历年考研英语阅读理解mp3(97-5)

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[00:03.79]1997 Passage5
[00:07.51]Much of the language used to describe monetary¹ policy,
[00:11.35]such as "steering² the economy to a soft landing"
[00:14.87]or "a touch on the brakes",
[00:17.31]makes it sound like a precise science.
[00:20.90]Nothing could be further from the truth.
[00:23.94]The link between interest rates and inflation is uncertain.
[00:28.47]And there are long, variable lags
[00:30.74]before policy changes have any effect on the economy.
[00:35.18]Hence the analogy that likens
[00:37.01]the conduct of monetary policy
[00:39.43]to driving a car with a blackened windscreen,
[00:42.26]a cracked rearview mirror and a faulty steering wheel.
[00:46.90]Given all these disadvantages,
[00:49.22]central bankers seem to have had much to boast about of late.
[00:54.67]Average inflation in the big seven industrial economies
[00:58.50]fell to a mere³ 2.3% last year,
[01:01.93]close to its lowest level in 30 years,
[01:05.05]before rising slightly to 2.5% this July.
[01:09.59]This is a long way below the double-digit rates
[01:12.71]which many countries experienced
[01:14.93]in the 1970s and early 1980s.
[01:19.17]It is also less than most forecasters had predicted.
[01:22.59]In late 1994 the panel of economists⁵
[01:26.63]which The Economist⁴ polls each month said that
[01:30.36]America's inflation rate would average 3.5% in 1995.
[01:36.62]In fact, it fell to 2.6% in August,
[01:40.86]and is expected to average only about
[01:43.61]3% for the year as a whole.
[01:47.24]In Britain and Japan
[01:48.80]inflation is running half a percentage point
[01:51.42]below the rate predicted at the end of last year.
[01:55.36]This is no flash in the pan;
[01:57.52]over the past couple of years,
[01:59.53]inflation has been consistently lower than expected
[02:02.87]in Britain and America.
[02:05.89]Economists have been particularly surprised
[02:08.81]by favourable⁶ inflation figures in Britain
[02:11.74]and the United States,
[02:13.45]since conventional measures suggest that both economies,
[02:17.58]and especially America's,
[02:19.97]have little productive slack.
[02:22.29]America's capacity utilisation, for example,
[02:25.71]hit historically high levels earlier this year,
[02:28.85]and its jobless rate (5.6% in August)
[02:32.98]has fallen below most estimates
[02:35.19]of the natural rate of unemployment
[02:37.42]--the rate below which inflation has taken off in the past.
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[02:42.66]Why has inflation proved so mild?
[02:45.38]The most thrilling explanation is,
[02:47.70]unfortunately, a little defective⁷.
[02:50.33]Some economists argue
[02:52.06]that powerful structural⁸ changes in the world
[02:54.68]have upended the old economic models
[02:57.80]that were based upon the historical link
[03:00.42]between growth and inflation.

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

3 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 favourable   

adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
• We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。

7 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

8 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。