听力原文： Everyone knows about unemployment. But m...

听力原文： Everyone knows about unemployment. But millions of working Americans are now facing a less familiar and perhaps more troubling problem: shrinking wages. It's a phenomenon that takes many forms. Some workers have had to swallow outright pay cuts. Others have lost their jobs and, in the tough labor market of today, have had to settle for new ones at less pay. Still others—including employees at such giants as AT&T, Boise Cascade and Starwood Hotels— have had to accept pay freezes that, when rising prices are factored in, amount to reduced compensation. To add insult to injury, companies everywhere are reducing bonuses and over time and eroding health and pension benefits.

The numbers are grim. For the 500,000 workers laid off since January, the average job search has stretched to a 19-year high of nearly five months—about twice the duration of the typical severance package. According to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 17% of those who do find work—nearly double the historical percentage—are settling for less pay. The net result of the various pressures on pay is in the first three months of 2003, median weekly earnings adjusted for inflation fell 1.5%, according to the U.S. Labor Department. That's the biggest drop since 1991, according to Jared Bernstein, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a research group based in Washington. Wage erosion partly explains why the Federal Reserve Board openly frets about the threat of deflation, a downward spiral in prices that can cripple an economy by making debt repayment more difficult and encouraging consumers to wait for even lower prices. Adding fuel to the deflation debate, the cost of goods to both consumers and manufacturers fell in April, officials reported last week.

Which of the following is not a form. of wage erosion?

A．Pay cuts.

B．Pay freezes.

C．Bonus reduction.

D．Job-hopping.

听力原文： Everyone knows about unemployment. But millions of working Americans are now facing a less familiar and perhaps more troubling problem: shrinking wages. It's a phenomenon that takes many forms. Some workers have had to swallow outright pay cuts. Others have lost their jobs and, in the tough labor market of today, have had to settle for new ones at less pay. Still others—including employees at such giants as AT&T, Boise Cascade and Starwood Hotels—have had to accept pay freezes that, when rising prices are factored in, amount to reduced compensation. To add insult to injury, companies everywhere are reducing bonuses and overtime and eroding health and pension benefits.

The numbers are grim. For the 500,000 workers laid off since January, the average job search has stretched to a 19-year high of nearly five months—about twice the duration of the typical severance package. According to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 17% of those who do find work—nearly double the historical percentage—are settling for less pay. The net result of the various pressures on pay is in the first three months of 2003, median weekly earnings adjusted for inflation fell 1.5%, according to the U.S. Labor Department. That's the biggest drop since 1991, according to Jared Bernstein, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a research group based in Washington. Wage erosion partly explains why the Federal Reserve Board openly frets about the threat of deflation, a downward spiral in prices that can cripple an economy by making debt repayment more difficult and encouraging consumers to wait for even lower prices. Adding fuel to the deflation debate, the cost of goods to both consumers and manufacturers fell in April, officials reported last week.

Which of the following is NOT a form. of wage erosion?

A．Pay cuts.

B．Pay freezes.

C．Bonus reduction.

D．Job-hopping.

If you are a recent social science graduate who has had to listen to jokes about unemployment from your computer major classmates, you may have had the last laugh. There are many advantages for the social science major because this high-tech "Information Age" demands people who are flexible (灵活的) and who have good communication skills.

There are many social science majors in large companies who fill important positions. For example, a number of research studies found that social science majors had achieved greater managerial success than those who had technical training or pre-professional courses. Studies show that social science majors are most suited for change, which is the leading feature (特点) of the kind of high speed, high-pressure, high-toch world we now live in.

Social science majors are not only experiencing success in their long-term company jobs, but they are also finding jobs more easily. A study showed that many companies had filled a large percentage of their entry-level positions with social science graduates. The study also showed that the most sought-after quality in a person who was looking for a job was communication skills, noted as "very important" by 92 percent of the companies. Social science majors have these skills, often without knowing how important they are. It is probably due to these skills that they have been offered a wide variety of positions.

Finally, although some social science majors may still find it more difficult than their technically trained classmates to land the first job, recent graduates report that they don't regret their choice of study.

By saying that "you may have had the last laugh" in the first paragraph, the author means that you may have______.

A．shared the jokes with computer majors

B．earned as much as computer majors

C．found jobs more easily than computer majors

D．stopped joking about computer majors

听力原文： Everyone knows about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but (29) nowadays the romantic red uniform. jacket is only worn on special occasions, and the famous horses are rarely seen. So the "Mountie", as a member of this police force is known, is not, in fact, often mounted except on a powerful motor-cycle. (30)He is a member of a very modern and efficient organization.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has responsibility for an enormous area, from the U.S. border up to the vast ice-fields and frozen lakes. (30)A mountie may work in the Headquarters building in Ottawa. He may pilot a patrol plane across the snow-deserts in the north. He may be doing customs work at the frontier. He may be in plain clothes watching for s suspicious character at an airport, or he may simply be driving a patrol-car.

There are more than ten thousand men in this force, and it was one of these who was responsible for the arrest of James Earl Ray. Police all over the world were looking for Ray after the murder of Martin Luther King. In June 1968, a group of policemen in Canada were doing routine work with applications for passports. Suddenly one man noticed a photo which looked very much like Ray. The name was different, but the resemblance was so strong that (31) the police started to investigate. They discovered that the man had already gone to Britain. The photograph and the finger-prints were sent to the British police, who arrested Ray at London Airport, when he was just going to get on a plane for Brussels. The murder that had shocked the world was solved by a mountie on Ottawa.

(30)

A．They often ride a motorcycle.

B．They used to ride a horse.

C．They work in the mountains of Canada.

D．They ride a horse.

听力原文： Everyone knows about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but (29) nowadays the romantic red uniform. jacket is only worn on special occasions, and the famous horses are rarely seen. So the "Mountie", as a member of this police force is known, is not, in fact, often mounted except on a powerful motor-cycle. (30)He is a member of a very modern and efficient organization.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has responsibility for an enormous area, from the U.S. border up to the vast ice-fields and frozen lakes. (30)A mountie may work in the Headquarters building in Ottawa. He may pilot a patrol plane across the snow-deserts in the north. He may be doing customs work at the frontier. He may be in plain clothes watching for s suspicious character at an airport, or he may simply be driving a patrol-car.

There are more than ten thousand men in this force, and it was one of these who was responsible for the arrest of James Earl Ray. Police all over the world were looking for Ray after the murder of Martin Luther King. In June 1968, a group of policemen in Canada were doing routine work with applications for passports. Suddenly one man noticed a photo which looked very much like Ray. The name was different, but the resemblance was so strong that (31) the police started to investigate. They discovered that the man had already gone to Britain. The photograph and the finger-prints were sent to the British police, who arrested Ray at London Airport, when he was just going to get on a plane for Brussels. The murder that had shocked the world was solved by a mountie on Ottawa.

(30)

A．They often ride a motorcycle.

B．They used to ride a horse.

C．They work in the mountains of Canada.

D．They ride a horse.

听力原文： Everyone knows about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and it was the subject of several early musical films made in Hollywood. But nowadays the romantic red uniform. jacket is only worn on special occasions and the famous homes are rarely seen. So the "mountie", as a member of this police force is known, is not, in fact, often mounted except on a powerful motorcycle. He is a member of a very modern and efficient organization.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has responsibility for an enormous area, from the Great Lakes and the industrial cities near the U. S. border up to the vast ice-fields and frozen lakes in the Arctic Circle. A mountie may work in the Headquarters building in Ottawa, sitting at a desk like any other clerk.

There are more than ten thousand men in this force, and it was one of these who were responsible for the arrest of James Earl Ray. Police all over the world were looking for Ray after the murder of Martin Luther King. In June 1968, a group of policemen in Canada were doing some routine work with applications for passports. Suddenly one man noticed a photo which looked very much like Ray, whose description had been given to all the police departments, the name was different, but the resemblance was so strong that the police started to investigate. They discovered that the man had already gone to Britain. The photograph and the finger-prints were sent to the British Police, who arrested Ray at London Airport, when he was just going to get on a plane for Brussels. So the murder that had shocked the world was solved by the observation of a mountie in Ottawa.

(30)

A．They often ride a motorcycle.

B．They used to ride a home.

C．They work in the mountains of Canada.

D．They ride a horse nowadays.

听力原文： Everyone knows about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and it was the subject of several early musical films made in Hollywood. (29) But nowadays the romantic red uniform. jacket is only worn on special occasions and the famous homes are rarely seen. So the "mountie", as a member of this police force is known, is not, in fact, often mounted except on a powerful motorcycle. He is a member of a very modern and efficient organization.

(30) The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has responsibility for an enormous area, from the Great Lakes and the industrial cities near the U. S. border up to the vast ice-fields and frozen lakes in the Arctic Circle. A mountie may work in the Headquarters building in Ottawa, sitting at a desk like any other clerk.

There are more than ten thousand men in this force, and it was one of these who were responsible for the arrest of James Earl Ray. Police all over the world were looking for Ray after the murder of Martin Luther King. In June 1968, a group of policemen in Canada were doing some routine work with applications for passports. Suddenly one man noticed a photo which looked very much like Ray, whose description had been given to all the police departments, the name was different, but the resemblance was so strong that the police started to investigate. They discovered that the man had already gone to Britain. (31) The photograph and the finger-prints were sent to the British Police, who arrested Ray at London Airport, when he was just going to get on a plane for Brussels. So the murder that had shocked the world was solved by the observation of a mountie in Ottawa.

(30)

A．They often ride a motorcycle.

B．They used to ride a home.

C．They work in the mountains of Canada.

D．They ride a horse nowadays.

听力原文：M: Hi, Mary. How's everything?

W: Fine. You know, John, I'm planning to go to Las Vegas for a holiday and would like to stay in a large hotel. Anything to recommend?

M: Er? the Hilton Hotel there is quite a large one. It has some 3, 174 bedrooms. It also has 12 restaurants and about 125, 000 square feet of convention space. There're a 10-acre recreation deck and a stage show dining hall. Over 3, 600 people now work for it.

W: Oh, great] Is it the largest hotel in the U. S. ?

M: Yes,it is. But it may not be the largest in the world. As far as I know, the Hotel Rossiya in Moscow is larger than Hilton. It is a 12-story building that has 3, 200 rooms. It can provide accommodation for 6, 000 guests. It takes nearly 8 years and a half to spend one night in each room. Besides, there's a 21-story"Presidential tower" in the central courtyard. It has 15 restaurants and 93 elevators. And it employs about 3, 000 people. The ballroom is known as the world's largest. Russians are not allowed to live in that hotel. And foreigners are charged 16 times more than the very low rate charged Russian officials.

W: It's unbelievable ? [ fade out ]

Who is going to Las Vegas?

A．John.

B．Mary.

C．Tom.

D．Peter.