Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers
Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers
Bankruptcy
• Then Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008. • Reports filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan) on September 16 indicated that J.P. Morgan（摩根 （ 美国） 大通银行 美国）provided Lehman Brothers with a total of $138 billion in “Federal Reservebacked advances.” The cash-advances（预支现 （ 金） by JP Morgan Chase were repaid by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for $87 billion on September 15 and $51 billion on September 16.
• Politically the bankruptcy proved of influence on the 2008 United States Presidential Election, for the day after Barack Obama moved ahead of John McCain in the presidential Gallup poll(盖 洛普民意测验 ), never again to fall behind.
• On September 13, 08, Timothy F. Geithner, then president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York called a meeting on the future of Lehman, which included the possibility of an emergency liquidation(破产清算) of its assets. Lehman reported that it had been in talks with Bank of America and Barclays（巴克莱银行，财 富500强公司之一，总部设在英国） for the company's possible sale.
2011考研英语二真题及答案解析[完整版]
![2011考研英语二真题及答案解析[完整版]](https://img.taocdn.com/s3/m/08d76fe380eb6294dd886cf0.png)
The outbreak of swine flu that was first detected in Mexico was declared a global epidemic on June 11, 2009. It is the first worldwide epidemic_____1_____ by the World Health Organization in 41 years.The heightened alert _____2_____an emergency meeting with flu experts in Geneva that convened after a sharp rise in cases in Australia, and rising_____3_____in Britain, Japan, Chile and elsewhere.But the epidemic is "_____4_____" in severity, according to Margaret Chan, the organization's director general, _____5_____ the overwhelming majority of patients experiencing only mild symptoms and a full recovery, often in the _____6_____ of any medical treatment.The outbreak came to global_____7_____in late April 2009, when Mexican authorities noticed an unusually large number of hospitalizations and deaths_____8_____healthy adults. As much of Mexico City shut down at the height of a panic, cases began to _____9_____in New York City, the southwestern United States and around the world.In the United States, new cases seemed to fade_____10_____warmer weather arrived. But in late September 2009, officials reported there was _____11_____flu activity in almost every state and that virtually all the_____12_____tested are the new swine flu, also known as (A) H1N1, not seasonal flu. In the U.S., it has_____13_____more than one million people, and caused more than 600 deaths and more than 6,000 hospitalizations.Federal health officials_____14_____Tamiflu for children from the national stockpile and began_____15_____orders from the states for the new swine flu vaccine. The new vaccine, which is different from the annual flu vaccine, is ____16_____ ahead of expectations. More than three million doses were to be made available in early October 2009, though most of those _____17_____doses were of the FluMist nasal spray type, which is not_____18_____for pregnant women, people over 50 or those with breathing difficulties, heart disease or several other _____19_____. But it was still possible to vaccinate people in other high-risk group: health care workers, people _____20_____infants and healthy young people.1 [A] criticized [B] appointed [C]commented [D] designated2 [A] proceeded [B] activated [C] followed [D] prompted3 [A] digits [B] numbers [C] amounts [D] sums4 [A] moderate [B] normal [C] unusual [D] extreme5 [A] with [B] in [C] from [D] by6 [A] progress [B] absence [C] presence [D] favor7 [A] reality [B] phenomenon [C] concept [D] notice8. [A]over [B] for [C] among [D] to9 [A] stay up [B] crop up [C] fill up [D] cover up10 [A] as [B] if [C] unless [D] until11 [A] excessive [B] enormous [C] significant [D]magnificent12 [A]categories [B] examples [C] patterns [D] samples13 [A] imparted [B] immerse [C] injected [D] infected14 [A] released [B] relayed [C] relieved [D] remained15 [A] placing [B] delivering [C] taking [D] giving16 [A] feasible [B] available [C] reliable [D] applicable17 [A] prevalent [B] principal [C] innovative [D] initial18 [A] presented [B] restricted [C] recommended [D] introduced19 [A] problems [B] issues [C] agonies [D] sufferings20 [A] involved in [B] caring for [C] concerned with [D] warding offSection Ⅱ Reading comprehensionPart ADirections:Read the following four passages. Answer the questions below each passage by choosing A, B, C and D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)Text1The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with a sale of 56 works by Damien Hirst, “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever”，at Sotheby’s in London on September 15th 2008. All but two pieces sold, fetching more than ￡70m, a record for a sale by a single artist. It was a last victory. As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy.The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after rising bewilderingly since 2003. At its peak in 2007 it was worth some $65 billion, reckons Clare Mc Andrew, founder of Arts Economics, a research firm—double the figure five years earlier. Since then it may have come down to $50 billion. But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth, enormous egos, greed, passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries.In the weeks and months that followed Mr Hirst’s sale, spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable, especially in New York, where the bail-out of the banks coincided with the loss of thousands of jobs and the financial demise of many art-buying investors. In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms. Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds, and in the most overheated sector—for Chinese contemporary art—they were down by nearly 90% in the year to November 2008. Within weeks the world’s two biggest auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, had to pay out nearly $200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them.The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buying Impressionists at the end of 1989, a move that started the most serious contraction in the market since the Second World War. This time experts reckon that prices are about 40% down on their peak on average, though some have been far more fluctuant. But Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive, says: “I’m pretty confident we’re at the bottom.”What makes this slump different from the last, he says, is that there are still buyers in the market, whereas in the early 1990s, when interest rates were high, there was no demand even though many collectors wanted to sell. Christie’s revenues in the first half of 2009 were still higher than in the first halfof 2006. Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to sell. The three Ds—death, debt and divorce—still deliver works of art to the market. But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away, waiting for confidence to return.21.In the first paragraph, Damien Hirst's sale was referred to as “a last victory” because ____.A. the art market had witnessed a succession of victoriesB. the auctioneer finally got the two pieces at the highest bidsC. Beautiful Inside My Head Forever won over all masterpiecesD. it was successfully made just before the world financial crisis22.By saying “spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable”(Line 1-2,Para.3)，the author suggests that_____.A. collectors were no longer actively involved in art-market auctionsB .people stopped every kind of spending and stayed away from galleriesC. art collection as a fashion had lost its appeal to a great extentD .works of art in general had gone out of fashion so they were not worth buying23. Which of the following statements is NOT true?A .Sales of contemporary art fell dramatically from 2007 to 2008.B. The art market surpassed many other industries in momentum.C. The market generally went downward in various ways.D. Some art dealers were awaiting better chances to come.24. The three Ds mentioned in the last paragraph are ____A. auction houses ' favoritesB. contemporary trendsC. factors promoting artwork circulationD. styles representing impressionists25. The most appropriate title for this text could be ___A. Fluctuation of Art PricesB. Up-to-date Art AuctionsC. Art Market in DeclineD. Shifted Interest in ArtsI was addressing a small gathering in a suburban Virginia living room—a women's group that had invited men to join them. Throughout the evening one man had been particularly talkative, frequently offering ideas and anecdotes, while his wife sat silently beside him on the couch. Toward the end of the evening I commented that women frequently complain that their husbands don't talk to them. This man quickly nodded in agreement. He gestured toward his wife and said, "She's the talker in our family." The room burst into laughter; the man looked puzzled and hurt. "It's true," he explained. "When I come home from work, I have nothing to say. If she didn't keep the conversation going, we'd spend the whole evening in silence."This episode crystallizes the irony that although American men tend to talk more than women in public situations, they often talk less at home. And this pattern is wreaking havoc with marriage.The pattern was observed by political scientist Andrew Hacker in the late 1970s. Sociologist Catherine Kohler Riessman reports in her new book "Divorce Talk" that most of the women she interviewed—but onlya few of the men—gave lack of communication as the reason for their divorces. Given the current divorce rate of nearly 50 percent，that amounts to millions of cases in the United States every year —a virtual epidemic of failed conversation.In my own research complaints from women about their husbands most often focused not on tangible inequities such as having given up the chance for a career to accompany a husband to his or doing far more than their share of daily life-support work like cleaning, cooking, social arrangements and errands. Instead they focused on communication: "He doesn't listen to me." "He doesn't talk to me." I found as Hacker observed years before that most wives want their husbands to be first and foremost conversational partners but few husbands share this expectation of their wives.In short the image that best represents the current crisis is the stereotypical cartoon scene of a man sitting at the breakfast table with a newspaper held up in front of his face, while a woman glares at the back of it, wanting to talk.26. What is most wives' main expectation of their husbands?A. Talking to them.B. Trusting them.C. Supporting their careers.D. Sharing housework.27. Judging from the context, the phrase “wreaking havoc”(Line 3,Para.2)most probably means ___ .A. generating motivation.B. exerting influenceC. causing damageD. creating pressure28. All of the following are true EXCEPT_______A. men tend to talk more in public than womenB. nearly 50 percent of recent divorces are caused by failed conversationC. women attach much importance to communication between couplesD. a female tends to be more talkative at home than her spouse29. Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of this text?A. The moral decaying deserves more research by sociologists.B. Marriage break-up stems from sex inequalities.C. Husband and wife have different expectations from their marriage.D. Conversational patterns between man and wife are different.30. In the following part immediately after this text, the author will most probably focus on ______A. a vivid account of the new book Divorce TalkB. a detailed description of the stereotypical cartoonC. other possible reasons for a high divorce rate in the U.S.D. a brief introduction to the political scientist Andrew HackerText 3Over the past decade, many companies had perfected the art of creating automatic behaviors — habits — among consumers. These habits have helped companies earn billions of dollars when customers eat snacks, apply lotions and wipe counters almost without thinking, often in response to a carefully designed set of daily cues.“There are fundamental public health problems, like dirty hands instead of a soap habit, that remain killers only because we can’t figure out how to change people’s habits,” Dr. Curtis said. “We wantedto learn from private industry how to create new behaviors that happen automatically.”The companies that Dr. Curtis turned to — Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever — had invested hundreds of millions of dollars finding the subtle cues in consumers’ lives that corporations could use to introduce new routines.If you look hard enough, you’ll find that many of the products we use every day — chewing gums, skin moisturizers, disinfecting wipes, air fresheners, water purifiers, health snacks, antiperspirants, colognes, teeth whiteners, fabric softeners, vitamins—are results of manufactured habits. A century ago, few people regularly brushed their teeth multiple times a day. Today, because of canny advertising and public health campaigns, many Americans habitually give their pearly whites a cavity-preventing scrub twice a day, often with Colgate, Crest or one of the other brands.A few decades ago, many people didn’t drink water outside of a meal. Then beve rage companies started bottling the production of far-off springs, and now office workers unthinkingly sip bottled water all day long. Chewing gum, once bought primarily by adolescent boys, is now featured in commercials as a breath freshener and teeth cleanser for use after a meal. Skin moisturizers are advertised as part of morning beauty rituals, slipped in between hair brushing and putting on makeup.“Our products succeed when they become part of daily or weekly patterns,” said Carol Berning, a consum er psychologist who recently retired from Procter & Gamble, the company that sold $76 billion of Tide, Crest and other products last year. “Creating positive habits is a huge part of improving our consumers’ lives, and it’s essential to making new products commercially viable.”Through experiments and observation, social scientists like Dr. Berning have learned that there is power in tying certain behaviors to habitual cues through relentless advertising. As this new science of habit has emerged, controversies have erupted when the tactics have been used to sell questionable beauty creams or unhealthy foods.31. According to Dr. Curtis, habits like hand washing with soap________.[A] should be further cultivated[B] should be changed gradually C are deeply rooted in history D are basically private concerns32. Bottled water, chewing gun and skin moisturizers are mentioned in Paragraph 5 so as to____[A] reveal their impact on people’s habits [B] show the urgent need of daily necessities[C] indicate their effect on people’s buying power [D] manifest the significant role of good habits33. Which of the following does NOT belong to products that help create people’s habits?[A]Tide [B] Crest [C] Colgate [D] Unilever34. From the text we know that some of consumer’s habits are developed due to _____[A]perfected art of products [B]automatic behavior creation [C]commercial promotions [D]scientific experiments35. T he author’s attitude toward the influence of advertisement on people’s habits is____[A] indifferent [B] negative [C] positive [D] biasedText4Many Americans regard the jury system as a concrete expression of crucial democratic values, including the principles that all citizens who meet minimal qualifications of age and literacy are equally competent to serve on juries; that jurors should be selected randomly from a representative cross section of the community; that no citizen should be denied the right to serve on a jury on account of race, religion, sex, or national origin; that defendants are entitled to trial by their peers; and that verdicts should represent the conscience of the community and not just the letter of the law. The jury is also said to be the best surviving example of direct rather than representative democracy. In a direct democracy, citizens take turns governing themselves, rather than electing representatives to govern for them.But as recently as in 1986, jury selection procedures conflicted with these democratic ideals. In some states, for example, jury duty was limited to persons of supposedly superior intelligence, education, and moral character. Although the Supreme Court of the United States had prohibited intentional racial discrimination in jury selection as early as the 1880 case of Strauder v. West Virginia, the practice of selecting so-called elite or blue-ribbon juries provided a convenient way around this and other antidiscrimination laws.The system also failed to regularly include women on juries until the mid-20th century. Although women first served on state juries in Utah in 1898, it was not until the 1940s that a majority of states made women eligible for jury duty. Even then several states automatically exempted women from jury duty unless they personally asked to have their names included on the jury list. This practice was justified by the claim that women were needed at home, and it kept juries unrepresentative of women through the 1960s.In 1968, the Congress of the United States passed the Jury Selection and Service Act, ushering in a new era of democratic reforms for the jury. This law abolished special educational requirements for federal jurors and required them to be selected at random from a cross section of the entire community. In the landmark 1975 decision Taylor vs. Louisiana, the Supreme Court extended the requirement that juries be representative of all parts of the community to the state level. The Taylor decision also declared sex discrimination in jury selection to be unconstitutional and ordered states to use the same procedures for selecting male and female jurors.36. From the principles of the US jury system, we learn that ______[A]both liberate and illiterate people can serve on juries[B]defendants are immune from trial by their peers[C]no age limit should be imposed for jury service [D]judgment should consider the opinion of the public37. The practice of selecting so-called elite jurors prior to 1968 showed_____[A]the inadequacy of antidiscrimination laws [B]the prevalent discrimination against certain races[C]the conflicting ideals in jury selection procedures [D]the arrogance common among the Supreme Court justices38. Even in the 1960s, women were seldom on the jury list in some states because_____[A]they were automatically banned by state laws[B]they fell far short of the required qualifications[C]they were supposed to perform domestic duties [D]they tended to evade public engagement39. After the Jury Selection and Service Act was passed.___[A] sex discrimination in jury selection was unconstitutional and had to be abolished[B] educational requirements became less rigid in the selection of federal jurors[C] jurors at the state level ought to be representative of the entire community[D] states ought to conform to the federal court in reforming the jury system40. In discussing the US jury system, the text centers on_______[A]its nature and problems[B]its characteristics and tradition[C]its problems and their solutions[D]its tradition and development46.Directions:In this section there is a text in English .Translate it into Chinese. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET2.(15points)“Suatainability” has become a popular word these days, but to Ted Ning, the concept will always have personal meaning. Having endured a painful period of unsustainability in his own life made it clear to him that sustainability-oriented values must be expressed though everyday action and choice。
BBC News 20个话题包括政治、经济、社会、灾难等
BBC News Item 1政治：美国民主党得到参议院60 个席位President Obama’s Democratic Party has secured the critical 60 seat majority in the US Senate that can help it override any Republican obstructions on Capitol Hill. This happened when the Democrats won the last undecided senate seat from November’s election after the Supreme Court in the state of Minnesota declared the Democratic candidate Al Franken the winner. Richard Listerreports from Washington.For almost eight months the two candidates had been locked in a bitter fight in the Minnesota Courts over the result of November’s Senate election. Just a few hundred votes separated them after the 2.8 million cast. The initial count favoured the Republican Norm Coleman but the recount gave the majority to his Democratic Party rival Al Franken. And the State Supreme Court is now upheld that verdict. His victory gives the Democrats 60 votes in the senate and the potential to overturn Republican efforts to block legislation.BBC News Item 2 政治：美国和以色列关系面临考验Reports in Israeli media say Israel’s ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told Israeli diplomats that American-Israeli relations were facing a crisis of historic proportions. Washington is furious at last week’s announcement by Israel during a visit by the US Vice President that more new Jewish homes were to be built in occupied East Jerusalem. But on Monday, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament the building project would continue. Paul Wood reports from Jerusalem.Mr. Netanyahu has been presented with a choice, a breach with the right-wing members of his coalition, or with the Americans. With his speech to the Knesset, he seems to have chosen to put the needs of domestic politics first. It seems the Americans are so angry because they believe Mr. Netanyahu went back on an understanding. This was apparently that Israel would not push forward of any big new settlement building projects in East Jerusalem. This was necessary of the Palestinians were to be persuaded to join the long delayed negotiations so painstakingly put together by US mediators.BC News Item 3 政治：奥巴马推迟访问印尼和澳大利亚President Obama is postponing a trip to Indonesia and Australia, so he can stay in Washington to try to get his health care reforms pass by congress. Mr. Obama had already delayed the long arranged trip once and was due to set off on Sunday. But with the crucial vote on the reform is expected within days, the trip has been put off entirely until June. From Washington Mark Martell reports.The president’s make changes to American health care insurance system, his flagship domestic legislation is dragged on for over a year and divided the country.He will be damaged if he can’t get it through. The climax is near, so far there is no sign of any republicans voting for it, its fate lies in the hands of handful in the president’s own party, who either feel it allows for easier abortion or who simply fear a back lash in November’s elections, if they vote for a measures their constitution dislike.BBC News Item 4 政治：英国新首相After days of political horse-trading the UK finally has a new government and a new Prime Minister, following the resignation of La bour’s Gordon Brown on Tuesday evening.Since last Thursday’s general election resulted in a hung parliament, a situation in which none of the political parties has an overall majority, British politicians have been attempting to form a coalition government.Such a government is comparatively rare in the UK. Indeed this is the first coalition since the Second World War.BBC News Item 5 经济：美国财政官员失职An investigation of United States has found that the country’s top financial regulator, the Securities and the Exchange Commissioner SEC, fail to uncover the 65 billion dollar fraud carried out by the convicted financier Bernard Madoff over a 16-year period, despite 5 separate investigations in his business dealings. Greg Wood reports.The report by the SEC’s expe cted general David Kotz reads like a catalog of bungled opportunities to catch Bernard Madoff, long before he owned up to the largest fraud in US history. He was investigated five times. SEC staff caught him in lies but failed to follow them up. They rejected offers from whistleblowers to provide additional evidence. Many of the investigators were inexperienced. The scale of the SEC’s incompetence is laid bare by this report.BBC News Item 6 经济：美国银行同意支付罚款了结控诉The Bank of America has agreed to pay 33 million dollars to settle accusations by the US government over billions of dollars of bonuses paid out last year by its investment on Merrill Lynch.Bank of America took over Merrill Lynch to save it from collapse in a deal backed by American taxpayers’ money. John Bithry reports.Bank of America had promised its shareholders that no bonuses would be paid to bankers at Merrill Lynch without its express permission. It’s agreed to buy the struggling investment bank in September. On the same weekend that talks to save Lehman Brothers from collapse failed. Like Lehman, Merrill Lynch was brought to itsknees by debt links to the US housing market that became toxic and lost its value. But after Merrill was rescued by BOA, it went ahead and paid its staff 3.6 billion dollars in bonuses anyway. Shortly afterwards Bank of America was forced to go to the government for billions of dollars in extra taxpayer support, and the revelation of the payments caused a public outcry.BBC News Item 7 经济：加州财政预算出了问题After weeks of negotiations, the governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger has reached an outline agreement with legislative leaders on a plan to tackle the state’s massive budget shortfall. The deal, which will have to be approved by the state legislature, includes plans for billions of dollars in budget cuts, but no tax rises. Peter Bolger reports.California has a budget shortfall of 26 billion dollars. State workers have been put on short time and many social and education services have been cut. The state has even resorted to issuing IOUs to companies it does business with and to individuals who are owed tax refunds. Governor Schwarzenegger described the comprised deal as a basic agreement to close the state’s huge deficit. He and fellow Republicans have refused to raise taxes, all the opposition Democrats said fought topreserve social services.BBC News Item 8 政治：乌克兰声称发现俄国间谍Ukraine says that the five alleged Russian spies were caught with a camera concealed inside a pen, other espionage equipment and $2000 — a reported bribe for a Ukrainian contact.The head of Ukraine’s security service says that the five were trying to obtain military secrets. Four of them have been expelled from Ukraine, while the fifth has been detained.Russia’s security service, the FSB, has confirmed the detention, but denied the Ukrainian version of events. The FSB said its actions were a response to the recruitment of Russians by the Ukrainian security services.The mutual recriminations come at a highly sensitive time. Just two weeks ago, Russia sent an ambassador to Ukraine after a five month absence. And on Sunday, Ukrainians will vote in an election to choose a successor to the outgoing President, Viktor Yushchenko.Mr. Yushchenko’s time in office has been marked by strained relations with Moscow, and his departure was being seen as an opportunity for an improvement in ties between the two countries.BBC News Item 9 军事：俄国总统对美国导弹计划的意见The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has welcomed the announcement byPresident Obama that the United States is shelving plans for a missile defensive system in Europe. He said President Obama had taken a responsible step by abandoning plans to base long range interceptors in Poland and the Czech Republic. BBC News Item 10 政治：伊朗总统连任Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sworn in for a second term as Iranian President. However hundreds of opposition supporters disputing the election result gathered outside the parliament defying an official ban on protests. John Iion reports.In a ceremony broadcast live on state TV, Mr. Ahmadinejad took the oath of office as prescribed in the Iranian constitution. He went on to defend the election result. The speaker of parliament Ali Larijani criticised the west for their hastiness in condemning the result. But outside, opposition protesters gathered to give their contrary view. They were met by hundreds of riot police.Western countries declined to give their official congratulations, though ambassadors from Britain and the European Union were present.BBC News Item 11 军事：伊朗核计划The head of the UN nuclear agency Mohamed ElBaradei has given Iran and three world powers the text of a draft deal aimed at reducing concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme. The IAEA wants Iran to allow most of its uranium to be shipped abroad for further enrichment before being returned for use in a civilian research reactor. Jon Leyne reports.The deal would mean Iran gets the fuel it needs and stays off pressure for more sanctions. The outside world sees Iran’s enriched uranium taken out of the coun try and processed in a way that will make it more difficult for Iran to make nuclear bombs. But Iran’s still not signed up publicly onthe crucial element, the shipping out of Iran of its precious stocks of enriched uranium, and that could be hard for the Iranian government to accept, in light of the prestige President Ahmadinejad has attached to the nuclear programme.BBC News Item 12 军事：联合国出台伊朗问题协议草案Iran has agreed to let inspectors from the United Nations Nuclear Agency visit its recently rebuilt second uranium enrichment plant. They will go there on Oct. 25th, the day was set during a visit to Tehran by the head of the agency Mohammed ElBaradei. The revelation last month said Iran was building an underground facility near Qom heightened internation al concern that it’s secretly trying to developenuclear weapons. But Mr. ElBaradei gave an upbeat assessment to relations with Iran.I have been saying for a number of years that we need transparency on the part of Iran. We need co-operation on the part of the international community. So I see that we are at the critical moment. I see that we are shifting gears from confrontation into transparency and co-operation.In Washington President Obama’s top security advisor said things appeared to be moving in theright direction.BBC News Item 13 政治：吉尔吉斯坦反对派建立临时政府There’s been a day of bloodshed and turmoil in Kyrgyzstan with th e opposition saying it set up an interim government. However it is still not clear who is in controlor where President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is. Rayham Demytrie sent out this report from the capital, Bishkek.As night fell, widespread looting began in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, hundreds of protesters were moving from one shop to another, setting buildings on fire and causing more chaos on the ground. Random gunshots could be heard all across Bishkek. An interim government has been set up in Kyrgyzstan. It is being led by an opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva. In a comment of a Russian TV channel she said that the situation in the country remains tense and difficult. Early on Wednesday, the country’s prime minister resigned. Some reports suggest that the Kyrgyz’s President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is in the south of the country in the city of Osh.BBC News Item 14 政治：吉尔吉斯坦总统拒绝辞职The Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has refused to admit defeat after his political opponents dissolved parliament and demanded his resignation. Latest reports from the capital Bishkek say there was heavy shooting as night fell. From Bishkek, Richard Galpin now reports. After the bloodshed yesterday, this morningthe main leaders of the opposition announced they’ve taken control of the c ountry, forming a temporary government and dissolving parliament. But at a news conference here in the capital, they admitted there were concerns that the president was trying to rally his supporters in the south of the country in order to fight back. The opposition wanted him to resign immediately, but Mr.Bakiyev has told BBC he has no intention of quitting and still considers himself to be president.BBC News Item 15 社会：缅甸某罪犯获释引发讨论Burmese officials have hinted many times that Aung San Suu Kyi may be released.But it’s the first time in recent months that a putative date has been attached to the idea.The comments are reported to have been made by a senior minister at a provincial town meeting four days ago. It’s a measure of how tightly information is c ontrolled in Burma that it’s taken this long for the reports to filter out.Aung San Suu Kyi’s own lawyer told the BBC he’d heard the rumour but could not confirm it. And if indeed she is released in November, key questions about the terms of Aung San Suu Kyi’s possible freedom remain. Would there be conditions attached? Would her activities be restricted? And, crucially, would her release come before or after planned elections?There is also the matter of the legal appeal against Aung San Suu Kyi’s current detention. The Supreme Court is due to deliver its verdict in the next couple of weeks. But if the military government says she’ll continue to be detained until at least November, the court’s decision has been somewhat undermined.BBC News Item 16 社会：韩国鼓励生育Forget that still unwritten report or the backlog of paperwork building up on the desk, on this cold and rainy mid-week night there can be no excuses to stay late in the office. South Korea’s Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs will be turn ing off all the lights at 7pm in a bid to force staff to go home to their families and, well, make bigger ones. It will repeat the experiment once a month.The country now has one of the world’s lowest birth rates, lower even than neighbouring Japan，and boosting the number of newborn children is a priority for this government, staring into theabyss of a rapidly ageing society, falling levels of manpower and spiralling health care costs. The Ministry of Health, now sometimes jokingly referred to as the “Ministry of Matchmaking”,is in charge of spearheading that drive and it clearly believes its staff should lead by example. Generous gift vouchers are on offer for officials who have more than one child and the department organises social gatherings in the hope of fostering love amongst its bureaucrats. But critics say what is really needed is wide-scale reform to tackle the burdensome cost of childcare and education that puts many young people off from starting a family.BBC News Item 17 灾难：冰岛火山烟尘逐渐减少As forecasters say that a cloud of volcanic dust spreading from Iceland across Europe show some signs of moving, officials have expressed hope that up to half of all flights across Europe could operate on Monday. The European Transport Commissioner and Spanish minister for Europe were speaking after talks with the air traffic agency, Eurocontrol. Warren Bull reports.After adopting a cautious approach up till now, the airline industry has increasingly pushed the European authorities to end the flight restrictions which have caused travel chaos in Europe and beyond. Several airlines, including KLM and Lufthansa, have expressed anger that the decision to ground flights appears to have been taken solely on the basis of the computer simulation. They say they’ve car ried out their own test flights and reported no problems. Conscious of a need to show strong leadership over the air travel crisis, European Union transport ministers are expected to hold an emergency video conference on Monday.BBC News Item 18 灾难：菲律宾洪水泛滥Officials in the Philippines say at least a hundred people have died in floods and landslides in the north triggered by a week of heavy rain. This follows two storms in the past two weeks which have already left about three hundred people dead. Reports said that even some evacuation centers had been flooded. Danny Vincent reports from the capital Manila.Officials say that 30 cities were hit by the landslide through the night where residents taken to the rooftops of their houses for refuge. The northern Philippines have been pounded by heavy rain following the second typhoon in just over a week to hit the nation. Typhoon Parma has lingered in the north of the country turning into a tropical depression. It follows Typhoon Ketsana which killedmore than 300 people when it’s hit on September 26.BBC News Item 19 灾难：南太平洋海啸The Prime Minister of Samoa says 77 people were killed and 150 injured by a tsunami in the South Pacific. At least 24 people died on American Samoa. Thousands of people’s homes have been destroyed and the final number of deaths is expected to be higher as Phil Mercer reports from Sydney.A brutal act of nature has shattered parts of Samoa and neighboring American Samoa. The rescue effort is continuing with pledges of international support led by the United States. The number of dead has slowly increased since the tsunami struck after dawn and there are fears it will keep on rising as emergency teams reach isolated areas. Foreign tourists including a British toddler and a 6-year-old Australian girl are among the deads. Officials believe that many of the victims were washed out to sea as their homes were destroyed by waves reportedly up to 11 meters high.BBC News Item 20 宗教：马来西亚首都基督教堂接连遭纵火The latest attack, on an Evangelical Christian church, caused limited physical damage — just a burned door and a charred entranceway. But the politicali mplications may be more serious. Tensions have flared after Malaysia’s High Court ruled that a Roman Catholic newspaper, the Herald, was permitted to use the word “Allah” to describe God in its Malay language editions. Muslim groups argue that Christians using a word so closely associated with Islam could be a ploy to win converts.Christians make up around 9% of the population in the majority Muslim state. Most non-Muslims are ethnically Indian or Chinese. The row over the use of the word “Allah” has expo sed deep resentments over the treatment of minorities and freedom of religion in Malaysia. A government minister told foreign diplomats on Monday the church attacks were the work of extremists. “These were not just attacks on houses of worship” he said, “t hese were attacks on the values and freedoms all Malaysians share.” Under the slogan “One Malaysia”, the government has made racial harmony a central policy. Its commitment to that policy is now being severely tested.。
西方金融理论
Background——the issue of the minibond
In the absence of a credit event occurs, the Lehman
brothers minibonds coupon payment. Mini bonds coupon rate is usually fixed, and is higher than bank deposit rates over the same period.
Whether the minibond associated with Lelman's credit
Because of the Lehman brothers is the actual operation of the issuer, and is the product of the swap counterparty, payment of interest and principal on the mini bonds pay its bankruptcy inevitable impact, but this failed to pay a credit event is defined in the. So for the mini bonds, with the Lehman brothers credit association is the most special one, pay the obtained is different from other credit default event triggered.
（take Hong Kong as an example ） Protests and solutions
历史上恶意做空典型案例
案例一：2008年次贷危机：在20世纪末和21世纪初，美国房地产市场经历了一个繁荣期，低利率和宽松的信贷环境导致了房屋贷款的激增。
然而，许多房屋贷款实际上是高风险的次贷贷款，即给予信用不佳的借款人。
这些次贷贷款被打包成复杂的金融工具，称为抵押支持证券（MBS），并通过全球金融市场进行交易。
在次贷危机爆发前，Lehman Brothers在房地产和次贷市场扮演了重要角色，大量持有MBS和其他相关金融产品。
然而，随着次贷危机的加剧，市场对这些高风险资产的担忧日益增加。
投资者和机构开始对Lehman Brothers的财务状况产生怀疑，并有意通过恶意做空来推动其股价下跌。
一些投资者和机构散布了谣言和虚假信息，声称Lehman Brothers面临严重的资本状况问题，并可能无法偿付债务。
这引发了市场对Lehman Brothers 信用风险的担忧，导致投资者纷纷抛售该公司的股票。
由于市场的恶性循环，Lehman Brothers的股价不断下跌。
在2008年9月15日，Lehman Brothers宣布破产，成为美国历史上最大的破产案之一。
此举引发了全球金融市场的剧烈震荡，导致股市暴跌、金融机构的信贷流动性紧张，进而影响到全球经济。
Lehman Brothers破产对全球金融体系和经济造成了严重的冲击。
许多金融机构因与Lehman Brothers的交易关系而遭受巨大损失，信贷市场陷入停滞，企业破产率上升，失业率攀升。
这次危机催生了全球金融体系的重大改革，并触发了政府的干预和救助措施。
案例二：2011年的Sino-Forest案件Sino-Forest成立于1994年，是一家总部位于加拿大的木材公司。
该公司在中国从事林业投资和经营，主要从事林产品的种植、采伐和销售。
由于其业务在中国的迅速扩张，Sino-Forest在加拿大证券交易所上市，并成为加拿大最大的林业公司之一。
2011年6月，一家名为Muddy Waters Research的独立调查机构发布了一份报告，对Sino-Forest进行了严厉的指控。
2008年金融危机英语ppt
Roots of outbreak 爆发根源
The U.S. government's improper real estate financial
金融衍生品的"滥用"，拉长了 金融交易链条，助长了投机。
U.S. monetary policy added fuel to the flame.
美国货币政策推波助澜。
过程（Process）
From the outbreak of the subprime crisis in February 2007 to the collapse of the stock price of American loan companies in August, the subprime crisis worsened. In March 2008, Bear Stearns went bankrupt. In July, Fannie and Freddie fell into crisis. The Federal Reserve "rescued the market". In September, Lehman Brothers applied for bankruptcy protection. AIG, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley also faced crisis. Washington Mutual failed. Wall Street crisis broke out and swept the world, resulting in The full outbreak of the financial crisis. 从2007年2月次贷危机爆发，到8月美国贷款公司股价暴跌次贷危机 恶化，2008年3月贝尔斯登破产，7月两房陷入危机，美联储“救 市”，到九月雷曼兄弟公司申请破产保护，AIG，高盛，摩根士丹利 也面临危机，华盛顿互惠公司倒闭，华尔街危机爆发，并席卷全球， 造成金融危机的全面爆发。
外文翻译--格莱珉银行的历程
本科毕业论文外文翻译外文题目：The Story of the Grameen Bank出处：Brooks world Poverty institute作者：David Hulme原文：The Story of the Grameen BankDavid HulmeAbstract This paper looks at the establishment and evolution of the iconic Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. It traces the development of the Bank from its origins, providing microcredit to poor, rural women in Bangladesh, through a period of national expansion and institutionalisation, to the replication around the world of the Grameen model. In the late 1990s the Bank faced repayment problems and a developing financial crisis, and strategies were put in place to stabilise and reshape the Bank. This led in 2001 to the launch of Grameen II, which is analysed in terms of its main components and its results. Finally, the paper looks at Grameen Bank’s future role as a major player in the microfinance market, and as an inspiration for those helping poor people improve their own lives.Keywords microfinance, micro-enterprise, credit financingIntroductionThe Grameen Bank of Bangladesh holds an iconic position in the world of microfinance. It is credited with proving that ‘the poor are bankable’; the Grameen ‘model’ has been copied in more than 40 countries; it is the most widely cited development success story in the world; and its charismatic Founder-Director, Professor Muhammad Yunus, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. By the end of February 2008 it had 7.4 million clients and outstanding loans of $545 million. By any measure it is an organisation that has impacted greatly on the lives of many poor people and on ideas about microfinance, poverty reduction and internationaldevelopment.The group-based lending model, targeted at poor, rural women, that is synonymous with the Grameen Bank contrasts markedly with the two other iconic microfinance institutions, Bank Rakyat Indonesia and BancoSol of Bolivia. The original Grameen Bank model comes out of what Robinson calls a ‘poverty lending’ approach, rather than the ‘financial systems’ approach that she, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), and many US microfinance specialists prefer. However, unnoticed by many observers, the Grameen Bank made dramatic changes to its services around 2001 and 2002. Its new model (Grameen II), takes it much closer to a financial systems approach. Although Professor Yunus continues to champion the idea of microfinance for poor women, most obviously through the annual Microcredit Summit, the Bank he directs increasingly lends to non-poor clients, has moved aggressively into savings mobilisation, and is very much concerned with the overall profitability of the mix of its products. Grameen II reflects not so much a reform as a revolution in the Grameen’s strategy. Rather than challenging the market-based ‘financial systems approach’ the contemporary Grameen Bank vindicates it. But, let us start at the beginning.Early daysAs Professor Yunus reports in his autobiography (Yunus, 1999), and as Fuglesang and Chandler (1986) record, the origins of the Grameen Bank lie in the dilemma that the young Yunus found himself facing in the mid-1970s. Having completed his PhD in the USA, he had returned to Bangladesh to lecture in economics at Chittagong University. However, he found himself wondering what relevance the economic theory he taught had to the immediate needs of the thousands of hungry and deprived people he saw in rural Bangladesh. The country was slowly recovering from a vicious war of independence that had destroyed its infrastructure and its productivity and murdered much of its intelligentsia. The damage caused by the war had been amplified by the famine of 1974, and the country was dependent on food aid. Human suffering on a vast scale could be witnessed in any town or village.Yunus could try to help people by giving them charity, but he wondered whether some of his economic theory could be applied in the field. His training postulated that if people got access to credit they could increase their profitability, or diversify their economic activities, in ways that would allow them to raise their incomes. So, if he could lend some poor people his money they could improve their lives and pay him back. Then, he could lend the money to other poor people and thus assist many more people than could be achieved by simply giving his money away.It was an interesting theory, but his initial experiments seemed to show it was invalid. Quite a few of the men and women he lent to did not repay their small loans (sums of US$10 or 20). He thought that this was because they had either used the money unwisely (for consumption or poorly planned microenterprises) or were not trustworthy. As a result, he began to experiment with ways of (i) approving and supervising loans, to ensure they would be used for productive investments, and (ii) selecting trustworthy clients and managing them, so that they would repay their loans. Eventually he came up with a model that worked. This had a number of features: •Lending to poor, rural women (as they were less likely than men to use loans badly and were more reliable for repayment).•Organising women into cells of five, that took collective responsibility for each other’s loans (creating social collater al and a peer screening process). •Establishing Kendro (centres) where six cells (i.e. 30 women) met, at a set time each week, to apply for loans and make repayments.•Charging a higher rate of interest than government schemes and NGO loans programmes.•Requiring clients to make compulsory microsavings each week (to create financial discipline and generate financial collateral for groups), and to make promises about their social conduct.•Simple, standardised products that required regular, small repayments. •Recruiting and training bright, young graduates to administer services (to minimise corruption).There were many other carefully designed element s of this ‘Grameen model’ (seeFuglesang and Chandler (1986) for details). It certainly appeared to work, and Yunus was able to persuade the state-run Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) to finance and house the experiment. Donor agencies, such as the Ford Foundation, became involved.Expansion and institutionalisationThe early success of the Grameen model was matched by Professor Yunus’s personal energy and enthusiasm. But, to expand the Bank he needed more finance and a robust organisational structure. The finance was not too much of a problem. In the early 1980s there were many foreign aid agencies in Bangladesh facing a big problem: most of the grants they made to government agencies were only weakly accounted for and they appeared to achieve little development impact.Achieving an effective organisational structure was, perhaps, more challenging. If he stayed with BKB, then as the Grameen Bank expanded it would be likely to take on the characteristics of the country’s nationalised commercial banks: nepotistic staff recruitment and promotion, financial corruption, the politicisation of the loan portfolio, and an offhand attitude towards clients. The alternatives – registering as a Bank or as a cooperative –were not attractive. So, with great insight and careful politicking, Professor Yunus negotiated the passing of a Grameen Bank Ordinance in 1983.Over the 1980s and early 1990s the Grameen Bank steadily expanded, with large inflows of donor funding. By 1991it had more than one million clients and a growing range of products – housing loans, agricultural loans and others. Alongside this, both the profiles of the Bank and of Yunus became increasingly international. International transfer replicationAs the 1980s progressed, an increasing amount of Grameen Bank senior management time was devoted to exporting the Grameen Bank model. I first became acquainted with the Grameen model in 1987, while researching rural finance in Sri Lanka. At the time it seemed that almost every NGO and donor project I visited had staff who had recently returned from a visit to the Grameen Bank. Most of these staff were very impre ssed with what they had seen and talked of ‘replicating’ the model. The AsianDevelopment Bank, desperate to approve loans to Sri Lanka, dressed up its rural finance proposals as building on the Grameen Bank’s success –even though they were not using the Grameen model!The idea of replicating the Grameen Bank around the world crystallised when the US- based group RESULTS and its Director, an experienced lobbyist, came up with the idea of a Microcredit Summit. Since 1990, the UN had convened a set of global summits that had set goals for poverty reduction, education, gender equality and other issues. The 1997 Microcredit Summit was not a UN event –it was organised by RESULTS –but it presented as a global summit, with claims of ‘microcredit is a human right’ and speeches from heads of state. It set a goal of mobilising US$21.6 billion, so that 150 million households would be able to access Grameen Bank-type loans by 2005. Some within the Microcredit Summit movement pushed for a focus on microfinance and a br oader range of services but that did not suit RESULTS’ campaigning style. It needed a simple message. The Grameen Bank was a panacea, the world should replicate it!Can the Grameen Bank go bust?As the Grameen model was ‘exported’ overseas during th e 1990s, the Bank continued to grow in Bangladesh. Client numbers grew steadily, but the portfolio grew more quickly as clients took bigger ordinary loans and new types of loans (especially housing). Those of us working in Bangladesh increasingly heard that repayment rates were falling, but that branch managers were massaging their performance figures by issuing new loans to defaulters. These were immediately used to pay off the outstanding loan and hide the problem of non-repayment. There were also criticisms of the gender achievements of the Bank: did it merely get women to take loans that they gave straight to their husbands? Then, there were criticisms of the idea that Yunus propounded, of every Grameen Bank loan being used for microenterprise, and every microenterprise being successful.Independent fieldwork showed that Grameen Bank clients used their loans for many different purposes –business, food consumption, health, education and even dowry. Grameen loans did not go tomicrofirms for a single, specific investment; rather, they went into the complex financial portfolios of low-income households. Long-time researcher on microfinance in Bangladesh, Stuart Rutherford, was one of those able to see what was going on. Grameen Bank clients paid the kisti (weekly repayments) on their loans not from a single microenterprise, but from patching together earnings from casual employment, self-employment, remittances and a variety of loans from other sources. But, as clients stayed with Grameen Bank, they were under pressure to take bigger, ordinary loans alongside new housing loans. As a result, they took on levels of debt they could not service from their income. To stop them from defaulting, they were issued with larger loans by Grameen branch managers to repay earlier loans. In Dhaka, rumours circulated of a meeting at which Professor Yunus asked his senior staff to tell him the true level of repayment and the scale of the ‘hole’ in the Bank’s finances. The severe floods of 1998, and the collapse of the Bank’s recen tly introduced agriculture loans, exacerbated the repayment problem.From Grameen I to Grameen IIThe problems faced by Grameen Bank in the late 1990s led to its senior staff piloting a number of experiments with new products and new ways of managing service provision. By early 2001 these had been consolidated and Professor Yunus announced the launch of ‘Grameen II’ –the replacement of the Bank’s earlier products by a new range on different terms. The components of Grameen II were designed so that (i) they should meet client demand, and (ii) they should be profitable for the Bank. Between March 2001 and August 2002 all Grameen’s 1,200 branches were shifted from Grameen I to Grameen II products and systems.The main elements of Grameen II are:•A major focus on savings from members and the public. This includes voluntary savings, term deposits and the Grameen Pension Scheme (GPS) – a long-term savings programme.•The provision of flexible ‘basic loans’ to members (rather than the standardised Grameen I 12-month loans). These are for variable amounts, can be repaid over threeto 36 months, have negotiable repayment schedules and interest rates are determined by loan type (size, length, grace period, etc).•The abandonment of joint liability (and the idea of social collateral).• A poverty-focused ‘struggling members’ programme, that provides small, subsidised loans to beggars and encourages them to join Grameen Bank centres.The future of the Grameen BankThe Grameen Bank looks as though it has a secure future as an MFI in Bangladesh and should remain a major player in the microfinance market, alongside other big players, such as ASA and BRAC. Internationally, it is still perceived as a micro lending institution, focused on extremely poor women, despite the fact that it has adopted a market-based, ‘financial systems’ approach since 2001.Within Bangladesh, Grameen now plays an important role as a substantial MFI that meets client needs and helps to promote competition within the financial markets. Its viability is essential for this internal role, but also very important for its external role. Had the Grameen Bank collapsed, then optimism about the feasibility of poverty reduction and international development would have been dented. It helps the citizens of the rich world to understand that poor people are active agents in the processes of development and not passive recipients of food aid and humanitarian relief, as the media usually stereotype them. The Grameen Bank today is a very different organisation from what it was 20 years ago, but it still serves as an inspiration for those trying to help poor and low- income people in their own efforts to improve their译文：格莱珉银行的历程摘要本文主要探究孟加拉格莱珉乡村银行的建立及其演化。
英国对纳粹德国儿童难民的营救
94
① 这可以说是英国 “儿童运输 ” 计划赖以出台的一个不可忽视的前 同时，也一直鼓励犹太人外移。 提。不过，真正促成 “儿童运输” 的， 是纳粹政权 1938 年以后急转直下的犹太政策和种种反犹恶
行，特别是 “水晶之夜” 事件。 事实上，1933 —1938 年， 纳粹德国的犹太政策一度趋缓， 以至于出 逃犹太人的数字逐渐下降，不少出逃者甚至返回。 例如，1933 年， 受纳粹政权的惊吓，37 000 名犹
国之所以决定营救这些儿童难民，一方面是由于产生了促使其考虑接收大量儿童难民的动力，另一方面则 是由于它自身具备了对接收儿童难民的吁请做出积极回应的条件 。儿童难民的营救工作，是一项由遴选和 运输两个基本环节构成 、历时漫长、缺憾 和局限性，却不失为英国在纳粹德国难民营救史上做出的独特而巨大的贡献 。 ； 英国； 纳粹德国； 儿童难民 关键词： “儿童运输”
事件，因事发期间被打碎的犹太商店橱窗玻璃布满街道 、闪闪发光而得名。11 月 7 日，一名波兰籍犹太人在巴黎刺杀一名德国使馆 随员。纳粹当局以此为借口，在国内有组织地对犹太人实施迫害，进行残酷报复。9 —10 日，纳粹党徒不仅凌辱、 残害犹太人，而且 焚烧犹太会堂，捣毁他们的住宅和商店，造成大量人员伤亡和财产损失。这一事件也标志着纳粹对犹太人有组织的屠杀的开始。
① 在儿童援救和运送工作启动之初，德国铁路当局把这项特殊行动称作 “儿童运输 ” （ Kindertransport ） ，而英国方面也很快接 ， “儿童运输 ” 作为一个历史名词，也由此形成，参见 Vera K. Fast， Children's Exodus： A History of the Kindertransport， 受了这一名称 London： I. B. Tauris，2011 ，p. 21 。这场营救运动实施于 1938 年 11 月到 1939 年 9 月之间。 那些经选送而来、 无成年亲属陪伴的儿童 难民，年龄在 2 个月至 17 岁之间，总数大约为 10 000 名，其中大约 90% 为犹太人，参见 Pamela Shatzkes，Holocaust and Ｒescue： Impotent or Indifferent？ Anglo － Jewry，1938 － 1945 ，New York： Palgrave，2002 ，p. 27 。 ② ③ ： 《 “儿童运输” ： 纳粹促成的一场骨肉大分离运动 》 ，《探索与争鸣》 ，2012 年第 11 期。 王本立 水晶之夜： 又译为帝国水晶之夜 、碎玻璃之夜、帝国的玻璃粉末之夜等，特指 1938 年 11 月 9 —10 日纳粹德国迫害犹太人的
雷曼兄弟破产原因分析
Mar: Bear Stearns
Jun: Met KDB
Sep 10: Barclays
acquired by J P Morgan Apr: 4 b convertible
offered Aug: Met
Sep 25: File for
stock; Stock +18%
MetLife
Chapter 11
LEHMAN BROTHERS
Background
Causes: External Environment
Lessons
Soil: U.S. financial market
Seed: U.S. MBS market
Catalyst: U.S. housing bubble
U.S. subprime mortgage crisis
the biggest and most important external environment
LEHMAN BROTHERS
Background
Causes: External Environment
Lessons
> The Soil: the U.S. financial market
Liberalization
Liberalization of interest rate and businesses Break the boundary between banking and securities industry Mixed operation as a trend
Securitization
> The Seed: the U.S. MBS market
Lessons
考研英语二真题手译【2010-2019】
2010年Text1●The longest bull run in a century of art-market history ended on a dramatic note with asale of56works by Damien Hirst,“Beautiful Inside My Head Forever”,at Sotheby’s in London on September15th2008(see picture).All but two pieces sold,fetching more thanā70m,a record for a sale by a single artist.It was a last hurrah.As the auctioneer called out bids,in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street,Lehman Brothers,filed for bankruptcy.●The world art market had already been losing momentum for a while after risingvertiginously since2003.At its peak in2007it was worth some$65billion,reckons Clare McAndrew,founder of Arts Economics,a research firm—double the figure five years earlier.Since then it may have come down to$50billion.But the market generates interest far beyond its size because it brings together great wealth,enormous egos,greed,passion and controversy in a way matched by few other industries.●In the weeks and months that followed Mr Hirst’s sale,spending of any sort becamedeeply unfashionable,especially in New York,where the bail-out of the banks coincided with the loss of thousands of jobs and the financial demise of many art-buying investors.In the art world that meant collectors stayed away from galleries and salerooms.Sales of contemporary art fell by two-thirds,and in the most overheated sector—for Chinese contemporary art—they were down by nearly90%in the year to November2008.Within weeks the world’s two biggest auction houses,Sotheby’s and Christie’s,had to pay out nearly$200m in guarantees to clients who had placed works for sale with them.●The current downturn in the art market is the worst since the Japanese stopped buyingImpressionists at the end of1989,a move that started the most serious contraction in the market since the second world war.This time experts reckon that prices are about40%down on their peak on average, though some have been far more volatile.But Edward Dolman,Christie’s chief executive,says:“I’m pretty confident we’re at the bottom.”●What makes this slump different from the last,he says,is that there are still buyers in themarket,whereas in the early1990s,when interest rates were high,there was no demand even though many collectors wanted to sell.Christie’s revenues in the first half of2009were still higher than in the first half of 2006.Almost everyone who was interviewed for this special report said that the biggest problem at the moment is not a lack of demand but a lack of good work to sell.The three Ds—death,debt and divorce—still deliver works of art to the market.But anyone who does not have to sell is keeping away,waiting for confidence to return.21.In the first paragraph,Damien Hirst's sale was referred to as“a last victory”because____.A.the art market had witnessed a succession of victoryiesB.the auctioneer finally got the two pieces at the highest bidsC.Beautiful Inside My Head Forever won over all masterpiecesD.it was successfully made just before the world financial crisis22.By saying“spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable”(Line1-2,Para.3),the author suggests that_____.A.collectors were no longer actively involved in art-market auctionsB.people stopped every kind of spending and stayed away from galleriesC.art collection as a fashion had lost its appeal to a great extentD.works of art in general had gone out of fashion so they were not worth buying23.Which of the following statements is NOT ture?A.Sales of contemporary art fell dramatically from2007to2008.B.The art market surpassed many other industries in momentum.C.The market generally went downward in various ways.D.Some art dealers were awaiting better chances to come.24.The three Ds mentioned in the last paragraph are____A.auction houses'favoritesB.contemporary trendsC.factors promoting artwork circulationD.styles representing impressionists25.The most appropriate title for this text could be___A.Fluctuation of Art PricesB.Up-to-date Art AuctionsC.Art Market in DeclineD.Shifted Interest in ArtsText2I was addressing a small gathering in a suburban Virginia living room--a women's groupthat had invited men to join them.Throughout the evening one man had been particularly talkative frequently offering ideas and anecdotes while his wife sat silently beside him on the couch.Toward the end of the evening I commented that women frequently complain that their husbands don't talk to them.This man quickly concurred.He gestured toward his wife and said"She's the talker in our family."The room burst into laughter;the man looked puzzled and hurt."It's true"he explained."When I come home from work I have nothing to say.If she didn't keep the conversation going we'd spend the whole evening in silence."This episode crystallizes the irony that although American men tend to talk more than women in public situations they often talk less at home.And this pattern is wreaking havoc with marriage.●The pattern was observed by political scientist Andrew Hacker in the late'70s.Sociologist Catherine Kohler Riessman reports in her new book"Divorce Talk"that most of the women she interviewed--but only a few of the men--gave lack of communication as the reason for their divorces.Given the current divorce rate of nearly50percent that amounts to millions of cases in the United States every year--a virtual epidemic of failed conversation.●In my own research complaints from women about their husbands most often focusednot on tangible inequities such as having given up the chance for a career to accompany a husband to his or doing far more than their share of daily life-support work like cleaning cooking social arrangements and errands.Instead they focused on communication:"He doesn't listen to me""He doesn't talk to me."I found as Hacker observed years before that most wives want their husbands to be first and foremost conversational partners but few husbands share this expectation of their wives.●In short the image that best represents the current crisis is the stereotypical cartoon sceneof a man sitting at the breakfast table with a newspaper held up in front of his face whilea woman glares at the back of it wanting to talk.26.What is most wives'main expectation of their husbands?A.Talking to them.B.Trusting them.C.Supporting their careers.D.Shsring housework.27.Judging from the context,the phrase“wreaking havoc”(Line3,Para.2)most probably means___.A.generating motivation.B.exerting influenceC.causing damageD.creating pressure28.All of the following are true EXCEPT_______A.men tend to talk more in public tan womenB.nearly50percent of recent divorces are caused by failed conversationC.women attach much importance to communication between couplesD.a female tends to be more talkative at home than her spouse29.Which of the following can best summarize the mian idea of this text?A.The moral decaying deserves more research by sociologists.B.Marriage break_up stems from sex inequalities.C.Husband and wofe have different expectations from their marriage.D.Conversational patterns between man and wife are different.30.In the following part immediately after this text,the author will most probably focus on______A.a vivid account of the new book Divorce TalkB.a detailed description of the stereotypical cartoonC.other possible reasons for a high divorce rate in the U.S.D.a brief introduction to the political scientist Andrew HackerText3Over the past decade,many companies had perfected the art of creating automatic behaviors—habits—among consumers.These habits have helped companies earn billions of dollars when customers eat snacks, apply lotions and wipe counters almost without thinking,often in response to a carefully designed set of daily cues.●“There are fundamental public health problems,like hand washing with soap,thatremain killers only because we can’t figure out how to change people’s habits,”Dr.Curtis said.“We wanted to learn from private industry how to create new behaviors that happen automatically.”●The companies that Dr.Curtis turned to—Procter&Gamble,Colgate-Palmolive andUnilever—had invested hundreds of millions of dollars finding the subtle cues in consumers’lives that corporations could use to introduce new routines.●If you look hard enough,you’ll find that many of the products we use every day—chewing gums,skin moisturizers,disinfecting wipes,air fresheners,water purifiers, health snacks,antiperspirants,colognes,teeth whiteners,fabric softeners,vitamins—are results of manufactured habits.A century ago,few people regularly brushed their teeth multiple times a day.Today,because of canny advertising and public health campaigns,many Americans habitually give their pearly whites a cavity-preventing scrub twice a day,often with Colgate,Crest or one of the other brands.●A few decades ago,many people didn’t drink water outside of a meal.Then beveragecompanies started bottling the production of far-off springs,and now office workers unthinkingly sip bottled water all day long.Chewing gum,once bought primarily by adolescent boys,is now featured in commercials as a breath freshener and teeth cleanser for use after a meal.Skinmoisturizers are advertised as part of morning beauty rituals,slipped in between hair brushing and putting on makeup.●“Our products succeed when they become part of daily or weekly patterns,”said CarolBerning,a consumer psychologist who recently retired from Procter&Gamble,the company that sold$76billion of Tide,Crest and other products last year.“Creating positive habits is a huge part of improving our consumers’lives,and it’s essential to making new products commercially viable.”●Through experiments and observation,social scientists like Dr.Berning have learned thatthere is power in tying certain behaviors to habitual cues through relentless advertising.As this new science of habit has emerged,controversies have erupted when the tactics have been used to sell questionable beauty creams or unhealthy foods.31.According to Dr.Curtis,habits like hand washing with soap________.[A]should be further cultivated[B]should be changed gradually[C]are deepiy rooted in history[D]are basically private concerns32.Bottled water,chewing gun and skin moisturizers are mentioned in Paragraph5so as to____[A]reveal their impact on people’habits[B]show the urgent need of daily necessities[C]indicate their effect on people’buying power[D]manifest the significant role of good habits33.which of the following does NOT belong to products that help create people’s habits?[A]Tide[B]Crest [C]Colgate[D]Unilver34.From the text wekonw that some of consumer’s habits are developed due to_____[A]perfected art of products[B]automatic behavior creation[C]commercial promotions[D]scientific experiments35.the author’sattitude toward the influence of advertisement on people’s habits is____[A]indifferent[B]negative[C]positive[D]biased Text4●Many Americans regard the jury system as a concrete expression of crucial democraticvalues,including the principles that all citizens who meet minimal qualifications of age and literacy are equally competent to serve on juries;that jurors should be selected randomly from a representative cross section of the community;that no citizen should be denied the right to serve on a jury on account of race,religion,sex,or national origin;that defendants are entitled to trial by their peers;and that verdicts should represent the conscience of the community and not just the letter of the law.The jury is also said to be the best surviving example of direct rather than representative democracy.In a direct democracy,citizens take turns governing themselves,rather than electing representatives to govern for them.●But as recently as in1986,jury selection procedures conflicted with these democraticideals.In some states,for example,jury duty was limited to persons of supposedly superior intelligence,education,and moral character.Although the Supreme Court of the United States had prohibited intentional racial discrimination in jury selection as early as the1880case of strauder v.West Virginia,the practice of selecting so-called elite or blue-ribbon juries provided a convenient way around this and other antidiscrimination laws.●The system also failed to regularly include women on juries until the mid-20th century.Although women first served on state juries in Utah in1898,it was not until the1940s that a majority of states made women eligible for jury duty.Even then several states automatically exempted women from jury duty unless they personlly asked to have their names included on the jury list.This practice was justified by the claim that women were needed at home,and it kept juries unrepresentative of women through the1960s.●In1968,the Congress of the United States passed the Jury Selection and Service Act,ushering in a new era of democratic reforms for the jury.This law abolished special educational requirements for federal jurors and required them to be selected at random from a cross section of the entire community.In the landmark1975decision Taylor v.Louisiana,the Supreme Court extended the requirement that juries be representative of all parts of the community to the state level.The Taylor decision also declared sex discrimination in jury selection to be unconstitutional and ordered states to use the same procedures for selecting male and female jurors.36.From the principles of theUS jury system,welearn that______[A]both litcrate and illiterate people can serve on juries[B]defendants are immune from trial by their peers[C]no age limit should be imposed for jury service[D]judgment should consider the opinion of the public37.The practice of selecting so—called elite jurors prior to1968showed_____[A]the inadcquavy of antidiscrimination laws[B]the prevalent discrimination against certain races[C]the conflicting ideals in jury selection procedures38.Even in the1960s,women were seldom on the jury list in some states because_____[A]they were automatically banned by state laws[B]they fell far short of the required qualifications[C]they were supposed to perform domestic duties[D]they tended to evade public engagement39.After the Jury Selection and Service Act was passed.___[A]sex discrimination in jury selection was unconstitutional and had to be abolished[B]educational requirements became less rigid in the selection of federal jurors[C]jurors at the state level ought to be representative of the entire community[D]states ought to conform to the federal court in reforming the jury system40.in discussing the US jury system,the text centers on_______[A]its nature and problems[B]its characteristics and tradition[C]its problems and their solutions[D]its tradition and development2011年Text1●Ruth Simmons joined Goldman Sachs's board as an outside director in January2000：ayear later she became president of Brown University.For the rest of the decade she apparently managed both roles without attracting much eroticism.But by the end of2009Ms.Simmons was under fire for having sat on Goldman's compensation committee；how could she have let those enormous bonus payouts pass unremarked？By February the next year Ms.Simmons had left the board.The position was just taking up too much time，she said.●Outside directors are supposed to serve as helpful，yet less biased，advisers on a firm'sboard.Having made their wealth and their reputations elsewhere，they presumably have enough independence to disagree with the chief executive's proposals.If the sky，and the share price is falling，outside directors should be able to give advice based on havingweathered their own crises.●The researchers from Ohio University used a database hat covered more than10，000firms and more than64，000different directors between1989and2004.Then they simply checked which directors stayed from one proxy statement to the next.The most likely reason for departing a board was age，so the researchers concentrated on those"surprise"disappearances by directors under the age of70.They fount that after a surprise departure，the probability that the company will subsequently have to restate earnings increased by nearly20%.The likelihood of being named in a federal class-action lawsuit also increases，and the stock is likely to perform worse.The effect tended to be larger for larger firms.Although a correlation between them leaving and subsequent bad performance at the firm is suggestive，it does not mean that such directors are always jumping off a sinking ship.Often they"trade up."Leaving riskier，smaller firms for larger and more stable firms.●But the researchers believe that outside directors have an easier time of avoiding a blowto their reputations if they leave a firm before bad news breaks，even if a review of history shows they were on the board at the time any wrongdoing occurred.Firms who want to keep their outside directors through tough times may have to create incentives.Otherwise outside directors will follow the example of Ms.Simmons，once again very popular on campus.21.According to Paragraph1，Ms.Simmons was criticized for.[A]gaining excessive profits[B]failing to fulfill her duty[C]refusing to make compromises[D]leaving the board in tough times22.We learn from Paragraph2that outside directors are supposed to be.[A]generous investors[B]unbiased executives[C]share price forecasters[D]independent advisers23.According to the researchers from Ohio University after an outside director's surprise departure，the firm is likely to.[A]become more stable[B]report increased earnings[C]do less well in the stock market[D]perform worse in lawsuits24.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that outside directors.[A]may stay for the attractive offers from the firm[B]have often had records of wrongdoings in the firm[C]are accustomed to stress-free work in the firm[D]will decline incentives from the firm25.The author's attitude toward the role of outside directors is.[A]permissive[B]positive[C]scornful[D]criticalText2Whatever happened to the death of newspaper?A year ago the end seemed near.The recession threatened to remove the advertising and readers that had not already fled to the internet.Newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle were chronicling their own doom.America's Federal Trade commission launched a round of talks about how to save newspapers.Should they become charitable corporations？Should the state subsidize them?It will hold another meeting soon.But the discussions now seem out of date.●In much of the world there is the sign of crisis.German and Brazilian papers haveshrugged off the recession.Even American newspapers，which inhabit the most troubled come of the global industry，have not only survived but often returned to profit.Not the20%profit margins that were routine a few years ago，but profit all the same.●It has not been much fun.Many papers stayed afloat by pushing journalists overboard.The American Society of News Editors reckons that13，500newsroom jobs have gone since2007.Readers are paying more for slimmer products.Some papers even had the nerve to refuse delivery to distant suburbs.Yet these desperate measures have proved the right ones and，sadly for many journalists，they can be pushed further.●Newspapers are becoming more balanced businesses，with a healthier mix of revenuesfrom readers and advertisers.American papers have long been highly unusual in their reliance on ads.Fully87%of their revenues came from advertising in2008，according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation&Development(OECD).In Japan the proportion is35%.Not surprisingly，Japanese newspapers are much more stable.●The whirlwind that swept through newsrooms harmed everybody，but much of thedamage has been concentrated in areas where newspaper are least distinctive.Car and film reviewers have gone.So have science and general business reporters.Foreign bureaus have been savagely cut off.Newspapers are less complete as a result.But completeness is no longer a virtue in the newspaper business.26.By saying"Newspapers like…their own doom"(Lines3-4，Para.1)，the author indicates that newspaper.[A]neglected the sign of crisis[B]failed to get state subsidies[C]were not charitable corporations[D]were in a desperate situation27.Some newspapers refused delivery to distant suburbs probably because.[A]readers threatened to pay less[B]newspapers wanted to reduce costs[C]journalists reported little about these areas[D]subscribers complained about slimmer productspared with their American counterparts，Japanese newspapers are much more stable because they.[A]have more sources of revenue[B]have more balanced newsrooms[C]are less dependent on advertising[D]are less affected by readership29.What can be inferred from the last paragraph about the current newspaper business？[A]Distinctiveness is an essential feature of newspapers.[B]Completeness is to blame for the failure of newspaper.[C]Foreign bureaus play a crucial role in the newspaper business.[D]Readers have lost their interest in car and film reviews.30.The most appropriate title for this text would be.[A]American Newspapers：Struggling for Survival[B]American Newspapers：Gone with the Wind[C]American Newspapers：A Thriving Business[D]American Newspapers：A Hopeless StoryText3●We tend to think of the decades immediately following World War II as a time ofprosperity and growth，with soldiers returning home by the millions，going off to collegeon the G.I.Bill and lining up at the marriage bureaus.●But when it came to their houses，it was a time of common sense and a belief that lesscould truly be more.During the Depression and the war，Americans had learned to live with less，and that restraint，in combination with the postwar confidence in the future，made small，efficient housing positively stylish.●Economic condition was only a stimulus for the trend toward efficient living.The phrase"less is more"was actually first popularized by a German，the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe，who like other people associated with the Bauhaus，a school of design，emigrated to the United States before World War II and took up posts at American architecture schools.These designers came to exert enormous influence on the course of American architecture，but none more so that Mies.●Mies's signature phrase means that less decoration，properly organized，has more impactthat a lot.Elegance，he believed，did not derive from abundance.Like other modern architects，he employed metal，glass and laminated wood-materials that we take for granted today buy that in the1940s symbolized the future.Mies's sophisticated presentation masked the fact that the spaces he designed were small and efficient，rather than big and often empty.●The apartments in the elegant towers Mies built on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive，forexample，were smaller-two-bedroom units under1，000square feet-than those in theirolder neighbors along the city's Gold Coast.But they were popular because of their airy glass walls，the views they afforded and the elegance of the buildings'details and proportions，the architectural equivalent of the abstract art so popular at the time.●The trend toward"less"was not entirely foreign.In the1930s Frank Lloyd Wright startedbuilding more modest and efficient houses-usually around1，200square feet-than the spreading two-story ones he had designed in the1890s and the early20th century.●The"Case Study Houses"commissioned from talented modern architects by CaliforniaArts&Architecture magazine between1945and1962were yet another homegrown influence on the"less is more"trend.Aesthetic effect came from the landscape，new materials and forthright detailing.In his Case Study House，Ralph everyday life-few American families acquired helicopters，though most eventually got clothes dryers-but his belief that self-sufficiency was both desirable and inevitable was widely shared.31.The postwar American housing style largely reflected the Americans'.[A]prosperity and growth[B]efficiency and practicality[C]restraint and confidence[D]pride and faithfulness32.Which of the following can be inferred from Paragraph3about Bauhaus？[A]It was founded by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.[B]Its designing concept was affected by World War II.[C]Most American architects used to be associated with it.[D]It had a great influence upon American architecture.33.Mies held that elegance of architectural design.[A]was related to large space[B]was identified with emptiness[C]was not reliant on abundant decoration[D]was not associated with efficiency34.What is true about the apartments Mies building Chicago's Lake Shore Drive？[A]They ignored details and proportions.[B]They were built with materials popular at that time.[C]They were more spacious than neighboring buildings.[D]They shared some characteristics of abstract art.35.What can we learn about the design of the"Case Study House"？[A]Mechanical devices were widely used.[B]Natural scenes were taken into consideration[C]Details were sacrificed for the overall effect.[D]Eco-friendly materials were employed.Text4●Will the European Union make it?The question would have sounded strange not longago.Now even the project's greatest cheerleaders talk of a continent facing a"Bermuda triangle"of debt，population decline and lower growth.●As well as those chronic problems，the EU face an acute crisis in its economic core，the16countries that use the single currency.Markets have lost faith that the euro zone's economies，weaker or stronger，will one day converge thanks to the discipline of sharing a single currency，which denies uncompetitive members the quick fix of devaluation.●Yet the debate about how to save Europe's single currency from disintegration is stuck.It is stuck because the euro zone's dominant powers，France and Germany，agree on the need for greater harmonization within the euro zone，but disagree about what to harmonies.●Germany thinks the euro must be saved by stricter rules on borrow spending andcompetitiveness，barked by quasi-automatic sanctions for governments that do not obey.These might include threats to freeze EU funds for poorer regions and EU mega-projects and even the suspension of a country's voting rights in EU ministerial councils.It insists that economic co-ordination should involve all27members of the EU club，among whom there is a small majority for free-market liberalism and economic rigour；in the inner core alone，Germany fears，a small majority favour French interference.●A"southern"camp headed by French wants something different："European economicgovernment"within an inner core of euro-zone members.Translated，that means politicians intervening in monetary policy and a system of redistribution from richer to poorer members，via cheaper borrowing for governments through common Eurobonds or complete fiscal transfers.Finally，figures close to the France government have murmured，curo-zone members should agree to some fiscal and social harmonization：e.g.，curbing competition in corporate-tax rates or labour costs.●It is too soon to write off the EU.It remains the world's largest trading block.At its best，the European project is remarkably liberal：built around a single market of27rich and poor countries，its internal borders are far more open to goods，capital and labour than any comparable trading area.。
自考英语二（新版）原文Unit1ThePowerofLanguage
⾃考英语⼆（新版）原⽂Unit1ThePowerofLanguageUnit 1 The Power of Language学习⽅法指南五个⽅⾯把握⽂章1）词2）句3）篇4）义5）背诵或复述重点段落（当天重复，第⼆天再重复，七天后再重复）课后习题1）结合课⽂⾥出现的要点，完成题⽬2）标记不熟练的题⽬，当天重复⼀遍，第⼆天再重复⼀遍，考前再重复⼀遍Unit 1 The Power of LanguageA FAMOUS QUOTELanguage is the dress of thought.--Samuel Johnson语⾔是思维的外⾐。
--塞缪尔·约翰逊Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)，British man of letters, one of the most outstanding figures of the 18th century in England. He made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. Johnson has been described as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history"Text A Critical ReadingPre-reading questions 读前问题：1. Do you usually challenge the idea an author represents? What do you think is active reading?通常情况下，你是否会反对作者提出的观点？你认为什么是积极阅读？2. What suggestions do you expect the author will give on reading critically?你希望作者就批判性阅读提出什么样的建议呢？Vocabulary 词汇四点要求 1.⾳ 2.义 3.衍⽣变化 4.⽤法/搭配New Wordscritical adj. 有判断⼒的；判断公正（或审慎的）；批判的non-fiction n.纪实⽂学position n. 观点；态度；⽴场statement n.说明；说法；表态question v.表⽰疑问；怀疑evaluate vt.估计；评价，评估context n. （事情发⽣的）背景，环境，来龙去脉value n.是⾮标准；价值观represent v.描述；表现assertion n.明确肯定；断⾔sufficient adj.⾜够的；充⾜的statistic n.统计数字；统计资料integrate v.（使）合并，成为⼀体authority n. 专家；学术权威；泰⽃compare v.⽐较；对⽐subject n.主题；题⽬；题材consistent adj. 相符的；符合的（consistency）inconsistency n.不⼀致assumption n.假定；假设case n. 具体情况；事例directly adv. 直接地；径直地identify v. 找到；发现valid adj. 符合逻辑的；合理的；确凿的credible adj. 可信的；可靠的landmark n.（标志重要阶段的）⾥程碑；地标relevant adj.紧密相关的；切题的current adj. 现时发⽣的；当前的appropriate adj.合适的；恰当的bias n.偏见；偏⼼；偏向considerably adv. ⾮常；很；相当多地Democrat n.（美国）民主党党员，民主党⽀持者Republican n.（美国）共和党党员，共和党⽀持者reflect v.显⽰；表明；表达informed adj.有学问的；有见识的Phrases and Expressionsapply to使⽤；适⽤于put forth 提出；产⽣take sth into account 考虑；顾及accept/take sth at face value 相信表⾯；信以为真with a grain of salt 有保留地；持怀疑态度地重点词汇critical adj. 有判断⼒的；判断公正（或审慎的）eg: Try to develop a more critical attitude, instead of accepting everything at face value. 要学会对⼀切事物⼀丝不苟, ⽽不要注重表⾯现象.其他⽤法：危机中的；危急时刻的；决定性的；关键的eg: We are at a critical time in our history.我们正处于历史的紧要关头。
夹缝中的生存——浅析近代德国的“市民阶层”
夹缝中的生存——浅析近代德国的“市民阶层”作者：王艳霞来源：《赤峰学院学报·哲学社会科学版》 2014年第6期王艳霞（合肥学院国际教育学院，安徽合肥 230601）摘要：由于德国历史中长期的小国割据状态导致“市民阶层”出现较晚，发展迟缓。
在这种历史环境中德国“市民”阶层形成了多重性和矛盾性的特点。
关键词：德国；近代；市民阶层；发展历程中图分类号：K516文献标识码：A文章编号：1673-2596（2014）06-0048-02在欧洲近代历史中，市民阶层是一个不能被忽视的阶层，同样在近代德国历史中我们也经常能够看到市民的身影，无论是在启蒙时期带来理性光芒的市民，还是在18、19世纪时积极争取民族统一的市民，抑或是二战期间成为希特勒忠实追随者的市民。
①市民阶层始终是德国的一股重要力量，但是由于其从产生以来就生存在复杂艰苦的环境中，最终形成了性格方面的多重性和矛盾性，这也构成了整个德意志民族的特点。
德语中市民这个词为Bürger，它有两种意义，一种是法律概念上的国家公民，一种为城市居民。
第一种意义是今天这个词的普遍的意义，第二种意义是属于一个历史概念，因为市民这个阶层是指封建生产关系中不同于农民、贵族和教会的有一定财产的城市居民。
随着19世纪以来德国的现代化发展，封建社会的因素逐渐被逐出历史舞台，市民阶层也就渐渐的不再被提及，但是它构成了现代社会中的最广泛的公民基础。
所以分析市民阶层的历史以及在此过程中形成的市民性格的特征对理解今天的德国社会和德意志民族的性格有很重要的意义。
另外需要指出的是市民阶级同资产阶级两个概念的关系，市民阶层是相对于封建关系中的贵族和教会而言的，而资产阶级是相对于无产阶级来说的，市民阶层可以说是资产阶级在封建生产关系中的萌芽或者前身，由于在德国资本主义的生产方式到了19世纪后期逐步的占了统治地位，而且是在同封建生产关系的妥协和斗争中发展的，所以市民阶层这个概念可以用到19世纪。
Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers
Causes
Subprime mortgage crisis Lehman's own reasons
Subprime mortgage crisis次级抵押 贷款危机
2008.9.9 Lehman's shares plunged 45% and the state-run South Korean firm had put talks on hold .
2008.9.10 Lehman announced a loss of $3.9 billion and their intent to sell off a majority stake
2008.9.13 Lehman reported that it had been in talks with Bank of America and Barclays for the company's possible sale.
2008.9.14 Barclays had ended its bid to purchase all or part of Lehman and Bank of America's rumored involvement also appeared to end .
The subprime problem turned into a credit crisiorrowed significant amounts to fund its investing
A significant portion of this investing was in housing-related assets, making it vulnerable to a downturn in that market.
2021年考研英语二阅读及新题型答案解析
2021年考研英语二阅读及新题型答案解析21. In the first paragraph, Damien Hirst's sale was referred to as “alast victory” because ____-。
A. the art market had witnessed a succession of victoriesB. the auctioneer finally got the two pieces at the highest bidsC. Beautiful inside My Head Forever won over all masterpiecesD. it was successfully made just before the world financial crisis33623037 选【D】，因为第一段段尾句As the auctioneer called out bids, in New York one of the oldest banks on Wall Street, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy. 即雷曼兄弟公司破产。
正门对面22. By saying “spending of any sort became deeply unfashionable”(Line 1-2,Para.3)，the author suggests that_____ 。
A. collectors were no longer actively involved in art-market auctions kaoyantjB. people stopped every kind of spending and stayed away from galleries kaoyantjC. art collection as a fashion had lost its appeal to a great extent业D. works of art in general had gone out of fashion so they were not worth buying业选【A】，本题迷惑选项为C，文章第三段只强调了 collectors stayed away；Sales fell，并没有强调“收藏时尚早在这之前就已经大大降温了”。
银行制度缺失案例
银行制度缺失案例1. Lehman Brothers collapse: In 2008, Lehman Brothers, one of the largest investment banks in the United States, filed for bankruptcy, causing a global financial crisis. The bank's collapse highlighted the lack of regulations and oversight on risk-taking activities by financial institutions. It revealed deficiencies in risk management practices, insufficient capital requirements, and inadequate supervision by regulatory authorities.2. Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal: In 2016, Wells Fargo was caught creating millions of unauthorized customer accounts to meet sales targets. This scandal shed light on the lack of adequate internal controls and oversight within the bank. It exposed the absence of proper checks and balances to prevent fraudulent activities and misconduct by employees.3. LIBOR manipulation scandal: Several major banks, including Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and UBS, were involved in manipulating the LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) benchmark interest rate. This scandal revealed the absence of proper regulations and transparent mechanisms to prevent manipulation of key financial rates. It exposed the lack of oversight and accountability in the banking system.4. Subprime mortgage crisis: The 2008 global financial crisis was triggered by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the United States. Banks, such as Countrywide Financial and Bear Stearns, were involved in issuing risky mortgage loans without proper assessment of borrowers' ability to repay. This crisis exposed the absence of effective regulations and oversight on themortgage lending industry, leading to a systemic failure.5. Wells Fargo auto insurance scandal: In 2017, it was revealed that Wells Fargo had forced unnecessary auto insurance on thousands of customers, leading to wrongful repossessions and financial hardships. This scandal highlighted the lack of proper controls and transparency within the bank's auto lending practices. It exposed the deficiencies in consumer protection regulations and inadequate supervision by regulatory authorities.。
10本适合学英语的原版书，好看又简单~
【导语】对于那些暑假忙着实习或没机会出国提升*的宝宝们来说，推荐的书可以让你们⼀饱眼福，起码看完之后不出国门也能给⼩伙伴们谈谈外⾯的世界，当然都是不难的书，通俗易懂；看完宝宝们还顺便可以把六级过了~1. Bucky F*cking DentSet in 1970s New York amid one of baseball’s most famous pennant races, the “X-Files” star’s second novel traces a rite of passage: a son coming to grips with a distant father who has only a few months to live.⼩说故事背景设在上个世纪70年代的纽约，正值*负盛名的棒球锦标赛。
“X档案”出来的明星所著第⼆本书，故事记录着某种洗礼：⼉⼦努⼒⾛进仅有⼏个⽉⽣命⽗亲的内⼼。
这是因“X档案”成名的⼤卫·杜楚尼的第⼆本⼩说。
什么？你们不知道⼤卫·杜楚尼是谁？好吧，我被打败了。
他93年凭借热门剧集《X档案》中聪明、勇敢、执著的FBI探员福克斯·穆德⼀⾓⽽成为家喻户晓的电影明星。
在美国明星转型当⼩说家很普遍，没什么⼤惊⼩怪的。
这本⼩说⼤受欢迎，背景设在20世纪70年代的纽约，围绕着其中⼀个家喻户晓的棒球锦标赛展开的故事，故事⾥⼉⼦和⽗亲的关系并不好，⽽当⼉⼦得知⽗亲只有⼏个⽉⽣命时，便努⼒与⽗亲同呼吸共命运。
⼉⼦和⽗亲都经历了⼀次洗礼，特别是对于⼉⼦⽽⾔，这是⼀次永⽣难忘的精神⾜迹。
推荐理由：明星出书不奇怪，不过这是他第⼆本书了~语⾔朴实⽆华，也不失幽默风趣，⽗⼦情深让⼈感动适合⼈群：英语六级⽔平以上2. The Caped CrusadeHow does one comic-book character remain so consistently intriguing to so many people over eight decades? A look at the history of Batman.⼀本漫画书⾥的⾓⾊如何经久不衰，80余年了还那么吸引⼤众眼球？⼀本有关蝙蝠侠历史的书。
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2008.9.14 Barclays had ended its bid to purchase all or part of Lehman and Bank of America's rumored involvement also appeared to end .
Lehman Brothers investment bank , its leverage ratio generally much higher than other banks. Therefore, when the market fell sharply and decreased its mobility, their losses will be relatively greater.
2008.9.15 Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Causes
Subprime mortgage crisis Lehman's own reasons
Subprime mortgage crisis次级抵押 贷款危机
due to the erosion of capital ,Many financial institutions, including Lehman brothers, facing the dilemma of liquidation.
They faced financial crisis or government takeover, or acquisition or at the end of bankruptcy .
Founder(s) Lehman,
Henry ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱehman, Emanuel Mayer Lehman
Defunct New York City, New York, U.S. (2008)
Products Financial Services ,Investment
The Main Process of the Bankruptcy
The subprime problem turned into a credit crisis.
Leveraging（杠杆作用/举债经营）
Lehman borrowed significant amounts to fund its investing
A significant portion of this investing was in housing-related assets, making it vulnerable to a downturn in that market.
2.Malfeasance(渎职)
Lehman executives regularly used cosmetic accounting gimmicks（表面账目噱 头） at the end of each quarter to make its finances appear less shaky than they really were.
Lehman's own reason
• 1.They went into unfamiliar business, growing so fast and the business is too concentrated.
➢ They focused on the traditional investment banking business in a very long period of time .
➢ After 2000, the real estate and credit these unconventional business boomed, Lehman brothers and other Wall Street Banks, began to get involved in such business.
Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers
Introductions of Lehman Brothers
The fourth-largest investment bank in the US
Fate
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Founded (1850)
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
2007.9 Subprime mortgage crisis began to spread
2008.6 Lehman reported losses of $2.8 billion and was forced to sell off $6 billion in assets
2008.8 shares in Lehman closed up 5% and the state-controlled Korea Development Bank was considering buying Lehman.
2008.9.9 Lehman's shares plunged 45% and the state-run South Korean firm had put talks on hold .
2008.9.10 Lehman announced a loss of $3.9 billion and their intent to sell off a majority stake
This practice was a type of repurchase agreement that temporarily removed securities from the company's balance sheet.