1、专业八级-510 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、READING COMPREHENSIO(总题数：8，分数：100.00)Imagine yourself lying in bed, your mind in turmoil. You toss and turn, but sleep won“t come. Maybe a bedtime snack would help. What should you choose? If you think first of toaster waffles or popcorn, some experts would say
2、you“re on the right track. Foods high in complex carbohydratessuch as cereals, potatoes, pasta, crackers, or rice cakesmake many people relaxed and drowsy. Missed that one? Try again. Suppose the weather“s rotten, you forgot your homework, and your best friend“s mad at you. What“s good medicine when
3、 you“re feeling low? A sugary cola or candy may give you a quick lift, but you“ll crash just as quickly. Better choices may be Brazil nuts (for selenium), skim milk (for calcium), or a spinach salad (for folic acid). In research studies, all three of those nutrients have been shown to lift spirits a
4、nd battle the blues. Try one more. You have a math test coming up in the afternoon. You want to be sharp, but you usually feel sleepy after lunch. Is your best choice an energy fix of fries and a shake or a broiled chicken breast and low-fat yogurt? If you pick the high-fat fries and shake, you may
5、feel sluggish and blow that test. The protein-rich chicken and yogurt are better choices. Protein foods energize, some experts say. How does food affect mood and mind? The answer may lie in the chemistry of the brain and nervous system. Molecules called neurotransmitters are chemical messengers. The
6、y carry a nerve impulse across the gap between nerve cells. The release of neurotransmitter molecules from one neuron and their attachment to receptor sites on another keep a nerve impulse moving. Nerve impulses carry messages from the environment to the brain, for example, the pain you feel when yo
7、u stub your toe. They also carry messages in the other direction, from the brain to the muscles. That“s why you back away from the obstacle that initiated the pain signal and exclaim, “Ouch!“ “Many neurotransmitters are built from the foods we eat,“ says neuroscientist Eric Chudler of the University
8、 of Washington. Too little or too much of a particular nutrient in the diet can affect their production, Chudler says. For example, tryptophan from foods such as yogurt, milk, bananas, and eggs is required for the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Phenylalanine from beets, almonds, eggs,
9、 meat, and grains goes into making the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dozens of neurotransmitters are known; hundreds may exist. Their effects depend on their amounts and where they work in the brain. The neurotransmitter serotonin, for example, is thought to produce feelings of calmness, relaxation, an
10、d contentment. Drugs that prevent its reuptake (into the neuron that released it) are prescribed to treat depression. In at least some healthy, non-depressed people, carbohydrate foods seem to enhance serotonin production and produce similar effects. “It is the balance between different neurotransmi
11、tters that helps regulate mood,“ Chudler says. Proper nutrition may also enhance brainpower. Choline is a substance similar to the B vitamins. It“s found in egg yolks, whole wheat, peanuts, milk, green peas, liver, beans, seafood, and soybeans. The brain uses it to make the neurotransmitter acetylch
12、oline. To test the effects of choline on memory and learning, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology gave memory tests to college students before increasing the amount of choline in their subjects“ diets. Later, they retested. On the average, memories were better, and the students
13、learned a list of unrelated words more easily. “We“re just scratching the surface in this field,“ says Larry Christensen, a psychologist at the University of South Alabama, “but we know that there are definite behavioral effects of diet.“ There“s a lot to learn, and future research may reveal more a
14、bout the chemistry of mood, brain, and nutrition. Until then, it makes sense to choose healthy foods that nourish both body and mind.（分数：9.00）(1).According to the passage, _ might be the best food choice when one feels nervous and wants to fall asleep.（分数：3.00）A.candyB.spaghettiC.Brazil nutsD.yogurt
15、(2).Which of the following is NOT true about neurotransmitters, according to the passage?（分数：3.00）A.Many of them are built from what we eat.B.The amount of particular nutrients affects their production.C.Hundreds of them are already known.D.Their effects depend on their amount others count security
16、as an ordinary business expense. The Securities and Exchange Commission considers security at an executive“s residence or during personal travel a perquisite that should be disclosed if the value reaches a certain threshold. Corporate spending on CEO security may be more prevalent than the survey in
17、dicates. Bob Duggan, president of Executive Security International, a training firm in Aspen, Colo., figures at least 75 American CEOs have round-the-clock protection, three times as many as a decade ago. The biggest spender in Reda“s study was Oracle Corp. The software maker paid about $1.7 million
18、 in the year ended May 31, 2007, mainly for guards at residences of Lawrence Ellison, its billionaire CEO and founder. Board members support the outlays because he“s so important to Oracle, the latest proxy states. It also says Mr. Ellison paid to install and maintain his home-security systems. Orac
19、le declined to comment. Next up was Limited Brands Inc., which spent $1.25 million in the year ended Feb. 2 to protect CEO Leslie Wexner, who founded the Columbus, Ohio, retailer in 1963. The total includes an unspecified amount for his personal use of corporate aircraft, which the company requires.
20、 Limited“s proxy lacks other details, but people familiar with the situation say the tab covers security for Mr. Wexner“s 22,371-square-foot home on a 300-acre estate in nearby New Albany, as well as for other homes and a yacht. The proxy says directors approved the spending because of “the risks as
21、sociated with Mr. Wexner“s role and position.“ The executive, a prominent Jewish philanthropist, “has been the target of specific threats,“ an informed individual says. Founder CEOs often become targets of specific threats identified with their religion, the person said. Mr. Wexner declined to comme
22、nt. Such justifications for shelling out big bucks to protect corporate chiefs don“t sway some activist investors. “Security has become a convenient excuse for getting shareholders to pick up the cost for the CEO“s lifestyle,“ complains Richard Ferlauto, director of corporate governance and pension
23、investment at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Other retailers don“t spend as much. Macy“s Inc. reported spending $86,956 during the year ended Feb. 2 to protect CEO Terry J. Lundgren. The amount covers a specially equipped SUV driven by a security professional for h
24、is commute, personal use and certain business trips. “The benefit, recommended by a consultant, ensures the safety of Mr. Lundgren, who maintains a significant public role,“ the Cincinnati retailer says in its proxy. Six companies that reported spending on CEO security in 2006 didn“t divulge any exp
25、ense last year, Reda found. They include International Paper Co., whose directors spent $52,000 in 2006 to install a home-security system for CEO John V. Faraci after the company“s headquarters moved to Memphis, Tenn. Mr. Faraci pays for the ongoing monitoring, spokeswoman Patty Neuhoff says.（分数：14.
26、00）(1).The difference in security spending for big-company CEOs is due to all of the following factors EXCEPT _.（分数：3.50）A.risk evaluations by security advisersB.the term of office of a CEOC.company“s involvement in high-risk regionsD.the nature of the company(2).According to description in the pass
27、age, we learn that _.（分数：3.50）A.security spending has almost been like an arms raceB.most companies reported security expenses to protect their CEOsC.more CEOs nowadays are enjoying round-the-clock protectionD.over half of the companies specified an amount of the security spending(3).According to th
28、e passage, the risks that a CEO might face are associated with all of the following EXCEPT _.（分数：3.50）A.the CEO“s roleB.the CEO“s positionC.CEO“s religious beliefD.CEO“s political belief(4).Which of the following is NOT true, according to the passage?（分数：3.50）A.Companies“ security spending on their
29、CEOs correlates with their business size.B.Increasing security spending reveals the importance of a CEO to a company.C.Security spending has become an ordinary business expense for some companies.D.Founder CEOs often face specific threats that are brought about by religious issues.For multinational
30、corporations, tax planning has become an extremely complex affair. It has often been stated that no multinational corporation possesses the ultimate tax expertise. There are just too many countries and regions involved and thus a web of tax regulations. Therefore, in addition to having their own exp
31、erts, MNCs rely heavily on local tax experts and legal counsel. Taxes have a very important impact on foreign direct investment decisions. Taxes will determine the financial structure of a subsidiary, and they will influence pricing decisions. They may also lead to the formation of holding companies
32、. An MNC may decide to establish a branch rather than a subsidiary because of a given tax situation. The absence of a tax treaty between the country of a would-be investor and the nation where a foreign investment is to take place might lead to cancellation of investment plans. An unfavorable deprec
33、iation allowance may keep the foreign investor out. This unit will deal with the different tax systems in the world and their impact on an MNC“s global strategy. Basically, any tax system can be divided into direct and indirect taxes. Corporate and individual income taxes are direct; value-added tax
34、es, sales taxes, and import duties are indirect taxes. Corporate income taxes (taxes levied on earnings) vary among the industrialized nations. France, the United States, Holland, Canada, and Germany have rates of around 50 percent; Italy, the United Kingdom, and Japan have rates of between 36 and 4
35、0 percent. Less developed countries usually have lower corporate tax rates, in order to attract foreign investment. Thus, Brazil has a rate of 30 percent, and Indonesia has a 40 percent rate. A corporate tax is levied on taxable earnings. Taxable earnings are more significant than the tax rate itsel
36、f. They determine what can be deducted before the tax is computed; in other words, these items are tax deductible. Countries differ greatly in determining taxable earnings. Some allow accelerated depreciation, whereby the asset (usually the plant or equipment) is written off at a substantially highe
37、r rate during the first years than in the later years. This allows for smaller taxable earnings in the early years. Other countries allow tax-free investment reserves. These are used at a later stage for investment in underdeveloped areas of countries or are sent when countries are in a recession. A
38、 recent type of tax that has won recognition in the European Common Market is value-added tax (VAT). This is a national sales tax levied at each stage of production to the value added during that stage. Generally, manufacturing goods, such as plant and equipment, have been exempted from this tax. In
39、 most cases, food items also have been exempted. Here is an example of how VAT works. A tree owner who sells part of a tree to a lumber mill for $1 must set aside ten cents VAT to pay to the government. The lumber mill processes the tree into building material and sells the wood for $3 to a lumber w
40、holesaler. The mill adds $2 in value, and thus sets aside ten percent of the added value, or twenty cents, to pay to the government. And so the VAT continues until the final sale. The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. Profitable and unprofitable firms are taxed alike, as ther
41、e is no possibility of tax deductions to determine taxable income. Further, VAT is easy to calculate and collect. But VAT is often accused of having contributed to serious inflation in countries where it was introduced, notably in Western Europe.（分数：12.00）(1).The sentence “Brazil has a rate of 30 pe
42、rcent, and Indonesia has a 40 percent rate“ in the fourth paragraph shows that _.（分数：4.00）A.governments attach less importance to corporate tax ratesB.lower tax rates are set to attract more foreign investmentC.countries differ greatly in determining taxable earningsD.the two countries carry out low
43、er tax rates than developed countries(2).One arrives at taxable earnings when _.（分数：4.00）A.accelerated depreciation is allowedB.asset is written off in the endC.all tax-deductible items have been subtractedD.tax-free investment reserves are allowed(3).Which of the following is the problem that the V
44、AT system causes?（分数：4.00）A.Rebates on exports.B.No tax deductions.C.Easy calculation and collection.D.Economic instability.The most complex object known to humanity is the human brainand not only is it complex, hut it is the seat of one of the few natural phenomena that science has no purchase on a
45、t all, namely consciousness. To try to replicate something that is so poorly understood may therefore seem like hubris. But you have to start somewhere, and IBM and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, propose to start by replicating “in silico“, as the jargon has it,
46、 one of the brain“s building blocks. In a partnership announced on June 6th of 2005, the two organizations said they would be working together to build a simulation of a structure known as a neo-cortical column on a type of IBM supercomputer that is currently used to study the molecular functioning
47、of genes. If that works, they plan to use future, more powerful computers to link such simulated columns together into something that mimics a brain. In a real brain, a neo-cortical column is a cylindrical element about a third of a millimeter in diameter and three millimeters long, containing some
48、10,000 nerve cells. It is these columns, arranged side by side like the cells of a honeycomb, which make up the famous “grey matter“ that has become shorthand for human intelligence. The Blue Gene/L supercomputer that will be used for the simulation consists of enough independent processors for each
49、 to be programmed to emulate an individual nerve cell in a column. The EPFL“s contribution to the Blue Brain Project, as it has inevitably been dubbed, will be to create a digital description of how the columns behave. Its Brain Mind Institute has what is generally regarded as the world“s most extensive set of data on the machinations of the neo-cortexthe columns“ natural habitat and the part of the brain responsible for learning, memory, language and complex thought. This database will provide the raw material for the simulation. Biologists and computer scien
