2020剑桥商务英语BEC中级精选阅读材料
2020剑桥商务英语BEC中级精选阅读材料
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1.商务英语中级考试阅读材料：喝酸奶有益于牙齿健康
Eating yogurt and other foods laden with lactic acid may keep your gums from receding and teeth from falling out, Japanese researchers report.
Dr. Yoshihiro Shimazaki and colleagues found that consuming yogurt and lactic acid drinks was significantly associated with better periodontal health.
"But, milk and cheese were not," Shimazaki said.
Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial condition associated with receding gums and tooth loss. Outside of regular brushing and flossing, effective measures to allay this disease are limited, Shimazaki, of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, and colleagues note in the Journal of Periodontology.
Previous research identified a lower occurrence of periodontal disease among people who eat high amounts of dairy products, but did not identify which dairy products were most beneficial, the researchers report.
Shimazaki’s team assessed the severity of periodontal disease in 942 men and women, aged 40 to 79 years, and their intake of milk, cheese, and lactic acid foods.
They found that people with generalized (more advanced) periodontal disease had a lower intake of lactic acid foods than people with localized (less advanced) periodontal disease.
Compared with individuals reporting no lactic acid food intake, those eating 55 grams or more of yogurt (half an 6-ounce carton) or lactic acid drinks a day had significantly fewer markers of severe periodontal disease. The investigators made allowances for factors such as age, gender, smoking, alcohol intake, frequency of tooth brushing, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
日本研究人员日前称，吃酸奶等富含乳酸的食物能防止牙龈萎缩和牙齿脱落。
喜田岛崎博士及其同事发现，喝酸奶及其它乳酸饮料能显著改善牙周健康。
岛崎博士说：“但牛奶和乳酪没有这种功效。”
牙周病是一种慢性细菌感染性疾病，会引起牙床萎缩和牙齿脱落。日本福冈九州岛大学的岛崎教授及其同事在《牙周病学》期刊中提到，除了勤刷牙和用牙线清洁牙齿外，能够有效缓解这一疾病的方法比较有限。
研究人员在报告中称，此前的研究发现，食用大量乳制品的人患牙周病的几率较低，但未发现哪种乳制品的作用突出。
岛崎教授领导的研究小组对942名年龄在40岁至79岁之间的男性和女性进行了调查，主要对他们所患牙周炎的严重程度以及摄入的牛奶、乳酪和乳酸类食品量进行了评估。
他们发现，弥漫性重度牙周炎患者所摄入的乳酸类食品量比局限性轻度牙周炎患者少。
与自称从不吃乳酸类食品的人相比，每天摄入酸奶或其它乳酸饮品55克或更多的人有严重牙周病症状的明显较少。研究人员还考虑到了年龄、性别、吸烟、饮酒、刷牙频率、血糖及胆固醇水平等各项因素。
Vocabulary:
be laden with:富含……
fall out: 脱落
intake:摄入量
make allowances for:考虑到……
2.商务英语中级考试阅读材料：投行今年亚太佣金收入
对于投资银行业而言，2007年是它们亚洲业务利润为丰厚的一年，但今年却开局不利。
Investment banks have suffered a poor start to the year in Asia after their most profitable year in the region in 2007.
因敢于在市场动荡情况下上市的公司数量减少，投行的股票资本市场收入大幅下降。
Revenues from equity capital markets have fallen sharply as fewer companies have braved turbulent market conditions to go public.
数据提供商汤姆森金融(Thomson Financial)的数据显示，今年截至上周五，在不包括日本在内的亚洲地区，瑞银(UBS)、瑞士信贷(Credit Suisse)、摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)和高盛(Goldman Sachs)的佣金收入分别下降了44.1%至70.9%。
UBS, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs saw fees fall between 44.1 per cent and 70.9 per cent in Asia excluding Japan this year up until last Friday, according to Thomson Financial, the data provider.
由于许多公司推迟或取消了首次公开发行(IPO)计划，宁愿等待更好的上市时机，投行今年在亚洲面临的市况非常艰难。作为亚洲地区股市表现的衡量指标，摩根士丹利资本国际不包括日本的亚太指数(MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index)今年已下跌约18%。
The region has been a tough market for banks after a large number of companies postponed or cancelled initial public offerings, preferring to wait for better opportunities to sell shares. The MSCI Asia excluding Japan index, a barometer of the region’s stock markets, has fallen about 18 per cent this year.
来自股票和债券资本市场的佣金收入分别下降了15.9%和52.3%。但收购活动仍在继续，亚洲并购交易佣金收入为此增长了3.6%，达到13.8亿美元。
Fees earned from equity and debt capital markets fell 15.9 per cent and 52.3 per cent respectively. But continued takeover activity saw fees from Asian mergers and acquisitions increase 3.6 per cent to $1.38bn.
在亚洲佣金总收入排行榜上，包括中国铁建(China Railway Construction Corp) 54.4亿美元IPO在内的几笔大交易，推动中国中信证券(Citic Securities)的排名从去年的第13位上升至第三位。
China’s Citic Securities rose to third in the league table of overall fee revenues in the region, up from number 13 in 2007, thanks to several large deals including the $5.44bn IPO by China Railway Construction Corp.
瑞银在排行榜上名列榜首，尽管该行今年以来的收入下降了53.3%，从去年的1.71亿美元降至8000万美元。这家瑞士银行近80%的收入来自并购交易佣金。排名第二和第三的分别是花旗集团(Citigroup)和中信证券。名列前五的还有美林(Merrill Lynch)和JP摩根(JPMorgan)。
UBS topped the league table in spite of a 53.3 per cent plunge in revenues from $171m last year to $80m so far this year. The Swiss bank, which derived nearly 80 per cent of fees from M&A, is followed by Citigroup and Citic. Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan took the other top five places.
中信证券收入飙升425.1%，至5590万美元。在中国铁建本月在香港和上海的IPO中，中信证券都是保荐人。
Citic, which sponsored both the Hong Kong and Shanghai portions of CRCC’s IPO this month, saw revenues surge 425.1 per cent to $55.9m.
行业咨询公司奥纬咨询(Oliver Wyman)的另一份报告显示，作为中国的券商之一，中信证券取得成功的背景是：本地公司继续主导着亚洲的承销市场，特别是首次公开发行市场。
The success of Citic, one of China’s largest brokerages, comes as local firms continue to dominate the underwriting market in Asia, especially in primary offerings, according to a separate report by Oliver Wyman, an industry consultant.
除了香港和新加坡(国际投行在此仍然控制着市场)，其他国家的多数交易往往都由本地券商安排。奥纬咨询称，中国的三大承销商分别是中信证券、中金公司(CICC)和国泰君安(Guotai Junan)。台湾5家的承销商都是本地公司。
Apart from Hong Kong and Singapore, where international investment banks still control the market, local brokerages tend to arrange most deals in other countries. China’s top three underwriters are Citic, CICC and Guotai Junan, said Oliver Wyman. All of the five largest players in Taiwan are local firms.
在汤姆森金融排行榜的前十名中，高盛的佣金收入降幅，达到70.9%，从9730万美元降至2830万美元。投行业务佣金总收入较上年同期下降5.4%，从22.2亿美元降至21亿美元。
3.商务英语中级考试阅读材料：快乐可以遗传
You can’t buy happiness but it looks like you can at least inherit it, British and Australian researchers said.
A study of nearly 1000 pairs of identical and non-identical twins found genes control half the personality traits that make people happy while factors such as relationships, health and careers are responsible for the rest of our well-being.
"We found that around half the differences in happiness were genetic," said Tim Bates, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh who led the study. "It is really quite surprising."
The researchers asked the volunteers – ranging in age from 25 to 75 – a series of questions about their personality, how much they worried and how satisfied they were with their lives.
Because identical twins share the same genes and fraternal twins do not, the researchers could identify common genes that result in certain personality traits and predispose people to happiness.
People who are sociable, active, stable, hardworking and conscientious tend to be happier, the researchers reported in the journal Psychological Science.
"What this study showed was that the identical twins in a family were very similar in personality and in well-being, and by contrast, the fraternal twins were only around half as similar," Bates said. "That strongly implicates genes."
The findings are an important piece of the puzzle for researchers trying to better understand depression and what makes different people happy or unhappy, Bates said.
People with positive inherited personality traits may, in effect, also have a reserve of happiness to draw on in stressful times, he said.
"An important implication is that personality traits of being outgoing, calm and reliable provide a resource, we called it ’affective reserve,’ that drives future happiness" Bates said.
快乐买不到，但英国和澳大利亚的研究人员称，快乐至少可以遗传得到。
一项对近千对同卵及异卵双胞胎开展的研究发现，在快乐的性格特征中，有一半是由基因控制的，而另一部分则受到人际关系、健康、职业等因素的影响。
研究负责人、爱丁堡大学的蒂姆•贝茨说：“我们发现，研究对象在快乐方面的差异约有一半受到遗传基因的影响。这个结果实在令人惊讶。”
研究人员向年龄在25岁至75岁之间的志愿者提出了一系列问题，问题涉及他们的性格特点、焦虑程度以及对目前生活的满意度。
由于同卵双生的双胞胎基因完全相同，而异卵双胞胎不完全相同，所以研究人员可以分辨出决定某些性格特征及使人容易快乐的共同基因。
研究报告在《心理科学》期刊上发表。研究人员指出，善于交际、活泼、踏实、勤奋、有责任心的人更加快乐。
贝茨说：“该研究表明，同卵双胞胎的性格特征和快乐程度十分相似，然而，异卵双胞胎仅有约50%的相似度。这充分说明了基因的作用。”
贝茨说，研究人员一直在努力寻找有关“人为什么会郁闷”的更为合理的解释及影响不同的人快乐与否的因素，这一发现无疑为这一难题提供了一个重要解释。
他说，具有积极遗传性格特征的人实际上同时拥有一种“快乐储备”，供他们在郁闷的时候“支取”。
贝茨说：“这说明了很重要的一点，外向、冷静和可靠的性格特点能形成一种“情感储备”，为将来的快乐提供保障。”
4.商务英语中级考试阅读材料：中国航空货运业
中国制造业的显著增长，促使航空货运公司争相发展其在华业务。然而，这可能成为一个业务规模扩张过大、速度过快的案例。
China’s spectacular manufacturing growth has left air freight carriers scrambling to develop their activities in the country. But it could be a case of too much, too soon.
两年前，从南京或上海空运货物至欧洲，每公斤运费高达4美元;如今的价格约为2.50美元。南京禄口机场副总经理徐勇表示：“在此项业务上仍有钱赚的航空公司非常少见。”
Two years ago, flying goods from Nanjing or Shanghai to Europe cost up to $4 a kilogramme; today it the price is about $2.50. “Very few carriers are still making money here,’’ says Xu Yong, vice-president of Nanjing airport.
由于机队扩张速度继续超出需求，航空公司正加剧中国一些机场的拥堵问题。徐勇警告称：“我们现在的飞机数量实在是太多了。”
As fleet expansion continues to outpace demand, carriers are adding to congestion problems at some Chinese airports. “We have just far too many planes now”Mr Xu warns.
荷兰航空公司Martinair副总裁弗兰克?德容(Frank de Jong)表示，中国空运货物出口量正以每年约10%的速度增长，而飞机货物运力的增幅约为25%。
Frank de Jong, vice-president at Martinair, the Dutch carrier, says the volume of Chinese exports by air is growing by about 10 per cent a year but aircraft cargo capacity is rising by about 25 per cent.
在亚洲，约半数货物在运输时都是放在定期客运航班的腹舱内。例如，在客运航空公司中，大韩航空(Korean Airlines)拥有全球规模的货运业务，其28%的收入来自航空货运业务。
In Asia, about half of cargo transported is carried in the belly of regular passenger flights. Korean Airlines, for example, has the world’s largest cargo business among passenger airlines, with 28 per cent of its revenue coming from air freight.
在美国，大部分航空货运业务由以UPS和联邦快递(FedEx)为首的专业货运公司负责。中国政府近已进一步放宽了对上述两家公司的准入限制。
In the US, the bulk of air cargo is handled by the specialist freight industry, led by UPS and FedEx. The Chinese government has recently granted greater access to the two companies.
瑞士信贷(Credit Suisse)分析师彼得?希尔顿(Peter Hilton)表示：“美国公司可以向中国体系内注入更多运力，并承接向来由亚洲航空公司包揽的货运业务。”
Peter Hilton, analyst at Credit Suisse, says: “The Americans are being allowed to inject more capacity into the Chinese system and moving goods that would have traditionally gone to Asian carriers.”
中国政府已加大其发展国内航空货运业的努力，鼓励国内航空公司与经验更为丰富的西方货运公司合作。而就在不久前，中国政府的重点还几乎全放在航空客运业的改革和扩张方面。
Beijing has stepped up its efforts to develop a domestic air freight industry, encouraging its airlines to team up with more experienced Western cargo operators. Until recently, the Chinese government had instead focused almost exclusively on overhauling and expanding the passenger airline industry.
一位香港银行家表示：“从政治角度来看，运送旅客比运输货物更能建立声望，但政府已意识到，货运对出口驱动型的制造业领域至关重要。”
A Hong Kong banker says: “Politically, there’s a lot more prestige in helping move people rather than goods, but the government has woken up to how crucial freight is for an export-led manufacturing sector.”