考博英语阅读精讲精练

UNIT FIVE

TEXT ONE

Boosted by booming international financial markets, the City of London has not had it so good since the end of the dotcom bonanza in the late 1990s. Basking in double-digit growth rates, London's law firms have both contributed to that success and benefited from it. The earnings of top City lawyers can now exceed ￡2m a year.

Having opted to expand and go global ahead of most others, Britain's leading law firms tend to be bigger than their American rivals. Indeed, according to a survey of the world's top 50 law firms, compiled by Legal Business, a British trade paper, five of the world's top six law firms—in terms of turnover—are now British (if DLA Piper, the result of an Anglo-American merger, is included). But they have tended to lag behind in terms of their profitability. That is now changing.

The profit margins of the City's five “magic circle” firms—Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Freshfields—have soared in recent years and are now comparable with, if not higher than, those of New York's “white shoe” elite. Slaughter and May, the only one of the five not to have gone global, has the joint second-highest profit margin among the top 50.

Not so long ago, a London surgeon could expect to earn as much as a City lawyer. But even the recent big rises in hospital consultants' earnings pall in comparison with those enjoyed by London lawyers. At Slaughter and May, for example, average profits per equity partner (PEP) jumped by almost a third (in dollar terms) last year to $2.75m—more than at any other of the top 50 law firms bar two in New York where PEP averaged $2.8m and $3.0m respectively. Some senior partners get a lot more of course.

Competition for the best lawyers is fierce and poaching frequent. Hence the need to keep headline PEP figures up—even at the cost of getting rid of equity partners, leaving a bigger share of the bounty for the remaining ones. Freshfields is in the process of shedding around 100 of its equity partners. Other leading firms are also undertaking painful restructuring.

Newly qualified lawyers' salaries have also been shooting up in the search for the best talent. Both Freshfields and Allen & Overy now pay their

first-year associates ￡65,000, rising to around ￡90,000 after three years. (First-year associates at America's top law firms get the equivalent of ￡80,000.)

But, as many other top-rank City employers have discovered, big earnings do not necessarily guarantee big satisfaction. According to a YouGov poll, published by the Lawyer earlier this month, a quarter of Britain's lawyers (including a fifth of law-firm partners) would like to leave the profession. The disgruntled complained about cripplingly long hours, intense competition and the impersonality of the biggest firms (some with more than 3,000 lawyers). So why don't they quit? Because, say three-quarters, of the pay.

1. Which one of the following is TURE of the status quo of London’s economy? C

[A] London is enjoying its best time of economic development since 1990s.

[B] The growth rate of London is doubled since the beginning of the 1990s.

[C] The growth rate started to boost since the end of the dotcom era.

[D] The current economy of London is mostly driven by its legal instead of financial market.

2. The world’s top 50 law firms are graded according to ___B__

[A] their annual margin.

[B] their profitability.

[C] their sale volume.

[D] their quantity of business.

3.The phrase “white shoe” (Line 3, Paragraph 3) most probably means__B__

[A] white collars.

[B] first-class law firms.

[C] financial agencies.

[D] international banks.

4. In order to be competitive, the law firms take the following measures except__A___.

[A] dismissing equity partners.

[B] carrying out restructuring.

[C] having their best lawyers turn more competitive.

[D] raising salaries for recruiting talents.

5. From the YouGov poll, it can be inferred that__D__

[A] this profession is far from satisfactory.

[B] most lawyers will leave the profession sooner or later.

[C] most lawyers are satisfied with the profession because of the fat pay.

[D] high salary is always contradictory to big satisfaction.

文章剖析：

这篇文章介绍英国伦敦律师事务所的现状。第一段讲述伦敦因为经济增长迅速，律师业也受益匪浅；第二、三段讲述伦敦律师事务所在世界上的排名；第四段讲述伦

敦事务所律师的工资待遇；第五、六段讲述律师事务所的竞争手段；第七段讲述对该行业的满意度。

词汇注释：

bonanza n. 富矿带, 带来好运之事, 幸运bask v. 晒太阳(享受温暖),

感到温暖, 愉快或舒适

turnover n. 营业额pall v.覆盖, 使平淡无味

bounty n. 奖金，补助金disgruntled adj. 不高兴的，不满意的cipplingly adv. 临界地，极限地

难句突破：

(1) Indeed, according to a survey of the world's top 50 law firms, compiled by Legal Business, a British trade paper, five of the world's top six law firms—in terms of turnover—are now British (if DLA Piper, the result of an

Anglo-American merger, is included).

[主体句式] Five of the world’s top six law firms are now British.

[结构分析] 这是一个简单句。前面according to引导的是状语，状语中compile

by …做前面a survey的定语，而a British trade paper是Legal Business的同位语。

[句子译文]实际上，根据英国商业报纸《法律商业》的一项世界领先50家律师事务所的调查，世界领先的六家律师事务所（按营业额计算）有五家是英国事务所（算上英美合资的DLA Piper事务所）。

(2) At Slaughter and May,for example, average profits per equity partner (PEP) jumped by almost a third (in dollar terms) last year to $2.75m—more than at any other of the top 50 law firms bar two in New York where PEP averaged $2.8m and $3.0m respectively.

[主体句式] Average profits per equity partner jumped by almost a third.

[结构分析] 这是一个简单句，破折号后面的是前面$2.75m的定语。

[句子译文] 比如在Slaughter and

May,去年PEP平均收入以275万美元为基数涨了1/3（以美元计算），这要比任何全

球前50名律师事务所或美国的律师界工资都高，其PEP平均为280万美元和300万美元。

题目分析

1. Which one of the following is TURE of the status quo of London’s economy?1.下列哪一个是关于伦敦经济现状的正确表述？

[A] London is enjoying its best time of economic development since 1990s. [A]伦敦现在正在享受其自20世纪90年代末以来经济最好的时候。

[B] The growth rate of London is

doubled since the beginning of the

1990s.

[B] 伦敦的经济增长率翻倍了。

[C] The growth rate started to boost since the end of the dotcom era. [C] 伦敦经济从网络时代末尾的时候开始兴盛。

[D] The current economy of London is mostly driven by its legal instead of financial market. [D] 伦敦现在经济的繁荣主要是由其司法市场、而不是金融市场驱动的。

[答案]A

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析]细节题。这题关键要看对于文章第一句话的理解，Boosted by booming international financial markets, the City of London has not had it so good since the end of the dotcom bonanza in the late 1990s. “have it

good”是一个词组，意思为“过得优裕”，那么这句话意思就是伦敦在20世纪90年代末享受过经济很好的一段时间后，一直到现在才又开始经济很好。选项A最为符合该句意思，是正确答案。C选项的时间概念不正确，而D选项则是无中生有。

2. The world’s top 59 law f irms are graded according to _____ 2.

世界前50强律师事务所是依据_____来划分的。

[A] their margin. [A] 他们的利润

[B] their profitability. [B] 他们的收益率

[C] their sale volume. [C] 他们的销售额

[D] their quantity of business. [D] 他们的业务数量

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。文章第二段提到five of the world's top six law firms—in terms of turnover，可以看出是以turnover（营业额）来评定的。如果不知道turnover的意思，也可以用排除法来选择。因为第二段提到，要是用收益率来衡量，那么它们排名就不会那么前了，因此A和B可以排除。D的业务数量又从来没有提及。可以猜出C 可能是正确选项。

3.The phrase “white shoe” (Line 3, Paragraph 3) most probably means____ 3. “白鞋子”这个短语(第三段第三行) 最有可能指_____

[A] white collars. [A] 白领。

[B] first-class law firms. [B] 一流的律师事务所。

[C] financial agencies. [C] 金融机构。

[D] international banks. [D] 国际银行。

[答案] B

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析]

猜词题。根据上下文，主要谈论的都是律师事务所，并没有涉及到其他的行业，因此可以推测这里应该指的是美国相应业界的同行，这样才有可比性，那么选项中B 最为符合题意。

4. In order to be competitive, the law firms take the following measures except_____ 4.为了让自己更有竞争力，律师事务所采取了以下除选项_____外的措施。

[A] dismissing equity partners. [A] 解雇了股东合作人

[B] carrying out restructuring. [B] 实行重组

[C] having their best lawyers turn more

competitive.

[C] 让最好的律师变得更加有竞争力

[D] raising salaries for recruiting

talents.

[D] 提高工资以吸引更多人才

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析]

细节题。题干相关的内容在文章第五、第六段有提及。第五段提到，各律师事务所为了争夺最优秀的律师采取了许多措施，不得已都要解雇股东合作人，这样就可以将比较大的利润给剩下有限的人分配，从而保证顶尖律师的利润，有的还进行重组。而第六段提到为了找到最好的人才，还不惜提高新律师的工资。因此，选项中C 是没有提到的。

5. From the YouGov poll, it can be

inferred that____

5. 从YouGov的民意调查结果可以看出_____

[A] this profession is far from

satisfactory.

[A] 这个职业是让人不满意的。

[B] most lawyers will leave the

profession sooner or later.

[B] 大多数律师迟早都会离开这个职业。

[C] most lawyers are satisfied with the profession because of the fat pay. [C] 大多数律师对这个职业满意是因为收入高。

[D] high salary is always

contradictory to big satisfaction.

[D] 高工资和满意度总是相对立的。

[答案]A

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析]

推理题。从文章最后一段可以看出，该民意调查中有1/4的律师表明想要离开这个行业，因为种种不满意的地方，但还有3/4不会离开就是因为高工资原因。因此，可以看出，律师这个行业并不让人满意，吸引人的只是高收入而已。A反映了这一点。B选项不符合文章最后一段，因为大多数律师表示都不会离开；D单单从律师行业的这个调查不能反映所有行业的情况、表述过于绝对。因此，答案为A。

参考译文：

虽然受到快速发展的国际金融市场的推动，伦敦自20世纪90年代末网络富源之后再也没有享受过原来的好日子。伦敦的律师行业一直享受着双位数的业绩增长速度，既对经济的成功贡献了自己的力量，又受益于经济成长。目前伦敦市一流律师的年薪超过了200万英镑。

英国的顶尖律师事务所选择了不断扩张，走在世界前列，目前规模大于美国同类的事务所。实际上，根据英国商业报纸《法律商业》一项世界50家领先律师事务所的调查，世界排名前六家律师事务所（按营业额计算）有五家是英国事务所（算上英美合资的DLA

Piper事务所）。但是就盈利能力来讲，他们却落后了。不过目前这种情况正在改变。

伦敦五家“魔力圈”事务所（Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and

Freshfields）的利润近年来飞速上升，现在虽然不能说超过，但也可以说已经与纽约“白鞋子”精英相抗衡了。Slaughter and

May是五家中唯一没有走向世界的事务所，目前已经成为全球50家第二高利润事务所。

不久前，伦敦的外科医生还有望与市律师收入相当。但是尽管最近医院会诊医生的收入有了大幅增长，但与伦敦律师的工资涨幅比起来还是相形见拙。比如在Sl aughter and

May,去年PEP平均收入以275万美元为基数涨了1/3（以美元计算），这要比任何全

球前50名律师事务所或美国的律师界工资都高，其PEP平均为280万美元和300万美元。当然一些资深律师的收入更高。

争取最好律师的竞争是激烈的，挖墙角时有发生。因此，有必要保持名人的P EP数字上升，有时甚至以牺牲股东为代价，从而将奖金的更大一部分留给剩下的人。Freshfields目前就正在裁减大约100名股东。其他领先的事务所也同样经历重组的痛苦。

因为业界在不断寻找最好的人才，因此刚获得资格的新律师起薪也大幅增长。Freshfields 和 Allen &

Overy支付给律师的第一年工资为6万5千英镑，三年后升至9万英镑。（在美国顶尖律师事务所律师的第一年工资为8万英镑。）

但是，正如伦敦其他许多顶尖的雇主所发现的，高工资并不意味着高满意度。根据本月初刊登在《律师》上的一项YouGov民意调查，英国律师有1/4（包括1/5的律师搭档）都想要离开这个行业。那些不满意的人抱怨几近极限的工作时间、激烈的竞争和最大事务所（拥有3000名以上雇工）的非人性化。那么他们为什么不放弃这个工作呢？因为收入，3/4的人这样回答。

TEXT TWO

Richard Burton probably knew nothing of the small South African town of Cullinan when he bought yet another chunky diamond for Elizabeth Taylor in 1969. Now the Cullinan mine itself, like so many of the diamonds unearthed there, is about to change hands. On November 22nd De Beers, the diamond giant that has owned the mine since 1930, said it was selling it to a consortium led by Petra Diamonds, one of South Africa's emerging diamond producers, for 1 billion rand in cash. Provided regulators approve the deal, the transfer should take place by the middle of next year.

De Beers is selling because the mine is no longer profitable, despite attempts to turn it around. But Petra reckons the mine still has another 20 years of production in it and plans to extract at least 1m carats a year. The unexploited “Centenary Cut” deposit, which lies under the existing mine, could yield a lot more. This is good news for the mine's 1,000 or so employees and for the town, which has depended on the diamond business since Sir Thomas Cullinan discovered a prospect there in 1898 that contained kimberlite, a rock that can be rich in diamonds. The mine, established in 1903, is one of 30 or so kimberlite diamond mines in the world, and is believed to be still the world's second-most-valuable diamond resource

Petra is a relatively small outfit, listed on London's Alternative Investment Market, that specialises in buying mines that bigger companies see as marginal. Its trick is to extract better returns by rationalising production and processing, and keeping operating costs and overheads down. Petra has already bought two of De Beers's loss-making South African mines—both of which are now profitable—and is finalising the 78.5m rand acquisition of the group's underground operation in Kimberley, which stopped working in 2005.

It already operates four mines in South Africa and has promising exploration in Angola (a joint-venture with BHP Billiton), Sierra Leone and Botswana. Petra expects to produce over 1m carats by 2010—quite a jump from 180,474 carats in the year to June. The company has yet to make a profit, but expects to be making money by the middle of next year.

In the 1990s De Beers decided that it was no longer a good idea to try to monopolise the diamond market. It started focusing on higher returns rather than market share, and has been revamping its mine portfolio, selling off mines that are no longer profitable and

investing in more enticing operations, such as its mine off the west coast of South Africa, its V oorspoed operation in the Free State province, and two new mines in Canada.

This has opened the way for a new class of diamond firm that operates in the vast middle ground between the world's handful of large producersand a multitude of much smaller exploration firms. The Cullinan deal should entrench Petra in this middle tier, alongside firms such as Kimberley Diamond and Trans Hex. But even if it does reach its target of 1m carats a year, Petra will still not be able to match the sparkle of the giants. Last year De Beers produced 51m carats from its mines in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania, which amounted to 40% of the world's diamonds by value.

1.The Cullinan mine was named

after_____

[A] the original name of the town.

[B] the name of its first owner.

[C] the name of its discoverer.

[D] the name of the town’s first colonist.

2.Which one of the following statements

is TRUE of the Cullinan mine? [A] The mine is the only business of the town which employs most of the local residents.

[B] It can be mined for another 20 years given Petra’s advanced technology. [C] It is the world’s second largest diamond mine with a yearly capacity of

1m carats.

[D] Whether the mine will maintain its profitability is yet to know.

3.Petra’s operating philosophy can be

said as _____.

[A] to make profits by reducing the costs.

[B] to exploit the surrounding areas of an existing mine. [C] to integrate the resources of all the money-losing small mines.

[D] to restructure the mine portfolio and to optimize the process management.

4.De Beers has made changes on its

development stratege because_____ [A] it plans to shrink its market share and ends its long-term monopoly.

[B] it wants to open the way for the middle tier of diamond market.

[C] it switches its attention to making larger profits.

[D] it wants to turn around the loss-making mines by cooperating with companies of smaller size.

5.The future of the new class of diamond

firm is _____

[A] promising.

[B] dim.

[C] unknown.

[D] frustrating.

文章剖析：

文章从Petra公司收购矿产为契因，介绍了因钻石矿业新兴的一个中间阶层。第一段讲述了Cullinan矿将要转手的消息；第二段介绍了De

Beers公司之所以将矿转手的原因；第三、四段介绍Petra公司的一些经营方式和情况；第五段讲述De Beers公司的运营调整；第六段介绍了钻石矿业的新阶层。

词汇注释：

chunky adj. 含小而厚的块：consortium n. 财团

kimberlite n. 金伯利岩portfolio n. 组合

enticing adj. 引诱的, 迷人的, 动人心目的entrench v. 确立，使处于牢固地位

难句突破：

(1)This is good news for the mine's 1,000 or so employees and for the town, which has

depended on the diamond business since Sir Thomas Cullinan discovered a prospect there in 1898 that contained kimberlite, a rock that can be rich in diamonds.

[主体句式] This is good news for …

[结构分析] 这是一个简单句，for后面的宾语比较复杂，which

引导的非限定性定语从句修饰the

town，在该从句中有一个since引导的状语从句；在该状语从句中，that

引导的定语从句修饰prospect, a rock…是kimberlite的同位语。

[句子译文]

这对于这个矿的1000名左右的雇工以及这个小镇来说是个好消息，这个小镇从1898年Thomas

Cullinan爵士发现该矿含有金伯利岩（可能富含钻石的一种岩石）后，就一直依赖钻石生意存活。

(2) It started focusing on higher returns rather than market share, and has been revamping its mine portfolio, selling off mines that are no longer profitable and investing in more enticing operations, such as its mine off the west coast of South Africa, its V oorspoed operation in the Free State province, and two new mines in Canada.

[主体句式]It started focusing on…, and has been…

[结构分析] 这是一个并列句，由连词and 连接，后半分句结构比较复杂；has been 后面带有三个并列的成分，第二个成分selling off mines后面有that

引导的定语从句，第三个成分中such as 后面都是用来修饰operations的。

[句子译文]

它开始修关心更高的回报率而不是市场份额了，也一直在修改它的矿产组合，卖掉不再盈利的矿产，投资更让人动心的项目，如南非西海岸的矿产、自由州省的V oor spoed项目、加拿大的两处新矿。

题目分析：

1. The Cullimanmine in deal was named

1. 正在交易的矿是以_____命名的。after_____

[A] the original name of the town. [A]小镇原来的名字

[B] the name of its first owner. [B] 第一个矿主的名字

[C] the name of its discoverer. [C] 矿场发现者的名字

[D] the name of the town’s first colonist.[D] 小镇第一个殖民者的名字

[答案] C

[难度系数] ☆☆

[分析] 细节题。该矿的名字为Culliman,

从第一段可以看到它所在的小镇的名字也是这个，但是第二段提到1898年Thomas Cullinan爵士发现了这个矿含有金伯利岩，1903年该矿成立。那么可以推断，这个镇和矿的名字都是以Cullinan爵士、即其第一个发现者的名字命名的。因此，正确答案为C。

2. Which one of the following

2.关于Cullinan矿，以下的陈述哪个是正确的？statements is TRUE of the

Cullinan mine?

[A] 该矿山是小镇大多数人工作的地方。

[A] The mine is the only

business of the town which

employs most of the local

residents.

[B] It can be mined for another

20 years given Petra’s advanced technology. [B]

有了Petra的先进技术，该矿山还可以被挖掘20年。

[C] It is the world’s second largest diamond mine with a yearly capacity of 1m carats. [C] 它是世界上第二大钻石矿山，年产钻石100万克拉。

[D] Whether the mine will

maintain its profitability is yet

to know.

[D] 该矿山是否还会保持盈利还是一个未知数。

[答案]D

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析]

细节题。文章第二段之处小镇上的大部分人都依赖于钻石产业，但这并不意味着他们都在矿山工作，因此A选项错误。文章第三段谈到Petra的盈利策略主要是改进流程、降低成本，并没有强调使用先进的技术。选项C，在第二段提到Cullinan目前仍被认为是世界第二大最有价值的钻石矿，但并不一定在规模上也是第二大的，而且年产量1百万克拉指的不是该矿山的年产量，而是Petra公司的计划年产量。选项D，文章没有明确指出该矿山将来究竟是否会赢利，因为不得而知，选项D为正确的陈述。

3. Petra’s operating philosophy can be said

as _____

3. Petra 的运营理念可以说是_____

[A] to make better profits by reducing the

costs.

[A] 通过削减成本来取得更好的收益。

[B] to exploit the surrounding areas of an

existing mine.

[B] 从已经存在的矿山周围寻找资源。

[C] to integrate the resources of all the

money-losing small mines.

[C] 整合那些亏损的小矿山的资源。

[D] to restructure the mine portfolio and to

optimize the process management.

[D] 调整矿产组合并且优化流程管理。[答案]A

[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆

[分析]推理题。文章第三段提到Petra专门收购大公司边缘化的矿产，其秘诀就在于通过合理化生产和加工，降低运作和管理费用来获得更好的收益。可以看出，公司运营理念就是通过自己的努力，比如合理化生产、加工，降低费用来盈利，因此，选项A最为符合这一点。

4. De Beers has made changes on its

development stratege because_____

4. De Beers 改变了自己的发展战略因为_____

[A] it plans to shrink its market share

and ends its long-term monopoly.

[A] 它计划缩小其市场份额并中止长期的垄断。

[B] it wants to open the way for the

middle tier of diamond market.

[B] 它希望可以为钻石市场的中间阶层开辟道路。

[C] it switches its attention to making

larger profits.

[C] 它的注意力转移到如何谋取更大的利润。

[D] it wants to turn around the loss-making mines by cooperating with companies of smaller size. [D] 它想要通过与小规模公司的合作来扭转那些亏损的矿产。

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 推理题。文章第五段提到De Beers

认为试图垄断市场已经不是什么很好的策略了，它开始关心更高的利润而不是市场份额了，还采取了一系列的措施来实现这个策略。因此，它改变了自己的发展策略，主要是想要谋取更大的利润，C选项为正确答案。A选项是公司改变策略的方式，B选项不符合原文内容。D选项具有一定的迷惑性，但要注意De

Beers知识将一些矿山卖给小公司，这并不意味着它与小公司合作，因此该选项错误。

5. 钻石业新阶层的未来会是_____

5. The future of the new class of diamond

firm is _____

[A] promising. [A] 有前景的。

[B] dim. [B] 暗淡。

[C] unknown. [C] 未知的。

[D] frustrating. [D] 困难重重的。

[答案]C

[难度系数] ☆

[分析]推理题。关于钻石业新出现的中间阶层，文章只是介绍了其刚刚开始发展的情况，但是未来怎么样文章并没有给出明确的看法，因此，答案为C选项，其余三个选项的态度显然不符合题意。

参考译文：

Richard Burton 在1969年为Elisabeth Taylor 新购一块又小又厚的钻石时，他可能对南非小镇Cullinan一无所知。现在Cullinan连同埋在地下的钻石一起都将易主了。11月22日，De Beers，这个从1930年起就一直是矿主的钻石巨头说要以10亿兰特现金的价格卖给Petra Diamonds为首的财团，Petra Diamonds是南非新兴的钻石制造商。现在管理者已经同意了这笔交易，该矿将于明年年中易手。

De Beers要做这笔买卖是因为尽管采取了很多措施，该矿不再是利润丰厚了。但是Petra 估计该矿还可以生产20年，计划每年最少挖掘100万克拉。而位于该矿下方尚未被开采的“百年切割”层，生产力更高。这对于该矿1000名左右的雇工以及小镇来说是一个好消息，这个小镇从1898年Thomas Cullinan爵士发现该矿含有金伯利岩（可能富含钻石的一种岩石）后，就一直依赖钻石生意存活。该矿建立于1903年，是世界上约30个金伯利岩钻石矿之一，现在仍被认为是世界上第二最有价值的钻石储藏矿。

Petra是比较小的一个商业组织，在伦敦的Alternative Investment Market上市。该组织专门收购大公司认为不重要的矿产，其秘诀在于通过合理化生产和加工、以及降低运作和管理费用来获得更好的收益。Petra已经在南非收购了De Beers两家亏损的矿（这两个矿目前都在盈利），目前也即将完成以7850万兰特收购该组织在金伯利地下矿的项目，该矿于2005年停产。

目前该公司在南非经营四座矿藏，在安哥拉、塞拉利昂和博茨瓦纳也有非常好的勘探项目（与BHP Billiton的合资公司）。Petra希望到2010年产量可以超过100万克拉，相比六月前180474克拉的年产量来说是一个飞跃。公司现在还未赢利，但可望从明年年中开始赚钱。

20世纪90年代开始，De Beers认为垄断钻石市场不再是个好主意了，它开始关心更高的回报率而不是市场份额了，也一直在修改它的矿产组合，卖掉不再盈利的矿产，投资更让人动心的项目，如南非西海岸的矿产、自由州省的Voorspoed项目、加拿大的两处新矿。

这就为钻石行业的一个新阶层开辟了道路，这个阶层处于世界上少数的大生产商和众多小勘探公司之间那片广阔的区域。Cullinan这笔交易确立了Petra作为这个中间阶层的地位，类似的公司还有金伯利钻石和Trans Hex。不过即使达到年产量100万克拉，Petra还是远不及那些钻石巨头。去年，De Beers在其博茨瓦纳、纳米比亚、南非和坦桑尼亚矿的产量为5100万克拉，估

计价值占到世界钻石的40% 。

TEXT THREE

When there is blood in the water, it is only natural that dorsal fins swirl around excitedly. Now that America's housing market is ailing, predators have their sights on the country's credit-card market. Analysts at Goldman Sachs reckon that credit-card losses could reach $99 billion if contagion spreads from subprime mortgages to other forms of consumer credit. Signs of strain are clearly visible. There are rises in both the charge-off and delinquency rates, which measure the share of balances that are uncollectable or more than 30 days late respectively. HSBC announced last month that it had taken a $1.4 billion charge in its American consumer-finance business, partly because of weakness among card borrowers.

It is too early to panic, though. Charge-offs and delinquencies are still low. According to Moody's, a rating agency, the third-quarter delinquency rate of 3.89% was almost a full percentage point below the historical average. The deterioration in rates can be partly explained by technical factors. A change in America's personal-bankruptcy laws in 2005 led to an abrupt fall in bankruptcy filings, which in turn account for a big chunk of

credit-card losses; the number of filings (and thus charge-off rates) would be rising again, whether or not overall conditions for borrowers were getting worse.

The industry also reports solid payment rates, which show how much of their debt consumers pay off each month. And confidence in credit-card asset-backed securities is pretty firm despite paralysis in other corners of structured finance. Dennis Moroney of TowerGroup, a research firm, predicts that issuance volumes for 2007 will end up being 25% higher than last year.

Direct channels of infection between the subprime-mortgage crisis and the credit-card market certainly exist: consumers are likelier to load up on credit-card debt now that home-equity loans are drying up. But card issuers look at cash flow rather than asset values, so falling house prices do not necessarily trigger a change in borrowers' creditworthiness. They may even work to issuers' advantage. The incentives for consumers to keep paying the mortgage decrease if properties are worth less than the value of the loan; card debt rises higher up the list of repayment priorities as a result.

Card issuers are also able to respond much more swiftly and flexibly to stormier conditions than mortgage lenders are, by changing interest rates or altering credit limits. That should in theory reduce the risk of a rapid repricing of assets. “We are not going to wake up one day and totally revalue the loans,” says Gary Perlin, Capital One's chief financial officer.

If a sudden subprime-style meltdown in the credit-card market is improbable, the risks of a sustained downturn are much more real. If lower house prices and a contraction in credit push America into recession, the industry will undoubtedly face a grimmer future. Keep watching for those dorsal fins.

1. The author makes mention of dorsal fins which are irrelevant to the topic in order to _____

[A] make people alert to the potential danger. [B] attract the readers’ attention by presenting an interesting phenomenon.

[C] make people realize the graveness of the issue by showing a similar case. [D] make the passage more vivid by imparting new knowledge to readers.

2. Rises in the charge-off and delinquency rate indicate _____

[A] the deterioration of the subprime mortgage.

[B] the inadequate ability of card borrowers.

[C] the influence of the technical factors.

[D] the change in relevant laws.

3. According to the third paragraph, the number of bankruptcy fillings would be rising again because_____

[A] there is a change in America’s personal-bankruptcy laws.

[B] the charge-offs and delinquencies are still low.

[C] the influence of the

personal-bankruptcy laws has been digested.

[D] the overall conditions for borrowers are getting worse. 4. The subprime-mortgage crisis influnces the credit-card market in that_____ [A] the fall of asset values affects the card borrowers’ creditworthiness.

[B] the decrease in the mortgage payment leads to the rises of the card debt.

[C] the drying up of the home-equity loans spur consumers’ incectives to repay the card debt.

[D] the falling house prices makes the card debt rising higher.

5. According to the author, the credit-card market will more likely be threatened

by_____

[A] a gradual downward tendency.

[B] a rapid collapse.

[C] a sustained trend of lowering price.

[D] the accumulation of economic recession.

文章剖析：

这篇文章分析了美国次级抵押贷款危机可能影响到的信用卡市场。第一段指出信用卡市场已经出现疲软迹象；第二、三段通过分析表示信用卡市场危机并未确定，不需要过于恐慌；第四段指出次级抵押危机与信用卡市场之间的传染渠道；第五段指出信用卡规避风险的优势；第六段指出信用卡市场趋于经历持续低迷的情况。

词汇注释：

dorsal fin n.[动物]背鳍ailing adj. 景况不佳的，生病的contagion n.传染, 传染病, 蔓延charge-off n. 损耗

delinquency n. 逾期债款

难句突破：

(1)There are rises in both the charge-off and delinquency rates, which measure the share of

balances that are uncollectable or more than 30 days late respectively.

[主体句式] There are rises in…

[结构分析] 这是一个简单句，which 引导的非限定性定语从句是修饰前面的the charge-off and delinquency rates；在该定语从句中还有定语从句修饰the share of balances，在该定语从句中，前半个句子对应修饰the charge-off

rates，后半个句子是个省略句，对应修饰the delinquency rates.

[句子译文] 损耗率和逾期债款率都有所上升，这两个数据分别代表无法回收以及

逾期30天的收支差额份额。

(2) A change in America's personal-bankruptcy laws in 2005 led to an abrupt fall in bankruptcy filings, which in turn account for a big chunk of credit-card losses; the number of filings (and thus charge-off rates) would be rising again, whether or not overall conditions for borrowers were getting worse.

[主体句式] A change led to an abrupt fall; the number would be rising.

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