Computerised trading agents may help humans build better markets
THANKS to declining markets, investment banks are getting rid of many of their highly-paid traders. When markets recover, the banks might be tempted to replace them with rather cheaper talent. One alternative has been around for a while but has yet to catch on: autonomous trading agents-computers programmed to act like the human version without such annoying costs as holidays, lunch breaks or bonuses. Program trading has, of course, been done before; some blamed the 1987 stock market crash on computers instructed with simple decision-making rules. But robots can be smarter than that.
Dave Cliff, a researcher at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in Bristol, England, has been creating trading robots for seven years. In computer simulations he lets them evolve "genetically", and so allows them to adapt and fit models of real-world financial markets. His experiments have suggested that a redesign of some markets could lead to greater efficiency. Last year, a research group at IBM showed that Mr Cliff's artificial traders could consistently beat the human variety, in various kinds of market. Nearly all take the shape of an auction(拍卖). One well-known type is the English auction, familiar to customers of the salesrooms(拍卖场)of Christie's and Sotheby's, where sellers keep mum on their offer price, and buyers increase their bids by stages until only one remains.
At the other extreme is the Dutch auction, familiar to 17th-century tulip-traders in the Netherlands as well as to bidders for American Treasury bonds. Here, buyers remain silent, and a seller reduces his price until it is accepted. Most markets for shares, commodities, foreign exchange and derivatives are a mixture of these two types: buyers and sellers can announce their bid or offer prices at any time, and deals are constantly being closed, a so-called "continuous double auction".
Mr Cliff's novel idea was to apply his evolutionary computer programs to marketplaces themselves. Why not, he thought, try and see what types of auction would let traders converge(趋同) most quickly towards a balance price? The results were surprising. In his models, auctions that let buyers and sellers bid at any time like most of today's financial exchanges were less efficient than ones that required relatively more bids from either buyers or sellers. These "evolved auctions" also withstood big market shocks, such as crashes and panics, better than today's real-world versions. Mr Cliff's most recent results, which will be presented in Sydney, Australia, on December 10th, show that the best type of auction for any market depends crucially on even slight differences in the number of buyers and sellers.
Bank of America has been investigating these new auctions, along with robotic traders, for possible use in electronic exchanges. The hope is that today's financial auctions and online marketplaces might work better by becoming more like their English and Dutch ancestors.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. A review of two kinds of auctions. B. An introduction of trading robots.
C. A survey of the trading market. D. About trading alternatives.
2.Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. Mr Cliff’s robot traders have now been used in real-world markets.
B. Robot traders can evolve like creatures.
C. There is room for improvement in efficiency in trading markets.
D. The English auction is the most popular trading form.
3.What can we infer from the text?
A. Existing auctions cannot withstand market shocks
B. The Dutch auction is better than the continuous double auction
C. It’s hard for traders to reach a balanced price
D. The best type of auction takes place when the number of the buyers is equal to that of sellers
4.What’s the author’s attitude toward robot traders?
A. Prejudiced B. Objective C. Critical D. Optimistic
Chances are you’ve enjoyed a cup of coffee from Starbucks. Since the opening of the first Starbucks in 1971 as a vendor of high-quality coffee beans and brewing equipment, the company has expanded to become the most popular coffeehouse chain in the world. Its 14,000 stores in 43 countries sell coffee beverages, beans, teas, brewing equipment, pastries, and more. How did this happen?
Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz took over the company in 1987. He recognized an untapped market in busy individuals in urban areas who could afford fine coffees. In 1995, Schultz hired Anna Niess and Will Chassaing to redesign his booming chain. In addition to laying the groundwork for Starbucks’ well-known symbols and distinctive style, they created a program that led to opening one store per day throughout the 1990s.
One thing that makes Starbucks so popular is the company’s vision of their stores as a “third place” to spend time in addition to work and home. It’s a cozy environment that serves as a meeting place. This attracts a loyal following of customers that come not only to drink coffee, but to relax, work, socialize, and attend cultural events.
Schultz still sees a great deal of potential for his company. Starbucks plans to have 40,000 stores worldwide with 20,000 in the US and Canada. The company is now a household name around the world.
Howard Schultz is the perfect example of a person living the American dream. After growing up in public housing, he received a football scholarship to Northern Michigan University. This allowed him to become the first in his family to graduate from college in 1975.
Schultz first experienced Starbucks as a salesman for Swedish drip coffeemakers on a trip to visit the Seattle company that had been buying his products. A year later, he joined the company. Conflict arose when Schultz recommended Starbucks sell brewed coffee in addition to beans and equipment. The owners disagreed, and in 1985, Schultz went on to start his own coffee shop, II Giornale. In 1987, the original Starbucks owners sold their company to Schultz, and refocused their attention on selling coffee beans and teas.
Schultz promoted an aggressive expansion of Starbucks throughout the US and Canada. When Starbucks began selling stock shares in 1992, he had already grown the chain to 165 stores. Throughout the expansion of Starbucks, Schultz has held strong principles of social responsibility. Starbucks takes good care of its employees with health insurance, stock options (认股权), and stable hours. In fact, under Schultz, Starbucks has been consistently ranked one of the best places to work in the US and UK.
Commitments to environmentalism, fair pay for coffee bean growers, and a positive contribution to society contribute to Schultz’s reputation as a truly ethical (道德的) businessman. That means with Schultz in charge of Starbucks, you can enjoy your coffee with a clear conscience.
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
Starbucks sells coffee beverages, beans, teas, brewing equipment, pastries and more.
The original Starbucks owners focused their attention on selling coffee beans and brewing equipment until 1987.
Starbucks has been the best place to work in the US and UK.
It was Anna Niess and Will Chassaing who redesigned Starbucks’s well- known symbols and style.
1.What makes Starbucks so popular?
A.Starbucks’ care for its employees.
B.Starbucks’ Chairman Howard Schultz.
C.Starbucks’ expansion around the world
D.Starbucks’ cozy environment
2.Which of the following is the correct order of the events?
a．Schultz started his own coffee shop.
b. Schultz recommended Starbucks sell brewed coffee.
c. Schultz bought Starbucks.
d. Schultz grew the chain to 165 stores.
A. b, c, a, d B. b, a, c, d C. b, c, d, a D. b, a, d, c
3.What helps Schultz to earn a reputation as a truly ethical businessman?
A.His being the first to graduate in his family.
B.The fast expansion of Starbucks.
C.His strong principles of social responsibility.
D.His being the perfect example of a person living the American dream.
Is there a magic cutoff period when offspring become accountable for their own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become spectators (旁观者) in the lives of their children and shrug, "It' s their life," and feel nothing?
When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital corridor waiting for doctors to put a few stitches in my son' s head. I was asked, "When do you stop worrying?" A nurse said, "When they get out of the accident stage." My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.
When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked incessantly, disrupted (打断) the class, and was headed for a career making license plates. As if to read my mind, a teacher said, "Don't worry. They all go through this stage, and then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy them." My mother listened and said nothing.
When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring and the cars to come home, the front door to open.
My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life. I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted by my mother' s wan ( 淡淡的 ) smile and her occasional words, "You look pale. Are you all right? Call me the minute you get home."
Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry? Is concern for one another handed down like a torch to blaze the trail of human frailties and the fears of the unknown? Is concern a curse? Or is it a virtue that elevates us to the highest form of life?
One of my children became quite irritable recently, saying to me, "Where were you? I' ve been calling for three days, and no one answered. I was worried! ! !"
I smiled a wan smile.
1.What can we know about the author’s mother from the passage?
A. She seems to laugh at the author.
B. She is not concerned about the author.
C. She has a thorough understanding of the author.
D. She tries to give the author some encouragement.
2.What did the author do in her forties?
A. She was less concerned about her children.
B. She couldn't stop worrying about her children.
C. She would like her children to see her often.
D. She became more patient with her children.
3.Why did the author smile a wan smile at the end of the passage?
A. She wanted to learn from her mother.
B. She stopped worrying about her children at last.
C. She succeeded in tricking her children.
D. She got a kind of satisfaction from her child's concern.
4.The main purpose of the passage is to tell us that ______.
A. the concern between parents and children is natural
B. parents’ love for their children is selfless
C. parents show more concern for their children
D. parents will worry about their children all their lives
第三部分 阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When the first spring flowers blossom, Easter comes. It is the oldest Christian feast, in memory of the resurrection (复活) of Jesus Christ.
Along with the traditional Easter walk or outing, the giving of Easter eggs and, more recently, of Easter presents is a main feature of the feast. Parents give their children “Easter eggs” – colored and boiled eggs, chocolate eggs, marzipan eggs – Easter bunnies, sweets, and other gifts. In some German regions, children virtually “collect” Easter eggs from their relatives, especially their godparents.
Usually, the Easter eggs are carefully hidden in the garden or in the house and the children must search for them on the morning of the Sunday. They are told that the Easter bunny has brought them. This anonymous, mysterious bunny is like Santa Claus at Christmas. But it is less of an “educational” figure than Santa Claus is, since the eggs are not given to children as rewards for being good.
Some Easter egg games have been preserved at certain places in Germany or have even been newly developed. Children try to outdo others in rolling colored eggs down grassy slopes, for instance, or they knock the eggs’ pointed ends together and the child whose egg does not shatter gets the broken one, too. In some places, this custom was even used as the name of local festival.
1.What are the main features of Easter?
A.Easter walk, Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and sweets.
B.Easter outing and the giving of Easter presents.
C.Easter walk, Easter eggs, Easter bunnies and Easter egg games.
D.Easter outing, the collecting of Easter eggs, and Easter games
2.The underlined word “outdo” means ________.
A. do better than B. do worse than C. do slower than D. do the same as
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A.Easter bunny will give gifts to children for better or worse.
B.Easter bunny is very similar to Santa Claus, as they both bring gifts to children.
C.Easter always falls on a Sunday.
D.Some of the local festivals are named by Easter egg games.
第二节 完形填空 (共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分)
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When we visit another country, differences in music and dance are 36 some of the first things that we notice. Every culture has 37 its own types of music and dance, which are very different from those of other societies.
Each type of music usually has a distinctive rhythm and a special sound, 38 on the kinds of instruments that are used to produce it. The most common type of instruments are
39 instruments, such as guitars and violins; wind instruments, including horns and flutes. Many different kinds of musical sounds 40 be created by using different combinations of instruments.
The human voice is a very special kind of instrument, 41 it can produce a great number of different sounds with different 42 , ranging from loud to soft. Singing is very popular in most cultures because it allows us to 43 words and ideas with music.
Societies coordinate body movements with musical rhythms to create 44 . Sometimes people dance for fun and individual expression. Dances can also be used to 45 ideas to an audience. Hawaiian dancers, 46 , use arm and hand movements to express the meaning of a song. In the same way, many societies use dances in religious ceremonies 47 to tell about important events.
Music and dance are passed from one 48 to another and thus become a permanent part of the society and 49 culture. Of course, as cultures come 50 contact with each other, the music and dance of one society may be accepted by other societies, or the different styles may be combined to 51 a new kind of music or dance. Some Latin American music, for example, has taken 52 from Indian cultures and mixed them with those from European and African cultures. 53 , popular music from England and the US can be heard in countries 54 the world, 55 it has had an influence on musical tastes, especially among young people.
36. A. unlikely B. probably C. likely D. surely
37. A. installed B. developed C. meant D. established
38. A. depending B. relying C. playing D. resting
39. A. thread B. cord C. string D. band
40. A. can B. might C. must D. should
41. A. when B. since C. after D. although
42. A. heights B. sizes C. volumes D. tones
43. A. express B. explain C. provide D. compose
44. A. sounds B. songs C. dances D. moves
45. A. give B. perform C. translate D. communicate
46. A. for example B. such as C. that is D. on the contrary
47. A. just B. as C. or D. only
48. A. country B. people C. generation D. time
49. A. their B. the C. form D. its
50. A. to B. into C. for D. with
51. A. join B. show C. become D. form
52. A. advantages B. styles C. features D. origins
53. A. However B. On the contrary C. Besides D. Similarly
54. A. over B. across C. through D. along
55. A. where B. when C. which D. what
― Have you ever talked to your fiancée about the wedding yet?
― No, I’d like to, ______.
A. indeed B. yet C. anyway D. though
