Passage 2 Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:
Federal Reserve System, central banking system of the United States, popularly called the Fed. A central bank serves as the banker to both the banking community and the government; it also issues the national currency, conducts monetary policy, and plays a major role in supervision and regulation of banks and bank holding companies. In the U.S. these functions are the responsibilities of key officials of the Federal Reserve System: the Board of Governors, located in Washington, D.C., and the top officers of the 12 district Federal Reserve banks, located throughout the nation. The Fed’s actions, described below, generally have a significant effect on the U.S. interest rates and, subsequently, on stock, bond, and other financial markets.
The Federal Reserve’s basic powers are concentrated in the Board of Governors, which is paramount in all policy issues concerning bank regulation and supervision and in most aspects of monetary control. The board enunciates the Fed’s policies on both monetary and banking matters. Because the board is not an operating agency, most of the day-to-day implementation of policies decisions is left to the district Federal Reserve banks, stock in which is owned by the commercial banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. Ownership in this instance, however, does not imply control; the Board of Governors and the heads of the Reserve banks orient their policies to the public interest rather than of the private banking system.
The U.S. banking system’s regulatory apparatus is complex; the authority of the Federal Reserve is shared in some instances for example, in mergers or the examination of banks with other federal agencies such as the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Cooperation (FDIC). In the critical area of regulating the nation’s money supply in accordance with national economic goals, however, the Federal Reserve is independent within the government. Income and expenditures of the Federal Reserve banks and of the Board of Governors are not subject to the congressional appropriation process; the Federal Reserve is subject to the congressional appropriation process; the Federal Reserve is self-financing. Its income($20.2 billion in 1992) comes mainly holdings of income-earning securities, primarily those of the U.S. government. Outlays ($1.5 billion in 1992) are mostly for operational expenses in providing services to the government and for expenditures connected with regulation and monetary policy. In 1992 the Federal Reserve returned $16.8 billion in earnings to the U.S. Treasury.
26.The Fed of the United States____. A) functions as China Bank B) is the counterpart of People’s Bank of China C) is subject to the banking community and government D) has 13 top officers who can influence the American financial market
27.The fact that stock in the Fed belongs to commercial banks____. A) doesn’t mean the latter is in control B) means the latter is in control C) means the latter is subjected to the Reserve banks D) means the Reserve banks orient the latter’s policies
28.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage? A) The Fed is a very big, complex and significant system which comprises many local banks. B) All the commercial banks are not the components of Federal Reserve System. C) Board of Governors is the supreme policy-makers of Federal Reserve System. D) District Reserve banks rather than Board of Governors perform the daytoday policies.
29.The authority of the Federal Reserve____. A) has to be shared with other establishmentsis B) is exclusive at other times C) isn’t limited by comptroller of the Currency and FDIC D) is limited by Board of Governors
30.Income of the Board of Governors____. A) is borrowed from the U.S. Treasury B) is used by the government to make various policies C) comes from the U.S. Treasury D) is not granted by the government
Passage Two 短文大意： 本文是一篇说明文，对美国的联邦储备银行给予了较为详细的介绍。美联储是庞大的、复杂的和重要的银行系统，有许多地方银行。其权力主要集中在the Governors之手。美联储的权力有时是独享的，有时与其他机构共享。具体运作相当复杂。阅读本文后我们一定能对美联储有较清楚的了解。 26. 【参考译文】美联储____。【详细解答】美国的联邦储备银行相当于中国人民银行。根据文章开头部分的“A central bank … issues the notional currency, conducts money policy, … (中央银行……发行货币,制订金融政策……)”可知其功能与我国的人民银行相同,故选B。A）作用同中国银行；C）与原文第二句“A central bank serves…”不相符。联邦储备银行的重要官员包括Board of Governors和“12个地方储备银行”，但未说明具体人数。 27. 【参考译文】联邦储备银行中的股票归商业银行所有，____。【详细解答】选项A中的in control意味“控制于别人”，此处即the latter (商业银行)控制股票。A与文中的Ownership…doesn’t imply control相符，而B则恰好与之相反。表面上看，C（意味着商业银行从属于联邦储备银行）和D（意味着储备银行左右着商业银行的政策）是正确的，而且原文中可找到根据，但C、D与题干毫无逻辑关系。一般说来，物主对属于自己的东西有控制权，而拥有股票的商业银行却不是这样。这是该题的逻辑所在。 28. 【参考译文】根据短文意思，下面哪种说法不对？【试题分析】此题考查对文章细节的理解。【详细解答】A）Fed.是一庞大的、复杂的和重要的银行系统，有许多地方银行。文章开头提到了“12 district Federal Reserve banks”,第三段首句提到了它的复杂性。B）不是所有的商业银行都是联邦储备银行的成员。第三段中间的定语从句“that are members of the Federal Reserve System ”说明了还有联邦储备银行之外的商业银行。D）（实施日常政策的是地方储备银行，而不是Board of Governors）与文中的“Because the board is not an operating agency,…left to the district Federal Reserve banks”相符。只有C）Board of Governors(是美国制订政策的最高权力者)与文章第二段首句内容不符，故C为选择答案。 29. 【参考译文】联邦银行的权威性____。【详细解答】文章第三段首句：“… is shared in some instances…with other federal agencies… (有时与其联邦机构分享)”说明有时是不与他人分享的；文章第二段首句也说明了某些方面Fed.是最权威的（… paramount）。因此B为正确选项。A）（必须与其机构分享）太绝对；C）（不受货币审计机构和FDIC的限制）与第三段首句内容恰好相反；D）（受到银行总裁们的限制）在文章中找不到根据。 30. 【参考译文】Board of Governors 的收入____。【详细解答】文章末尾部分的句子“Income…are not subject to the congressional appropriation process (收入 … 不属于国会拨款之列)”表明选项D正确。B）（被政府用于制订各项政策）和C）（来源于美国国库）均与文章最后三个句子内容不相符。
of the private banking system.
holdings of income-earning securities, primarily those of the U.S. government. Outlays ($1.5 billion in 1992) are mostly for operational expenses in providing services to the government and for expenditures connected with regulation and monetary policy. In 1992 the Federal Reserve returned $16.8 billion in earnings to the U.S. Treasury.
