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2010考研英语阅读理解精读100篇 UNIT 8

2010考研英语阅读理解精读100篇 UNIT 8
2010考研英语阅读理解精读100篇 UNIT 8

UNIT EIGHT

TEXT ONE

New York is in the middle of a culture fest celebrating Berlin, a 17-day marathon of music, film, architecture, literature and photography that began on November 2nd. “Berlin In Lights” is largely the brainchild of Sir Clive Gillinson, a former managing director of the London Symphony Orchestra who became executive and artistic director of Carnegie Hall in July 2005. Determined to make the New York concert hall more international, he is initiating a series of cultural festivals celebrating cities, nations or artistic movements. Berlin is the first of these.

A visit by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, under its principal conductor Sir Simon Rattle had been planned for some time. Much taken by the extraordinary transformation of Berlin since reunification—the city thrives through culture and politics; there is hardly any business or finance—Sir Clive decided to expand that visit into a full-blown festival. He got an enthusiastic response from other New York institutions.

Berlin and New York have sizeable mutual admiration societies but, until recently, post-war Berlin could only dream of being in the same league of creative effervescence as New York. Now, in partnership with the American Academy in Berlin, Carnegie Hall has put together a crowd of seminars—on literature, the visual arts,

film-making—inviting stars such as Volker Schl?ndorff and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, both Oscar-winning German directors. The Goethe-Institut and the German consulate-general are showing photographs, the Museum of Modern Art is screening films about Berlin and the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Centre is screening the 13 episodes and epilogue of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's television epic “Berlin Alexanderplatz” in 14 separate rooms.

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, extending its visit to eight days, will be performing Gustav Mahler's last three major works as well as music by Thomas Adès, Magnus Lindberg and Gy?rgy Kurtag, three contemporary composers. In addition, various chamber ensembles made up of Philharmonic musicians are playing both at Carnegie and at “neighbourhood concerts” in the city's five boroughs. The most innovative of the Philharmonic's offerings will be the performances on November 17th and 18th at the United Palace Theatre in Washington Heights of Igor Stravinsky's “The Rite of Spring”, danced by kids from state schools who have been trained for just eight weeks. To those who think that the result will be shambolic, the organisers retort that

the experiment worked well with children—including refugees—from state schools in Berlin.

“Berlin In Lights” is not comprehensive: there is no theatre and little dance. A festival that gets too big loses its charm, says Sir Clive: “We would like to capture people's imagination and incite them to expl ore new horizons.”

The audience at some of the shows—a performance by Max Raabe and the Palast Orchestra of songs from the 1920s and 1930s, Ute Lemper, a German chanteuse specialising in Kurt Weill, in cabaret—were made up largely from what one participant described as the geriatric intelligentsia from the Upper West Side. As many of them have German- or Austrian-Jewish origins, they have a loving, knowledgeable relationship with German culture. One critic hissed that Ms Lemper was a poor copy of Lotte Lenya, Weill's wife, whom she had seen perform in the 1940s. Sir Clive hopes that concerts by the Nomad SoundSystem, a Berlin band performing western dance music and North African melodies, and concerts by Berlin's Turkish and Kurdish communities may bring in a younger crowd.

1. What does the word “marathon” (Line

1, Paragraph 1) mean in the text?

[A] A festival

[B] A sport competition

[C] A culture fest

[D] A large event

2. The first sentence of the third

paragraph implies that_____ [A] Berlin is lagging behind New York in

artistic invention.

[B] Berlin and New York have a long

history of artistic exchange in the

societal level.

[C] Berlin is the German equivalence of

New York in terms of creative

vigour. [D] Both Berlin and New York boast of

people with high admiration of art.

3. The Goethe-Institut is probably

situated in_____

[A] New York.

[B] Berlin.

[C] Carnegie University.

[D] Germany.

4. The festival is carried out in order

to_____

[A] enhance cultural exchange between

the two cities.

[B] propagate new Berlin of culture and

politics in the form of art.

[C] goes along with the 8 day visit of the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

[D] internationalize New York music

world.

5. From Sir Clive’s statements, it can be

infered that he holds the view that a

festival ______ [A] should be comprehensive.

[B] should be innovative.

[C] should be full-blown.

[D] should be limited in scale.

文章剖析:

这篇文章讲述了纽约举行的“光之柏林”柏林文化节的情况。第一、二段讲述柏林文化节是如何发展起来的;第三段讲述文化节期间的一些活动;第四段讲述柏林爱乐乐团的活动;第五段讲述该文化节不够全面的地方及其原因;第六段讲述了观众的一些情况。

词汇注释:

effervescence n. 活力shambolic adj. 混乱的

chanteuse n. 女歌手cabaret n. 酒店,酒店的歌舞表演geriatric adj. 老年的Inteligentsia n. 知识分子,知识阶层

难句突破:

(1)A visit by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, under its principal conductor Sir

Simon Rattle had been planned for some time.

[主体句式] A visit had been planned …

[结构分析]这是一个简单句。主语a

visit后面的介词短语是它的定语,而under…介词短语是Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra的定语。

[句子译文] 策划由指挥家SimonRattle指挥的柏林爱乐乐团的访问演出已经有一段时间了。

(2)The Goethe-Institut and the German consulate-general are showing photographs,

the Museum of Modern Art is screening films about Berlin and the P.S.1

Contemporary Art Centre is screening the 13 episodes and epilogue of Rainer

Werner Fassbinder's television epic “Berlin Alexanderplatz” in 14 separate rooms. [主体句式] The Goethe-Institut and the German consulate-general are showing…, the Museum of Modern Art is screening films and the P.S.1 Contermporary Art Centre is screening…

[结构分析] 这是一个并列

句,由三个并列分句组成。最后一个分句比较复杂,in 14 separate rooms

是状语,其宾语是两个并列的名词。

[句子译文] 歌德学院和德国总领事馆展出了照片,现代博物馆在播放关于柏林的电影,P.S.1现代艺术中心在十四个房间里播放了Rainer Werner Fassbinder电视史诗“Berlin Alexanderplatz”中的13个集及其大结局。

题目分析:

[答案]D

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析]猜词题。marathon这个词语的中文为“马拉松”,这个词的原意是一项长跑运动,但在文中使用的是其比喻义,而不是原意。因此考生千万不要看到B 选项就选择,实际上这正是迷惑选项。这个词在原文中的句子为“New York is in the middle of a culture fest celebrating Berlin, a 17-day marathon of music, film, architecture, literature and photography that began on November 2nd. “Berlin In Lights” is largely the brainchild of Sir Clive Gillinson, a former managing director of the London Symphony Orchestra who became executive and artistic director of Carnegie Hall in July 2005”,分析marathon这个词的前后文,可以发现这个活动持续了17天,是一个历时很长的活动,因此正确答案为D选项。A和C选项也比较有迷惑性,因为这篇文章一直在谈论这个文化节。中文我们经常用到“马拉松式的”等表述来表明一个活动持续时间非常长,在这里也是相同的用法。

[答案]A

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析]推理题。第三段的第一句话是:柏林和纽约的团体规模较大,值得双方

互相羡慕,但是现在战后的柏林只能是幻想一下能和纽约一样充满创造的活力。那么可以推断,可能战前柏林和纽约不相上下,但是目前柏林却与纽约差距很大,因此,选项中A选项符合题意。其余几个选项都不能很好地表达这个意思。

[答案]A

[难度系数] ☆☆

[分析]推理题。文章第三段提到了歌德学院,歌德学院和德国总领事馆展出图片,而现代艺术博物馆展出了关于柏林的电影,P.S.1现代艺术中心在十四个房间里播放了Rainer Werner Fassbinder电视史诗“Berlin

Alexanderplatz”的13个插曲和收场白。这些都是纽约举行的柏林艺术节的一部分内容,因此,歌德学院也应该是在纽约,正确答案为A选项。

[答案]D

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析]细节题。在文章的第一段就提到了举办这次艺术节的目的“Determined to make the New York concert hall more international, he is initiating a series of cultural festivals celebrating cities, nations or artistic movements. Berlin is the first of these”,因此

Clive爵士希望举办一些列的这种艺术节活动可以使得纽约的音乐会大厅更为国际化。因此,此次艺术节的目的是纽约的音乐世界更为国际化,而柏林文化节只是这个活动的内容之一。答案为D选项。

[答案]D

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析]

推理题。Clive爵士所说的话为:一个节日如果场面过于宏大,就会失去其魅力,Clive说,“我们希望可以抓住人们的想象,激发他们去探索新的空间。”从上下文可以看出,这主要是关于场面宏大问题的,Clive认为应该场面应该有所限制,应该注重一些小的方面。因此,他说这句话是希望场面应该不要那么宏大。因此正确答案为D。

参考译文:

纽约目前正在举行于11月2日开始的为期十三天的柏林文化节,包括音乐、电影、建筑、文学和摄影等方面的活动。“光之柏林”是CliveGillinson爵士创意,他是伦敦交响乐团的前任负责人,并他于2005年8月成为“卡内基大厅”的行政、艺术主任。他决意要使得纽约的音乐厅更为国际化,因此发起了一系列的城市文化节、国家文化节和艺术活动。其中柏林文化节是第一个。

策划由指挥家SimonRattle指挥的柏林爱乐乐团的访问演出已经有一段时间了。自东西德国统一之后,柏林发生了许多变化,这个城市因为文化和政治,而不是因为商业或金融而繁荣起来。Clive为这个城市所打动,决定将这次访问演出扩大为真正的文化节。他还从纽约其他机构获得了热烈的回应。

柏林和纽约都有规模较大的艺术欣赏团体,但是战后的柏林只能幻想拥有和纽约一样充满创造的活力。目前,卡内基大厅和柏林的美国协会一起组织了一些有关文学、视觉艺术和电影制作的研讨会,邀请了著名人物如V olker Schl?ndorff 和Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck参会,这两位都是获得奥斯卡奖的德国导演。歌德学院和德国总领事馆展出了照片,现代博物馆在播放关于柏林的电影,P.S.1现代艺术中心在十四个房间里播放了Rainer Werner Fassbinder电视史诗“Berlin Alexanderplatz”中的13个集及其大结局。

柏林爱乐乐团将自己的访问演出扩展到了8天,将会演奏GustavMahler的最后三个主要作品,也会演奏三位现代作曲家ThomasAdès、MagnusLindberg和Gy?rgyKurtag的作品。

此外,由爱乐乐团音乐家组成的室内合奏团会在卡内基和该城市五个街区的“社区音乐会”进行表演。爱乐乐团最富有创意的表演是11月17日和18日在Washington Heights的联合宫殿剧院表演的由IgorStravinsky创作的“春的典礼”,伴舞的是来自州立学校的孩子们,他们只训练了8个星期。有些人认为这样会太混乱,而组织者回应说这次尝试中,柏林州立学校的孩子们(包括难民)配合得很好,

“柏林之光”并不包含所有形式的艺术——没有戏剧表演,也没有小型舞蹈。一个节日如果场面过于宏大,就会失去其魅力,Clive说,“我们希望可以抓住人们的想象,激发他们去探索新的空间。”

一些演出(如Max Raabe的表演、Palast管弦乐队演奏的20世纪20年代和30年代的歌曲,专研Kurt Weill 的德国女歌手UteLemper的歌舞表演)的观众主要由一些来自于纽约上西面的老年知识分子组成。他们中许多人都有德国或奥地利犹太血统,因此非常喜爱和深谙德国文化。一位评论家在20世纪40年代就看过Lemper的演出,他认为Lemper女士是对Weill 妻子LotteLenya的拙劣模仿。Clive希望演奏西方舞曲和北美音乐的柏林乐队“流浪声系”,以及柏林的土耳其和库尔德团体举办的音乐会可以吸引年轻的观众。

TEXT TWO

Publishers cannot have enough of books from serious historians about the “whys” of war. Why do they start? Why do they last? What makes a peace fragile? The past is one place to look for answers. Charles Esdaile, a lecturer at the University of Liverpool, is too good a scholar to make easy comparisons between then and now. But the “whys” of war run through his masterly account of the Napoleonic wars, a 12-year conflict between France and Europe's other powers that killed almost 2m soldiers. Mr Esdaile, in a politico-military survey of extraordinary scope and detail, tells us what he believes caused the conflict, what it was about and why it lasted so long despite, as it seemed, frequent chances for peace. Neither battlefield chronicle nor biography in disguise, “Napoleon's Wars” is explanatory history of high order.

Historians date the Napoleonic wars from 1803, when Britain declared war on France after the brief Peace of Amiens. Mr Esdaile recounts how Napoleon came to power in 1799, mastering France and then Europe. Britain commanded the seas after Trafalgar in 1805. But France held the continent thanks to victories on land against the Austrians, Prussians and Russians. Setbacks in Spain, which Napoleon's troops entered in 1807, and disaster in Russia in 1812, led to eventual defeat at Waterloo.

Mr Esdaile makes that familiar story fresh in three connected ways. He shows how marginal-looking conflicts—for example over the Romanian lands, Sweden, Portugal, Canada—ignited larger ones or divided potential allies. He reminds us that defeating Napoleon was never sure. Europe's armies had first to learn from their own failures and their rulers had to make common cause. Both things happened, but late in the day.

Above all, he stresses that the conflict was not ideological but geopolitical. It was about the balance of power, disturbed for a century by Ottoman decline, Russian and Prussian growth and Franco-British rivalries.

Few if any of France's foes were fighting for regime change in Paris. At many times they would have settled with Napoleon—had he settled with them. But they could never trust him to settle, and the wars went on. His two strongest opponents, Britain and Russia, resisted him, in Mr Esdaile's view, not because he was a revolutionary, a republican or the head of an upstart dynasty. They fought him because as long as he controlled France, there was no telling where France would stop.

At this point Napoleon's character enters Mr Esdaile's intricate geopolitical equations. Without accepting a great-man theory of history, he thinks the Napoleonic wars deserve their name. Europe's powers would have fought over their differences without Napoleon. But the scale and ferocity of conflict was due in large part to the emperor's “aggression, egomania and lust for power”.

Mr Esdaile's book reflects a vast and varied range of recent scholarship. But he never leaves his geopolitical story for long. War started, he believes, because Europe was not in balance. It dragged on because Napoleon could not be trusted. Peace came—and lasted until later generations forgot the horror of the alternative.

1.Mr. Esdaile’s book can be best described as_____

[A] a politico-military survery of the Napoleonic wars.

[B] an account of the Napoleonic wars in extrodinary scope and detail.

[C] a historical chronicle of the Napoleonic wars with comparisons of the past and the present.

[D] an exploration of the deep-rooted

reason that led to the long war. 2. Mr Esdaile holds the view that the

Napoleonic wars are originated by

_____

[A] marginal conflicts. [B] imbalance of power in Europe.

[C] Napoleon’s aggressive ambition.

[D] Franco-British rivalries.

3. Mr. Esdaile’s novelty in recounting the

conflict in _____

[A] that he dates from 1799 when

Napoleon came to power in France.

[B] that he explains Napoleon’s character

and history in detailed and vivid

account.

[C] that he reminds us the importance of

some marginal-looking conflicts. [D] that he thinks the war was indeed

started due to geopolitical factors.

4. France’s rivals fought against

Napoleon despite chances for peace

because_____

[A] the political imbalance of Europe

stimulated inevitable hatred and

conflict between the countries and

Napoleon.

[B] they were alert to the possible

aggression by Napoleon.

[C] they attempted to settle with

Napoleon but in vain.

[D] Napoleon was too ambitious to be

trusted by them. 5. According to the passage, which one

of the following statements is NOT

true of the Napoleonic wars? [A] The wars would not have been

fought without Napoleon.

[B] The wars were due to the emperor’s

aggression, egomania and lust for

power.

[C] The wars lasted for so long time

because France’s rivals could not

trust Napoleon.

[D] The wars were fought over the

difference of the Europe’s powers.

文章剖析:

这篇文章介绍了Esdaile先生的《拿破仑战争》一书。文章第一段讲述了该书解释性的特征;第二段讲述书中战争的梗概;第三段讲述其研究的创新之处;第四段讲述战争延续了很久的原因所在;第五段讲述拿破仑性格对于这次战争的影响;第六段总结了该书的特色。

词汇注释:

ferocity n. 残酷egomania n. 自大狂

难句突破:

(1)Mr Esdaile, in a politico-military survey of extraordinary scope and detail, tells us

what he believes caused the conflict, what it was about and why it lasted so long despite, as it seemed, frequent chances for peace.

[主体句式] Mr Esdaile tells us what…, what… and why…

[结构分析] 这是一个复合句,有一个比较复杂的宾语从句。该宾语从句由三个疑问句组成,分别以what和why引导;介词短语in…是句子的状语。

[句子译文] Esdaile先生在他一次广泛、细致的政治军事调查中告诉我们他对这次战争起因的看法,这次战争的目的并解释为什么虽然看起来有好多次都有可能恢复和平,但战争还是持续了很长时间的原因。

(2)His two strongest opponents, Britain and Russia, resisted him, in Mr Esdaile's view,

not because he was a revolutionary, a republican or the head of an upstart dynasty.

[主体句式]His two opponents resisted him not because …

[结构分析] 这是一个复合句。Britain and Russia 是前面主语的同位语,in 组成的介词短语是状语,后面not because …是句子的原因状语。

[句子译文] 在Esdaile 看来,拿破仑的两个劲敌——英国和俄国与之抵抗并不是因为他是

革命者、是共和党人或是一个崛起的王朝的领袖。 题目分析:

[答案]D

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 推理题。这篇文章主要分析了Esdaile 先生的《拿破仑战争》一书,第一段中就提到,这本书和以往的相关书不同,“为什么”贯穿全书,主要就是分析了拿破仑战争的起因,

战争持续时间很长的原因,以及战争的目的。该书是解释性的历史。因此,选项中D 最为符合题意。 [答案] B [难度系数] ☆☆

[分析] 细节题。文章第三段提到,拿破仑战争不是因为意识形态原因而是因为地理政治原因,是因为势力不均衡。最后一段也提到,发生战争是因为欧洲势力不均衡。因此,拿破仑战争是因势力不均衡而起的。选项B为正确答案。

[答案] D

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。文章第三段指出,Esdaile先生让旧故事出新意的地方有三处,第一处是提到看起来不很重要的冲突如何演变为大的战争,第二处是拿破仑并不一定被击败了;第三处,也是首当其冲的是这场战争并不是意识形态的,而是起源于地理政治的。这三个创新点在选项中只有D提到了其中之一,因此是正确答案。

[答案]B

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析]细节题。第四段中提到,法国的敌人中几乎没有一个国家是为了让法国改朝换代而战争的,本来可以有讲和的机会,但是战争却一直继续,原因就是因为只要法国在拿破仑的控制中,那么别国就不知道法国什么时候才会停止侵略,这

些国家自身随时都有可能遭到法国侵略的危险。因此,它们一直战争的原因还是害怕潜在的这种危险。因此,选项B最符合题意。

[答案]B

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。选项A,在文章第五段提到,即使拿破仑不存在,欧洲的强国也会进行战争,只是因为他的存在战争更为残酷,规模更大。选项B,文章第六段提到,战争是因为欧洲势力不均衡才引起的。选项C,文章第六段提到了这一点。选项D,各国家的不同也就是欧洲势力不均衡。因此,只有选项B是错误的说法。

参考译文:

关于战争的“为什么”,出版商们能从严肃的历史学家那里获得的书远远不够。为什么会发生战争?为什么战争一直延续?是什么使得和平不堪一击?历史只是寻找答案的一个途径。Charles Esdaile是利物浦大学的一名讲师,他是一位优秀的学者,因此并没有简单地对比现在和过去。但是,在他关于拿破仑战争的精妙叙述中,战争的“为什么”却一直贯穿始终。拿破仑战争是法国和欧洲其他国家进行的为期12年的一场战争,有200万名士兵为此捐躯。Esdaile先生在他一次广泛、细致的政治军事调查中告诉我们他对这次战争起因的看法,这次战争的目的并解释为什么虽然看起来有好多次都有可能恢复和平,但战争还是持续了很长时间的原因。“拿破仑战争”既不是战争编年史,又不是传记,它是对非凡历史的解释。

历史学家将拿破仑战争战争追溯到1803年,当时英国在短暂的“亚眠和平”后向法国宣战。Esdaile先生讲述了拿破仑如何于1799年当政开始统治法国,而后统治了整个欧洲。英国在1805年特拉法尔战争后获得了海上霸权。但是由于法国在陆上战争中打败了澳大利亚、普鲁士和俄罗斯,最终取得了陆上霸权。而拿破仑军队于1807年侵入西班牙后遇阻,1812年在俄罗斯又遇到灾祸,最终导致了滑铁卢惨败。

Esdaile先生以三种途径给予了这个旧故事新的诠释。他指出看起来很微小的冲突,比如因罗马尼亚土地、瑞典、葡萄牙和加拿大而引起的冲突,最终引发了更大的战争,或者将本

来可以结盟的盟国弄得四分五裂。他认为很难说我们是否彻底击垮了拿破仑。欧洲军队必须从自己的失败中汲取教训,而统治者则需要联合起来。这些后来都实现了,但已经为时过晚。他强调,首先这场战争并不是基于意识形态的,而是基于地理政治学的。这是一场关于权力均衡的战争,在一个世纪中由于土耳其帝国的衰落、俄国和普鲁士的不断强大以及英法对抗等因素而不断延续。

法国敌人中几乎没有一个是为了要巴黎政权而战的。很多时候如果拿破仑愿意停战的话,这些愿意也很可能停战。但是这些国家不相信拿破仑这么做,因此战争就一直持续下去。在Esdaile看来,拿破仑的两个劲敌——英国和俄国与之抵抗并不是因为他是革命者、是共和党人或是一个崛起的王朝的领袖,而是因为只要他统治着法国,其他国家无法预料法国什么时候才能停止扩张。

在这一点上, 拿破仑的个性被列入Esdaile复杂的地理政治方程式中。Esdaile没有接受历史英雄理论,但他认为拿破仑战争理应享受如此盛名。即使没有拿破仑,欧洲强国也会因为彼此不同而发动战争,但是拿破仑战争的规模和惨烈程度却很大程度上是因为这个皇帝的“侵略性、自大狂和对权力的贪欲”。

Esdaile的这本书反映了近期学术广泛、多样的特点。但是他从未离开过地理政治这个概念。他相信,战争就是由于欧洲大陆的不平衡引起的,而战争一直延续是因为各国无法信任拿破仑。和平最终来临,直到后面几代人都忘记了战争的残酷。

TEXT THREE

It is, by general consent, the most important securities-litigation clash for a generation. A case now before the Supreme Court, Stoneridge v Scientific-Atlanta, is shaping up to be a key test of attitudes towards shareholder class actions. A decision in favour of aggrieved investors would greatly increase the number of companies on which trial lawyers could train their sights. A ruling the other way would be a crushing defeat for the plaintiff's bar. Adding to the suspense, the

government bodies with an interest in the case cannot agree on a common

position.

The case involves a cable company, Charter Communications, which used a transaction with two suppliers of set-top boxes to inflate its revenues.

Shareholders sued not only the company but the vendors too, claiming that they participated in the fraud, even though they may not have been aware of the

misreporting. Led by the legendary Bill Lerach, plaintiff lawyers have lobbied ferociously for the principle of going after third parties, known as “scheme

liability”.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is backing Mr Lerach's lot, thanks to a change of heart by its Republican chairman, Christopher Cox,

traditionally no friend of the plaintiff's bar. Mr Cox urged the Department of

Justice to fall in behind it, but this week it declined to do so. It has a month to decide whether to support the defendants or offer no opinion.

The Treasury is at odds with the SEC, too, fearing that a ruling in favour of investors would further damage American competitiveness. Many foreign firms that choose to list their shares elsewhere point to America's “litigation lottery” as the principal reason. Although filings of securities class actions have been falling since 2005, the overall value of settlements has continued to rise.

Bankers and accountants are watching just as closely as cable-box makers. In a similar case, Mr Lerach's firm sued Enron's financial advisers on behalf of shareholders, claiming that they facilitated the book-keeping shenanigan s at the now-defunct energy trader. He lost—though not before collecting billions from banks that settled early. He has lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court and wants the case joined with Stoneridge. Business is encouraged by its track record: a steady pruning of plaintiffs' rights since the 1970s. A number of its justices are thought to sympathise with the view that scheme liability is best left to the SEC, which has the power to pursue aiders and abettors under its Rule 10b-5.

Some lawyers in Washington even suggest that Mr Cox only sided with investors because he was convinced that they had almost no chance of support from the Supreme Court. But with numerous fine legal points at issue, the outcome is uncertain. An unfavourable ruling would send a chill through boardrooms, and not only in America.

If suppliers and advisers can be dragged into class actions, it would no longer even be necessary to issue shares in the United States to incur securities liability, points out Peter Wallison of the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank. Any firm, anywhere, doing business with American companies would have to live with the risk that the transaction could later be portrayed as fraudulent or deceptive. And painting such pictures is what trial lawyers do best.

1.What will probably happen if the

final decision is in favor of

investors?

[A] More companies will decide to

move to other countries for

business.

[B] The government bodies will lose

their popular trust.

[C] More companies will be involved in

legal acitons. [D] American companies will be lost

most of its competitiveness.

2. Which one of the following statements

is NOT true of “scheme liability”?

[A] The Department of Justice will

decide whether to implement this

principle in this case in a month. [B] The principle is raised by the

plainstiff’s bar to settle the case.

[C] The principle has damaged the trust

of foreign companies.

[D] The SEC was originally against

using this principle in this case. 3. The Treasury is against the SEC’s

proposal because_____

[A] The attitude of the Department of

Justice is unclear.

[B] It is afraid that this proposal may

arouse securities class actions. [C] It holds the view that the scheme

liability is unreasonable.

[D] It thinks this propasal will further

discourage foreign firms from

listing shares in America.

4. Mr. Cox changed his mind finally

because_____ [A] He is bribed by the investors to work

in favor of them.

[B] He sympathezes with the

sharesholders.

[C] He disagrees with the supreme

court’s principles and attitudes [D] He dedicated himself to the defense

of American investors’ right.

5. Towards the actions of plainstiff’s

lawyers, the author’s attitude can be

said to be_____

[A] negative.

[B] positive.

[C] indifferent.

[D] biased.

文章剖析:

这篇文章讲述了美国一起安全诉讼

案。第一段讲述这一诉讼目前两种裁决的后果;第二段讲述了该发起诉讼的原因以及目前律师团提出的建议;第三、四段讲述美国一些国家部门对解决该案件提议的态度;第五段讲述律师之前的历史案件;第六段讲述目前案件悬而未决的情况;第七段讲述如果进一步深化带来的后果。

词汇注释:

shape up v. 发展aggrieved adj. 权利受到不法侵害的

plainstaff n. 原告bar n. 律师团

fall in v. 同意lottery n. 抓阄法

filing n. 档案shenanigan n. 诡计,恶作剧

defunct adj. 死了的,不存在的pruning n. 修剪

abettor n. 教唆犯

难句突破:

(1)Shareholders sued not only the company but the vendors too, claiming that they

participated in the fraud, even though they may not have been aware of the

misreporting.

[主体句式]Shareholders sued not only the company but the vendors too.

[结构分析]这是一个复合

句,cliaming…现在分词结构作句子的伴随状语,后面even

thought…作伴随状语中宾语从句的条件状语。

[句子译文]

投资者不仅仅起诉了这家公司,而且也起诉了供应商,称他们参与了诈骗行为,虽然他们可能没有意识到那些误报。

(2)If suppliers and advisers can be dragged into class actions, it would no longer even

be necessary to issue shares in the United States to incur securities liability, points out Peter Wallison of the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank.

[主体句式]…points out Peter…

[结构分析]这是一个复合句。主语置后,a think-tank是前面the American Enterprise

Institute的同位语;前面都是宾语从句。该宾语从句为一个带有条件状语从句的复杂句。

[句子译文] 美国智囊机构美国企业协会的Peter

Wallison指出,如果供应商和顾问也被拽入共同起诉中,那就不再需要在美国发行股票来得到安全债务。

题目分析:

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析]

推理题。第一段提到,如果最终的裁决有利于投资者的话,辩护律师就会关注更多的公司了。言外之意就是,就会有更多的公司会被卷入诉讼中来。文章第四段也指出,如果投资者胜诉,那么会使得美国的竞争力下降,因此,选项D是错误的。因此,C选项符合题意。

[答案]A

[难度系数] ☆☆

[分析] 推理题。选项A,

第三段提到司法部已经拒绝实行这项原则,在一个月内决定是否支持被告。选项B,第一段提到是由原告律师团提出的。选项C,第四段提到,许多外国公司选择在其他国家上市,就是因为该原则,因此可以推断该原则损害了外国公司的信任。选项D,第三段提到,多亏了Christopher

Cox改变了主意,最终该委员会才同意了这个提议,因此,可以推断,最初他们是持反对态度的。因此,正确答案为A选项。

[答案]D

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析]细节题。文章第四段提到,财政部是担心如果裁决有利于投资者会进一

步削弱美国竞争力,因为许多外国公司选择了到别的国家上市就是因为这个原则。因此,主要原因还是担心会进一步阻碍外国公司在美国上市,从而损害美国竞争力。因此,D 选项为正确答案。

[答案]B

[难度系数

] ☆☆☆

[分析]

细节题。文章第三段提到,Cox 先生不是原告律师团任何人的朋友,而第五段提到了,华盛顿一些律师暗示Cox 先生只站在投资者一边是因为感觉最高法院不可能支持他们。因此,可以看出他这样做是同情这些投资者。答案为 B 选项。

[答案]A

[难度系数] ☆

[分析]态度题。文章的前面作者都是以一种非常客观的态度来叙述的,但是在文章最后一段,作者提到任何公司要和美国公司做生意就必须面临有可能被认为是欺诈行为的危险,而律师向来是描黑的能手。可以看出,作者对律师还是持否定的态度的。因此,答案为A选项。

参考译文:

人们普遍认为,本案是这一时代最大的一起安全诉讼冲突。现在最高法院审理的一个案子——Stoneridge v ScientificAtlanta发展成为试探对股东共同起诉的重要个案。如果决议有利于那些权利受到不法侵害的投资者,那么就会有更多的公司找寻律师来起诉。不利于投资者的裁决对于原告律师团则是一个致命的打击。除了这个悬念之外,关心该案件的政府机构也不能达成一致意见。

该案件涉及到一个电报公司——Charter Communications,公司利用与两个置顶盒供应商的交易来扩大其收入。投资者不仅仅起诉了这家公司,而且也起诉了供应商,称他们参与了诈骗行为,虽然他们可能没有意识到那些误报。以富有传奇色彩的Bill Lerach为首的原告律师团强烈要求实行寻找第三方的原则,即“方案责任”。

安全与交流委员会赞成Lerach先生的抓阄建议,这主要是因为该委员会的共和国主席Christopher Cox改变了主意,此人与原告律师团没有任何联系。Cox先生要求司法部同意该提议,但是这周司法部却予以拒绝。司法部有一个月的时间来决定是支持被告还是不提供任何意见。

财政部也和安全与交流委员会有分歧,财政部担心如果裁决有利于投资者会进一步削弱美国的竞争力。许多选择了到其他地方上市的外国公司指出,美国“立法抓阄法”是它们不在美国上市主要的原因所在。尽管共同起诉的案件自2005年以来一直在下降,裁决所牵涉的整体价值却一直在上升。

和电报盒制造商一样,银行家和会计一直在密切关注这起案件。之前也有一起相似的案件,Lerach先生的公司代表股东起诉了Enron金融顾问,称他们促成了现已不存在的能源经纪人的薄记交易诡计。Lerach最终败诉,虽然之前因裁决从银行取到了几十亿美元。他向最高法院提出了上诉,希望这个案件可以加入到Stoneridge。纪录可以刺激交易,这是20世纪70年代后原告权利的逐步修改的成果。人们认为一些法官同意“方案责任”最好交由安全与交流委员会来负责的观点,该委员会有权利根据其10b-5法规来追踪资助人和教唆者。

华盛顿一些律师甚至暗示Cox先生只站在投资者一边,因为他相信投资者们不可能从最高法院获得任何援助。但是由于有太多的法律事项都不能达成一致,结果还是个未知数。不利的裁决会让股东会议室充满寒意,而且不仅仅限于美国。

美国智囊机构美国企业协会的Peter Wallison指出,如果供应商和顾问也被拽入共同起诉中,那就不再需要在美国发行股票来得到安全债务。任何地方的任何公司,只要和美国公司做生意,就必须承担这些交易以后可能会被认为有欺诈性质的危险。而这向来是律师们的拿手好戏。

TEXT FOUR

How fair are juries? A study published this week offers timely support for a system that used to be regarded as one of the bulwarks of an Englishman's civil liberties but has come under increasing attack of late. In England, unlike America, juries no longer decide most civil trials. And now the government is pushing a bill through Parliament to abolish them in complex fraud cases.

In America the selection of jurors acceptable to both the prosecution and the defence sometimes takes longer than the trial itself. The process can involve exhaustive interviews about prospective jurors' beliefs and prejudices. But in Britain jurors are selected randomly from the 94 Crown Court catchmen t areas in England and Wales. Most accept the call, and there is little chance to challenge a juror unless he actually knows the defendant. This has not prevented assertions that English juries produce verdicts that are racially biased because they do not accurately reflect society's ethnic mix.

A four-year study by a team at the University of Birmingham's law school, led by Cheryl Thomas, has shown those charges to be largely a myth. In over 95% of the 84 Crown Courts that were surveyed, ethnic minorities were not

under-represented among either those summoned for jury service or those actually serving as jurors. Members of ethnic minorities and whites were equally willing to do jury service and to support the jury system.

The study punctured another myth too: that juries are largely made up of the retired and the unemployed. Women, young people and self-employed folk were all fully represented, the report's authors concluded. And far from shirking jury duty, fancy people in fancy jobs were found to be more conscientious than others, if anything. All in all, jury pools seem to reflect the local population quite closely in terms of race, gender, age and background.

Yet the perception of racial bias is not always unfounded. In London, where 45% of ethnic minorities live and a quarter of all jurors serve, juries are always racially mixed. But in 74 of the 94 court-catchment areas, ethnic minorities, though sometimes concentrated in pockets, make up less than 10% of the population overall. They therefore have little chance of being selected for jury duty.

Ms Thomas and her team chose to study racially mixed juries to see whether a defendant's race influenced deliberations. Contrary to widespread belief, no discrimination was found. In an elaborate case simulation at London's Blackfriars court, which involved more than 300 jurors on 27 juries, the verdicts were all

2015考研英语阅读理解精读P18—医学

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