1、英语专业八级人文知识改错3140 All of this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans stopped taking prosperity for grant. They began believe that their way of doing (9) business was failing, and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall as well. The mid-1980 brought one inquiry after (10) another in
2、to the causes of Americas industrial decline. Their some-times sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growingcompetition from overseas. (12) The world is going through the biggest wave of mergers and acquisitions ever witnessed. The process sweeps from hyperactiveAmerica to Europe
3、and reaches the emerged countries with unsur- (1) passed mightfulness. Many in these countries are looking at this (2) process and worrying: Wont the wave of business concentrationturn into an controllable anti-competitive force? (3) Theres no question that the big are getting bigger and morepowerfu
4、l. Multinational corporations accounted less than 20% of in- (4) ternational trade in1982. Today the figure is more than 25% andgrowing rapidly. International affiliations are a fast-growing seg- (5) ment of production in economies that open up and welcome foreigninvestment. This phenomenon has crea
5、ted serious concerns over therole of smaller economic firms, of national businessmen and overthe final stability of the world economy. (6) I believe that the most important forces behind the massive M&A. wave are the same as that underlie the globalization process: (7) fallen transportation and comm
6、unication costs, lower trade and in- (8) vestment barriers and enlarged markets that require enlarged opera-tions capable of meeting customers demands. All these are benefi-cial, not detrimental, to consumers. As productivity grows, the worlds wealth increases. Examples of benefits or costs of the c
7、urrent concentration waveare scanty. And it is hard to imagine that the merger of a few oil (9) firms today could re-create the same threats to competition that was (10) feared nearly a century ago in the U.S. The merger of telecomcompanies, such as WorldCom, hardly seem to bring higher pricesfor co
8、nsumers or a reduction in the pace of technical progress. On the contrary, the price of communications is coming down fast. (13) There exists a social and cultural disconnection between jour-nalists and their readers, which help explain why the standard (1) templates of the newsroom seem alien for m
9、any readers. In a re- (2) cent survey, questionnaires were sent to reporters in five middle-size cities around the country, plus one large metropolisal areas. (3) Then residents in these communities were phoned at random and asked the same questions. Replies show that compared with other Americans,
10、journalistsare more likely to live in upclass neighborhoods, have maids,own (4) Mercedeses, and trade stocks, and theyre less likely to go to the (5) church, do volunteer work,or put down roots in a communitity. Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and culture-al elite, so their wor
11、k tends to reflect the conventional values of thiselites. The astonishing distruct of the news media isnt rooted inaccuracy or poor reportorial skills but in the daily (6) crash of world views between reporters and their readers. (7) This is an explosive situation for any industry, particularly adec
12、lining one. Here is a troubled business that keeps hiring employ-ees whose attitudes vastly annoy the customers. Then it sponsorslots of symposiums and a credibility project dedicated to wonder why (8) customers are annoyed and fleeing in large numbers. But it neverseems to get around to notice the
13、cultural and class biases that so (9) many former buyers are complaining about. If it does, it would open (10) up its diversity program, now focused narrowly on race and gender,and look for reporters who differ broadly by outlook, values, educa-tion, and class. (14) Exercise is one of the few factor
14、s with a positive role in long-term maintenance of body weight. Unfortunately, that message hasnot gotten through to the average American, that would rather try (1) switching to light beer and low-calorie bread than increase physic-cal exertion. The Centers for Disease Control, for example, foundtha
15、t fewer than one-fourth of overweight adults were trying to shed (2) pounds said they were combining exercise with their diet. In rejecting exercise, some people may be discouraged toomuch by calorie-expending charts; for example, one would have to (3) briskly walk three miles just to work the 275 c
16、alories in one deli- (4) cious Danish pastry. Even exercise professionals concede half a pointhere. Exercise in itself is a very tough way to lose weight, says (5) York Onnen, the program director of the Presidents Council on (6) Physical Fitness and Sports. Therefore, exercises supporting role in w
17、eight reduction is (7) vital. A study at the Boston University Medical Center of overweightpolice officers and other public employees confirmed that those whodiet without exercise regained almost all their old weight, while (8) those who worked exercise into their daily routine maintained theirnew w
18、eight. If you decide to start walking one mile a day, the added exercisecould burn an extra 100 calories daily. In a years time, assumed no in- (9) crease in food take in, you could lose ten pounds. By increasing the (10) distance of your walks gradually and making other dietary adjust-ments, you ma
19、y lose even more weight. (15) Many of the home electric goods which are advertised as libera-ting the modern women tend to have the opposite effects, so they simple (1) change the nature of work instead of eliminating it. Machines have acertain novelty value, as toys for adults. It is certainly less
20、 tired to (2) put clothes in a washing machine, but the time saved does not really (3) amount too much: the machine has to be watched, the clothes have (4) to be carefully sorted out, stains removed by hand, water changed,clothes taken out, aired and ironed. It would be more liberal to packit all of
21、f to a laundry and not necessarily more expensive, since no (5) capital investment is required. Nevertheless, if you really want to save time you do not make (6) cakes with an electric mixer, you buy one in a shop. If one comparesthe image of the woman in the womens magazine to the goods ad- (7) ver
22、tised by those periodicals, one realizes how useful a projectedimage can be commercially. A careful balance has to be struck: if you show a labor-savingdevice, follow it up with a complex recipe on the next page? On (8) any account hintat the notion that a woman could get herself a job, (9) but inst
23、ead foster her sense of her own usefulness, emphasize the (10) creative aspect of her function as a housewife. (16) It seems that every country, race, and religion observe sometype of holiday or festival. The two most celebrating holidays in the (1) North and South America, Australia and Europe, and
24、 in the most of (2) Christian world are Christmas and Easter. Christians celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas. The ex- (3) change of gifts rises from the birthday tradition. The winter holiday (4) season is time for bright colored lights to appear in and (5) out the home, on Christmas trees, a
25、nd on buildings and storefronts. (6) At Easter, Christians celebrate the death, burial, and resurrect-tion of Christ. This is also a time for celebration with family. A non-religious celebration in North America is Thanksgiving.Similarly, National Day and Labor Day Holidays are among thenon-religiou
26、s holidays in China. A common tradition is the observ-ance of the New Year as celebrated around the world on January1st. Therefore, various religious groups celebrate the New Year (7) on the spring or fall. One common thread that (8) goes through all these holidays is the celebration of the occasion
27、 (9) with family, food, new clothing, lights, and festivity. They are setapart as special times to be celebrated happily with family and friends. Religious or not religious, each festival or holiday has itsown legend or origin behind. (10) (17) The Big Ben is very famous throughout the world, but no
28、bodyreally knows the reason why it is called Big Ben. However, thereare two stories may explain the reason. Some people say that it was (1) named Benjamin Caunt, a boxer, who was called Big Ben. (2) More people believe the name comes from a Welshman, Sir (3) Benjamin Hall. He commissioned the work i
29、n 1859. a story arosethat, during a debate in House of Commons on what to call the bell, (4) Sir Benjamin was about to give his ideas that someone who sat be- (5) hind the front bench shouted, Lets call it Big Ben! The history of the bell tower, since the beginning of its design,is by no means smoot
30、h, however. Due to disagreements aboutthe clocks design, it takes fifteen years to build. In 1857,the (6) structure was completed and tested on the ground, but a four-footcrack appeared, and the bell had to cast again. Finally, the clock (7) started ticking on May 31,1859,and stroke its first chime
31、on July (8) 11. Then, in September, the bell cracked again. It was silent forfour years but was eventually turned a quarter of a revolution. As aresult, the crack was not under the striking hammer. Craftsmenmade a square above the crack to stop it to cracking further and it (9) can still be seen tod
32、ay. The Big Ben is famous not only for its thirteen-ton weight, butalso for its accuracy, that is a result of its precise mechanism. (10) Even one extra pennys weight on the balance would cause a gain of two fifths of a second in twenty hours. Although there havebeen several problems, the bell still chimes today. (18) Before 1973, abortion w
