2016年下半年BEC中級考試時間為2016年12月3日，所剩備考時間不多了，下面是yjbys網小編提供給大家關於商務英語(bec)中級考試英語閱讀練習，希望對大家的備考有所幫助。
篇一：網上拍賣的經濟學
你也許會認為，如果說有一件事經濟學家應該能告訴你如何去做，那就是在拍賣網站eBay上成功登記拍賣物品。畢竟，拍賣理論家在這行享有盛名;其中一位拍賣理論家蘇珊o阿西(Susan Athey)在今年4月贏得了約翰o貝茨o克拉克(John Bates Clark)經濟學獎章。(克拉克獎章獲得者還有保羅o薩繆爾森(Paul Samuelson)、約瑟夫o斯蒂格利茨(Joseph Stiglitz)和史蒂文o萊維特(Steven Levitt)，比諾貝爾獎(Nobel)獲獎者還要罕見。)
You might think that if there's one thing an economist should be able to tell you how to do, it's successfully list an item on the auction website eBay. Auction theorists are, after all, celebrated in the profession; one of them, Susan Athey, won the John Bates Clark medal in April. (Clark medallists, who include Paul Samuelson, Joseph Stiglitz and Steven Levitt, are scarcer than Nobel laureates.)
然而，儘管拍賣理論已經很發達，但其預測容易受到現實中一些波瀾的影響。比如說，標準經濟學假設人是理性的，這種假設通常是對的：在啤酒價格上漲時，多數人都會少喝一些啤酒。不過，拍賣要求有 "如果他認為她認為我認為他那麼認為"的推理鏈條，而這種鏈條往往存在薄弱環節。如果任何出價方有任何理由懷疑其他出價方是不理性的，那麼，這些環節就會輕易斷裂。
Yet although the theory of auctions is well-developed, its predictions are sensitive to wrinkles in reality. For example, the standard economic assumption that people are rational is usually a good one: when the price of beer rises, most people drink less beer. But auctions require "if he thinks that she thinks that I think that he thinks" chains of reasoning that tend to have weak links. Those links can easily break if any bidder has any reason to suspect that any other bidder is irrational.
另一個理論難題是進入拍賣。多數拍賣理論家假定有固定人數的拍賣方存在，他們全都準備好了要出價。不過，雖然經濟學家可以假設出價方存在，eBay的賣方卻不得不去吸引這些人。
Another theoretical conundrum is entry to the auction. Most auction theorists assume a fixed number of bidders, all poised and ready to bid. But while economists can assume bidders into existence, eBay sellers have to go out and hook them.
這不是拍賣理論的一個微小疏忽。為行動電話運營商舉行的大規模 "3G"拍賣背後的經濟學家--保羅o克倫佩雷爾(Paul Klemperer)已經表明，一場拍賣中看似微不足道的特點可能會讓出價方卻步，造成巨大(和災難性的)影響。出於這些和其它原因，明智的拍賣理論家在沒有充分了解整個背景的情況下，會避免預測某個具體的.拍賣計劃會有什麼效果。
This is no minor oversight of auction theory. Paul Klemperer, one of the economists behind the massive "3G" auctions for mobile phone operators, has shown that trivial-seeming features of an auction can have big (and disastrous) effects by repelling bidders. For these reasons and others, wise auction theorists would avoid predicting how a specific auction design will work without knowing much more about the context.
篇二：女巫的超前思維
親愛的經濟學家：
Dear Economist,
有一個關於古羅馬末代君王塔爾坎(Tarquin)的傳說。一位老女巫走到塔爾坎面前，提出以高昂的價格賣給他9本預言書。塔爾坎對這一提議不以為然。女巫燒燬了其中的3本書，然後提出以原價賣給他剩下的6本。塔爾坎再次拒絕了。
There is a legend about the last king of the Romans, Tarquin. An old witch came to Tarquin, and offered to sell him nine books of prophecy at an exorbitant price. Tarquin laughed at the offer. The witch burned three of the books, and then offered to sell him the remaining six for the original price. Tarquin refused again.
女巫又燒燬了3本，然後同樣以最初9本的價格向塔爾坎出售剩下的3本。這一次，塔爾坎擔心自己可能會錯失一些寶貴的東西，於是以女巫索要的價格買下了剩餘3本書。這反映了什麼樣的需求曲線呢?
The witch burned three more books and offered to sell Tarquin the three books that were left for the original price that she had demanded for nine. This time Tarquin was scared that he might be losing something precious, and bought the remaining three books for the price that the witch asked. What sort of demand curve is that?
克里斯·麥克馬洪(Chris McMahon)通過電子郵件傳送
Chris McMahon, by e-mail
親愛的麥克馬洪：
Dear Mr McMahon,
忘掉需求曲線吧;這是一個關於經濟盈餘分配的兩方談判。塔爾坎始終願意出高價，但同時希望能夠還價。女預言家("女巫"聽上去讓人不太舒服)則用限制供應的方法來應對，意在推升價格。
Forget the demand curve; this is a two-player negotiation over the division of economic surplus. Tarquin was always willing to pay a high price but hoped to get a bargain. The sibyl ("witch" is such an uncouth label) responded with a supply constriction designed to drive up the price.
塔爾坎可能會認為，這個女預言家只有一位競爭性買家，如果每位買家都只想要3本書的話，這將形成供過於求的局面。而一旦出現兩位買家只有3本書可買的情況，塔爾坎明白，他正面臨嚴峻的局面，因而搶先報出了價格。
Tarquin might have thought that the sibyl had just one rival buyer, and if each buyer wanted only one trilogy, that would be a supply glut. Once there was only one trilogy available for two buyers, Tarquin knew he was in a serious auction and made a pre-emptive offer.
還有一種可能性是，女預言家正在解決一個所謂的持久壟斷的問題。塔爾坎知道，女預言家可能會以高價向他出售3本書，然後再回頭以低價出售另外3本或6本。而通過燒燬6本書，女預言家讓自己能夠提出一個真正要不要隨你的出價。這是一種超前思維，但話說回來，她本來就是在推銷預言。
Another possibility is that the sibyl was dealing with the so- called durable monopoly problem. Tarquin knew that the sibyl might sell him an expensive trilogy, and then come back later with a cut- price offer to buy a second or third. By destroying two trilogies, the sibyl enabled herself to make a credible, take-it-or-leave-it offer. Forward-thinking stuff, but then, she was flogging prophecies.
