当前位置:首页 > 银行系统 > 备考指导 > 笔试备考 > 英语 > 正文

2015年银行校园招聘英语练习一

2015-01-05 10:03:09 弘新教育

        Reading Comprehension

  Directions:

  Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.

  Text 1

  As a young bond trader, Buttonwood was given two pieces of advice, trading rules of thumb, if you will: that bad economic news is good news for bond markets and that every utterance dropping from the lips of Paul Volcker, the then chairman of the Federal Reserve, and the man who restored the central bank’s credibility by stomping on runaway inflation, should be respected than Pope’s orders. Today’s traders are, of course, a more sophisticated bunch. But the advice still seems good, apart from two slight drawbacks. The first is that the well-chosen utterances from the present chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, is of more than passing difficulty. The second is that, of late, good news for the economy has not seemed to upset bond investors all that much. For all the cheer that has crackled down the wires, the yield on ten-year bonds—which you would expect to rise on good economic news—is now, at 4.2%, only two-fifths of a percentage point higher than it was at the start of the year. Pretty much unmoved, in other words.

  Yet the news from the economic front has been better by far than anyone could have expected. On Tuesday November 25th, revised numbers showed that America’s economy grew by an annual 8.2% in the third quarter, a full percentage point more than originally thought, driven by the ever-spendthrift American consumer and, for once, corporate investment. Just about every other piece of information coming out from special sources shows the same strength. New houses are still being built at a fair clip. Exports are rising, for all the protectionist crying. Even employment, in what had been mocked as a jobless recovery, increased by 125,000 or thereabouts in September and October. Rising corporate profits, low credit spreads and the biggest-ever rally in the junk-bond market do not, on the face of it, suggest anything other than a deep and long-lasting recovery. Yet Treasury-bond yields have fallen.

  If the rosy economic backdrop makes this odd, making it doubly odd is an apparent absence of foreign demand. Foreign buyers of Treasuries, especially Asian certral banks, who had been swallowing American government debt like there was no tomorrow, seem to have had second thoughts lately. In September, according to the latest available figures, foreigners bought only $56 billion of Treasuries, compared with $25.1 billion the previous month and an average of $38.7 billion in the preceding four months. In an effort to keep a lid on the yen’s rise, the Japanese central bank is still busy buying dollars and parking the money in government debt. Just about everyboby else seems to have been selling.

  1. The advice for Buttonwood suggests that _____.

  [A] Paul Volcker enjoyed making comments on controlling inflation

  [B] the Federal Reserve has an all-capable power over inflation control

  [C] economy has the greatest influence upon the daily life of ordinary people

  [D] the economic sphere and bond markets are indicative of each other

  2. The word “passing”(Line 7, Paragraph 1) most probably means_____.

  [A] instant [B] trivial [C] simple [D] negligible

  3. Which of the following is responsible for the rapid economic growth in the US?

  [A] Domestic consumers. [B] Foreign investments.

  [C] Real estate market. [D] Recovering bond market.

  4. According to the last paragraph, most Asian central banks are becoming _____.

  [A] rather regretful [B] less ambitious

  [C] more cautious [D] speculative

  5. The phrase “keep a lid on”(Line 6, Paragraph 3) most probably means_____.

  [A] put an end to [B] set a limit on

  [C] tighten the control over [D] reduce the speed of

  Text 2

  We’re moving into another era, as the toxic effects of the bubble and its grave consequences spread through the financial system. Just a couple of years ago investors dreamed of 20 percent returns forever. Now surveys show that they’re down to a “realistic”8 percent to 10 percent range.

  But what if the next few years turn out to be below normal expectations? Martin Barners of the Bank Credit Analyst in Montreal expects future stock returns to average just 4 percent to 6 percent. Sound impossible? After a much smaller bubble that burst in the mid-1960s Standard & Poor’s 5000 stock average returned 6.9 percent a year (with dividends reinvested) for the following 17 years. Few investors are prepared for that.

  Right now denial seems to be the attitude of choice. That’s typical, says Lori Lucas of Hewitt, the consulting firm. You hate to look at your investments when they’re going down. Hewitt tracks 500,000 401 (k) accounts every day, and finds that savers are keeping their contributions up. But they’re much less inclined to switch their money around. “It’s the slot-machine effect,” Lucas says. “People get more interested in playing when they think they’ve got a hot machine”—and nothing’s hot today. The average investor feels overwhelmed.

  Against all common sense, many savers still shut their eyes to the dangers of owning too much company stock. In big companies last year, a surprising 29 percent of employees held at least three quarters of their 402 (k) in their own stock.

  Younger employees may have no choice. You often have to wait until you’re 50 or 55 before you can sell any company stock you get as a matching contribution.

  But instead of getting out when they can, old participants have been holding, too. One third of the people 60 and up chose company stock for three quarters of their plan, Hewitt reports. Are they inattentive? Loyal to a fault? Sick? It’s as if Lucent, Enron and Xerox never happened.

  No investor should give his or her total trust to any particular company’s stock. And while you’re at it, think how you’d be if future stock returns—averaging good years and bad—are as poor as Barnes predicts.

  If you ask me, diversified stocks remain good for the long run, with a backup in bonds. But I, too, am figuring on reduced returns. What a shame. Dear bubble, I’ll never forget. It’s the end of a grand affair.

  [A] fanciful [B] pessimistic [C] groundless [D] realistic

  2. In face of the current stock market, most stock-holders_____.

  1. The investors’ judgment of the present stock returns seems to be _____.

  [A] stop injecting more money into the stock market

  [B] react angrily to the devaluing stock

  [C] switch their money around in the market

  [A] invest in company stock to show loyalty to their employer

  [B] get out of their own company’s stock

  [C] wait for some time before disposing of their stock

  [D] turn a deaf ear to the warning

  3. In the author’s opinion, employees should _____.

  [D] give trust to a particular company’s stock

  4. It can be inferred from the text that Lucent, Enron and Xerox are names of _____.

  [A] successful businesses

  [B] bankrupted companies

  [C] stocks

  [D] huge corporations

  5. The author’s attitude towards the long-term investors’ decision is _____.

  [A] positive [B] suspicious [C] negative [D] ambiguous

  Reading Comprehension text 1答案

  1.D 2.D 3.A 4.C 5.B

  1.[精解] 本题考查推理引申。第一段首句提到巴腾渥德得到的两条建议。第一条建议是:“经济方面的坏消息对于债券市场来说却是好消息”。由此可知,从经济领域和证券市场中一方的状况可以反推出另一方的状况。因此[D]正确,be indicative of sth.意为“表明,暗示,标示”。第二条建议是:“美国联邦储备局前主席说的话都是金玉良言”。由此只能推知这位美国联邦储备局前主席说的话很有分量,不能推出他“喜欢评论(enjoyed making comments)”。从该句可知,沃尔克曾通过重踏来势迅猛的通货膨胀重建了央行的信誉。restore一词表明联邦储备局,即,美国的中央银行在控制通货膨胀上也曾经失利,排除[B]。[C]无从推知。

  2. [精解] 本题考查词义理解。passing一词出现在第一段第四句。其上文提到,“债券交易员得到的两条建议有两处细微的缺陷。第一点是要从现任联邦储备局主席的嘴里听到精确而有分量的话不只是……的困难(more than passing difficulty)”。显然这一内容是针对上文第二条建议(即,美国联邦储备局前主席说的话都是金玉良言)而讲的。由“缺陷”(drawbacks)一词可知,从现任联邦储备局主席那听到金玉良言是非常困难的,这种困难不是“微不足道的”,因此[D]正确。

  3. [精解] 本题考查事实细节。由第二段第二句可知,美国经济第三季度呈现快速增长,这种增长是由一直以来挥霍无度的美国消费者以及仅此一次的公司投资带来的(driven by...)。由此可知[A]是促进经济增长的原因之一。另外一个原因是“公司投资(corporate investment)”,而非“外国投资”,排除[B]。下文虽然提到“新房子建造速度快”,但它是经济增长的表现,而非原因。[D]在文中没有作为经济增长的原因被提及。

  4. [精解] 本题考查推理引申。文章最后一段第二句提到,一直以来作为美国国债最大的外国买家的亚洲中央银行最近改变了过去的做法。接着该段以具体数据说明外国买家购买美国国债的数量下降。从文中“swallowing American government debt like there was no tomorrow”可看出作者认为大举购买国债的做法是“不谨慎”的,而下文“have had second thoughts”他表明它变得更加慎重,因此[C]为正确答案。

  5. [精解] 本题考查词义理解。“keep a lid on”出现在最后一段倒数第二句,表示对“日元升值”做的动作。下文提到具体做法是:日本中央银行忙于购进美元并且把这些钱转为政府债务。四个选项都是同一方向的表达,根据经济常识,应选[B],表示“限制日元的升值”。

  Reading Comprehension text 2答案

  1. A 2.D 3.B 4.B 5.A

  1.[精解] 第一段提到,投资者几年前的梦想是永远拿到20%的(股票投资)回报。现在调查显示它降到了“现实的”8%至10%的范围。第二段作者先提出疑问:但是如果未来几年里这个值低于正常的期望呢?接着以银行信用分析家Martin Barnes和标准普尔5000指数为例指出,未来股票投资回报率必然是下降的。二段末句作者指出,很少有投资者为此作好了准备。由此可推出,面对股票投资回报下降的趋势,投资者的判断是不够现实的,是幻想的。另外, 第一段的dreamed of、realistic 的引号、以及第二段sound impossible后面的问号也都暗示了这一点。因此[A]项正确。

  2[精解] 本题考虑事实细节题。第四段第一句提到,许多投资者(savers)对拥有太多公司股票的危险视而不见。[D]项是该句的改写,其中turn a deaf ear对应原文中的shut their eyes to,the warning对应the dangers。

  第三段作者通过休伊特(Hewitt)咨询公司的职员的介绍说明,投资者仍在不断地投钱(keeping their contributions up),但是他们不太愿意把资金转投其他地方了(less inclined to switch their money around)。由此排除[A]和[C]项。第三段末句“投资者普遍感到吃惊(overwhelmed)”指的就是持股者对股市不景气的反应。因此[B]项与事实不符。

  3.[精解] 本题考查作者观点。第五段中作者提到,年青的雇员没有选择,只能等到50或55岁才能卖掉公司的股票以作为配送缴款(matching contribution)。第六段则提到,而老雇员在能够退出(getting out)的时候却没有。60岁和以上的人中1/3的人选择公司股票作为他们3/4的投资计划。该段末句作者连续用几个问号对这种做法进行了质疑:难道他们疏忽了?过度忠诚?疾病?由此我们可推出作者的观点是反对投资自己公司的做法。因此[B]项正确,排除[A]项。

  第七段首句作者则提到,投资者不应该完全信任任何一家公司的股票。因此[D]项是作者反对的。[C]项文中未提。词汇补充:to a fault“过度地”,如generous to a fault(过度慷慨)。

  4.[精解]题干中的几个专有名词出现在第六段末,该句用虚拟语气指出,就好像朗讯、安然和施乐的事情从来未发生过一样。联系上下文,上文作者对雇员购买公司股票的行为表示质疑,下文则提出不应完全信任任何一家公司。由此可推出,这是三家作为反面例子的公司,由于它们的先后破产,使持有这些公司股票的人受到很大的损失。[B]项最恰当。

  5[精解] 最后一段作者给出了自己对股票投资的看法:多样股可以长远地保持稳定,再加上债券的支持。可见,作者鼓励投资者做长远地考虑。上文中作者对投资公司股票行为的警告也是在劝告投资人不要抱有一劳永逸的想法,要有长远的计划,预期可能出现的风险。所以,[A]为正确选项。