英语听力精选进阶版 7141

Background: 高盛投资银行英国分部的高层老板决定把去年的工资和奖金额度限定在一百万英镑或一百六十万美元之内。

After a year of strong profits, Goldman Sachs bankers could have been in line for even larger bonuses.

But in Britain the top hundred or so are limiting themselves to $1.6m (6.8m yuan) in total.

The saving to the bank could be worth several hundred million dollars.

Other executives at the bank are not subject to this limit however.

The move suggests the bank is responding to public and political pressure over pay in the financial sector¹, though to many people the figure will not seem to show very much restraint.

Goldman Sachs did not receive direct support from the British Treasury², though it did receive an investment from the US government which it has now repaid.

Two days ago, it emerged that the British bank Barclays would defer³ payment of some bonuses, a move intended to reduce the incentive⁴ to take excessive risks.

Glossary⁵ 词汇表

Goldman Sachs bankers 高盛的银行家们 

executives 高管（高层管理人员） 

restraint 工资限额/约束 

British Treasury 英国财政部 

investment 投资 

defer 推迟 

incentive 动力/刺激/鼓励 

excessive risks 过度风险

Questions and Answers

1. True or False? Goldman Sachs lost more money than they made. 

False. They made strong profits.

2. How many Goldman Sachs bankers are limiting their bonus? 

Around 100.

3. Did the bank receive direct help from the British government? 

No, it was given aid by the US government.

4. What has Barclays bank decided⁶ to do? 

Barclays will put off the payment of bonuses to a later date.

1 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

4 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

5 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。