单选题
As a young bond trader, Buttonwood was given two pieces of advice, trading rules of thumb, if you will: that bad economic news is good news for bond markets and that every utterance dropping from the lips of Paul Volcker, the then chairman of the Federal Reserve, and the man who restored the central bank's credibility by stomping on runaway inflation, should be respected than Pope's orders. Today's traders are, of course, a more sophisticated bunch. But the advice still seems good, apart from two slight drawbacks. The first is that the well-chosen utterances from the present chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, is of more than passing difficulty. The second is that, of late, good news for the economy has not seemed to upset bond investors all that much. For all the cheer that has crackled down the wires, the yield on ten-year bonds—which you would expect to rise on good economic news—is now, at 4.2% , only two-fifths of a percentage point higher than it was at the start of the year. Pretty much unmoved, in other words. Yet the news from the economic front has been better by far than anyone could have expected. On Tuesday November 25th, revised numbers showed that America's economy grew by an annual 8.2% in the third quarter, a full percentage point more than originally thought, driven by the ever-spendthrift American consumer and, for once, corporate investment. Just about every other piece of information coming out from special sources shows the same strength. New houses are stilt being built at a fair clip. Exports are rising, for all the protectionist crying. Even employment, in what had been mocked as a jobless recovery, increased by 125000 or thereabouts in September and October. Rising corporate profits, low credit spreads and the biggest-ever rally in the junk-bond market do not, on the face of it, suggest anything other than a deep and long-lasting recovery. Yet Treasury-bond yields have fallen. If the rosy economic backdrop makes this odd, making it doubly odd is an apparent absence of foreign demand. Foreign buyers of Treasuries, especially Asian central banks, who had been swallowing American government debt like there was no tomorrow, seem to have had second thoughts lately. In September, according to the latest available figures, foreigners bought only $5.6 billion of Treasuries, compared with $25.1 billion the previous month and an average of $38.7 billion in the preceding four months. In an effort to keep a lid on the yen's rise, the Japanese central bank is still busy buying dollars and parking the money in government debt. Just about everyboby else seems to have been selling. [A] fairly well-chosen [B] rising rather slowly [C] setting a limit on yen's rise [D] buying American government debt bravely [E] spending more and more cautiously [F] carelessly selected [G] domestic consumers
单选题
The utterances from Alan Greenspan are
【正确答案】
F
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的特征词有两个utterances和Alan Greenspan,根据这两个特征词可以将该题的相关信息定位在文章第一段的第四句话:The first is that the well-chosen utterances from the present chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, is of more than passing difficulty. 本句的意思是:首先,要从现任联邦储备委员会主席阿伦·格林斯潘嘴里听到精挑细选的话不是一般的困难。由此可以了解到作者的意思是,格林斯潘所说的话不是经过仔细斟酌的,所以本题的正确答案是F项“未经周到考虑而选择的”。值得注意是A项“精挑细选的”是干扰项。
单选题
The yield on ten-year bonds is
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的特征词就是题干的主语The yield on ten-year bonds, 根据这个短语可以将该题的相关信息定位在文章第一段的最后两句话:For all the cheer that has crackled down the wires, the yield on ten-year bonds—which you would expect to rise on good economic news—is now, at 4.2%, only two-fifths of a percentage point higher than it was at the start of the year, Pretty much unmoved, in other words.两句的意思是:尽管欢呼声已经四处响起,但是本来期待由于经济好消息而上涨的10年期债券的收益率现在是4.2%,这仅仅只比年初高了0.4个百分点。换句话说,收益率几乎没有改变。可以从中了解到10年期债券的收益率增长相当缓慢,所以本题的正确答案是B项“上升的相当缓慢”。
单选题
The rapid economic growth results from
【正确答案】
G
【答案解析】[解析] :本题的特征词也是题干中的主语The rapid economic growth,根据这个短语可以将相 关信息定位在第二段的第二句话:On Tuesday November 25th, revised numbers showed that America's economy grew by an annual 8.2% in the third quarter, a full percentage point more than originally thought, driven by the ever-spendthrift American consumer and, for once, corporate investment.本句的意思是:在11月25日周二,修改后的数据显示,美国经济第三季度年增长率为8.2%,比人们最初设想的多了整整一个百分点,这种增长是由一直以来挥霍无度的美国消费者以及仅此一次的公司投资带来的。可以从中了解到美国经济增长和美国消费者的消费方式有关,所以本题的正确答案是G项“国内的消费者”。
单选题
Recently, Asian central banks have been
【正确答案】
E
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的特征词是时间状语recently和句子主语Asian central banks, 根据这两个词可以将相关信息定位在第三段的第二句话:Foreign buyers of Treasuries, especially Asian central banks, who had been swallowing American government debt like there was no tomorrow, seem to have had second thoughts lately.本句话的意思是:国债的外国买家,尤其是一直以来不顾后果、大举购买美国政府债务的亚洲中央银行,最近似乎要重新考虑他们的做法了。值得注意的是句子中的lately和题干中的Recently相对应,而句子中的had second thoughts意思是“重新考虑”。所以本题的正确答案是E项“越来越谨慎的花费”。
单选题
Japanese dollar-buying is for the purpose of
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的特征词是主语Japanese dollar-buying,根据这个词可以把本题的相关信息定位在第三段倒数第二句话:In an effort to keep a lid oll the yen's rise, the Japanese central bank is still busy buying dollars and parking the money in government debt.本句的意思是:为了努力限制日元的升值,日本中央银行仍在忙于购进美元并且把这些钱转为政府债务。可以从中了解到:日本中央银行购买美元的目的是为了限制日元的升值。所以本题的正确答案是C项“对日元升值加以限制”。