2011年3月高级口译听力全文：

Spot dictation

Renowned US economist John Rutledge, who helped frame the fiscal policies of two former US presidents, warned that an abrupt rise in China’s currency could lead to another Asian financial crisis. The founder of Rutledge Capital told the media that if the Yuan rises too fast and too high, it would discourage foreign direct investment in China, while encouraging currency manipulation by market speculators. Currency change is more difficult for investors and more exciting for speculators. The Chinese currency has appreciated by more than 5% since July 2005 when the country allowed the Yuan to float against the US dollar with a daily band of 0.3%. The analysts are expecting the currency to rise another 4% by the end of this year. But if the Yuan rose 20% to 30% as some US politicians are demanding, it would jeopardize the Chinese economy, causing a recession and deflation. Similar advice to allow an abrupt appreciation of a currency led to the Asian financial crisis in 1997, and came very close to destroying the Japanese economy. The US economist says that investors want foremost to avoid risks associated with large fluctuations in currency and inflation. They calculate returns on their investment after evaluating risks to benefits such as lower labor cost. A rising Yuan will drive up labor costs for foreign investors and would not result in higher wages for workers. Earlier reports said that currency speculators had pumped 200 billion US dollars into China by the end of last year with another 70 billion US dollars flowing into the economy in the first 3 months of this year. There’s no way to accurately track the flow of this type of investment, and many economists disagree that the amount of speculative cash is so high. Instead of further appreciating its currency, China should make the Yuan convertible to the US dollar. If the Yuan were more easily converted into foreign currencies, it would allow Chinese companies to expand overseas, facilitate the purchase of foreign technology, and provide management experience and capital that China needs. It would also shrink Forex reserves and reduce speculative money coming into the country.

Listening comprehension

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following conversation.

W: Hi, Robert, you are 20 now, right?

M: Right.

W: What do you think about what Nina said?

M: I definitely agree that younger people are less intimidated by technology. But when I compare myself with other people my age, I don't see myself particularly good with computers. Most of my friends are much better with computers than I am. But this summer, I worked in an office with lots of adults. And I realized that I'm a lot more comfortable with technology than they are.

W: Do you use email a lot?

M: Well, I do agree that letters make better keep-seeks. But email is just so much more convenient. For example, I'm away at college now, and I don't know how I could keep in touch with my high school friends without email. I like email because it's such a casual form of communication. It's great for just saying "hello" and checking upon people. For more standard interaction, I still use the phone a lot; but for just telling people that you thought of them that day or that you miss them, email is great.

W: How often would you say that you email people?

M: Well, I check my email at least 5 times a day, I would have to admit. Actually, probably a bit more. I also have I AM, that is instant messaging, can figured so that it loads the program automatically whenever I turn on my computer. So I AM on that is as well. It definitely makes you spend more time on the computer than you meant to. Sometimes I just turn on my computer to check on one little thing. And all of a sudden, three people send me instant messages, and I talk to them for half an hour. But it's not a waste of time. Because I love to hear from my friends.

W: So young people are better with computers than adults?

M: I don't know if kids are really better at computers or just more used to them. Computers can definitely be an intimidating, especially when they go wrong. For people who are familiar with them, I think a typical response is to use them as little as possible. My dad is like that. But once you get over your initial fear of just fettling around with them and texting things out. It becomes a lot more fun and it's really not difficult.

M: What about your friends?

M: Well, I guess my generation is hooked on the Internet. But people don't make it their whole life. It's just one other thing they like to do. It really opens up a lot of doors. The Internet, it makes a lot of things accessible. My college now is a pretty web-based school. At first, I was a little bit surprised, at how much the Internet was used. Like for example, all of my syllabi for my classes are on line.

W: Do you think the Internet has any disadvantages?

M: Well, something that is bad about Internet is that not everyone has access to web. I feel like when my generation is grown up in part of the work force, computer skills are just going to be assumed. They want to be an added asset like I think as a ...so what will happen to the people in my generation who don't have these computer skills, you know? There're really going to be disadvantages. So I think the Internet could increase the disparities between different classes which is horrible or maybe technology just stimulates the existing disparities in a different way. I'm not sure, in my own life, though, I love having the Internet. I don't know what I do without it.

Question1. Which of the following statements does Robert definitely agree with?

Question2. Robert explains why he uses emails a lot, which of the following is not one of his reasons?

Question 3. What makes Robert spend a lot of time on the computer?

Question 4. What does Robert is bad about the Internet?

Question 5. According to Robert, what will happen to people in his generation when they don't have these computer skills?