1 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. literally       B. barrier       C. Eventually       D. find E. examines       F. features       G. innovations       H. mean I. professional       J. striking       K. well-positioned

The Best Company to Work For

Every year, Fortune magazine published a list of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’. How does the magazine choose the companies? Firstly, it uses a survey: 350 employees answer 57 questions about their company. Secondly, Fortune looks at important     1     of companies: for example, pay, benefits, and communication between workers and management. Finally, the magazine     2     the results to find its Top 100.

Wegmans Food Markets, which ranks No. 1 on the list, has a motto (座右铭), ‘Employees first, customers second’, and it is also one of the 50 largest private companies in the US, with annual sales of $3.6 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Apparently, being good to your employees is no     3     to making money.

How much of Wegmans’ success is due to the company’s policies? ‘Up to a point, the success is because of the freedom they give us,’ says one employee. ‘On the other hand, no company gets rich just by not being     4     to its employees. Wegmans has great marketing strategies and it’s     5     within the community. I’ve been here for 15 years. Looking back, I’d say that the company’s     6     for customers, such as the Shoppers’ Club electronic discount programme in the 1990s, have been just as important as the benefits to staff. ’

But the employee benefits are     7    . Fundamentally, Wegmans believes in     8     development. As well as scholarships, the company gives its employees business opportunities. For years, one employee made delicious cookies for her colleagues.     9    , she started selling the cookies in Wegmans. ‘I just asked the manager,’ she says. ‘While looking back, I think should have asked earlier. I could have made more money!’

The staff’s freedom to make decisions is another thing you won’t     10     everywhere. Essentially, Wegmans wants its workers to do almost anything to please the customers. Believe it or not, an employee once cooked a Thanksgiving turkey in the store for a customer because the woman’s turkey, bought in Wegmans, was too big for her oven.

2 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. increase             B. separate             C. ensure            D. better            E. ease F. under                 G. benefits               H. except          I. special     J. from     K. efforts

Tax incentives for the lump sum annual bonuses earned by residents in China will continue for the next three years.

In addition, the government has also adjusted the personal income tax rules to     1     the overall tax burden of residents, including foreign residents.

The favorable tax treatment, which started in 2005, considers the lump sum annual bonus as an independent income source of an individual. In normal taxable income calculations, the lump sum bonus is added to the total earnings for tax purposes, whereas in     2     treatment, the two are considered separately for taxes, with the bonus income attracting lower tax rates in general.

Retention (保留) of the favorable clause will help the country’s ongoing     3     to ease the tax burden of individuals, analysts said.

Six categories of special individual income tax deductions will take effect along with the amended personal income tax law from Jan 1,2019. The     4     in the threshold for personal income tax exemption from 3,500 yuan ($510) to 5,000 yuan per month has already come into effect from October this year.     

Treatment of the lump sum annual bonus as     5     from other incomes, however, is not in line with the tax rules     6     the amended personal income tax law. The special treatment will be lifted in 2022.

“In the long run, it is appropriate to cancel the treatment to     7     conform to basic taxation principles and guarantee smoothness in fiscal income,” said a professor with the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing.

Even without the special treatment, other personal income tax adjustments could still bring considerable     8     to the individual tax burden, especially for young and middle-aged people.

From 2019 to 2021, foreign residents in China can choose to enjoy either the newly introduced special tax deductions, or the tax exemption     9     housing allowance, language training fee, and children’s education allowance.

But from 2022, foreign residents will only be allowed to enjoy the special tax deductions, as domestic residents do.

The professor said the cancellation of tax benefits only for foreigners conforms with international conventions and the fundamental principle of an open market economy, to     10    equal treatment for domestic and foreign market participants.

3 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. particularly   B. impact            C. ensuring       D. cost            E. threat F. additional     G. connectivity     H. response       I. address   J. function   K. forced

The United States is committed to empowering women all over the world. In too many places around the world today women face barriers to equality, resources, and opportunities, said USAID’s Senior official Michelle Bekkering. It could be a barrier to credit, to the     1     needed to launch a business. And all too frequently, women are tied down by gender-based violence, at home or within the community.

“Gender-based violence harms women, girls, their families, communities and countries,” added Bekkering.

Gender-based violence, is a universal barrier to global security, women’s empowerment, and economic growth. It is estimated right now that gender-based violence has     2     the world more than five percent of its global GDP, having a greater total economic impact than war.

USAID is trying to eliminate it through prevention and response. On prevention, we first need to learn what’s causing the problem,     3     if there are too many such severe incidents within a given region. How do natural disasters compound gender-based violence? What about lack of access to natural resources? What is the     4     of local laws?

As part of a     5    , we look at the regulatory framework, make sure there are laws that clearly define and punish offenders of gender-based violence.

Improving girls’ education is a step in the right direction, said Ms. Bekkering. For every    6     year that a girl goes to school, she is less likely to be a victim of gender-based violence. So is improving women’s access to digital technologies, and     7     support from local leadership.

U.S. Congress appropriates (拨款) a combined 150 million dollars to the State Department and to USAID for the global effort to     8     gender-based violence. It also provides money for combating child, early, and     9     marriage, which are closely linked to gender-based violence. Since 2012, USAID has provided critical services to over five million survivors and persons at risk of GBV.

Women and girls should be safe from the     10     of violence in their homes, in their communities, and they should have access to education and health care—and opportunities to live up to their full economic potential.

4 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. control            B. annual               C. step          D. share        E. doubled        F. shy G. abroad            H. hit            I. freely            J. satisfy            K. different

Duty-free shopping in China is encouraging consumer spending and industry players are not     1     when forecasting more growth in the future.

Brands from home and     2     are gathering to introduce new products for travel retailers during the China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, where zero import taxes and shorter negative lists are promoting business growth.

“The event and policies to drive offshore duty-free shopping further show China’s determination of opening wider to the outside world to     3     development opportunities,” said a Japanese businessman.

The construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port represents a big     4     of China to further advance opening-up, according to another foreign businessman.

“It offers a fantastic opportunity to     5     consumers’ needs for quality products and we, as a company, are able to communicate with them     6    ,” said Megarbane, whose company has shown several Hainan — only duty-free packages under multiple brands.

Last year, China raised the     7     cap on zero import duty to 100,000 yuan ($15,548) for each traveler departing from the tropical island. This policy has encouraged travelers from Hainan to spend more when they travel.

Duty-free spending     8     in Hainan last year. In the first quarter of this year, duty-free sales in Hainan     9     15 billion yuan, and an upward trend is expected to extend into the year and beyond.

“We believe customers want     10     experiences, to see more high-end fashion brands and explore excellent customer service, so it’s about mixed factors,” a senior manager said, adding that DFS is looking to build four new duty-free stores in Hainan within the next three to five year.

5 . Directions: Complete the passage with the words given in the table. Each word can be used only once. There is an extra one that you will find no use for.

A. called for       B. targeted          C. influencing        D. thorough        E. direct        F. preserve G. exchange       H. extended        I. signs        J. legally        K. closely

The number of people from other countries — especially China — who want to invest in the United States in     1     for a permanent resident visa reached its highest level in 2015.

The program is known as EB-5 or Employment-Based Fifth Initiative. It was created in 1990 during the presidency of George W. Bush and supported by both major political parties.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services says the program gives permanent resident status to those who invest at least $1, 000, 000 in a new project “that will create or     2     at least ten full-time jobs in the United States” within about two years. The agency says a foreign citizen needs to invest just “$500, 000 if the (project) is in a     3     employment area,” which includes some rural areas and areas with high joblessness. Critics of the program say much of the investment takes place in wealthy cities like Dallas, New York and Washington.

The USCIS reported there were 17, 691 requests for EB-5 visas in 2015. In 2013 there were 6, 554 requests.

Experts say the reason for the sharp increase last year is rich people were worried that the program would be cancelled. But in December, it was     4     for 10 months.

Without the program, many of them would have to wait many years before they could     5     enter and live in the U. S. The U. S. State Department reports some Chinese citizens who have asked for visas without taking part in the program have been waiting since 2001.

Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, has supported the EB-5program since it began. But he recently     6     major changes.

In a statement, he said “fraud (欺诈) and abuse (滥用) cannot be tolerated, no matter where it occurs. Even when there is no     7     of fraud, the intentions that Congress created to     8     EB-5 investment to underserved areas are regularly abused. Given the significant problems     9     this program, I will continue to push for meaningful reform. Without reform, I believe the time has come for the program to end. ”

Carolyn Lee is an attorney and managing partner at the EB-5 group at the Miller Mayer law firm in Ithaca, New York. She told VOA “there’s no question that the program can be improved. ” She says Congress needs to watch the program more closely, and she said background investigations should be more     10    .