2018年河南专升本英语真题阶段测试——阅读9

Passage 3

In the 1920s demand for American farm products fell, as European countries began to recover from World War I and instituted austerity（紧缩）programs to reduce their imports. The result was a sharp drop in farm prices. This period was more disastrous for farmers than earlier times had been, because farmers were no longer self-sufficient. They were paying for machinery, seed, and fertilizer, and they were also buying consumer goods. The prices of the items farmers bought remained constant, while prices they received for their products fell. These developments were made worse by the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and extended throughout the 1930s

In 1929, under President Herbert Hoover, the Federal Farm Board was organized. It established the principle of direct interference with supply and demand, and it represented the first national commitment to provide greater economic stability for farmers.

President Hoover’s successor attached even more importance to this problem. One of the first measures proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he took office in 1933 was the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was subsequently passed by Congress. This law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the grounds that general taxes were being collected to pay one special group of people. However, new laws were passed immediately that achieved the same result of resting soil and providing flood-control measures, but which were based on the principle of soil conservation. The Roosevelt Administration believed that rebuilding the nation’s soil was in the national interest and was not simply a plan to help farmers at the expense of other citizens. Later the government guaranteed loans to farmers so that they could buy farm machinery, hybrid（杂交）grain, and fertilizers.

41. What brought about the decline in the demand for American farm products?

A) The impact of the Great Depression.

B) The shrinking of overseas markets.

C) The destruction caused by the First World War.

D) The increased exports of European countries.

42. The chief concern of the American government in the area of agriculture in the 1920s was ____________________.

A) to increase farm production

B) to establish agricultural laws

C) to prevent farmers from going bankrupt

D) to promote the mechanization of agriculture

43. The Agricultural Adjustment Act encouraged American farmers to __________.

A) reduce their scale of production

B) make full use of their land

C) adjust the prices of their farm products

D) be self-sufficient in agricultural production

44. The Supreme Court rejected the Agricultural Adjustment Act because it believed that the Act ______________.

A) might cause greater scarcity of farm products

B) didn’t give the Secretary of Agriculture enough power

C) would benefit neither the government nor the farmers

D) benefited one group of citizens at the expense of others

45. It was claimed that the new laws passed during the Roosevelt Administration were aimed at _______________.

A) reducing the cost of farming

B) conserving soil in the long-term interest of the nation

C) lowering the burden of farmers

D) helping farmers without shifting the burden onto other taxpayers

答案B C A D B

Passage 4

To understand the marketing concept, it is only necessary to understand the difference between marketing and selling. Not too many years ago, most industries concentrated primarily on the efficient production of goods, and then relied on “persuasive salesmanship” to move as much of these goods as possible. Such production and selling focuses on the needs of the seller to produce goods and then convert them into money.

Marketing, on the other hand, focuses on the wants of consumers. It begins with first analyzing the preferences and demands of consumers and then producing goods that will satisfy them. This eye-on-the-consumer approach is known as the marketing concept, which simply means that instead of trying to sell whatever is easiest to produce or buy for resale, the makers and dealers first endeavor to find out what the consumer wants to buy and then go about making it available for purchase.

This concept does not imply that business is benevolent（慈善的）or that consumer satisfaction is given priority over profit in a company. There are always two sides to every business transaction – the firm and the customer – and each must be satisfied before trade occurs. Successful merchants and producers, however, recognize that the surest route to profit is through understanding and catering to customers. A striking example of the importance of catering to the consumer presented itself in mid-1985, when Coca Cola changed the flavor of its drink. The non-acceptance of the new flavor by a significant portion of the public brought about a prompt restoration of the Classic Coke, which was then marketed alongside the new King Customer ruled!

46. The marketing concept discussed in the passage is, in essence, ____________.

A) the practice of turning goods into money

B) making goods available for purchase

C) the customer-centred approach

D) a form of persuasive salesmanship

47. What was the main concern of industrialists before the marketing concept was widely accepted?

A) The needs of the market.

B) The efficiency of production.

C) The satisfaction of the user.

D) The preferences of the dealer.

48. According to the passage, “to move as much of these goods as possible” (Lines 3-4, Para. I) means “_______________”.

A) to sell the largest possible amount of goods

B) to transport goods as efficiently as possible

C) to dispose of these goods in large quantities

D) to redesign these goods for large-scale production

49. What does the restoration of the Classic Coke best illustrate?

A) Traditional goods have a stronger appeal to the majority of people.

B) It takes time for a new product to be accepted by the public.

C) Consumers with conservative tastes are often difficult to please.

D) Products must be designed to suit the taste of the consumer.

50. In discussing the marketing concept, the author focuses on ___________.

A) its main characteristic

B) its social impact

C) its possible consequence

D) its theoretical basis

答案C B A D A