Several factors are ________ in the process of development.

e cashless society in which all payments are made electronically. 【C1】______, a true cashless society is probably not around the corner. Indeed, predictions have been【C2】______for two decades but have not yet come to fruition. For example, Business Week predicted in 1975 that electronic means of payment would soon "revolutionize the very【C3】______of money itself," only to【C4】______itself several years later. Why has the movement to a cashless society been so【C5】______in coming？ Although electronic means of payment may be more efficient than a payments system based on paper, several factors work【C6】______the disappearance of the paper system. First, it is very 【C7】______to set up the computer, card reader, and telecommunications networks necessary to make electronic money the【C8】______form. of payment. Second, paper checks have the advantage that they【C9】______receipts, something that many consumers are unwilling to【C10】______. Third, the use of paper checks gives consumers several days of "float"—it takes several days【C11】______a check is cashed and funds are【C12】______from the issuer s account, which means that the writer of the check can earn interest on the funds in the meantime. 【C13】______electronic payments are immediate, they eliminate the float for the consumer. Fourth, electronic means of payment may【C14】______security and privacy concerns. We often hear media reports that an unauthorized hacker has been able to access a computer database and to alter information【C15】______there. The fact that this is not an【C16】______occurrence means that dishonest persons might be able to access bank accounts in electronic payments systems and【C17】______from someone else s accounts. The【C18】______of this type of fraud is no easy task, and a new field of computer science is developing to【C19】______security issues. A further concern is that the use of electronic means of payment leaves an electronic【C20】______that contains a large amount of personal data. There are concerns that government, employers, and marketers might be able to access these data, thereby violating our privacy.

【C1】

A．Moreover

B．However

C．Therefore

D．Otherwise

test this theory, psychologists are trying to find a link between the brain and the immune system.

The immune system in our bodies fights the bacteria and viruses which cause disease. There- fore, whether or not we are likely to get various diseases depends on how well our immune system works. Biologists used to think that the immune system was a separate, independent part of our bodies. Recently, however, they have found that our brain can affect our immune system. This discovery indicates that there may be a connection between emotional factors, such as stress or depression, and illness.

Although many doctors in the past suspected a connection between emotional factor and disease, they had no proof. Scientists have only recently discovered how the brain and the immune sys- tem function. Before this, no one could see a link between them. As a result, medical science never seriously considered the idea that psychological factors could cause disease.

Several recent studies showed a connection between stress and illness, for example, researchers went to an American military school to study the students. They found that the sick students there had a lot of academic pressure and wanted to achieve, but they were not very good students. In a similar study, researchers studied a group of student nurses and found that the nurses who developed cold sores were the ones who described themselves as generally unhappy people.

In addition to these results, which support their theory, researchers are also looking for proof that stress can damage the immune system. Researchers studied recently bereaved people, i. e. , people whose loved ones have just died, because they are more likely to become ill or die. By examining the immune system of recently bereaved people, the researchers made an important discovery. They examined some white blood cells which are an important part of the immune system. They were not functioning properly. The fact that they were not working correctly indicates that severe psycho- logical stress, such as a loved one's death, may damage an important part of our immune system.

There is still no positive proof of a connection between the immune system and psychological factors. Researchers also say that the results of the studies on bereaved people could have a different explanation. For example, bereaved people often sleep and eat less than normal, or may drink alcohol or take medication. These factors can also affect the immune system. More research is needed to clearly establish the connection between the immune system and psychological factors.

The study on the military school students indicated that ______.

A．life in the school was very stressful

B．disease could be caused by psychological factors

C．the good students were likely to fall ill

D．stress often made students unhappy

for sale to a customer. There are costs of production, transportation, storage, advertising, and more. Each of these costs must bring in some profit at each stage: truckers must profit from transporting products, or they would not be in business. Thus, costs also include several layers of profits. The selling price of a product must take all of these costs(and built-in profits) into consideration. The selling price itself consists of a markup over the total of all costs, and it is normally based on a percentage of the total cost.

The markup may be quite high 90 percent of cost or it may be low. Grocery items in a supermarket usually have a low markup, while mink coast have a very high one. High markups, however, do not in themselves guarantee big profits. Profits come from turnover. If an item has a 50 percent markup and does not sell, there is no profit. But if a cereal has an 8 percent markup and sells very well, there are reasonable profits.

While most pricing is based on cost factors, there are some exceptions. Prestige pricing means setting prices artificially high in order to attract select clientele. Such pricing attempts to suggest that the quality or style. of the product is exceptional or that the item cannot be found elsewhere. Stores can use prestige pricing to attract wealthy shoppers.

Leader pricing and bait pricing are the opposites of prestige pricing. Leader pricing means setting low prices on certain items to get people to come into the stores. The products so priced are called loss leaders because little or no profit can be made on them. The profits are made from other products people buy while in the store. Bait pricing, now generally considered illegal, means setting artificially low prices to attract customers. The store, however, has no intention of selling goods at the bait prices. The point is to get people into the store and persuade them of the inferiority of the low-priced item. Then a higher-priced item is presented as a better alternative.

A common retail tactic is odd priced products. For some products of $300, the store will set the price at $295 or $299.95 to give the appearance of a lower price. Automobiles and other high-priced products are usually priced in this manner. For some reason $7995 has more appeal to a potential car customer than $8000.

Bid pricing is a special kind of price setting. It is often used in the awarding of government contracts. Several companies are asked to submit bids on a job, and normally the lowest bidder wins. A school system may want to buy a large number of computers. Several companies are asked to submit prices, and the school district will decide on the best bid based as well on considerations of quality and service.

What is the base of selling price？

A．the cost of production

B．a percentage of total cost

C．the cost of transportation

D．the cost of storage.

for sale to a customer. There are costs of production, transportation, storage, advertising, and more. Each of these costs must bring in some profit at each stage: truckers must profit from transporting products, or they would not be in business. Thus, costs also include several layers of profits. The selling price of a product must take all of these costs(and built-in profits) into consideration. The selling price itself consists of a markup over the total of all costs, and it is normally based on a percentage of the total cost.

The markup may be quite high 90 percent of cost or it may be low. Grocery items in a supermarket usually have a low markup, while mink cost have a very high one. High markups, however, do not in themselves guarantee big profits. Profits come from turnover. If an item has a 50 percent markup and does not sell, there is no profit. But if a cereal has an 8 percent markup and sells very well, there are reasonable profits.

While most pricing is based on cost factors, there are some exceptions. Prestige pricing means setting prices artificially high in order to attract select clientele. Such pricing attempts to suggest that the quality or style. of the product is exceptional or that the item cannot be found elsewhere. Stores can use prestige pricing to attract wealthy shoppers.

Leader pricing and bait pricing are the opposites of prestige pricing. Leader pricing means setting low prices on certain items to get people to come into the stores. The products so priced are called loss leaders because little or no profit can be made on them. The profits are made from other products people buy while in the store. Bait pricing, now generally considered illegal, means setting artificially low prices to attract customers. The store, however, has no intention of selling goods at the bait prices. The point is to get people into the store and persuade them of the inferiority of the low-priced item. Then a higher priced item is presented as a better alternative.

A common retail tactic is odd priced products. For some products of $300, the store will set the price at $295 or $299.95 to give the appearance of a lower price. Automobiles and other high-priced products are usually priced in this manner. For some reason $7995 has more appear to a potential car customer than $8000.

Bid pricing is a special kind of price setting. It is often used in the awarding of government contracts. Several companies are asked to submit bids on a job, and normally the lowest bidder wins. A school system may want to buy a large number of computers. Several companies are asked to submit prices, and the school district will decide on the best bid based as well on considerations of quality and service.

We learn from the second paragraph, ______.

A．reducing cost is the surest way to increase profits

B．profits depend on how fast goods are moving

C．fair markup promise the greatest profits

D．lower markup brings reasonable profits

probably a lot sharper in the spring than you are at any other time of the year. A well-known scientist, Ellsworth Huntington (1876-1937), concluded from other men's work and his own among people in different climates that climate and temperature have a definite effect on our mental abilities. He found that cool weather is much more favorable for creative thinking than summer heat. This does not mean that all people are less intelligent in the summer than they are during the rest of the year. It does mean, however, that the mental abilities of large numbers of people tend to be lowest in the summer.

Spring appears to be the best period of the year for thinking. One reason may be that in the spring man's mental abilities are affected by the same factors that bring about great changes in all nature. Fall is the next-best season, then winter. As for summer, it seems to be a good time to take a long vacation from thinking!

1). Huntington based his conclusions on ___________.

A. work with people in different climates

B. records of temperature changes

C. records of change in his own intelligence

D. all of the above

2). Ellsworth Huntington decided that climate and temperature have _________.

A. a great effect on everyone's intelligence

B. no effect on people's intelligence

C. effect on only a few people's intelligence

D. some effect on most people's intelligence

3). One possible reason why spring is the best season for thinking is that ___________.

A. there are some things making all nature different from before

B. it is neither too warm nor too cold

C. it is more natural for the development of mental abilities

D. it lasts longer than the other seasons

4). The two best seasons for thinking seem to be _____________.

A. winter and summer

B. fall and winter

C. spring and fall

D. summer and spring

5). According to the passage above, vacations from thinking should be taken ___________.

A. as seldom as possible

B. during spring and fall

C. several times throughout the year

D. during the summer

You should assume that today’s date is 1 March 2014.

George, a software developer, was born on 11 June 1986. He has accepted a one-year contract to update software for Xpee plc.

(1) The contract will run from 6 April 2014 to 5 April 2015, with a fee of ￡40,000 payable for the entire year of the contract. A condition of the contract is that George will have to do the work personally and not be permitted to sub-contract the work to anyone else.

(2) George will work from home, but will have to attend weekly meetings at Xpee plc’s offices to receive instructions regarding the work to be performed during the following week.

(3) George will not incur any significant expenses in respect of the contract apart from the purchase of a new laptop computer for ￡3,600 on 6 April 2014. This laptop will be used 100% for business purposes.

(4) During the term of the contract, George will not be permitted to work for any other clients. He will therefore not have any other income during the tax year 2014–15.

(5) George’s tax liability for the tax year 2013–14 was collected through PAYE, so he will not be required to make any payments on account in respect of the tax year 2014–15.

George has several friends who are also software developers. He understands that his employment status is not clear cut but that his income tax liability for the tax year 2014–15 will be the same regardless of whether he is treated as employed or as self-employed. However, George appreciates that there are advantages to being classed as self-employed.

Required:

(a) List FOUR factors which are indicators of George being treated as an employee in relation to his contract with Xpee plc rather than as self-employed. Note: You should confine your answer to the information given in the question. (2 marks)

(b) Calculate George’s income tax liability and national insurance contributions for the tax year 2014–15 if he is treated as self-employed in respect of his contract with Xpee plc. (4 marks)

(c) If George is treated as being an employee of Xpee plc instead of self-employed:

(i) Explain why his income tax liability will be payable earlier. (2 marks)

(ii) Calculate the additional amount of national insurance contributions which he personally will suffer for the tax year 2014–15. (2 marks)

These factors interact intimately and cannot be separated.

A．tensely

B．nearly

C．carefully

D．closely

Section B

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.

Unfortunately sales results over the last year have failed to come up to our expectations. A number of factors have been responsible, but basically it is the result of too many companies chasing the microcomputer market which is no longer expanding as fast as it once was.

Looking at the past year in detail, it must be admitted that the sales have declined considerably over the period. Our market share in wholesales has dropped from 21% to only 10%. The lack of a good local distributor in Asia has meant that our sales of the Obec series have collapsed despite the huge jump in the microcomputer market there during the past year. Our dominance of that part of the market has been lost to Strong, but once we find a new distributor we should come back strongly.

Retail sales in general have been a problem. There has been a tendency for the big high street stores to concentrate on high volume turnover of a few fairly well-known makers. When they stopped promotion of the Obec 1500, sales slumped by 50%. We are negotiating a fresh marketing deal for the new Obec 1600. Once this is settled we expect a gradual rise in sales, which will be followed by a big TV advertising campaign at the appropriate time. What we are facing now is that we have not been able to push the Obec 1500 as much as we would have liked because of insufficient advertising.

Most of our advertising budget went on the promotion of the Obec Extra before last Christmas. Unfortunately we have failed consistently to find the proper marketing strategy for the Extra, which has not been sold to either the leisure or the business market.

The serious business market has performed worse than any other in the period under review. The main factor was the introduction of the new Legend 586 Plus, when sales reduced over a period of several months. With this background it is natural that sales of the Obec 1000 and 2000 have gone into a slide. They showed a slight upturn just after the introduction of the 586 Plus, only to crash again a few weeks later.

What purpose does this passage possibly serve？

A．A company introduction to its employees.

B．A market analysis for a specific industry to inform. a client.

C．An annual report of a company to direct its future decision.

D．A marketing strategy proposal for discussion.

A.based on

B.put on

C.contributed to

d______.