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,”still points to an important truth today—that business institutions have more prestige（威望）in American society than any other kind of organization, including the government. Why do business institutions possess this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society. Since competition is seen as the major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected. Competition is not only good in itself, it is the means by which other basic American values such as individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual by ensuring that there is no monopoly（垄断）of power. In contrast to one, all-powerful government, many businesses compete against each other for profits. Theoretically, if one business tries to take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers’dollar, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
A contrast is often made between business, which is competitive, and government, which is a monopoly. Because business is competitive, many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, eventhough government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe, then, that competition is as important, oreven more important, thandemocracy in preserving freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Competitive success is commonly seen as the American alternative to social rank based on familybackground. Business is therefore viewed as anexpression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic（贵族的）idea of inherited privilege.
119. The statement “The business of America is business”probably means_______________.
A. The business institutions in America are concerned with commerce
B. Business problems are of great importance to the American government
C. Business is of primary concern to Americans
D. America is a great power in world business
120. Americans believe that they can realize their personal values only_______________.
A. when given equality of opportunity
B. through doing business
C. by protecting their individual freedom
D. by way of competition
121. Who can benefit from business competition?
A. Honest businessmen.
B. Both businessmen and their customers.
C. People with ideals of equality and freedom.
D. Both business institutions and government.
122. Government is believed to differ strikingly from business in that government is characterized by ______________.
A. its absolute control of power
B. its function in preserving personal freedom
C. its role in protecting basic American values
D. its democratic way of exercising leadership
123. It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes ______________.
A. Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries
B. in many countries success often depends on one’s social status
C. American businesses are more democratic than those in other countries
D. businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those in America
