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Part III Reading Comprehension (40%)

Direction: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C, and D. You should decide on the best choice. Then blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a pencil.

PASSAGE1.

Henric Ibsen ,author of the play"A Doll's House", in which a pretty, helpless housewife abandons

Her husband and children to seek a more serious life, would surely have approved.. From January Ist ,

2008, all public companies in Norway are obliged to ensure that at least 40% of their board directors are

women. Most firms have obeyed the law, which was passed in 2003.But about 75 out of the 480 or so

companies it affects are still too male for the government's liking. They will shortly receive a letter

informing them that they have until the end of February to act , or face the legal consequences---which

could include being dissolved.

   Before the law was proposed, about 7% of board members in Norway were female , according to the Centre for Corporate Diversity .The number has since jumped to 36%. That is far higher than the average of 9% for big companies across Europe or America's 15% for the Fortune 500.Norway's stock exchange and its main business lobby oppose the law, as do many businessmen." I am against quotas for women or men as a matter of principle," says Sverre Munck , head of international operations at a media firm. "Board members of public companies should be chosen solely on the basis of merit and experience,"be says. Several firms have even given up their public status in order to escape the new law.

Companies have had to recruit about 1,000 women in four years. Many complain that it has been

Difficult to find experienced candidates. Because of this, some of the best women have collected as many as 25-35 directorships each, and are known in Norwegian business circles as the "golden skirts". One reason for the scarcity is that there are fairly few women in management in Norwegian companies---they occupy around 15% of senior positions. It has been particularly hard for firms in the oil, technology and financial industries to find women with a enough experience.

Some people worry that their relative lack of experience may keep women quiet on boards, and that

In turn could mean that boards might become less able to hold managers to account. Recent history in Norway, however, suggests that the right women can make strong directors. "Women feel more compelled than men to do their homework," says Ms Reksten Skaugen , who was voted Norway's chairman of the year for 2007, "and we can afford to ask the hard questions, because women are not always expected to know the answers."

41. The author mentions Ibsen's play in the first paragraph in order to           .

   A. depict women's dilemma at work

   B. explain the newly passed law

   C. support Norwegian government

   D. introduce the topic under discussion

42. A public company that fails to obey the new law could be forced to           .

A. pay a heavy fine

B. close down its business

C. change to a private business

D. sign a document promising to act

43. To which of the following is Sverre Munck most likely to agree?

   A. A set ratio of women in a board is unreasonable.

   B. A reasonable quota for women at work needs to be set.

   C. A common principle should be followed by all companies.

   D. An inexperienced businessman is not subject to the new law.

44.The author attributes the phenomenon of "golden skirts" to            .

   A. the small number of qualified females in management

B. the over-recruitment of female managers in public companies

C. the advantage women enjoy when competing for senior positions

D. the discrimination toward women in Norwegian business circles

45. The main idea of the passage might be         .

   A. female power and liberation in Norway

   B. the significance of Henric Ibsen's play

   C. women's status in Norwegian firms

   D. the constitution of board members in Norway