考研英语阅读理解精读100篇：Unit 7
Unit 7
High-frequency trading firms—the lightning-quick, computerized companies that have risen in the last decade to dominate the nation’s stock market—are now struggling to hold onto their gains.
Profits from high-speed trading in American stocks are on track to be, at most, $1.25 billion this year, down 35 percent from last year and 74 percent lower than the peak of about $4.9 billion in 2009, according to estimates from the brokerage firm Rosenblatt Securities. By comparison, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase each earned more in the last quarter than the high-speed trading industry will earn this year.
While no official data is kept on employment at the high-speed firms, interviews with more than a dozen industry participants suggest that firms large and small have been cutting staff, and in some cases have shut down. The firms also are accounting for a declining percentage of a shrinking pool of stock trading, from 61 percent three years ago to 51 percent now, according to the Tabb Group, a data firm.
It is a swift reversal for trading firms that have often looked to other investors like profit machines, thanks to high-powered software and superfast data connections that can take advantage of small changes in the price of a stock.
High-speed trading is far from disappearing from the market, but the struggles facing these firms have been greeted with enthusiasm by some traditional traders and investors who have viewed the firms as formidable adversaries, or worse, market manipulators that create sudden spikes and drops in share prices. Peter Costa, a longtime trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, said the fading presence of the firms could “restore some order to stock markets.”
Regulators are still grappling with whether the rise of high-speed firms has been a net benefit or loss for investors, so it is hard to pinpoint what effect the decline of these firms will have on the markets. Many market experts have argued that the technical glitches that have recently hit the market have been a result of a broader trend of the market splintering into dozens of automated trading services and a lack of human oversight.
注（1）：本文选自The New York Times；
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2010年真题Text 1。
1. It is indicated in Paragraphs 1 and 2 that ______.
A) high-frequency trading firms are still dominating the nation’s stock market
B) high-frequency firms have lost a lot of money
C) the profits from high-speed trading are declining compared to last year
D) by comparison, high-speed trading companies make more money than others
2. The decline of high-frequency trading firms is characterized by ______.
A) struggling to make profits
B) the shrink of stock trading market
C) the reduction of profits and employee numbers
D) the domination of the nation’s stock market
3. The phrase “a swift reversal”（Line 1, Paragraph 4） most probably refers to ______.
A) possession of high-powered software and superfast data connections
B) new investors like profit machines
C) taking in charge of the price of a stock
D) that trading firms are not making huge profits as before
4. Which of the following would Peter Costa most probably agree on？
A) High-speed trading firms should better disappear from the market.
B) Some traditional traders and investors are afraid of that disappearance.
C) Some traditional traders and investors are formidable adversaries.
D) High-speed trading firms would face the struggle with enthusiasm.
5. What can be learned about the high-speed firms according to the last paragraph?
A) Regulators think the prospect of these firms is promising.
B) There is no assertion about the influence of these firms.
C) The technical glitches are caused by these firms.
D) These firms have splintered into dozens of automated trading services.
篇章剖析
本文主要讲述了高频交易公司开始走下坡路的态势。第一段简单介绍了高频交易公司的性质及颓势；第二、三段引用数据具体例证交易公司利润的下滑及裁员、倒闭等情况；第四、五段介绍了高频交易公司走下坡路对其他投资者来说是好事；最后一段则指出调控者对高频交易公司带来的影响并不确定，专家指出了市场出现问题的原因。
词汇注释
brokerage /ˈbrəʊkərɪdʒ/ n. 代理公司；代理人；经纪人；佣金；回扣
reversal /rɪˈvɜːsl/ n. 逆转
formidable /ˈfɔːmɪdəbl/ adj. 强大的；可怕的
adversary /ˈædvəsəri/ n. 对手；敌手
manipulator /məˈnɪpjʊleɪtə(r)/ n. 操作者；操纵器
spike /spaɪk/ n. （价格、数量的）突然上升；长钉，道钉；钉鞋
grapple /ˈɡræpl/ v. 努力解决；抓住；与…格斗
pinpoint /ˈpɪnpɔɪnt/ v. 确定；准确描述
glitch /glɪtʃ/ n. 小问题；小故障；失灵
splinter /ˈsplɪntə(r)/ v. 分裂；裂成碎片
oversight /ˈəʊvəsaɪt/ n. 监督，照管；疏忽
难句突破
It is a swift reversal for trading firms that have often looked to other investors like profit machines, thanks to high-powered software and superfast data connections that can take advantage of small changes in the price of a stock.
主体句式：It is a swift reversal for trading firms..., thanks to...
结构分析：该句结构较复杂，修饰成分较多，容易引起混淆。主句中的that定语从句用来修饰trading firms，分句中的that定语从句修饰high-powered software and superfast data connections。而整个分句作主句的原因状语，可理解为“由于…；幸亏…”。
句子译文：由于高性能的软件和速度超快的数据连接可以利用股票价格上的微妙变化，交易公司不再是其他投资者眼中的赚钱机器，这是一个极大的转变。
题目分析
1. C 细节题。第一、二段指出高频交易公司由鼎盛开始走下坡路，并且利润值也在下降。A、D两项与文意不符，故排除。高频交易公司虽然利润下降，但并未亏损很多，B项也不正确。只有C选项说法正确。
2. C 细节题。题目要求找出高频交易公司开始衰退的标志。文章二、三段讲述了高频交易公司从利润到员工数量都在下降的趋势，故C项正确。A项中努力获利与原文努力守住盈利之势不符。高频公司衰退是股票交易市场紧缩的原因，后者并非前者的特点，逻辑有误。D项与原文中的下滑趋势不符。
3. D 语义题。由第四段可知，由于高性能的软件和速度超快的数据连接可以有效地利用股票价格上的微妙变化，因此高频交易公司不再是其他投资者眼中的赚钱机器，这是一个极大的转变。这种转变就是上文提到的高频交易公司不再像原来一样可以赚得巨额利润，只有D项符合题意。
4. A 情感态度题。第五段指出，皮特·科斯塔是纽约证券交易市场交易所的一名老交易人，他说，这些公司的衰退可以“使股票市场恢复些秩序”。可见皮特·科斯塔和上文中传统交易人和投资者的看法一致，都不喜欢高频交易公司。B、C、D项均与文意不符，只有A项正确。
5. B 语义题。最后一段讲述了调控者的不确定态度及市场专家的猜测。A选项明显错误。C、D选项逻辑上和原文不符。只有B项说法正确。
参考译文
高频交易公司，指最近十年涌现出的高速、智能化的公司，曾主导着国家的股票市场。而现在它们却奋力挣扎着守住盈利之势。
根据代理公司罗森布拉特证券的估计，今年从美国股票高频交易中获得的利润最多将达到12.5亿美元，与去年相比下降了35%，与2009年的巅峰值49亿美元相比下降了74%。相比之下，富国银行和摩根大通各自在过去的一个季度都比高频交易产业今年一年将要赚的多。
虽然没有官方资料显示高频交易公司的员工雇佣情况，但对超过12个行业雇员的采访显示，大小型公司都在裁员，而且有一些已经关门停业了。数据公司塔布集团调查称，这些公司也是日益减少的股票交易从三年前的61%萎缩到现在51%的原因所在。
由于高性能的软件和速度超快的数据连接可以利用股票价格上的微妙变化，交易公司不再是其他投资者眼中的赚钱机器，这是一个极大的转变。
高频交易还远远不会从市场上消失，但是一些传统的交易人和投资者正在以极大的“热情”看待交易公司面临的挣扎。在这些传统的交易人和投资者眼中，这些交易公司都是极强大的对手，更甚者，是可以使股价激增或剧降的市场操纵者。皮特·科斯塔是纽约证券交易所的一名老交易人，他说，这些公司的衰退可以“使股票市场恢复些秩序”。
调控者还在努力搞清楚高频公司的兴盛到底会给投资者带来净利润还是净损失，因此还无法确定这些公司的衰退会给市场带来什么影响。许多市场专家认为，近来冲击市场的技术问题是市场已经更加明显地分裂为几十个自动交易业务并缺乏人力监管的结果。
