[C] the influence of the change in the personal-bankruptcy laws has been digested

[D] the overall conditions for borrowers are getting worse

4. The subprime-mortgage crisis influences the credit-card market in that _____.

[A] the fall of asset values affects the card borrowers' creditworthiness

[B] the decrease in the mortgage payment leads to the rises of the card debt

[C] the drying up of the home-equity loans spur consumers' incentives to repay the card debt

[D] the falling house prices make the card debt rising higher

5. According to the author, the credit-card market will more likely be threatened by _____.

[A] a gradual downward tendency

[B] a rapid collapse

[C] a sustained trend of lowering prices

[D] the accumulation of economic recession





文章剖析


这篇文章分析指出美国次级抵押贷款危机可能影响到信用卡市场。第一段指出，信用卡市场已经出现疲软迹象；第二段和第三段通过分析表示，信用卡市场的危机并未确定，不需要过于恐慌；第四段指出，次级抵押危机与信用卡市场之间存在相互影响渠道；第五段指出信用卡在规避风险时的优势；第六段指出信用卡市场趋于经历持续低迷的情况。





词汇注释


dorsal fin ［动］背鳍

ailing adj. 境况不佳的

contagion n. 恶劣影响；蔓延

charge-off n. 损耗

delinquency n. 逾期债款





难句突破


① There are rises in both the charge-off and delinquency rates, which measure the share of balances that are uncollectable or more than 30 days late respectively.

主体句式：There are rises in...

结构分析：which引导的非限定性定语从句修饰前面的the charge-off and delinquency rates；在该定语从句中，还有定语从句修饰the share of balances，在该定语从句中，前半个句子对应修饰the charge-off rates，后半个句子是个省略句，对应修饰the delinquency rates。

句子译文：损耗率和逾期债款率都有所上升，这两个数据分别代表无法回收以及逾期超过30天的收支差额。

② A change in America's personal-bankruptcy laws in 2005 led to an abrupt fall in bankruptcy filings, which in turn account for a big chunk of credit-card losses; the number of filings (and thus charge-off rates) would be rising again, whether or not overall conditions for borrowers were getting worse.

主体句式：A change... led to an abrupt fall...; the number... would be rising...

结构分析：这是一个复杂句，分号将前后两个句子隔开。在前面的句子中，宾语带有which引导的非限定性定语从句；后面的句子是带有方式状语从句的复杂句。

句子译文：2005年，美国个人破产法中的一个变动使得破产登记急速下降，而后引起了信用卡的大规模亏损。不管贷款人的整体状况是否变得更糟糕了，破产登记数量（紧跟其后的是冲销率）可以重新上升。





题目分析


1. The author makes mention of dorsal fins which are irrelevant to the topic in order to _____.

[A] make people alert to the potential danger

[B] attract the readers' attention by presenting an interesting phenomenon

[C] make people realize the graveness of the issue by showing a similar case

[D] make the passage more vivid by imparting new knowledge to readers

1. 背鳍与本文主题无关，作者提到背鳍是为了 _____。

[A] 提醒人们注意潜在的危险

[B] 通过描述一个有趣的现象，来吸引读者的眼球

[C] 通过一个类似的案例，让人们意识到事情的严重性

[D] 通过向读者传授新的知识，来使得文章更生动

答案：A　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：推理题。文章在首尾都提到了背鳍，此处背鳍指代鲨鱼。开头提到，一旦水中有血，就会有背鳍兴奋地游来游去，接着就提到美国房地产业衰退后，投机者将目光转向信用卡市场。末尾又提到，要当心背鳍。由此可以看出，作者提到背鳍是一种隐喻，意味着危险，因此选项A 比较符合题意。

2. Rises in the charge-off and delinquency rate indicate _____.

[A] the deterioration of the subprime mortgage

[B] the inadequate ability of card borrowers

[C] the influence of the technical factors

[D] the change in relevant laws

2. 损耗率和逾期债款率的升高意味着 _____。

[A] 次级抵押贷款恶化

[B] 信用卡借贷人的还贷能力较弱

[C] 技术因素的影响

[D] 相关法律的变化

答案：B　难度系数：☆☆

分析：推理题。文章在第一段提到，信用卡市场的疲软迹象已经出现，接着就提到这两个概念，即损耗率和逾期债款率分别代表无法收回来的收支差额和逾期30天以上未支付的份额，接着又举例说，汇丰银行的14亿美元费用部分是因为信用卡借款人偿还能力较弱。因此，这两项指标升高表明信用卡市场出现了问题。A不符合题意；B是信用卡市场的问题；C和D在第二段提到，是引起这两项指标升高的部分原因所在。因此，答案为B。

3. According to the second paragraph, the number of bankruptcy filings would be rising again because _____.

[A] there is a change in America's personal-bankruptcy laws

[B] the charge-offs and delinquencies are still low

[C] the influence of the change in the personal-bankruptcy laws has been digested

[D] the overall conditions for borrowers are getting worse

3. 根据第二段内容，破产申请的数量将再次增多是因为_____。

[A] 美国个人破产法有了一定变化

[B] 损耗率和逾期债款率仍然很低

[C] 个人破产法的变化带来的影响已经被消化

[D] 贷款人的总体状况越来越差

答案：C　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：推理题。文章第二段末尾提到，不管贷款人整体的情况是否变坏，破产申请的数量都会再次增多。前面又提到，是因为2005年美国个人破产法有了一定变化，破产申请的数量才急剧降低，而后引发了信用卡市场的一些问题。因此可以推断，这项法律实行一段时间后，大家已经消化了这个变化，趋势又会恢复正常。答案C最为贴切。

4. The subprime-mortgage crisis influences the credit-card market in that _____.

[A] the fall of asset values affects the card borrowers' creditworthiness

[B] the decrease in the mortgage payment leads to the rises of the card debt

[C] the drying up of the home-equity loans spur consumers' incentives to repay the card debt

[D] the falling house prices make the card debt rising higher

4. 次级抵押贷款危机影响信用卡市场的原因在于_____。

[A] 资产价值的降低影响了信用卡借款人的信用度

[B] 抵押支付的减少导致了信用卡贷款的增加

[C] 家庭资产贷款的衰竭激发了消费者偿还信用卡贷款的积极性

[C] 房屋价格的下降使得信用卡贷款增加

答案：C　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：细节题。文章第四段提到，次级抵押贷款危机和信用卡市场之间有相互影响的直接通道，因为家庭资产贷款衰竭，借款人就更愿意把信用卡的贷款偿还清；而且因为房屋的价格比贷款还低，大家就不愿意偿还房屋抵押贷款，因此信用卡贷款就会成为最先需要偿还的款项。选项中的C符合这种推理，为正确答案。

5. According to the author, the credit-card market will more likely be threatened by _____.

[A] a gradual downward tendency

[B] a rapid collapse

[C] a sustained trend of lowering prices

[D] the accumulation of economic recession

5. 根据作者的观点，信用卡市场更可能受到 _____ 的威胁。

[A] 缓慢的衰退趋势

[B] 快速的崩溃

[C] 价格持续走低

[D] 日趋严重的经济衰退

答案：A　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：细节题。文章最后一段指出，突然的次级抵押贷款式的垮台可能不会出现在信用卡市场中，而更容易出现的是一种持续不断的低迷。因此，信用卡市场更可能受到这种缓慢的低迷趋势的影响。答案A最为符合题意。





参考译文


如果水中有血的话，那么很自然的，就会有背鳍兴奋地在周围游来游去。现在美国的房产市场境况不佳，投机者就把目光转向了美国的信用卡系统。Goldman Sachs的分析师们认为，如果这种趋势从次级抵押扩散到其他形式的消费者信用的话，那么信用卡损失可能要达到990亿美元。目前这种趋紧的迹象已经显现。损耗率和逾期债款率都有所上升，这两个数据分别代表无法回收以及逾期超过30天的收支差额。汇丰银行上个月宣布，其在美国消费者金融行业的抵押款为14亿美元，部分原因就在于信用卡贷款人的弱势。

但现在恐慌还为时尚早。冲销和逾期债款率还不是很高。据评估机构Moody's估算，第三季度3.89%的逾期债款率比历史平均值还低将近一个百分点。比率变差部分是由于技术原因。2005年，美国个人破产法中的一个变动使得破产登记急速下降，而后引起了信用卡的大规模亏损。不管贷款人的整体状况是否变得更糟糕了，破产登记数量（紧跟其后的是冲销率）可以重新上升。

该行业还报告了真正的支付率，即表示有多少贷款消费者每个月偿还贷款。尽管在其他结构性金融部分出现了瘫痪，但是人们对信用卡负债支持的有价证券还是充满信心。研究机构TowerGroup的工作人员Dennis Moroney预计，2007年的发行数量最终将比去年高出25%。

次级抵押危机和信用卡市场之间存在相互影响的直接渠道，既然家庭资产贷款就要衰竭了，那么消费者就更倾向于充分使用信用卡的贷款。但是信用卡发行人关注的是现金流动而不是资产价值，因此房产价格的下降并不一定会带来贷款人信用额度的改变，甚至会有利于发行人。如果消费者的财产不及贷款金额，那么消费者支付抵押贷款的动力就会削弱，其结果就是，信用卡贷款就会成为最先需要偿还的款项。

信用卡发行人也可以在遇到更为严峻的情况时，通过改变利率或信用额度，从而比房屋抵押借款人做出更快、更灵活的反应。这在理论上可以降低资产快速重新估价的风险。“我们不希望有一天一睁开眼就得重新估算全部贷款，”Capital One的首席财政官Gary Perlin这样说。

如果在信用卡市场中那种突如其来的次级抵押式的彻底崩溃不可能发生的话，那么持续低迷的风险就是更为真实的。如果低房产价格和信贷紧缩将美国引向衰退，那么该行业无疑将会面临更惨淡的未来。时刻留心那些背鳍吧。





TEXT FOUR


European Union environmental officials have determined that two kinds of genetically modified corn could harm butterflies, affect food chains and disturb life in rivers and streams, and they have proposed a ban on the sale of the seeds, which are made by DuPont Pioneer, Dow Agrosciences and Syngenta. The preliminary decisions are circulating within the European Commission, which has the final say. Some officials there are skeptical of a ban that would upset the powerful biotechnology industry and could exacerbate tensions with important trading partners like the United States. The seeds are not available on the European market for cultivation.

In the decisions, the environment commissioner, Stavros Dimas, contends that the genetically modified corn, or maize could affect certain butterfly species, specifically the monarch, and other beneficial insects. For instance, research this year indicates that larvae of the monarch butterfly exposed to the genetically modified corn “behave differently than other larvae”. In the decision concerning the corn seeds produced by Dow and Pioneer, Mr. Dimas calls “potential damage on the environment irreversible”. In the decision on Syngenta's corn, he says that “the level of risk generated by the cultivation of this product for the environment is unacceptable”.

A decision by the European Union to bar cultivation of the genetically modified crops would be the first of its kind in the trade bloc, and would intensify the continuing battle over genetically modified corn. Banning the applications for corn crops also would mark a bold new step for European environmental authorities, who are already aggressively pursuing regulations on emissions from cars and aircraft, setting it at odds with the United States and angering industries.

“These products have been grown in the U.S. and other countries for years,” said Stephen Norton, a spokesman for the United States trade representative. “We are not aware of any other case when a product has been rejected after having been reviewed and determined safe by European food safety authorities,” he said.

Barbara Helfferich, a spokeswoman for Mr. Dimas, declined to comment on the specifics of the procedure because commissioners had not yet made a final decision. But she said that the European Union was within its rights to make decisions based on the “precautionary principle” even when scientists had found no definitive evidence proving products can cause harm. She said that the decisions by Mr. Dimas could go before the commission within a few weeks, but she said that no date had been set. In the decisions, Mr. Dimas cited recent research showing that consumption of genetically modified “corn byproducts reduced growth and increased mortality of nontarget stream insects” and that these insects “are important prey for aquatic and riparian predators” and that this could have “unexpected ecosystem-scale consequences”.

Although still preliminary, his decisions could drastically tilt the policy against future approvals of genetically modified crops, said Nathalie Moll, a spokeswoman for Europabio, an industry group with 80 members including Syngenta, Pioneer and Dow. Europabio says that the crops grown using the genetically modified corn are already imported into several European countries, including France and Germany, where they are used to feed animals like cows and chickens.

Rob Gianfranceschi, spokesman at the United States mission to the European Union in Brussels, said it was too early to comment on a decision that had not yet been formalized. But he made clear that the United States remained frustrated with European policies on genetically modified crops.

1. The preliminary decisions are made by _____.

[A] DuPont Pioneer, Dow Agrosciences and Syngenta

[B] European Union environmental officials

[C] European Commission

[D] Starvros Dimas

2. To the decisions, the European Commission officials' attitudes are _____.

[A] skeptical

[B] controversial

[C] contradictory

[D] divergent

3. About the decisions, which one of the following statements is TRUE?

[A] The decisions aim to put a ban against the sale of the seeds of genetically modified corn due to political and biological concerns.

[B] The decisions are warmly embraced by all EU members but bitterly rejected by their trade partners.

[C] The decisions could probably be made even if no definitive evidence proving the products harmful is found.

[D] There is low possibility that the decisions would be approved by the European Commission.

4. Mr. Dimas cited many researches on the genetically modified corn in his decisions in order to _____.

[A] dispel some officials' doubt on his decisions

[B] enhance the strength of his decision-making

[C] show the latest achievements on the research

[D] assure that they can be presented before the commission with solid evidence

5. The word “tilt”（Line 1, Paragraph 6） most probably means _____.

[A] incline

[B] affect

[C] induce

[D] evoke





文章剖析


这篇文章介绍了欧盟环境官员就转基因食品提出决议的一些情况。第一段介绍该决议目前在欧洲委员会内部通报；第二段是环境专员在其决议中的具体观点；第三段说明，如果该决议落实，就将会是首例；第四段介绍美国贸易代表发言人的观点；第五段讲述Dimas先生关于决议的一些谈话；第六段和第七段是其他人和机构的一些观点。





词汇注释


genetically adv. 基因地

exacerbate vt. 恶化，使加剧

monarch n. 黑脉金斑蝶

larvae n. 幼虫

aquatic adj. 水生的

riparian adj. 河边的，水滨的

predator n. 掠夺者，捕食其他动物的动物





难句突破


① European Union environmental officials have determined that two kinds of genetically modified corn could harm butterflies, affect food chains and disturb life in rivers and streams, and they have proposed a ban on the sale of the seeds, which are made by DuPont Pioneer, Dow Agrosciences and Syngenta.

主体句式：European Union environmental officials have determined that... and they have proposed...

结构分析：该句是由and连接的两个并列句，前一个分句带有宾语从句，宾语从句的谓语是三个并列结构的动词；在后一个分句中，which引导的非限定性定语从句是用来修饰the seeds的。

句子译文：欧盟环境官员已经确定，有两种转基因作物会伤害蝴蝶、影响食物链、妨害水生物。他们还建议，禁止出售该作物的种子，这些种子是由DuPont Pioneer, Dow Agrosciences和Syngenta公司研制的。

② In the decisions, Mr. Dimas cited recent research showing that consumption of genetically modified “corn byproducts reduced growth and increased mortality of nontarget stream insects” and that these insects “are important prey for aquatic and riparian predators” and that this could have “unexpected ecosystem-scale consequences”.

主体句式：...Mr. Dimas cited recent research...

结构分析：该句宾语research后面的现在分词是它的定语，该现在分词结构看似复杂，其实是由三个并列的that引导的从句构成的。

句子译文：在这些决定中，Dimas引用了最近的一些研究，这些研究表明，对转基因“谷物副产品”的消费会“抑制生长，增加非目标性水生昆虫的死亡率”，而且这些昆虫“是水生动物的重要食物”，因此这可能产生“无法预料的影响整体生态系统规模的后果”。





题目分析


1. The preliminary decisions are made by _____.

[A] DuPont Pioneer, Dow Agrosciences and Syngenta

[B] European Union environmental officials

[C] European Commission

[D] Starvros Dimas

1. 这些初步决议是由 _____ 拟定的。

[A] DuPont Pioneer, Dow Agrosciences和Syngenta公司

[B] 欧盟环境官员

[C] 欧洲委员会

[D] Starvros Dimas先生

答案：D　难度系数：☆☆☆☆

分析：细节题。本题具有一定的难度，文章一开头就提到，欧盟环境官员确定了一些事实，并且建议禁止销售转基因作物的种子。然后就提到决议在欧盟委员会内部通报。这样给人的感觉仿佛是这些官员拟定的决议，但文章下面的论述多次提到Dimas先生在决议中的观点，第六段也提到他的决议虽然是初步的，但可能有很大影响。由此看来，该决议是Dimas先生提出的可能性大，答案为D。

2. To the decisions, the European Commission officials' attitudes are _____.

[A] skeptical

[B] controversial

[C] contradictory

[D] divergent

2. 欧洲委员会官员对于这些决议的态度为 _____。

[A] 怀疑的

[B] 有争议的

[C] 矛盾的

[D] 有分歧的

答案：D　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：推理题。文章第一段提到，这些决议目前在欧洲委员会内部通报，一些官员对禁令表示怀疑，主要是害怕禁令会影响外交关系。而从文章下面的部分可以看出，这些决议仿佛在欧洲委员会中间得到了一些支持，那么可见，这些官员所持的态度是有分歧的。因此，选项D最为符合题意。选项B有一定的合理性和迷惑性，但是相比选项D显得不够准确。

3. About the decisions, which one of the following statements is TRUE?

[A] The decisions aim to put a ban against the sale of the seeds of genetically modified corn due to political and biological concerns.