考研英语时文天天读

考研英语时文天天读考研英语基础复习之通过时文泛读记单词、练翻译每日一篇Text 01Japanese GDP figures raise hope of recoveryBy Barney Jopson in TokyoPublished: February 1820042:07 I Last Updated: February 18200419:57The Japanese economy grew in the past quarter at its fastest rate since the 1980s asset bubble began to subside, raisinghopes that the country is on the way to putting more than a decade of stagnation behind it.Japan*s gross domestic product expanded at an annualised 7 per cent in the three months to December, with fresh data onWednesday showing the recovery has broader foundations than export growth. The impressive rate of expansion surpassed USgrowth of 4 per cent in the same period, and prompted the Bank of Japans deputy governor to say this year could mark aturning point in the battle against deflation, which has dogged the economy since the late 1990s.In the past six months, positive economic figures have helped build confidence in the possibility of a sustainable recovery.Corporate bankruptcies fell last year for the first time in four years; unemployment is at a two-and-a-half year low; banksare bringing their bad loans under control and consumer prices rose late last year for the first time since 1998, albeit forone-off reasons.GDP is very strong/* said Masaaki Kanno, economist at JP Morgan Chase in Tokyo,and reflects the recovery of the globaleconomy and the strength of exports. Sales of digital cameras to the US and industrial equipment to China are booming, butequally important is that the effects have begun to filter through to the domestic economy, with companies increasing theircapital spending to upgrade production capacity.Wednesdays data showed long-awaited signs of a revival in private consumption, with stable wages, rising bonuses and fallingunemployment making consumers more confident. But Mr Kanno said the past quarters rate of expansion was not sustainable,adding that Japans annual trend growth was 3 per cent.Growth for the 2003 calendar year was 2.7 per cent. Kazumasa Iwata, Bank of Japan deputy governor, said that if GDP continuedto rise at that pace Japan could begin to conquer deflation this year.“It is possible for Japan to overcome deflation if itcan post a growth rate of 2-3 per cent for the second consecutive year,1 he said. Falling prices have hobbled the economy bycrimping corporate sales and increasing debt burdens.For the quarter, real GDP grew at a better-than-expected 1.7 per cent, the highest rate since April-June 1990. Nominalgrowth, which is not adjusted for price changes, rose 0.7 per cent.In real terms exports were up 4.2 per cent while business investment jumped 5.1 per cent. Household spending also grew.But Kiichi Murashima, economist at Nikko Citigroup, warned of factors that could slow the economy. Export momentum hadprobably peaked in the past quarter, he said, and planned increases in social security contributions could again deterconsumer spending. In addition,yen appreciation plus high commodity prices are starting to affect corporate profits andindustrial production.The strengthening of the yen against the dollar has threatened Japanese exporters, prompting the government to spend 27,000bn ($253bn) on currency intervention since the start of last year.日本GDP增速创1990年以来新高巴尼乔普森(Barney Jopson)东京报道2004年2月19日星期四出版按年率计算，日本去年第四季度的经济增长达到7%,超过了市场预期，创下1990年以来最快的经济增氏率。周三早上发布的日本国内生产总值数据超过了美国同期4%的增速，表明日本的周期性经济复苏明显加速。第四季度日本经济增长1.7%,出口和企业投资继续扮演增长主要动力的角色。“这一数据非常强劲，反映出全球经济的复苏和出口的活力，”摩根大通(JP Morgan Chase)驻东京经济学家菅野雅明(Masaaki Kanno)说。海外出货量上涨4.2%,这要归功于美国对日本电子产品和汽车、中国对日本机械、元件和钢铁的强大需求。企业投资指标攀高5.1%,原因在于出口强势提振了企业信心，并鼓励公司升级和扩大产能。家庭支出指标增长0.8%,但对经济增长贡献仍很有限。鉴于失业率处于两年半来的最低水平，薪资水平现已稳定。经济学家曾预计说，消费者支出将给经济发展增添额外支持，从而提高经济复苏持续的机率。分析师表示，好于预期的GDP数字可能会给日元带来新的压力，令日元进一步走强。日元走强已威胁到日本的出口增长，促使日本当局在外汇市场大规模干预，以控制其上升势头。GDP数据公布后约1小时左右，日元开始走软，对美元汇率从105.5降至105.7,引发交易员对日本政府进一步实施干预的猜测。日本政府预计，截至3月份的一年，经济增长将为2%,现在看来，这一预测目标将能够实现。即使当前季度经济缩水3.4%,这一书标也能够实现当然，季度经济缩水3.4%的情况极不可能发生。译者/李功文Unit2Microchip Your PetAnyone who has ever owned a pet knows how quickly it can become a cherished member of the family. And anyone who has everlost a pet knows the pain of heartbreak.According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy, only about 16 percent of dogs and 2 percent of catsfind their way back from shelters to their original owners.While traditional pet identification methods are still recommended, they have limitations. Tags can fade, rust, or get scratched, making them impossible to read. Collars can come off or, even worse, get caught on something while your pet iswandering about, causing him physical harm. Fortunately, there is a relatively new technology available that may give pets abetter chance of being reunited with their owners. It is called the microchip identification system, or microchipping.How Microchipping Works? With microchipping, a veterinarian uses a hypodermic needle to inject a tiny computer chipcontaining a unique identification number just under your pets skin between the shoulder blades. The number on the computerchip is then entered into a national database along with the corresponding contact information for your pet.If your lost or stolen pel is found, any animal hospital, shelter, or humane society can use a microchip scanner to read theunique ID number contained on the chip. The veterinarian or shelter worker then phones the database or accesses it on acomputer and enters the number on the microchip. The database matches the identification number to your name and phone numberso that you can be contacted with the location of your pet.While the price for microchip implantation can vary, it often falls between $25 and $40. Microchips are convenient, safe, andreliable.Implantation is simple and routine.The chip cant be lost or damaged, and it lasts for the pets lifetime.A microchip wont work unless your pet is properly scanned by a microchip reader. There are some shelters and veterinariansin the United States that dont have readers yet. Until recently, each brand of microchip could only be read by its own brandof microchip scanner. Not all shelters and veterinarians have the new universal readers.Microchip scanning is not 100 percent effective. Microchips should be scanned before being placed in a pet to ensure that theunique identifying number is readable. ABC译文：给宠物带上芯片养过宠物的人都知道它是如何很快地成为家庭中珍贵的一员，丧失宠物的人也都知道那种酸楚和心痛。据全国宠物研究和政策委员会的说法，大约仅有16%的狗和2%的猫能从收容所找到回到主人身边的路。尽管传统的宠物识别方法仍可推荐，但它的作用有限。如标牌会褪色、生锈和有擦痕，常使人不可能辨读。颈圈可能脱落，更糟的是，当宠物游荡时，颈圈可能会钩到东西，伤害宠物身体。幸运的是，使失散宠物与主人重逢有了种较新的技术，这就是微芯片识别系统。微芯片识别系统是如何发挥作用的呢？兽医用皮下注射针，将含有独特识别代码的微小计算机芯片打入宠物肩胛骨之间的皮下，然后将芯片中的代码和发现宠物后的联系方法一齐输入到全国数据库中，这就构成了寻找宠物的微芯片识别系统。假如发现了你所遗失或被偷的宠物，任何动物医院、收容所或慈善机构就可使用一种微芯片扫描仪，读出该宠物皮下芯片独特的代码。然后，兽医或收容所人员就可致电数据库或在电脑上输入此代码，数据库就会告诉他们，拥有此代码宠物主人的姓名和电话，这样，马上就有人告诉你，你的宠物现在何处了。微芯片植入的价格不等，常在25和40美元之间。微芯片是方便、安全和可靠的。植入方法也是简单易行的。该芯片不会遗失或损坏，它可伴随宠物终身。扫描方法不当，该芯片也不会有反应。美国的一些收容所和兽医还没有装备这种芯片识别机。直到最近，每种品牌的微芯片仅能由同一品牌的微芯片识别机来辨认，但不是所有的收容所和兽医都拥有新型统的识别机。微芯片扫描不是百分之百有效的。在埋入宠物皮下之前，应先扫描此微芯片，以确保辨读该片独特的识别代码。美国广播公司Unit3Taiwan scraps investment capTaiwan is to scrap its maximum investment limit for foreign investors and ease other restrictions as it tries to attract moreinternational capital to its securities markets.The Securities and Futures Commission on Monday said the first phase of the regulatory changes would come into effect withindays and bring Taiwan more in line with other international bourses.Taiwan is Asias number four equity market with a market capitalisation of US$228.6bn, dominated by technology companies.Apart from cancelling the US$3bn investment ceiling for qualified foreign institutional investors, the first phase will alsodo away with a minimum asset requirement for QFIIs as well as a rule requiring them to invest funds within two years of beingapproved as a QFII.The SFC said the second phase of the overhaul, to be implemented before the end of the year, would remove the currentqualification requirements and divide foreign investors into two groups - institutions and individuals.In the future, any offshore foreign investor, having completed the initial application, can freely invest into and movetheir funds out of Taiwans market without any limitations,M the securities regulator said.The news was first announced in a televised speech by Chen Shui-bian, president, early in the session and sent the localTaiex index 3.3 per cent higher to 5,322.26- its best closing level in 51 weeks.As the minimum current asset requirement of US$50m-US$100m is removed, additional foreign investments from smaller investorscould gain access to the market.Weimin Chang, head of Taiwan research at Merrill Lynch, said this could add 5-10 per cent of incremental liquidity in sixmonths.But the implication of Mondays announcement on domestic liquidity could turn out to be even more important, Mr Chang said.Basically the government said We are trying to push up the stock market* and that is very encouraging for domesticinvestors.*A QFII license is required for all foreign commercial banks, insurance companies, fund managers, securities houses and otherinvestment companies that wish to trade in listed securities, derivatives, fixed income and money market instruments inTaiwan. As of June 20, QFII investors had pumped in US$40.42bn of funds, up from US$39.46bn at the end of May.Foreign investors bought a net T$210.14bn (US$6.16bn) worth of shares in the Taiwan market in the January-June period and, according to analysts, have acted as a major support for the market in the past couple of months.台湾取消外商投资上限安内特乔森(Anette Jonsson)台北报道台湾将取消对外国投资者的最高投资限额，放松其他管制，以吸引更多国际资本进入台湾证券市场。证券暨期货管理委员会周一说，监管规则第一阶段的调整将在“数日内”生效，从而使台湾与其他国际证交所进一步接轨。台湾是亚洲第4大股市，市值2286亿美元，以科技公司为主。在新规则实施的第一阶段，除了取消对合格境外机构投资者(QFH)30亿美元的投资上限外,还将废止对他们的最低资产要求，并不再要求他们在获准成为QFII的两年内进行投资。证券暨期货管理委员会说，今年年底前进入调整的第二阶段，将取消目前的资格要求，并把外国投资者分为机构和个人两大类。该证券监管机构说：“今后，任何海外投资者在完成最初申请后，其资金可以自由出入台湾市场，不会有任何限制。”今日早盘，陈水扁总统在电视讲话中率先宣布了这一消息。受其影响，台湾证交所指数上涨3.3%,收市报5322.26点，创下51星期以来的新高。随着取消5000万到1亿美元的最低流动资产的要求，更多外国小型投资者的资金将可以进入该市场。美林证券(Merrill Lynch)的台湾研究部主管张为民(音)说，6个月内，这可使增量流动性提高5-10%。不过，张先生说，周一宣布的这一计划，可能对国内市场的流动性更为重要。他说：“政府想说的是我们正尽力拉高股市，这是令国内投资者非常鼓舞。”所有外国商业银行、保险公司、管理基金、证交所以及其它投资者，如果想在台湾交易上市证券、衍生工具、固定收益和货币市场工具等金融产品，必须持有QFH许可证。截止6月20日，QFH投资者投入的资金已从5月底的394.6亿美元增加到404.2亿美元。据分析人士说，从1月到6月，外国投资者在台湾市场共买入净值2101.4亿新台币(合61.6亿美元)的股票，是过去几个月来支撑市场的主要因素。unit04Foreign investors show confidence in US assetsBy Jennifer Hughes in London and Christopher Swann in WashingtonPublished: February 17200415:09 I Last Updated: February 17200419:04Foreign investors gave a vote of confidence in US assets markets last year by increasing the amount of money they invested inthe US even as the dollar fell, according to capital flow data from the US Treasury.A monthly report released on Tuesday showed net inflows into US markets totalled $75.7bn (59bn,40bn) in December lastyear, down from $87.5bn the month before, but still far more than the $27.8bn in October or the $4.3bn in September.Over the whole year, net inflows averaged $59bn per month, up from $47.9bn in 2002.The numbers indicate that the US attracted more than enough funds to balance the current account deficit - one of the bigfears that prompted the dollars fall. The figures should allay concerns that a drying up of interest in US assets will helppush interest rates higher and damage stock markets.But the data do not necessarily signal an end to the troubles of the US currency, which fell by about 15 per cent on atrade-weighted basis last year and by about 20 per cent against the euro.Strategists said many investors were upbeat about US assets but pessimistic about the currency.As a result they were seeking to protect themselves against further falls by selling the dollar in the forward market -putting further pressure on the sinking US currency and offsetting the positive impact on the dollar of purchases of USassets.The data also underlined the continued dependence of the dollar on inflows from Asian central banks, many of which have beenstruggling to preserve their export competitiveness by preventing their currencies from rising.Private flows have been stronger than we expected but they are still not enough to finance the deficit on their own andforeign central banks have continued to plug the gap,“ said Marc Chandler, chief currency strategist at HSBC in New York.“Net inflows into corporate bonds and equities - which come from the private sector - were $34bn in December but the currentaccount deficit was $45bn. Central banks have been making up the rest.More up to date figures from the Federal Reserve suggest there has been no slowdown in purchases of US assets by Asian central banks.The Federal Reserve said its holdings of Treasury and agency debt on behalf of foreign central banks increased sharply inearly February to $l,126bn, a record high.So far this year the Feds holdings on behalf of other central banks has risen by close to $59bn,“ said Mr Chandler.But the purchasing was in agency rather than Treasury bonds.Many economists say that heavy buying of US bonds by Japan and China has helped to prevent a surge in US interest rates andprevented instability in the dollar and higher interest rates.Net flows into US equities rose to a strong $13.3bn in December from $8.8bn the month before compared with an average inflowof $3.1 bn over the year.In the bond market, net inflows into the Treasury market slipped to $29.8bn from $33.4bn but remained well above the $22.8bnmonthly average.美元下跌无损美国资产的吸引力珍妮弗休斯(Jennifer Hughes)伦敦克里斯多佛，斯旺(Christopher Swann)华盛顿报道2004年2月18日星期三出版美国财政部的资本流动数据报告显示，尽管去年美元下跌，但外国投资者对美国市场的投资资金依然增加，从而对美国资产市场投下了信任的一票。周二发布的一份月度报告显示，去年12月，净流入美国市场的资金总额达757亿美元，较前一个月的875亿美元有所降低，但仍然比10月份和9月份的水平高出许多。9月和10月的流入资金分别为42亿和277亿美元。纵观去年全年，每月的资金净流入量平均为590亿美元，高于2002年的479亿美元。数据表明，美国吸引的资金足以填补经常项目逆差的亏空，而经常项目逆差则是导致美元下跌的主要原因之一。经贸易加权后的美元去年下跌了约15%,兑欧元汇率则下跌约20%o战略分析师们认为，尽管流入美国的资金非常强劲，但美元下跌可能是由货币对冲造成的。由于投资者试图通过远期合约保护自己，以免受美元下跌的影响，但即使是自己购买了美国资产，远期合约还是对美元施加了进一步压力。进入美国股市的资金净流入量12月份上涨强劲，从11月份的88亿美元升至133亿美元,而全年的月度平均值仅31亿美元。在债市方面，进入美国国债市场的净流入量已从334亿美元降至298亿美元，但仍高于228亿美元的月平均值。纽约银行(Bank ofNew York)货币策略师迈克尔伍尔弗克(Michael Woolfolk)表示，12月份数据对美元来说是个“压倒性的”利好消息。“这表明，美国将利率下调至40年来的低点，并没有将外国投资者对美国证券的兴趣降至原来想象的地步，”他说。译者/伯强Unit05Market failure in the media sectorWhen the leaders of media, telecommunications, IT and internet companies congregate, as they did recently in Davos, the talkis upbeat about new accomplishments but subdued about recent ordeals: the dotcom bubble; the telecoms crash; the musicindustry bust; the advertising downturn; the e-publishing revenue stagnation; the PC slowdown; the wireless saturation; thesemiconductor slump; the newspaper recession; the R&D retrenchment. And the question is, why do these predicaments sweep overthe information sector so regularly?The prevalence of these problems points to fundamental issues beyond a specific industry or short-term period. Instead, weneed to recognise that the entire information sector - from music to newspapers to telecoms to internet to semiconductors andanything in-between - has become subject to a gigantic market failure in slow motion. A market failure exists when marketprices cannot reach a self-sustaining equilibrium. The market failure of the entire information sector is one of thefundamental trends of our time, with far-reaching long-term effects, and it is happening right in front of our eyes.The basic structural reason for this problem is that information products are characterised by high fixed costs and low marginal costs. They are expensive to produce but cheap to reproduce and distribute, and therefore exhibit strong economiesof scale with incentives to an over-supply. Second, more information products are continuously being offered to users. Andinformation products and services are becoming more commodified”, open, and competitive.The main result of these factors is that prices for content, network distribution and equipment are collapsing across a broadfront. It seems to have become difficult to charge anything for information products and services. The music industry isunable to maintain prices. Online publishers cannot charge their readers, except for a few premium providers such as the FT.International phone call prices have dropped, and with internet telephony will move to near-zero. Web advertising prices havecollapsed. Much of world and national news is provided for free. A lot of software is distributed or acquired gratis.Academic articles are being distributed online for free. TV and radio have always been free unless taxed. Even cable TV, at20,000 programme hours a week, is available to viewers at a cost of a 1/10 of 1 cent per hour. Newspaper prices barely coverthe physical cost of paper and delivery; the content is thrown in for free.All these are symptoms of a chronic price deflation that shows no sign of abating. It is a good deal for consumers, includingthose of developing countries, but it spells disaster for providers. The price for their information or distribution isdropping towards marginal cost, which is close to zero and typically does not cover full cost. No company can afford to dothis for long. And the more efficient the information market becomes due to technology, the faster this process advances.And there is more trouble ahead.First, the various sub-industries of the information sector affect each other more, and faster, than ever before. For example, the excess availability of banner ads leads to the collapse of the business model for many websites, which in turnharms tech magazines, telecoms networks, internet backbones, equipment makers and R&D.Second, the information industries will go through boom-bust cycles, of which we have merely experienced the first. Thereaction of information sector companies to the price declines is to cut costs, outsource, hedge, diversify and use newprocesses such as micropayments. They will try to innovate to differentiate their products. But there is a limit to theability of individuals and organisations to absorb rapid change over a sustained period. Therefore, the main strategy will beto consolidate and cartelise in order to maintain pricing power. As a result, prices and profits rise (as well as mediaconcentration), which will lead again to expansion, entry, and by the same economic logic, to a new price collapse, with ageneral downward trend in prices. Those fluctuations are then exacerbated through credit cycles triggered by the drop inequity prices. Third, the price deflation oscillating through the information sector will drag down the rest of the economy,too, through a multiplier effect.The conclusion is, therefore, that as countries rely more on information-based activities, their economies become morevolatile.If that is the case, what are the policy implications? Vblunteerist activities such as open-source software, sharedinformation or public hotspots will not solve the problem, because they, too, are subject to the instability known as thetragedy of the commons”, in which individuals* free-loading and over-utilisation destroys the communal effort. Therefore,governments will inevitably be drawn into the business of stabilisation. But this is easier said than done. Classic approaches such as Keynesian demand stimulation, or monetary policy or industrial strategy do not address the core problem of the information sector. That problem is not inadequate demand or investment, but over-supply, competition and structuralprice deflation.Perhaps the most effective thing that government can do instead of interfering in the information sector is to help d