A scientist who does research in economic psychology and who wants to predict the way in which consumers will spend their money must study consumer behavior. He must obtain (1) both on resources of consumers and on the motives that (2) to encourage or discourage money spending.
If an (3) were asked which of three groups borrow most -- people with rising incomes, (4) incomes, or declining incomes -- he would (5) answer: those with declining incomes. Actually, in the years 1997 -2000, the answer was: people with rising incomes. People with declining incomes were next and people with stable incomes borrowed the (6) . This shows us that tradition- al (7) about earning and spending are not always (8) Another traditional assumption is that if people who have money expect prices to go up, they will (9) to buy. If they expect prices to go down, they will postpone buying. (10) research surveys have shown that this is not always (11) The expectations of price increases may not stimulate buying. One (12) attitude was ex- pressed by the wife of a mechanic in an interview at a time of rising prices. Her family had been planning to buy a new car but they postponed this purchase. (13) , the rise in prices that has al- ready taken place may be resented and buyer’s resistance may be evoked.
The (14) mentioned above was carried out in America. Investigations (15) at the same time in Great Britain, however, yielded results that were more (16) traditional assumptions about saving and spending patterns. The condition most contributive to spending (17) to be price stability. If prices have been stable and people consider that they are (18) , they are likely to buy. Thus, it appears that the common (19) policy of maintaining stable prices is based on a correct understanding of (20) psychology.

17（）

A:similar B:sound C:stable D:equal

With a series of well-timed deals, private-equity firms are giving traditional mediamanagers cause to be envious, The Warner Music transaction, in which Edgar Bronfman junior and three private-equity firms paid Time Warner $ 2.6 billion for the unit in 2003, is already judged a financial triumph for the buyers. Their success is likely to draw still more private-equity into the industry. And the investments are likely to get bigger: individual privateequity funds are growing—a $10 billion fund is likely this year—so even the biggest media firms could come within range, especially ff private-equity investors club together,
Some private-equity firms have long put money in media assets, but mostly reliable, relatively obscure businesses with stable cash flows. Now, some of them are placing big strategic bets on the more volatile bits, such as music and movies. And they are currently far more confident than the media old guard that the advertising cycle is about to turn sharply upwards.
One reason why private-equity is making its presence felt in media is that it has a lot of money to invest. Other industries are feeling its weight too. But private-equity’s buying spree (狂购乱买) reveals a lot about the media business in particular. Media conglomerates (联合公司) lack the confidence to make big acquisitions, after the last wave of deals went wrong. Executives at Time Warner, for instance, which disastrously merged with AOL in 2000, wanted to buy MGM, a movie studio, but the board (it is said) were too nervous. Instead, private-equity firms combined with Sony, a consumer-electronics giant, to buy MGM late last year.
Private-equity’s interest also reflects the fact that revenue growth in media businesses such as broadcast TV and radio is now hard to come by. The average annual growth rate for 12 categories of established American media businesses in 1998-2003, excluding the internet, was just 3.4% , says Veronis Suhler Stevenson, an investment bank. Private-equity puts a higher value on low-growth, high cashflow assets than the public stockmarket, says Jonathan Nelson, founder of Providence Equity Partners, a media-focused private-equity firm. What private-equity men now bring to the media business, they like to think, is financial discipline plus an enthusiastic attitude towards new technology. Old-style media managers, claim the newcomers, are still in denial about how technology is transforming their industry.
Traditional media managers grudgingly agree that, so far, private-equity investors are doing very nicely indeed from their entertainment deals. The buyers of Warner Music have already got back most of their $ 2.6 billion from the farm by cutting costs, issuing debt and making special payouts to shareholders. This year, its investors are expected to launch an initial public offering, which could bring them hundreds of millions more.
The word "volatile" (line 3, paragraph 2) most probably means

A:changeable. B:stable. C:versatile. D:expensive.

With a series of well-timed deals, private-equity firms are giving traditional media- managers cause to be envious. The Warner Music transaction, in which Edgar Bronfman junior and three private-equity firms paid Time Warner ＄ 2.6 billion for the unit in 2003, is already judged a financial triumph for the buyers. Their success is likely to draw still more private -equity into the industry. And the investments are likely to get bigger: individual private- equity funds are growing—a ＄10 billion fund is likely this year—so even the biggest media firms could come within range, especially if private-equity investors club together.
Some private-equity firms have long put money in media assets, but mostly reliable, relatively obscure businesses with stable cash flows. Now, some of them are placing big strategic bets on the more volatile bits, such as music and movies. And they are currently far more confident than the media old guard that the advertising cycle is about to turn sharply up- wards.
One reason why private-equity is making its presence felt in media is that it has a lot of money to invest. Other industries are feeling its weight too. But private-equity’s buying spree (狂购乱买) reveals a lot about the media business in particular. Media conglomerates (联合公司) lack the confidence to make big acquisitions, after the last wave of deals went wrong. Executives at Time Warner, for instance, which disastrously merged with AOL in 2000, wanted to buy MGM, a movie studio, but the board (it is said) were too nervous. Instead, private-equity firms combined with Sony, a consumer-electronics giant, to buy MGM late last year.
Private-equity’s interest also reflects the fact that revenue growth in media businesses such as broadcast TV and radio is now hard to come by. The average annual growth rate for 12 categories of established American media businesses in 1998-2003, excluding the internet, was just 3.4%, says Veronis Suhler Stevenson, an investment bank. Private-equity puts a higher value on low-growth, high cashflow assets than the public stockmarket, says Jonathan Nelson, founder of Providence Equity Partners, a media-focused private-equity firm.
What private-equity men now bring to the media business, they like to think, is financial discipline plus an enthusiastic attitude towards new technology. Old-style media managers, claim the newcomers, are still in denial about how technology is transforming their industry.
Traditional media managers grudgingly agree that, so far, private-equity investors are doing very nicely indeed from their entertainment deals. The buyers of Warner Music have already got back most of their $ 2.6 billion from the firm by cutting costs, issuing debt and making special payouts to shareholders. This year, its investors are expected to launch an initial public offering, which could bring them hundreds of millions more.
The word "volatile" (line 2, paragraph 2) most probably means

A:changeable. B:stable. C:versatile. D:expensive.

With a series of well-timed deals, private-equity firms are giving traditional media- managers cause to be envious. The Warner Music transaction, in which Edgar Bronfman junior and three private-equity firms paid Time Warner $ 2.6 billion for the unit in 2003, is already judged a financial triumph for the buyers. Their success is likely to draw still more private-equity into the industry. And the investments are likely to get bigger: individual private-equity funds are growing--a $10 billion fund is likely this year--so even the biggest media firms could come within range, especially if private-equity investors club together.
Some private-equity firms have long put money in media assets, but mostly reliable, relatively obscure businesses with stable cash flows. Now, some of them are placing big strategic bets on the more volatile bits, such as music and movies. And they are currently far more confident than the media old guard that the advertising cycle is about to turn sharply upwards.
One reason why private-equity is making its presence felt in media is that it has a lot of money to invest. Other industries are feeling its weight too. But private-equity’s buying spree (狂购乱买) reveals a lot about the media business in particular. Media conglomerates( 联合公司) lack the confidence to make big acquisitions, after the last wave of deals went wrong. Executives at Time Warner, for instance, which disastrously merged with AOL in 2000, wanted to buy MGM, a movie studio, but the board (it is said) were too nervous. Instead, private- equity firms combined with Sony, a consumer-electronics giant, to buy MGM late last year.
Private-equity’s interest also reflects the fact that revenue growth in media businesses such as broadcast TV and radio is now hard to come by. The average annual growth rate for 12 categories of established American media businesses in 1998-2003, excluding the internet, was just 3.4% , says Veronis Suhler Stevenson, an investment bank. Private-equity puts a higher value on low-growth, high cashflow assets than the public stockmarket, says Jonathan Nelson, founder of Providence Equity Partners, a media-focused private-equity firm.
What private-equity men now bring to the media business, they like to think, is financial discipline plus an enthusiastic attitude towards new technology. Old-style media managers, claim the newcomers, are still in denial about how technology is transforming their industry.
Traditional media managers grudgingly agree that, so far, private-equity investors are doing very nicely indeed from their entertainment deals. The buyers of Warner Music have already got back most of their $ 2.6 billion from the firm by cutting costs, issuing debt and making special payouts to shareholders. This year, its investors are expected to launch an initial public offering, which could bring them hundreds of millions more.
The word "volatile" ( paragraph 2 ) most probably means

A:changeable. B:stable. C:versatile. D:expensive.

With a series of well-timed deals, private-equity firms are giving traditional media- managers cause to be envious. The Warner Music transaction, in which Edgar Bronfman junior and three private-equity firms paid Time Warner ＄ 2.6 billion for the unit in 2003, is already judged a financial triumph for the buyers. Their success is likely to draw still more private -equity into the industry. And the investments are likely to get bigger: individual private- equity funds are growing—a ＄10 billion fund is likely this year—so even the biggest media firms could come within range, especially if private-equity investors club together.
Some private-equity firms have long put money in media assets, but mostly reliable, relatively obscure businesses with stable cash flows. Now, some of them are placing big strategic bets on the more volatile bits, such as music and movies. And they are currently far more confident than the media old guard that the advertising cycle is about to turn sharply up- wards.
One reason why private-equity is making its presence felt in media is that it has a lot of money to invest. Other industries are feeling its weight too. But private-equity’s buying spree (狂购乱买) reveals a lot about the media business in particular. Media conglomerates (联合公司) lack the confidence to make big acquisitions, after the last wave of deals went wrong. Executives at Time Warner, for instance, which disastrously merged with AOL in 2000, wanted to buy MGM, a movie studio, but the board (it is said) were too nervous. Instead, private-equity firms combined with Sony, a consumer-electronics giant, to buy MGM late last year.
Private-equity’s interest also reflects the fact that revenue growth in media businesses such as broadcast TV and radio is now hard to come by. The average annual growth rate for 12 categories of established American media businesses in 1998-2003, excluding the internet, was just 3.4%, says Veronis Suhler Stevenson, an investment bank. Private-equity puts a higher value on low-growth, high cashflow assets than the public stockmarket, says Jonathan Nelson, founder of Providence Equity Partners, a media-focused private-equity firm.
What private-equity men now bring to the media business, they like to think, is financial discipline plus an enthusiastic attitude towards new technology. Old-style media managers, claim the newcomers, are still in denial about how technology is transforming their industry.
Traditional media managers grudgingly agree that, so far, private-equity investors are doing very nicely indeed from their entertainment deals. The buyers of Warner Music have already got back most of their $ 2.6 billion from the firm by cutting costs, issuing debt and making special payouts to shareholders. This year, its investors are expected to launch an initial public offering, which could bring them hundreds of millions more.

The word "volatile" (line 2, paragraph 2) most probably means（）

A:changeable. B:stable. C:versatile. D:expensive.

Section Ⅰ Use of English Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word (s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 Points) A scientist who does research in economic psychology and who wants to predict the way in which consumers will spend their money must study consumer behavior. He must obtain (1) both on resources of consumers and on the motives that (2) to encourage or discourage money spending. If an (3) were asked which of three groups borrow most -- people with rising incomes, (4) incomes, or declining incomes -- he would (5) answer: those with declining incomes. Actually, in the years 1997 -2000, the answer was: people with rising incomes. People with declining incomes were next and people with stable incomes borrowed the (6) . This shows us that tradition- al (7) about earning and spending are not always (8) Another traditional assumption is that if people who have money expect prices to go up, they will (9) to buy. If they expect prices to go down, they will postpone buying. (10) research surveys have shown that this is not always (11) The expectations of price increases may not stimulate buying. One (12) attitude was ex- pressed by the wife of a mechanic in an interview at a time of rising prices. Her family had been planning to buy a new car but they postponed this purchase. (13) , the rise in prices that has al- ready taken place may be resented and buyer’s resistance may be evoked. The (14) mentioned above was carried out in America. Investigations (15) at the same time in Great Britain, however, yielded results that were more (16) traditional assumptions about saving and spending patterns. The condition most contributive to spending (17) to be price stability. If prices have been stable and people consider that they are (18) , they are likely to buy. Thus, it appears that the common (19) policy of maintaining stable prices is based on a correct understanding of (20) psychology.

Read the following text. Choose the best word (s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1.1（）

A:similar B:sound C:stable D:equal

Text 4

The word "volatile" (line 3, paragraph 2) most probably means

A:changeable. B:stable. C:versatile. D:expensive.

With a series of well-timed deals, private-equity firms are giving traditional media- managers cause to be envious. The Warner Music transaction, in which Edgar Bronfman junior and three private-equity firms paid Time Warner $ 2.6 billion for the unit in 2003, is already judged a financial triumph for the buyers. Their success is likely to draw still more private-equity into the industry. And the investments are likely to get bigger: individual private-equity funds are growing--a $10 billion fund is likely this year--so even the biggest media firms could come within range, especially if private-equity investors club together.
Some private-equity firms have long put money in media assets, but mostly reliable, relatively obscure businesses with stable cash flows. Now, some of them are placing big strategic bets on the more volatile bits, such as music and movies. And they are currently far more confident than the media old guard that the advertising cycle is about to turn sharply upwards.
One reason why private-equity is making its presence felt in media is that it has a lot of money to invest. Other industries are feeling its weight too. But private-equity’s buying spree (狂购乱买) reveals a lot about the media business in particular. Media conglomerates( 联合公司) lack the confidence to make big acquisitions, after the last wave of deals went wrong. Executives at Time Warner, for instance, which disastrously merged with AOL in 2000, wanted to buy MGM, a movie studio, but the board (it is said) were too nervous. Instead, private- equity firms combined with Sony, a consumer-electronics giant, to buy MGM late last year.
Private-equity’s interest also reflects the fact that revenue growth in media businesses such as broadcast TV and radio is now hard to come by. The average annual growth rate for 12 categories of established American media businesses in 1998-2003, excluding the internet, was just 3.4% , says Veronis Suhler Stevenson, an investment bank. Private-equity puts a higher value on low-growth, high cashflow assets than the public stockmarket, says Jonathan Nelson, founder of Providence Equity Partners, a media-focused private-equity firm.
What private-equity men now bring to the media business, they like to think, is financial discipline plus an enthusiastic attitude towards new technology. Old-style media managers, claim the newcomers, are still in denial about how technology is transforming their industry.
Traditional media managers grudgingly agree that, so far, private-equity investors are doing very nicely indeed from their entertainment deals. The buyers of Warner Music have already got back most of their $ 2.6 billion from the firm by cutting costs, issuing debt and making special payouts to shareholders. This year, its investors are expected to launch an initial public offering, which could bring them hundreds of millions more.

The word "volatile" ( paragraph 2 ) most probably means（）

A:changeable B:stable C:versatile D:expensive

A scientist who does research in economic psychology and who wants to predict the way in which consumers will spend their money must study consumer behavior. He must obtain (1) both on resources of consumers and on the motives that (2) to encourage or discourage money spending.
If an (3) were asked which of three groups borrow most -- people with rising incomes, (4) incomes, or declining incomes -- he would (5) answer: those with declining incomes. Actually, in the years 1997 -2000, the answer was: people with rising incomes. People with declining incomes were next and people with stable incomes borrowed the (6) . This shows us that tradition- al (7) about earning and spending are not always (8) Another traditional assumption is that if people who have money expect prices to go up, they will (9) to buy. If they expect prices to go down, they will postpone buying. (10) research surveys have shown that this is not always (11) The expectations of price increases may not stimulate buying. One (12) attitude was ex- pressed by the wife of a mechanic in an interview at a time of rising prices. Her family had been planning to buy a new car but they postponed this purchase. (13) , the rise in prices that has al- ready taken place may be resented and buyer’s resistance may be evoked.
The (14) mentioned above was carried out in America. Investigations (15) at the same time in Great Britain, however, yielded results that were more (16) traditional assumptions about saving and spending patterns. The condition most contributive to spending (17) to be price stability. If prices have been stable and people consider that they are (18) , they are likely to buy. Thus, it appears that the common (19) policy of maintaining stable prices is based on a correct understanding of (20) psychology.

4（）

A:similar B:sound C:stable D:equal