商务英语阅读(第二版) 王关富 Unit3Time to rebalanc 课后答案e.doc

Unit 3Time to rebalanceExercises1. Answer the questions on the text.1) How did Steve Hilton feel when Lehman Brothers collapsed?The world was coming to an end.2) What did Mr. Hilton do to save his company?(1) Giving up options to buy thousands of lots.(2) Laying off 3/4 of his employees.(3) Redesigning his houses to cut construction cost.(4) Serving customers with guaranteed payment.3) In what sense America as a country is similar to Mr. Hiltons company?Dismissing workers in the whole country and experiencing one of the worst economic recessions in history.4) What does “the biggest transformations” mean?Macroeconomically, the US will change from debt and consumption to saving and exports.Microeconomically, Americans will have different lifestyles and do different jobs in different places.5) According to the McKinsey Global Institute, what is the common practice of consumers during economic crises?Consumers generally try to cut their debt to more manageable levels.6) What is the major difference between credit cards and charge cards?Both are a line of credit for a customer. For a credit card, the customer can choose to pay in full or partially at the end of a month. When paying partially, the customer can pay interest on the balance until it is paid in full. Some people just keep making partial payments and pay interest on credit cards for years and years. But for a charge card, the customer has to pay the entire amount off each time he/she receives a bill. It is not allowed to make a partial payment and no interest is involved.7) How is the current recession different from the previous ones?It was triggered by a financial crisis that made it impossible to channel savings to productive investment and left customers and enterprises struggling with things from the boom.8) What is the dilemma the Obama administration in concerning the stimulus?On the one hand, the administration expects to reduce federal deficit. On the other hand, it worries that the withdrawing the stimulus may push the American economy back into recession.9) What are the reasons for economic restructuring according to the report?Tighter credit, lower consumer borrowing, and higher energy prices.10) What is said about business investment?It is expected to be robust, especially for equipment. But it can never substitute consumer spending.11) What changes have occurred in the United States in terms of consumption?(1) American consumers spend less but save more.(2) American companies thus look to an export boom abroad.(3) The US has changed from a consuming nation to an exporting economy, accounting for only 27% of global consumption this year, much less than that of emerging markets.12) What makes the report optimistic about the American economy?(1) The US has been increasing exports abroad, particularly emerging markets.(2) Americas current-account deficit dropped from 6% to 3%.(3) American firms are busy preparing for their investment.2. Fill in each blank of the following sentences with one of the phrases in the list given below. Make changes when necessary.1) Investors from big cities are quick to snap up real estates in this booming town for their rising future values. 2) There are already clear signals that the investors will shift away from the financial firm in legal trouble.3) High input costs are likely to put pressure on steel prices in the domestic market even if demand still remains high.4) The prime minister said Thursday that a new international airport will be built in the southern city to cater to the rising number of passengers and air cargoes there.5) Many economists fear that the contraction of money supply may dry up financing needed for various economic activities.6) Professor Nil was, however, quick to warn the public to be on their guard against those counterfeits already in circulation.7) Academy Awards, Emmy Awards and dozens of prestigious awards from prominent film festivals around the world attest to the stellar quality of the films being featured at the annual World Community Film Festival.8) A neighborhood group in the district plans to hold a fundraiser to help children pay off overdue book fines so that they can resume using their library.9) The writers fame shrank last year because the public thought he was knocking out so many things.10) Business leaders have urged the government to snap up farmland overseas to grow basic staples as a buffer against soaring food prices.11) The Vancouver team vowed to get back to doing the little things right and knew it would add up to big things.12) What has happened over the past few years indicates that great political, social and economic transformations are in the making.3. Match the terms in column A with the definitions in column B.A_ B_1) emerging market A) A contract that permits the owner, depending on the type of option held, to purchase or sell an asset at a fixed price until a specific date.62) profit margin B) A theoretical construct that represents economic processes by a set of variables and a set of logical and quantitative relationships between them.103) consumer spending C) An economy, with fast growth rate but low to middle per capita income, has opened up its market and integrated itself into the global economy.14) consumerism D) The process of moving from a period of losses or low profitability into a more profitable stagefor a firm, industry or economy.85) disposable income E) Ratio of profit after taxes to cost-of-sales, oftenexpressed as a percentage, measuring theprofitability of a firm and indicating its coststructure.26) option F) Portion of the balance of payments consistingof exports and imports of goods and services, as well as transfer payments such as foreign aidgrants. 97) economic restructuringG) The amount of money spent by households,measured monthly, making up an important partof an economy.38) turnaround H) The phenomenon of an economy shifting froma manufacturing to a service sector economicbase. 79) current account I) A movement equating personal happiness withpurchasing material possessions andconsumption. 410) economic model J) The amount of income left to an individualafter taxes have been paid, available forspending and saving. 54. Translate the following passage into Chinese:目前石油价格飞涨，接近110美元一桶，食品和其他货物的成本也随之上涨。然而不仅仅只是石油价格上升，实际上还有美元的贬值，去年在国际上对其他主要货币就贬值了18%。美元变得一文不值，而与通常的经济衰退不同，美国经济的GDP却仍在增长，2007年美国的GDP增长了2.2%，达到13.8万亿美元。但2007年究竟发生了什么，使美国经济遭受了毁灭性的打击呢？其答案并不简单。房产和信贷危机损坏了美元的币值。想象一下，假如有人把成千上万的美元假币投入到美国经济中，而又被媒体发现了，这肯定会导致经济混乱，触发社会骚动，百姓不再信任现钞，从而摧毁美元的币值。不过，美国的情况并不是假币，而是泛滥的信贷。美国人的按揭抵押、信用卡和国债太多了。他们依赖来自中国和其他国家的进口，本身的经济则过于强调服务业，而缺乏制造业的支撑。其结果是美元实际上已不太值钱，只是一张纸币而已。可因其稳定和坚挺，过去数十年世界各国银行一直将美元作为储备货币，其币值是由海外强劲的需求支撑的。然而在布什政府时代，乔治布什心不在焉，不重视经济发展与繁荣，经济基本上完全被他忽视了，而将精力放在国际反恐上。在历史上，货币实际上曾经是由象黄金这样的贵金属支撑的，但那样的时代早已一去不复返了。现在货币的比值是由政府和市场说了算，它们允许各国货币根据国际市场的需求浮动，但当一国的多数买卖是由信贷支付而没有足够的实体经济来支撑这些买卖时，那该国的货币最终就会暴跌。因此，美国现在所处的正是这种景况。商品价格飞涨，这意味着美国的GDP仍在增长，但这种增长是由于通货膨胀抬高商品价格而促成的。不过，假如你调整我们的GDP，把货币贬值的因素考虑进去，那么你马上就知道真相了。美国现在处于经济衰退之中，美国人还未意识到是因为我们的GDP数字看起来仍在上升，但他们并不知情的是：我们的GDP价值实际上已下降了。由于上述状况再加上按揭抵押和信贷危机，美国势必经历一段失控而危险的经济旅程。5. Read the following text and choose the best sentence from the list A-E below to fill in each of the gaps in the text.1) They would like to drive more money into the economy now to pump up the recovery as a hedge against the feared double dip.2) In place of that $154 billion bill, the White House prompted the House to pass a narrower $54 billion plan in May.3) But Senate Democrats couldnt pass that bill either.4) In some cases that means a renewed push for ideas Obama has been touting since late 2009.5) For instance, it is more aggressively promoting a $13 billion business-hiring tax credit that Congress has already passed.Supplementary ReadingThe credit crunch has shattered Americas neoliberal dream1.It was _ that caused the end of the dominance of free-market capitalism.A. American budget deficitB. the global financial crisisC. International Monetary fundD. anti-market movement2.The two writers argued in their book that in most of the 20th century the world _.A. spent the time fighting warsB. tried to find out what the American dream was aboutC. bought up the American dream and all its productsD. looked into the Americans and their way life3.More than $800 billion national debt in the form of treasury bonds was due to _.A. a decade-long borrowing binge by the AmericansB. transfer of powerC. credit crunch in the United StatesD. unbridled free-market capitalism4.IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard believes that a zero interest rate _.A. gives more room for monetary policy to be easedB. result in less deterioration of fiscal positionsC. frees your hands during times of troubleD. is a severe restriction on monetary policy5.The author of this article feels it is _ for the IMF to impose its policies with conditions.A. acceptableB. naturalC. unfairD. normal6. Lord Turner is regarded as a hate figure in the IMF because he _.A. challenged the financialization of the world economyB. praised the neoliberal dreamC. came up with many of the financial innovationsD. revealed the true value of underlying assets7.It can be inferred that _ is one of the credit derivatives that were claimed to enhance the transparency of the financial market.A. interest rate