题目内容
Investors soon will be able to own shares of Facebook stock. The world’s biggest social media network presented documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. The documents are required before the company can make its initial public offering（首次公开募股）or IPO. A date for the stock sale has yet to be announced.
Experts say Facebook could raise about five billion dollars. That would be one of the biggest IPO sales ever. And it would be much bigger than Google’s first public stock sale in 2004. At that time, the Internet search company raised almost two billion dollars.
Facebook has 800 million users around the world. It is the second most visited website after Google. Now, experts say the social media network is in a position to become one of the most valuable Internet companies.
Stock expert Anupam Palit at Greencrest Capital says that among social media sites, Facebook is in a class by itself.
“It is the biggest company in this space and we believe what makes it very unique from every other company that went public last year in this space is that it is very, very profitable.” said Anupam Palit.
Early estimates place the total value of the social network between 75 and 100 billion dollars. That includes earlier investments by other companies. David Kirkpatrick wrote the book The Facebook Effect. He says Facebook’s IPO will be historic.
The stock sale could also make Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg one of the world’s youngest billionaires. He is only 27.
Investment companies are likely to buy Facebook stock first. But investment manager Jim O’Shaugnessy says that is not so bad. He says the prices of some IPO stocks are too high and fall not long after they first go on sale.
Recently, share prices of some Internet businesses have fallen after their stocks were first offered. For example, stocks of Linkedln, Groupon and Zynga, dropped in price by as much as 25% after going public.
There were similar questions eight years ago when Google first sold stock to the public. Today, Google is one of the world’s most valuable technology companies.
1.Which of the following is true about Google?
A. Google’s first public stock sale began in 2005.
B. Google is the world’s most valuable company.
C. Google’s share price rose after its stock was first offered.
D. Google raised almost two billion dollars from its first public stock sale.
2.According to the passage, we can know Facebook ________.
A. has 800 million users in the USA B. has announced the date for its first stock sale
C. is the most visited website today D. is the world’s biggest social media network
3.We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. Facebook stock is being sold very well
B. Mark Zuckerberg will get much money from the stock sale
C. Mark Zuckerberg was only 27 when Facebook was founded
D. investment companies have bought many Facebook shares
4.Which would be the best title for this passage?
A. Facebook and Its IPO B. The Difference Between Facebook and Google
C. The Founder of Facebook D. A Book Called The Facebook Effect
1.D
2.D
3.B
4.A
【解析】略
Holiday Inns and McDonald’s. both saw unmatched growth in the 1960s. Their growth opened another direct business operation—franchising.
These operations have the same general pattern. The franchisor, the parent company, first establishes a successful retail business. As it expands, it sees a profit potential in offering others the right to open similar business under its name. The parent company’s methods and means of identification with consumers are included in this right. The parent company supplies skill, and may build and rent stores to franchisees. For these advantages the franchisee pays the franchisor a considerable fee. However, some of the advantages and disadvantages are different.
By extending a “proven” marketing method, a parent can profit in several ways. First, the franchisee’s purchase price gives the parent an immediate return on the plan. Then the sale of supplies to the franchisee provides a continuing source of profits. As new businesses are added and the company’s reputation spreads, the values of the franchise increases and sales of franchises become easier. The snowballing effect can be dramatic. Such growth, too, bring into play the economies of scale. Regional or national advertising that might be financially impossible for a franchisor with 20 franchises could be profitable for one with 40.
The parent, then, finds immediate gains from the opportunity to expand markets on the basis of reputation alone, without having to put up capital or take the risk of owning retail stores. Added to this advantage is a less obvious but material one, Skilled, responsible retail managers are rare. People who invest their capital in franchises, though, probably come closer to the ideal than do paid managers. In fact, the franchisee is an independent store operator working for the franchisor, but without an independent’s freedom to drop supplies at will. Of course the factory’s costs of selling supplies are less. But also certainly the franchisee buying goods that have had broad consumer acceptance will not casually change supplies, even when the contract permits. If the hamburger is not what the customer expected, they may not return. Having paid for the goodwill, the franchisee won’t thoughtlessly destroy it.
【小题1】 Franchising refers to a business operation in which a successful parent company .
| A．sells name-brand goods to a private investor |
| B．rents proven ideas and techniques for investment |
| C．sells the right, the guidance to a business under its name |
| D．takes no advertising responsibility for individual investors |
| A．an immediate investment return |
| B．the profit from the sale of supplies |
| C．the ownership of additional retail stores |
| D．the possibility of profitable advertising |
| A．the advantages and disadvantages of franchising |
| B．the benefits of franchising to the franchisor |
| C．the unmatched economic growth in the 1960’s |
| D．some regional and national business operation |
| A．More advantages of franchising. |
| B．Negative aspects related to franchising. |
| C．The standard of consumer acceptance. |
| D．Risks of investment besides franchising |
London, April 28---The Man Group, a British hedge fund, is betting that investors will want to read more than the latest how-to- get –rich-quick business book.
In a five-year deal worth roughly $3.6 million announced last week, Man has agreed to sponsor(主办)the Booker Prize for Fiction, which will be renamed the Man Booker Prize. Since creating the award in 1969, Booker P.L.G., a British food group, in June 2000, executives began considering attracting outside sponsors. Man will be the first of these. Bill Grimsey, the chief of the Big Food Group, saw little business sense in a link between a food supplier and a literary prize, explained Dotti Irving, a spokeswoman for the Booker Prize foundation.
Such dissimilarities (差异) have not reduced Man’s enthusiasm for the prize which is expected to be open for the first time to American authors. David Browne, a spokesman for Man, said most of the firm’s investors are high-net-worth individuals who appreciate literature. “The people who buy hedge funds,” Mr. Browne said, “also read.”
Under the new agreement, authors will get more money. The winner of the annual prize, to be awarded in October, will receive $73,000 , up from $30,000 the Australian writer Peter Carey won last year for his novel “True History of the Kelley Gang.”
The six short-listed authors will each receive $3,600, up from $1,500. Having a hedge fund as a backer apparently has its perks.(福利).
【小题1】The article is mainly about ____.
| A．the disagreement between two groups | B．the Booker Prize Foundation |
| C．the Big Food Group | D．The new development of Booker Prize |
| A．best-selling book | B．magazine | C．newspaper | D．advertisement |
| A．Bill Grimsey decided to open the prize for American authors |
| B．“How-to-get-rich-quick” business was written by Peter Carey. |
| C．Under the agreement, the Booker Prize will be sponsored only by Man. |
| D．If you win the prize, you will get $73,000 next October |
| A．David Browne | B．Peter Carey | C．Bill Grimsey | D．Dotti Irving |
.
Lower Risk with the Potential for High Returns—NOW
You Can Have the Best of Both Worlds
in Investment Portfolio Fund!
To reduce the risk of exposing your money to the ups and downs of direct investment into shares，your money will be spread across a wide range of investments from all over the world with the aim of achieving steady long term growth．This has always been the aim of our long established and highly successful Investment Portfolio Fund，made up of a balanced selection of different investments as explained by the chart below．
 |
To manage these investments，we rely on no less than five leading fund managers with proven expert skill as specialist in their chosen investment fields. With their different approaches to investment, these five fund managers have been specially selected by Marks and Spencer Financial Services as we believe they will exchange their opinion with each other perfectly in meeting our overall aim for the fund of consistent growth. This balanced management approach, not only gives the potential to achieve better results than market averages in individual industry but also allows quick reactions to protect your interests in the event of market downturns.
So who are the fund managers selected to look after your Investment Portfolio Investment and what exactly will they be doing on your behalf?
BARCLAYS GLOBAL INVESTORS LTD
BGI have been chosen to track the FTSE A1l Share Index (指数)．For this，they have put together a portfolio of shares which closely resembles the UK equity market as a whole．
BAILLE GIFFORD
EBG will be looking for companies that can offer excellent growth chances．
GMO WOOLLEY LTD
Their expert skill is in finding companies which they believe are valued at less than they are worth．In this，they have developed advanced research methods to identify under-valued companies．
CLAY FlNLAY
By looking at global political and economic trends as well as individual companies，Clay Finlay can identify international market opportunities and especially select companies with strong growth chances．
ROTHSCHILD ASSET MANAGEMENT
Rothschild aims to add stability and income to the Fund by investing in government bonds(公债)and other fixed interest securities．
And with Marks&Spencer Financial Services, you'll also have the reassurance that your interests will be looked after by a name you know you can really trust for quality，honesty and value every step of the way．
It all adds up to a tremendous opportunity for savers looking for a lower risk way to make more of their money with the extra boost to their profit potential of saving tax free through an ISA，so what are you waiting for?
1．The text is most likely to be found in ．
A．a scientific research report B．a travel magazine
C．a weekly newspaper D．a geography textbook
2．Who will be most interested in reading the advertisement?
A．Accountants． B．Students．
C．Investors． D．Professors．
3．What is the function of Investment Portfolio Fund?
A．Exposing your money to the ups and downs of the direct investment into shares．
B．Helping lower risk with the potential for higher returns．
C．Hiring no less than five leading fund managers．
D．Giving a detailed description of balanced management requirement．
4．Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?
A．The five fund managers with different approaches to investment can cooperate with each other perfectly．
B．Marks&Spencer Financial Services reassure the investors that their interests will be well 1ooked after．
C．Clay Finlay can identify international market opportunities and especially select companies with strong growth chances．
D．Gmo Woolley will be looking for companies that can offer excellent growth chances.
As Apple tries to maintain its growth and success in China, the world's largest smart-phone market is becoming even more critical. Apple's shares(股份) fell sharply as the company's earnings for the holiday quarter through December disappointed investors.
The sales of the iPhone, which include both the iPhone 5 and older models, came in at the low end of analysts' expectations, while the company's income plan for the second quarter was below analysts' forecasts, though Apple is known to give conservative (保守的) forecasts.
Som'6 analysts have said that for Apple to regain its growth, the company.needs a more aggressive strategy for markets, or more specifically for China, where the market for smart phones has been expanding more rapidly than anywhere else. In China, demand is particularly great for inexpensive phones that run on Android(安卓) operating system, sold by many Chinese phone makers as well as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.
But Apple says it's already enjoying strong growth in China. "We saw big growth in iPhones,"Chief Executive Tim Cook said. He said that the company has been quickly expanding its sales channels in China, including the number of Apple stores. "This isn't nearly what we need, we're not even close to that, but we're making great progress. " he said.
In China, a big missing piece for Apple is China Mobile Ltd. , the biggest local telecom carrier that doesn't yet sell the iPhone. Earlier this month, Mr. Cook met China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua in Beijing and discussed cooperation, stirring hopes that the world's largest mobile carrier may soon start offering the iPhone.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is working on a lower-end iPhone that could launch as early as this year. But one possible challenge for Apple in China is that low-pricod Android-based phones are getting better in terms of quality. A report from CLSA in late November showed that many smart-phones sold at about 1,000 yuan ( $160) came with higher-reso-lution screens, better cameras and more powerful processors than phones at that price did a year earlier.
【小题1】Apple's shares dropped sharply because in December__
| A．the iPhone wasn't popular in China |
| B．its product quality was widely criticized |
| C．the earnings for the holiday quarter was disappointing |
| D．the investors were not satisfied with Apple's management |
| A．Apple tends to offer a lower sales forecast. |
| B．China Mobile Ltd began to team up with Apple. |
| C．Cook is pessimistic about what Apple did in China. |
| D．Apple didn't take measures to develop Chinese market. |
| A．their prices are actually lower than a year earlier |
| B．Apple in China has ability to deal with any problem |
| C．low-ended Android-based phones are progressing fast |
| D．the promotion of lower-end iPhone will face a challenge |
| A．Apple.'s high popularity in China |
| B．the challenge Apple faces in China |
| C．the approaching failure Apple will suffer in China |
| D．Apple's aggressive strategy in its market expansion |