适用于参加全国四六级考试的考生

irrationality in the enrollment of the campuses. Some hot majors have enrolled too many students, and many people compete for one position after graduation, whereas the majors with little attention have few students, and more graduates are needed than the campus can supply.

The solution to this problem lies with both the government as a whole and the individual in specific. The government takes whatever measures possible to help the economy recover and to create more job opportunities for the applicants. And for the individual students, it is better to study what they are interested in and to gain experience through practice, thus better prepared for the society.[NextPage] Part ⅡReading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)

Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.

Buying the Best Insurance for Your Business

Gabrielle Melchionda broke into tears when firefighters accidentally flooded the headquarters of Mad Gab’s, the beauty company she had founded two decades ago, even though she knew that insurance would replace the desks, computers, and shelves of lip balm(唇膏)she had lost. To her surprise, however, the real pain came in the months that followed, when she continued to owe salaries and rent while her sales slowed to a trickle(滴，淌，细流).

“The critical piece that was missing was business-interruption insurance,” said Ms. Melchionda, who had property and liability insurance but had never got around to adding a policy that replaces income lost after accidents.

Business owners have plenty of stories like Ms. Melchionda’s, of policies that didn’t cover enough damage or covered the wrong risk. Some of these complaints can be attributed to tight-fisted insurance companies or misinformed agents, but the fault often lies with entrepreneurs (企业家)who gloss over their insurance decisions.

“Generally speaking, small-business owners are not completely aware of the coverage they have or the coverage they need,” said Steven Spiro, an independent insurance agent, explaining that many small-business owners buy insurance simply to comply with the requirements of an office lease.

Picking an Agent

适用于参加全国四六级考试的考生

Buying insurance can be intimidating(使人胆怯的), and it’s difficult to know who is trying to take advantage of you and who is giving honest advice. That’s why you should start by asking other entrepreneurs in your industry what kinds of insurance they carry and who they bought it from. There are three types of vendors who can help you pick insurance: independent agents, captive agents(专属代理人), and risk consultants.

Independent agents, also known as brokers, offer the greatest choice because they typically represent many carriers. They are paid on commission by the insurance company, between 10 percent and 20 percent of the annual premium depending on the policy. Beware: because some carriers pay a higher commission than others, brokers may be tempted to play favorites.

Captive agents represent one insurance company that pays them a salary and commands their loyalty. Some companies such as Allstate only deal with their own agents; that means you can only buy their policies through one of their agents. Both independent and captive agents receive bonuses at the end of the year based on their ratio of policies sold to damages paid. That means it’s in their interest to sell you as much insurance as possible and minimize your claims as much as possible.

Understand, also, that most agents focus solely on insurance. “Sometimes there are solutions to your problem that might be better treated without insurance,” said Arthur Flitner, a small-business expert at the Insurance Institute of America. In some cases, for example, it makes more financial sense to self-insure against certain property risks by setting up a rainy-day fund, or to minimize lawsuit risks by enforcing strict employment policies.

That’s when a risk consultant can help. Because they’re costly — you’ll usually pay a few thousand dollars for a basic project — it makes sense to hire a risk expert only if you have an unusually risky operation, or run a business with more than, say, $25 million in revenue(收入)or more than 100 employees.

After you’ve found some trustworthy vendors, it’s time to shop for bids. Go to as many brokers and agents as you like, but keep in mind that insurance companies won’t bid on the same account through different brokers.

Picking a Policy

If you’re grossing less than $3 million, you will most likely end up with a business owners policy, known as a B.O.P., which bundles business policies and lets you add additional pieces as necessary. Every carrier assembles its B.O.P.