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考研英語經(jīng)濟類閱讀理解: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. "
Buoyant" and "encouraging" are the words used to describe three consecutive quarters of current-account surplus--the first in a quarter-century. Add to that swelling foreign-exchange reserves and a stronger rupee, and some are arguing that it is time for drastic liberalisation of India's foreign-exchange regime. They could be disappointed.
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 billion this year, to 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(xí)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(chǎn)生影響進(jìn)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(jié)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(guān)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(lǐng)
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(jié)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(qū), 預(yù)兆
prone: [prEun] adj. 傾向于
vindicate: [5vindikeit] v. 證明…正當(dāng)
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(zhuǎn)向或轉(zhuǎn)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(jié)構(gòu)分析:這一句雖然也包含一個定語從句,但結(jié)構(gòu)并不算太復(fù)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(fù)雜的;迷宮般的”。
句子譯文:盡管在1993年印度已允許進(jìn)行以貿(mào)易為目的的盧比兌換,但印度目前的外匯控制如迷宮般復(fù)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(jìn)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(jié)構(gòu)分析:這個句子是個復(fù)雜句,句中有一個以when引導(dǎo)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(jīng)歷使中央銀行傾向于謹(jǐn)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(jù)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(jīng)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(xì)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(yīng)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(xì)節(jié)題。文章第三段指出了印度經(jīng)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(mào)易赤字的縮小。而貿(mào)易赤字縮小的原因是進(jìn)口增長緩慢。所以進(jìn)口的不斷增長不是導(dǎo)致經(jīng)常項目賬戶盈余的原因。
4. 答案為C,屬事實細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)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(rèn)為印度已經(jīng)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(yīng)付外匯市場的不利情況。
5. 答案為A,屬事實細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)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(rèn)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(jì)以來首次連續(xù)三個季度的經(jīng)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(rèn)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(dāng)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(chǎn)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(yù)測者認(rèn)為,由于印度信息產(chǎn)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(wù)流程外包有一定的關(guān)系。相當(dāng)?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(yuǎn)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(jìn)口增長緩慢,貿(mào)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(dá)到了660億美元,相當(dāng)于12個月的進(jìn)口總額。盡管在1993年印度已允許進(jìn)行以貿(mào)易為目的的盧比兌換,但印度目前的外匯控制如迷宮般復(fù)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(jìn)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(jīng)被適當(dāng)放松。比如,個人開設(shè)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(zhuǎn)出遺產(chǎn)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(jīng)歷使中央銀行傾向于謹(jǐn)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(jìn)行一些風(fēng)險轉(zhuǎn)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(gòu)考慮提升印度外債的等級的同時,另一個評級機構(gòu),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。
考研英語經(jīng)濟類閱讀理解:Fiat redux
Fiat's agony spreads to workers as 8,100 jobs go
THE giant Mirafiori plant in Turin is the heart of Fiat Auto, the troubled car division of the Fiat group. As the early shift trooped home at 2pm on Octob
er 9th, the mood was pessimistic. The workers knew that the bosses were meeting union leaders later that afternoon in Rome to announce 8,100 job cuts across the group's car factories. This is on top of 3,000 job losses announced earlier this year. Workers expect one-third of Mirafiori's 12,000 employees to be gone by next July. Fiat says that all but 500 of the total are temporary lay-offs, to last about a year. But the morose workers passing through Mirafiori's gates doubt that the jobs will ever come back, whatever the firm says about new models and future investment.
Fiat Auto will lose around €1 billion (7m) this year, wiping out profits in other parts of the group, which makes everything from lorries and tractors to robots. Fiat's bosses have been in denial for years about the company's massive over-capacity, the cause of growing losses as sales slumped. Five years ago Fiat Auto made 2.6m cars a year and profits of €758m. Since then it has recorded a loss in every year bar one. This year it will produce barely 1.9m cars. Its banks forced a restructuring in May, and the chief executive of its Fiat group parent had to resign a few weeks later.
The pain is bad enough in northern Italy, where unemployment is barely 4%, but it will be felt more elsewhere. The Termini Imerese plant in Sicily is to lay off 1,800 workers. Unions say that cuts among suppliers could double the number of people hit. The local official jobless rate is already 18% (though this ignores a lively "informal" economy). This is posing a nasty problem for the government of Silvio Berlusconi, which polled strongly in Sicily but is not inclined to aid troubled firms.
Fiat's belated willingness to take tough steps to align capacity with demand is down to the group's new boss, Gabriele Galateri, chosen in June to rescue the firm, which is 30% owned by Agnelli family interests. His aim is to restore credibility, arrest the alarming plunge in the company's share price and persuade the banks that he is sorting out the Fiat Auto mess, so as to win their support for a further recapitalisation.
Closely watching this Italian drama are bosses of General Motors, owners of 20% of Fiat Auto. The Italians have an option to sell the remaining shares to GM from January 2004. GM, which has its own problems in Europe, is desperate for Fiat Auto to sort itself out before it can be forced to take over. Although the Agnelli family patriarch, the ailing 81-year-old Gianni Agnelli, is opposed to such a sale, most analysts expect that Italy's proudest manufacturing company will end up in American hands.
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Economist; 10/12/2002, Vol. 365 Issue 8294, p59-59, 3/5p, 1c
注(1):本文選自Economist;10/12/2002, p59-59, 3/5p, 1c;
注(2):本文習(xí)題命題模仿1999年真題text 4第3題(1),2004年真題text 4第2題(2),2002年真題text 5第3題(3)和text 3第4題(5),和1998年真題text 2第4題(4);
1.The workers in Fiat’s plant were pessimistic because_________.
[A] the car division of the Fiat group was in trouble
[B] new models and future investment promised no hope of getting their jobs back
[C] there will be heavy job losses in the giant Mirafiori plant
[D] they were facing the threat of losing their jobs
2.We learn from the second paragraph that___________.
[A] the market demand for Fiat cars now is far lower than it was five years ago
[B] Fiat Auto is the only part of the group that is running at a loss
[C] Fiat Auto is selling cars more than they can produce
[D] the cause of Fiat’s trouble is the sluggish Italian economy
3.According to the text, Fiat’s job cuts _____________.
[A] trigger a wave of job cuts in other companies
[B] become a headache of Italian government
[C] double the number of jobless people in northern Italy
[D] force Italian government to aid it
4.Which of the following is NOT a measure Fiat Auto took to combat growing losses?
[A] Preventing share price from falling
[B] Laying off workers
[C] Reducing production
[D] Replacement of the boss
5.We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that___________.
[A] Fiat Auto can hardly solve its own problems
[B] GE will be happy to buy the remaining shares of Fiat Auto
[C] the Agnelli family has a final say to whether Fiat Auto should be sold out
[D] Americans are better at running car campanies
答案:D A B A A
篇章剖析
本文是一篇說明文,介紹了菲亞特公司因業(yè)績不佳而不得不裁員的情況。文章第一段介紹了菲亞特公司大規(guī)模裁員的情況;第二段介紹了菲亞特公司最近幾年的虧損情況;第三段說明菲亞特公司裁員對當(dāng)?shù)氐挠绊?第四段介紹了菲亞特公司所采取的措施;第五段做出結(jié)論:菲亞特公司極有可能落入美國人手中。
詞匯注釋
morose: [mE5rEJs] adj. 壞脾氣的;憂郁的
slump: [slQmp] n. (物價)暴跌, 跌落
belated: [bI5leItId] adj. 來得太遲的
recapitalisation: 重新投資
patriarch:[5peitrB:k] n. 家長, 族長, 創(chuàng)辦人
ailing: [5eIlIN] adj. 生病的
難句突破
Fiat's belated willingness to take tough steps to align capacity with demand is down to the group's new boss, Gabriele Galateri, chosen in June to rescue the firm, which is 30% owned by Agnelli family interests.
主體句式:Fiat’s belated willingness ..is down to the group’s new boss.
結(jié)構(gòu)分析:這是一個復(fù)雜句。主語后面帶有一個不定式短語作定于,過去分詞chosen所帶的短語作了boss的定語,后面還有一個which引導(dǎo)的非限定性定語從句。
句子譯文:菲亞特遲遲不愿采取強硬措施使產(chǎn)需一致,直到六月份加布里埃萊·加拉泰雷臨危受命,成為集團新任總裁,這種狀況才有所改變。
題目分析
1. 答案為D,屬事實細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章第一段第提到,工廠老板將和工會領(lǐng)導(dǎo)就裁員的問題進(jìn)行會晤,并宣布大批裁員,這是一年之內(nèi)的第二次大規(guī)模裁員。雖然公司許諾大多數(shù)人只是暫時被解雇,但工人們懷疑工作是否還會回來??梢姡钏麄儽^的是自己將被解雇。
2. 答案為A,屬事實細(xì)節(jié)題。文章第二段提到菲亞特汽車公司五年前生產(chǎn)260萬輛汽車仍然能夠盈利,而現(xiàn)在只生產(chǎn)190萬輛汽車但仍然面臨虧損的局面,可見菲亞特汽車的市場需求比以前下降很多。
3. 答案為B,屬事實細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章第三段,菲亞特裁員將會使地方失業(yè)率上升,讓不想援助困難公司的貝盧斯科尼政府犯難(pose a nasty problem)??梢姺苼喬夭脝T成了令意大利政府頭痛的事情。
4. 答案為A,屬事實細(xì)節(jié)題。文中談到菲亞特汽車公司的問題時,也談到了相應(yīng)的措施(盡管沒有直接說明),比如裁員,換總裁,減少產(chǎn)量等。防止股價下跌是新任總裁制定的目標(biāo)。這和措施不能混為一談。
5. 答案為A,屬推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章最后一段,GE希望菲亞特自己把問題解決好,免得由GE接管。然而大多數(shù)分析人士認(rèn)為菲亞特公司最終將落入美國人的手里,也就是說菲亞特的問題已經(jīng)不是自己能夠獨立解決的了。
參考譯文
位于都靈的米拉菲奧里(Mirafiori)大工廠是菲亞特集團下屬菲亞特汽車公司的核心部門,該公司最近麻煩不斷。10月9日下午2點早班工人下班回家的時候,悲觀的情緒籠罩著人們。工人們知道工廠老板將于當(dāng)天下午晚些時候在羅馬會見工會領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人,宣布集團所有工廠范圍內(nèi)裁員8100人。這是繼今年早些時候宣布裁員3000人之后的又一次裁員。工人們預(yù)計到明年七月,米拉菲奧里工廠的12000名員工有三分之一的人丟掉工作。菲亞特說除了500人外,所有其他人都只是暫時被解雇一年。但悶悶不樂的工人們在走出米拉菲奧里工廠大門時懷疑不論公司把新車型和未來的投資說得如何天花亂墜,工作也不會回來了。
菲亞特汽車公司今年將虧損近10億歐元(合9.87億美元),這把集團其它部門的利潤全部抵銷了,這些部門制造的東西從卡車,拖拉機到機器人應(yīng)有盡有。菲亞特的老板們多年來一直否認(rèn)公司產(chǎn)能嚴(yán)重過剩,而這正是銷售額下降,損失不斷上升的原因。五年前菲亞特汽車公司每年生產(chǎn)260萬輛汽車,年利潤達(dá)到7.58億歐元。從那以后,除了一年業(yè)績稍好,其它幾年是年年虧損。今年該公司計劃只生產(chǎn)190萬輛汽車。五月菲亞特公司迫于銀行壓力進(jìn)行了結(jié)構(gòu)調(diào)整,短短幾星期后,菲亞特集團母公司的首席執(zhí)行官就辭去了職務(wù)。
意大利北部的失業(yè)率雖然只有4%,但這對該地區(qū)仍然是一次重創(chuàng)。不過其它地方遭受的打擊更為嚴(yán)重。位于西西里的泰爾米尼-伊梅雷塞工廠將要裁員1800人。工會說供應(yīng)商的減少可能會使失業(yè)人數(shù)增加一倍。當(dāng)?shù)毓俜浇y(tǒng)計的失業(yè)率已經(jīng)達(dá)到了18%(雖然這個數(shù)字忽略了活躍的“非正式”經(jīng)濟)。這給西爾維奧·貝盧斯科尼政府出了一道難題,他的政府雖然在西西里獲得的民意支持很高,但并不打算幫助那些陷入困境的公司。
菲亞特遲遲不愿采取強硬措施使產(chǎn)需一致,直到六月份加布里埃萊·加拉泰雷臨危受命,成為集團新任總裁,這種狀況才有所改變。他肩負(fù)拯救這家由阿格里尼家族控股30%的公司的重任。他的目標(biāo)就是恢復(fù)公司信用,阻止公司股價大幅下跌,讓銀行相信他正在梳理菲亞特汽車公司的這堆亂麻,以便贏得他們的支持,給公司繼續(xù)投資。
通用汽車公司的老板們正密切關(guān)注著意大利的局勢。該公司持有菲亞特汽車公司20%的股份。從2004年一月起,意大利人就可以把剩余股份賣給通用公司。而通用公司在歐洲的麻煩已經(jīng)不少,在萬不得已接管之前,它巴不得菲亞特汽車公司能夠自己把問題解決好。雖然阿格里尼家族的首領(lǐng),81歲高齡,體弱多病的喬萬尼·阿格里尼反對這筆交易,大多數(shù)分析家認(rèn)為意大利人最引以為傲的制造公司將最終落入美國人的手中。
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