第一段
Financial regulations in Britain have imposed a rather unusual rule on the bosses of big banks. Starting next year, any guaranteed bonus of top executives could be delayed 10 years if their banks are under investigation for wrongdoing. The main purpose of this “clawback” rule is to hold bankers accountable for harmful risk-taking and to restore public trust in financial institution. Yet officials also hope for a much larger benefit: more long term decision-making not only by banks but also by all corporations, to build a stronger economy for future generations.
单词&词组
impose v. 强制推行，强制实行（规章制度）
bonus n. 奖金
clawback n. （政府或机构）收回（已给出的钱）
financial institution 金融机构
本段翻译
英国的金融法规对大银行的老板们强加了一个相当不寻常的规定。从明年开始，如果银行因不当行为而受到调查，高管的任何有保证的奖金都可能被推迟10年。这项“追回”规则的主要目的是让银行家对有害的冒险行为负责，并恢复公众对金融机构的信任。然而，官员们也希望得到更大的好处：不仅银行，而且所有公司都能做出更长期的决策，为子孙后代建设一个更强大的经济。
第二段
“Short-termism” or the desire for quick profits, has worsened in publicly traded companies, says the Bank of England’s top economist. Andrew Haldane. He quotes a giant of classical economies, Alfred Marshall, in describing this financial impatience as acting like “Children who pick the plums out of their pudding to eat them at once” rather than putting them aside to be eaten last.
单词&词组
worsen v. 恶化，变得糟糕
publicly traded company 上市公司
plum n. （用于布丁、蛋糕等的）葡萄干，李子，梅子，令人垂涎的事物
pick sth. out of sth. 把……从……中挖走/剔除
put sth. aside 省下，留出
本段翻译
英国央行（bankofengland）的首席经济学家表示，在上市公司，“短期主义”或“快速盈利”的愿望恶化。安德鲁·哈尔丹。他引用一个古典经济体的巨人阿尔弗雷德马歇尔的话说，这种金融不耐烦的行为就像“孩子们从布丁里摘下李子，一下子吃”，而不是把它们放在一边吃最后一次。
第三段
The average time for holding a stock in both the United States and Britain, he notes, has dropped from seven years to seven months in recent decades. Transient investors, who demand high quarterly profits from companies, can hinder a firm’s efforts to invest in long-term research or to build up customer loyalty. This has been dubbed “quarterly capitalism”.
单词&词组
stock n. 股份
transient a. 短暂的，转瞬即逝的
quarterly a. 每季度的
customer loyalty 顾客忠诚
dub v. 把……称为，给……起绰号
本段翻译
他指出，近几十年来，美国和英国持有股票的平均时间从7年下降到7个月。临时投资者要求公司获得高额的季度利润，这可能会阻碍公司投资于长期研究或建立客户忠诚度的努力。这被称为“季度资本主义”。
第四段
In addition, new digital technologies have allowed more rapid trading of equities, quicker use of information, and thus shorter attention spans in financial markets. “There seems to be a predominance of short-term thinking at the expense of long-term investing,” said Commissioner Daniel Gallagher of the US Securities and Exchange Commission in speech this week.
单词&词组
rapid a. 迅速的
equity n. （分享红利而非固定股息的）股票
attention span 注意力的持续时间
predominance n. 主导地位，支配地位
at the expense of 以损害……为代价
本段翻译
此外，新的数字技术使得股票交易更加迅速，信息的使用更加迅速，从而缩短了金融市场的关注时间。美国证券交易委员会（sec）委员丹尼尔•加拉赫（Daniel Gallagher）本周在演讲中表示：“短期思维似乎占主导地位，而长期投资却受到损害。”。
第五段
In the US, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has pushed most public companies to defer performance bonuses for senior executives by about a year, slightly helping reduce “short-termism.” In its latest survey of CEO pay, The Wall Street Journal finds that “a substantial part” of executive pay is now tied to performance.
单词&词组
performance bonus 绩效奖金
slightly ad. 略微，稍微
substantial a. 大量的，很大程度的
本段翻译
在美国，2002年的《萨班斯-奥克斯利法案》（Sarbanes-Oxley Act）迫使大多数上市公司将高管的绩效奖金推迟一年左右，这在一定程度上有助于减少“短期主义”。《华尔街日报》（Wall Street Journal）在其最新的CEO薪酬调查中发现，高管薪酬的“很大一部分”现在与业绩挂钩。
第六段
Much more could be done to encourage “long-termism,” such as changes in the tax code and quicker disclosure of stock acquisitions. In France, shareholders who hold onto a company investment for at least two years can sometimes earn more voting rights in a company.
单词&词组
tax code 税法
disclosure n. 披露
acquisition n. 收购
shareholder n. 股东
本段翻译
我们可以做更多的工作来鼓励“长期主义”，比如修改税法，加快股票收购的披露。在法国，持有公司投资至少两年的股东有时可以获得更多的公司投票权。
第七段
Within companies, the right compensation design can provide incentives for executives to think beyond their own time at the company and on behalf of all stakeholders. Britain’s new rule is a reminder to bankers that society has an interest in their performance, not just for the short term but for the long term.
单词&词组
compensation n. 工资，报酬
incentive n. 动力，鼓励
reminder n. 起提醒作用的东西
本段翻译
在公司内部，正确的薪酬设计可以激励高管超越自己在公司的时间，代表所有利益相关者进行思考。英国的新规定提醒银行家们，社会对他们的表现感兴趣，不仅是短期的，而且是长期的。
五道题
21. According to Paragraph 1, one motive in imposing the new rule is the____.
[A] enhance banker’s sense of responsibility
[B] help corporations achieve larger profits
[C] build a new system of financial regulation
[D] guarantee the bonuses of top executives
22. Alfred Marshall is quoted to indicate_____.
[A] the conditions for generating quick profits
[B] governments’ impatience in decision-making
[C] the solid structure of publicly traded companies
[D] “short-termism” in economics activities
23. It is argued that the influence of transient investment on public companies can be__________.
[A] indirect
[B] adverse
[C] minimal
[D] temporary
24. The US and France examples are used to illustrate____________.
[A] the obstacles to preventing “short-termism”.
[B] the significance of long-term thinking.
[C] the approaches to promoting “long-termism”.
[D] the prevalence of short-term thinking.
25. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
[A] Failure of Quarterly Capitalism
[B] Patience as a Corporate Virtue
[C] Decisiveness Required of Top Executives
[D] Frustration of Risk-taking Bankers
参考答案
ADBCB
答案解析
21、细节题。根据题干定位第一段第三句（The main purpose of this “clawback” rule is to hold bankers accountable for harmful risk-taking and to restore public trust in financial institution这个规则主要目的是让银行家为不良风险负责以及修复公众对金融机构的信任）。选项中的“sense of responsibility”则对应到句中的“enhance banker's sense of responsibility（增加银行的责任感）”。
22、细节题。题干“Alfred Marshall”，定位到第二段的第二句“He quotes a giant of classical economies, Alfred Marshall, in describing this financial impatience as acting...”，定位信息里的“this financial impatience”则是回指第二段首句的“Short-termism”，故信息点则为“Short-termism”，所以选[D]。
23、细节题。题干的“transient investment”，定位到第三段的第二句“Transient investors, who demand high quarterly profits from companies, can hinder a firm’s efforts to invest in long-term research or to build up customer loyalty”，四个选项中，只有[B]选项的adverse为明确的负面表达，意思为“不利的”，与原文中的“hinder”（阻碍打扰）对应。
24、例证题。根据题干定位，美国和法国的例子是用来支撑什么论点。原文的第五、六段则提供了具体的信息，第五段中美国延迟发放才上任一年左右的高管绩效津贴，继而促进缓解“短期主义”盛行的现状；第六段则提及在法国持股两年以上者拥有更大的选票权。所以，最佳选项应为“促进长期主义的方法”，[C]与原文一致。
25、主旨题。[B]选项里的patience可以对应到全文中反复出现的主题词“short-termism”和“long-termism”，corporate本身在文章中出现多次，所以[B]选项正确。
