Caught in a squeeze between the health needs of aging populations on one hand and thefinancial crisis on the other, governments everywhere are looking for ways to slow the growth inhealth-care spending. Increasingly, they are looking to the generic-drugs (普通藥物) industry asa savior. In November Japan's finance ministry issued a report complaining that the country'suse of generics was less than a third of that in America or Britain. In the same month Canada'scompetition watchdog criticized the country's pharmacies for failing to pass on the savingsmade possible by the use of generic drugs. That greed, it reckoned, costs taxpayers nearlyC$1 billion a year.

　　Then on November 28th the European Commission issued the preliminary results of itsyear-long probe into drug giants in the European Union. The report reached a damning~,though provisional, conclusion: the drugs firms use a variety of unfair strategies to protecttheir expensive drugs by delaying the entry of cheaper generic opponents. Though this initialreport does not carry the force of law (a final report is due early next year), it has caused muchcontroversy. Neelie Kroes, the EU's competition commissioner, says she is ready to takelegal action if the evidence allows.

　　One strategy the investigators criticize is the use of the "patent duster( 專利群)". A firmkeen to defend its drug due to go off-patent may file dozens or hundreds of new patents,often of dubious merit, to confuse and terrify potential copycats and maintain itsmonopoly. An unnamed drugs firm once took out 1,300 patents across the EU on a singledrug. The report also suggests that out-of-court settlements between makers of patented dragsand generics firms may be a strategy used by the former to delay market entry by the latter.

　　According to EU officials, such misdeeds -have delayed the arrival of generic competitionand the accompanying savings. On average, rite report estimates, generics arrived sevenmonths after a patented drug lost its protection, though where the drug was a big seller thelag was four months. The report says taxpayers paid about q 3 billion more than they wouldhave-had the generics gone on sale immediately.

　　But hang on a minute, Though many of the charges of bad behavior leveled at thepatented-drugs industry by EU investigators may well be true, the report seems to let thegenerics industry off the hook(鉤子) too lightly. After all, if the drugs giants stand accused, ineffect, of bribing opponents to delay the launch of cheap generics, shouldn't the companiesthat accepted those "bribes" also share the blame?

　　56. Why are governments around the world seeking ways to reduce their health-carespending?

　　A) They consider the generic-drugs industry as a savior.

　　B) They are under the double pressure of aging group and financial crisis.

　　C) Health-care spending has accounted too large proportion.

　　D) Health-care spending has cost taxpayers too much income.

　　57. What can we learn from the report issued by the European Commission?

　　A) Drug firm will use just ways to protect their drags.

　　B) Cheaper generic drugs are easy to enter market,

　　C) The report has come to an ultimate conclusion.

　　D) The final report may lead to commissioner's legal action.

　　58. The investigators seriously condemned the drug firms for__________.

　　A) they do not let their opponents to resort to the comet

　　B) they use clusters of patents to protect their products

　　C) they bribe the cheaper generic opponents

　　D) trey do not pass on the savings made by use of generic drugs

　　59. On average, the genetics will be delayed to enter the market by __________.

　　A) seven months

　　B) three months

　　C) four months

　　D) eleven months

　　60. Which of the following accords with the author's view?

　　A) Charges on patented-drug industry are anything but true.

　　B) Generics industry is a sheer victim in the competition.

　　C) Only drug giants are to blame.

　　D) Exclusion of generics industry from taking responsibility is questionable.

　　英語六級仔細閱讀練習二

　　Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.

　　Yet with economies in free fail, managers also need up-to-date information　about what ishappening to their businesses, so that they can change course　rapidly if necessary. Cisco, anAmerican network-equipment giant, has invested over many years in the technology needed togenerate such data .Frank Caideroni, the firm's CFO, says that every day its senior executivescan track exactly what orders are coming in from sales teams around the world, and identifyemerging trends in each region and market segment. And at the end of each month, the firmcan get reliable financial results within four hours of closing its books. Most firms have to waitdays or even weeks for such certainty.

　　Admittedly, Cisco's financial results have not made happy reading recently because, incommon with many other large technology companies, it has seen demand for its productsdecline in the downturn. In early February it announced that its fiscal second-quarterrevenues of $ 9.1 billion were 7.5% lower than the same period in 2008 and that its profit hadfallen by 27%, to $1.5 billion.

　　In response to hard times, Cisco plans to cut $1 billion of costs this year by, among otherthings, making use of its own video-conferencing and other communications technologies toreduce the amount its executives travel. It is also using these facilities to relay informationfrom employees on the ground to its senior managers, and to get instructions from Cisco'sleaders back out to its 67,000 staff. A rapid exchange of information and instructions isespecially valuable if the company wants to alter course in stormy times.

　　If everybody in a company can rapidly grasp what they have to do and how it is changing,they are more likely to get the job done. But some firms are reluctant to share their goals withthe wider world. Unilever, a big Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods group, has decided againstissuing a 2009 financial forecast to investors, arguing that it is difficult to predict what isgoing to happen, given the dangerous state of the world economy. "We're not just going toprovide numbers for the sake of it," explains James Allison, the company's head of investorrelations. 　　Other companies that have decided not to provide annual earnings estimates for2009 include Costco, a big American retailer, and Union Pacific, an American railway company.

　　Some firms, such as Intel, seem to have chosen to take things quarter by quarter. Thegiant chipmaker(芯片制造商) said in January that it would not issue an official forecast for thefirst quarter of 2009 after its fourth-quarter 2008 profit decreased by 90%. Several retailchains have also stopped providing monthly sales estimates because they cannot see what thefuture holds. Retailers, chipmakers and firms in many other industries may have a long waitbefore the economic fog finally lifts.

　　61. What can we learn about Cisco from the passage?

　　A) It will keep a record of the orders from sales teams.

　　B) It cuts $1 billion cost by solely relying on its own technologies.

　　C) Unlike other technology companies, its financial reports are encouraging.

　　D) Only employees can use the video-conferencing to pass information.

　　62. According to the author, the staff can perform better by__________.

　　A) getting instructions from their senior managers

　　B) seizing what to do at hand and what to do next

　　C) having a financial forecast as a goal

　　D) sharing their goals with others

　　63. What is important in the unstable time ff a company wants to change strategies?

　　A) To issue company's financial reports faster.

　　B) To obtain the up-to-date information of company's business.

　　C) To predict what is going to happen in the future.

　　D) To wait until the economic fog finally lifts.

　　64. The reason Unilever plans not to issue financial forecast in 2009 lies in__________.

　　A) its reluctance to share its goal with others

　　B) its rapid grasp of changes in the markets

　　C) the unstable economic situation

　　D) its reduction in the cost of prediction

　　65. What can we know about the giant chipmaker, Intel in the passage?

　　A) It did not issue first-quarter forecast for great decrease in January.

　　B) Inters chain store used to report sales estimates by year.

　　C) Only retailers and chipmakers are greatly influenced.

　　D) Intel's profit was greatly decreased in 2008's last quarter.

　　答案解析：

　　56.B)。定位 由題干中的governments及seeking ways to reduce the health-care spending定位到文章第一段第一句：Caught in a squeeze between the health needs of aging populations on onehand and the financial crisis on the other，governments everywhere are looking for ways to slowthe growth in health-care spending.

　　詳解 推理判斷題。由定位句可知，各國政府一方面面臨老齡化人群的健康需求，另一方面受到金融危機的影響，所以都在尋求減少醫療保健開支的途徑，B)符合題意。第一段第二句提到they are looking to thegenetic-drugs industry as a savior，但是普通藥物只是各國政府減少開支的一個方法，并不是他們這么做的原因，故排除A);C)的說法在文中沒有提及;本段最后一句提到That greed…costs taxpayers nearly C$1 billion a year.這里是說藥店的貪心導致納稅人受損，并不是說保健花費的問題，故排除D)。

　　57.D)。定位 由題干中的the report issued by the European Commission定位到文章第二段第一句：Then on November 28th the European Commission issued the preliminary results...

　　詳解 事實細節題。定位句提到，11月28日歐洲委員會發布的一個初步調查報告，下文開始對該報告進行描述，由第二段最后一句Neelie Kroes，the EU's competition commissioner，says she is ready totake legal action if the evidence allows.可推斷如果證據充足，委員們會采取行動，D)符合題意。第二段第二句提到the drugs firms use a variety of unfair strategies to protect their expensive drugsby delaying the entry of cheaper generic opponents，可見藥物公司使用了不公平的競爭手段，推遲普通藥物的上市，故排除A)、B);該句前半句提到The report reached a damning，thoughprovisional，conclusion…，可見該報告的結論只是暫時的，并不是最終結論(ultimateconclusion)，故排除C)。

　　58.B)。定位 由題干中的The investigators seriously condemned the drug firms定位到文章第三段第一句：0ne strategy the investigators criticize is the use of the patent cluster(專利群)”。

　　詳解 推理判斷題。由定位句可知，調查員們嚴厲譴責藥品公司是因為其利用“專利群”這一策略，即為一個產品申請多項專利，B)符合題意。A)的表述在文中并未提及，故排除;最后一段最后一句雖然提到bribingopponents to delay the launch of cheap genetics，但是作者沒有說這是研究者們強烈譴責的方法，故排除C);第一段倒數第二句提到Canada’s competition watchdog criticized the country’spharmacies for failing to pass on the savings。可見這里受到譴責的是加拿大的藥店，不是所有藥品公司，故排除D)。

　　59.A)。定位 根據題干中的on average，the genetics will be delayed定位到文章第四段第二句：0n average，the report estimates，genetics arrived seven months after a patented drug lost itsprotection，though where the drug Was a big seller the lag Was four months.

　　詳解 事實細節題。由定位句可知，平均來說，普通藥物要等專利藥物的專利保護失效7個月后才能上市，A)符合題意。B)、D)中的數字文中沒有提及;文中提到了four months，但指的是暢銷藥品被推遲的時間，而不是平均的，故排除C)。

　　60.D)。定位 根據題干中的author's view定位到文章最后一段第二句：Though many of thecharges of bad behavior leveled at the patented—drugs industry by EU investigators may wellbe true，the report seems to let the generics industry off the hook(鉤子)too lightly.

　　詳解 觀點態度題。由定位句可知，作者認為歐盟調查員們對專利藥物行業的控訴是正確的，但不應讓普通制藥行業太輕易地逃脫責任，因為它們有可能接受了專利藥物行業的賄賂，因此作者認為普通藥物行業同樣需對此承擔責任，D)符合題意。由定位句可知，作者同意調查員們對專利藥物行業的看法，A)中的anythingbut true的說法太絕對，故排除;作者認為普通藥物行業也應該承擔責任，可見它并不完全是個受害者，也不應該僅僅譴責制藥大亨，故排除B)、C)。

　　61.A)。定位 由題干中的Cisco定位到文章第一段第二、三句：Cisco，all American network-equipment giant… its senior executives cart track exactly what orders are coming in from salesteams around the world，and identify emerging trends in each region and market segment.

　　詳解 事實細節題。由定位句可知，思科公司的高級主管每天都會跟蹤銷售團隊的訂單，確定各個地區的新的發展趨勢，A)符合題意。第三段第一句提到Cisco plans to cut$1 billion of costs this year by，amongother things，making use of its own video0-conferencing and other communicationstechnologies.由among other things可知，思科公司減少開支的途徑不僅僅是依靠自身的技術，故排除B);第二段第一句提到Cisco’s financial results have not made happy readin9，可見思科公司的財務報告并不樂觀，故排除C);第三段第二 句提到It is also using these facilities…to get instructions fromCisco’s leaders.可見思科公司的領導者們同樣可以通過此設備下達指令，故排除D)。

　　62.B)。定位 由題干中的the staff can perform better by…定位到文章第四段第一句：Ifeverybody in a company can rapidly grasp what they have to do and how it is changing，theyare more likely to get the job done。

　　詳解 推理判斷題。由定位句可知，如果公司的每一名員工都可以迅速掌握自己目前和下一步該做的事情，他們就能更容易完成工作，即更好地完成工作，B)符合題意。A)對于公司的發展很重要，但是與員工們的表現無關，故排除;第四段第二句確實提到財務預測和財務目標的論述，但是作者并沒有將它們與員工的表現聯系起來，故排除C)、D)。

　　63.B)。定位 由題干中的a company wants to change strategies定位到文章第三段最后一句：Arapid exchange of information and instructions is especially valuable if the company wants toalter course in stormy times.

　　詳解 事實細節題。由定位句可知，如果公司想在動蕩時期改變策略，必須迅速交流信息與指示，也就是獲得公司最新的業務信息，B)符合題意。第一段最后提到，思科公司可以比其他公司更快得到財務結果，但作者并未明確表　明這樣對改變公司的策略很重要，故排除A);第四段第三句提到it is difficult to predict whatis going to happen，可見公司預測將來要發生什么很難，而且文章也未涉及預測與改變策略的關系，故排除C);最后一段最后一句提到industries may have a long wait before the economic fog finally lifts，這里是指各行業所面臨的困難境況，并不是讓他們不采取任何措施，故排除D)。

　　64.C)。定位：由題干中的Unilever plans not to issue financial forecast in 2009定位到文章第四段第三句：Unilever…has decided against issuing a 2009 financial forecast to investors，arguingthat it is difficult to predict what is going to happen，given the dangerous state of the worldeconomy.

　　詳解：事實細節題。由定位句可知，聯合利華不計劃發布其2009年的財務預測的原因是：面臨世界經濟動蕩;的不安局勢，一切事情都很難預測。可見他們不發布預測就是因為世界經濟不穩定(unstable economicsituation)，C)符合題意。第四段第二句提到But some firms are reluctant to their goals with thewider world，然后舉出了聯合利華的例子，可見后者只是前者的補充說明，不是因果關系，故排除A);由定位句可知，目前很難預測將要發生的事情，因此該公司不能很快掌握市場的變化形勢，故排除B);D)在文中未提及。

　　65.D)。定位：由題干中的the giant chipmaker，Intel定位到文章最后一段第二句：The giant chipmarker(芯片制造商)said in January that it would not issue an official forecast for the firstquarter of 2009 after its fourth-quarter 2008 profit decreased by 90%.

　　詳解：事實細節題。由定位句可知，根據大型芯片生產巨頭英特爾一月份的聲明，2008年第四季度其利潤F降了90%，因此該公司不會正式發布其2009年第一季度的預估;可見，該公司2008年最后一個季度的利潤大幅下降了.D)符合題意。該公司沒有發布2009年第一季度官方預測的原因是2008年最后一季度公司利潤下降，并不是因為當月利潤的減少，故排除A);該段第三句提到Several retail chains have also stoppedproviding monthly sales estimates，可見他們原來是按月上交銷售預測，并不是按年的，故排除B);最后一句指出Retailers，chipmakers and firms in many other industries may have a long wait…可見除了零售商和芯片制造商外，其他很多行業也受到了影響，故排除C)。