阅读理解 "There will always be bears, and there will always be bulls, but one can never know when one will dominate the other." This quote by noted economist William Urster efficiently summarizes the economic theory of market cycles, in which periods of economic growth must inevitably be followed by periods of downturn, and vice versa. These respective periods play off one another, reinforcing a positive trend of growth over the long term.
It is a tradition on Wall Street to refer to periods of sustained economic loss and recession as "bear" markets. The name is derived from the way a bear attacks its prey, by swinging downward with its claws, thus indicating the market's downward charted trend. The "bull" market, however, is construed as following the upward motion a bull uses to attack its enemy with its horns, signaling an upward trend for the economy. As the bear and the bull do battle, the investors find the economy quite unpredictable, and thus hard to apply the time-honored philosophy of buying stocks when the market is low, so as to sell when the market is high, at a substantial profit.
Such market timing is not necessary, however. Over the history of the American stock exchange, the long-term pattern for the economy has always been up. In fact, the American economy, as gauged by the Standard and Poor's Index, has grown at an astounding 11% average per year. Thus, by simply investing at an appropriate time and keeping one's money in the market, long-term investors who can stomach the roller-coaster ride through the down periods will come out much richer for it in the long run.
Few seem to have the patience and discipline to think about long-term investment in the market, however. Most people prefer to gamble instead, by hopping in and out of stocks, hoping to catch the buy at the lowest point and the sell at the highest. It has been statistically proven, however, that such short-term trading tends to result in losses over time. Aside from losses due to bad sales, tax consequences and brokerage fees chip away at these short-sighted traders' pockets, reinforcing the lesson. "Patience is a virtue," it's said, and the stock market certainly provides no exception.
单选题 16.It is argued that the least successful investors are those who______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】属事实细节题。相关信息在最后一段第一、二句:大多数人更喜欢赌一把,频繁出入股票市场,指望着在最低点买人,最高点卖出。有数据表明这种短线交易若假以时日,往往会造成亏损。由此可知,选项B符合此意。选项A中的only语气太绝对;选项C、D的内容在文中没有涉及。
单选题 17.The 11% growth rate of the U. S. economy indicates that the nation______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】属信息归纳题。题目中的关键词11%出现在第三段第三句(美国经济平均每年以11%的惊人速度增长)。根据句法和写作常识判断,本句是对上文的进一步解释(在美国证券交易史上,经济的长期走势总是上升的),而下文又是对它的总结(只要在适当时间投资股市,在经济低迷期能经受住形势忽好忽坏考验的长线投资者终究将获益匪浅)。由此不难推知,选项C正确。选项A与本段最后一句意思不符;选项B与第三句意思不符;选项D的内容不能从文中得出肯定的答案。
单选题 18.What can be inferred from the text?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】属信息推断题。题目问:从文章中可以推出下面哪个论点?由文章第三段最后一句的内容可知:长线投资者只要在经济低迷期能经受住忽好忽坏的形势,终将获益匪浅。由此可推知,选项D正确。选项A是文中最后一句中明确表达的内容(“耐心是一种美德”,股市无疑也是这样),与题目要求不符;选项B的内容在文中没有涉及;选项C(best的语气太绝对)与第一段第二句内容不符:在市场周期中,经济增长期与经济衰退期会交替出现。
单选题 19.The author feels that down periods in the U. S. economy are______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】属信息推断题。由文章第一段第二句的内容(译文见上题)可知,美国经济的低迷期是经济周期中不可避免的自然过程。因此,选项A正确。选项D与本句的意思不符;选项B无法从原文推出;选项C是利用文章倒数第二句中的关键词编造出的干扰项。
单选题 20.The author uses the quote by Urster in the first paragraph in order to______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】属信息推断题。文章第一段引用著名经济学家威廉·厄斯特的话,说明“熊市和牛市交替出现”,第二句是对它的进一步引申:经济增长期之后不可避免地会有经济衰退期。接下来的几段的内容都围绕着这一主题来论证。显然,选项D正确。其他选项都与原文不符。