2. A 细节题。根据文章第一段第二句，“从大公司收购到普通人购买房屋等各种事情都变得更加困难”，答案显而易见。B选项的错误原因在于文章第二段和最后一段指出，世界各个股票市场的下跌幅度和损失是不同的。C选项的错误原因在于在昨日股票大幅下跌之前，投资者们并没有意识到风险的严重性，这在第二段中有所反映。D选项的错误原因在于文章最后一段指出，亚洲股市也开始下滑。

3. C 细节题。根据文章第五段倒数第三句，“在昨日收盘前一小时左右的时间里，华尔街的各种主要指数在一天的狂跌之后又上涨了约三分之一的幅度”，所以在最后一两个小时内进行买卖的投资者有可能会获利。

4. D 推理题。根据文章第四段第一、二句话谈到借钱不顺利，银行不愿意贷款等情况，因此导致了克莱斯勒收购案进展受到了一定的阻碍。这一消息影响到了公司的股价，紧接着第三句话就谈到了戴姆勒-克莱斯勒股票价格的下跌。可见两者之间是有因果联系的。A选项的错误原因在于该交易目前还在进行中，并没有失败。B选项的错误原因在于文中并没有指出两个收购案性质完全相同。C选项的错误原因在于该表述没有正确地传达比尔·格罗斯的意思。

5. B 情感态度题。作者的态度可以通过材料的选择和措辞来判断。纵观全文，作者基本上都在描述事实和引用各种数据、言论，并没有发表自己的看法。可见，作者对于股市现状的态度是非常客观的。





参考译文


华尔街以及世界许多地区的股票价格昨日都经历了大幅下跌。急剧下跌的主要原因在于公众对美国经济发展速度放慢的忧虑，以及恶化的信贷状况，因而导致从大公司收购到普通人购买房屋等各种事情都变得更加困难。几个主要的股市指标——包括道·琼斯工业平均价格指数和标准普尔500种股份指数——都下挫了两个百分点以上。

自二月底上海投资危机导致全球股市下跌以来，这是华尔街经历过的一天内最大幅度的下跌，而现在正是纽约证券交易所五年来交易规模最大的时候。欧洲股市也遭遇了相当规模的损失，而许多发展中国家股市的损失则更为严重。穆迪经济网首席经济学家马克·赞第说，股市震荡的预警早已出现。直到不久前，许多投资者仍然对风险视若无睹。

最近几周股市一直跌宕起伏。亚洲许多公司持续的高盈利报告和经济的迅速发展推动了油价的进一步上涨。但与此同时，已有各种信号显示出美国经济的疲软、很多房屋购买者面临的新的信贷困难以及许多公司举债经营或者拥有不良的信用记录。

股市大跌的前一日，从戴姆勒-克莱斯勒购买克莱斯勒企业债的这家私有证券公司声称，尽管现在从信贷市场借钱的进程不像原计划那么顺利，但其仍将与这家汽车制造公司完成这笔交易。许多银行都不愿意发放贷款，就像他们也不愿意为一桩涉及英国医药经销连锁商联合博姿公司的交易放款一样。戴姆勒-克莱斯勒的股票价格下跌4.11美元，收盘为88.91美元。“这是一种恐慌，但不是对于经济衰退的恐慌。”太平洋投资管理公司（即Pimco 公司，一家大型债券管理公司）首席投资官比尔·格罗斯说道，“恐慌来源于人们质疑谁会愿意为这个先前宣称的私募基金交易提供2000亿美元的资产外带。”

昨日，道·琼斯工业指数狂泻311.50点，收盘于13,473.57点，下跌了2.3%，而标准普尔下跌了35.43点，收盘于1,482.66点，跌幅为2.3%。纳斯达克综合指数下跌了48.83点，收盘于2,599.34点，跌幅为1.8%。标准普尔全年仍上升了4.5个百分点，道·琼斯工业指数则高出8.1个百分点。但是自从上周创造新纪录以后，标准普尔下降了4.5个百分点。在昨日收盘前一小时左右的时间里，华尔街的各种主要指数在一天的狂跌之后又上涨了约三分之一的幅度。西班牙、法国、德国的股市损失超过了两个百分点，而英国、阿根廷、墨西哥和巴西的股市则下降了三个百分点以上。亚洲市场昨日并没有经历严重的下跌，在最差交易开始前就已收盘，但周五开盘时急剧下滑。





Unit 7


High-frequency trading firms——the lightning-quick, computerized companies that have risen in the last decade to dominate the nation's stock market——are now struggling to hold onto their gains.

Profits from high-speed trading in American stocks are on track to be, at most, $1.25 billion this year, down 35 percent from last year and 74 percent lower than the peak of about $4.9 billion in 2009, according to estimates from the brokerage firm Rosenblatt Securities. By comparison, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase each earned more in the last quarter than the high-speed trading industry will earn this year.

While no official data is kept on employment at the high-speed firms, interviews with more than a dozen industry participants suggest that firms large and small have been cutting staff, and in some cases have shut down. The firms also are accounting for a declining percentage of a shrinking pool of stock trading, from 61 percent three years ago to 51 percent now, according to the Tabb Group, a data firm.

It is a swift reversal for trading firms that have often looked to other investors like profit machines, thanks to high-powered software and superfast data connections that can take advantage of small changes in the price of a stock.

High-speed trading is far from disappearing from the market, but the struggles facing these firms have been greeted with enthusiasm by some traditional traders and investors who have viewed the firms as formidable adversaries, or worse, market manipulators that create sudden spikes and drops in share prices. Peter Costa, a longtime trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, said the fading presence of the firms could “restore some order to stock markets.”

Regulators are still grappling with whether the rise of high-speed firms has been a net benefit or loss for investors, so it is hard to pinpoint what effect the decline of these firms will have on the markets. Many market experts have argued that the technical glitches that have recently hit the market have been a result of a broader trend of the market splintering into dozens of automated trading services and a lack of human oversight.

注（1）：本文选自The New York Times；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2010年真题Text 1。

1. It is indicated in Paragraphs 1 and 2 that______.

A) high-frequency trading firms are still dominating the nation's stock market

B) high-frequency firms have lost a lot of money

C) the profits from high-speed trading are declining compared to last year

D) by comparison, high-speed trading companies make more money than others

2. The decline of high-frequency trading firms is characterized by______.

A) struggling to make profits

B) the shrink of stock trading market

C) the reduction of profits and employee numbers

D) the domination of the nation's stock market

3. The phrase “a swift reversal”（Line 1, Paragraph 4) most probably refers to______.

A) possession of high-powered software and superfast data connections

B) new investors like profit machines

C) taking in charge of the price of a stock

D) that trading firms are not making huge profits as before

4. Which of the following would Peter Costa most probably agree on？

A) High-speed trading firms should better disappear from the market.

B) Some traditional traders and investors are afraid of that disappearance.

C) Some traditional traders and investors are formidable adversaries.

D) High-speed trading firms would face the struggle with enthusiasm.

5. What can be learned about the high-speed firms according to the last paragraph?

A) Regulators think the prospect of these firms is promising.

B) There is no assertion about the influence of these firms.

C) The technical glitches are caused by these firms.

D) These firms have splintered into dozens of automated trading services.





篇章剖析


本文主要讲述了高频交易公司开始走下坡路的态势。第一段简单介绍了高频交易公司的性质及颓势；第二、三段引用数据具体例证交易公司利润的下滑及裁员、倒闭等情况；第四、五段介绍了高频交易公司走下坡路对其他投资者来说是好事；最后一段则指出调控者对高频交易公司带来的影响并不确定，专家指出了市场出现问题的原因。





词汇注释


brokerage /ˈbrəʊkərɪdʒ/ n. 代理公司；代理人；经纪人；佣金；回扣

reversal /rɪˈvɜːsl/ n. 逆转

formidable /ˈfɔːmɪdəbl/ adj. 强大的；可怕的

adversary /ˈædvəsəri/ n. 对手；敌手

manipulator /məˈnɪpjʊleɪtə(r)/ n. 操作者；操纵器

spike /spaɪk/ n. （价格、数量的）突然上升；长钉，道钉；钉鞋

grapple /ˈɡræpl/ v. 努力解决；抓住；与…格斗

pinpoint /ˈpɪnpɔɪnt/ v. 确定；准确描述

glitch /glɪtʃ/ n. 小问题；小故障；失灵

splinter /ˈsplɪntə(r)/ v. 分裂；裂成碎片

oversight /ˈəʊvəsaɪt/ n. 监督，照管；疏忽





难句突破


It is a swift reversal for trading firms that have often looked to other investors like profit machines, thanks to high-powered software and superfast data connections that can take advantage of small changes in the price of a stock.

主体句式：It is a swift reversal for trading firms…, thanks to…

结构分析：该句结构较复杂，修饰成分较多，容易引起混淆。主句中的that定语从句用来修饰trading firms，分句中的that定语从句修饰high-powered software and superfast data connections。而整个分句作主句的原因状语，可理解为“由于…；幸亏…”。

句子译文：由于高性能的软件和速度超快的数据连接可以利用股票价格上的微妙变化，交易公司不再是其他投资者眼中的赚钱机器，这是一个极大的转变。





题目分析


1. C 细节题。第一、二段指出高频交易公司由鼎盛开始走下坡路，并且利润值也在下降。A、D两项与文意不符，故排除。高频交易公司虽然利润下降，但并未亏损很多，B项也不正确。只有C选项说法正确。