3 At a recent international meeting of business leaders, Seamus O’Brien said that multi-jurisdictional attempts toregulate corporate governance were futile because of differences in national culture. He drew particular attention tothe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and International Corporate GovernanceNetwork (ICGN) codes, saying that they were, ‘silly attempts to harmonise practice’. He said that in some countries,for example, there were ‘family reasons’ for making the chairman and chief executive the same person. In othercountries, he said, the separation of these roles seemed to work. Another delegate, Alliya Yongvanich, said that theroles of chief executive and chairman should always be separated because of what she called ‘accountability toshareholders’.One delegate, Vincent Viola, said that the right approach was to allow each country to set up its own corporategovernance provisions. He said that it was suitable for some countries to produce and abide by their own ‘verystructured’ corporate governance provisions, but in some other parts of the world, the local culture was to allow whathe called, ‘local interpretation of the rules’. He said that some cultures valued highly structured governance systemswhile others do not care as much.Required:(a) Explain the roles of the chairman in corporate governance. (5 marks)
3 At a recent international meeting of business leaders, Seamus O’Brien said that multi-jurisdictional attempts to
regulate corporate governance were futile because of differences in national culture. He drew particular attention to
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and International Corporate Governance
Network (ICGN) codes, saying that they were, ‘silly attempts to harmonise practice’. He said that in some countries,
for example, there were ‘family reasons’ for making the chairman and chief executive the same person. In other
countries, he said, the separation of these roles seemed to work. Another delegate, Alliya Yongvanich, said that the
roles of chief executive and chairman should always be separated because of what she called ‘accountability to
shareholders’.
One delegate, Vincent Viola, said that the right approach was to allow each country to set up its own corporate
governance provisions. He said that it was suitable for some countries to produce and abide by their own ‘very
structured’ corporate governance provisions, but in some other parts of the world, the local culture was to allow what
he called, ‘local interpretation of the rules’. He said that some cultures valued highly structured governance systems
while others do not care as much.
Required:
(a) Explain the roles of the chairman in corporate governance. (5 marks)
相关考题：
It was too noisy, ______ we couldn’t hear _____ he said at the meeting. ( ) A、 so, thatB、 so, whatC、 that, whatD、 to, that
The residents of 24 Acacia Grove were dissatisfied with the condition of the property, so John Preston called a meeting to discuss things last week. At the meeting John suggested setting up a residents’ committee. Everyone was so worried and angry about the agent’s inactivity that they agreed, and they elected John as chairman of the committee. Many residents said that they were tired of telephoning the agent and tired of complaining about the flats. Although the agent was responsible for the flats, they thought that he didn’t do enough. Therefore John was asked to write to the agent and say that they were disappointed with the management of the flats.The next service payment was due at the end of the month. However, they agreed not to pay it until they were happy with the plans to improve the property. They decided to tell the agent that he must start the work within one month. They all went away very pleased with themselves.1.Why did John Preston call a meeting last week?A.Because the residents were dissatisfied with the presents’ committee.B.Because the residents were dissatisfied with the bad management of the flats.C.Because some residents requested to change the present residents’ committee. E. Because he wanted to become chairman of the committee.2.Who elected John as chairman of the committee?A.The agentB.the residentsC.the committeeD.Acacia Grove3.What does the word “inactivity”mean in the thrid sentence in Para.1？“inactivity”A.weaknessB.ProgressC.StateD.Lace of actions4.What does the word “due” mean in the first sentence in Para.2？A.to be paidB. ProperC. OwedD. large5.When did they agree to pay the next service payment?A.at the end of the monthB.Within one monthC.When they were happy with the plans to improve the property.D.The agent would tell them.
1 The board of Worldwide Minerals (WM) was meeting for the last monthly meeting before the publication of the yearendresults. There were two points of discussion on the agenda. First was the discussion of the year-end results;second was the crucial latest minerals reserves report.WM is a large listed multinational company that deals with natural minerals that are extracted from the ground,processed and sold to a wide range of industrial and construction companies. In order to maintain a consistent supplyof minerals into its principal markets, an essential part of WM’s business strategy is the seeking out of new sourcesand the measurement of known reserves. Investment analysts have often pointed out that WM’s value rests principallyupon the accuracy of its reserve reports as these are the best indicators of future cash flows and earnings. In order tosupport this key part of its strategy, WM has a large and well-funded geological survey department which, accordingto the company website, contains ‘some of the world’s best geologists and minerals scientists’. In its investor relationsliterature, the company claims that:‘our experts search the earth for mineral reserves and once located, they are carefully measured so that the companycan always report on known reserves. This knowledge underpins market confidence and keeps our customerssupplied with the inventory they need. You can trust our reserve reports – our reputation depends on it!’At the board meeting, the head of the geological survey department, Ranjana Tyler, reported that there was a problemwith the latest report because one of the major reserve figures had recently been found to be wrong. The mineral inquestion, mallerite, was WM’s largest mineral in volume terms and Ranjana explained that the mallerite reserves ina deep mine in a certain part of the world had been significantly overestimated. She explained that, based on theinterim minerals report, the stock market analysts were expecting WM to announce known mallerite reserves of4·8 billion tonnes. The actual figure was closer to 2·4 billion tonnes. It was agreed that this difference was sufficientto affect WM’s market value, despite the otherwise good results for the past year. Vanda Monroe, the finance director,said that the share price reflects market confidence in future earnings. She said that an announcement of an incorrectestimation like that for mallerite would cause a reduction in share value. More importantly for WM itself, however, itcould undermine confidence in the geological survey department. All agreed that as this was strategically importantfor the company, it was a top priority to deal with this problem.Ranjana explained how the situation had arisen. The major mallerite mine was in a country new to WM’s operations.The WM engineer at the mine said it was difficult to deal with some local people because, according to the engineer,‘they didn’t like to give us bad news’. The engineer explained that when the mine was found to be smaller thanoriginally thought, he was not told until it was too late to reduce the price paid for the mine. This was embarrassingand it was agreed that it would affect market confidence in WM if it was made public.The board discussed the options open to it. The chairman, who was also a qualified accountant, was Tim Blake. Hebegan by expressing serious concern about the overestimation and then invited the board to express views freely. GaryHowells, the operations director, said that because disclosing the error to the market would be so damaging, it mightbe best to keep it a secret and hope that new reserves can be found in the near future that will make up for theshortfall. He said that it was unlikely that this concealment would be found out as shareholders trusted WM and theyhad many years of good investor relations to draw on. Vanda Monroe, the finance director, reminded the board thatthe company was bound to certain standards of truthfulness and transparency by its stock market listing. She pointedout that they were constrained by codes of governance and ethics by the stock market and that colleagues should beaware that WM would be in technical breach of these if the incorrect estimation was concealed from investors. Finally,Martin Chan, the human resources director, said that the error should be disclosed to the investors because he wouldnot want to be deceived if he were an outside investor in the company. He argued that whatever the governance codessaid and whatever the cost in terms of reputation and market value, WM should admit its error and cope withwhatever consequences arose. The WM board contains three non-executive directors and their views were alsoinvited.At the preliminary results presentation some time later, one analyst, Christina Gonzales, who had become aware ofthe mallerite problem, asked about internal audit and control systems, and whether they were adequate in such areserve-sensitive industry. WM’s chairman, Tim Blake, said that he intended to write a letter to all investors andanalysts in the light of the mallerite problem which he hoped would address some of the issues that Miss Gonzaleshad raised.Required:(a) Define ‘transparency’ and evaluate its importance as an underlying principle in corporate governance and inrelevant and reliable financial reporting. Your answer should refer to the case as appropriate. (10 marks)
3 Susan Paullaos was recently appointed as a non-executive member of the internal audit committee of Gluck andGoodman, a public listed company producing complex engineering products. Barney Chester, the executive financedirector who chairs the committee, has always viewed the purpose of internal audit as primarily financial in natureand as long as financial controls are seen to be fully in place, he is less concerned with other aspects of internalcontrol. When Susan asked about operational controls in the production facility Barney said that these were not theconcern of the internal audit committee. This, he said, was because as long as the accounting systems and financialcontrols were fully functional, all other systems may be assumed to be working correctly.Susan, however, was concerned with the operational and quality controls in the production facility. She spoke toproduction director Aaron Hardanger, and asked if he would be prepared to produce regular reports for the internalaudit committee on levels of specification compliance and other control issues. Mr Hardanger said that the internalaudit committee had always trusted him because his reputation as a manager was very good. He said that he hadnever been asked to provide compliance evidence to the internal audit committee and saw no reason as to why heshould start doing so now.At board level, the non-executive chairman, George Allejandra, said that he only instituted the internal audit committeein the first place in order to be seen to be in compliance with the stock market’s requirement that Gluck and Goodmanshould have one. He believed that internal audit committees didn’t add materially to the company. They were, hebelieved, one of those ‘outrageous demands’ that regulatory authorities made without considering the consequencesin smaller companies nor the individual needs of different companies. He also complained about the need to have aninternal auditor. He said that Gluck and Goodman used to have a full time internal auditor but when he left a yearago, he wasn’t replaced. The audit committee didn’t feel it needed an internal auditor because Barney Chester believedthat only financial control information was important and he could get that information from his managementaccountant.Susan asked Mr Allejandra if he recognised that the company was exposing itself to increased market risks by failingto have an effective audit committee. Mr Allejandra said he didn’t know what a market risk was.Required:(a) Internal control and audit are considered to be important parts of sound corporate governance.(i) Describe FIVE general objectives of internal control. (5 marks)
4 At an academic conference, a debate took place on the implementation of corporate governance practices indeveloping countries. Professor James West from North America argued that one of the key needs for developingcountries was to implement rigorous systems of corporate governance to underpin investor confidence in businessesin those countries. If they did not, he warned, there would be no lasting economic growth as potential foreign inwardinvestors would be discouraged from investing.In reply, Professor Amy Leroi, herself from a developing country, reported that many developing countries arediscussing these issues at governmental level. One issue, she said, was about whether to adopt a rules-based or aprinciples-based approach. She pointed to evidence highlighting a reduced number of small and medium sized initialpublic offerings in New York compared to significant growth in London. She suggested that this change could beattributed to the costs of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley in the United States and that over-regulation would be thelast thing that a developing country would need. She concluded that a principles-based approach, such as in theUnited Kingdom, was preferable for developing countries.Professor Leroi drew attention to an important section of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to illustrate her point. The keyrequirement of that section was to externally report on – and have attested (verified) – internal controls. This was, sheargued, far too ambitious for small and medium companies that tended to dominate the economies of developingcountries.Professor West countered by saying that whilst Sarbanes-Oxley may have had some problems, it remained the casethat it regulated corporate governance in the ‘largest and most successful economy in the world’. He said that ruleswill sometimes be hard to follow but that is no reason to abandon them in favour of what he referred to as ‘softer’approaches.(a) There are arguments for both rules and principles-based approaches to corporate governance.Required:(i) Describe the essential features of a rules-based approach to corporate governance; (3 marks)
(c) At a recent meeting of the board of directors, the managing director of Envico Ltd said that he considered itessential to be able to assess the ‘value for money’ of each seminar. He suggested that the quality of the speakersand the comfort of the seminar rooms were two assessment criteria that should be used in order to assess the‘value for money’ of each seminar.Required:Discuss SIX separate and distinct assessment criteria (including those suggested by the managing director),that would enable the management of Envico Ltd to assess the ‘value for money’ of each seminar.(6 marks)
(d) The managing partner of HLP stated at a recent partners’ meeting that ‘every advisor should aim to ensure that95% of all hours he/she works are billed to clients. This will ensure that we remain both profitable andcompetitive’.Required:Discuss the statement of the managing partner, drawing attention to any concerns that you may haveregarding the statement. (6 marks)
2 Plaza, a limited liability company, is a major food retailer. Further to the success of its national supermarkets in thelate 1990s it has extended its operations throughout Europe and most recently to Asia, where it is expanding rapidly.You are a manager in Andando, a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants. You have been approached by DuncanSeymour, the chief finance officer of Plaza, to advise on a bid that Plaza is proposing to make for the purchase ofMCM. You have ascertained the following from a briefing note received from Duncan.MCM provides training in management, communications and marketing to a wide range of corporate clients, includingmulti-nationals. The ‘MCM’ name is well regarded in its areas of expertise. MCM is currently wholly-owned byFrontiers, an international publisher of textbooks, whose shares are quoted on a recognised stock exchange. MCMhas a National and an International business.The National business comprises 11 training centres. The audited financial statements show revenue of$12·5 million and profit before taxation of $1·3 million for this geographic segment for the year to 31 December2004. Most of the National business’s premises are owned or held on long leases. Trainers in the National businessare mainly full-time employees.The International business has five training centres in Europe and Asia. For these segments, revenue amounted to$6·3 million and profit before tax $2·4 million for the year to 31 December 2004. Most of the International business’spremises are held on operating leases. International trade receivables at 31 December 2004 amounted to$3·7 million. Although the International centres employ some full-time trainers, the majority of trainers provide theirservices as freelance consultants.Required:(a) Define ‘due diligence’ and describe the nature and purpose of a due diligence review. (4 marks)
He didn't come to the meeting yesterday.That is _______ he didn't know our decision. A.whyB.forC.asD.because
INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION Transportation plays an important part in international business because goods produced have to be delivered to the buyers abroad, and the delivery of goods is to be made possible by transportayion services. Goods are carried by several means of transportation - on road or rail, by sea or air.And in recent years,combined transportation which is a road-sea-rail carriage has appeared. With the expansion of international trade, the container service has become popular. The use of containers provides a highly effective form. of transportation by road, rail and sea. Basically, about 98% of world trade is carried out by sea transportation.Besides transportation by sea, road, or rail, nowadays in order to speed up delivery, carriage by air has also become popular.1. Transportation plays an important part in international business because goods produced have to be sent to everywhere in the world.()2. Usually goods are carried by many ways of transportation.()3. In recent years, combined transportation which is a road-sea-rail carriage appeared.()4. With the expansion of international trade, the container service has become popular.()5. The use of containers gives a very helpful method of transportation by air.()
At parties, John said, he simply ______ ballooning into the conversation, and he became the center of attention. A.intriguedB.introducedC.informedD.intervened
Langston attended a special meeting ____.(Salvation) A. Together with many other hardened sinnersB. To become a member of the churchC. Because he was regarded as a young sinnerD. Because he had broken religious laws
Nine in ten parents said there were significant differences in their approach to educating their children compared with __ of their parents.A. those B. one C. both D. that
资料：A man looking for art for his new home has won a $1 million Picasso painting with a $138 raffle ticket. Jeffrey Gonano told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he's not sure he'll ever hang the masterpiece in his home in Wexford, in western Pennsylvania, given its value. The 25-year-old Gonano, who works for his family's fire sprinkler business, learned Wednesday that his ticket had won the Paris raffle. Organizers say nearly 50,000 tickets were sold worldwide, for 100 euros apiece, to benefit a Lebanese charity.The 1914 work, "Man in the Opera Hat," dates from Spanish master Pablo Picasso's cubist period. Picasso died in 1973.Gonano said he wants to keep the artwork, which features vivid shapes in opaque gouache paint."Maybe I'll lend it to a museum and let them put it on display rather than putting it in a vault, so other people can enjoy it," he told the newspaper. "It all depends. I don't know what the taxes are or anything."Gonano's girlfriend, Gloria Spataro, said he liked the odds in the contest and felt optimistic. Nonetheless, she presumed he was joking when he said he'd won."He thought the odds were actually pretty good compared to something like a lottery," said Spataro, of Pittsburgh. "He said, 'This will be my only chance to actually own something like this.'"The raffle raised about $3.5 million for the International Association for the Safeguard of Tyr, a UNESCO heritage site, said Reem Chalabi, an education coordinator with the group.Gonano and Spataro had recently begun to explore art galleries, and she had bought him a photograph by a Buddhist artist for Christmas."I'm glad I actually gave it to him before," she said, "because if I gave it to him afterward, that would look pretty insignificant compared to a Picasso."How did the man get the Picasso painting?A.He bought it for his new home.B.He received it from Picasso's family.C.He won the French lottery.D.He got it from a charity organization
资料：Business,academic and civic leaders in Cambridge have warned that one of Britain’s major economic growth cities is under threat unless the government acts quickly to restore trust post-Brexit.Company executives and educationists report some highly skilled foreign nationals quitting or refusing to commit to new jobs in Britain because of uncertainty over their future legal status here.It has in the past boasted of creating employment faster than China,amid a boom in the technology and bioscience sectors,which led to the city being labelled”Sillicon fen”,but now there are fears of a big slowdown.“This is a unique economic asset for Europe,”said Lord Lansley,the former Conservation MP for South Cambridgeshire, after a specially convened meeting to discuss the problems with local politicians and others.”There is a [ political]vacuum out there and there does not seem to be a [ post Brexit] plan.There are things we need and if we get them we can continue to prosper and be more successful”,Lansley added.He has drawn up a Cambridge declaration with his colleagues meant to reassure existing academic and business staff from abroad that their presence will be protected .”We are committed to international collaboration in research,science and the exploitation of innovative,knowledge-intensive enterprises,”says the document.Lansley says he will be pushing the British government to give acquired rights to the 9,000 European citizens living in the East Anglian city out of a total population of 124,000.He also wants to see a continuation of free labour movement to allow Europeans to come to work and study in Cambridge and says”We need free movement for them to come to work and to study here.”Why do these skilled foreign nationals choose not to work in Britain?A.Because of the uncertaintyB.Because the economic slowdown after Britian leaving the EUC.Because the increasing,difficulty of finding of finding a job in BritainD.Because they may lose legal status after Brexit
共用题干Older Volcanic EruptionsVolcanoes were more destructive in ancient history,not because they were bigger,but because the carbon dioxide they released wiped out life with greater ease.Paul Wignall from the University of Leeds was investigating the link between volcanic eruptions and mass extinctions.Not all volcanic eruptions killed off large numbers of animals,but all the mass extinctions over the past 300 million years coincided with huge formations of volcanic rock.To his surprise,the older the massive volcanic eruptions were,the more damage they seemed to do.He calculated the"killing efficiency" for these volcanoes by comparing the proportion of life they killed off with the volume of lava（熔岩）that they produced.He found that size for size,older eruptions were at least 10 times as effective at wiping out life as their more recent rivals.The Permian（二叠纪）extinction,for example,which happened 250 million years ago,is marked by floods of volcanic rock in Siberia that cover an area roughly the size of western Europe.Those volcanoes are thought to have pumped out about 10 gigatonnes of carbon as carbon dioxide.The global warming that followed wiped out 80 percent of all marine genera（种类）at the time,and it took 5 million years for the planet to recover.Yet 60 million years ago,there was another huge amount of volcanic activity and global warming but no mass extinction.Some animals did disappear but things returned to normal within ten thousand of years."The most recent ones hardlyhave an effect at all,"Wignall says.He ignored the extinction which wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago,because many scientists believe it was primarily caused by the impact of an asteroid（小行星）.He thinks that older volcanoes had more killing power because more recent life forms were better adapted to dealing with increased levels of CO2．Vincent Courtill.ot,director of the Paris Geophysical Institute in France,says that Wignall's idea is provocative.But he says it is incredibly hard to do these sorts of calculations.He points out that the killing power of volcanic eruptions depends on how long they lasted.And it is impossible to tell whether the huge blasts lasted for tliousands or millions of years.He also adds that it is difficult to estimate how much lava prehistoric volcanoes produced,and that lava volume may not necessarily correspond to carbon dioxide emissions。Why did older volcanic eruptions do more damage than more recent ones?A:Because they killed off life more easily.B:Because they were brighter.C:Because they were larger.D:Because they were hotter.
共用题干Older Volcanic EruptionsVolcanoes were more destructive in ancient history,not because they were bigger,but because the carbon dioxide they released wiped out life with greater ease.Paul Wignall from the University of Leeds was investigating the link between volcanic eruptions and mass extinctions.Not all volcanic eruptions killed off large numbers of animals,but all the mass extinctions over the past 300 million years coincided with huge formations of volcanic rock.To his surprise,the older the massive volcanic eruptions were,the more damage they seemed to do.He calculated the"killing efficiency"for these volcanoes by comparing the proportion of life they killed off with the volume of lava（熔 岩）that they produced.He found that size for size,older eruptions were at least 10 times as effective at wiping out life as their more recent rivals.The Peimian（二叠纪）extinction,for example,which happened 250 million years ago,is marked by floods of volcanic rock in Siberia that cover an area roughly the size of western Europe.Those volcanoes are thought to have pumped out about 10 gigatonnes（十亿吨）of carbon as carbon dioxide.The global warming that followed wiped out 80 prcent of all marine genera（种类）at the time , and it took 5 million years for the planet to recover.Yet 60 million years ago,there was another huge amount of volcanic activity and global warming but no mass extinction.Some animals did disappear but things returned to normal within ten thousands of years."The most recent ones hardly have an effect at all."Wignall says.He ignored the extinction which wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago,because many scientists believe it was primarily caused by the impact of an asteroid（小行星）.He thinks that older volcanoes had more killing power because more recent life forms were better adapted to dealing with increased levels of CO2.Vincent Courtillot,director of the Paris Geophysical Institute in France,says that Wignall's idea is provocative.But he says it is incredibly hard to do these sorts of calculations.He points out that the killing power of volcanic eruptions depends on how long they lasted.And it is impossible to tell whether the huge blasts lasted for thousands or millions of years.He also adds that it is difficult to estimate how much lava prehistoric volcanoes produced,and that lava volume may not necessarily correspond to carbon dioxide emissions.Why were older volcanic eruptions more destructive than more recent ones according to Wignall?A:Because they were brighter.B:Because they were larger.C:Because more recent life forms were better adapted to CO2.D:Because older volcanic eruptions released more lava.
He talked at the top of his voice,__________he drew nobody′s attention.A.insteadB.soC.yetD.though
单选题请阅读 Passage 1, 完成第 21~25小题oPassage 1Europe is not a gender-equality heaven. In particular, the corporate workplace willnever be completely family-friendly until women are part of senior managementdecisions, and Europe ' s top corporate-governance positions remain overwhelminglymale. Indeed, women hold only 14 percentof positions on European corporate boards. The Europe Union is now consideringlegislation to compel corporate boards to maintain a certain proportion ofwomen-up to 60 percent. This proposedmandate was born of frustration. Last year,Europe Commission Vice President Viviane Reding issued a call to voluntaryaction. Reding invited corporations tosign up for gender balance goal of 40 percent female board membership. But her appeal was considered a failure: only24 companies took it up. Do we need quotas to ensure that women cancontinue to climb the corporate ladder fairly as they balance work and family?Personally, I don't likequotas, Reding said recently. But I like what the quotas do. Quotas get action: they open the way to equality and they break throughthe glass ceiling, according to Reding, a result seen in France and othercountries with legally binding provisions on placing women in top businesspositions. I understand Reding's reluctance-and herfrustration. I don't like quotas either;they run counter to my belief in meritocracy, governance by the capable. But, when one considers the obstacles toachieving the meritocratic ideal, it does look as if a fairer world must betemporarily ordered. After all, four decades of evidence has nowshown that corporations in Europe as well as the US are evading themeritocratic hiring and promotion of women to top positions-no matter how much soft pressure is put upon them. When women do break through to the summit ofcorporate power-as, for example, Sheryl Sandberg recently did at Facebook-theyattract massive attention precisely because they remain the exception to therule. Ifappropriate pubic policies were in place to help all women-whether CEOs ortheir children's caregivers-and all families, Sandberg would be no morenewsworthy than any other highly capable person living in a more just society.According to Reding, quotas may help womenAget top business positionsBsee through the glass ceilingCbalance work and familyDanticipate legal results
判断题nternational Transport Transport plays an important part in international business because goods produced have to be delivered to the buyers abroad, and the delivery of goods is to be made possible by transport services. Goods are carried by several means of transport on road or rail, by sea or air. And in recent years, combined transport which is a road-sea-rail carriage appeared. With the expansion of international trade, the container service has become popular. The use of containers provides a , highly effective form of transport . by road, rail and sea, Basically , orabout 98% of world trade is carried out by sea transport.Besides transport by sea, road, or rail, nowadays in order to speed up delivery, carriage by air international has also become popular. Transport plays an important part in international business because goods produced have to be sent to everywhere in the world.A对B错
单选题Why do some companies design their business cards in full color?ATo keep up with the trend.BTo make the cards look fancy.CTo distinguish themselves from others.DTo vividly demonstrate the corporate culture.
问答题Task I(10 marks) You are a member of an organisation which meets regularly at a particular restaurant. The most recent meal you had there was not satisfactory, and you were very disappointed with the quality of the food and the behaviour of the staff. Write a letter to the manager of the restaurant. Explain what was wrong with the meal and the service, and suggest what he/she should do to ensure that you and your group return to the restaurant.You should write about 100 words. You do NOT need to write your own address.
单选题Nine in ten parents said there were significant differences in their approach to educating their children compared with ______ of their parents.AthoseBoneCbothDthat
问答题Speaking at the Third Joint Meeting of the Chinese Physics Societies held in Hong Kong recently, Nobel Laureate Prof Yang Chen-ning talked in particular about how Chinese culture—or Eastern cultures in general — would affect the development of science in the 21st century. To him, the issue will be an extremely complex one. On the one hand, Eastern societies traditionally value education and family ties, attaching great importance to the upbringing of their young. Among scientists and technologists worldwide, said Prof Yang, those of Asian origin would undoubtedly emerge as a vital contingent with their distinctive contributions to the rapid advancements in high technologies. On the other hand, Eastern people differ from Westerners in some cultural traits, Prof Yang pointed out. For example, physicists in the United States are generally bolder in putting forward fresh views and challenging existing authorities. And almost all scientists there are “aggressive”, said the Nobel Laureate. The epithet has no Chinese equivalent, he noted, probably because “aggressive” ways and attitudes are missing in Chinese culture.
单选题请阅读 Passage 1, 完成第 21~25小题oPassage 1Europe is not a gender-equality heaven. In particular, the corporate workplace willnever be completely family-friendly until women are part of senior managementdecisions, and Europe ' s top corporate-governance positions remain overwhelminglymale. Indeed, women hold only 14 percentof positions on European corporate boards. The Europe Union is now consideringlegislation to compel corporate boards to maintain a certain proportion ofwomen-up to 60 percent. This proposedmandate was born of frustration. Last year,Europe Commission Vice President Viviane Reding issued a call to voluntaryaction. Reding invited corporations tosign up for gender balance goal of 40 percent female board membership. But her appeal was considered a failure: only24 companies took it up. Do we need quotas to ensure that women cancontinue to climb the corporate ladder fairly as they balance work and family?Personally, I don't likequotas, Reding said recently. But I like what the quotas do. Quotas get action: they open the way to equality and they break throughthe glass ceiling, according to Reding, a result seen in France and othercountries with legally binding provisions on placing women in top businesspositions. I understand Reding's reluctance-and herfrustration. I don't like quotas either;they run counter to my belief in meritocracy, governance by the capable. But, when one considers the obstacles toachieving the meritocratic ideal, it does look as if a fairer world must betemporarily ordered. After all, four decades of evidence has nowshown that corporations in Europe as well as the US are evading themeritocratic hiring and promotion of women to top positions-no matter how much soft pressure is put upon them. When women do break through to the summit ofcorporate power-as, for example, Sheryl Sandberg recently did at Facebook-theyattract massive attention precisely because they remain the exception to therule. Ifappropriate pubic policies were in place to help all women-whether CEOs ortheir children's caregivers-and all families, Sandberg would be no morenewsworthy than any other highly capable person living in a more just society.In the European corporate workplace, generallyAwomen take the leadBmen have the final sayCcorporate governance is overwhelmedDsenior management is family-friendly