单选集
单选集
When there is blood in the water, it is only natural that dorsal fins swirl around excitedly. Now that America’s housing market is ailing, predators have their sights on the country’s credit-card market. Analysts at Goldman Sachs reckon that credit-card losses could reach $ 99 billion if contagion spreads from subprime mortgages to other forms of consumer credit. Signs of strain are clearly visible. There are rises in both the charge-off and delinquency rates, which measure the share of balances that are uncollectable or more than 30 days late respectively. HSBC announced last month that it had taken a $1.4 billion charge in its American consumer-finance business, partly because of weakness among card borrowers.
It is too early to panic, though. Charge-offs and delinquencies are still low. According to Moody’s, a rating agency, the third-quarter delinquency rate of 3.89% was almost a full percentage point below the historical average. The deterioration in rates can be partly explained by technical factors. A change in America’s personal-bankruptcy laws in 2005 led to an abrupt fall in bankruptcy filings, which in turn account for a big chunk of credit-card losses ; the number of filings (and thus charge-off rates) would be rising again, whether or not overall conditions for borrowers were getting worse.
The industry also reports solid payment rates, which show how much of their debt consumers pay off each month. And confidence in credit-card asset-backed securities is pretty firm despite paralysis in other corners of structured finance. Dennis Moroney of Tower Group, a research firm, predicts that issuance volumes for 2007 will end up being 25% higher than last year.
Direct channels of infection between the subprime-mortgage crisis and the credit-card market certainly exist: consumers are likelier to load up on credit-card debt now that home- equity loans are drying up. But card issuers look at cash flow rather than asset values, so falling house prices do not necessarily trigger a change in borrowers’ creditworthiness. They may even work to issuers’ advantage. The incentives for consumers to keep paying the mortgage decrease if properties are worth less than the value of the loan; card debt rises higher up the list of repayment priorities as a result.
Card issuers are also able to respond much more swiftly and flexibly to stormier conditions than mortgage lenders are, by changing interest rates or altering credit limits. That should in theory reduce the risk of a rapid repricing of assets. "We are not going to wake up one day and totally revalue the loans," says Gary Perlin, Capital One’ s chief financial officer.
If a sudden subprime-style meltdown in the credit-card market is improbable, the risks of a sustained downturn are much more real. If lower house prices and a contraction in credit push America into recession, the industry will undoubtedly face a grimmer future. Keep watching for those dorsal fins.
Why does the author mention dorsal fins which are irrelevant to the topic
A:To remind people of the potential danger. B:To attract the readers’ attention by presenting an interesting phenomenon. C:To show that the issue is rather serious, just as a dorsal fin is approaching. D:To present some fresh air at the beginning, thus making the narration more vivid.
Africa’s elephants are divided between the savannahs of eastern and southern Africa and the forests of central Africa. Some biologists reckon the forest ones-smaller, with shorter, straighter tusks-may even constitute a distinct species. But not for long, at the latest rate of poaching. The high price of ivory is increasing the incentive to kill elephants everywhere in Africa, and especially in places where there is virtually no law.
The latest reports suggest that the forest elephant population is collapsing on the back of rising Chinese demand for ivory. Some conservationists argue that a recent decision by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to auction 108 tonnes of stockpiled ivory from southern Africa may be prompting more poaching in central and eastern Africa, as criminals seek to mix illicit ivory in with the legitimate kind. But some economists maintain that the legitimate sale of ivory lowers prices, thus decreasing the incentive to poach. A study of a previous sale of ivory suggested it did not lead to more intensive poaching.
Either way, the Congo basin is " hemorrhaging elephants ", says TRAFFIC, which monitors trade in wildlife. The head of the 790,000-hectare (1,952,000-acre) Virunga National Park in eastern Congo, Emmanuel de Merode, reports that 24 elephants have been poached in his park so far this year. The situation is dire: 2,900 elephants roamed Virunga when Congo became independent in 1964,400 in 2006, and fewer than 200 today. Most have been poached by militias, particularly Hutu rebels from Rwanda who hack off the ivory and sell it to middlemen in Kinshasa, Congo’s capital, who then smuggle it to China.
Once ivory has left its country of origin, and if it is not seized by customs officials, it can be hard to identify its source and those responsible for acquiring it. But forensic help may be at hand. Scientists from the University of Washington are using genetic markers in elephant dung to identify exactly where ivory has been poached. This should help governments in countries such as Tanzania and Zambia, which are capable of catching poachers, but not in anarchic eastern Congo, where 120-odd rangers have been killed in Virunga in recent years trying to protect elephants and gorillas.
With an influx of businessmen and other officials from China engaged in infrastructure projects such as road building and logging, the slaughter is expected to accelerate. Forest elephants may survive in large numbers only in remote protected pockets of the Congo basin, such as the Odzala-Koukoua National Park in Congo-Brazzaville and Minkebe National Park in northeast Gabon.
According to the text, what is the intention of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to auction the stockpiled ivory
A:To get income for the convention. B:To lower the price of ivory, thus decreasing the incentive to poach. C:To dispose of the customs seized ivory. D:To open the market of legitimate vendition of ivory.
| Capital City and Smithsville are two
fairly large towns in the midwest near Chicago. Neither is as well known as
Chicago. (1) the inhabitants of both are equally proud of
their (2) hometown. People in Capital City love its quiet narrow (3) streets and its many small neighborhood parks, the boast (4) their hometown has no ugly slums, a low rate (5) crime, and very little heavy traffic. Because it is the seat of the state legislature, Capital City has many stately old buildings— (6) the lawyer’s club in the park by the lake, and the country museum (7) its pioneer farm exhibits. Smithsville, (8) ,is a bustling, thriving, industrial center. It too has a lake, but (9) that of Capital City, its lake is the center of the city’s industrial development. (10) trees and park benches, Smithsville’s lake is surrounded by factories and smoking chimneys. Smithsville is also (11) its quieter neighbour in its style of (12) . The tall modern office buildings downtown, the new shopping center in the suburbs, and the wide crowded streets seem (13) to Smithsville’s residents than the old-fashioned neighbourhoods (14) . When people from the more rural city (15) from a visit to Smithsville, they always say, "I’m glad to be home again. That lake makes me (16) . It’s a fine place to visit, (17) I wouldn’t want to live (18) ." (19) a visit to Capital City, citizens of Smithsville say (20) the same. |
A:But B:And C:Thus D:Therefore
Text 4
| When there is blood in the water, it is
only natural that dorsal fins swirl around excitedly. Now that America’s housing
market is ailing, predators have their sights on the country’s credit-card
market. Analysts at Goldman Sachs reckon that credit-card losses could reach $
99 billion if contagion spreads from subprime mortgages to other forms of
consumer credit. Signs of strain are clearly visible. There are rises in both
the charge-off and delinquency rates, which measure the share of balances that
are uncollectable or more than 30 days late respectively. HSBC announced last
month that it had taken a $1.4 billion charge in its American consumer-finance
business, partly because of weakness among card borrowers. It is too early to panic, though. Charge-offs and delinquencies are still low. According to Moody’s, a rating agency, the third-quarter delinquency rate of 3.89% was almost a full percentage point below the historical average. The deterioration in rates can be partly explained by technical factors. A change in America’s personal-bankruptcy laws in 2005 led to an abrupt fall in bankruptcy filings, which in turn account for a big chunk of credit-card losses ; the number of filings (and thus charge-off rates) would be rising again, whether or not overall conditions for borrowers were getting worse. The industry also reports solid payment rates, which show how much of their debt consumers pay off each month. And confidence in credit-card asset-backed securities is pretty firm despite paralysis in other corners of structured finance. Dennis Moroney of Tower Group, a research firm, predicts that issuance volumes for 2007 will end up being 25% higher than last year. Direct channels of infection between the subprime-mortgage crisis and the credit-card market certainly exist: consumers are likelier to load up on credit-card debt now that home- equity loans are drying up. But card issuers look at cash flow rather than asset values, so falling house prices do not necessarily trigger a change in borrowers’ creditworthiness. They may even work to issuers’ advantage. The incentives for consumers to keep paying the mortgage decrease if properties are worth less than the value of the loan; card debt rises higher up the list of repayment priorities as a result. Card issuers are also able to respond much more swiftly and flexibly to stormier conditions than mortgage lenders are, by changing interest rates or altering credit limits. That should in theory reduce the risk of a rapid repricing of assets. "We are not going to wake up one day and totally revalue the loans," says Gary Perlin, Capital One’ s chief financial officer. If a sudden subprime-style meltdown in the credit-card market is improbable, the risks of a sustained downturn are much more real. If lower house prices and a contraction in credit push America into recession, the industry will undoubtedly face a grimmer future. Keep watching for those dorsal fins. |
A:To remind people of the potential danger. B:To attract the readers’ attention by presenting an interesting phenomenon. C:To show that the issue is rather serious, just as a dorsal fin is approaching. D:To present some fresh air at the beginning, thus making the narration more vivid.
Text 3
| Africa’s elephants are divided between
the savannahs of eastern and southern Africa and the forests of central Africa.
Some biologists reckon the forest ones-smaller, with shorter, straighter
tusks-may even constitute a distinct species. But not for long, at the latest
rate of poaching. The high price of ivory is increasing the incentive to kill
elephants everywhere in Africa, and especially in places where there is
virtually no law. The latest reports suggest that the forest elephant population is collapsing on the back of rising Chinese demand for ivory. Some conservationists argue that a recent decision by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to auction 108 tonnes of stockpiled ivory from southern Africa may be prompting more poaching in central and eastern Africa, as criminals seek to mix illicit ivory in with the legitimate kind. But some economists maintain that the legitimate sale of ivory lowers prices, thus decreasing the incentive to poach. A study of a previous sale of ivory suggested it did not lead to more intensive poaching. Either way, the Congo basin is " hemorrhaging elephants ", says TRAFFIC, which monitors trade in wildlife. The head of the 790,000-hectare (1,952,000-acre) Virunga National Park in eastern Congo, Emmanuel de Merode, reports that 24 elephants have been poached in his park so far this year. The situation is dire: 2,900 elephants roamed Virunga when Congo became independent in 1964,400 in 2006, and fewer than 200 today. Most have been poached by militias, particularly Hutu rebels from Rwanda who hack off the ivory and sell it to middlemen in Kinshasa, Congo’s capital, who then smuggle it to China. Once ivory has left its country of origin, and if it is not seized by customs officials, it can be hard to identify its source and those responsible for acquiring it. But forensic help may be at hand. Scientists from the University of Washington are using genetic markers in elephant dung to identify exactly where ivory has been poached. This should help governments in countries such as Tanzania and Zambia, which are capable of catching poachers, but not in anarchic eastern Congo, where 120-odd rangers have been killed in Virunga in recent years trying to protect elephants and gorillas. With an influx of businessmen and other officials from China engaged in infrastructure projects such as road building and logging, the slaughter is expected to accelerate. Forest elephants may survive in large numbers only in remote protected pockets of the Congo basin, such as the Odzala-Koukoua National Park in Congo-Brazzaville and Minkebe National Park in northeast Gabon. |
A:To get income for the convention. B:To lower the price of ivory, thus decreasing the incentive to poach. C:To dispose of the customs seized ivory. D:To open the market of legitimate vendition of ivory.
Sometimes we have specific problems with our mother; sometimes, life with her can just be hard work. If there are difficulties in your (1) , it’s best to deal with them, (2) remember that any (3) should be done (4) person or by letter. The telephone is not a good (5) because it is too easy (6) either side to (7) the conversation.
Explain to her (8) you find difficult in your relationship and then (9) some new arrangements that you think would establish a (10) balance between you. Sometimes we hold (11) from establishing such boundaries because we are afraid that doing (12) implies we are (13) her. We need to remember that being (14) from our mother does not (15) mean that we no longer love her. If the conflict is (16) and you cannot find a way to (17) it, you might decide to give up your relationship with your mother for a while. Some of my patients had (18) "trial separations". The (19) allowed things to simmer down, enabling (20) .
A:and B:but C:thus D:or
A:this B:thus C:hence D:that
When there is blood in the water, it is only natural that dorsal fins swirl around excitedly. Now that America’s housing market is ailing, predators have their sights on the country’s credit-card market. Analysts at Goldman Sachs reckon that credit-card losses could reach $ 99 billion if contagion spreads from subprime mortgages to other forms of consumer credit. Signs of strain are clearly visible. There are rises in both the charge-off and delinquency rates, which measure the share of balances that are uncollectable or more than 30 days late respectively. HSBC announced last month that it had taken a $1.4 billion charge in its American consumer-finance business, partly because of weakness among card borrowers.
It is too early to panic, though. Charge-offs and delinquencies are still low. According to Moody’s, a rating agency, the third-quarter delinquency rate of 3.89% was almost a full percentage point below the historical average. The deterioration in rates can be partly explained by technical factors. A change in America’s personal-bankruptcy laws in 2005 led to an abrupt fall in bankruptcy filings, which in turn account for a big chunk of credit-card losses ; the number of filings (and thus charge-off rates) would be rising again, whether or not overall conditions for borrowers were getting worse.
The industry also reports solid payment rates, which show how much of their debt consumers pay off each month. And confidence in credit-card asset-backed securities is pretty firm despite paralysis in other corners of structured finance. Dennis Moroney of Tower Group, a research firm, predicts that issuance volumes for 2007 will end up being 25% higher than last year.
Direct channels of infection between the subprime-mortgage crisis and the credit-card market certainly exist: consumers are likelier to load up on credit-card debt now that home- equity loans are drying up. But card issuers look at cash flow rather than asset values, so falling house prices do not necessarily trigger a change in borrowers’ creditworthiness. They may even work to issuers’ advantage. The incentives for consumers to keep paying the mortgage decrease if properties are worth less than the value of the loan; card debt rises higher up the list of repayment priorities as a result.
Card issuers are also able to respond much more swiftly and flexibly to stormier conditions than mortgage lenders are, by changing interest rates or altering credit limits. That should in theory reduce the risk of a rapid repricing of assets. "We are not going to wake up one day and totally revalue the loans," says Gary Perlin, Capital One’ s chief financial officer.
If a sudden subprime-style meltdown in the credit-card market is improbable, the risks of a sustained downturn are much more real. If lower house prices and a contraction in credit push America into recession, the industry will undoubtedly face a grimmer future. Keep watching for those dorsal fins.
A:To remind people of the potential danger B:To attract the readers’ attention by presenting an interesting phenomenon C:To show that the issue is rather serious, just as a dorsal fin is approaching D:To present some fresh air at the beginning, thus making the narration more vivid
One factor that can influence consumers is their mood state. Mood may be defined (51) a temporary and mild positive or negative feeling that is generalized and not tied to any particular circumstance. Moods should be (52) from emotions which are usually more intense, (53) to specific circumstances, and often conscious. In one sense, the effect of a consumer’s mood can be thought of in (54) the same way as can our reactions to the (55) of our friends-when our friends are happy and "up" ,that tends to influence us positively, (56) when they are "down", that can have a (57) impact on us. Similarly, consumers operating under a (58) mood state tend to react to stimuli (刺激因素) in a direction (59) with that mood state. Thus, for example, we should expect to see consumers in a positive mood state evaluate products in more of a (60) manner than they would when not in such a state. (61) ,mood states appear capable of (62) a consumer’s memory.
Moods appear to be (63) influenced by marketing techniques. For example, the rhythm, pitch, and volume of music has been shown to influence behavior such as the (64) of time spent in supermarkets or intensions to purchase products. In addition, advertising can influence consumers’ moods which, in (65) , are capable of influencing consumers’ reactions to products.
A:thus B:still C:much D:even
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