Question

    Financial regulations in Britain have imposed a rather unusual rule on the bosses of big banks. Starting next year, any guaranteed bonus of top executives could be delayed 10 years if their banks are under investigation for wrongdoing. The main purpose of this “clawback” rule is to hold bankers responsible for harmful risk-taking and to restore public trust in financial institution. Yet officials also hope for a much larger benefit: more long-term decision-making not only by banks but also by all corporations, to build a stronger economy for future generations.

“Short-termism” or the desire for quick profits, has worsened in publicly traded companies, says the Bank of England’s top economist, Andrew Haldane. He quotes a giant of classical economies, Alfred Marshall, in describing this financial impatience as acting like “Children who pick the strawberries out of their pudding to eat them at once” rather than putting them aside to be eaten last.

The average time for holding a stock in both the United States and Britain, he notes, has dropped from seven years to seven months in recent decades. Transient(短期的) investors, who demand high quarterly profits from companies, can hold back a firm’s efforts to invest in long-term research or to build up customer loyalty. This has been called “quarterly capitalism”.

In addition, new digital technologies have allowed more rapid trading of equities( 股 票 ), quicker use of information, and thus shortens attention spans in financial markets. “There seems to be an advantage of short-term thinking at the expense of long-term investing,” said Commissioner Daniel Gallagher of the US Securities and Exchange Commission in speech this week.

In the US, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has pushed most public companies to delay performance bonuses for senior executives by about a year, slightly helping reduce “short-termism.” In its latest survey of CEO pay, The Wall Street Journal finds that “a substantial part” of executive pay is now tied to performance.

Much more could be done to encourage “long-termism,” such as changes in the tax code and quicker disclosure(披露) of stock acquisitions. In France, shareholders who hold onto a company investment for at least two years can sometimes earn more voting rights in a company.

Within companies, the right compensation design can provide motivation for executives to think beyond their own time at the company and on behalf of all shareholders. Britain’s new rule is a reminder to bankers that society has an interest in their performance, not just for the short term but for the long term.

1.According to Paragraph 1, one reason for imposing the new rule is the _______.

A.enhance banker’s sense of responsibility

B.help corporations achieve larger profits

C.build a new system of financial regulation

D.guarantee the bonuses of top executives

2.It is argued that the influence of transient investment on public companies can be _______.

A.indirect B.negative

C.favorable D.temporary

3.The US and France examples in paragraphs 5 and 6 are used to illustrate_______.

A.the obstacles to preventing “short-termism”.

B.the significance of long-term thinking.

C.the approaches to promoting “long-termism”

D.the popularity of short-term thinking.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A.Failure of Quarterly Capitalism

B.Patience as a Corporate Virtue

C.Decisiveness Required of Top Executives

D.Frustration of Risk-taking Bankers

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.B

【解析】

本文为新闻报道。英国金融法规实施了一条不寻常的规定，让银行家为不良风险负责以及修复公众对金融机构的信任。所有的公司都要做出“长期”投资，为子孙后代建设更强的经济。

1.细节理解题。根据题干关键词Paragraph 1和one motive in imposing the new rule定位到第一段第三句The main purpose of this “clawback” rule is to hold bankers responsible for harmful risk-taking and to restore public trust in financial institution.这项“clawback”规则的主要目的是让银行家为有害的风险承担责任，并修复公众对金融机构的信任。由此可知，实施新规则的原因是强化银行家的责任感。分析选项：选项A的enhance bankers’ sense of responsibility（增强银行家的责任感）符合题意。干扰项B项help corporations achieve larger profits（帮助公司获得更大的利润）并未提及，是常识性干扰。选项C的build a new system of financial regulation（建立新的金融监管体系）原文并未提及，属于无中生有；选项D的guarantee the bonuses of top executives（保证高层管理人员的奖金）与原文提到的any guaranteed bonus of top executives could be delayed 10 years（任何有保证的高管奖金都可能推迟10年），与表述相反，是错误的。综合可知，选A。

2.细节理解题。根据题干关键词the influence of transient investment on public companies定位到原文第三段第二句Transient investors, who demand high quarterly profits from companies, can hinder a firm’s efforts to invest in long-term research or to build up customer loyalty. 短暂的投资者，要求公司季度利润高会妨碍公司投资于长期研究或建立客户忠诚度的努力，因此可知“短期投资”的影响是不好的，分析选项B中的“negative”意思是“负面的，消极的”，与原文中的“hinder(阻碍，打扰)”是一致的。因此B符合题意，故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据题干关键词US and France examples定位到原文五、六段，第五段为美国的例子（美国延迟发放才上任一年左右的高管绩效津贴，继而促进缓解“短期主义”盛行的现状）和第六段以法国为促进“长期主义”投资采取的方法（法国持股两年以上者拥有更大的选票权）。第六段首句承前启后过渡到Much more could be done to encourage “long-termism”(促进“长期主义”投资还有很多方法)。由此可推断出第五和第六段中以美法为例来说明促进“长期主义”投资的方法。故选C。

4.主旨大意题。纵观全文，文章围绕西方国家的金融行业的“短期主义”投资和“长期主义”投资展开，第一段由一项限制高管津贴措施引出话题：促进金融投资的“长期主义的规划”。第二段介绍目前英国“短期主义”投资占主流，是没有耐心（impatience）。第三段介绍“短期主义”的弊端，第四段介绍美国现阶段的“短期主义”投资的愈发盛行。第五段和第六段举例美国缓解“短期主义”投资、法国为促进“长期主义”投资采取的措施，尾段再次呼应首段：点明英国新政府提醒银行家们注重“长期主义”投资，长期的投资需要耐心（patience）。由此可知“耐心是公司的美德”为短文最佳标题。分析选项，可知B选项Patience对应原文形容short temisim（没耐心impatience）和 long temisim(有耐心patience)。而corporate原文多次出现，为本文的关键词，符合最佳选项。而其余三项都不能概括全文，可排除，只有B选项正确，故选B。