Overseas assignments are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being “out of sight and out of mind.” He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company’s plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superiors will have greater confidence in his or her ability to cope back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more prevalent (普遍的).

　　Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets.

　　English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn’t generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal

　　The employee posted abroad who speaks the country’s principal language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and cam have the cultural insight to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign clients over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset to the firm.

　　21. What is the author’s attitude toward high-tech communications equipment?

　　A) Critical.

　　B) Prejudiced.

　　C) Indifferent.

　　D) Positive.

　　22. With the increased use of high-tech communications equipment, businesspeople ________.

　　A) have to get familiar with modern technology

　　B) are gaining more economic benefits from domestic operations

　　C) are attaching more importance to their overseas business

　　D) are eager to work overseas

　　23. In this passage, “out of sight and out of mind” (Lines 2-3, Para. 3) probably means ________.

　　A) being unable to think properly for lack of insight

　　B) being totally out of touch with business at home

　　C) missing opportunities for promotion when abroad

　　D) leaving all care and worry behind

　　24. According to the passage, what is an important consideration of international corporations in employing people today?

　　A) Connections with businesses overseas.

　　B) Ability to speak the client’s language.

　　C) Technical know-how.

　　D) Business experience.

　　25. The advantage of employees having foreign language skills is that they can ________.

　　A) better control the whole negotiation process

　　B) easily find new approaches to meet market needs

　　C) fast-forward their proposals to headquarters

　　D) easily make friends with businesspeople abroad

　　21. D 22. C 23. C 24.B 25. A

　　In recent years, Israeli consumers have grown more demanding as they’ve become wealthier and more worldly-wise. Foreign travel is a national passion; this summer alone, one in 10 citizens will go abroad. Exposed to higher standards of service elsewhere, Israelis are returning home expecting the same. American firms have also begun arriving in large numbers. Chains such as KFC, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut are setting a new standard of customer service, using strict employee training and constant monitoring to ensure the friendliness of frontline staff. Even the American habit of telling departing customers to “Have a nice day” has caught on all over Israel. “Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, ‘Let’s be nicer,’” says Itsik Cohen, director of a consulting firm. “Nothing happens without competition.”

　　Privatization, or the threat of it, is a motivation as well. Monopolies (壟斷者) that until recently have been free to take their customers for granted now fear what Michael Perry, a marketing professor, calls “the revengeful (報復的) consumer.” When the government opened up competition with Bezaq, the phone company, its international branch lost 40% of its market share, even while offering competitive rates. Says Perry, “People wanted revenge for all the years of bad service.” The electric company, whose monopoly may be short-lived, has suddenly mopped requiring users to wait half a day for a repairman. Now, appointments are scheduled to the half-hour. The graceless El Al Airlines, which is already at auction (拍賣), has retrained its employees to emphasize service and is boasting about the results in an ad campaign with the slogan, “You can feel the change in the air.” For the first time, praise outnumbers complaints on customer survey sheets.

　　26. It may be inferred from the passage that ________.

　　A) customer service in Israel is now improving

　　B) wealthy Israeli customers are hard to please

　　C) the tourist industry has brought chain stores to Israel

　　D) Israeli customers prefer foreign products to domestic ones

　　27. In the author’s view, higher service standards are impossible in Israel ________.

　　A) if customer complaints go unnoticed by the management

　　B) unless foreign companies are introduced in greater numbers

　　C) if there’s no competition among companies

　　D) without strict routine training of employees

　　28. If someone in Israel today needs a repairman in case of a power failure, ________.

　　A) they can have it fixed in no time

　　B) it’s no longer necessary to make an appointment

　　C) the appointment takes only half a day to make

　　D) they only have to wait half an hour at most

　　29. The example of El A1 Airlines shows that ________.

　　A) revengeful customers are a threat to the monopoly of enterprises

　　B) an ad campaign is a way out for enterprises in financial difficulty

　　C) a good slogan has great potential for improving service

　　D) staff retraining is essential for better service

　　30. Why did Bezaq’s international branch lose 40% of its market share?

　　A) Because the rates it offered were not competitive enough.

　　B) Because customers were dissatisfied with its past service.

　　C) Because the service offered by its competitors was far better.

　　D) Because it no longer received any support from the government.

　　26. A 27. C 28. A 29.A 30. B