Text 2

　　Well, no gain without pain, they say. But what about pain without gain? Everywhere you go in America, you hear tales of corporate revival. What is harder to establish is whether the productivity revolution that businessmen assume they are presiding over is for real.

　　The official statistics are mildly discouraging. They show that, if you lump manufacturing and services together, productivity has grown on average by 1.2% since 1987. That is somewhat faster than the average during the previous decade. And since 1991, productivity has increased by about 2% a year, which is more than twice the 1978-1987 average. The trouble is that part of the recent acceleration is due to the usual rebound that occurs at this point in a business cycle, and so is not conclusive evidence of a revival in the underlying trend. There is, as Robert Rubin, the treasury secretary, says, a “disjunction” between the mass of business anecdote that points to a leap in productivity and the picture reflected by the statistics.

　　Some of this can be easily explained. New ways of organizing the workplace—all that re-engineering and downsizing—are only one contribution to the overall productivity of an economy, which is driven by many other factors such as joint investment in equipment and machinery, new technology, and investment in education and training. Moreover, most of the changes that companies make are intended to keep them profitable, and this need not always mean increasing productivity: switching to new markets or improving quality can matter just as much.

　　Two other explanations are more speculative. First, some of the business restructuring of recent years may have been ineptly done. Second, even if it was well done, it may have spread much less widely than people suppose.

　　Leonard Schlesinger, a Harvard academic and former chief executive of Au Bong Pain, a rapidly growing chain of bakery cafes, says that much “re-engineering” has been crude. In many cases, he believes, the loss of revenue has been greater than the reductions in cost. His colleague, Michael Beer, says that far too many companies have applied re-engineering in a mechanistic fashion, chopping out costs without giving sufficient thought to long term profitability. BBDO’s Al Rosenshine is blunter. He dismisses a lot of the work of re-engineering consultants as mere rubbish—“the worst sort of ambulance cashing.”

　　46. According to the author, the American economic situation is ________.

　　[A] not as good as it seems

　　[B] at its turning point

　　[C] much better than it seems(A)

　　[D] near to complete recovery

　　47. The official statistics on productivity growth ________.

　　[A] exclude the usual rebound in a business cycle

　　[B] fall short of businessmen’s anticipation

　　[C] meet the expectation of business people(B)

　　[D] fail to reflect the true state of economy

　　48. The author raises the question “what about pain without gain?” because ________.

　　[A] he questions the truth of “no gain without pain”

　　[B] he does not think the productivity revolution works

　　[C] he wonders if the official statistics are misleading(B)

　　[D] he has conclusive evidence for the revival of businesses

　　49. Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage?

　　[A] Radical reforms are essential for the increase of productivity.

　　[B] New ways of organizing workplaces may help to increase productivity.

　　[C] The reduction of costs is not a sure way to gain long term profitability.(A)

　　[D] The consultants are a bunch of good-for-nothings.

　　50. According to the passage, the author’s attitude towards the productivity revolution in the U.S.A is ____.

　　[A] biased

　　[B] optimistic

　　[C] ambiguous

　　[D] negative

　　Text 3

　　Money spent on advertising is money spent as well as any I know of. It serves directly to assist a rapid distribution of goods at reasonable price, thereby establishing a firm home market and so making it possible to provide for export at competitive prices. By drawing attention to new ideas it helps enormously to raise standards of living. By helping to increase demand it ensures an increased need for labour, and is therefore an effective way to fight unemployment. It lowers the costs of many services: without advertisements your daily newspaper would cost four times as much, the price of your television license would need to be doubled, and travel by bus or tube would cost 20 per cent more.

　　And perhaps most important of all, advertising provides a guarantee of reasonable value in the products and services you buy. Apart from the fact that twenty-seven acts of Parliament govern the terms of advertising, no regular advertiser dare promote a product that fails to live up to the promise of his advertisements. He might fool some people for a little while through misleading advertising. He will not do so for long, for mercifully the public has the good sense not to buy the inferior article more than once. If you see an article consistently advertised, it is the surest proof I know that the article does what is claimed for it, and that it represents good value.

　　Advertising does more for the material benefit of the community than any other force I can think of.

　　There is one more point I feel I ought to touch on. Recently I heard a well-known television personality declare that he was against advertising because it persuades rather than informs. He was drawing excessively fine distinctions. Of course advertising seeks to persuade.

　　If its message were confined merely to information—and that in itself would be difficult if not impossible to achieve, for even a detail such as the choice of the colour of a shirt is subtly persuasive— advertising would be so boring that no one would pay any attention. But perhaps that is what the well-known television personality wants.

　　51. By the first sentence of the passage the author means that ________.

　　[A] he is fairly familiar with the cost of advertising

　　[B] everybody knows well that advertising is money consuming

　　[C] advertising costs money like everything else

　　[D] it is worthwhile to spend money on advertising

　　52. In the passage, which of the following is NOT included in the advantages of advertising?

　　[A] Securing greater fame.

　　[C] Enhancing living standards.

　　[B] Providing more jobs.

　　[D] Reducing newspaper cost.

　　53. The author deems that the well-known TV personality is ________.

　　[A] very precise in passing his judgment on advertising

　　[B] interested in nothing but the buyers’ attention

　　[C] correct in telling the difference between persuasion and information

　　[D] obviously partial in his views on advertising

　　54. In the author’s opinion, ________.

　　[A] advertising can seldom bring material benefit to man by providing information

　　[B] advertising informs people of new ideas rather than wins them over

　　[C] there is nothing wrong with advertising in persuading the buyer

　　[D] the buyer is not interested in getting information from an advertisement

　　55. The best title for the passage would probably be _____.

　　[A] Positive and Negative Aspects of Advertising

　　[B] Benefits Brought by Advertising and Its Persuasive Function

　　[C] Advertising The Best Persuasive and Information Medium

　　[D] Advertising the Most Effective Way to Promote Products

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