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《考研英语阅读理解100篇 高分版》 Unit 5 - TEXT ONE

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2019年01月31日

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Boosted by booming international financial markets, the City of London has not had it so good since the end of the dotcom bonanza in the late 1990s. Basking in double-digit growth rates, London's law firms have both contributed to that success and benefited from it. The earnings of top city lawyers can now exceed £2m a year.
Having opted to expand and go global ahead of most others, Britain's leading law firms tend to be bigger than their American rivals. Indeed, according to a survey of the world's top 50 law firms, compiled by Legal Business, a British trade paper, five of the world's top six law firms—in terms of turnover—are now British (if DLA Piper, the result of an Anglo-American merger, is included). But they have tended to lag behind in terms of their profitability. That is now changing.
The profit margins of the city's five “magic circle” firms—Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Freshfields—have soared in recent years and are now comparable with, if not higher than, those of New York's “white shoe” elite. Slaughter and May, the only one of the five not to have gone global, has the joint second-highest profit margin among the top 50.
Not so long ago, a London surgeon could expect to earn as much as a city lawyer. But even the recent big rises in hospital consultants' earnings pall in comparison with those enjoyed by London lawyers. At Slaughter and May, for example, average profits per equity partner (PEP) jumped by almost a third (in dollar terms) last year to $2.75m—more than at any other of the top 50 law firms bar two in New York where PEP averaged $2.8m and $3.0m respectively. Some senior partners get a lot more of course.
Competition for the best lawyers is fierce and poaching frequent. Hence the need to keep headline PEP figures up—even at the cost of getting rid of equity partners, leaving a bigger share of the bounty for the remaining ones. Freshfields is in the process of shedding around 100 of its equity partners. Other leading firms are also undertaking painful restructuring.
Newly qualified lawyers' salaries have also been shooting up in the search for the best talent. Both Freshfields and Allen & Overy now pay their first-year associates £65,000, rising to around £90,000 after three years. (First-year associates at America's top law firms get the equivalent of £80,000.)
But, as many other top-rank city employers have discovered, big earnings do not necessarily guarantee big satisfaction. According to a YouGov poll, published by the Lawyer earlier this month, a quarter of Britain's lawyers (including a fifth of law-firm partners) would like to leave the profession. The disgruntled complained about cripplingly long hours, intense competition and the impersonality of the biggest firms (some with more than 3,000 lawyers). So why don't they quit? Because, say three-quarters, of the pay.
1. Which one of the following is TRUE of the status quo of London's economy?
[A] London is enjoying its best time of economic development since the 1990s.
[B] The growth rate of London's economy is doubled since the beginning of the 1990s.
[C] The growth rate started to boost since the end of the dotcom era.
[D] The current economy of London is mostly driven by its legal instead of financial market.
2. The world's top 50 law firms are graded according to _____.
[A] their annual margin
[B] their profitability
[C] their sale volume
[D] their quantity of business
3. The phrase “white shoe” (Line 3, Paragraph 3) most probably means _____.
[A] white collars
[B] first-class law firms
[C] financial agencies
[D] international banks
4. In order to be competitive, the law firms take the following measures except _____.
[A] dismissing equity partners
[B] carrying out restructuring
[C] having their best lawyers turn more competitive
[D] raising salaries for recruiting talents
5. From the YouGov poll, it can be inferred that _____.
[A] this profession is far from satisfactory
[B] most lawyers will leave the profession sooner or later
[C] most lawyers are satisfied with the profession because of the fat pay
[D] high salary is always contradictory to big satisfaction

1. Which one of the following is TRUE of the status quo of London's economy?
[A] London is enjoying its best time of economic develop-ment since the 1990s.
[B] The growth rate of London's economy is doubled since the beginning of the 1990s.
[C] The growth rate started to boost since the end of the dotcom era.
[D] The current economy of London is mostly driven by its legal instead of financial market.
1. 下列哪一个是关于伦敦经济现状的正确表述?
[A] 伦敦现在正处在其经济自20世纪90年代末以来最好的时候。
[B] 自20世纪90年代初以来,伦敦的经济增长率翻倍了。
[C] 伦敦经济从网络繁荣时期结束的时候开始兴盛。
[D] 伦敦现在经济的繁荣主要是由其司法市场,而不是由金融市场驱动的。
答案:A 难度系数:☆☆☆☆
分析:细节题。解这道题的关键要看对于文章第一句话的理解:Boosted by booming international financial markets, the City of London has not had it so good since the end of the dotcom bonanza in the late 1990s. have it good是一个短语,意思为“过得优裕”,那么这句话的意思就是“伦敦在20世纪90年代末享受过一段经济很好的时期后,其经济一直到现在才又开始变得很好”。选项A最为符合该句的意思,是正确答案。选项C的时间不正确,而选项D则是无中生有。
2. The world's top 50 law firms are graded according to _____.
[A] their annual margin
[B] their profitability
[C] their sale volume
[D] their quantity of business
2. 世界前50强律师事务所是依据 _____ 来排序的。
[A] 它们的年利润
[B] 它们的收益率
[C] 它们的销售额
[D] 它们的业务量
答案:C 难度系数:☆☆☆
分析:细节题。文章第二段提到:five of the world's top six law firms—in terms of turnover,由此可以看出是以turnover(营业额)来评定的。如果不知道turnover的意思,也可以用排除法来选择。因为第二段还提到,要是用收益率来衡量,那么它们的排名就不会那么靠前了,因此A和B可以排除。D中的业务量原文中并没有提及。因此可以猜出C可能是正确选项。
3. The phrase “white shoe” (Line 3, Paragraph 3) most probably means _____.
[A] white collars
[B] first-class law firms
[C] financial agencies
[D] international banks
3. “白鞋子”这个短语(第三段第三行) 最有可能的意思是_____。
[A] 白领
[B] 一流的律师事务所
[C] 金融机构
[D] 国际银行
答案:B 难度系数:☆☆☆
分析:猜词题。根据上下文,文章主要谈论的都是有关律师事务所的事情,并没有涉及其他的行业,因此可以推测这里应该指的是美国相应业界的同行,这样才有可比性,那么选项中的B最为符合题意。
4. In order to be competitive, the law firms take the following measures except _____.
[A] dismissing equity partners
[B] carrying out restructuring
[C] having their best lawyers turn more competitive
[D] raising salaries for recruiting talents
4. 为了让自己更有竞争力,律师事务所采取了以下除选项 _____ 外的措施。
[A] 解雇合股人
[B] 实行重组
[C] 让其最好的律师变得更加有竞争力
[D] 提高工资以吸引更多的人才
答案:C 难度系数:☆☆☆
分析:细节题。与题干相关的内容在文章第五段和第六段有所提及。第五段提到,各律师事务所为了争夺最优秀的律师,采取了许多措施,甚至都要解雇合股人,这样就可以将比较大的利润留给剩下的人分配,从而保证顶尖律师的利润,有的还进行重组。而第六段提到,为了找到最好的人才,还不惜提高新律师的工资。因此,选项中的C是没有提到的。
5. From the YouGov poll, it can be inferred that _____.
[A] this profession is far from satisfactory
[B] most lawyers will leave the profession sooner or later
[C] most lawyers are satisfied with the profession because of the fat pay
[D] high salary is always contradictory to big satisfaction
5. 从YouGov的民意调查结果可以看出 _____。
[A] 这个职业让人很不满意
[B] 大多数律师迟早都会离开这个职业
[C] 大多数律师对这个职业感到满意是因为收入高
[D] 高工资和满意度总是相对立的
答案:A 难度系数:☆☆☆
分析:推理题。从文章最后一段可以看出,该民意调查中有1/4的律师表明想要离开这个行业,因为有种种不尽如人意的地方;但还有3/4不会离开,就是因为其提供的高工资。因此可以看出,律师这个行业并不让人满意,吸引人的只是高收入而已。A反映了这一点。选项B不符合文章最后一段的意思,因为大多数律师都表示不会离开这个行业;D,律师行业的这个调查不能反映所有行业的情况,所以D的表述过于绝对。因此,答案为A。

虽然受到快速发展的国际金融市场的推动,伦敦自20世纪90年代末,网络的发展开始衰退之后再也没有享受过原来的好日子。伦敦的法律行业一直享受着两位数的业绩增长速度,既为经济的发展贡献了自己的力量,又受益于经济的增长。目前,伦敦市一流律师的年薪超过了200万英镑。
英国顶尖的律师事务所选择了不断扩张,走在世界前列,目前其规模大于美国的同类事务所。实际上,根据英国商业报纸《法律界》的一项针对世界50家领先的律师事务所的调查,世界排名前六位的律师事务所(按营业额计算)中,有五家是英国的事务所(如果算上英美合资的DLA Piper事务所)。但是就赢利能力来讲,他们却落后了。不过目前这种情况正在改变。
被誉为伦敦“魔力圈”的五家事务所(Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy, Linklaters和Freshfields)的利润近年来飞速增加,现在虽然不能说超过,但也可以说已经能与纽约的“白鞋子”精英相抗衡了。Slaughter and May是五家中唯一没有走向世界的事务所,目前已经在全球50家利润最高的事务所中排名第二了。
不久前,伦敦的外科医生还有望与律师收入相当。但是尽管最近医院会诊医生的收入有了大幅增长,与伦敦律师工资的涨幅比起来,还是相形见绌。比如在Slaughter and May,去年人均合股利润(PEP)达到了275万美元,涨幅为近1/3(以美元计算),这比任何全球前50名律师事务所或纽约的律师界工资都要高,其人均合股利润分别为280万美元和300万美元。当然,一些高级合股人的收入更高。
争取请到最好律师的竞争是激烈的,挖墙脚的事时有发生。因此,有必要保持PEP指数的高位,有时甚至以牺牲合股人为代价,从而将更大一部分奖金留给剩下的人。Freshfields目前就正在裁减大约100名合股人。其他领先的事务所也同样正在经历重组的痛苦。
因为业界在不断寻找最好的人才,因此刚获得从业资格的新律师的起薪也大幅增长。目前,Freshfields和 Allen & Overy支付给律师的第一年的工资为6.5万英镑,三年后升至约9万英镑。(在美国,顶尖律师事务所律师第一年的工资为8万英镑。)
但是,正如伦敦其他许多顶级的雇主所发现的,高工资并不意味着高满意度。根据本月初刊登在《律师》上的一项YouGov民意调查,有1/4英国律师(包括1/5的律师搭档)都想要离开这个行业。那些不满者抱怨工作时间几近极限、存在激烈的竞争和最大事务所(有些拥有3,000名以上的员工)采取非人性化管理。那么他们为什么不放弃这个工作呢?因为收入,3/4的人这样回答。
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