单选题 Wall Street in a conceptual sense represents financial and economic power. To Americans, it can sometimes represent elitism and power politics, and its role has been a source of controversy throughout the nation's history, particularly beginning around the Gilded Age period in the late 19th century. Wall Street became the symbol of a country and economic system that many Americans saw as having developed through trade, capitalism, and innovation. Wall Street has become synonymous with financial interests, often used negatively. During the mortgage mess from 2007—2010, Wall Street financing was blamed as one of the causes, although most commentators blame an interplay of factors. The U. S. government with the Troubled Asset Relief Program bailed out the banks and financial backers with billions of taxpayer dollars, but the bailout was often criticized as politically motivated, and was criticized by journalists as well as the public. One writer in the Huffington Post looked at FBI statistics on robbery, fraud, and crime and concluded that Wall Street was the "most dangerous neighborhood in the United States" if one factored in the $ 50 billion fraud perpetrated by Bernie Madoff. Many complained that the resulting Sarbanes-Oxley legislation dampened the business climate. Interest groups seeking favor with Washington lawmakers, such as car dealers, have often sought to portray their interests as allied with Main Street rather than Wall Street. When the United States Treasury bailed out large financial firms, to ostensibly halt a downward spiral in the nation's economy, there was tremendous negative political fallout, particularly when reports came out that monies supposed to be used to ease credit restrictions were being used to pay bonuses to highly-paid employees. Analyst William Cohan argued that it was "obscene(肮脏的)" how Wall Street reaped "massive profits and bonuses in 2009" after being saved by "trillions of dollars of American taxpayers' treasure" despite Wall Street's "greed and irresponsible risk-taking". Washington Post reporter Suzanne McGee called for Wall Street to make a sort of public apology to the nation, and expressed dismay that people such as Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein hadn't expressed contrition (侮悟) despite being sued by the SEC(Securities and Exchange Commission)in 2009. McGee wrote that "Bankers aren't the sole culprits, but their denials of responsibility and the occasional vague and waffling expression of regret don't go far enough to deflect anger". But chief banking analyst at Goldman Sachs, Richard Ramsden, is "unapologetic" and sees "banks as the dynamos(发电机)that power the rest of the economy". Ramsden believes "risk-taking is vital". Others in the financial industry believe they've been unfairly criticized by the public and by politicians. Images of Wall Street and its figures have loomed large. The 1987 Oliver Stone film Wall Street created the iconic figure of Gordon Gekko who used the phrase "greed is good", which had an unexpected cultural influence, not causing them to turn away from corporate greed, but causing many young people to choose Wall Street careers.
单选题 Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 以下哪一个标题是全文的最佳标题?公众眼里的华尔街。第一段写美国大众对华尔街的看法,第二段和第三段列举了美国一些名人,如分析家威廉.科汉、《华盛顿邮报》记者苏珊娜?麦吉和银行分析师理查德?拉姆斯登对华尔街的评论。A(华尔街的自然布局)在文中没有提到;C(电影《华尔街》的影响)只是短文中的一个细节,不能作为主旨题的答案;D(作为金融中心的华尔街)也不适合用作本题的答案,因为本文更偏重美国民众对华尔街的看法。
单选题 All of the following statements are true EXCEPT ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 以下陈述都是真实的,C(华尔街是全球经济危机唯一的罪魁祸首。)除外。A(华尔街引起了公众很大的兴趣。)在第一段提及;B(紧急救济计划在美国政治中发挥消极作用。)在第二段第三句中提及;那句话的意思是:制定了不良资产救援计划的美国政府救助拥有纳税人数十亿美元的银行和金融支持者,但紧急救援因有政治动机而受到批评,而且受到新闻记者和大众的批评。D(华尔街在美国经济中扮演的角色正受到抨击。)也在第二段中提及;威廉?科汉认为,2009年华尔街牟取暴利真是肮脏之极。这说明华尔街在美国经济中扮演的角色受到抨击。文中没有提到C。
单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that the real root of the financial crisis is ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 根据短文可以推断,经融危机的真正祸根是华尔街缺乏责任感和人性。从第二段可以看出,华尔街的贪婪和不负责任的冒险是华尔街金融危机的真正祸根。
单选题 In the film Wall Street, Gordon Gekko could best be described as a(n) ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 在《华尔街》这部影片中,戈登?盖科可以说成是偶像。从短文最后一段可以看出,影片《华尔街》塑造了一个名叫戈登?盖科的传统人物,它采用的说法是“贪婪至上”,造成了出乎意料的文化影响,没有让许多年轻人摆脱集体的贪婪,反而使他们选择了华尔街上的冒险事。