2017年下半年商務英語初級考試將於11月26日進行，為了幫助大家完成最後的衝刺備考，以下是yjbys網小編整理的關於BEC初級閱讀材料精選，供大家備考。
BEC初級閱讀：投行的快樂和苦惱
並非所有地方的投行環境都是那麼令人生畏——至少在東方不是。湯姆森金融(Thomson Financial)稱，今年到目前為止，亞太地區(日本除外)的交易規模比去年同期增長了40%。市場的復甦令證券交易業務大獲其利。第三季度，在全球其它市場局面相當糟糕的情況下，花旗集團(Citigroup)在亞太地區賺取了11億美元的淨利潤，僅略少於2002年全年的貢獻。美國銀行(Bank of America)持有的中國建設銀行(CCB)股份在第三季度增值達42億美元。雖然人們感覺不到，但這一收益在規模上要遠遠大於同一季度14.6億美元的交易損失。
It’s not all grim in investment banking ? at least not out east. Asia Pacific ex-Japan deal sizes are up 40 per cent year-to-date, according to Thomson Financial. Resurgent markets are benefiting securities trading. In an otherwise ugly third quarter, Citigroup generated net earnings of $1.1bn in the region ? not far short of the entire 2002 contribution. Bank of America’s stake in China Construction Bank was worth an extra $4.2bn over the course of the third quarter. That dwarfs the $1.46bn of trading losses racked up in the same quarter, in magnitude if not perception.
即便在全球情況普遍不錯的時候，亞洲業務的盈利表現也更勝一籌。以高盛(Goldman Sachs)為例，該銀行去年的稅前收益有28%來自亞洲，相比之下只有21%來自歐洲。這一增長部分源自中國規模巨大的私有化交易。不過，該行一些最大的客戶也來自亞洲：國家支援的投資機構，如活躍在全球舞臺上的新加坡政府投資公司(GIC)和淡馬錫(Temasek)。亞洲中產階級的崛起，意味著即使那些傳統上專注於批發服務的銀行也在增加人手。蘇格蘭皇家銀行(Royal Bank of Scotland)計劃，到2010年，其收入的10%來自亞洲。
Even when times are universally good, Asia punches above its weight in terms of profitability. Take Goldman Sachs, which last year derived 28 per cent of pre-tax earnings from Asia compared with just 21 per cent in Europe. Part of the growth is due to China’s mega-privatisations. But Asia is also home to some of the bank’s biggest-spending clients: state-backed investment agencies such as Singapore’s GIC and Temasek, which are active on the global stage. The emergence of Asian middle classes means even banks traditionally focused on wholesale services are beefing up. Royal Bank of Scotland is targeting 10 per cent of revenues from Asia by 2010.
越來越依賴亞洲並非沒有風險——在1997至1998年的金融危機和隨後的非典危機中見證了市場崩潰的人可以證實這一點。中國的股票發行更多的'是選擇在上海進行，而不是自由開放的香港——在上海，只有很少幾家國際承銷商和交易商得到了牌照。亞洲的政策制定者可以破壞有利可圖的業務：例如，印度政府上週就宣佈限制參與憑證(participatory note)的使用。但是，亞洲狂歡年的真正麻煩在於，獎金池是全球性的。亞洲的IPO從業人員已經開始抱怨，西方機構分得的蛋糕太大了。
A growing dependence on Asia is not without risks ? as those who watched markets flounder during the financial crisis of 1997-98 and the subsequent Sars virus could testify. More Chinese equity offerings are taking place in Shanghai, where only a handful of international underwriters and traders are licensed, rather than in free-for-all Hong Kong. Regional policy makers can pull the rug from under lucrative business lines, as seen last week when India restricted the use of participatory notes.
But the real downside to a cracking year in Asia is that bonus pools are global. Asian IPO toilers are starting to moanthat too big a share of the spoils ends up in pockets back west.
BEC初級閱讀：歐佩克擔憂美元貶值
石油輸出國組織(OPEC，簡稱歐佩克)將進一步研究美元不斷貶值對其經濟體的影響。此前，有成員國呼籲歐佩克以美元以外的貨幣為石油定價。
Opec is to study further the effect of the falling US dollar on its economies following calls for it to price oil in currencies other than the greenback.
此舉出現在歐佩克領導人在利雅得舉行的峰會上，其目的是彌合該組織內部在如何應對美元貶值方面的分歧。此前，伊朗和委內瑞拉敦促歐佩克改變以美元為石油定價的做法，但遭到此次峰會主辦國沙烏地阿拉伯的強烈反對。
The move, which emerged at the summit of cartel leaders in Riyadh, was an attempt to bridge the divide within the group over how to respond to the dollar’s decline. Iran and Venezuela had pushed for Opec to move away from the dollar in the face of strong opposition from the summit’s host, Saudi Arabia.
伊朗總統馬哈茂德·艾哈邁迪-內賈德(Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad)在領導人峰會後表示，美元不斷貶值意味著，石油生產國正在為美國政府及其人民提供補貼。
Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran’s president, said after the leaders’ meeting that the falling dollar meant oil producers were subsidising the US government and people.
“他們得到我們的石油，卻給我們一張毫無價值的紙，”他表示。“我們都知道美元沒有經濟價值。”
“They get our oil and give us a worthless piece of paper,” he said. “We all know that the US dollar has no economic value.”
今年美元兌一籃子主要貨幣已下跌16%，並且自歐佩克於2000年在委內瑞拉的加拉加斯舉行上一屆峰會以來，美元兌歐元匯率已累計下跌44%。伊朗官員表示，今年迄今為止，他們每桶石油的平均價格是63美元，較2006年同期僅高出2美元。如果折算為歐元，今年的油價比去年更便宜。
The dollar has dropped 16 per cent this year against a basket of major currencies, and 44 per cent against the euro since the last Opec summit in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2000. Iranian officials have said that the average price of a barrel of their oil so far this year is, at $63, only $2 higher than for the same period of 2006. Priced in euros, oil has been cheaper this year than last year.
歐佩克成員國的財長和外長計劃數週後在阿布扎比舉行會議，討論美元的影響。歐佩克在此次峰會的閉幕宣言中間接地暗示了這一點。
Finance and foreign ministers from Opec countries are to meet in Abu Dhabi in the next few weeks to discuss the effect of the dollar, a move hinted at in an oblique reference in the summit’s closing declaration.
沙烏地阿拉伯外交大臣沙特·費薩爾親王(Prince Saud Al-Faisal)上週五警告稱，如果在該宣言中提及美元，美元可能“崩”。
On Friday, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, warned that the dollar could “collapse” if the US currency was mentioned in the declaration.
他本該是在閉門的部長級會議上發表的這番言論，卻不小心通過話筒被記者聽到。
His remarks – made in what was supposed to be a closed ministerial meeting – were accidentally broadcast to reporters.
在峰會之後，費薩爾親王淡化了部長們進一步研究美元問題的重要性。他表示，此舉不具有任何“隱藏含義”，只是反映出歐佩克成員國“實現其資源回報最大化”的責任。
After the summit, Prince Saud played down the significance of the ministers’ further examination of the dollar problem, saying it did not have any “hidden implications” and reflected Opec members’ duty ”to maximise the return from their resources”.
