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Now that the damage inflicted by the Asian financial crisis looks like it was caused by an economic neutron bomb. The crisis has hurt great numbers of people, but has left. the main structures of the world economy standing. The worst of the direct impact may be over. Many of the hardest-hit countries are on the road to recovery, financial "contagion" has been contained and world economic growth seems set to pick up soon.
The most important development, however, is a non-event: the collapse of global capitalism has not occurred. Instead, the post-crisis world is likely to be even more market-oriented than the one that preceded it, with a proliferation of new rules and practices that will help markets to operate more smoothly. The countries recovering best, such as Thailand and South Korea, are doing so by moving further in a free-market direction. None of the affected nations has tried to isolate itself from the global economy, and the widely feared worldwide wave of protectionism has not yet materialized.
Nor has there been the great rethinking of economic globalization that some feared and others advocated. The critics of global capitalism pounced on the crisis as proof of globalization’s fatal flaws. Their analyses often concluded that "there must be Something better." On the contrary, economists have taken free-market principles as the starting point for new ideas, not called them into question.
There has been much criticism of the so-called Washington consensus--the traditional free-market orthodoxy that uniformly prescribes fiscal discipline, deregulation, and financial liberalization. Partly as a result of the crisis, a new consensus simply adds extra prescriptions--such as better financial supervision, labor market, etc.--to the list. It is an elaboration of the original consensus, not a new departure.
Numerous studies also show that engagement in the global economy leads to higher growth and helps to reduce poverty in developing countries. Today’s economic arguments are not over fundamental free-market policies, but what must be done to supplement them. Likewise, .the efforts to devise a new "international financial architecture" in the wake of the crisis, due to continue during the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, will not involve rebuilding the system from scratch. The aim is to make incremental improvements in financial rules and practices that will oil the wheels of the market system, not to trade it in for a non-existent new model.

A:Labor market B:Fiscal discipline C:Financial liberation D:Deregulation

Weak dollar or no, $ 46,000-the price for a single year of undergraduate instruction amid the red brick of Harvard Yard-is (1) But nowadays cost is (2) barrier to entry at many of America’s best universities. Formidable financial-assistance policies have (3) fees or slashed them deeply for needy students. And last month Harvard announced a new plan designed to (4) the sticker-shock for undergraduates from middle and even upper-income families too.
Since then, other rich American universities have unveiled (5) initiatives. Yale, Harvard’s bitterest (6) , revealed its plans on January 14th. Students whose families make (7) than $60,000 a year will pay nothing at all. Families earning up to $ 200,000 a year will have to pay an average of 10% of their incomes. The university will (8) its financial- assistance budget by 43%, to over $ 80m.
Harvard will have a similar arrangement for families making up to $180,000. That makes the price of going to Harvard or Yale (9) to attending a state-run university for middle-and upper-income students. The universities will also not require any student to take out (10) to pay for their (11) , a policy introduced by Princeton in 2001 and by the University of Pennsylvania just after Harvard’s (12) . No applicant who gains admission, officials say, should feel (13) to go elsewhere because he or she can’t afford the fees.
None of that is quite as altruistic as it sounds. Harvard and Yale are, after all, now likely to lure more students away from previously (14) options, particularly state-run universities, (15) their already impressive admissions figures and reputations.
The schemes also provide a (16) for structuring university fees in which high prices for rich students help offset modest prices for poorer ones and families are less (17) on federal grants and government-backed loans.
Less wealthy private colleges whose fees are high will not be able to (18) Harvard or Yale easily. But America’s state-run universities, which have traditionally kept their fees low and stable, might well try a differentiated (19) scheme as they raise cash to compete academically with their private (20) . Indeed, the University of California system has already started to implement a sliding-fee scale.

A:pricing B:tuition C:scholarship D:financial aiding

Directions:
Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank.

A:pricing B:tuition C:scholarship D:financial aiding

During the past generation, the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair pay to keep itself financially secure has been transformed by economic risk and new realities. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months.
In just one generation, millions of mothers have gone to work, transforming basic family economics. Scholars, policymakers, and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes, but few have looked at the side effect: family risk has risen as well. Today’s families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status. As a result, they have lost the parachute they once has in times of financial setback-- a back-up earner (usually Mom) who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This "added-worker effect" could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today, a disruption to family fortunes can no longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner.
During the same period, families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers, airline employees, and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates, stock market fluctuation, and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year, President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a savings-account model, with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families, the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen--and newly fashionable health-savings plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers, with much higher deductibles and a large new dose of investment risk for families’ future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family, as the odds of having a weak elderly parent-- and all he attendant need for physical and financial assistance -- have jumped eightfold in just one generation.
From the middle-class family perspective, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun, and the political fallout may not be far behind.
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.

A:financial risks tend to outweigh political risks B:the middle class may face greater political challenges C:financial problems may bring about political problems D:financial responsibility is an indicator of political status

During the past generation, the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair play to keep itself financially secure has been transformed by economic risk and new realities. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months. In just one generation, millions of mothers have gone to work, transforming basic family economics. Scholars, policymakers, and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes, but few have looked at the side effect: family risk has risen as well. Today’s families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status. As a result, they have lost the parachute they once had in times of financial setback ― a back-up earner (usually Mom) who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This "added-worker effect" could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today, a disruption to family fortunes can no longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner. During the same period, families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers, airline employees, and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates, stock market fluctuation, and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year, President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a savings-account model, with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families, the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen and newly fashionable health-savings plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers, with much higher deductibles and a large new dose of investment risk for families’ future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family, as the odds of having a weak elderly parent ― and all the attendant need for physical and financial assistance have jumped eightfold in just one generation. From the middle-class family perspective, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun, and the political fallout may not be far behind. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that

A:financial risks tend to outweigh political risks. B:the middle class may face greater political challenges. C:financial problems may bring about political problems. D:financial responsibility is an indicator of political status.

During the past generation, the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair pay to keep itself financially secure has been transformed by economic risk and new realities. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months.
In just one generation, millions of mothers have gone to work, transforming basic family economics. Scholars, policymakers, and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes, but few have looked at the side effect: family risk has risen as well. Today’s families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status. As a result, they have lost the parachute they once has in times of financial setback-- a back-up earner (usually Mom) who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This "added-worker effect" could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today, a disruption to family fortunes can no longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner.
During the same period, families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers, airline employees, and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates, stock market fluctuation, and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year, President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a savings-account model, with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families, the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen--and newly fashionable health-savings plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers, with much higher deductibles and a large new dose of investment risk for families’ future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family, as the odds of having a weak elderly parent-- and all he attendant need for physical and financial assistance -- have jumped eightfold in just one generation.
From the middle-class family perspective, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun, and the political fallout may not be far behind.

A:financial risks tend to outweigh political risks B:the middle class may face greater political challenges C:financial problems may bring about political problems D:financial responsibility is an indicator of political status

We were heartedly arguing about the financial matter, ______the telephone rang unexpectedly.
A. while B. as C, when D. as soon as

A:C, when B:as soon as C:as D:We were heartedly arguing about the financial matter, ______the telephone rang unexpectedly. E:while

Officials estimate that the Fort Collins project will cost roughly $ 350 million. The stimulus money kicks in only $ 4.8 million, which leaves the city to do significant fundraising. Money could come from a mix of government, private investments, utility companies, and research and development grants. "It’s a ton of money and there’s no way we can do this on our own, "says Mike Freeman, Fort Collins’s chief financial officer and economic-development guru (专家). "The biggest risk for us is that we won’t have enough money and that this will take 20 years."
Fort Collins project call possibly get financial support from all the following source EXCEPT

A:government. B:personal investments. C:financial institutions. D:research and development grants.