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Passage9(The Improving Economic Situation In Greece)
Greece, economically, is in the black. With very little to export other than such farm products as tobacco, cotton and fruit, the country earns enough from ‘invisible earnings’ to pay for its needed, growing imports. From the sending out of things the Greeks, earn only $285 million; from tourism, shipping and the remittances of Greeks abroad, the country takes in an additional #375 million and this washes out the almost $400 million by which imports exceed exports.
It has a balanced budget. Although more than one drachma out of four goes for defense, the government ended a recent year with a slight surplus -- $66 million. Greece has a decent reserve of almost a third of a billion dollars in gold and foreign exchange. It has a government not dependent on coalescing incompatible parties to obtain parliamentary majorities.
In thus summarizing a few happy highlights, I don’t mean to minimize the vast extent of Greece’s problems. It is the poorest country by a wide margin in Free Europe, and poverty is widespread. At best an annual income of $60 to $70 is the lot of many a peasant, and substantial unemployment plagues the countryside, cities, and towns of Greece. There are few natural resources on which to build any substantial industrial base. Some years ago I wrote here:
“Greek statesmanship will have to create an atmosphere in which home and foreign savings will willingly seek investment opportunities in the back ward economy of Greece. So far, most American and other foreign attempt have bogged down in the Greek government’s red tape and shrewdness about small points.”
Great strides have been made. As far back as 1956, expanding tourism seemed a logical way to bring needed foreign currencies and additional jobs to Greece. At that time I talked with the Hilton Hotel people, who had been examining hotel possibilities, and to the Greek government division responsible for this area of the economy. They were hopelessly deadlocked in almost total differences of opinion and outlook.
Today most of the incredibly varied, beautiful, historical sights of Greece have new, if in many cases modest, tourist facilities. Tourism itself has jumped from approximately $31 million to over $90 million. There is both a magnificent new Hilton Hotel in Athens and a completely modernized, greatly expanded Grande Bretagne, as well as other first-rate new hotels. And the advent of jets has made Athens as accessible as Paris or Rome – without the sky-high prices of traffic-choked streets of either.
1. The title below that best expresses the ideas of this passage is ___________
[A] Greek income and expenditures.
[B] The improving economic situation in Greece.
[C] The value of tourism.
[D] Military expenditures.
2. Many peasants earn less than ___________
[A] $60 a week.
[B] $2 a week.
[C] $1 a day.
[D] $10 a month.
3. The Greek Government spends ___________
[A] more than 25%of its budget on military terms.
[B] More than its collects.
[C] A third of a billion dollars in gold.
[D] Less than 25% of its budget on military terms.
4. According to the passage, Greece has ___________
[A] a dictatorship.
[B] a monarchy.
[C] a single majority party.
[D] too much red tape.
5. Greece imports annually goods and materials ___________
[A] totaling almost $700 million.
[B] that balance exports.
[C] that are paid by tourists.
[D] costing $66 million.
Vocabulary
1. remittance 匯款(額)
2. wash out 洗掉，取消、告吹、沖掉、筋疲力盡
3. drachma 古希臘銀幣 德拉克馬(現代希臘貨幣單位)
4. lot 份額
5. incompatible 水火不相容的，不能共存的
6. coalesce (政黨)聯合，癒合，接合
7. highlight 光線最強處，最重要部分，最精彩場面
8. margin (成本和售價的)差額，空白，邊緣
9. bog down 陷於困境，使停頓
10. red tape 官樣文章，煩瑣和拖拉的公務程式
11. shrewdness 清明，機靈
12. deadlock 僵局，僵持;使陷於僵局
難句譯註
1. Greece, economically is in the black.
【參考譯文】希臘經濟上說是贏利/富裕的
2. With very little export other than such farm products as tobacco, cotton and fruit, the country earns enough from invisible earnings to pay its needed, growing imports.
【參考譯文】除了農產品，如菸草、棉花和水果之外，希臘沒有什麼出口貨，但它從“無形的收益”中掙不少，足夠致富所需的一切――日益增長的進口貨。
3. This washes out almost $400 million by which imports exceed exports.
【參考譯文】這筆錢沖掉了進口超過出口近4億美元的差額。
4. So far most American and other foreign attempts have bogged down in the Greek government’s red tape and shrewdness about small points.
【參考譯文】到目前為止由於希臘政府那種繁瑣而又拖拉的公務程式和對小事的精明，大多數美國和其他國家的嘗試的工作都陷入困境。
5. They were hopelessly deadlocked in almost total differences of opinion and outlook.
【參考譯文】他們絕望地陷於意見和觀點完全分歧的僵局之中。
6. And the advent of jets has made Athens as accessible as Paris and Rome – without the sky-high prices of traffic chocked streets of either.
【參考譯文】噴氣式飛機的發展使雅典和巴黎、羅馬一樣很容易到達，卻沒有那兩個城市的交通堵塞的接到的高昂代價。
寫作方法與文章大意
這是一篇以過去和現在對比的手法，論述了希臘經濟，主要是旅遊業的發展。過去，希臘以無形資產贏得之利潤，來消除赤字，還可稍有節餘。但貧窮、事業情況嚴重，政府辦事拖拉、繁瑣也影響國外的.投資，雖然早在1956年就準備擴充套件旅遊業，但意見分歧。現在，情況大變，就旅遊一項年收入由3100萬增至9000萬美元。
答案詳解1. B 希臘經濟形式的改善。文章圍繞這一中心而寫。文章一開始就提出希臘出口除了農產品之外，沒有什麼東西，而無形資產如旅遊、運輸和國外的匯款等可掙得37500萬美元。兩項加在一起來抵消入超赤字近4億美元，稍有結餘。第三段指出，希臘是自由歐洲最窮的國家，許多農民年收入為60-70美元。失業現象席捲城市鄉鎮，建立工業基地的自然資源極少。政府的繁瑣事務程式，關注瑣事等情況使美國和其他國家試圖展開工作陷於停滯狀態。第四段開始指出1956年起開拓旅遊業，不過意見還是分歧。第五斷提出今天驚人的變化，美麗的歷史古城呈現新貌，就旅遊一項收入由3100萬增至9000萬美元。旅館面貌大變。
A.希臘的收支。C.旅遊的價值。D.軍事費用。
2. B少於2美元一星期。文章第三段第三句：最佳情況，年收入為60-70美元使大多數農民的份額。所以B項最接近年收入。
A.60美元一星期。C.一天一美元。D.一個月10美元。
3. A 百分之25以上用於軍事。第二段：雖然四個德拉克馬中有一個用於國防，政府最終還稍有結餘――6600萬美元。
B.比收入的還多。C.十億金子中的三分之一。D.少於百分之25。
4. C單一大黨。第二段：希臘的政府不依靠水火不相容的政黨之間的合作來取得一會的多數席位，這說明是單一大黨。
A.獨裁、專政。B.君主政體。D.太多的繁瑣程式。
5. A總計幾乎在7億美元左右。第一段中提到希臘出口商品價值28500萬美元，而進口超出出口4億美元。兩者相加為6億2千5百萬美元，相當於幾乎在7億美元左右。
B.和出口平衡。C.由旅遊者支付。D.花費6600萬美元。
