题目内容
According to the passage, which of the following words can be used to describe an ambassador's work？
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The average citizen, with his eyes glued to the "box", has only the vaguest idea what an ambassador does. In the press he is pictured standing by a carriage from the royal or presidential palace with his chest covered in gold lace or in evening dress in the middle of the morning, splashed with orders and decorations like an old-fashioned swimming instructor. In Osber Lancaster's cartoons his white tie and broad sash are accompanied by the paunch and debilitated look of one whom the restrictions of his profession have required to make do for vices with an excess of food, drink and sleep. Questions in parliament suggest that he is solely occupied in giving extravagant parties at the tax-payer's expense if he is British, or in ignoring the parking regulations if he is a foreigner in London.
The jaundiced ambassador may sometimes be inclined to conclude that he is regarded principally as a service agency: that to the tourist his only serious responsibility is to produce money when a wallet is stolen; that to the businessman his sole purpose is to promote the businessman's interest; that to the press correspondent he is there to provide information for the correspondent's copy and a good story out of anything that happens in the embassy; that to visiting politicians he is the provider of free board and lodging and an introduction and shopping service, and that to Mr. Le Carre's readers he is the man who keeps the spy out of the cold.
In his more charitable moments he will admit that the tourist in difficulty is entitled to ask for the embassy's help; that the businessman is promoting his country's exports and that it is one of the ambassador's most important duties to help him; that cooperation between the embassy and the press correspondent is useful to both; that he is paid to give hospitality and has the staff to provide services to visiting politicians and will be well advised to do what he can for them; and he will assure you that the only spies whose acquaintance he cultivates are those defeated in the last chapter by James Bond.
Perhaps the ambassador gains some spurious comfort from those writers to whom the diplomat is, by definition, a paragon of all the virtues, brilliantly perceptive, patient, loyal, modest and of the highest integrity, able to win the confidence of "the ruling few", handsome, not too witty, an accomplished host, expert in food and wines, and speaking four or five foreign languages perfectly. But he knows in his more sober moments that in real life he is no better nor worse endowed than his contemporaries in other professions, though there is always a danger that the requirements of the voracious god, security, will reduce him to a dead level of unenterprising mediocrity. He knows too that the better informed of the public do not regard him as wallowing in luxury, but sympathize with him for having to keep a government hotel and endure a regular diet of official parties notable only for their tedium and their capacity to induce mental and physical exhaustion.
In the old days, the ambassador was purely political. Nowadays, whatever his personal predilections, he will recognise that he must give serious attention to matters other than politics. He must regard himself as an economist, a commercial traveller, an advertising agent for his country; he wields the weapon of culture for political ends; he promotes scientific and. technical exchanges and administers development aid. He cannot wholly detach himself from the technicalities and personal inconvenience which accompany the battle for intelligence. He must concern himself with the relations not only of governments, but of politicians, scientists, musicians, actors, authors, footballers, and trade unionists. But he continues to have a basic political job, to negotiate with the other government and to keep his own government informed about anything in the country to which he is accredited which affects his coun
There are two types of risk related to investment. The obvious risk is that the company you invest in will fold and you will lose everything. The other type of risk is how much the value of your investment can change. Some investments swing wildly: one month they are worth four times what you put in, the next month they are worth only one quarter of the money you put in. If you have to take your money out at the wrong time, you lose lots. Low-risk investments
Classic low-risk investments are government stocks and bank deposits. The institutions aren't likely to go out of existence. And the investments are "capital guaranteed", meaning your balance can never drop below the amount you put in.
But even these classic low-risk investments carry the risk that interest rates will rise and you will be stuck with your money tied up at the lower interest rates at which you first invested. And not every fixed-interest investments is with a rock-solid organization. Some providers may offer capital "guaranteed" products where in fact no third party is guaranteeing the continuing financial viability of the provider of the product. The warning is that investors must check that the guarantee and the person or institution offering the guarantee are both good and strong. Any guarantee is only as good as those offering it.
High-risk investments
The classic high-risk investment is in shares in a small company which is perhaps newly listed on the stock exchange. Such a small company could quite easily collapse. On the other hand, the share price might soar.
If an investor wants to up the ante, they borrow money to buy the shares. Through what's known as leverage or gearing, investors hope to make a huge return not only on their own money, but also on someone else's. If the company collapses, they not only lose their investment, but must also repay their debt.
Numerous studies have shown that, on average, high-risk investors make more than low-risk ones. Over time, the stock market rewards them for sticking their necks out, and sometimes getting them chopped off. Even during the 1980s, the decade of the stock market crash, one study shows that over the whole of the ten years shares outperformed lower-risk fixed interest and property investments.
This brings us to the first basic rule relating to risk: high risk equals high return. If you want to maximize your savings, take some risk with at least some of your money.
Keep in mind, though, the second rule relating to risk., diversify your investment. This is partly so you won't be hurt too badly if one company falls over. In short, you're mad not to spread your money around. All the big financial institutions do, This means dividing it among:
different types of investments--some in shares, some in property, some in bonds and so on;
different investments within each group--shares in lots of different companies, several properties, a variety of fixed--interest investments
different countries--not only China, the US or Japan but in Europe or South-East Asia.
If it's all starting to sound impossible for one person to manage, it probably is. Fortunately several investment products are designed to diversifying for you. For example, one unit trust can hold a much wider range of local and overseas investments than an individual could dream of.
Take care, though. Putting all you money in just one diversified unit trust still exposes you to the risk that the trust will be badly damaged. Perhaps using two or three trusts or other diversified investments would be the answer.
As far as guarantee is concerned, in low-risk investments,______.
It was the English scientist-philosopher Francis Bacon who said, "Knowledge itself is power. "This is an important dictum, but it has never been so true as today, with the advent of the Information Age.
At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, a country's comparative advantage depended largely on the natural resources it was endowed by Nature. People had to learn rudimentary skills when they joined manufacturing industries. They were called blue-collar workers, and they formed the majority, directed by a minority of managers.
After World War II, the invention and increasing use of the microchip brought about great changes in the structure of man's social production. While the primary industry (agriculture) and the secondary industry (manufacturing) remain to be important, there have been rapid advances in the tertiary industry (services). And there is now talk of a fourth industry, the information industry.
In the industrialized world, that is, in the US, Europe and Japan, about two thirds of jobs are now in the service sector, and the number is on the rise. Of course, there are roughly two different groups of job-holders in the service sector itself. The jobs in the first group, such as retail sales, food services, trucking and janitorial services, which are unskilled occupations, are low-wage, while in the second group are high-paid investment banker, computer programmers, high technicians, etc. , who are able to solve complicated problems by applying information. And the second group of service job-holders represent the future in economic development.
It is argued that in future people should no longer be classified as white collar or blue collar, but rather as knowledge workers and non-knowledge workers. The knowledge workers cannot only read and write and perform. rote tasks, they must meet the basic requirement of computer literacy and constantly think up new ways to meet the changing demands of increasing productivity.
More and more people are learning to be competent in using personal computers, digital communications and factory robots. Breakthroughs in bio-engineering, artificial intelligence, new materials, and still unimagined fields of technology and management will greatly advance productivity. It is people with the most advanced knowledge who will take the lead. Systems analysts, computer scientists and programmers, management analysts and inventors and developers are in most demand in the industrialized countries.
In manufacturing itself, for example, there is a move away from standardized production and toward more flexible, customized manufacturing. Hence the growth of a large number of small factories, which are owned by a few multi-skilled and ever-retrained worker-engineer-managers, and equipped with precision, reset table machines working special materials like stainless steel and titanium. They are able to produce new-designed precision turned parts at the bidding of customers, often bigger factories, and their managers work with their hands and brains at the same time.
The only way to greater knowledge is through education and training. Knowledge, as much as capital, material resources and sweat, has become an essential factor of production. The educational system of a society ought to enable its members to make a rapid transition to the above-described knowledge-based work. Otherwise, that society will inevitably lag behind.
It has been the way of developed countries to automate out of existence low-productivity factories and jobs; or transfer them to a country where costs are lower. In other words, the developed countries have been trying to keep higher wage jobs, while moving lower wage jobs to the developing countries. However, in the great worldwide movement to the Information Age, if a developed country should fail to bring up-to date its system of education and training, i
SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST
Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. At the end of each news item, you will be given 10 seconds to answer the questions.
听力原文： Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, ER and Friends were some of the big winners at the People's Choice Awards on Sunday night.
Roberts took home the favorite motion picture actress award. Hanks won favorite motion picture actor and favorite dramatic motion picture actor, beating out last year's dual winner, Mel Gibson.
"People, love, and understanding. Thank you, everybody." Hanks said in his acceptance speech. "I'm a lucky man... I have a great job and I get to do it often enough to get me out of the house on school nights."
N Sync. Faith Hill and Garth Brooks were named favorite musicians.
The awards are decided through a public opinion poll conducted by Gallup. Favorite TV shows included ER, Friends, My Wife and Kids and Survivor: The Australian Outback.
The 28th annual People's Choice Awards took its cue from the Emmys. In apparent reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks, it was a subdued affair. Dressy business attire took the place of formal wear as performers from movies, television, and music came togehter to allow the public to honor them.
This year, people were allowed to vote online in two categories -- favorite new television comedy series and favorite new drama.
The star of King of Queens Kevin James hosted the affair and provided comic relief. One of his funnier bits came when he donned a swan dress, á la Blork at last year's Oscars, although he maintained he had the outfit first. A video clip was shown featuring him shopping, golfing and hanging out in the swan ensemble.
Which of the following words can best describe this year's celebration？
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