Section III Reading Comprehension（40 points）

Passage 1

Questions 31 to 34 are based on the following passage:

     The stability of the U.S. banking system is maintained by means of supervision and regulation, inspections, deposit insurance, and loans to troubled banks. For over 50 years, these precautions have prevented banking panics. However, there have been some close calls . The collapse of Continental Illinois Bank & Trusted Company of Chicago in 1984 did not bring down the banking system, but it certainly rattled some windows.

     In the late 1970's, Continental soared to a leadership position among midwestern banks . Parts of its growth strategy were risky, however. It made many loans in the energy field, including $1 billion that it took over from Penn Square Bank of Oklahoma City. To obtain the funds it needed to make these loans, Continental relied heavily on short-term borrowing from other banks and large,30-day certificates of deposit--"hot money", in banking jargon .At least one Continental officer saw danger signs and wrote a warning memo to her superiors, but the memo went unheeded. Although the Comptroller of the Currency inspected Continental on a regular basis, it failed to see low serious its problems were going to be.

     Penn Square Bank was closed by regulators in July 1982. When energy prices began to slip, most of the $1 billion in loans that Continental had taken over from the smaller banks turned out to be bad. Other loans to troubled companies such Chrysler, International Harvester, and Banff looked questionable. Seeing these problems, "hot money" owners began to pull their hinds out of Continental.

     By the spring of 1984, a ran on Continental had begun. In May, the bank had to borrow $3.5 billion from the Fed to replace overnight funds it bad lost. But this was not enough. To try to stem the outflow of deposits from Continental, the FDIC agreed to guarantee not just the first $100,000 of each depositor's money but all of it. Nevertheless ,the run continued.

     Federal regulators tried hard to find a sound bank that could take over Continental--a common way of rescuing failing banks. But Continental was just too big for anyone to buy. By July, all hope of a private sector rescue was dashed. Regulators faced a stark choice: Let Continental collapse, or take it over themselves.

     Letting the bank fail seemed too risky. It was estimated that more than 100 other banks had placed enough funds in Continental to put them at risk if Continental failed. Thus , on a rainy Thursday at the end of July, the FDIC in effect nationalized Continental Illinois at a cost of $4.5 billion. This kept the bank's doors open and prevented a chain reaction . However, in all but a technical sense, Continental had become the biggest bank failure in U.S. history.

31. In the spring of 1984, Continental experienced ______.

     A. a last growth period                  B. a stability period

     C. a run                                 D. an oil price decrease

32. By July, all hope of a private sector rescue was______.

     A. destroyed                            B. absurd

     C. desperate                            D. damaged

33. The nationalization of Con Continental______.

     A. saved it

     B. made "hot money" owners continue to pull their funds out of Continental

C. almost brought down the banking system

     D. fired many high ranking officers

34. Banking panics may be prevented by means of ______.    

A. deposit insurance                     B. growth strategy

C. long term borrowing                   D. warning memo

一、语言点详解

1．Stability  n．稳定(性)

  social stability 社会稳定

2．maintain vt. 保持，维持

He failed again and again simply because he had maintained his defeatist attitude.

   因为他一直坚持失败主义的态度，所以失败了一次又一次。

3．Supervision n. 监督，管理

The house was built under the careful supervision of an architect.

   这房子是在一位建筑师的细心监督下建造的。

4．Regulation  n. 规则，法令

The rules and regulations should be made to be manifest to all staff.

   规章制度应该让全体员工都明白。

5．Inspection  n. 检查，检验，调查

On closer inspection, it was found to be false.

经过更仔细的检查，发现那是假的。

6．deposit  n. 存款，储蓄

   current deposit活期存款

7．precaution  n.预防措施，预防方法

to take precautions against diseases采取措施预防疾病

8．panic  n. 惊慌，恐慌

When the theater caught fire, there was a panic.

剧院失火时，引起一阵恐慌。

9．collapse  v．陷于瘫痪

a monarchy that collapsed.崩溃的君主制

10．rattle v. 发出格格声

She rattled some coins in the box.

她把盒子里的硬币摇得哗啦哗啦作响。

11．soar vi．骤升，升腾

Most of the students have already felt the pressure of soaring inflation.

   大多数大学生都已经感受到通货膨胀的压力．

12．strategy  n．策略，计谋

   strategy and tactics 战略与战术

13. certificate n．证书，凭证，执照

a birth certificate出生证

14．memo  n. 备忘录

15．superior  n．上级的，在等级、地盘或权威方面高于他人的

   a superior officer上级官员

16．unheeded  adj. 未引起注意的，被忽视的

17．Questionable  adj.可疑的。靠不住的

   questionable friends 靠不住的朋友

18．stem  vt．遏制，制止(流动)

   stem the blood止血

19．guarantee vt．对……提出担保

My watch is guaranteed for one year.

我的表保修一年。

20. sound  adj. 完好的，健全的

21．dash  vt. 使(计划等)失败。使(希望等)破灭．击破，撞碎

dash a person' s hopes使某人的希望破灭

22. stark  adj. 严酷的，苛刻的

face with stark future 面对严酷的未来

23. estimate vt. 估计，判断

I estimate her age at 35. 我估计她有35岁。

24. in effect 正在实行

The old system is still in effect.旧制度仍有效。

25. nationalize v. 使国有化

nationalize the steel industry 使钢铁工业国有化

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