考研英语时文天天读
考研英语基础复习之通过时文泛读记单词、练翻译每日一篇
Text 01
Japanese GDP figures raise hope of recovery
By Barney Jopson in Tokyo
Published: February 18 2004 2:07 | Last Updated: February 18 2004 19:57
The Japanese economy grew in the past quarter at its fastest rate since the 1980s asset bubble began to subside, raising
hopes that the country is on the way to putting more than a decade of stagnation behind it.
Japan's gross domestic product expanded at an annualised 7 per cent in the three months to December, with fresh data on
Wednesday showing the recovery has broader foundations than export growth. The impressive rate of expansion surpassed US
growth of 4 per cent in the same period, and prompted the Bank of Japan's deputy governor to say this year could mark a
turning point in the battle against deflation, which has dogged the economy since the late 1990s.
In the past six months, positive economic figures have helped build confidence in the possibility of a sustainable recovery.
Corporate bankruptcies fell last year for the first time in four years; unemployment is at a two-and-a-half year low; banks
are bringing their bad loans under control and consumer prices rose late last year for the first time since 1998, albeit for
one-off reasons.
"GDP is very strong," said Masaaki Kanno, economist at JP Morgan Chase in Tokyo, "and reflects the recovery of the global
economy and the strength of exports". Sales of digital cameras to the US and industrial equipment to China are booming, but
equally important is that the effects have begun to filter through to the domestic economy, with companies increasing their
capital spending to upgrade production capacity.
Wednesday's data showed long-awaited signs of a revival in private consumption, with stable wages, rising bonuses and falling
unemployment making consumers more confident. But Mr Kanno said the past quarter's rate of expansion was not sustainable,
adding that Japan's annual trend growth was 3 per cent.
Growth for the 2003 calendar year was 2.7 per cent. Kazumasa Iwata, Bank of Japan deputy governor, said that if GDP continued
to rise at that pace Japan could begin to conquer deflation this year. "It is possible for Japan to overcome deflation if it
can post a growth rate of 2-3 per cent for the second consecutive year," he said. Falling prices have hobbled the economy by
crimping corporate sales and increasing debt burdens.
For the quarter, real GDP grew at a better-than-expected 1.7 per cent, the highest rate since April-June 1990. Nominal
growth, which is not adjusted for price changes, rose 0.7 per cent.
In real terms exports were up 4.2 per cent while business investment jumped 5.1 per cent. Household spending also grew.
But Kiichi Murashima, economist at Nikko Citigroup, warned of factors that could slow the economy. Export momentum had
probably peaked in the past quarter, he said, and planned increases in social security contributions could again deter
consumer spending. In addition, "yen appreciation plus high commodity prices are starting to affect corporate profits and
industrial production."
The strengthening of the yen against the dollar has threatened Japanese exporters, prompting the government to spend ¥
27,000bn ($253bn) on currency intervention since the start of last year.
**GDP增速创1990年以来新高
巴尼•乔普森(Barney Jopson)东京报道
2004年2月19日 星期四 出版
按年率计算，**去年第四季度的经济增长达到7%，超过了市场预期，创下1990年以来最快的经济增长率。
周三早上发布的**国内生产总值数据超过了美国同期4%的增速，表明**的周期性经济复苏明显加速。
第四季度**经济增长1.7%，出口和企业投资继续扮演增长主要动力的角色。
“这一数据非常强劲，反映出全球经济的复苏和出口的活力，”摩根大通(JP Morgan Chase)驻东京经济学家菅野雅明(Masaaki Kanno)说。
海外出货量上涨4.2%，这要归功于美国对**电子产品和汽车、中国对**机械、元件和钢铁的强大需求。
企业投资指标攀高5.1%，原因在于出口强势提振了企业信心，并鼓励公司升级和扩大产能。
家庭支出指标增长0.8%，但对经济增长贡献仍很有限。
鉴于失业率处于两年半来的最低水平，薪资水平现已稳定。经济学家曾预计说，消费者支出将给经济发展增添额外支持，从而提高经济复苏持
续的机率。
分析师表示，好于预期的GDP数字可能会给日元带来新的压力，令日元进一步走强。日元走强已威胁到**的出口增长，促使**当局在外汇市
场大规模干预，以控制其上升势头。
GDP数据公布后约1小时左右，日元开始走软，对美元汇率从105.5降至105.7，引发交易员对**政府进一步实施干预的猜测。
**政府预计，截至3月份的一年，经济增长将为2%，现在看来，这一预测目标将能够实现。即使当前季度经济缩水3.4%，这一目标也能够实现
。当然，季度经济缩水3.4%的情况极不可能发生。
译者/李功文
Unit2
Microchip Your Pet
Anyone who has ever owned a pet knows how quickly it can become a cherished member of the family. And anyone who has ever
lost a pet knows the pain of heartbreak.
According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy, only about 16 percent of dogs and 2 percent of cats
find their way back from shelters to their original owners.
While traditional pet identification methods are still recommended, they have limitations. Tags can fade, rust, or get
scratched, making them impossible to read. Collars can come off or, even worse, get caught on something while your pet is
wandering about, causing him physical harm. Fortunately, there is a relatively new technology available that may give pets a
better chance of being reunited with their owners. It is called the microchip identification system, or microchipping.
How Microchipping Works？With microchipping, a veterinarian uses a hypodermic needle to inject a tiny computer chip
containing a unique identification number just under your pet's skin between the shoulder blades. The number on the computer
chip is then entered into a national database along with the corresponding contact information for your pet.
If your lost or stolen pet is found, any animal hospital, shelter, or humane society can use a microchip scanner to read the
unique ID number contained on the chip. The veterinarian or shelter worker then phones the database or accesses it on a
computer and enters the number on the microchip. The database matches the identification number to your name and phone number
so that you can be contacted with the location of your pet.
While the price for microchip implantation can vary, it often falls between $25 and $40. Microchips are convenient, safe, and
reliable.Implantation is simple and routine.The chip can't be lost or damaged, and it lasts for the pet's lifetime.
A microchip won't work unless your pet is properly scanned by a microchip reader. There are some shelters and veterinarians
in the United States that don't have readers yet. Until recently, each brand of microchip could only be read by its own brand
of microchip scanner. Not all shelters and veterinarians have the new universal readers.
Microchip scanning is not 100 percent effective. Microchips should be scanned before being placed in a pet to ensure that the
unique identifying number is readable. ABC
译文: 给宠物带上芯片
养过宠物的人都知道它是如何很快地成为家庭中珍贵的一员，丧失宠物的人也都知道那种酸楚和心痛。
据全国宠物研究和政策委员会的说法，大约仅有16%的狗和2%的猫能从收容所找到回到主人身边的路。
尽管传统的宠物识别方法仍可推荐，但它的作用有限。如标牌会褪色、生锈和有擦痕，常使人不可能辨读。颈圈可能脱落，更糟的是，当宠物
游荡时，颈圈可能会钩到东西，伤害宠物身体。幸运的是，使失散宠物与主人重逢有了一种较新的技术，这就是微芯片识别系统。
微芯片识别系统是如何发挥作用的呢？兽医用皮下注射针，将含有独特识别代码的微小计算机芯片打入宠物肩胛骨之间的皮下，然后将芯片中
的代码和发现宠物后的联系方法一齐输入到全国数据库中，这就构成了寻找宠物的微芯片识别系统。假如发现了你所遗失或被偷的宠物，任何
动物医院、收容所或慈善机构就可使用一种微芯片扫描仪，读出该宠物皮下芯片独特的代码。然后，兽医或收容所人员就可致电数据库或在电
脑上输入此代码，数据库就会告诉他们，拥有此代码宠物主人的姓名和电话，这样，马上就有人告诉你，你的宠物现在何处了。
微芯片植入的价格不等，常在25和40美元之间。微芯片是方便、安全和可靠的。植入方法也是简单易行的。该芯片不会遗失或损坏，它可伴随
宠物终身。
扫描方法不当，该芯片也不会有反应。美国的一些收容所和兽医还没有装备这种芯片识别机。直到最近，每种品牌的微芯片仅能由同一品牌的
微芯片识别机来辨认，但不是所有的收容所和兽医都拥有新型统一的识别机。
微芯片扫描不是百分之百有效的。在埋入宠物皮下之前，应先扫描此微芯片，以确保辨读该片独特的识别代码。 美国广播公司
Unit3
Taiwan scraps investment cap
Taiwan is to scrap its maximum investment limit for foreign investors and ease other restrictions as it tries to attract more
international capital to its securities markets.
The Securities and Futures Commission on Monday said the first phase of the regulatory changes would come into effect "within
days" and bring Taiwan more in line with other international bourses.
Taiwan is Asia's number four equity market with a market capitalisation of US$228.6bn, dominated by technology companies.
Apart from cancelling the US$3bn investment ceiling for qualified foreign institutional investors, the first phase will also
do away with a minimum asset requirement for QFIIs as well as a rule requiring them to invest funds within two years of being
approved as a QFII.
The SFC said the second phase of the overhaul, to be implemented before the end of the year, would remove the current
qualification requirements and divide foreign investors into two groups - institutions and individuals.
"In the future, any offshore foreign investor, having completed the initial application, can freely invest into and move
their funds out of Taiwan's market without any limitations," the securities regulator said.
The news was first announced in a televised speech by Chen Shui-bian, president, early in the session and sent the local
Taiex index 3.3 per cent higher to 5,322.26 - its best closing level in 51 weeks.
As the minimum current asset requirement of US$50m-US$100m is removed, additional foreign investments from smaller investors
could gain access to the market.
Weimin Chang, head of Taiwan research at Merrill Lynch, said this could add 5-10 per cent of incremental liquidity in six
months.
But the implication of Monday's announcement on domestic liquidity could turn out to be even more important, Mr Chang said.
"Basically the government said 'We are trying to push up the stock market' and that is very encouraging for domestic
investors."
A QFII license is required for all foreign commercial banks, insurance companies, fund managers, securities houses and other
investment companies that wish to trade in listed securities, derivatives, fixed income and money market instruments in
Taiwan. As of June 20, QFII investors had pumped in US$40.42bn of funds, up from US$39.46bn at the end of May.
Foreign investors bought a net T$210.14bn (US$6.16bn) worth of shares in the Taiwan market in the January-June period and,
according to analysts, have acted as a major support for the market in the past couple of months.
台湾取消外商投资上限
安内特乔森（Anette Jonsson）台北报道
台湾将取消对外国投资者的最高投资限额，放松其他管制, 以吸引更多国际资本进入台湾证券市场。
证券暨期货管理委员会周一说，监管规则第一阶段的调整将在“数日内”生效，从而使台湾与其他国际证交所进一步接轨。
台湾是亚洲第4大股市，市值2286亿美元，以科技公司为主。
在新规则实施的第一阶段, 除了取消对合格境外机构投资者（QFII）30亿美元的投资上限外，还将废止对他们的最低资产要求，并不再要求他
们在获准成为QFII的两年内进行投资。
证券暨期货管理委员会说，今年年底前进入调整的第二阶段，将取消目前的资格要求，并把外国投资者分为机构和个人两大类。
该证券监管机构说：“今后，任何海外投资者在完成最初申请后，其资金可以自由出入台湾市场，不会有任何限制。”
今日早盘，陈水扁总统在电视讲话中率先宣布了这一消息。受其影响，台湾证交所指数上涨3.3%，收市报5322.26点，创下51星期以来的新高。
随着取消5000万到1亿美元的最低流动资产的要求，更多外国小型投资者的资金将可以进入该市场。
美林证券（Merrill Lynch）的台湾研究部主管张为民（音）说，6个月内，这可使增量流动性提高5-10%。
不过，张先生说，周一宣布的这一计划，可能对国内市场的流动性更为重要。他说：“政府想说的是‘我们正尽力拉高股市’，这是令国内投
资者非常鼓舞。”
所有外国商业银行、保险公司、管理基金、证交所以及其它投资者，如果想在台湾交易上市证券、衍生工具、固定收益和货币市场工具等金融
产品，必须持有QFII许可证。截止6月20日，QFII投资者投入的资金已从5月底的394.6亿美元增加到404.2亿美元。
据分析人士说，从1月到6月，外国投资者在台湾市场共买入净值2101.4亿新台币（合61.6亿美元）的股票，是过去几个月来支撑市场的主要因
素。
unit04
Foreign investors show confidence in US assets
By Jennifer Hughes in London and Christopher Swann in Washington
Published: February 17 2004 15:09 | Last Updated: February 17 2004 19:04
Foreign investors gave a vote of confidence in US assets markets last year by increasing the amount of money they invested in
the US even as the dollar fell, according to capital flow data from the US Treasury.
A monthly report released on Tuesday showed net inflows into US markets totalled $75.7bn (
考研英语时文天天读
Text 08White-Collar Man in a Blue-Collar World
My job requires skills, like driving a forklift, I haven't got. My Ivy League education won't help me now.
Can you drive a forklift? Those five deflating words instantly alerted me that my prep－school background and advanced
degrees would mean nothing on the new job.
Like thousands last year, I was downsized from one of those sizzling dotcoms, now dot－gone. Faced with a shrinking job
market, I turned to manual labor. It’s a common trend, now that unemployment is at 5.8 percent. But the transition is seldom
seamless.
I didn’t know that. Indeed, there is a whole tool kit of basic skills that Andover, Bates, Columbia and Harvard never
equipped me with. But there are mo ments when I shine. I can read the Latin on every public building we pass. When the
truckdriver from Quebec arrived with an 18－wheeler of mulch and I began conversing in near－flawless Parisian French about
his long journey and breakfast of croissants, my boss’s eyes lit up.
In hydroseeding, my main responsibility is to guide 200 feet of heavy, serpentine hose while the boss sprays the slime. But
there’s more to my job than wrestling the anaconda.
Sometimes the hose gets clogged. Sometimes the chain comes off the mixer. And sometimes I have to use the side mirrors to
move the 60,000－pound truck in reverse. All these situations require an all－around mechanical common sense that is as
important to the blue－collar worker as the ability to navigate Microsoft Office is to the white－collar one. These are
the"value subtracted"moments my background has not prepared me for.
So I'm happy when those occasions arise when I can offer the benefits of my education. Of course, it annoys the hell out of
my boss how rarely my skill set actually helps us out. And it amazes him how I'm forever dawdling with my coffee and
misplacing it at job sites. Or how I'm morbidly preoccupied with safety－－like the time, fearing electrocution, when I
refused to hold up a lowhanging cable wire to allow our tall truck to pass beneath. （"It carries a signal, not a current!"he
hollered, grabbing it for dramatic effect. ）
In some ways, ours is a clash of cultures. On days off, the boss changes the oil in his pickup, retiles his kitchen floor or
does brickwork；I take my car through the automatic wash, go bird watching or read"Nicholas Nickleby. "This last tickles him
－－so mighty are my struggles reading maps.
But I'm just as strong as he is, and can match him bale for bale, hoisting the 50－pound sacks of seed we fill the truck
with. So there is the basis for a bit of grudging respect. And for all of my drawbacks, I am at least reliable－－a vestige,
perhaps, of the grim"show up at your desk at all costs（if only to sit there）"ethic.
But still it caught me off guard when, with the air now cold and the hydroseeding season over, the boss inquired recently：
"Can you drive a snowplow?"
我的工作所要求的技能，比如开叉车，是我所不具备的。我的名牌大学教育背景现在毫无用处。
"你会开叉车吗？"这句听起来让人泄气的话一下提醒了我，我上大学之前所受的教育和大学中得到的学位在这份工作中都毫无用处。
去年，如同成千上万的人一样，我被一家网络公司裁了员，这些网络公司火爆一时，如今都已成了昨日黄花。由于就业市场萎缩，我不得不去
干体力活。这是一个普遍的趋势，因为失业率已经达到了5.8％。但是这种转变总是令人难熬的。
这一点我的确不知道。实际上，有许多基本技能,安多佛、贝兹、哥伦比亚和哈佛大学都没有教过我。但是我也有闪光的时候，我能读懂每一座
我们所经过的建筑上的拉丁文。当一辆满载地面覆盖物的18轮大卡车从魁北克开来的时候，我开始用近乎纯正的巴黎法语跟司机聊起他的旅程
和羊角面包的早餐，这时老板的眼睛一下亮了起来。
在播种的时候，我的主要工作是在老板向地上喷洒种子和黏胶混合物的时候，拖着200英尺长的沉重的蛇形管。但是我的工作可不仅仅是拖着一
条像蟒蛇一样的管子
有时管子被堵住了，有时卡圈从接合器上掉下来了，有时我必须用侧视镜来倒车，而这辆卡车有６万镑重。这些都需要有良好的机械常识，对
蓝领工人来说，这就像使用微软办公系统对于白领阶层一样重要。这些都是我所不具备的，都是我"跌价"的时刻。
所以，当碰到能显示我所受教育的优势的时候，我就显得格外的高兴。当然，我的技能能够派上用场的时候太少了，这常常把我老板气得够呛
。而且看着我慢吞吞地喝着咖啡，在工地随便乱放，也弄得他无可奈何。还有当我过分强调安全的时候，就像有一次，我拒绝举起一根垂得太
低的电缆线，以便让我们的卡车通过。（他大喊起来："那里面只有信号，没有电流。"说罢一手夺了过去。）
从某种意义上来说，我们的冲突是不同文化间的冲突。在休息日里，老板会给他的小货车换油，或是重铺厨房地板，或做瓦工活；我则开车去
自动洗车场，出去观鸟，或是读《尼克拉斯•尼科比》（狄更斯小说）。这最后一项使他感到很好笑，因为我看地图时总是很费劲。
但是我跟他一样地强壮，论体力我们可以一对一地较量，在把每包重５０磅的种子扛上卡车时，他扛一包，我也能扛一包。所以在这点上，即
使不情愿，他也不能不对我有所敬重。尽管我有许多弱点，但我至少是可靠的---也许是我的脑子里还留着旧的道德观念?";不论付出什么代价
也要准点上班（哪怕只是坐在那里）"。
但是最近天气转冷，育种的季节已过，老板突然问我"你会不会开扫雪机？"，我一下感到措手不及。（史淳 译自Newsweek）
Text 09
Put the effort in every day
As a young boy, I grew up with my eight siblings in a tin-roofed shack in Summerfield, Louisiana. I didn't see my
circumstance as an obstacle, even though we didn't even have a real toilet in the house. I saw my life more as a card that
had been dealt to me and I tried to make the most of it.
I was the youngest of five boys and also had four sisters who had to pull together and take care of each other. Dad wasn't
around, so I never knew him well. He committed suicide when I was three years old, leaving Mom with the job of raising and
providing for nine kids. She worked at a sawmill running a forklift for fifty dollars a week and had another job at a poultry
plant. She was a very hard worker, and in order to make ends meet, she hardly ever rested.
My mom believed in doing all she could do to take care of her responsibilities, so no matter what, she never asked for a
handout. You can imagine; we kids didn't get what we wanted, but we always got the things we needed. With my mom as my
example, I learned that hard work is the best way to get what you want.
While growing up, I was surrounded with temptations to do negative things like drugs, alcohol and all that. I chose not to go
there, even as a little boy, I knew I was going to be successful. Some people take that to be cocky or conceited, but I
wasn't going to let anybody tell me that I couldn't do whatever I set out to do.
Of course, I dreamed about what I wanted to be when I grew up. At first, I wanted be a state trooper, then I wanted to be in
the Special Forces. After a while, I decided that I wanted to drive eighteen-wheelers. There was even a period of time that I
wanted to be in construction. I wanted to play football in high school; in fact, I still do. But regardless of what I chose,
I wanted to make my brothers, sisters and mom proud of me -- not only by being successful in what I chose to do, but also as
a person who could be looked up to for the right reasons.
Surprising as it might seem, basketball wasn't in my plans. One day, my mom cut a rim off an old water barrel and then held
it up for me to throw an old rubber ball through. By junior high, I started playing basketball on a team． I loved to compete
．There was a positive high I got by going out and playing against other people and working hard to win. For me, it paid off.
I just let my success in basketball take its course but I always put the effort in every day. No matter what I've done, some
people wait for my down fall, saying, “ Karl Malone can't do it.” Instead of letting people like that get to me, they are
actually my motivation and I continue to prove them wrong every single day. I try to do the best job I can in a positive way
on and off the court. I realize that no matter what I'm dealing with, there's somebody else out there who has it a littel bit
worse off. I've been there. And I know that without continued hard work, I could be there again.
I am grateful for the life I've enjoyed as a basketball star. But when I see these shirts that say “ Basketball is life,” I
think Yeah, right! It is not life. It can be exciting. But the important thing about basketball is that it gives me a way to
do good things for others as I move through this journey called life．
Success is really about choosing right from wrong, making a positive contribution to the world around you and valuing the
things that are really important -- like family and friends.
While everyone else was looking to popular atheles, actors and musicians as positive role models, my mom was my inspiration,
and she continues to be all these years later. She taught me that hard work never killed anybody. My mom is my hero. She, my
family and friends bring me more joy than anything else in life does.
At the end of my life, I don't want to be remembered as the kind of person who just sat on his rear end and said, “ I've
made it.” I don't ever want to have to say that I didn't give it everything that I've got. Sure there are days that I don't
feel like working hard． ． ． but I do it anyway， cause that's who I am.
每一天都要努力
童年时代的我住在位于路易斯安那州萨墨菲尔德的一间简陋的以铁皮为屋顶的房子里，有8个兄弟姐妹，连一个像样的厕所都没有。但是，我并
没有把这样的家庭环境看成是一个障碍，而是把它当作发到自己手里的一张牌，我所做的努力是要让这张牌发挥出它最大的用处。
我是家里5兄弟中最小的男孩子，还有4个相依为命的姐妹。父亲已经不在人世，他在我3岁的时候就自杀了，我对他几乎没有什么印象。父亲死
后，抚养9个孩子的重担就落在了母亲的肩上。母亲是锯木厂里开叉车的工人，每星期有50美元的收入，此外，她在家禽加工厂还有一份差事。
我母亲是个非常吃苦耐劳的女人，为了养家糊口，她拼命工作，从不休息。
她坚信只要自己努力就一定能够养活全家，所以她从不接受任何施舍。你可以想象我们姊妹兄弟的生活状况：尽管从来买不起自己想要的东西
，但是日常生活的必需品总是能够得到满足。从母亲身上，我懂得了勤奋是获得一切的最佳途径。
随着年龄的增长，我逐渐遇到各种不良行为的诱惑，比如吸毒、酗酒，凡此种种。我从不去那些地方，因为我从小就相信自己长大以后一定能
大有作为。有些人将我的这种想法视为骄傲或自负，但我不这么认为。只要我确定了自己想做的事情，就不允许别人说我做不到。
当然，我也梦想过长大以后想做什么。起初，我想当国民警卫队员，还想过进特种兵部队。后来，我想当一名售装箱大卡车司机。还有一段时
间，我甚至想当一名建筑工人。上高中的时候，我喜爱美式足球，直到现在我还时常玩玩。但不管我选择做什么，我的最终目的是要让母亲和
兄弟姐妹们为我骄傲--不仅要为我在事业上获得成功而骄傲，更要为我成为了一个受人尊重的人而骄傲。
也许听起来会有些令人诧异，篮球当时并没有被列在我的人生计划中。记得有一天，母亲把一只旧水桶沿边剪下一个圈来，为我举着，让我投
橡皮球玩。到了初中，我开始在篮球队里打球。我喜爱打比赛，它给我一种快感，与人比拼，为了获胜，我吃苦耐劳，常代表学校出去比赛。
对我来说，这叫做"天道酬勤"。我并不刻意去争抢成功和荣誉，但是我的的确确每天都在为此付出努力。不管我怎么做，有些人却并不希望看
到我成功。他们说："卡尔•马龙不行。"我一点儿也不计较那些不中听的话，相反，它们倒成了我拼搏的动力。不论赛场内外，我总是努力做到
最好，每一天以自己的实际行动证明他们的话是错误的。我也发现，不管我怎么样应对，身边总有一些人是在退步。我也曾走过下坡路，所以
我明白不进则退的道理。
作为一个篮球明星，我很感谢生活赐予我的这一切。当我看见这些T恤衫上写着"篮球就是生命"时，我要说"是啊，对啊"。但其实篮球并不等于
生命，尽管它很刺激。篮球能够让我在这段所谓“生命”的旅程中为别人做一些好事，我认为这才是最重要的。
成功其实意味着弃恶扬善，为你身边的人们做点好事以及珍惜一切珍贵的东西，比如家人和朋友。
当人们都去选择某个著名的运动员、演员或者歌星作为自己崇拜的偶像时，我却选择母亲作为我的偶像。她是我全部灵感的来源，这些年来一
直如此。她教导我说，勤奋工作从来不会累死人，她是我心目中的英雄。母亲、我的家庭以及朋友所给予我的快乐是生活中其他任何事物所不
能及的。
在我离开人世的那一天，我不愿意在人们记忆中是这样一种人，这种人只是一屁股坐在那里对人说：“我功成名就了”,也永远不想说对我所取
得的一切没有尽到自己最大的努力。当然，我也有过放松懈怠的日子...但无论如何我还是努力去干，因为那毕竟是真实的我。
Text 10
Lie-detector camera looks into your eyes
A new heat-detecting camera can catch a liar in the act - at least 75% of the time, according to a small scientific study out
today.
If additional tests confirm its ability, the lie-detector camera might one day be used by airport security to apprehend
terrorists before they get on an airplane, says researcher James Levine of the Mayo Clinic.
But one critic questions whether the camera would ever be reliable enough to be used on a large scale, or whether it could
spot someone who plans to commit a crime.
Levine's group reported their early findings in today's Nature.
Levine and his colleagues enlisted 20 U.S. Army recruits to help test the camera, which records the heat patterns that are
created when blood rushes to the human face. The researchers told eight of the recruits in the study to commit a mock crime.
They were told to stab a mannequin, rob it of $20, then lie about the "crime." The remaining 12 people in the study knew
nothing about the fake crime.
The researchers took all 20 people into an interrogation room. They asked them whether they had stolen $20 and then recorded
their answers with a standard polygraph test and the new camera.
The camera caught six out of eight liars as they were lying - the same lie-detecting ability as the polygraph test. The
camera also correctly identified 11 of the 12 people who were telling the truth - a slightly better rate than the polygraph.
The study is so small that it can't be used as proof of the camera's ability to catch a thief or a liar, Levine says. Still,
he is hopeful that the camera is recording a subtle flushing of the face that may automatically occur when someone lies.
That flushing may not be caught by the naked eye, but the camera shows a bright red-orange-yellow zone that represents blood
rushing to the eyes. "When someone lies, you get an instantaneous warming around the eyes," he says. Levine speculates that
people who lie are afraid of getting caught. That fear triggers a primitive response to run away. Blood goes to the eyes so
that the liar can more efficiently map out an escape route, he says.
Levine says it may take years before the camera would be ready for a test at a large U.S. airport.
Alan Zelicoff, a senior scientist at the Center for National Security and Arms Control at the Sandia National Laboratories in
Albuquerque, says that even if the camera works as well as it did in this study, it would mistakenly label lots of people as
liars. At a busy U.S. airport, those mistakes could mean a thousand passengers a day who would get pulled aside by security -
a move that would probably mean lots of missed flights and irate passengers, he says.
USA TODAY
测谎摄像机看透眼睛
今日公布的一项小型科研表明，一种新型的热检测摄像机，至少在75%的检测中能当场捉住说谎者。
梅约医院的研究人员James Levine说，如果另外的试验也能证实该机的性能，总有一天，机场保安会运用这种测谎摄像机去逮捕企图登机的恐
怖分子。
但是，一位批评者质疑该摄像机在大规模使用时是否可靠，或它是否真能准确地找出企图犯罪的人。
Levine在今天的《自然》杂志上报告了他们的初步研究结果。
Levine和他的同事选出20名美军新兵参与试验该摄像机，该试验记录着当血涌上人脸时所形成的热图形。研究人员让8名受试的新兵模拟犯罪，
叫他们刺伤人体模型，从中抢走20美元，然后说谎来掩盖这次“罪行”。其余12名受试新兵则对这次模拟犯罪一无所知。
研究人员把20名受试者带入审讯室，审问他们是否偷了20美元，然后用标准测谎仪和新型摄像机记录他们的回答。
摄像机从正在说谎的8人中鉴别出6人说了谎，该机的测谎能力与测试仪相同。摄像机也从12位说实话者中正确地识别出11人，稍强于测谎仪。
Levine说，该研究刚刚起步，该机还不能作为捉住小偷或说谎者的证据，但他希望该机能记录人们在说谎时所自发产生的微微脸红。
肉眼看不到这种脸红，但摄像机可显示一个明亮的红-橙-黄带，它代表人的血液涌到了眼睛上。他说：“当某人说谎时，眼睛周围立即会出现
发热。” Levine推测说，说谎的人害怕被捉住，这种恐惧引起要逃跑的本能反应，血冲到眼睛是为了有助于说谎者更好地找到逃跑线路。
Levine说，可能还要花几年时间，才能将该摄像机投放在美国大型机场做检测用。
在阿尔布开克市的国家实验室的国家安全和军备控制中心，资深科学家Alan Zelicoff说，既使这种摄像机如同它在本次试验中做得一样好，它
也可能将许多人误认为说谎者。 他说，在繁忙的美国机场，这种错误将意味着每天有1千名乘客被保安扣压，这一举动可能造成许多航班误点
，并激怒乘客。
译文今日美国 ReadUSA.cn
Text 11
Asia's currencies will not budge
Japan and Asian emerging market economies have one thing in common: they are desperate to keep their currencies down against
the US dollar. They would far rather lend the US the money with which to buy their exports than endanger their
competitiveness or become reliant on fickle foreign finance. Does this behaviour make sense? Is it likely to change soon? The
answer to these questions is: Yes and, in all probability, No.
The rest of the world has a deep interest in this issue. The Europeans, in particular, long for the Asians to share in the
adjustment to the weakening US dollar. This passionate desire is not surprising. According to the February Consensus
Forecasts, the current account surplus of the Asia-Pacific region was $234bn last year, against only $35bn for the eurozone.
This makes it puzzling, at first glance, that it is the euro, not the Asian currencies, that is soaring.
One explanation could be that the private capital outflow from Asia offsets the current account surplus. But this has not
been the case. According to the Institute for International Finance, Asian emerging market economies ran an aggregate current
account surplus last year of $73bn. In addition, they had a net capital inflow of $114bn. This is why their foreign currency
reserves rose by about $187bn over the year. Meanwhile, Japan's foreign currency reserves rose by $201bn. It has taken vast
intervention to prevent the dollar from tumbling against these currencies.
Why, then, have the Asian countries intervened so persistently and on this enormous scale?
Part of the answer is their determination to preserve export competitiveness. This has a regional dimension, as well. In
2001, for example, the countries of east and south-east Asia (including Japan) sent just under half their exports to one
another. Moreover, China has become the assembly platform for components made throughout the region. The region's
export-oriented countries are determined to preserve competitiveness against its new giant and also against one another.
Yet almost equal in significance are worries about the capital account. For Asian emerging market economies have learnt from
the experience of 1997 and 1998 a lesson that is rather different from that drawn by orthodox economists. The latter believe
that the crisis showed the danger of adjustable pegs. It would be better, goes the argument, to choose between irrevocably
fixed exchange rates (or, better still, dollarisation) and freely floating rates. The directly affected countries drew a
different conclusion. Polonius advised his son to be neither a lender nor a borrower. The Asians decided instead that it was
far better to be a lender than a borrower.
The chief explanation for this is what economists have come to call "original sin", by which they mean the reluctance of
international capital markets to lend in the currencies of emerging economies. If such economies become substantial net
debtors in foreign currency, they become vulnerable to mass bankruptcy or public sector insolvency if their currency tumbles.
Yet just such a collapse becomes likely as foreign currency indebtedness grows.
The solution then is to prevent the country from becoming a net debtor in the first place. This is relatively simple for most
Asian countries, because the saving rates of their private sectors are high. The newly industrialised Asian economies (Hong
Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) had private savings rates of 22 per cent of gross domestic product in 2002. Japan's
private sector savings were 26 per cent of GDP. Asian developing countries, dominated by China, had overall savings rates of
35 per cent of GDP. These high savings rates largely explain why the region is the world's largest capital exporter.
The two obvious ways to eliminate the current account surpluses are an exceptional investment boom (as happened, so
disastrously, before the Asian financial crisis) and huge government dissaving (as is happening in Japan). Exchange rate
appreciation cannot, on its own, bring about the desired outcome. Appreciation is likely, instead, to generate deflation
before the external surpluses re-emerge.
The combination of concerns about competitiveness with risk aversion over foreign currency debt does much to explain Asian
exchange-rate policies. But, as Ronald McKinnon of Stanford University points out, there is even more.* The dollar also
provides an anchor for monetary policy and, given the undeveloped state of the region's financial markets, facilitates
hedging by merchants and banks against exchange rate risk.
The conclusion is that Asian exchange-rate policy is perfectly rational. So when might it change? The answer lies in what
Prof McKinnon calls "conflicted virtue". As the stock of foreign currency accumulates, speculation on an appreciation rises,
making it ever more costly to hold the currency down. In addition, foreigners start complaining about the trade surpluses,
arguing that they are the unfair result of currency undervaluation.
Both these pressures are now emerging. In China, for example, intervention has generated faster growth of money and credit
and rising inflation. As Goldman Sachs notes, inflation was 3.2 per cent in the year to December against minus 0.4 per cent a
year before. In 1971, Richard Nixon imposed an across-the-board import surcharge as a way to force currency realignments.
Since protectionist sentiment is growing in the US, it is possible to imagine this happening once again.
Nevertheless, the pressures are not yet strong enough to trigger a big change in policy. Nor would a change make sense
without a significant shift in the region's macroeconomic policies, as well, towards lower savings rates and higher
consumption. Any change in exchange rates would also need to be led by China. But, for the moment, the Asian giant seems
quite happy to stay where it is.
Whatever Europeans may desire, the prognosis is that Asia will continue to run huge current account surpluses and interfere
in exchange markets. Its governments will not lightly abandon policies that they believe work well for the convenience of any
outsiders.
The East Asian Dollar
不让步的亚洲货币
**和亚洲新兴市场经济国家有一个共性：它们都不顾一切地压低其货币对美元的汇价。它们宁可把钱借给美国，让美国用借来的钱购买它们
向美国出口的商品，而不愿使自己的竞争力受到威胁，或者受变化无定的外国金融市场左右。这种行为有没有合理性呢？会不会很快改变呢？
对第一个问题，回答是肯定的，而第二个问题的答案却是否定的。
世界各国对这个问题极为关心。特别是欧洲期望亚洲分摊美元贬值调整的负担。这种强烈的愿望毫不奇怪。根据英国Consensus Forecasts机构
的预测结果，去年亚太地区的经常帐户盈余为2340亿美元，而欧元区盈余只有350亿美元。乍一看让人迷惑不解，因为上涨的是欧元而不是亚洲
各国货币。
一种解释便是，亚洲私人资本流出抵消了经常帐户盈余。但事实并非如此。按照国际金融研究所（Institute for International Finance）估
计，亚洲新兴市场经济国家去年的经常帐户盈余总额为730亿美元。除此之外，向亚洲国家的资本净流入为1140亿美元。这就是为什么这些国家
的外汇储备在一年中上升了大约1870亿美元。同时，**的外汇储备增加了2010亿美元。这些国家采取了大规模的干预行动以阻止美元兑亚洲
国家货币汇率急剧下跌。
亚洲国家为何如此不屈不挠，进行大规模干预呢？ 部分答案在于，这些国家决意保持出口竞争力。这也有地区因素在起作用。例如，2001年，
东亚和东南亚国家（**除外）间的互相出口占了出口总额不到一半。而且，中国成为整个地区制造零配件的组装平台。该地区面向出口的国
家既要针对新巨人保持竞争力，也要相互间保持竞争力。
但是，对资本帐户的担忧几乎具有同样的重要性。因为亚洲国家汲取了1997至1998年的教训，这个教训与正统经济学家得出的结论有很大不同
。后者相信，那次危机表明，可调整的汇率挂钩制度是危险的。这种观点认为，最好在完全的固定汇率（或者更好是实行美元化）和自由浮动
汇率两者间选择。直接受到影响的国家得出不同的结论。莎士比亚名剧《哈姆雷特》剧中人波洛尼厄斯(Polonius)忠告他的儿子说，既不要借
钱给人，也不要向别人借钱。而亚洲人的结论是，当借钱给人的债权人，比当欠人钱的债务人要好得多。
对这种现象的主要解释是经济学家所称的“原罪”，其含义是，国际资本市场不情愿用新兴经济国家的货币发放贷款。如果这些经济成为主要
的净外币债务国，当它们货币的汇率大幅下降时，将会造成大量倒闭或公共部门无力偿还债务的情况。随着外币债务增长，更可能发生其货币
汇率大跌。
解决这个问题，首先是要防止一个国家成为净债务国。对大多数亚洲国家来说，这是简单的，因为这些国家私人储蓄率很高。2002年，新兴工
业化亚洲经济（香港、新加坡、韩国和台湾）的私人储蓄率相当于国内生产总值的22％。**的私人储蓄率为GDP的26％。以中国为主的亚洲发
展中国家，总储蓄率为GDP的35％。这些高储蓄率可以在很大程度上解释为什么该地区是世界上最大的资本输出地区。
消除经常帐户盈余有两种明显的方法，一是特别高的投资（在亚洲金融危机之前曾经出现并酿成灾难），二是政府大量动用储金（如**正在
发生的情况）。汇率升值本身并不能带来理想的结果。相反，汇率升值有可能在外部盈余出现之前导致通货紧缩。
对失去竞争力以及对规避外币债务风险的关注，这两个因素加在一起，很大程度上可以解释亚洲国家的汇率政策。但是，正如斯坦福大学的罗
纳德#麦金农（Ronald McKinnon）指出的那样，原因不止这些。*美元也为制定货币政策提供一个定位点，在该地区金融市场不发达的背景下，
有助于商人和银行规避外汇风险。
结论是，亚洲汇率政策完全是有理性的。什么时候有可能改变呢？回答在于麦金农教授所称的“冲突的美德”。随着外币资产累积，对升值的
预期也将提高，甚至使将货币汇率压低的成本更高。除此之外，国外开始抱怨贸易盈余，认为这是因为货币低估的不公平竞争造成的。
两种压力现在双双出现。例如，中国的干预造成货币和信用以及通货膨胀率上升。高盛（Goldman Sachs）预测，在截至去年12月份为止的一年
中，中国的通货膨胀率为3.2％，而一年前的通货膨胀率为负0.4％。1971年，美国总统理查德#尼克松（Richard Nixon）实施了全面进口特别
关税，以便强制的汇率调整。由于现在美国的保护主义者思潮正在抬头，可以想象这种情况正在重演。
不过，现在的压力尚不足以触发重大的政策变动。同时，在该地区宏观经济政策未进行重大调整，以鼓励低储蓄率和高消费的情况下，也不存
在改变的合理性。任何政策改变也需要中国率先行动。但是，在目前，这个亚洲巨人似乎很满意它的现行政策。
Text 12
Shipping stocks soar on the back of freight gains
By Kevin Morrison
Published: February 22 2004 18:02 | Last Updated: February 22 2004 18:02
Shipping stocks have jumped sharply during the past 12 months on the back of gains in freight rates.
Container rates have doubled in the past year as China has become the workshop of the world - underlined by a 35 per cent
increase in trade through mainland Chinese ports last year.
Chinese oil imports - up 30 per cent last year - have also helped quadruple oil tanker rates from the 2002 average, mostly in
the past five months.
Barry Norris, manager at Neptune European Opportunities Fund, said investors may have missed out on the strong rise in share
prices because the sector is regarded as a backwater.
However, investors have cashed in as the boom has taken hold. An investment in Denmark's AP Moller-Maersk would have more
than doubled in the past 12 months, because of its exposure to both the tanker and container markets.
John Fredriksen, chairman of Oslo and Nasdaq-listed Frontline, one of the world's largest owners of crude oil tankers, has
seen his 48 per cent stake in the company rise to a value of more than $1bn.
Frontline, which is expected to generate dividends of $500m for all its shareholders in 2003, is trading on a price earnings
ratio of about three, in spite of its strong recent performance. "Compare that with semiconductor firms that are trading at
30 times their peak earnings," said Mr Norris. "Call me old fashioned, but I quite like companies that return money to
shareholders."
Mr Fredriksen, Norway's richest man, has also profited from his 42 per cent stake in Golar LNG, which owns 10 LNG carriers.
His holding is worth almost $500m, more than double its value a year ago.
The rise in shipping costs has created fresh demand for ship brokers, which match cargoes to carriers. Shares in Clarkson of
the UK, one of the few listed shipping brokers, have jumped 170 per cent since the start of last year. Port operators are
also benefitting. Investec, the stockbroker, recommended the UK port sector to investors on the basis of strong growth
generated by rising imports from Asia.
However, many ports on the south coast of England are suffering capacity constraints.
Resources companies are also not pleased by the rise in shipping freight rates. Chip Goodyear, chief executive of BHP
Billiton, the mining group that is the biggest mover of bulk commodities in the world, said the lack of ship availability was
one of the biggest threats to its business.
世界工厂中国 推动全球航运业
凯文•莫里森(Kevin Morrison)报道
2004年2月23日 星期一 出版
由于费率上涨，航运类股票过去12个月里价格大幅攀升。
费率上涨的主要原因是因为中国已成为全球工厂，去年中国大陆主要港口的贸易量猛增35%，集装箱运输费率翻了一倍。
去年中国的石油进口激增30%，也推动了油轮费率急升，达到2002年平均水平的4倍，其中的价格上涨主要集中在最近的五个月。
海王星欧洲机会基金(Neptune European Opportunities Fund)经理人巴里•诺里斯(Barry Norris)说，由于航运板块通常被看成是一潭死水，
投资者可能错过了该板块股票价格的强劲上扬。
但随着该板块的旺盛景象变得稳固，投资者已开始获利。在过去12个月里，如果先前投资了丹麦马士基航运集团(AP Moller-Maersk)，则这笔
投资已经翻了一倍以上，这是因为该公司同时涉足油轮和集装箱市场。
船运公司Frontline董事长约翰•弗雷德里克森(John Fredriksen)已目睹他在该公司48%的股权价值升至逾10亿美元。Frontline公司同时在奥斯
陆和纳斯达克上市，是世界上最大的油轮公司之一。
尽管Frontline近期股价表现强劲，但目前市盈率约为3，预期该公司2003年将为所有股东带来5亿美元股息红利。“与半导体公司收益达到顶峰
时的30倍市盈率相比，”诺里斯先生说，“你可以说我落伍，但我很喜欢那些把金钱回报给股东的公司。”
挪威首富弗雷德里克森先生拥有液化石油气航运公司Golar LNG42%的股权，并也已从中获益匪浅。他所持有的股票现在价值近5亿美元，比一年
前的价值翻了一倍还多。Golar LNG拥有10条液化石油气船。
译者/张征
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