Rather than, say, Quebec, negotiating on behalf of seven million people, the national agency would negotiate on behalf of 31 million people. Basic economics suggests the greater the potential consumers, the higher the likelihood of a better price.
43. ________
A small step has been taken in the direction of a national agency with the creation of the Canadian Co-ordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment, funded by Ottawa and the provinces. Under it, a Common Drug Review recommends to provincial lists which new drugs should be included. Predictably, and regrettably, Quebec refused to join.
A few premiers are suspicious of any federal-provincial deal-making. They (particularly Quebec and Alberta) just want Ottawa to fork over additional billions with few, if any, strings attached. That’s one reason why the idea of a national list hasn’t gone anywhere, while drug costs keep rising fast.
44. ________
Premiers love to quote Mr. Romanow’s report selectively, especially the parts about more federal money. Perhaps they should read what he had to say about drugs: “A national drug agency would provide governments more influence on pharmaceutical companies in order to constrain the ever-increasing cost of drugs.”
45. ________
So when the premiers gather in Niagara Falls to assemble their usual complaint list, they should also get cracking about something in their jurisdiction that would help their budgets and patients.
[A] Quebec’s resistance to a national agency is provincialist ideology. One of the first advocates for a national list was a researcher at Laval University. Quebec’s Drug Insurance Fund has seen its costs skyrocket with annual increases from 14.3 per cent to 26.8 per cent!
[B] Or they could read Mr. Kirby’s report: “the substantial buying power of such an agency would strengthen the public prescription-drug insurance plans to negotiate the lowest possible purchase prices from drug companies.”
[C] What does “national” mean? Roy Romanow and Senator Michael Kirby recommended a federal-provincial body much like the recently created National Health Council.
[D] The problem is simple and stark: health-care costs have been, are, and will continue to increase faster than government revenues.
[E] According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, prescription drug costs have risen since 1997 at twice the rate of overall health-care spending. Part of the increase comes from drugs being used to replace other kinds of treatments. Part of it arises from new drugs costing more than older kinds. Part of it is higher prices.
[F] So, if the provinces want to run the health-care show, they should prove they can run it, starting with an interprovincial health list that would end duplication, save administrative costs, prevent one province from being played off against another, and bargain for better drug prices.
[G] Of course, the pharmaceutical companies will scream. They like divided buyers; they can lobby better that way. They can use the threat of removing jobs from one province to another. They can hope that, if one province includes a drug on its list, the pressure will cause others to include it on theirs. They wouldn’t like a national agency, but self-interest would lead them to deal with it.
Part C
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)
It is not easy to talk about the role of the mass media in this overwhelmingly significant phase in European history. History and news become confused, and one’s impressions tend to be a mixture of skepticism and optimism. 46) Television is one of the means by which these feelings are created and conveyed -- and perhaps never before has it served so much to connect different peoples and nations as in the recent events in Europe. The Europe that is now forming cannot be anything other than its peoples, their cultures and national identities. With this in mind we can begin to analyze the European television scene. 47) In Europe, as elsewhere, multi-media groups have been increasingly successful: groups which bring together television, radio, newspapers, magazines and publishing houses that work in relation to one another. One Italian example would be the Berlusconi group, while abroad Maxwell and Murdoch come to mind.
Clearly, only the biggest and most flexible television companies are going to be able to compete in such a rich and hotly-contested market. 48) This alone demonstrates that the television business is not an easy world to survive in, a fact underlined by statistics that show that out of eighty European television networks, no less than 50% took a loss in 1989.
Moreover, the integration of the European community will oblige television companies to cooperate more closely in terms of both production and distribution.
49) Creating a “European identity” that respects the different cultures and traditions which go to make up the connecting fabric of the Old Continent is no easy task and demands a strategic choice -- that of producing programs in Europe for Europe. This entails reducing our dependence on the North American market, whose programs relate to experiences and cultural traditions which are different from our own.
In order to achieve these objectives, we must concentrate more on co-productions, the exchange of news, documentary services and training. This also involves the agreements between European countries for the creation of a European bank for Television Production which, on the model of the European Investments Bank, will handle the finances necessary for production costs. 50) In dealing with a challenge on such a scale, it is no exaggeration to say “United we stand, divided we fall” -- and if I had to choose a slogan it would be “Unity in our diversity.” A unity of objectives that nonetheless respect the varied peculiarities of each country.
Section III Writing
Part A
51. Directions:
Two months ago you got a job as an editor for the magazine Designs &Fashions. But now you find that the work is not what you expected. You decide to quit. Write a letter to your boss, Mr. Wang, telling him your decision, stating your reason (s), and making an apology.
Write your letter with no less than 100 words. Write it neatly on ANSWER SHEET 2.
Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter; use “Li Ming” instead.
You do not need to write the address. (10 points)
Part B
52. Directions:
Write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay, you should first describe the drawing, then interpret its meaning, and give your comment on it.
You should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (20 points)
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