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1. Currency teaser
A strong rupee is giving policymakers a new sort of headache
THE Indian finance ministry's mid-year review, released this week, sees the external sector as a silver lining around the country's huge fiscal deficit. "For most of the past decade, the nominal value of the rupee has been allowed to decline gently against the dollar, by about 5% a year, thus staying fairly steady in real terms. This year, however, it has been appreciating in real terms (and, since June, nominally as well). It would have done so more sharply had the central bank not been buying dollars with gusto. Exporters of manufactured goods, obsessed with price competition from China, are aghast at the rise--and at the prospect held out by some forecasters that a sustained boom in India's IT exports means it will continue.
The rupee's recent strength is only partly related to India's prowess in software and the mushrooming of "business-process outsourcing" in such projects as call-centres. The chunky surplus on invisibles owes more to remittances: non-resident Indians, attracted by the stability of the rupee and its higher interest rates, have been moving their offshore deposits back home. Similarly, Indian companies are borrowing more in dollars without selling rupees forward to hedge repayments. The trade deficit, meanwhile, has been shrinking, as imports grow slowly.
The inflows have boosted foreign-exchange reserves by some $20 billion this year, to $66 billion, or 12 months'-worth of imports. The size of this cushion has triggered some calls for further liberalisation of the labyrinthine foreign-exchange controls that India still maintains, despite the move in 1993 towards rupee convertibility for trade purposes. In recent months, some controls have duly been eased. It is now simpler, for example, for individuals to open foreign-currency bank accounts, and for travellers to get hold of foreign exchange. And non-resident Indians have been allowed to take out money acquired through inheritance, or from rents and dividends.
Some commentators have taken all this as a harbinger of full capital-account convertibility. That is not on the cards. The experience of 1991, when India ran out of money, has left the central bank prone to caution--an approach it felt was vindicated by the East Asian crisis of 1997-98. With war in Iraq looming and a turbulent oil market, some risk aversion is understandable. India's fiscal deficit--some 10% of GDP and widening--is another reason for moving slowly. Just as one rating agency, Moody's, is considering upgrading India's external debt, another, Fitch, has warned that its local-currency rating is under threat. Nor is it certain that opening the capital account would mean a weaker rupee. It might even attract more capital inflows. As India's exporters are learning, convertibility is a two-way street.
Economist; 12/7/2002, Vol. 365 Issue 8302, p73, 1/3p
注(1)：本文選自Economist;12/7/2002, p73, 1/3p;
注(2)：本文習題命題模仿2002年真題text 2第2題(1)，text 5第3題(2)，1995年真題text 2第4題(3)，2000年真題text 4第3題(4)和1998年真題text 2第4題(5);
1.The expression “silver lining” (Line 2, Paragraph 1) most probably means______.
[A] a side effect
[B] a favorable aspect
[C] a decorative line
[D] a comforting prospect
2.According to the text, the appreciation of the rupee in real terms__________.
[A] will lower its nominal value
[B] is bad news to exporters of manufactured goods
[C] means a sharper decline of its nominal value against the dollar
[D] will give impetus to the development of India’s IT industry
3.The current account surplus owes to the following EXCEPT_________.
[A] the strength of the rupee
[B] the remittances of non-resident Indians
[C] the hedging activity of Indian companies
[D] the growing imports
4.Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A] India’s foreign exchange reserves increased more than three times this year.
[B] Individuals are now allowed to trade foreign currency freely.
[C] India now can tackle adverse events in the foreign exchange market better
[D] India’s foreign exchange controls are seen as a hamper to its economic development.
5.Which of the follow is NOT a reason for India’s slow response to calls for liberalization
of its foreign exchange?
[A] Its increasing foreign reserve.
[B] Its past experience.
[C] Uncertainty of the oil market.
[D] Its growing fiscal deficit.
答案：D B D C A
篇章剖析
本篇文章是一篇說明文，針對印度外匯儲備增加，盧比走強是否會對印度的外匯管制政策產生影響進行了分析。第一段介紹了印度外匯儲備增加，盧比走強的財政情況，并提出本文主要觀點：印度也許并不會大幅放開對外匯的管制。第二段介紹了盧比升值的情況。第三段介紹了盧比升值帶來的影響---外匯流入。第四段介紹了外匯儲備增加的情況以及政府適度放松外匯管制。第五段分析了政府不會大幅放開外匯管制的原因，并得出自己的結論：外幣兌換是一條雙行道。
詞匯注釋
silver lining: 一線希望
buoyant: [5bCiEnt] adj. 趨于上升的(價格)
rupee: [5ru:pi:] n. 盧比(印度、巴基斯坦等國的貨幣)
liberalization: [7libErElai5zeiFEn] n. 自由化; 放寬限制
nominal: [5nCminl] adj. 屬于、關于或是一筆錢或者股票證券的票面價值量的
appreciate: [E5pri:Fieit] v. 增值, 漲價
gusto: [5^QstEu] n. 興致勃勃;熱情
aghast: [E5^B:st] adj. 驚駭?shù)? 嚇呆的
prowess: [5praJIs] n. 卓越的技能;杰出的才能;本領
mushrooming: [5mQFrumiN] n. 迅速增長, 激烈增殖
outsourcing: [`aJt9sR:sIN] n. [商]外部采辦,外購
chunky: [5tFQNki] adj. 結實的;厚實的
remittance: [ri5mitEns] n. 匯款, 匯寄之款, 匯款額
offshore: [5C(:)fFC:] adj. 海外的，國外的
hedge: [hedV] n. 保值措施，套期保值
cushion: [5kuFEn] n. 緩沖減輕或緩和不利后果的東西
labyrinthine: [9lAbE`rInWaIn] adj. 迷宮(似)的, 曲折的
convertibility: [kEn9v\:tE`bIlEtI] n. 可兌換性
dividend: [5dividend] n. 股息, 紅利
harbinger: [5hB:bindVE] n. 先驅, 預兆
prone: [prEun] adj. 傾向于
vindicate: [5vindikeit] v. 證明…正當
loom: [lu:m] v. 隱現(xiàn), 迫近
turbulent: [5tE:bjulEnt] adj. 動蕩的;難控制的
aversion: [E5vE:FEn] n. 指轉向或轉移的行為
難句突破
1. The size of this cushion has triggered some calls for further liberalisation of the labyrinthine foreign-exchange controls that India still maintains, despite the move in 1993 towards rupee convertibility for trade purposes.
主體句式：The size of this cushion has triggered some calls…
結構分析：這一句雖然也包含一個定語從句，但結構并不算太復雜，容易造成理解困難的是cushion, labyrinthine這兩個詞。Cushion原意是“墊子”，這里引申為“緩沖不利后果的東西;保障”，labyrinthine的意思是“復雜的;迷宮般的”。
句子譯文：盡管在1993年印度已允許進行以貿易為目的的盧比兌換，但印度目前的外匯控制如迷宮般復雜。現(xiàn)在有了這樣的巨額儲備作保障，一些人開始呼吁印度政府進一步放開現(xiàn)有外匯控制。
2. The experience of 1991, when India ran out of money, has left the central bank prone to caution--an approach it felt was vindicated by the East Asian crisis of 1997-98.
主體句式：The experience…has left the central bank prone to caution.
結構分析：這個句子是個復雜句，句中有一個以when引導的，修飾1991的定語從句和一個省略了that的，修飾approach的定語從句。
句子譯文：1991年印度用完外匯儲備的經歷使中央銀行傾向于謹慎方式—1997-98年的東亞危機證實了這種方式的正確性。
題目分析
1. 答案為D，屬猜詞題。根據上下文，印度的財政赤字非常大，但印度的外匯儲備不斷增加，并且連續(xù)三個季度的經常項目賬戶盈余，顯然，對外部門給巨額財政赤字帶來了一線希望。四個選項中，只有A的意義最符合。
2. 答案為B，屬事實細節(jié)題。文章第二段制造品出口商聽到盧比升值消息時的反應是“aghast”，這個詞的意思是“吃驚的;嚇呆的”，可見這條消息對他們來說是壞消息。
3. 答案為D，屬事實細節(jié)題。文章第三段指出了印度經常項目賬戶盈余的幾個原因：盧比的強勢，海外印度人的匯款，印度公司為了套期保值而借入美元卻不賣出盧比的行為，以及貿易赤字的縮小。而貿易赤字縮小的原因是進口增長緩慢。所以進口的不斷增長不是導致經常項目賬戶盈余的原因。
4. 答案為C，屬事實細節(jié)題。根據文章第四段第二行，印度外匯儲備的大幅增加到660億美元，因此一些人認為印度已經有了一個可以放心開放外匯控制的cushion。這個詞的意思是“緩沖不利影響的東西”，顯然現(xiàn)在的印度能夠更從容地應付外匯市場的不利情況。
5. 答案為A，屬事實細節(jié)題。根據上下文，人們呼吁印度放寬外匯控制的原因是印度的外匯儲備不斷增加，盧比也不斷走強。A項中的答案正好因果顛倒了。
參考譯文
印度財政部長本周發(fā)布了年中報告，報告認為對外部門給該國巨額財政赤字帶來了一線希望。‘行情看漲’和‘令人鼓舞’這些詞被用來形容1/4世紀以來首次連續(xù)三個季度的經常項目賬戶盈余。隨著外匯儲備的膨脹和盧比的增強，一些人認為大幅放開印度外匯管制的時候到了。不過他們也許會失望。
在過去十年中的大部分時候，盧比的面值被允許以每年約5%的幅度相對于美元溫和地貶值，因此它的實際價值是相當穩(wěn)定的。然而，在今年，盧比的實際價值一直在升值(而且，自六月以來，其面值也在上揚)。如果不是中央銀行一直在積極買入美元，盧比的升值幅度會更高。對飽受中國產品價格競爭困擾的制造品出口商來說，盧比升值的消息令人心驚肉跳。一些預測者認為，由于印度信息產業(yè)出口還將持續(xù)繁榮，盧比將繼續(xù)升值。
盧比最近的強勢與印度在軟件業(yè)的實力以及最近興起的將電話中心等項目的業(yè)務流程外包有一定的關系。相當?shù)臒o形收支項目盈余主要來自匯款：受盧比的穩(wěn)定性和高利率的吸引，那些旅居他鄉(xiāng)的印度人一直在將他們的海外存款匯回家鄉(xiāng)。與此類似，印度公司也貸入更多美元，同時不賣出遠期盧比以便償還美元貸款時能夠套期保值。在此期間由于進口增長緩慢，貿易赤字也在不斷減少。
外匯的流入使得外匯貯備在今年快速增長了大約200億美元，達到了660億美元，相當于12個月的進口總額。盡管在1993年印度已允許進行以貿易為目的的盧比兌換，但印度目前的外匯控制如迷宮般復雜�，F(xiàn)在有了這樣的巨額儲備作保障，一些人開始呼吁印度政府進一步放開現(xiàn)有外匯控制。最近幾個月來，一些外匯控制已經被適當放松。比如，個人開設外匯銀行賬戶、旅游者持有外匯都比以前要簡單很多。此外旅居國外的印度人也可轉出遺產繼承收入，或租金、利息收入。
一些評論員將上述情況視為資本賬戶可完全兌換的先兆。然而這個可能性并不大。1991年印度用完外匯儲備的經歷使中央銀行傾向于謹慎方式—1997-98年的東亞危機證實了這種方式的正確性。隨著伊拉克戰(zhàn)爭的臨近，以及石油市場的波動，進行一些風險轉移是可以理解的。印度的財政赤字—約為GDP的10%且正在擴大—是另一個開放動作緩慢的原因。在穆迪(Moody’s)這個評級機構考慮提升印度外債的等級的同時，另一個評級機構，惠譽(Fitch)則警告說它的本地貨幣評級處境堪憂。放開資本賬戶并不一定意味著削弱盧比，說不定它還會吸引更多的資本流入。外幣兌換是一條雙行道，這一點印度的出口商們也越來越有感觸。
2. Fast-food succession
Another change at the top
CHARLIE BELL became chief executive of McDonald's in April. Within a month doctors told him that he had colorectal cancer. After stockmarket hours on NoveMr Bell himself got the top job when Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack hours before he was due to address a convention of McDonald's franchisees. Mr Cantalupo was a McDonald's veteran brought out of retirement in January 2003 to help remodel the firm after sales began falling because of dirty restaurants, indifferent service and growing concern about junk food. He devised a recovery plan, backed by massive marketing, and promoted Mr Bell to chief operating officer. When Mr Cantalupo died, a rapidly convened board confirmed Mr Bell, a 44-year-old Australian already widely seen as his heir apparent, in the top job. The convention got its promised chief executive's address, from the firm's first non-American leader.
Yet within weeks executives had to think about what to do if Mr Bell became too ill to continue. Perhaps Mr Bell had the same thing on his mind: he usually introduced Jim Skinner, the 60-year-old vice-chairman, to visitors as the "steady hand at the wheel". Now Mr Skinner (pictured), an expert on the firm's overseas operations, becomes chief executive, and Mike Roberts, head of its American operations, joins the board as chief operating officer.
Is Mr Roberts now the new heir apparent? Maybe. McDonald's has brought in supposedly healthier choices such as salads and toasted sandwiches worldwide and, instead of relying for most of its growth on opening new restaurants, has turned to upgrading its 31,000 existing ones. America has done best at this; under Mr Roberts, like-for-like sales there were up by 7.5% in October on a year earlier.
The new team's task is to keep the revitalisation plan on course, especially overseas, where some American brands are said to face political hostility from consumers. This is a big challenge. Is an in-house succession the best way to tackle it? Mr Skinner and Mr Roberts are both company veterans, having joined in the 1970s. Some recent academic studies find that the planned succession of a new boss groomed from within, such as Mr Bell and now (arguably) Mr Roberts, produces better results than looking hastily, or outside, for one. McDonald's smooth handling of its serial misfortunes at the top certainly seems to prove the point. Even so, everyone at McDonald's must be hoping that it will be a long time before the firm faces yet another such emergency.
Economist; 11/27/2004, Vol. 373 Issue 8403, p64-65, 2p, 1c
注(1)：本文選自Economist;11/27/2004, p64-65, 2p, 1c;
注(2)：本文習題命題模仿2000年真題text 1第1題(1)，1995年真題text 1第2題(2)，2002年真題text 2第2題(3)，1998年真題text 2第2題(4)和1999年真題text 1第4題(5);
1.The main reason for the constant change at the top of McDonald is ________.
[A] the board’s interference
[B] the falling sales
[C] the health problems of the chief executives
[D] the constant change of its share price
2.Which of the following was NOT a cause of the falling sales of McDonald?
[A] the change of the chief executive
[B] people’s concern about junk food
[C] dirty restaurant
[D] indifferent service
3.The phrase “heir apparent” (Line 7, Paragraph 2) in the article most probably
means____________.
[A] someone who has the same ideas, aims and style with a person
[B] someone who has the unalienable right to receive the family title
[C] someone who is appointed as a heir of a person
[D] someone who is likely to take over a person’s position when that person leaves
4.In terms of succession at the top, McDonald_________.
[A] has had to made rather hasty decisions
[B] prefers to appoint a new boss from within
[C] acts in a quick and unreasonable way
[D] surprises all the people with its decisions
5.Toward McDonald’s reaction to emergencies at the top, the writer’s attitude can be said to be___________.
[A] indifferent
[B] doubtful
[C] objective
[D] praiseful
答案：C A D B D
篇章剖析
本篇文章介紹了麥當勞高層人事接替的情況，是一篇說明文。第一段介紹了查里·貝爾辭去麥當勞首席執(zhí)行官一事;第二段追溯了他如何成為麥當勞首席執(zhí)行官;第三段介紹了麥當勞現(xiàn)任首席執(zhí)行官如何接任;第四段分析了下一位可能的繼任者;最后一段對這種內部接任的方式進行了總結。
詞匯注釋
colorectal: [9kEJlE`rektEl] adj. [解]結腸直腸的
franchisee: [9frAntFaI`zi:] n. 總經銷商, 有代銷權的人或團體
veteran: [5vetErEn] n. 老資格;老手
heirs apparent: 有繼承權的人;公認的繼任者
like-for-like: 同類的
revitalization: [ri:9vaItLlaI`zeIFLn] n. 振興;復興
in-house: [in5haus] adj. 內部的
groom: [^ru:m] v. 培訓;培植
難句突破
1. Mr Cantalupo was a McDonald's veteran brought out of retirement in January 2003 to help remodel the firm after sales began falling because of dirty restaurants, indifferent service and growing concern about junk food.
主體句式：Mr. Canalupo was a McDonald’s veteran.
結構分析：這是一個復雜句，表語veteran后面有一個過去分詞短語brought out of retirement作后置定語，這個定語還帶有自己的兩個狀語，一個是不定式短語做目的狀語，另外一個是after引導的時間狀語從句，這個從句中還有一個because of引導的原因狀語。bring sb. out of retirement的意思是“將某人從退休狀態(tài)召回”。
句子譯文：坎塔盧波在麥當勞工作過多年，在公司因為餐廳環(huán)境不衛(wèi)生，服務態(tài)度差，以及人們對“垃圾食品”的不斷質疑導致業(yè)績下降之后，2003年他被從退休中召回，幫助公司進行改革。
2. Even so, everyone at McDonald's must be hoping that it will be a long time before the firm faces yet another such emergency.
主體句式：everyone must be hoping that…
結構分析：這個句子中包含一個由that引導的賓語從句和由before引導的狀語從句。這個句子的難點在before這個詞的理解上。通常before可以譯為“才”。例如：It had been two days before I realized the problem. (過了兩天我才意識到這個問題。)
句子譯文：即便如此，相信麥當勞上下一定還是希望不要在近期內又面臨這類緊急情況。
題目分析
1. 答案為C，屬事實細節(jié)題。文章第一段提及Charlie Bell辭職的原因是他患了直腸癌;接著又在第二段說他升任總裁是因為他的前任在準備講演時因為心臟病突發(fā)而去世。這樣，麥當勞在一年內就不得不尋找第三位總裁�？梢婝湲攧诟邔宇l繁更換人員的原因是這些總裁的健康問題。
2. 答案為A，屬事實細節(jié)題�？蓞⒁娢恼碌诙蔚谒男衎ecause of…后面的部分。
3. 答案為D，屬猜詞題。根據上下文，Charlie Bell被Jim Cantalupo提拔為首席運營官之后，被廣泛視為是他的heir apparent，接著作者在第四段發(fā)問，現(xiàn)任的首席運營官會不會是現(xiàn)任總裁的heir apparent呢?顯然，這個詞組的意思應該是“接替某人職位”的人。
4. 答案為B，屬推理判斷題。根據文章，三位總裁都是在麥當勞內部管理人才，而且下一位繼任者也已經內定，這種內部選定繼任者的辦法幫助麥當勞在一連串不幸事件發(fā)生后能夠平穩(wěn)交接。可見麥當勞更愿意從內部任命新老板。
5. 答案為D，屬推理判斷題。作者在第一段末評論麥當勞的行動時說道：“麥當勞又一次顯示了其在任命新老板方面的快速決斷能力。”在文末對麥當勞的內部接任方式進行總結時，作者引用某些學術研究的成果，認為這種方式的效果更好，并以“麥當勞在高層發(fā)生一連串的不幸事件后能夠平靜地交接似乎清楚地證明了這一點。”來加以說明�？梢娮髡邔τ邴湲攧谔幚眍愃瓢l(fā)生在高層的突發(fā)事件的反應是持贊揚態(tài)度的。
參考譯文
查里·貝爾四月成為麥當勞的首席執(zhí)行官。不到一個月，醫(yī)生就告訴他他患了直腸癌。在11月22日的股市交易結束之后，這家快餐公司宣布他已經辭職;該公司將需要這一年內的第三位老板。然而，當股市開張時，該公司的股價只是略有下降，很快又再次上揚。麥當勞又一次顯示了其在任命新老板方面的快速決斷能力。
貝爾先生本人是在吉姆·坎塔盧波(Jim Cantalupo)死于心臟病突發(fā)之后得到這一高層職位的。當時坎塔盧波正準備在幾個小時之后的麥當勞特許經銷商會議上致詞�？菜R波在麥當勞工作過多年，在公司因為餐廳環(huán)境不衛(wèi)生，服務態(tài)度差，以及人們對“垃圾食品”的不斷質疑導致業(yè)績下降之后，2003年他被從退休中召回，幫助公司進行改革。他制定了一項在大規(guī)模營銷基礎上的振興計劃，并且將貝爾先生提拔為首席運營官�？菜R波先生去世后，董事會很快開會確定任命貝爾先生，這位早就被公認為其繼任者的44歲澳大利亞人擔任這一首席職位。這次會議從該公司的第一位非美國籍的領導人那里得到了其許諾的公司首席執(zhí)行官的講演。
然而，在短短幾周之內，公司高層就不得不思考如果貝爾先生病重無法繼續(xù)工作該怎么辦的問題。也許貝爾先生也在考慮同樣的問題：他向來訪者介紹60歲的副總裁吉姆·斯金納時總是稱他為“掌舵高手”�，F(xiàn)在公司海外經營專家斯金納先生(見圖)成了公司首席執(zhí)行官，主管公司美國經營業(yè)務的麥克·羅伯茨則加入董事會成為首席運營官。
羅伯茨先生是不是新的繼任者呢?也許。麥當勞改變了主要依靠開新店發(fā)展企業(yè)的方法，而在全球推出了被認為更加健康的食品，比如沙拉和烤三明治，并且開始改進現(xiàn)有的31000家連鎖快餐店的經營。美國在這方面做得最好;在羅伯茨先生的努力下，美國麥當勞十月的同類銷售額比一年前增長了7%。
新團隊的任務就是保持其振興計劃不變，尤其是海外部分，據說在海外某些美國品牌面對著來自消費者的政治敵意。這是一個巨大的挑戰(zhàn)。這種內部接任的方式是不是迎接這種挑戰(zhàn)的最佳方式呢?斯金納先生和羅伯茨先生都是1970年代就加入公司的資深管理人員。最近的一些學術研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，內定的新老板，比如貝爾先生和現(xiàn)在(還未最終宣布)的羅伯茨先生，按計劃接任會比草率任命一個新老板或者從外部聘請新老板效果更好。麥當勞在高層發(fā)生一連串的不幸事件后能夠平靜地交接似乎清楚地證明了這一點。即便如此，相信麥當勞上下一定還是希望不要在近期內又面臨這類緊急情況。
3.Staggering
Things are slow to change in America's boardrooms
THE annual review of American company board practices by Korn/Ferry, a firm of headhunters, is a useful indicator of the health of corporate governance. TTwo years ago, only 41% of American firms said they regularly held meetings of directors without their chief executive present; this year the figure was 93%. But some things have been surprisingly unaffected by the backlash against corporate scandals. For example, despite a growing feeling that former chief executives should not sit on their company's board, the percentage of American firms where they do has actually edged up, from 23% in 2003 to 25% in 2004.
Also, disappointingly few firms have split the jobs of chairman and chief executive. Another survey of American boards published this week, by A.T. Kearney, a firm of consultants, found that in 2002 14% of the boards of S&P 500 firms had separated the roles, and a further 16% said they planned to do so. But by 2004 only 23% overall had taken the plunge. A survey earlier in the year by consultants at McKinsey found that 70% of American directors and investors supported the idea of splitting the jobs, which is standard practice in Europe.
Another disappointment is the slow progress in abolishing "staggered" boards--ones where only one-third of the directors are up for re-election each year, to three-year terms. Invented as a defence against takeover, such boards, according to a new Harvard Law School study by Lucian Bebchuk and Alma Cohen, are unambiguously "associated with an economically significant reduction in firm value".
Despite this, the percentage of S&P 500 firms with staggered boards has fallen only slightly--from 63% in 2001 to 60% in 2003, according to the Investor Responsibility Research Centre. And many of those firms that have been forced by shareholders to abolish the system are doing so only slowly. Merck, a pharmaceutical company in trouble over the possible side-effects of its arthritis drug Vioxx, is allowing its directors to run their full term before introducing a system in which they are all re-elected (or otherwise) annually. Other companies' staggered boards are entrenched in their corporate charters, which cannot be amended by a shareholders' vote. Anyone who expected the scandals of 2001 to bring about rapid change in the balance of power between managers and owners was, at best, naive.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Economist; 11/13/2004, Vol. 373 Issue 8401, p67-67, 4/9p
注(1)：本文選自Economist;11/13/2004, p67-67, 4/9p;
注(2)：本文習題命題模仿1998年真題text 1第2題(1)，2002年真題text 2第2題(2)，text 5第3題(3)，2004年真題text 4第2題(4)和1999年真題text 1第4題(5);
1.The Sarbanes-Oxley act is most probably about_________.
[A] corporate scandal
[B] corporate management
[C] corporate cost
[D] corporate governance
2.The word “backlash” (Line 3, Paragraph 2) most probably means_________.
[A] a violent force
[B] a strong impetus
[C] a firm measure
[D] a strong negative reaction
3.According to the text, separating the roles between chairman and chief executive
is________.
[A] a common practice in American companies
[B] what many European companies do
[C] a must to keep the health of a company
[D] not a popular idea among American entrepreneurs
4.We learn from the text that a "staggered" board________.
[A] is adverse to the increment of firm value
[B] gives its board members too much power
[C] has been abolished by most American companies
[D] can be voted down by shareholders
5.Toward the board practice of American companies, the writer’s attitude can be said to
be________.
[A] biased
[B] pessimistic
[C] objective
[D] critical
答案：D D B A D
篇章剖析
本篇文章是一篇議論文，對美國公司的董事會變化緩慢的情況提出了批評。第一段引用一家獵頭公司的年度評論說明一項旨在防止公司財務丑聞的法案已經對美國公司的董事會產生了影響;在第二段作者筆鋒一轉，說明雖然公司丑聞對于公司董事會的做法產生了一些影響，但仍然有一些方面毫無變化或者變化緩慢。接下來作者分析了幾種典型的情況;三段指出了一些公司董事和總裁職務不分的情況;第四斷指出一些公司在廢除“交錯董事任期”的董事會方面進展緩慢;第五段以具體的例子對上述情況加以說明并得出結論：要改變職業(yè)經理人和公司所有人之間的權力平衡并非一蹴而就之事。
詞匯注釋
headhunter: [5hedhQntE(r)] n. 用高薪征聘人才者
governance: [5^QvEnEns] n. 治理;管理
boardroom: [5bC:dru:m] n. (董事會)會議室
albeit: [C:l5bi:It] conj. 雖然
backlash: [5bAklAF] n. 激烈反應，激烈反對對一個較早行動的對抗性反應
take the plunge: 冒險，采取斷然行動
staggered: [5stA^Ed] adj. 交錯的
unambiguously: [5QnAm5bi^juEsli] adv. 明白地,不含糊地
pharmaceutical: [7fB:mE5sju:tikEl] adj. 制藥的;調藥的
arthritis: [B:5Wraitis] n. 關節(jié)炎
entrench: [In5trentF] v. 保護
amend: [E5mend] v. 改正;修改
難句突破
Merck, a pharmaceutical company in trouble over the possible side-effects of its arthritis drug Vioxx, is allowing its directors to run their full term before introducing a system in which they are all re-elected (or otherwise) annually.
主體句式：Merck is allowing its directors to run their full term
結構分析：這是一個復雜句，句子的主語之后又一個較長的同位語短語，句子中還有一個before引導的狀語，在這個狀語中含有一個which引導的定語從句。before在這種情況下通常譯為“才”。
句子譯文：因為所生產的關節(jié)炎藥物Vioxx的潛在副作用而陷入困境的默克制藥公司現(xiàn)在允許其董事任期直到屆滿，然后才會引入一個每年將所有人重新選任一遍(或者別的方法)的制度。
題目分析
1. 答案為D，屬推理判斷題。根據第一段，the Sarbanes-Oxley act的通過是為了防止再次出現(xiàn)類似安然公司或者世通公司垮掉的情況。而文章又提到在公司治理方面，該法案已經顯現(xiàn)出了一定的影響力�？梢�，該法案是有關公司治理的法案。
2. 答案為D，屬猜詞題。首先確定“backlash”與反對公司丑聞有關，其次，下文對backlash給了一個具體的例子，就是“越來越多的人認為前任總裁不應該繼續(xù)留在董事會里”，顯然這符合選項D中的“強烈的對抗性/否定性反應”。
3. 答案為B，屬事實細節(jié)題。根據文章第三段最后一句，將董事長和總裁的職務區(qū)分開來是“歐洲的行業(yè)慣例”。
4. 答案為A，屬事實細節(jié)題。根據文章第四段的一份最新哈佛商學院研究，“staggered board”是為了防止公司權力被奪取而被發(fā)明的，但它顯然“和公司價值的顯著下降有關”�？梢娺@種交錯董事任期的董事會不利于公司價值的增長。
5. 答案為D，屬推理判斷題。本文指出雖然出臺了防止公司丑聞的法案，但美國公司的董事會變化依然緩慢。繼而分析了幾種令人失望的情況。在文章最末作者指出，人們不應該天真的相信2001年的丑聞會迅速改變職業(yè)經理人和公司所有人之間的權力平衡�？梢娮髡邔γ绹镜亩聲峙u的態(tài)度。
參考譯文
獵頭公司“光輝國際”(Korn/Ferry)推出的美國公司董事會慣例年度評論是了解公司治理狀況的有用指南。今年11月12日發(fā)表的年度評論表明，2002年通過的旨在防止類似安然公司和世通公司垮掉的事情再次發(fā)生的《薩班-奧西利法案》對董事會已經產生了一定的影響---雖然按照“光輝國際”的估計，實施該法案的平均成本是每家公司510萬美元。
兩年前，只有41%的美國公司說他們會在首席執(zhí)行官不在場的情況下定期舉行董事會;今年這一數(shù)字達到了93%。不過，令人驚異的是，對公司丑聞的強烈反對并沒有影響到某些事情的發(fā)展。例如，雖然越來越多的人認為前任總裁不應該繼續(xù)留在董事會里，但美國公司董事會中前任總裁的比率不降反升了，從2003年的23%上升到了2004年的25%。
另外，將董事長和總裁的職務區(qū)分開來的公司很少，這一點令人頗為失望。一家咨詢公司“A.T.卡尼”公司在本周發(fā)布的另外一份對美國董事會的調查發(fā)現(xiàn)，2002年標準普爾500家公司中，有14%的董事會已經進行了職務角色的區(qū)分，另有16%的董事會表示計劃這么做�？墒堑�2004年，在全部公司中，只有23%的公司采取了行動。同年早些時候麥肯錫公司的咨詢師發(fā)布的一項調查發(fā)現(xiàn)，70%的美國董事和投資人支持職務區(qū)分的想法，而這在歐洲早已是行業(yè)慣例了。
另一件令人失望的事情就是在廢除“交錯董事任期”的董事會方面進展緩慢---所謂交錯董事任期，就是每年只改選三分之一的董事，而每一屆董事的任期是三年。依據呂西安·貝布查克和阿爾瑪·科恩的一份最新哈佛商學院研究，這種為了防止公司權力被奪取而發(fā)明的董事會顯然“和公司價值的顯著下降有關”。
盡管如此，標準普爾500公司中有交錯董事任期的董事會比例卻只有輕微下降---“投資人責任研究中心”的數(shù)據顯示，該比率僅從2001年的63%下降到了2003年的60%。許多被股東施壓要求放棄這一制度的公司現(xiàn)在只是緩慢地著手這一工作。因為所生產的關節(jié)炎藥物Vioxx的潛在副作用而陷入困境的默克制藥公司現(xiàn)在允許其董事任期直到屆滿，然后才會引入一個每年將所有人重新選任一遍(或者別的方法)的制度。其他公司交錯董事任期的董事會是由公司規(guī)章確立的，不能由股東投票改變。如果有人期望2001年的丑聞會迅速改變職業(yè)經理人和公司所有人之間的權力平衡的話，那么他未免太天真了。
4.Burnished
Up goes gold, down goes the dollar
MOST economists hate gold. Not, you understand, that they would turn up their noses at a bar or two. But they find the reverence in which many hold the meSo why is its price soaring? Over the past week, this has topped $450 a troy ounce, up by 9% since the beginning of the year and 77% since April 2001. Ah, comes the reply, gold transactions are denominated in dollars, and the rise in the price simply reflects the dollar's fall in terms of other currencies, especially the euro, against which it hit a new low this week. Expressed in euros, the gold price has moved much less. However, there is no iron link, as it were, between the value of the dollar and the value of gold. A rising price of gold, like that of anything else, can reflect an increase in demand as well as a depreciation of its unit of account.
This is where gold bulls come in. The fall in the dollar is important, but mainly because as a store of value the dollar stinks. With a few longish rallies, the greenback has been on a downward trend since it came off the gold standard in 1971. Now it is suffering one of its sharper declines. At the margin, extra demand has come from those who think dollars--indeed any money backed by nothing more than promises to keep inflation low--a decidedly risky investment, mainly because America, with the world's reserve currency, has been able to create and borrow so many of them. The least painful way of repaying those dollars is to make them worth less.
The striking exception to this extra demand comes from central banks, which would like to sell some of the gold they already have. As a legacy of the days when their currencies were backed by the metal, central banks still hold one-fifth of the world's gold. Last month the Bank of France said it would sell 500 tonnes in coming years. But big sales by central banks can cause the price to plunge--as when the Bank of England sold 395 tonnes between 1999 and 2002. The result was an agreement between central banks to co-ordinate and limit future sales.
If the price of gold marches higher, this agreement will presumably be ripped up, although a dollar crisis might make central banks think twice about switching into paper money. Will the overhang of central-bank gold drag the price down again? Not necessarily. As James Grant, gold bug and publisher of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, a newsletter, points out, in recent years the huge glut of government debt has not stopped a sharp rise in its price.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Economist; 12/4/2004, Vol. 373 Issue 8404, p76-76, 1/3p, 1 graph
注(1)：本文選自Economist;12/4/2004, p76-76, 1/3p;
注(2)：本文習題命題模仿2000年真題text 4第3題(1)，2001年真題text 4第2題(2)，text 1第2題(3)，2002年真題text 2第2題(4)和text 5第3題(5);
1.In economists’ eyes, gold is something__________.
[A] they look down upon
[B] that can be exchanged in the market
[C] worth people’s reverence
[D] that should be replaced by other forms of money
2.According to the author, one of the reasons for the rising of gold price is___________.
[A] the increasing demand for gold
[B] the depreciation of the euro
[C] the link between the dollar and gold
[D] the increment of the value of the dollar
3.We can infer from the third paragraph that_________.
[A] the decline of the dollar is inevitable
[B] America benefits from the depreciation of the dollar
[C] the depreciation of the dollar is good news to other currencies
[D] investment in the dollar yields more returns than that in gold
4.The phrase “ripped up” (Line 1, Paragraph 5) most probably means__________.
[A] strengthened
[B] broadened
[C] renegotiated
[D] torn up
5.According to the passage, the rise of gold price__________.
[A] will not last long
[B] will attract some central banks to sell gold
[C] will impel central banks to switch into paper money
[D] will lead to a dollar crisis
答案：B A B D B
篇章剖析
本篇文章采用了提出問題-分析問題的模式，分析了金價上漲，美元下跌的經濟態(tài)勢。第一段說明黃金是一種商品;第二段分析了金價上漲的原因：金價的上漲反映了需求的增加以及計價單位的貶值;第三段美元下跌的原因;第四段分析了各國央行的反應;最后一段對金價繼續(xù)上揚可能帶來的影響進行了分析。
詞匯注釋
reverence: [5revErEns] n. 崇敬，尊敬
millennia: [mI`lenIE] n. millennium的復數(shù)
soaring: [5sC:riN] adj. 劇增的;上升到明顯高于正常水平的
troy ounce: n. 金衡制盎司, 金衡?
denominate: [di5nCmineit] v. 以…面值發(fā)行以某種給定的貨幣單位發(fā)行或表達
euro: [`jJErEJ] n. 歐元
depreciation: [dIpri:FI5eIF(E)n] n. 跌價;貶值
bull: [bul] n. 買空;(做)多頭
stink: [stiNk] v. 發(fā)出臭味
longish: [5lRNIF] adj. 相當長的
rally: [5rAli] n. (行情、價格等)跌后復升
greenback: [`^ri:nbAk] n. 美鈔
tonne: [tQn] n. 公噸(=1,000公斤或稱 metric ton)
rip up: 斯毀;取消
overhang: [5EuvE5hAN] n. 突出量
難句突破
At the margin, extra demand has come from those who think dollars--indeed any money backed by nothing more than promises to keep inflation low--a decidedly risky investment, mainly because America, with the world's reserve currency, has been able to create and borrow so many of them.
主體句式：extra demand has come
結構分析：本句是一個復雜句，from這個介詞所引導的狀語中包含一個who 引導的定語從句，一個插入語，主句之后是一個because引導的原因狀語從句。nothing more than的意思是“只不過，僅僅”。
句子譯文：在此下跌情況下，導致金價上揚的額外需求來自于那些認為美元---或者任何一種依靠抑制通脹的許諾來支撐的貨幣—無疑是一種高風險投資的人，主要因為美國擁有美元這一世界儲備貨幣，而且一直能夠制造和借來很多美元。
題目分析
1. 答案為B，屬事實細節(jié)題。文章第一段提到經濟學家不喜歡黃金的原因是人們對黃金缺乏理性的崇拜。在他們看來，黃金只不過是一種商品，也就是可以在市場交換的東西。
2. 答案為A，屬事實細節(jié)題。文章第二段分析了金價上漲的兩個主要原因：金價用美元表示，而美元相對于其他貨幣貶值了;市場對黃金需求的增加。
3. 答案為B，屬推理判斷題。根據文章第三段，美國因為擁有世界儲備貨幣，而且一直能夠制造和借來很多美元。要償還這些美元，最不費力的方式就是讓美元貶值�？梢�，美元貶值對美國是有益無害的事情。
4. 答案為D，屬猜詞題。根據文章第四段，為了防止出現(xiàn)一國央行大量拋售黃金導致金價下跌的情況，各國央行達成協(xié)議，協(xié)調和限制今后的黃金銷售。如果金價持續(xù)上漲，很可能一些央行會再次拋售黃金(文中提到法國央行出售黃金的決定)，那樣各國央行之間的協(xié)議就會被破壞。因此，根據上下文，“ripped up”最有可能的意思就是“torn up”(撕毀)。
5. 答案為B，屬推理判斷題。根據文章第四段，在許多買家大量買入黃金的同時，許多央行卻打算將他們囤積的黃金出售。文章第五段說，如果金價繼續(xù)上揚，各國央行之間的“限制和協(xié)調未來黃金銷售”的協(xié)議將會被打破，也就是說金價的上漲會吸引各國央行出售黃金。
參考譯文
大多數(shù)經濟學家都討厭黃金。要知道，這可不是因為他們瞧不起一兩塊金條，而是因為他們發(fā)現(xiàn)許多人對這種金屬的崇敬幾乎到了毫無理性的地步。這與它被用作千禧年的貨幣并無關系：那已經是昨日黃花了。現(xiàn)代貨幣采用的是紙幣的形式，或者，更多時候，采用的是電子數(shù)據的形式。對經濟學家來說，黃金現(xiàn)在只是另外一種商品。
那么為什么金價會大幅上漲呢?在過去一周里，每金衡(1金衡約31.1025克)的價格達到了450美元，比年初上漲了9%，而比2001年4月則上漲了77%。啊，答案來了，黃金交易是以美元來計數(shù)的，價格的上漲只是反映了美元對其他貨幣的比價，尤其是對歐元比價的下跌，而本周美元對歐元的比價又創(chuàng)新低。用歐元計數(shù)的話，金價的波動要小得多。然而，美元價值和黃金價值之間似乎并沒有固定聯(lián)系。像其他任何東西一樣，金價的上漲反映了需求的增加以及計價單位的貶值。
因此就出現(xiàn)了黃金買空。美元的下跌之所以重要主要是因為作為一種價值儲存手段美鈔可謂臭名昭著。自從1971年美元脫離金本位，就一直處于跌勢，其間只有為數(shù)不多的幾次跌后復升。這一次下跌的跌幅更大。在此下跌情況下，導致金價上揚的額外需求來自于那些認為美元---或者任何一種依靠抑制通脹的許諾來支撐的貨幣—無疑是一種高風險投資的人，主要因為美國擁有美元這一世界儲備貨幣，而且一直能夠制造和借來很多美元。要償還這些美元，最不費力的方式就是讓美元貶值。
各國中央銀行的反應跟這種額外需求正好形成鮮明對照。這些銀行都想把手里的黃金賣掉一些。以前各國貨幣都依靠這種金屬，歷史繼承的結果就是各國中央銀行的黃金儲量是世界黃金總量的五分之一。上個月，法國中央銀行宣布即將在未來幾年出售500噸黃金。不過中央銀行大量出售黃金會導致金價猛跌--- 1999年至2002年之間英格蘭銀行出售395噸黃金時就發(fā)生過這種情況。其結果是各國央行達成協(xié)議，協(xié)調限制今后的銷售。
如果金價繼續(xù)上揚，這個協(xié)議就會被破壞，雖然一場美元危機會讓各國央行在轉向紙幣經營問題上慎之又慎。那么央行所儲備的大量黃金是否會將金價再次拉下來呢?那倒不一定。正如黃金迷，時事通訊《格蘭特利率觀察家》的出版人詹姆斯·格蘭特所指出的，最近幾年政府的巨額債務并未阻止金價的大幅上漲。
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