Besides the benefit of saving money, green buildings can also bring______.

•Read the following article and the questions after the article.

•For each Question 15-20, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose.

"Harmonization" is a process of increasing the compatibility of accounting practices by setting limits on how much they vary. Harmonized standards are free of logical conflicts, and should improve the comparability of financial information from different countries.

Efforts to harmonize accounting standards began even before the creation of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) in 1973. International accounting harmonization now is one of the most important issues facing securities regulators, stock exchanges, and those who prepare or use financial statements.

Harmonization and standardization are sometimes used interchangeably. But there is still a difference between them. Standardization normally means the imposition of a rigid and narrow set of rules, and may even apply a single standard or rule to all situations. Besides, standardization does not accommodate national differences and, therefore, is more difficult to implement internationally. Whereas harmonization is much more flexible and open. It does not take a one-size-fits-all approach, but accommodates national differences and has made a great of progress internationally in recent years. However, within accounting, these two words have almost become technical terms, and one cannot rely on the normal difference in their meanings. 'Harmonization' is a word that tends to be associated with the transnational legislation originating from the European Union while 'standardization' is a word that is often associated with the International Accounting Standard Committee.

The reasons that make national accounting standards desirable also apply internationally. Generally speaking, the reasons for harmonization are as follows: (1) It is important and necessary for investors and financial analysts to understand the financial statements of foreign companies whose shares they might wish to buy. They hope to make it quite sure that statements from different countries are reliable and comparable, or at least to be clear about the nature and magnitude of the differences. Besides, they also need confidence in the soundness of the auditing.

(2) The advantages of harmonization are very important for MNEs, because the great effort of financial accountants to prepare and consolidate financial statements would be much simplified if statements from all around the world were prepared according to the same standards. Besides, it would be much easier to prepare comparable internal information for the appraisal of the performance of subsidiaries in different countries. Further, many aspects of investment appraisal, performance evaluation, and other decision making uses of management accounting information would benefit from harmonization. Above all, the cost of capital should be reduced by reducing the risk for investors if accounting can be made more comparable and reliable.

(3) International accountancy firms can benefit from harmonization. They are in favour of harmonization because it is good for their large clients.

(4) Governments in developing countries might find it easier to understand and control the operations of MNEs if financial reporting were harmonized.

The most fundamental of obstacles to harmonization is the size of the present differences between the accounting practices of different countries. In previous Section 8.5 some main differences concerned with international accounting are discussed. Besides, there are several significant differences within the equity class, let alone between that class and the other. These differences go to the root of the reasons for the preparation of accounting information. Further, the dichotomy between shareholder/fair view pr

A．International Accounting Standard

B．International Accounting

C．International Accounting Harmonization

D．International Accounting Standard Committee

this 【C1】______ is gradually becoming internalized as a special feature of Singaporean culture. Besides, Singapore is at the crossroads 【C2】______ East meets West and enjoys the benefit of the co-existence of 【C3】______ cultures. Two seemingly 【C4】______ incidents that took place recently appeared equally ironical upon closer scrutiny. In the first case, the president of National Technological University found the use of Mandarin 【C5】______ too popular on campus and so urged students to speak more English. In the second case, in response 【C6】______ customer complaints, an expatriate executive of Borders told staff to stick to English at work. For historical reasons, the call by NTU which is located on the site of the former Mandarin-speaking Nantah appears to be an even 【C7】______ irony. At a time when the government is 【C8】______ the use of Mandarin to keep up with changes in the world, such actions that go against the trend provide 【C9】______ for thought. Yes, their 【C10】______ about learning English and about the status of English can be understood. What is 【C11】______ is who then are our multi-lingual society supposed to serve？ Is multi-lingualism a burdern, a way to 【C12】______ off, just a symbol, or is it a tool and an advantage to benefit the public？ 【C13】______ the interest of the nation, we have made English the official and common language to help foster racial harmony and 【C14】______ us with the world. Yet language in a way is inextricable from considerations such as political correctness, prestige and status. For a long time to come, the 【C15】______ of English as an official language is unlikely to be shaken. The question is: when service departments deal with the public, do they just 【C16】______ to the rules and not exercise any flexibility or do they make full use of our multi-lingual advantage to provide 【C17】______ service to the ordinary people？ It is true that most customers at an English bookshop maybe English-educated and speak English 【C18】______ , but if speaking Mandarin makes some people feel more at home or comfortable, do we have to 【C19】______ on speaking English？ Even someone who is extremely 【C20】______ in English, which is not his mother tongue, may well enjoy being spoken to in his mother tongue. Can this potentially be a "win-win" sales strategy？

【C1】

A．commonality

B．status

C．uniqueness

D．locate

听力原文：M: Hello. (22) Today on Business Focus I am talking about Knowledge Management with Ms. Twomey, who is the Human Resource Manager for a big company. Ms. Twomey, has Knowledge Management changed the way your company works？

W: Oh yes, since adopting Knowledge Management strategies, we have had to make many changes to the way we work, from changing the technology we use and the way we use it, to changing people's ideas about the best way to work.

M: And what has been the biggest challenge？

W: (23) Without a doubt it has been trying to get our staff to accept knowledge management practices. This was a tough challenge because our company had a culture which was not particularly open to the idea of knowledge management. So, I would say definitely the people side required the biggest change.

M: How were you able to overcome these problems？

W: Well, first we had to make sure that our people understood the competitive advantage the company stood to gain if we changed our way of working. We organized staff meetings in each of our offices to introduce the aims of the KM strategies we were going to adopt. As well as the personnel aspect of KM, (24) we also invested in new technology which made having online conferences easier to organize.

M: It sounds like it was a lot of work.

W: Indeed it was and in the beginning there were some problems, but we are really seeing (25) the benefits of implementing Knowledge Management now, as there is greater communication between the offices and people are realizing that if we all work together, we can achieve much better results.

M: Well, thank you, Ms. Twomey.

22．What are the speakers talking about？

23.What has been the biggest challenge for the woman？

24.What did the woman's company do to push KM besides personnel aspect？

25.What is one benefit of implementing KM in the woman's company？

(23)

A．The best ways to work.

B．Human resources.

C．Knowledge management.

D．Changing the technology.

阅读理解

HOW TO HANDLE A BAD PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Getting a bad performance review can make you feel angry, unappreciated, defeated, and hopeless. But it's not the end of the world. Remember that the way you respond to this appraisal can make all the difference in the next one. Even if you believe that the review is inaccurate and that your boss is completely wrong, you will benefit by reacting in a mature, adult manner. Here are some suggestions:

Stay calm. Relax. Breathe. Do not overreact and be objective. Especially, do not say things that will likely be regretted later. Besides, the person giving the performance review may or may not be the one who has written the bad review.

WHAT TO DO WHEN RECEIVING A BAD PERFORMANCE REVIEW

It's best to listen attentively. And make comments or remarks only when asked for them. Besides, during the performance review, you will be given the chance to respond and may disagree.

WHAT TO DO AFTER RECEIVING A BAD PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Don't be intimidated by the bad performance review and want to quit the job; instead, learn from it. Also, if the organization allows their employees to make a written statement on their own behalf, do make one. It is important for the worker to show why she does not agree with the bed performance review; for instance, an employee may express their different understanding and, at the same time, a willingness to comply with any constructive suggestions.

WAYS TO IMPROVE A BAD PERFORMANCE REVIEW

A way to improve a bad performance review is to set self-reviews, that is, establish performance standards. Another way to improve a bad review is to learn more about what the manager, supervisor, or boss wants or expects from his/her employees. Learning what it was that caused a bad performance review helps to improve professional growth and encourages as well as motivates the worker to do better in order to receive a good review next time.

操作提示：通过题目后的下拉选项框选择正确答案。

1. What should you do when you are given a bad performance review？{A; B; C}

A. Argue with your boss.

B. Make immediate remarks.

C. Stay calm and listen carefully.

2. What should you do after you are given a bad performance review？{A; B; C}

A. Quit your job immediately.

B. Insist on making comments.

C. Learn from the review.

3. What should you do if you do not agree with the bad performance review？{A; B; C}

A. Tell the boss directly that you do not agree with the review.

B. Make a written statement on your own behalf if it is allowed.

C. Do not express your different understanding in a written statement.

4. How do you improve a bad performance review？{A; B; C}

A. Understand the established performance standards.

B. Learn more about what the employee wants or expects.

C. Learn what the person who gives the review may think.

5. Why should we understand the cause of a bad performance review？{A; B; C}

A. Because it helps the employee to get promoted immediately.

B. Because it encourages and motivates the worker to do better.

C. Because it prevents the employee from professional growth.

？Read the following article and the questions．

？For each question(15-20)，mark one letter(A，B，C or D)on your Answer Sheet．

" Harmonization" is a process of increasing the compatibility of accounting practices by setting limits on how much they vary．Harmonized standards are free of logical conflicts，and should improve the comparability of financial information from different countries．

Efforts to harmonize accounting standards began even before the creation of the International Accounting Standards Committee(IASC)in 1973．International accounting harmonization now is one of the most important issues facing securities regulators，stock exchanges，and those who prepare or use financial statements．

Harmonization and standardization are sometimes used interchangeably．But there is still a difference between them．Standardization normally means the imposition of a rigid and narrow set of rules，and may even apply a single standard or rule to a11 situations． Besides，standardization does not accommodate national differences and，therefore，is more difficult to implement internationally．Whereas harmonization is much more flexible and open．It does not take a one-size-fits-all approach，but accommodates national differences and has made a great of progress internationally in recent years．However，within accounting!these two words have almost become technical terms，and one cannot depend on the normal difference in their meanings．" Harmonization" is a word that tends to be associated with the transnational legislation originating from the European Union while" standardization" is a word that is often associated with the International Accounting Standard Committee．

The reasons that make national accounting standards desirable also apply internationally．Generally speaking，the reasons for harmonization are as follows：

(1)It is important and necessary for investors and financial analysts to understand the financial statements of foreign companies whose shares they might wish to buy．They hope to make it quite sure that statements from different countries are reliable and comparable，or at least to be clear about the nature and magnitude of the differences．Besides，they also need confidence in the soundness of the auditing．

(2)The advantages of harmonization are very important for MNEs．because the great effort of financial accountants to prepare and consolidate financial statements would be much simplified if statements from all over the globe were prepared according to the same standards．Besides，it would be much easier to prepare comparable internal information for the appraisal of the performance of subsidiaries in different countries．What's more，many aspects of investment appraisal，performance evaluation，and other decision-making uses of management accounting information would benefit from harmonization．Above all，the cOSt of capital should be reduced by reducing the risk for investors if accounting can be made more comparable and reliable．

(3)International accountancy firms can benefit from harmonization．They are in favour of harmonization because it is good for their lots of clients．

(4)Governments in developing countries might find it easier to comprehend and control the operations of MNEs if financial reporting were harmonized．

The most fundamental of obstacles to harmonization is the size of the present differences between the accounting practices of different countries．In previous Section 8.5some main differences concerned with international accounting are discussed．Besides，there are several significant differences within the equity class，let alone between that class and the other．These differences go to the root of the reasons for the preparation of accounting information．Further，the differences between shareholder/fair view presentation and creditor/tax/conservative presentation is an obstacle that is very hard to be overcome without major changes

A．International Accounting Standard．

B．International Accounting．

C．International Accounting Harmonization．

D．International Accounting Standard Committee．

Mother Knows Best？

Once while being prepped (准备) for a television interview, I was chatting with the host about stay-at-home fathers. I made the point that one reason we're seeing more stay-at-home dads may be that it's no longer a given (假定的事实) that a man makes more money than his wife. Many families now take earning power into account when deciding which parent will stay home.

At that point, one of the male crew members commented, almost to himself but loud enough for my benefit, "It should be the better parent who stays home. " A lot of guys say things like that. Usually it's a code for, "My wife, (read: any woman) is the better parent."

I was a stay-at-home father for eight years, so his declaration made me bristle (激动). It implied that our family's choice could only have been correct if I was a " better" parent than my wife.

I suppose an argument could have been made that when I began staying home my wife was the "better" parent: She I-Dad spent more time with Ry, could read him better and calm him more quickly. And given a choice, he'd have picked her over me. But as she was the more employable one, my wife went out to work and I looked after our son.

Because of the increased time I spent with him, I soon knew Ry well, understood what he needed and could look after him more or less as well as my wife could. Actually, the experience helped me unlock one of the world's great secrets: Women are good at looking after children because they do it. It's not because of any innate (先天的) female aptitude (天资) or a mother's instinct. It's because they put in.the time and attention required to become good at the job.

Women obviously get a biological head start from giving birth and nursing, but over the long term experience is more important. When I got the experience myself, I was good, too. As good？ I don't know. Who cares？ Children are not made of glass. Other people are capable of looking after them besides Morn.

Which of the following does the first paragraph imply？

A．Men like staying at home.

B．The author works at a TV station.

C．In more and more families the wife is earning more than the husband

D．The husband is the better parent.

第二篇 Mother Knows Best？

Once while being prepped (准备) for a television interview, I was chatting with the host about stay-at-home fathers. I made the point that one reason we're seeing more stay-at-home dads may be that it's no longer a given (假定的事实) that a man makes more money than his wife. Many families now take earning power into account when deciding which parent will stay home.

At that point, one of the male crew members commented, almost to himself but loud enough for my benefit, "It should be the better parent who stays home." A lot of guys say things like that. Usually it's a code for, "My wife, (read: any woman) is the better parent."

I was a stay-at-home father for eight years, so his declaration made me bristle (激动). It implied that our family's choice could only have been correct if I was a "better" parent than my wife.

I suppose an argument could have been made that when I began staying home my wife was the "better" parent: She I-Dad spent more time with Ry, could read him better and calm him more quickly. And given a choice, he'd have picked her over me. But as she was the more employable one, my wife went out to work and I looked after our son.

Because of the increased time I spent with him, I soon knew Ry well, understood what he needed and could look after him more or less as well as my wife could. Actually, the experience helped me unlock one of the world's great secrets: Women are good at looking after children because they do it. It's not because of any innate (先天的) female aptitude (天资) or a mother's instinct. It's because they put in the time and attention required to become good at the job.

Women obviously get a biological head start from giving birth and nursing, but over the long term experience is more important. When I got the experience myself, I was good, too. As good？ I don't know. Who cares？ Children are not made of glass. Other people are capable of looking after them besides Morn.

36 Which of the following does the first paragraph imply？

A Men like staying at home.

B The author works at a TV station.

C In more and more families the wife is earning more than the husband

D The husband is the better parent.

根据短文回答 31～35 题。

Mother Knows Best？

Once while being prepped(准备)for a television interview,1 was chatting with the host about stay-at-home fathers.I made the point that one reason we're seeing More stay-at-home dads may be that it's no longer a given(假定的事实)that a man makes more money than his wife.Many families ROW take earning power into account when deciding which parent will stay home.

At that point,one of the male crew members commented,almost to himself but loud enough for my benefit。"It should be the better parent who stays home."A lot of guys say things like that.Usually it's a code for," My wife(read：any woman)is the better parent."

I was a stay.at-home father for eight years,so his declaration made me bristle(激动).It implied that our family's choice could only have been correct if I was a better' parent than my wife.

I suppose an argument could have been made that when I began staying home my wife was the"better'parent：She had spent more time with Ry,could read him better and calm him more quickly.And given a choice,he'd have picked her over me.But as she was the more employable one,my wife went out to work and I looked after our son.

Because of the increased time I spent with him.I soon knew Ry well,understood what he needed and could look after him more or less as well as my wife could.Actually, the experience helped me unlock one of the world's great secrets：Women are good at looking after children because they do it.It's not because of any innate(先天的)female aptitude(天资)or a mother's instinct.It's because they put in the time and attention required to become good at the job.

Women obviously get a biological head start from giving birth and nursing.but over the long term experience is more important.When l got the experience myself,1 was good,too.As good ？I don't know.Who cares？ Children are not made of glass.Other people are capable of looking after them besides Mom.

第 31 题 Which of the following does the first paragraph imply？（）

A．Men like staying at home.

B．The author works at a TV station.

C．In more and more families the wife is earning more than the husband.

D．The husband is the better parent.