Read the following article about forms of business ownership and the questions on the opposite page. For each question(15-20), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet. Forms of Business Ownership A business may have a small beginning as a sole proprietorship, later expand into a partnership, and finally become a corporation. Many corporate giants started as sole proprietoriships. Sole Proprietorships The oldest, most common form of private business ownership is the sole proprietorship. A sole proprietorship is a business owned and managed by one individual. That person may receive help from others in operating the business but is the only boss; the sole proprietor is the company. Typically the sole proprietor owns a small service or retail operation, such as a roadside produce stand, hardware store, bakery, or restaurant. The sole owner, often sided by one or two employees, operates a small shop that often supplies goods to a group of regular customers. The capital(money)needed to start and operate the business is normally provided by the owner through personal wealth or borrowed money. The sole proprietor is usually an active manager, working in the ship every day. He or she controls the operations, supervises the employees, and makes the decisions. The managerial ability of the owner usually accounts for the success or failure of the business. Many people desire to be their own boss;. A sole proprietorship accomplishes this goal; it has other advantages as well. Sole proprietorship is the easiest way to start a business. The sole owner has all profits earned or losses by operation. Another advantage of the proprietorship is that the business pays no income tax. It is also easy to close a business. A sole proprietorship also has disadvantages, for example, unlimited liability, difficulty in raising capital, limitations in managerial ability, demands on time, difficulty in hiring and keeping high a-chievement employees, and etc. Partnerships There are three major types of partnerships. A general partnership is a business with at least one general partner who has unlimited liability for the debts of the business. A limited partnership has at least one or more limited partners. The joint venture is a special type of partnership established to carry out a special project or to operate for a specific time period. The advantages of a partnership include the following: more capital, combined managerial skills, ease of starting, tax advantages, and etc. The disadvantages of a partnership include the following: unlimited liability, disagreements among partners, investment withdrawal difficulty, limited capital and etc. Corporations Some industries, such as automobile manufacturing, computer manufacturing, oil refining, and natural gas production, require millions of dollars to operate a business. Typically such vast sums of money are put together by attracting many investors. The unincorporated forms of business—the proprietorship and the partner-ship—do not attract investors who do not want to make decisions or to be actually involved in managing the firm. The corporation, by contrast, provides a form of business ownership in which owners spread over a wide geographical area can hire professional managers to operate the business. It has the legal rights of an individual: it can own property, purchase goods and services, and sue other persons or corporations. The advantages of a corporation include the following: limited liability, skilled management team, transfer of ownership, greater capital base, and etc. the disadvantages of a corporation include the following: difficulty and expenses of starting, lack of control right to the operation, government involvement, lack of personal interest, double taxation, credit limitations.

Look at the statements below and at the five news bulletins on the opposite page. Which bulletin(A, B, C, D or E)does each statement(1-6)refer to? For each statement(1-6), mark one letter(A, B, C, D or E)on your Answer Sheet. You will need to use some of the letters more than once. There is an example at the beginning(0). Example: 0 This company has suspended plans to work closely with another company. [*] A Taler to cut UK workforce Taler Chemicals, the Anglo-German industrial chemical company, announced yesterday that it is to cut 600 blue-collar jobs in a series of downsizing measures at three of its British plants. The news coincided with confirmation that the company also plans to dispose of its loss-making operations, CapPaints, the industrial solvent and paint division. This restructuring comes as the company reported a sharp drop in pre-tax profits. According to a company spokesman, the proposed joint venture with DTR International, one of the Taler Chemicals’ main competitors, is likely to be shelved. B Merger creates Hungarian software powerhouse Silcom has finalised merger terms with ARER to create one of Hungary’s largest computer software companies. Details of the merger are expected to be released later today. However, it is believed that Silcom’s plans to break into France and Germany have been put on hold for the time being and that major job losses will soon be announced. Silcom looks set to benefit from the merger with ARER, which has recently been awarded a number of major contracts, including a contract with the Hungarian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which will be worth in excess of $345,000 for the company. C Profits warning at LYT International LYT International, one of Europe’s leading Management Training Organisations, has warned shareholders to expect a fall in full year profits. The company, whose flagship training centre in Copenhagen is currently being modernised and refurbished, made an interim profit of $12m, compared with $23m in 1998. In response to its poor financial results, LYT has announced plans to cut jobs in its French and Spanish centres. An employee spokesman said that the move would prove unpopular and that with insufficient employees, some centres would struggle to deliver the high level of service demanded. D Shake-up at BTED Nina Rantamen, former government adviser and the new CEO at BTED Power in Finland, has announced cost-cutting measures at the company. This decision has already led to the resignation of one of the company’s most respected employees. Annika Ehlers had been with BTED Power for over 20 years, most recently as its Head of Operations. It is believed that she objected to company plans to reduce staffing levels at two of BTED Power’s plants. Indications are that further high level resignations will follow in the next few months. E Restructuring plans announced at San Freight San Freight has responded to redundancy rumours by revealing that it is to cut the number of office-based staff employed in its Scandinavian division by 25% over the next 24 months. The announcement follows confirmation that the company has also decided to postpone the planned upgrading of haulage systems at its Stockholm subsidiary. A senior staff member has revealed that San Freight’s business has deteriorated in recent months due to the escalating price war with central and eastern European rivals.

Read this text about New York Stock Exchange. Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps. For each gap(9-14), mark one letter(A--H)on your answer sheet. Do not use any letter more than once. There is an example at the beginning(0). New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange(NYSE)is the largest stock market in the world and also the oldest financial market in the United States where billions of dollars worth of stock change hands each day. The exchange evolved from a meeting where 24 brokers and merchants signed the historic “Buttonwood Agreement“ to trade a handful of securities on what is now Wall Street in New York City in 1792.(0).G...The present name was adopted in 1863. Today, 2,800 companies trade their shares on the NYSE. These companies are all publicly traded.【P1】______ The NYSE is owned by its members. A membership is traditionally called a seat. Membership, limited to 1,366 since 1953, is obtained by purchasing(since 1868)a seat from an existing member. Unlike some of the newer exchanges, the NYSE still uses a large trading floor in order to conduct its transactions.【P2】______ This is called the open outcry system and it usually produces fair market pricing. Only the highest quality companies can choose to list their securities on the NYSE. To be considered for an NYSE listing, companies must meet strict financial and regulatory criteria.【P3】______ And once they do, the NYSE plays a unique role in providing deep and liquid markets for the trading of those securities, benefiting all investors, large and small. Listed companies pay both initial listing fees and annual fees. When companies first list on the NYSE, the company’s top officials are often invited to ring the Opening Bell on the NYSE Trading Floor.【P4】______ In addition to having the highest overall listing standards of any securities marketplace in the world, the NYSE is among the world’s most well-recognised brand names.【P5】______ In the more than two centuries that have followed, the NYSE has continued to adapt and evolve into the world’s largest global equities marketplace.【P6】______Its mission is to add value to the capital-raising and asset-management process by providing the highest-quality and most cost-effective marketplace for the trading of financial instruments, to promote confidence in and understanding of that process, and to serve as a forum for discussion of relevant national and international policy issues. Example:[*] A Issuers that list with the NYSE benefit from association with this brand name while gaining access to the world’s largest, most liquid market for the trading of their securities. B Even meeting these requirements is not a guarantee that the NYSE will list the company. C That means any investor can buy their stock. D Many new exchanges have stopped using the trading floor to conduct their transactions. E It is here that the representatives of buyers and sellers, professionals known as brokers, meet and shout out prices at one another in order to strike a deal. F The NYSE has remained unwavering in its commitment to customers and to building a truly global marketplace with great breadth of product and geographic reach. G It was formally constituted as the New York Stock and Exchange Board in 1817. H Ringing the Bell, which signals the start and close of the trading day, is part of the NYSE’s rich heritage and signifies the opportunities the financial markets provide.

Read the article below about ToyLearn, a start-up company developing educational tools for children. For each question(31-40), write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet. There is an example at the beginning(0). [*] ToyLearn is an exciting start-up company that has developed(0).line of educational tools for children【B1】______are fun and engaging. The company has been founded by the husband and wife team of David and Jen Funster and is registered【B2】______ an Ohio S-Corp. ToyLearn will be profitable【B3】______the end of year one and will have a steep increase in sales for the first several years. The company is initially offering three different educational toys. The first is Number-Toy, a fun toy that teaches children number skills. The【B4】______ product is LetterToy which has the name hints, and helps children quickly conquer the【B5】______ The third product is PhonicToy, a device that resembles a mini PC and teaches phonic and math skills. While all the products are educational tools that develop core skills【B6】______ the youngster users, they are fun to play with, thereby encouraging tots to use them often. New products are currently in development by the in-house department. The company has identified three keys to success that are instrumental in the sustainability of the business. Number one is the need to develop creative, educational, engaging toys. The second key is【B7】______ adopt strict financial controls. The last key to success is the need to listen to customers, effectively creating a feedback mechanism for product improvement. We have identified two customer segments that we will go【B8】______The first group is individual. These are parents or grandparents who are purchasing the product for their children. The segment is growing【B9】______8% per year and currently has 3,354,430 perspective customers. The second market segment that will be addressed is wholesale purchasers, typically organisations that are purchasing the products for their clients to use. These organisations are typically some sort【B10】______care centre or nursery/ pre-school. The segment is growing annually at 10% with 702,335 possible customers.

Read the article below about mergers and acquisitions. Choose the correct word or words to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page. For each question(21-30), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet. There is an example at the beginning(0) Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management(0). D.... with the buying, selling and combining of different companies that can aid, finance, or help a growing company in a given industry grow【C1】______without having to create another business entity. In business or economics a merger is a【C2】______of two companies into one larger company. Such actions are commonly【C3】______and involve stock swap or cash payment to the target. Stock swap is often used as it allows the shareholders of the two companies to【C4】______ the risk involved in the deal. A merger can resemble a takeover but result【C5】______a new company name and in new branding; in some cases,【C6】______the combination a “merger“ rather than an acquisition is done purely for political or marketing reasons. An acquisition, also known as a takeover or a buyout, is the buying of one company by another. An acquisition may be friendly or hostile. In the【C7】______ case, the companies cooperate in negotiations; in the latter case, the takeover target is【C8】______to be bought or the target’s board has no prior knowledge of the offer. Acquisition usually refers to a purchase of a smaller firm by a larger one. Sometimes,【C9】______, a smaller firm will acquire management control of a larger or longer established company and keep its name for the combined entity. The acquisition process is very complex, with many dimensions influencing its【C10】______ Example: A coping B connecting C concerning D dealing [*]

Read the following ad. In most of the lines(41-52), there is one extra word. It either is grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text. Some lines, however, are correct. If a line is correct, write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet. If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet. The exercise begins with two examples(0 and 00). [*] 0 Ascott International is the largest serviced residential operator in the world. 00 Managing the Ascott, the Somerset and Citadines brands in over 50 cities 【M1】______across 23 countries, Ascott International is renowned for its charming hospitality 【M2】______and luxurious residence. Each of brand has its unique attributes to satisfy the needs 【M3】______of different guests. The Ascott Beijing is being strategically located in the heart of 【M4】______the central business area in Chaoyang District. It is close to the China World 【M5】______Trade Centre and has set among thriving retail and business districts. The residence 【M6】______appeals to top executives who accustomed to discreet service and elegant living, 【M7】______and provides with a comprehensive choice of apartments from one-bedroom suites 【M8】______to duplex penthouses which ranging in size from 105 to 380 square meters. A wide 【M9】______selection of dining choices in the building can caters to the different tastes of our 【M10】______international guests. Grocery shopping is convenient with in a 24-hour mini-mart and 【M11】______a complimentary shuttle bus to Wal-Mart and Carrefour. Business dealings become 【M12】______easy here with wireless surfing zones set, a well-equipped business centre and function rooms, where video conferences can be held.

Which of the following is not true about the sole proprietorship?

The advantages of the sole proprietorship include the following except

A limited partnership has

The advantages of a partnership include the following except

Which of the following disadvantages does a corporation have?

Some business such as oil refining and natural gas productions are operated by