To any spectators, it would be easy to conclude that the winds of change are sweeping Corporate America, led by George W. Bush, who ran as "a reformer with result". But far from deconstructing the corporate world brick by brick into something cleaner, sparer, and stronger, Bush aides and many legislators are preparing modest legislative and administrative reforms. Instead of an overhaul, Bush's team is counting on its enforcers, Justice and a newly empowered Securities & Exchange Commission, to make examples of the most egregious offenders. The idea is that business will quickly get the message and clean up its own act.
Why won't the outraged rhetoric result in more changes? For starters, the Bush Administration warns that any rush to legislate corporate behavior. could produce a raft of flawed hills that raise costs without halting abuses. Business has striven to drive the point home with an intense lobbying blitz that has convinced many lawmakers that over-regulation could startle the stock market and perhaps endanger the nascent economic recovery.
All this sets the stage for Washington to get busy with predictably modest results. A surge of caution is sweeping would-be reformers on the Hill. "They know they don't want to make a big mistake", says Jerry J. Jasinowski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers. That go-slow approach suits the White House. Aides say the President, while personally disgusted by Enron's sellout of its pensioners, is reluctant to embrace new sanctions that frustrate even law-abiding corporations and create a litigation bonanza for trial lawyers. Instead, the White House will push for narrowly targeted action, most of it carried out by the SEC, the Treasury Dept., and the Labor Dept. The right outcome, Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill said on Mar. 15, "depends on the Congress not legislating things that are over the top".
To O'Neill and Bush, that means enforcing current laws before passing too many new ones. Nowhere is that stance clearer than in the Andersen indictment. So the Bush Administration left the decision to Justice Dept. prosecutors rather than White House political operatives or their reformist fellows at the SEC.
We can learn from the first paragraph that
A. the Justice Department seized on the plight of Enron's workers.
B. the White House recognized that stricter control is a political must.
C. The President was determined to turn a reformed Andersen into a model.
D. the White House responded strongly to the Andersen's scandal.
SECTION B PASSAGES
Directions: In this section, you will hear several passages. Listen to the passages carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
听力原文: For shopaholics, the post-Christmas period means only one thing—sales' Across the country, prices are slashed On clothing, electronics, home furnishings and more, but London is the place for serious shopping, and you can certainly pick up some amazing bargains.
The sales start on Boxing Day—26th December, and continue for the month of January, but the keenest bargain hunters get there early to be first through the doors. In Oxford Street queues formed outside shops ahead of pre-dawn openings for the start of their sales. At Brent Cross, in north London, more than 1,000 people were queuing at 3:30 a.m. for the "Next" clothing store's sale which began at 4 a.m. Some people even camped outside the shops to be the first in the line.
Some people are taking their friends shopping with them, and buying their Christmas presents in the sales—a practical but unromantic way of making sure you get the gift you really want. For a less exciting but less stressful shopping experience, online retailers are also getting in on the act with January sales of their own. The most organized of all are those who are already doing their present shopping for next Christmas, in the January sales!
People choose London for post-Christmas shopping because______.
A. shops open early in the morning
B. shops stay open for longer hours
C. they can buy really cheap things
D. they can shop with their friends
Blatter, a geek of dispensing FIFA'S hundreds of million in annual revenue to inspire loyalty, even stands a good chance of reelection. At least he did. Since mid-March, he has seen a credible challenger emerge in Issa Hayatou, president of the African Football Confederation. Hayatou, a 55-year-old from Cameroon, leads a group of FIFA reformers that also includes FIFA Vice-President Lennart Johansson, a Swede who lost the presidential election to Blatter in 1998. These contenders' mission: to end what they call the culture of secrecy and lack of accountability that threatens FIFA with financial disaster.
Representatives of the world's 204 national soccer associations meet in Seoul on May 29, and the rebels are given a chance of unseating Blatter. But even they concede that the FIFA honcho won't be easy to dislodge. Blatter's staying power seems incredible, given the array of misdeeds attributed to him and his circle. However, there are signs that FIFA'S troubles are bigger than Blatter is saying.
The insurgents have already won one victory: They persuaded the rest of the executive board to order an audit of FIFA finances. But Blatter who claims, through a spokesman, that the accusations are a smear campaign-should not be underestimated. At least publicly, sponsors and member associations remain remarkably silent with the controversy. For example, there is no outward sign of outrage from German sports equipment maker Adidas-Salomon, which is spending much of its $625 million marketing budget on the World Cup. "We don't expect current developments within FIFA to have a negative impact on our expectations" for the World Cup, says Michael Riehl, Adidas head of global sports marketing.
The conventional wisdom is that fans don't care about FIFA politics. Says Bernd Schiphorst, president of Hertha BSC Berlin, a top ranked German team: "I've no fear that all these discussions are going to touch the event". Still, the Olympic bribery scandals and the doping affair in the Tour de France show that sleazy dealings can stain the most venerable athletic spectacle. "For the Good of the Game" is FIFA'S official motto. The next few months should show whether it rings true.
The writer's attitude toward FIFA President Blatter seems to be that of
A. slight support.
B. high appreciation.
C. strong contempt.
D. reserved consent.
By mentioning "the doping affair in the Tour de France" (the last para.), the author is talking about
A. FIFA politics.
B. sports scandals.
C. FIFA finances.
D. fans' Wisdom.