4 K- W0 i2 X& b3 z TEXT F' \) J" V1 ~0 F" j' ^3 f0 q- C
First read the question.
: z- |, o* F P 32. The message of the passage is that shares can now be sold
" s# [- Y/ T; Q7 @$ \* g A. through the computer B. in the shop
% X% c& X Y" I3 [5 P5 J C. at the bank D. through the mail+ `4 q0 ~+ J+ u4 z; i, l
1 K" Q8 v& q" s/ ^0 x" j Now go through the TEXT F quickly and answer the question.$ n) _5 U' w, ?2 d, y
Investors seeking a cheap, no-frills way to sell privatisation shares need3 b) e5 {% m. n# o1 u" Y
look no further than the post box.
* v8 e' v G1 a+ T5 L" Y1 o5 d. U( M4 V Most stockbrokers offer bargain-basement deals on postal trades. They are i
! I" L- b- c( L8 t5 A: O# J4 ~9 G6 ]1 u deal for selling a small holding for the lowest possible commission.) D8 J6 L, J5 T& C3 K* ~
But the arrangements leave investors at the mercy of the Royal Mail and a seller will not know in advance how much a sale will produce.
+ d( E) H; Q9 g- [% K" ^1 c0 C+ Y Data processing engineer Mark Stanistreet of Bradford sold by post after buying a few National Power and Power Gen shares when they were privatised.
0 Y J- V0 h& O; x He says. “I didn’t really know where to go to for help. An information slip
% D" `+ ?. F+ l$ I with the shares gave details of Yorkshire Building Society’s share shop service, which offered to sell for a flat fee of $ 5.”
; M( j* W& I6 R4 r5 s5 ^ “It was an ideal first step that showed me how easy and cheap it is to sell shares, l have been investing in a small way since then.
0 `( X0 A9 F7 s% i5 n “I use Yorkshire’s telephone service, which has a $ 9 minimum fee.” Many stockbrokers offer postal deals as part of their usual dealing services, but clients may normally sell only big company or privatization shares this way.
( X) y' @: ?1 w( a Share Hnk’s minimum postal commission is $ 7.50, Skipton Building Socie’s is $ 9 and Nat Weat’s is $ 9.95.6 k" ` b+ @& T8 _- W( q) y
! x" Q1 G7 w( H! F5 j' F TEXT G
4 N9 ^/ [) e8 m- M First read the question.
/ Z/ q% Y" c1 Y; A, t 33. In the passage the author’ attitude towards the subject under discussion is ___.
. S a" R* x1 }- C& |7 p A. factual B. critical C. favourable D. ambiguous
) N' J1 H% y1 a6 X Now go through the TEXT G quickly and answer the question.: Q$ F* D2 F. ~8 k1 W
With increasing prosperity, Westem European youth is having a fling that is creating distinctive consumer and cultural patterns.
* z N* J8 c/ W The result has been the increasing emergence in Europe of that phenomenon well known in America as the “youth market. ”This is a market in which enterprising businesses cater to the demands of teenagers and older youths in all their rock mania and pop-art forms.
* q) K$ W( B) T4 M& I In Western Europe, the youth market may appropriately be said to be in its infancy. In some countries such as Britain, West Germany and France, it is more advanced than in others. Some manifestations of the market, chiefly sociological, have been recorded, but it is only just beginning to be the subject of organized consumer research and promotion.! G& I* W5 f, K7 H2 _, `
Characteristics of the evolving European youth market indicate dissimilarities as well as similarities to the American youth market.
9 Q$ E7 |/ S$ K% i, m' `4 R9 ~ The similarities:
^( K0 b P/ }: I, J$ X( b The market’s basis is essentially the same-more spending power and freedom to use it in the hands of teenagers and older youth. Young consumers also make up an increasingly high proportion of the population.
& B' Z R" E3 }9 z4 r- d. G As in the United States, youthful tastes in Europe extend over a similar range of products-records and record players, transistor radios, leather jackets and “way out,” extravagantly styled clothing, cosmetics and soft drinks. Generally it now is difficult to tell in which direction trans-Atlantic teenage influences are flowing.1 ?7 M7 U3 h0 l: r7 A) B
Also, a pattern of conformity dominates European youth as in this country, though in Britain the object is to wear clothes that “make the wearer stand out,” but also make him “in”, such as tight trousers and precisely tailored jackets.* k$ u$ K( C7 K" X' N$ k
Worship and emulation of “idols” in the entertainment field, especially the “ pop” singers and other performers is pervasive. There is also the same exuberance and unpredictability in sudden fad switches. In Paris, buyers of stores catering to the youth market carefully watch what dress is being worn by a popular television teenage singer to be ready for a sudden demand for copies. In Stockholm other followers of teenage fads call the youth market “attractive but irrational.”2 j6 y. e7 D, c) p1 S0 i- e
The most obvious differences between the youth market in Europe and that in |