The third quarter GDP figures released on November lst surpassed expectations for once. The economy grew by 0.5%, the fastest quarterly rate for more than a year. The estimate was flattered by a bounce back from a weak second quarter, when output was temporarily depressed by the royal wedding and by interruptions to supplies after the Japanese earthquake. In any case, growing anxiety about a double-dip recession meant the half-decent growth figures were barely celebrated. Prospects for the fourth quarter are dim. The Bank of England’s monetary-policy committee reckons that output will be flat, but even that may prove optimistic. The closely watched purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing plunged from 50.8 to 47.4 in October (a reading below 50 points to falling activity). Order books are slimmer. Manufacturers say nervous customers are delaying new purchases and running down stocks. The immediate source of trouble is the euro area, which is struggling to stop the spread of its sovereign debt crisis. Two-fifths of Britain’s exports go to the 17-country currency block. Even Germany, the euro- zone’s economic motor and its most credit worthy sovereign, has been dragged down by uncertainty over Greece’s bail-out (求助) and the failed efforts to protect Italy and Spain. German manufacturing shrank in October, according to the purchasing managers’ index, and unemployment rose for the first time in 18 months. Britain cannot easily shake off trouble in its export markets. Domestic demand is weak because the government and many householders are struggling with debts of their own. And Britain’s stake in the Eurozone is not confined to trade. British banks are exposed to the region’s trouble spots. Their loans to Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece, the five countries on the euro-zone’s circumference whose sovereign debts are under question by bond markets, amount to $350 billion, reckons the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the bank for central banks. A tenth of that was public debt: a larger part was loans to banks; most of it was lending to businesses and consumers. A cynic’s view of the euro-zone’s sovereign bail-out schemes is that they were put in place to preserve French and German banks from losses. That suspicion, along with a widespread conviction among Conservative politicians that the euro is doomed, helps explain why some is Britain complain about the country’s notional exposure through IMF membership (even though the fund is always first in the queue to get its money back). The value of British bank loans to the euro-zone periphery (周围) looks small compared to the $680 billion owed to French banks, equivalent to almost a quarter to France’s GDP. But Britain’s bank exposure is still huge, and a shade larger as a share of GDP, at 14.7%, than Germany’s. The euro area’s main concern is to______.
A. shake off trouble in its export markets
B. rely on the euro-zone’s economic motor, Germany
C. put the euro-zone’s sovereign bail-out schemes into force
D. make great efforts to stop the spread of its sovereign-debt crisis
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(31) people don’ t wake up in the morning, comb their hair, and (32) the front door and (33) the world stage. But Britain’ s Prince William does, though he’s trying his best to act (34) an ordinary person. In many ways, Prince William’ s graduation from Sandhurst Military Academy earlier this month highlighted his battle for (35) . Last week, he was (36) by his grandmother, the Queen, and his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, who sat with her family in the (37) . "I really do want to (38) my own life," William said in an interview (39) . "I value all .the normality I can get." In 2004, William told the (40) , "I’d want to go where my men went and I’ d want to do what they (41) ". He has since accepted that it would be unfair to put his men (42) by his (43) on the front line. He apparently took it (44) than his Brother Harry, who told officers, "If I am not allowed to join my (45) in a war zone, I will (46) my uniform.’ The (47) in the princes’ characters are obvious: William is the sensitive one, Harry the royal playboy. But the (48) are a team. The family have kept a close (49) on William. But since he left St Andrews, no official agreement has existed to protect his (50) , and he was heard to say at his graduation ceremony, "I’m going out into the big wide world. \
A. arrogance
B. royalty
C. presence
D. appearance
阅读下面这篇短文,短文后列出7个句子,请根据短文的内容对每个句子做出判断。On British Newspapers Besides the daily newspapers, there are a number of Sunday newspapers in Britain. Many of them are connected with the "dailies", though not run by the same editor and his members. The Sunday papers are larger than the daily papers and usually contain more articles concerned with comment (评论) and general information rather than news. The national daily and Sunday papers have the largest circulation(发行) in the world. Of the Sunday papers, the Observer and the Sunday Times are the best known. It is a regrettable fact that the number of magazines of a literary or political nature has dropped down since the war. This has probably been caused by the ever-wider use of radio and television. The most successful magazines are those published for women. Their covers are designed to catch the eye, and they certainly succeed in doing so! They offer their readers articles on cookery (烹饪法), fashion, needlework, and many other matters of women interest. They also provide advice to those in love, and adventures with handsome heroes. Some women’s magazines also include serious articles of more general interest. The visitor who looks at the magazines displayed in a large bookstall (书摊) which may be found in an important railway station will notice that there is a wide variety of technical or semitechnical(半专业的) books and magazines. There are magazines for the motorist, the farmer, the gardener, the nurse, and many others. There are many local and regional newspapers. It is common in Britain for a news agent(报刊经售人) to deliver (投递) the morning papers to his customers for a small extra payment, this service is usually performed by boys and girls who want to earn some pocket-money. Bookstalls only sell technical or semi-technical magazines.
A) Right
B) Wrong
C) Not mentioned
阅读下面这篇短文,短文后列出7个句子,请根据短文的内容对每个句子做出判断。On British Newspapers Besides the daily newspapers, there are a number of Sunday newspapers in Britain. Many of them are connected with the "dailies", though not run by the same editor and his members. The Sunday papers are larger than the daily papers and usually contain more articles concerned with comment (评论) and general information rather than news. The national daily and Sunday papers have the largest circulation(发行) in the world. Of the Sunday papers, the Observer and the Sunday Times are the best known. It is a regrettable fact that the number of magazines of a literary or political nature has dropped down since the war. This has probably been caused by the ever-wider use of radio and television. The most successful magazines are those published for women. Their covers are designed to catch the eye, and they certainly succeed in doing so! They offer their readers articles on cookery (烹饪法), fashion, needlework, and many other matters of women interest. They also provide advice to those in love, and adventures with handsome heroes. Some women’s magazines also include serious articles of more general interest. The visitor who looks at the magazines displayed in a large bookstall (书摊) which may be found in an important railway station will notice that there is a wide variety of technical or semitechnical(半专业的) books and magazines. There are magazines for the motorist, the farmer, the gardener, the nurse, and many others. There are many local and regional newspapers. It is common in Britain for a news agent(报刊经售人) to deliver (投递) the morning papers to his customers for a small extra payment, this service is usually performed by boys and girls who want to earn some pocket-money. Many boys and girls deliver morning newspapers to make some pocket-money.
A) Right
B) Wrong
C) Not mentioned
阅读下面这篇短文,短文后有2项测试任务:(1)第23~26题要求从所给的6个选项中为第2~5段每段选择1个正确的小标题;(2)第27~30题要求从所给的6个选项中选择4个正确选项,分别完成每个句子。 Singapore 1 Singapore is an independent city-state in southeastern Asia, consisting of one major island the Singapore Island—and more than 50 small islands, located off the southern tip of Malay. The city of Singapore, the capital of the country, is at the southeastern end of the Singapore Island, it is one of the most important port cities and commercial centers of Southeast Asia. The total area of the republic is 640 sq. km. 2 Low-lying Singapore Island has no outstanding relief(轮廓鲜明的) features. A central area of hills rises to the maximum height of 176m. The country has a wet tropical climate, with an average annual temperature of 27.2℃. The average annual rainfall is 2,413 mm; the wettest months are November through January. 3 Singapore is governed under a constitution of 1959, as amended (修正后的). A president, elected to a four-year term, is head of state, and a prime minister is head of government. The president used to be elected by Parliament, but by a 1991 constitutional amendment (修正), the president is now elected directly by the people. The Parliament is the law-making body with its 81 members popularly elected. 4 In the late 1980s the country had some 290 primary schools with 278,300 pupils and 160 secondary schools with 200,200 students. The main institutions of higher education are the National University of Singapore (founded in 1980 with the combination of two major universities), several technical colleges, and a teachers college. 5 Singapore has one of the highest standards of living of any country in Asia. In the late 1980s the gross domestic product was estimated at $ 23.7 billion, or $ 8,870 per person. The fishing industry is centered on the port of During, on southwestern Singapore Island. Industry has grown rapidly since the 1960s, and Singapore now produces a diversity (多样化的) of goods, including chemicals, electronic items, clothing, and processed foods, etc. Shipbuilding and petroleum refining are also important.A) Introduction to Singapore B) Education C) Economy D) State System of Singapore E) History of Singapore F) Land and Climate Paragraph 5______