when ibm announced an overhaul of its pension plan for employees in america last week, it joined a parade of employers that are shifting more responsibility for saving for retirement on to workers. for many americans, of course, this is nothing new: millions of them have been managing their retirement assets in individual accounts for years. nevertheless, in both america and britain the closure of paternalistic(家长式作风的，感情主义的) corporate "defined benefit" programmes, in which pensions depend on earnings and years of service, is accelerating—even at healthy companies such as ibm.
to the extent that this creates and encourages individual choice and responsibility, it is something to welcome rather than to fear. many other countries, facing huge state—pension obligations, would also like to see their citizens assume a bigger role in providing for their own retirement. even so, the trend raises an important question: how much do people due to take on these new responsibilities know about basic financial concepts?
the answer seems to be; not much, and less than they think they do. studies show that many people overestimate their knowledge of everything from inflation to risk diversification and compound interest. one survey in australia found that 37% of people who owned investments did not know that they could fluctuate in value. in america 31% did not know that the finance charge on a credit-card-statement is what they pay to use credit. britain’s financial services authority will release the results of its own survey on financial literacy in the next month or two.
even educated professionals may know the basics but see no need to keep up to date—having no idea of the interest rates on their credit cards, the fees on their mutual funds or how their investments are doing. but in both america and britain low personal saving rates (negative in america, indeed) and record numbers of personal bankruptcies do not bode well. if people are to take charge of their pensions, shouldn’t they know a little more?
in the end, ignorance could rebound on governments: if people save too little for old age, the state may have to provide for them willy-nilly(不管愿意与否). "governments are taking this very seriously." says barbara smith of the organisation for economic co-operation and development, which recently produced a report on global financial literacy.just this week the british govern- ment launched an online debt calculator for overstretched consumers and a money-management course for teenagers that will be offered in schools across the country later this year. new zealand is another country trying to catch its people young; one official financial—information website there (www.sorted.org.nz) includes an online game on "money island".
词汇：bankruptcy n. 破产，倒闭 overhaul n. 彻底革新
bode vt./vi. 预示，预兆 diversification n. 分散化，多种经营
31. it is informed in the text that__________.
a. ibm cannot help but overhaul its pension plan
b. ibm takes much responsibility for saving for retirement
c. workers will assume more financial responsibility for their old age
d. most americans have taken on responsibility for saving for retirement
32. corporate "defined benefit" programmes will come to an end primarily because________.
a. most companies are not so healthy as ibm
b. it can help companies relieve their pension obligations
c. millions of americans have opened their individual accounts for years
d. more factors should be taken into consideration for a healthy pension plan
33. if one is to assume more financial responsibility, he should have more knowledge about_____.
a. risk diversification
b. basic financial concepts
c. how much he pays to use credit
d. the fluctuation in value of his investment
34. it can be inferred from the text that________.
a. even professionals are short of financial information
b. personal saving rates will no doubt increase remarkably
c. professionals are usually better prepared for their retirement
d. there will be less personal bankruptcies in both america and britain
35. the main idea of this text is that_________.
a. most people are very ignorant about investment
b. individuals should have more choices and responsibility
c. individuals should be better prepared for their retirement
d. government should provide official financial-information
参考答案：31. c 32. b 33. b 34. a 35. c
Natural Medicine
Since earliest days, humans have used some kinds of medicines. We know this because humans have survived. Ancient treatments for injury and disease were successful enough to keep humans from dying out completely.
They were successful long before the time of modern medicine. Before the time of doctors with white coats and shiny (发亮的) instruments. Before the time of big hospitals with strange and wonderful equipment.
Many parts of the world still do not have university-educated doctors. Nor do they have expensive hospitals. Yet injuries are treated. And diseases are often cured, how? By ancient methods. By medicines that might seem mysterious, even magical (有魔力的). Traditional medicines are neither mysterious nor magical, however.
Through the centuries, tribal (部落的) medicine men experimented with plants. They found many useful chemicals in the plants. And scientists believe many of these traditional medicines may provide the cure for some of today's' most serious diseases.
Experts say almost 80% of the people in the world use plants for health care. These natural medicines are used not just because people have no other form of treatment. They are used because people trust them. In developed areas, few people think about the source of the medicines they buy in a store. Yet many widely-used medicines are from ancient sources, especially plants. Some experts say more than 25% of modern medicines come, in one way or another, from nature.
Scientists have long known that nature is really a chemical factory. All living things contain chemicals that help them survive. So scientists' interest in traditional medicine is not new. But it has become an urgent concern. This is because the earth's supply of natural medicines may be dropping rapidly.
1. The passage indicates that ancient treatments for injury and disease were
A. much more successful than modern ones.
B. successful in all cases.
C. successful enough for humans to survive
D. of little help to humans
2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Many big and modern hospitals are expensive.
B. Modern medicines are now available all over the world.
C. Traditional medicines are neither mysterious nor magical.
D. Humans have used some kinds of medicines since earliest days.
3. It is believed by scientists that traditional medicine
A. can cure all kinds of diseases
B. are no longer useful for modern men
C. may cure some of today's most serious diseases.
D. are too cheap to be useful
4. What do the majority of the people in the world use for health care?
A. plants
B. factory-produced chemicals
C. modern medicines
D. strange and wonderful equipment
5. It can be seen from the passage that the earth's supply of natural medicines
A. may never be exhausted
B. is surprisingly big
C. may be dropping rapidly
D. is as rich as ever
答案：
1.C.分析：借助常识和被选项中的用词判断C是答案。如果借助原文：利用ancient treatments作为答案线索词，这样在第一段中找到直接答案相关句(Ancient treatments for injury and disease were successful enough to keep humans from dying out completely/古代对于身体受伤和疾病的治疗一直都是很成功的，这些治疗方法足以让人类免于完全灭亡。)
2.B. 分析：借助常识和被选项中的用词(用了语意绝对的词)判断B(说法太绝对)是答案。如果借助原文 Many parts of the world still do not have university-educated doctors. Nor do they have expensive hospitals.(世界上许多地方仍然没有经过大学教育的医生。这些地方也没有昂贵的医院。) 判断B错误。
3.C. 分析：借助常识和被选项中的用词判断C(C的说法较为客观)是答案。如果借助原文：利用scientists作为答案线索词，这样找到直接答案相关句： And scientists believe many of these traditional medicines may provide the cure for some of today's' most serious diseases.(科学家相信这些传统的医药能为一些今天最严重的疾病提供治疗)
4.A 分析：围绕文章主题选择(文章标题natural medicine)直接选择答案。
5.C.分析：借助常识和被选项中的用词判断C是答案。如果借助原文：利用the earth's supply of natural medicines作为答案线索词，这样找到直接答案相关句：This is because the earth's supply of natural medicines may be dropping rapidly.(这是因为地球上对天然草药的供应可能会显著下降。)
编辑推荐：
