六級(jí)作業(yè)答案題目分離版day811.23閱讀

1、Section BDirections: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is mar

2、ked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.How the Shutdown Hammered the U. S. EconomyA) How much have the government shutdown and the default threat cost us? Before the latest congressional fierce debate over government spending, the U.S. federal d

3、eficit was shrinking and seemed to shrivel even more in the near future. As a percentage of the nations gross domestic product, the cash shortfall had dropped by half in the past two years, according to Standard&Poors senior credit analyst Marie Cavanaugh, who heads the ratings team in charge of ass

4、essing the U.S. credit rating.B) In other words, the United States was on track to slash its deficit and enjoy the spoils of its growing financial recoveryuntil the shutdown, which has socked（重?fù)簦?the economy in the nose and soured investors confidence everywhere. “Earlier this year, we raised our ou

5、tlook for the U.S. from negative to stable based on the ability of Congress to negotiate its way out of the fiscal cliff, the nations strengthening economic recovery and the fact that the nations deficit had fallen by half of the 2011 level,” Cavanaugh told Newsweek just before Congress cobbled toge

6、ther （胡亂拼湊） a last-minute deal.C) Now the same ratings agency estimates that the government shutdown knocked $24 billion out of the U.S. economy in just two weeks. That is more than $1.5 billion a day. Essentially, the fighting over spending leaves America with less to spend. “The bottom line is the

7、 government shutdown hurt the U.S. economy,” stated S&Ps chief economist Beth Ann Bovino, on the heels of an eleventh-hour budget compromise that effectively delays key fiscal decisions until next year.D) “In September, we expected 3 percent annualized growth in the fourth quarter, because we though

8、t politicians would have learned from 2011 and taken steps to avoid things like a government shutdown and the possibility of a sovereign default.”（In 2011, consumer confidence hit a 31-year low; just this week a Gallup poll similarly showed investor confidence dropping to its lowest level in almost

9、two years. This is probably not a coincidence, as both polls took place during congressional standoffs.）E) S&P, which has been the only ratings agency to slash the nations top-flight credit rating （also in 2011）, now expects this years fourth quarter GDP to be closer to 2 percent. That is, if the U.

10、S. is lucky. “With full expectations that consumer confidence will continue to decline suddenly amid the short turnaround for politicians to negotiate some sort of lasting deal,” Bovino predicts, “if people are afraid that the government policy brinkmanship （邊緣政策） will resurface and, with it, the ri

11、sk of another shutdown or worse, theyll remain afraid to open up their checkbooks.”F) Cavanaugh says the agency estimates that for every week the government was shut down, roughly 0.3 percent of the nations GDP was destroyed. Not really a good thing for a country that, until recently, “was running o

12、ne of the highest deficits the world has seen since World War II,” according to Nikola Swann, Cavanaughs predecessor and the credit analyst who led the team that voted the U.S. credit rating down in 2011.G) Swann, who tracked U.S. fiscal health for some time, traces much of the trouble back to 2001,

13、 when the September 11 attacks led to a downturn in the nations economic growth and soaring spending in the lead-up to the war on terror. “The U.S. did begin to recover by 2007”, he says, “but then it was hit by the financial crisis. By 2009, the nations cash deficitthe annual gap between spending a

14、nd revenue as a percentage of its GDPhad swelled to 11 percent.”H) “Compare that to a surplus of 3 percent of GDP in 2000, at present, the cash deficit has eased to under 5 percent,” Cavanaugh says, “but remains at the high end.” “Remember, the Clinton administration benefitted from very high rates

15、of economic growth, real rates that were around 3 percent to 5 percent of GDP,” Swann says. “We increased spending but never got back to the high growth rates.”I) Bovino warns the U.S. still has much to lose if its fiscal game of chicken doesnt end. As the debt ceiling deadline neared, S&P was minut

16、es away from automatically demoting（使降級(jí)） Americas credit rating and tipping it into “selective default”. （The only other country to have “SD”status is Grenada.） Fitch, a ratings-agency competitor of S&P, already announced it was putting the U.S. on “credit rating watch negative”, citing a lack of “t

17、imely”action by Congress to pass a budget.J) Like a troubled teenager, America is repeatedly self-harming. “It is simply not a characteristic of the most highly rated sovereigns that you have to worry about them not paying their debts,” said John Chambers, global head of S&Ps sovereign ratings commi

18、ttee and a member of the team that marked down Americas debt rating in 2011, from AAA to AA+. He notes that no nation has ever defaulted for such a ridiculous reasonpolitical games of mutually assured destruction. “It is unheard of in a cohesive civil society, making it all the more puzzling and pat

19、hetic that we have these tricks over spending that has already been approved by Congress.”K) When Standard&Poors, which monitors and ranks the credit of 127 countries, slashed the sovereign debt rating of the United States during the 2011 debt-ceiling war, cries of “unpatriotic” and “anti-American”

20、echoed up Wall Street. “We knew what we were doing, that it was a historic decision,” says Swann. “The volume of calls coming in was more than we could sort through on our own. We were there until late Friday, doing interviews, investor calls, and teleconferences, all through the weekend and the res

21、t of the following week.”L) The hue and cry was no surprise. After all, nothing less than the worlds global reserve currency was at stake. The U.S. ratingalongside that of France, Austria and the Isle of Manput it behind Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapor

22、e, the United Kingdom, and Canada. By losing its gold-star rating, the worlds superpower became and remains second best.M) “The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as Americas governance and policymaking are becoming less stable, less effective and less predictable than w

23、hat we previously believed,” S&P stated to justify its lone decision in 2011. “The statutory（法定的） debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy.”N) Now there are three months for Congress to complete its bargaining, pass a budget, and

24、lift the debt ceiling again. If it failsand everything suggests a return to the deadlock we just escaped fromAmerica will be back in default territory. Politicians in Washington will put on the motley（小丑裝束）, the default circus will resume and the damage to Americas economy will start over.O) Whateve

25、r was said on either side in the latest showdown about reneging（違約） on the national debts, defaulting will not be pretty. According to Bovino, if America defaulted it “would be devastating for markets and the economy and worse than the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008”and “put the economy in a re

26、cession and wipe out much of the economic progress made by the recovery from the Great Recession.”1. For countries with the highest credit rating, people should not have to worry that money lent to these countries wont be paid back.2. In Bovinos opinion, the default will do much more harm to America

27、 than the shutdown of Lehman Brothers.3. The issues like debt ceiling and the default have been exploited by politicians for their own benefits to make fiscal policies.4. The shutdown of the government has hindered Americas economic recovery and set back peoples confidence in investment.5. Swann reg

28、ards the September 11 attacks as a turning point for the development of American economy.6. S&P is not quite confident about Americans GDP getting near two percent in the last quarter of the year.7. With the debt ceiling deadline approaching, S&P would soon attribute America to a worse rate alongsid

29、e of Grenada.8. In Nikola Swanns opinion, America has had more deficits than any other countries in the world since World War II.9. According to the rating agency, the United States has had a huge loss after the shut down for half a month.10. Three months later, if the Congress cannot pass a budget

30、and lift the debt ceiling, America will be on the old track of default.答案：1-5 J O M B G 6-10 E I F C N答案解析1. J解析：注意抓住題干中的關(guān)鍵詞the highest credit rating、worry、wont be paid back。關(guān)于最高信用等級(jí)國(guó)家信用問題的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在J段。該段第二句指出，對(duì)于評(píng)級(jí)最高的主權(quán)國(guó)家而言，你本來就不用去擔(dān)心它們無法還債。由此可見，題干與原文是同義轉(zhuǎn)述，故答案是J。2. O解析：注意抓住題干中的關(guān)鍵詞default 和Lehman Brothers。

31、關(guān)于美國(guó)政府違約與雷曼兄弟公司倒閉進(jìn)行比較的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在O段。該段第二句指出，根據(jù)博維諾的看法，如果美國(guó)違約，它“對(duì)市場(chǎng)和經(jīng)濟(jì)將是毀滅性的打擊，這比2008年雷曼兄弟公司倒閉還要糟糕，”。由此可見，題干與原文是同義轉(zhuǎn)述，故答案是O。題干中的do much more harm與原文中的worse相對(duì)應(yīng)。3. M解析：注意抓住題干中的關(guān)鍵詞exploited by politicians和fiscal policies。關(guān)于政客們利用債務(wù)上限和債務(wù)違約的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在M段。該段最后一句指出，法定債務(wù)上限和債務(wù)違約已成為財(cái)政政策辯論中的籌碼。由此可見，題干對(duì)原文進(jìn)行了同義轉(zhuǎn)述，故答案是M。題干中的expl

32、oited與原文中的bargaining chips相對(duì)應(yīng)。4. B解析：注意抓住題干中的關(guān)鍵詞economic recovery、set back、peoples confidence in investment。關(guān)于政府關(guān)門阻礙美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)蘇進(jìn)程的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在B段。該段第一句的后半句指出，政府關(guān)門則沉重打擊了經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展，使各地的投資者們信心受挫。由此可見，題干與原文是同義轉(zhuǎn)述，故答案是B。5. G解析：注意抓住題干中的關(guān)鍵詞the September 11 attacks和turning point。關(guān)于911恐怖襲擊的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在G段。該段第一句指出，斯旺追蹤美國(guó)的財(cái)政健康狀況已有一段時(shí)間了。

33、他將許多麻煩追溯到2001年。當(dāng)年911恐怖襲擊事件導(dǎo)致全國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)的下滑，反恐戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的支出急劇上升。由此可見，題干與原文是同義轉(zhuǎn)述，故答案是G。6. E解析：注意抓住題干中的關(guān)鍵詞not quite confident、near two percent和in the last quarter of the year。關(guān)于美國(guó)第四季度GDP的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在E段。該段第一、二句指出，標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾現(xiàn)在預(yù)計(jì)今年第四季度的GDP將接近2%。這還是在美國(guó)走運(yùn)的情況下。由此可見，標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾并不確定GDP的增長(zhǎng)目標(biāo)能否達(dá)成。題干與原文是同義轉(zhuǎn)述，故答案是E。7. I解析：注意抓住題干中的關(guān)鍵詞Grenada，關(guān)于美國(guó)和格林

34、納達(dá)的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在I段。該段第二、三句指出，隨著債務(wù)上限最后期限的臨近，標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾已經(jīng)進(jìn)入倒計(jì)時(shí)，將自動(dòng)把美國(guó)的信用評(píng)級(jí)下調(diào)，并將其歸為“選擇性違約”的級(jí)別。（其他國(guó)家中唯一被評(píng)為SD級(jí)的是格林納達(dá)。）由此可見，題干對(duì)原文進(jìn)行了同義轉(zhuǎn)述，故答案是I。8. F解析：注意抓住題干中的關(guān)鍵詞Nikola Swann 和World War II。關(guān)于尼古拉斯旺的觀點(diǎn)以及第二次世界大戰(zhàn)的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在F段。該段第二句指出，因?yàn)?，直到最近，美?guó)“都還在背負(fù)二戰(zhàn)以來世界最高的財(cái)政赤字”信用分析師尼古拉斯旺說道。由此可見，題干與原文是同義轉(zhuǎn)述，故答案是F。9. C解析：注意抓住題干中的關(guān)鍵詞a huge loss和h

35、alf a month。關(guān)于美國(guó)政府關(guān)門帶來損失的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在C段。該段第一句指出，如今，這家評(píng)級(jí)機(jī)構(gòu)估算，政府關(guān)門在短短的兩個(gè)星期就導(dǎo)致240億美元的經(jīng)濟(jì)損失。由此可見，題干與原文是同義轉(zhuǎn)述，故答案是C。10. N解析：注意抓住題干中的關(guān)鍵詞three months、lift the debt ceiling和on the old track。關(guān)于國(guó)會(huì)需要在三個(gè)月內(nèi)通過預(yù)算的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在N段，該段第一、二句指出，現(xiàn)在還有三個(gè)月的時(shí)間讓國(guó)會(huì)進(jìn)行它的談判、通過一項(xiàng)預(yù)算方案并再次提高債務(wù)上限。如果未能達(dá)成一切都將回到我們剛剛逃離的僵局美國(guó)將再次陷入違約的泥潭。由此可見，題干與原文是同義轉(zhuǎn)述，故答案是N

36、。參考譯文政府關(guān)門如何危害美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)A）政府關(guān)門和債務(wù)違約的威脅會(huì)讓我們付出多少代價(jià)?在最近一次國(guó)會(huì)就政府支出問題的激烈論戰(zhàn)前，美國(guó)聯(lián)邦赤字正在縮小，而且似乎在不久的將來更會(huì)如此。據(jù)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾的高級(jí)信用分析師、美國(guó)信用等級(jí)評(píng)估小組的負(fù)責(zé)人馬里卡瓦諾稱，作為國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值的一部分，現(xiàn)金短缺數(shù)額在過去的兩年里下降了一半。B）換句話說，美國(guó)在削減赤字方面已步入正軌，并享受著經(jīng)濟(jì)日漸復(fù)蘇的成果4而政府關(guān)門則沉重打擊了經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展，使各地的投資者們信心受挫。就在國(guó)會(huì)胡亂拼湊出一個(gè)最后的協(xié)議之前，卡瓦諾告訴新聞周刊：“今年早些時(shí)候，我們把美國(guó)的評(píng)級(jí)展望由“負(fù)面”調(diào)升為“穩(wěn)定”，這是基于其國(guó)會(huì)有能力成功解決財(cái)政懸崖

37、問題、經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)蘇勢(shì)頭得以鞏固以及國(guó)家赤字已下降為2011年水平的一半這些因素?！盋）9如今，這家評(píng)級(jí)機(jī)構(gòu)估算，政府關(guān)門在短短的兩個(gè)星期就導(dǎo)致240億美元的經(jīng)濟(jì)損失。一天就有15億美元以上的損失。 從本質(zhì)上來說，預(yù)算撥款之戰(zhàn)使得美國(guó)更沒錢可花。國(guó)會(huì)進(jìn)行了最后的預(yù)算折中方案討論，但實(shí)際上把關(guān)鍵的財(cái)政決策推遲到了明年，而就在此之前，標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾的首席經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家貝絲安博維諾說：“底線是政府關(guān)門波及美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)?！盌）“9月份，我們本來期望第四季度會(huì)出現(xiàn)3%的年化增長(zhǎng)，因?yàn)槲覀円詾檎賳T已經(jīng)從2011年吸取了教訓(xùn)，并且會(huì)采取措施避免類似政府關(guān)門、主權(quán)債務(wù)違約這樣的事情發(fā)生。”（在2011年，消費(fèi)者信心指數(shù)跌至31

38、年以來的最低點(diǎn); 本周的蓋洛普民意測(cè)驗(yàn)同樣表明，投資者信心指數(shù)已跌至近兩年來的最低水平。這可能不是巧合，因?yàn)閮身?xiàng)民意調(diào)查都是在國(guó)會(huì)陷入僵局時(shí)進(jìn)行的。）E）6標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾是唯一一家曾經(jīng)削減過美國(guó)頂級(jí)信用的評(píng)級(jí)機(jī)構(gòu)（同樣也在2011年），該機(jī)構(gòu)現(xiàn)在預(yù)計(jì)今年第四季度的GDP將接近2%。這還是在美國(guó)走運(yùn)的情況下?！拔覀兺耆梢灶A(yù)料消費(fèi)者信心指數(shù)將隨著政治家在協(xié)商某種永久性解決方案時(shí)局面突然惡化而突然下跌，”博維諾預(yù)測(cè)，“如果人們擔(dān)心政府政策邊緣化又有所抬頭，而且隨之又有政府關(guān)門的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)或更糟糕的情況，他們就不敢打開他們的支票簿亂花錢了。”F）卡瓦諾說據(jù)其機(jī)構(gòu)估計(jì)，政府每關(guān)閉一周會(huì)導(dǎo)致大約0.3%的GDP損失。對(duì)這樣一個(gè)國(guó)家而言這真不是好事。8因?yàn)橹钡阶罱?，美?guó)“都還在背負(fù)二戰(zhàn)以來世界最高的財(cái)政赤字?！毙庞梅治鰩熌峁爬雇f道。他是博維諾的前任，在2011年帶領(lǐng)其團(tuán)隊(duì)削減了美國(guó)信用等級(jí)。G）5斯旺追蹤美國(guó)的財(cái)政健康狀況已有一段時(shí)間了。他將許多麻煩追溯到2001年。當(dāng)年911恐怖襲擊事件導(dǎo)致全國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)的下滑，反恐戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)