Entrepreneurshipisdirectlyresponsibleforproduction.Thebusinessperson(entrepreneur)takesacuefromconsumersindecidingwhattheywant-or,inthecaseofanewproduct,__1__.Profitmeansdifferentthingstodifferentpeople.Accordingtosomepublicopinionpolls,manypeoplearenotsurewhatitis,buttheyaresure__2__.Workersmaylookatprofitasanunfairlylargepaymenttotheentrepreneurthatdeprivesthemofahigherwage.Thebusinesspersonthinksofprofit__3__.DuringnegotiationsbeforethesettlementofthesecondbaseballstrikeinAugust,1985,thePlayers'Associationclaimedtheownershadmadeprofitsof$91million,anaccountingfirmsaidownerprofitswere$43million,andtheownersinsistedtheyhadlost$9million.Thetruthwasthatallthreewerecorrect.Thedisparityinthefigureswasduetothefactthateachgroupwasdefiningprofitdifferently.Letusnowseeifwecandevelopamoreexactdefinitionofwhatprofitis.Grossprofitisthedifferencebetweenwhatabusinessfirmsellsitsproductforandwhatitcoststoproducethatproduct.Themerchantbuys$200,000worthofmerchandiseduringtheyearandsellsitfor$270,000.Hisgrossprofitis$70,000.Thepercentagedifferencebetweenhiscostandthesellingpriceis35percent,andhecallsthismarkup.Netprofitis__4__--rent,wages,andinterest-andsettingasidemoneytoallowforthelossduetodepreciation(wearingout)ofcapital.Ourmerchanthastosubtractfromhisgrossprofithispaymentsforrent($6,000),wages($20,000),interestonmoneyborrowed($1,000),repairsandupkeep($1,000),taxes($1,000),electricityandotherexpenses$1,000.Expensesforoperatingthebusinesscometo$30,000.Grossprofitis$70,000,andnetprofitis$40,000.Economistshaveanarrowerdefinitionofwhatconstitutesprofit.Theyareconcernedwithpaymentforalltheresourcesthathavegoneintoproduction,__5__,likethoselistedabove,orfrominsidethebusiness.Exercise:AwhatprofitreallymeansBitistoolargeandrepresentstoomuchoftheconsumer'sdollarCwhethertheycomefromoutsidethebusinessDasthedifferencebetweentotalrevenueandtotalcostEwhatthebusinesspersonhasleftafterpayingexpensesFwhattheymightwantWhenamagazineforhigh-schoolstudentsaskeditsreaderswhatlifewouldbelikeintwentyyears，theysaid：Machineswouldberunbysolarpower.Buildingswouldrotatesotheycouldfollowthesuntotakemaximumadvantageofitslightandheat.Wallswould“radiatelight”and“changecolorwiththepushofabutton.”Foodwouldbereplacedbypills.Schoolwouldbetaught“byelectricalimpulsewhilewesleep.''Carswouldhaveradar.Doesthissoundliketheyear?Actually，________andthequestionwas，”whatwilllifebelikein1978?“Thefutureismuchtooimportanttosimplyguessabout，thewaythehighschoolstudentsdid，soexpertsareregularlyaskedtopredictaccurately.Bycarefullystudyingthepresent，skilledbusinessmen，scientists，andpoliticiansaresupposedlyabletofigureoutinadvancewhatwillhappen.Butcanthey?Oneexpertoncitieswrote：_______，butwouldhavespaceforfarmsandfields.Peoplewouldtraveltoworkin“airbuses”，largeall-weatherhelicopterscarryingupto200passengers.Whenapersonlefttheairbusstationhecoulddriveacoin-operatedcarequippedwithradar.Theradarequipmentofcarswouldmaketrafficaccidents“almostunheardof”。Doesthatsoundfamiliar?Iftheexperthadbeenaccurateitwould，becausehewaswritingin1957.Hissubjectwas“Thecityof1982”。Iftheprofessionalssometimessoundlikehigh-schoolstudents，it'sprobablybecause_________.Buteconomicforecasting，orpredictingwhattheeconomywilldo，hadbeenaroundforalongtime.Itshouldbeaccurate，andgenerallyitis.Buttherehavebeensomebigmistakesinthisfield，too.Inearly1929，mostforecasterssawanexcellentfutureforthestockmarket.InOctoberofthatyear，_______，ruiningthousandsofinvestorswhohadputtheirfaithinfinancialforeseers.Oneforecasterknewthatpredictionsaboutthefuturewouldalwaysbesubjecttosignificanterrors.In1957，H.J.RandoftheRandCorporationwasaskedabouttheyear，“Onlyonethingiscertain，”heanswered.“Childrenborntoday_______.”練習：A.thestockmarkethaditsworstlosseseverB.willhavereachedtheageof43C.thearticlewaswrittenin1958D.CitiesofthefuturewouldnotbecrowdedE.thepredictionofthefutureisgenerallyaccurateF.futurestudyisstillanewfieldKey：CDFABReadWithGreaterSpeedDoyouhavedifficultyreadinginclass?Ifso,aspecialreadingprogramthathelpsmatchsoundswithletterscouldspeedupyourbrain.AtleastoneoutofeveryfiveelementaryschoolstudentsintheUShastroublelearningtoread,evenwhenthestudentsaregoodatothersubjects.(1)ResearchersfromYaleUniversity,US,studiedagroupofchildrenfromNewYorkandConnecticutEveryday,instructorsworkedwiththemonrecognizinghowwrittenlettersrepresentunitsofsoundcalledphonemes(音素).(2)Bytheendoftheschoolyear,thesechildrencouldreadfasterthanbefore.Theyalsomadefewermistakes,andunderstoodmoreofwhattheyreadthantheycouldearlierintheyear.Aspartoftheirstudy,theresearchersusedaspecialmachinetotakeactionphotosofthestudents'brains.(3)Thisisthesamepartofthebrainthatbecomesactivewhengoodreadersread.Thisactivatedbrainareaappearstoincludeastructurethathelpspeoplerecognizefamiliarwrittenwordsquickly.Inlowerlevelreaders,thisstructureremainsinactive.Ayearlater,thebrainstructurewasstillworkinghardinthestudentswhohadgorethroughthespecialtutoring,andtheycontinuedtodowellinreadingtests(4)However,someresearchersstilldoubtthestudy.(5)AManyadultsareinterestedinmatchingsoundswithlettersBThestudentsalsopracticedreadingaloudandspellingCThebiggestchallengeformanyofthesekids,scientistssay,ismatchingsoundswithletters.DAnothergroupinthestudywhowentthroughamoretraditionalreadingprogramdidn'tshowthesameprogress.EThepicturesshowedanincreaseinactivityinthebackofthebrainontheleftside.FTheybelievethatreadingwithoutmakinganynoiseorlinkingwordstosoundsismoreefficient.答案：1.C2.B3.E4.D5.FTheBuildingofthePyramidsTheoldeststonebuildingsintheworldarethepyramids.(46).ThereareovereightyofthemscatteredalongthebanksoftheNile,someofwhicharedifferentinshapefromthetruepyramids.Themostfamousofthesearethe"Step"pyramidandthe"Bent"pyramid.Someofthepyramidsstilllookmuchthesameastheymusthavedonewhentheywerebuiltthousandsofyearsago.Mostofthedamagesufferedbytheothershasbeenatthehandsofmenwhowerelookingfortreasureor,moreoften,forstonetouseinmodernbuildings.(47).Thesearegoodreasonswhytheycanstillbeseentoday,butperhapsthemostimportantisthattheywereplannedtolastforever.(48).However,therearenowritingsorpicturestoshowushowtheEgyptiansplannedorbuiltthepyramidsthemselves.(49).Nevertheless,byexaminingtheactualpyramidsandvarioustoolswhichhavebeenfound,archaeologistshaveformedafairlyclearpictureofthem.Onethingiscertain:theremusthavebeenmonthsofcarefulplanningbeforetheycouldbegintobuild.(50).Youmaythinkthiswouldhavebeeneasywithmilesandmilesofemptydesertaround,butapyramidcouldnotbebuiltjustanywhere.Certainruleshadtobefollowed,andcertainproblemshadtobeovercome.AThedryclimateofEgypthashelpedtopreservethepyramids,andtheirveryshapehavemadethemlesslikelytofallintoruin.BItispracticallycertainthatplansweremadeforthebuildingofthepyramidsbecausetheplansofotherlargeworkshavefortunatelybeenpreserved.CThefirstthingtheyhadtodowastochooseasuitableplace.DConsequently,weareonlyabletoguessatthemethodsusedEManypeoplewerekilledwhilebuildingthepyramids.FTheyhavestoodfornearly5,000years,anditseemslikelythattheywillcontinuetostandforthousandsofyearsyet.答案：46.F47.A48.B49.D50.CThemostcommonkindofconsolidationtodayisthemerger.Amergeroccurs____(1)____.Withthederegulationofnaturalgas,thenation’s20interstatepipelinecompaniesbecamefearfulofcutthroatcompetition.Somefeltthattheycouldincreasetheirefficiencyandimprovetheirmarketflexibilitybymerging.In1985InternorthofOmahapaid$2.3billionforHoustonNaturalGasCorporation,____(2)____.Thesystemconnectedmarketsfromcoasttocoastandraisedsalesto$10billion.Onoccasion,mergershaveoccurredbetweensmallercompaniesinanindustrydominatedbyafewgiantfirms.Thesesmallercompaniesclaimthattheyneedtomergetobecomemoreefficientandeffectiveincompetingagainstthebiggestcorporations.Theymaintainthatsuchactionincreasescompetitioninsteadofreducingit.TheAntitrustDivisionoftheJusticeDepartmenthasnotalwaysagreedwiththem.Fourmajorwavesofmergershavetakenplaceinthiscountry.Thefirststartedin1887,justpriortothepassageoftheShermanAntitrustAct,andendedin1904.ItinvolvedsuchgiantsasUnitedStatesSteelandStandardOiltryingtocreatemonopoliesintheirindustries.FromtheendofWorldWarIuntilthe1930s,largefirmsswallowedsmallerfirmstocreateoligopolies.Themonopolyhadnochanceandtheoligopolylittlechanceofs