Asian economies will continue to expand rapidly in the next two years on the back of foreign investments, exports and domestic demand, but will not be free of worries, according to a recent securities company economic report. Massive infrastructure spending, the benefits of past investments and deregulation and growing regional trade will push along regional growth.

The report tipped China’s gross domestic product to grow by 9.5 per cent in 1996 and 10.5 per cent in 1997, and Hong Kong’s to grow by 4.3 and 5.0 per cent. Singapore’s real GDP was forecast to grow by 7.6 and 7.4 per cent, Malaysia’s by 8.6 and 8.1 per cent, Thailand’s by 8.8 and 8.4 per cent, Indonesia’s by 7.3 and 7.1 per cent and Philippines’ by 5.6 and 5.8 per cent.

“However, all is not rosy,” cautioned the report, which listed overheating as the region’s biggest challenge in the short term and skilled-labor shortages in the long run.

It cited strains from rapid growth that had begun to stretch current account deficits and spur inflation in some regional economies, which could prevent their central banks from lowering interest rates.

“This implies that economic vulnerability to unexpected shocks will remain high,” the report said, forecasting a further tightening of monetary policy in countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia, and no significant easing in Thailand, Indonesia and China.

Crosby Securities also cited massive new investment programs generated by demands on infrastructure such as power, telecommunications and transport which had fuelled over-heating.

It said Asia would also face a bigger challenge from newly deregulating economies in Eastern Europe which offered lower costs and better-educated workers to foreign investors.

Asia’s main foreign investors should, however, continue to expand their presence in the region, the securities house said, noting new trends of intra-Asian investment.

Singapore is shifting its lower value-added disc drive and electronics industry to Malaysia, which in turn is moving some of its garment-making and consumer electronics manufacturing to Indonesia and Thailand. Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are increasingly investing in Viet Nam, Myanmar and Laos.

“Asia will benefit from this trend in several ways,” the report said.

( )1Asia economy will continue to grow because of _____________.

A. foreign investment B. demands in Asian countries.

C. export D. all of the above

( )2 In the next 2 years, the highest economic growth will appear in ____________.

A. Singapore B. Thailand

C. Hong Kong D. China

( )3 Years later, the problem in Asian economy may be _________________.

A. too little investment B. too much investment

C. not enough qualified labors D. monetary instability

( )4 According to this report, economic changes in East Europe are ___________.

A. harmful B. challenging

C. helpful D. useless

( )5 The report is about the prospect of Asian economy.

A. optimistic B. pessimistic

C. more optimistic than pessimistic D. more pessimistic than optimistic

Read the text about career-planning services.

Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps .

For each gap 9– 14, mark one letter (A-H) on your Answer Sheet .

Do not use any letter more than once .

There is an example at the beginning .(0)

Your Career Path Can Lead You Anywhere

We used to be advised to plan our careers. We were told to make a plan during the later stages of our education and continue with it through our working lives.(0)_____ some people still see careers in this way. However, to pursue a single option for life has always been unrealistic.

Planning for a single career assumes that we set out with a full understanding of our likes and dislikes and the employment opportunities open to us. (9)____ For most people this degree of certainty about the future does not exist.

Our initial choice of career path and employer is often based on inadequate knowledge and false perceptions. But with age and experience, we develop new interests and aptitudes and our priorities alter. The structure of the employment market and, indeed of employment itself, is subject to change as both new technologies and new work systems are introduced (10) _____ We must face the uncertainties of a portfolio career.

It is clear from the recent past that we cannot foresee the changes which will affect our working lives. The pace of change is accelerating , as a result of which traditional career plans will be of very limited use. (11)_____ They will need updating to reflect changes in our own interests as well as in the external work environment. Flexible workers already account for about half the workforce. (12)______ We are likely to face periods as contract workers, self-employed freelances, consultants, temps or part-timers.

Many employers encourage staff to write a personal development development (PDP) (13)_____ Although some people use it only to review the skills needed for their job, a PDP could be the nucleus of wider career plan –setting out alternative long-term learning needs and a plan of self-development.

A report issued by the Institute of Employment Studies advises people to enhance their employability by moving from traditional technical skills towards the attainment of a range of transferable skills. (14)_____ Instead, special schemes should be established to encourage people to examine their effectiveness and to consider a wider range of needs.

0 A B C D E F G H

A This dual effect means that the relationship between employers and workers has evolved to such and extent that we can no longer expect a long-term relationship with one employer.

B. It carries an implicit assumption that we ourselves, and the jobs we enter, will change little during our working lives.

C. This growth suggests that a career plan should not be expressed only in terms of full-time employment but should make provision for the possibility of becoming one of the.

D this is a summary of one’s personal learning needs and an action plan to meet them.

E Consequently, they must now accommodate a number of objectives and enable us to prepare for each on a contingency basis.

F However, it warns that employers often identify training needs through formal appraisals, which take too narrow a view of development.

G . Such a freelance of consultant would be constantly in demand.

H We were expected to work towards that one clear goal and to consider a career change as a bad thing.

Investing thousands of pounds in the recruitment and training of each new graduate recruit may be just the beginning. Choosing the wrong candidate may leave an organisation paying for years to come.

Few companies will have escaped all of the following failures: people who panic at the first sight of stress; those with long impressive qualifications who seem incapable of learning; hypochondriacs whose absentee record becomes astonishing; and the unstable person later discovered to be a thief or worse.

Less dramatic, but just as much a problem, is the person who simply does not come up to expectations, who does not quite deliver; who never becomes a high-flier or even a steady performer; the employee with a fine future behind them.

The first point to bear in mind at the recruitment stage is that people don’t change. Intelligence levels decline modestly, but change little over their working life. The same is true of abilities, such as learning languages and handling numbers.

Most people like to think that personality can change, particularly the more negative features such as anxiety, low esteem, impulsiveness or a lack of emotional warmth. But data collected over 50 years gives a clear message: still stable after all these years. Extroverts become slightly less extroverted; the acutely shy appear a little less so, but the fundamentals remain much the same. Personal crises can affect the way we cope with things: we might take up or drop drink, drugs, religion or relaxation techniques, which can be have pretty dramatic effects. Skills can be improved, and new ones introduced, but at rather different rates. People can be groomed for a job. Just as politicians are carefully repackaged through dress, hairstyle and speech specialists, so people can be sent on training courses, diplomas or experimental weekends. But there is a cost to all this which may be more than the price of the course. Better to select for what you actually see rather than attempt to change it.

( )1. The purpose of this passage is to give managers the advice that .

A. Employers should select candidates for their potential.

B. Employers should select candidates for what they are rather than for their potential.

C. Employers should select the newly graduated and send them on training courses, diplomas or experimental weekends.

D. Employers should select experienced candidates to avoid spending thousands of pounds in training.

( )2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true? .

A. Absolutely, People don’t change during their working lives.

B. Generally, people change to a large extent during their working lives.

C. Fundamentally, people stay the same during their working lives.

D. Normally, people don’t change at all during their working lives.

( )3. What does a fine future behind them (line 3 of paragraph 3) means? .

A. Some people will certainly have a promising future though they are not very competent in their present work.

B. Some people don’t have any potential for their work though they are employed.

C. Some people can have a bright future though they can’t do their work well.

D. Some people have potential when they are employed, but never realize that potential.

( )4. According to the passage, people’s basic abilities like language learning and numeracy .

A. change little over their working life.

B. never change over their working life.

C. change fundamentally over their working life.

D. change profoundly over their working life.

( )5. The word deliver (line 2 of paragraph 3) means .

A. to take goods to the places or people they are addressed to

B. to give a speech

C. to do what you promised to do

D. to help a woman to give birth to a baby.

Directions: There are ten blanks in the following passage. You are required to choose the best one from the given four choices marked A, B, C, and D. Then write down the correct answer in the brackets. This section totals 10 points, one point for each blank.

Before marketing yourself globally, it is important to 1 your business is ready to deal with challenges presented by the international environment 2

language and cultural barriers, foreign laws, order fulfillment, and pre/post sales support.

Language and Culture - Neither technical accuracy 3 perfect translation is sufficient when considering the language you will communicate through. It is important to really understand how a language is used by the people in your 4 market.

Regional Laws - All phases of product 5 are affected by regulations. The product itself, such as its physical and chemical aspects, is subject to laws 6

to protect consumers with respect to purity, safety or performance. Product features such as packaging and warranties, advertising, sales promotion techniques are also subject to local regulations.

Order Fulfillment - How will you deliver your products? What business partners will you need to ensure smooth logistics of your product? Can you handle your shipment costs? If you cannot 7 demand or ensure smooth delivery of your product, you are at risk of negatively affecting your business and its image. It is important to find and qualify 8

distributors, and pay particular attention to contract negotiation and distribution management.

Pre and Post Sales Support - 9 with your customers as well as your business partners is an important consideration when marketing and selling internationally. Many businesses are able to meet customer expectations through strategic alliances or foreign distributors who deal with the local customer base on their 10 .

( )1 A. ensure B. assure C. reassure D. sure

( )2 A. excluding B. excluded C. including D. included

( )3 A. so B. nor C. and D. or

( )4 A. local B. own C. target D. home

( )5 A. sales B. exhibition C. promotion D. development

( )6 A. planned B. proposed C. supposed D. designed

( )7 A. meet B. run into C. encounter D. face

( )8 A. potent B. polite C. ethical D. potential

( )9 A. Connection B. Communication C. Link D. Contact

( )10 A. account B. part C. behalf D. market

Section D

Even if you get work done and generally get along with co-workers, you could have habits that bug your boss (not to mention your officemates). While these quirks may not necessarily get you fired, they certainly can keep you from climbing the corporate ladder. We’ve uncovered a number of habits that bug your boss and offer tips on how to avoid them.

According to LaRhonda Edwards, a human resources manager with thirteen years of HR experience, tardiness is one of the biggest concerns for managers. “If the normal work day starts at 8 o’clock, then the expectation is that you’re in the office ready to start your day,” she explains. Her advice to the chronically late? “Plan ahead,” she urges. “If you live 50 minutes away, you don’t leave 50 minutes early. Tag on extra time and anticipate road blocks.” Some people even set their clocks a few minutes early to ensure that they’re on time. Different bosses prefer different modes of communication. Lindsey Pollak, a workplace expert and author of Getting from College to Career, says if you text your boss and she prefers in-person meetings, “either your information won’t get across or you’ll irritate [her].” Fortunately, there’s a simple fix: ask your boss how and when to send updates. If you’re too shy to ask outright, then Pollak suggests observing how they communicate with you. “If you have a boss who communicates once a day by email, that’s the boss’ preferred frequency and method of communication,” explains Pollak.

A cluttered, messy work space can give your boss the impression that you’re lazy or disorganized, so try to keep your desk neat. “Never put more on your desk than you’re going to work on for the day,” recommends Edwards. “At the end of the day, make sure you set up for the next day. I may be working on five things at once, but at the end of the day, they’re gone, and I set up for the next day.” Most managers would rather you ask a question than make a mistake, but many questions can be answered on your own. “Is this something you could Google or ask a colleague?” wonders Pollak. “The internet is so vast that a lot of information you can get yourself.” If you must approach your boss with a question or issue, then Pollak recommends brainstorming beforehand. “Rather than saying ‘This client is terrible. What should I do?’ think about potential solutions,” she says.

Cell phones are practically ubiquitous in the workplace these days, but it’s still disruptive and disrespectful when they go off during a meeting. Edwards says that you should, “put your cell phone on vibrate or leave it in your own office so it’s not a distraction.” That way you won’t be tempted to text either

( )6.According to the article, how many pieces of advice are offered here? .

A. Two B. Three C. Four D. Five(B)

( )7.What is this article about? .

A. How to be successful in the workplace.

B. How to communicate with your boss.

C. How to avoid quirks that annoy your boss.

D. How to utilize your mobile phones at work.

( )8.What does the phrase “to get across” in the sentence “…she prefers in-person meetings, “either your information won’t get across or you’ll irritate …” of the second paragraph mean? .

A. To be communicated B. To be passed

C. To be promoted D. To be anticipated(A)

( )9.According to the article, which of the following modes of communication is the best when communicating with your boss? .

A. Any ways you think are appropriate.

B. In-person meetings.

C. Correspondence.

D. The way your boss communicates with you.(D)

( )10.Which of the following statements is not mentioned?

A. Employees should pay respect to their bosses anytime.

B. Employees should plan beforehand so as to show up at work on time.

C. Employees should not let their mobile phones go off during meetings.

D. Employees should keep their desks neat and organized.

Section C

What a lovely place Xerox is to work Kim Moloney, a client services executive, can’t say enough nice things about her employer. ‘It’s a very special environment,’ she says. ‘People describe Xerox as a family and I was amazed at the number of people who have worked here for so long.’ It’s tempting to take Moloney’s comments with a pinch of salt, especially considering that when you’ve been working somewhere for only two years, as she has at Xerox, everyone seems old and established. But there’s truth behind her enthusiasm.

Take Carole Palmer, the group resources director. She joined Xerox in 1978 as a temp and has been in her present role for seven years. ‘Xerox has been good to me over the years,’ she says. ‘It has supported me through qualifications … and last year I took part in the vice-president incumbent program.’ Human resources is taken seriously at Xerox, Palmer says, and the company has a policy of promoting from within (which would explain Moloney’s amazement at her colleagues’ longevity). The company takes on only fifteen to twenty graduates each year and Moloney was part of an intake who joined having already acquired a couple of years’ work experience. She started as a project manager for Xerox Global Services before moving into sales. Now her responsibility is to ‘grow and maintain customer relationships’.

Moloney is based at the head office in Uxbridge. ‘It’s great in terms of working environment,’ she says. ‘We’ve just got a new provider in the canteen and … we have brainstorming rooms and breakout areas.’ Much of Moloney’s role is visiting clients, so she doesn’t have a permanent desk at head office. ‘I’m a hot-desker, which is good because you get to sit with different people in the hot-desk areas. And you’re given a place to store your things.’ Head office staff numbers between 1,200 and 1,500 people, Palmer says. The company has four other main offices in the UK. The nature of the organization, which encompasses sales and marketing, global services (the biggest division), developing markets, research and development and manufacturing, means that the opportunities at the company vary from service engineers to sales roles and consultants.

Perks include a final-salary pension scheme and various discount schemes. The reward and recognition scheme is a little different, and rather nice: ‘Each manager has a budget every year to recognize and reward staff,’ Palmer says. ‘It can be in the form of a meal for two, or a bottle of wine. It can be up to £1,000. There’s the recognition, and then there’s putting money behind it.’ Moloney, however, likes the non-cash rewards. ‘Xerox takes care of all its staff but it also recognizes the people who put in the added effort,’ she says. ‘It offers once-in-a-lifetime incentive trips, and recently I organized a sailing trip for my team.’

The idea of working abroad with the company appeals to her, and she says that her career goal is to be part of the senior management team. Here’s another employee, it would seem, who is in it for the long haul.

( )1.The journalist of this article thinks that .

A. staff at Xerox are not telling the truth abut the company.

B. Xerox offers great benefits to staff.

C. Xerox is the best company in the world.

D. Xerox has the best working environment.

( )2.The company tends to find its new manager .

A. only form graduates B. on training courses

C. from existing staff D. from job markets

( )3.What does the phrase “to take on” in the sentence “The company takes on only fifteen to twenty graduates each year and …” of the second paragraph mean? .

A. To train B. To employ

C. To interview D. To maintain(A)

( )4.As well as recognizing its staff through promotion, Xerox .

A. gives cash bonuses

B. gives unpaid leave to take trips of a lifetime.

C. provides a number of perks.

D. provides huge end-of-year bonuses.

( )5.One common feature of Xerox staff is that they tend .

A. to work hard B. to get promoted

C. work longer hours each day D. not to change employer